Chapter Three: Client, Surrender Your Heart First

Gu Minglan was Gu Yanchen's mother, dead for years. The second-generation row displayed their own names. Their status was not Recruited or Observed. In crimson letters, it read: ACTIVATED. Outside, the enormous advertising screen on Yaochuan Tower turned black. Seconds later, white words spread across the city's skyline: PROJECT ECHO, PHASE TWO. COUNTDOWN: 89 DAYS. Xu Zhi tightened her grip on the new contract and looked at Gu Yanchen. "It seems you weren't the one who chose ninety days." "They set the duration of our experiment." "Then we investigate to the end." She offered her hand, stopping one centimeter from his palm. "This time, holding hands means partnership, not performance." He did not take it without asking. "May I?"