《Hidden Assassin》 Chapter 0: Preface No content Chapter 1 No content Chapter 2 No content Chapter 3 No content Chapter 4 No content Chapter 5 No content Chapter 6 No content Chapter 7 Please do check out the songs when you get a chance, they¡¯re in Mandarin and older songs, but still quite good XD Chapter 8 Cue the rainstorm with lightning and thunder. Chapter 9 This is all very ¡°accidental¡±, of course. ?? Thunder, feel the thunder~?? Lightning and the thunder~ ??? Chapter 10 Thank you for all the votes on my fledgling novel! *sniffs* I also read every comment and try my best to respond to them, I¡¯m sorry if I missed any >_< Chapter 11 No content Chapter 12 No content Chapter 13 Chapter 13 ¨C The Most Hated Thing TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold is spoken in English. It was the middle of the night and the wind quietly whistled. On a certain small hill at the outskirts of Jianghai City, there was an old pillar sparsely surrounded by trees. A young boy was sitting next to the pillar; both of his hands doing repetitive monotonous training. He was sitting cross-legged in a lotus position like a monk, both hands continuously moving through a series of Buddhist mudras[1]. He was training the sensitivity of his fingers through this set of never-changing motions. By going through all the motions that were humanly possible, his fingers could feel the air friction when he went through the Buddhist mudras. After an unknown period of time, he finally stopped moving, opened both eyes, and let out a deep breath. It was a starless night and the city¡¯s glow could be seen from afar. It was the time of night where people slumbered deeply. Surrounded by grasslands, he could clearly distinguish the faint silhouette of a distant mountain as well as the clear distinct sounds of the wind and the earth. This type of sensitivity was definitely at the peak state of what an assassin would dream of. He reached this state in only around three years of training on this pure body using the proper methods and focused mentality. It could be said that he had reached a better state than when he was chained to the assassin group. The fact that he could become a more terrifying assassin like this was extremely ironic. His current body¡¯s power naturally could not compare to his adult self, but with the identity of a child, the target¡¯s wariness was generally lowered. However, that was not necessarily an advantage as his ability to sense other assassins had decreased as well. His current body¡¯s sensitivity could be considered better than before, however¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a really simple and boring life right now¡­¡± He grumbled quietly to himself as he smiled helplessly. A child¡¯s world, to an adult like him, was quite boring at times. Even though he had already determined the importance of his two friends ¨C Lingjing and Huaisha ¨C, they would sometimes make naive suggestions and decisions that caused him to smile bitterly in response. However, he had become accustomed to playing an ambiguous and weak role, so he was subconsciously reluctant to lower their spirits. Thus he restrained himself to act like a child and his desire to grow up faster only increased in time. Or perhaps it was only a naive desire, something he had in common with other children. In order not to completely lose interest in everything, or maybe it was due to his acquired freedom, he persisted in training his assassin skills everyday. He had broken free from the shackles of the assassin group, but the habit of training his assassin skills was already ingrained into him. Of course, he did not think of using this power as a tool to only kill people; to survive in this world, sometimes it was necessary to possess some sort of power. Also¡­ Freedom¡­ He greedily inhaled the fresh air, thinking that he would never get tired of this feeling of freedom. He spent a lot of his time daydreaming so people would often consider him silly. However, what did he want to do in the future? Shasha¡¯s suggestion of being a doctor was really not that bad, but an assassin being a doctor¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that be like ¡®Dr. Lamb¡¯[2]? In the dark, he skillfully assembled a pile of parts into a gun. As to the idea of being Dr. Lamb, a trace of smile appeared on his face. When he was an assassin, he felt restless, but now that he had become a civilian again, he felt it was too easy to fit the criteria of being ordinary. Once the gun was properly assembled, he disassembled it and repeated the motions again. Suddenly, a noise carried over by a gust of wind made him perk up. It was¡­ the sound of a gun¡­ He swiftly reassembled the gun in a few seconds, then closed his eyes, listening for the faint sounds of the situation the wind carried over. About a mile away, in the woods, there was a group of people holding weapons ranging from pistols to machine guns. They were currently¡­ being chased¡­ He abruptly opened his eyes, astonished. Although Jianghai City was currently in development and it had some chaotic areas, China¡¯s gun control had always been strict. This group of people had a submachine gun, but they were only desperately escaping. After listening intently for a while, he could not determine who was doing the chasing. The pursuer most likely had a silencer on his gun¡­ Just what kind of expert mercenary had come here? The group was running in his direction and they were drawing closer. It was possible that they would not bump into him, so should he avoid this situation? After giving it a little thought, he screwed a silencer onto his own gun. His training was scheduled accordingly as planned, if he was reborn into this life just to avoid these types of people, then his training would have been pointless. He positioned himself at the top of the pillar and became one with the darkness. The sounds of the submachine gun within the woods faded as it seemed that the people chasing after them decreased. Not long after, Jiaming determined that there was actually only one person chasing after the group. This could be interesting. Both assassins and mercenaries would find using just a handgun to hunt a group of people pretty extreme, so this fellow must have thought very highly of himself. However, in the world of darkness, there were some crazies that were able to do that. Not long after, the group of people that were being chased rushed out of the woods. Surprisingly, they were speaking English. ¡°Go! Go¡­ F*cking¡ª¡ª¡± This group consisted of four people ¨C at the front there were two females, the slightly taller female was blonde and even in the darkness of the night they resembled each other closely. They seemed to be mother and daughter while the two men behind them were likely their bodyguards. Suddenly, one of the bodyguards gave a loud shout, stopped, turned around, and started wildly shooting towards the forest they had just come from. Jiaming wondered if this guy was brain-damaged. He had already run out of the woods, even though it was dark, if he looked carefully at the shadows, he would be able to see that there was nothing but trees there. Did he stop just to shoot trees? Sure enough, just after the submachine gun stopped firing, a bullet flew out and hit him in the forehead. Two seconds later, the other bodyguard died to a headshot as well. Then a man clad in black materialized like a ghost and stepped out from the woods. The two females were just running around aimlessly at this point as the assassin raised his gun. Pop! The bullet whistled past the blonde lady and landed onto the grass she was just about to step on. Startled by the ground exploding right in front of her, she let out a low cry, lost her balance and slumped onto the ground. The little girl running in front of her, instantly ran back and started sobbing, ¡°Mommy! Mommy!¡± ¡°Run! Run!¡± The blonde woman pushed the little girl away as she struggled to stand up. Pop, pop! Two more bullets landed right next to her legs. Terrified, she let out a sharp cry and did not dare get up again. ¡°Hehe, run. Keep running¡­¡± said the gun-toting man in Chinese as an evil smile bloomed on his face. The little girl saw that her mother was unable to run and just stood there crying. Her mother tried to crawl away from her and as she looked to the side, she was suddenly startled. Amongst the darkness, under the broken pillar, a faint silhouette of a person appeared. Since all of her bodyguards had already died, who could this person be? He was just sitting there motionless. Was he dead or was he in cahoots with the assassin? Her heart started beating faster. The assassin noticed this and turned to look, discovering the spectre-like figure sitting by the pillar. Veteran killers had a sixth sense that allowed them to notice any enemies or danger in their surroundings even without looking. However, what surprised him was that this figure in front of him suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He quickly surveyed the area around the woods again but he did not feel anything emanating from the dark silhouette. Since there was no sense of danger, he guessed it was probably a dead person so it had not triggered his sixth sense. Thinking that it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry though, he pointed his gun at the figure. Just as his finger curled around the trigger, a spark flashed out in front of him. Pop! Just like how he had killed those bodyguards, a bullet entered his forehead and passed straight through; the back of his head blossomed with red as his head exploded. Thus, his life ended like a brief dancing spark. ¡°I hate it the most when someone points a gun at me¡­¡± A child¡¯s voice faintly resounded in the darkness of the night. [1] Different hand gestures ¨C https://www.buddhas-online.com/mudras.html for reference. ? [2] A movie where the mc is a taxi driver by day and twisted psycho on rainy nights. https://imdb.com/title/tt0104319/ It¡¯s probably still rentable XD ? Pewpew~ On an off topic, watched The Greatest Showman yesterday, and the MUSIC IS SO GOOD!!! *sobs* Next chapter release will be on Monday :3 Chapter 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Acting Together TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold is spoken in English. The end of school bell rang and Jiaming slouched on his table to take a nap. He did not go to bed early, and he also had early morning training. To a child, this type of schedule was bad for his body¡¯s growth. Even though it had become a habit, during the day, he would nap as much as he could to make up for the loss of sleep. As to the mother-daughter pair that had been chased early that morning, Jiaming did not think with them again. Even though he had handled the assassin, the two of them had babbled at him in English for help. He pretended he did not understand and left under the cover of the night. He believed that the two survivors would not be able to recognize him. However, in the morning, when he met up with Lingjing and Huaisha and they ran to the grassy meadow, around ten or so dead bodies were found inside the woods. This caused a large uproar. The truth was that the first time Jiaming saw the assassin, he had recognized him. He was Number Seven, an assassin from Pei Luo Jia¡¯s Asia division. Originally, in his previous life, when Jiaming officially received the assassin identity at age seventeen, that person had been categorized as a B rank assassin. This was due to his crazed lust for killing to the extreme and he liked to publicly flaunt his kills, however his actual skills would have placed him as an A rank. Getting rid of this crazed assassin was a small thing though, the question was whether Pei Luo Jia would investigate this matter or not. Even though it was not likely that anything would link back to him, he was still feeling worried about it. Also, when he left in the darkness, the little girl¡¯s cries of ¡°Help¡­ Help me¡­¡± sounded sweet to his ears¡­ ¡®I¡¯ve really become a pervert¡­¡¯ he thought to himself. Even though Lingjing, Huaisha and him entered the same school, they were all in separate classes. Starlight Secondary School split each grade into three classes; generally speaking, as an exemplary student, Lingjing was in class 1, Jiaming as an average student was in class 2 and Huaisha as a problem student getting into fights every day, was in class 3. It was because the three of them were split up that Jiaming had the freedom to daydream and nap during school hours. However, in between classes, Lingjing and Huaisha would often come to look for him. Ignoring the chaos and noise in the classroom, he had tried to take a nap. However he was rudely woken when someone suddenly smacked his desk. Startled, he sat up and saw that it was the fatty and the few boys who had surrounded Huaisha at the dead-end from yesterday. The fatty¡¯s nose and mouth were covered with a gauze patch and he looked quite ridiculous. Jiaming could not hold back his smile and yawned while saying, ¡°Are you guys looking for Shasha? She¡¯s in the class next door.¡± ¡°F*ck you, I¡¯m looking for you today!¡± The fatty snapped when he saw that Jiaming dared to laugh at him. The whole classroom suddenly fell silent, and the fatty glanced at them guiltily before pulling Jiaming up by his collar. ¡°You, come with me.¡± With an exhausted expression, Jiaming weakly followed him out. In fact, these people did not actually want to find Liu Huaisha, because she was very aggressive and carried a baseball bat around with her all day. If they were to fight her, they would definitely not be able to do that at school, so they changed their target to the obviously weaker Jiaming. The five of them pushed and shoved Jiaming as soon as they left the classroom, taunting him with, ¡°Yesterday, you were all arrogant and everything.¡± ¡°Not so brave today, are you?¡± ¡°If you have the balls, then try again.¡± Grade Six classes were on the first floor. The group of five and the quiet Jiaming headed outside to find an empty location. As they were passing by, the students pointed and whispered, wondering how the honest and earnest Jiaming could have offended this group of high school delinquents. However, when they passed by one of the classrooms, a girl actually rushed out shouting, ¡°What do you guys think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Class One¡¯s president, Ye Lingjing, rushed out like a female warrior. She was wearing a light blue floral dress, and two braided pigtails framed her elegant and delicate face. She wanted to take Jiaming¡¯s hand and pull him away, but was blocked by two of the high schoolers. ¡°And who are you? Don¡¯t butt in!¡± they shouted, obstructing Lingjing with their hands. ¡°Well, too bad!¡± The normally gentle and refined girl did not back away at all and firmly pushed aside the blockade, ¡°You will let go of him, otherwise I¡¯m reporting this to the teachers!¡± Jiaming¡¯s expression changed to an amused smile as the several high school students burst out laughing in ridicule, ¡°Haha, she said she¡¯d tell the teachers¡­¡± They were still laughing when Lingjing took the advantage and kicked the shin of the high school student in front her. She then strongly pushed another with both hands causing a third boy to fall on the lawn. She regularly practiced martial arts on weekdays even though Jiaming considered it to be mostly fancy footwork. She grew up looking elegant and refined, but she actually had a lot more strength and stamina than regular girls. The boy lying on the grassy field had not expected her to be able to shove him around, while the other student whose leg had been kicked by Lingjing¡¯s small, red-colored leather shoe, had retreated a few steps, clutching his leg and groaning in pain. This was truly a case where nurture rather than nature influenced a person¡¯s character¡­ Jiaming smirked internally. Huaisha was the one who had taught Lingjing that the lower leg was one¡¯s weakest area. Originally when Jiaming and the group had come out to the field, the other middle school students who were resting had noticed them. They were all were all watching the commotion and the fatty was also surprised by Lingjing¡¯s sudden movements. Thus, his response was delayed. He rushed forward to help the others, but at that moment, Jiaming quietly moved his left leg in front of him. The fatty did not notice and tripped over it¡­ Bang¨C¨C the momentum caused him to fall flat on his face. When he lifted his head, his face was full of grass stains, eyes tearing up and the nose that Jiaming had ¡°accidentally¡± punched yesterday, started bleeding profusely again, rapidly coloring the gauze red. Fights between children did not require a lot of skill. When the remaining two high schoolers saw what happened, they rushed wildly at Jiaming. They were both around a head taller than Jiaming and Lingjing, so of course they did not feel threatened by them. One of the boy¡¯s momentum caused him to overshoot as Jiaming purposely dodged in a way that caused him to crash into the other boy.The two of them flailed and then turned back, ready to rush at him again. Just then, another girl, Liu Huaisha, ran out of the classroom towards them. Wearing a blue and white Starlight Secondary School uniform, the boyish-looking Liu Huaisha, with a baseball bat in her hands, almost flew at them in her hurry to get there. Her appearance stunned the two high schoolers and Jiaming was also slightly dazed, ¡®This little lady¡­ Does she want to kill someone?¡¯ ¡°Liu Huaisha! Gu Jiaming! Ye Lingjing! What are you three doing?!¡± Also right at that moment, a thunderous shout was heard, it was the middle school¡¯s director of discipline. He had been notified of the situation and immediately ran downstairs from his office towards them. Having heard that the teacher was approaching, the few high schoolers tried to escape. Liu Huaisha had no intention of letting them go at all and she lunged forward with a roar. Jiaming hurriedly tried to stop her as he reached out to grab her. ¡°Jiaming, get out of the way¡­ Ah¡­¡± ¡°Shasha don¡¯t be like that¡­ Ugh¡­¡± Bang! The two children crashed into each other and went flying with Huaisha falling on top of Jiaming. The three high schoolers ran out of the crowd as the teacher got closer and closer. The bleeding fatty and the one that had been kicked in the shin supported each other as they tried to escape as well. As Jiaming and Huaisha scrambled to get up, they were both holding their hands over their lips. Just now, when she fell on top of him, the two of them had nearly mashed their lips together. Ignoring the newly arrived teacher, her face was slightly flushed as she waved her baseball bat at Jiaming. ¡°Why did you block me?!¡± Jiaming only shrugged as he removed his hand, blood was slowly seeping out from his lip. He rolled his eyes. ¡°You split my lip¡­¡± ¡°You deserve it!¡± Huaisha cried out, ¡°I¡¯m bleeding too!¡± ¡°Are you guys ok?¡± Seeing that her two good friends¡¯ lips were both bleeding, Lingjing also ignored the discipline teacher and quickly kneeled down to inspect their wounds. Just then, the discipline teacher roared at them and his voice could be heard across the campus. ¡°You, you¡­ I am extremely angry at you three! Liu Huaisha! You dare to bring a baseball bat to school to fight! Ye Lingjing and Gu Jiaming, you two actually went along with this! You three¡­¡­ You three are standing at the school field for the rest of the day! I want the whole school to know it¡¯s the three of you! Tomorrow, I expect three self-reviews and apologies on this matter¡ª¡ª They will be posted on the school board,¡± as his voice was amplified and echoed across the field. Therefore, when the bell rang signifying the beginning of the next class, the three of them were left standing on the field in front of the classroom building. Any student could just look out of the classroom windows and they would see their heroic figures. ¡°Sh*t, that baldy actually opposed me; in a few years, I¡¯m getting people to destroy his whole family¡­¡± Liu Huaisha viciously expressed her dissatisfaction about the discipline teacher. That fellow had actually dared to confiscate her beloved baseball bat¡­ She did have more at home, so she planned on bringing a sturdier bat in tomorrow! ¡°Are your lips ok?¡± Lingjing worriedly asked the two of them, as Huaisha rolled her eyes at Jiaming. ¡°Lingjing, you should watch your boyfriend, he basically stole my first kiss in front of a crowd.¡± Huaisha said this easily, but she could not help but blush at it. Lingjing quietly choked as she blushed too. Huaisha regularly dealt with the criminal underworld, so when she spoke, she was generally very direct. Lingjing had been referred to as ¡°Jiaming¡¯s wife¡± many times and she had gotten so embarrassed, she had cried about it before. However, because the three of them had been together for so long, she had gradually gotten used to it. At that moment, they were still 13-14 year-olds, and they were being watched by quite a lot of people. Lingjing quickly changed the topic as she smiled sheepishly, ¡°With this, my ¡®teacher¡¯s pet¡¯ reputation has been destroyed by you guys.¡± Ever since they entered secondary school, even though the three of them hung out together, this was the first time they had gotten into a public fight like they did during elementary school. After a few moments, a bored Jiaming yawned again. ¡°Hm, there¡¯s no point in standing here like this. I suggest that¡­ We should skip class.¡± The two girls perked up and their eyes glittered when he said that. That indirect kiss between Shasha and Jiaming though~ 2 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Feb 1, Thursday). GT is doing a quick survey about why readers pick or drop certain novels on here. This would help us pick up more series that readers would enjoy for the future. If you have some time, please do fill it out :3 This survey is complete-able for each novel, so even if you¡¯ve filled it in for another novel, you can still fill it in for Hidden Assassin! Link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2ZL329D If you would like to see more releases, please do vote here and show your support. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 ¨C Lily (First part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in English. Just like that, the three of us walked down the path of no return¡­ ¡ª¡ªLingjing¡¯s Diary ****************************************************************** Proverb: ¡®A wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as stealing, stealing is not as good as not needing to steal.¡¯ The basic concept of the situation was the same; it was more exciting to skip class than to have an official holiday. The sense of excitement was especially doubled by the fact that the three of them were being rebellious. Thus, when they climbed over the school wall and landed on the pavement outside, the three of them ¨C including the normally quiet Jiaming ¨C silently cheered in excitement. It was only nine in the morning when the three of them left school and decided to go to the mall for shopping. Out of the three children, Huaisha¡¯s home was where they usually hung out because Huaisha¡¯s father was rarely at home; he had been expanding the Sha Zhu Gang¡¯s territory for the past few months. Jiaming did not have any status in the Huang family and Lingjing had to maintain the good girl standard, so naturally, Huaisha¡¯s home was the best choice. The two girls ran ahead laughing happily as they browsed through the stores one-by-one. By afternoon, the three of them were all carrying shopping bags (paid for by Huaisha). She bought two sets of clothes and a pair of shoes for herself and a floral dress for Lingjing. She also bought a large amount of video tapes, game cards, comics and even suddenly decided on a few beautiful down-feather pillows. Then, they bought a pile of vegetables, fruit, pork, beef and some bags of rice. It could be seen that these two girls changed their current situation into playing house. Huaisha¡¯s home was a villa located in the east side of Jianghai City, on a hillside overlooking the sea, in what was considered as Jianghai City¡¯s rich area. The neighbors were mostly wealthy and respectable people, and it was quite far from the territory belonging to the Sha Zhu Gang. Thus, Huaisha¡¯s father spent little time living there, but because it was also far from school, Huaisha lived with her father at the Sha Zhu Gang¡¯s headquarters. The three of them took the bus across the bridge over the river. Just when they were preparing to transfer buses, they passed the bridge pier, and Jiaming suddenly recognized two familiar silhouettes. It was the mother-daughter pair from earlier that morning. He thought that the two of them would return to where they came from after he got rid of the assassin, so he did not expect them to be huddled in a corner under the bridge with other homeless people, while wearing only thin sleepwear. The blonde-haired mother was cradling the precious, delicate featured, mixed-blood little girl. They looked like death while they were quietly sitting on the side. Jianghai City was a coastal city, so it was not strange to see foreigners. However, it was eye-catching to see the two of them wearing sleepwear and sitting on the floor. Lingjing and Huaisha also could not help but glance at them a few times, likely wondering who they were and where they came from. Jiaming passed by, trying hard to ignore them, but the little girl suddenly seemed to recognize him. She struggled out of her mother¡¯s embrace, clasped two hands in front of her chest and hesitated briefly before heading towards them. This teary-eyed, black haired little girl was wearing pale yellow velvet pajamas and walking around without shoes ¨C her feet were pinkish with cold. The barefooted little girl stumbled around in her pajamas and looked adorable yet pitiful at the same time. Jiaming could feel a headache coming on. The blonde haired mother did not recognize him, but the little girl had instinctively discovered him. While it was likely that she was not completely sure, she still wobbled towards him, plaintively calling out to him in English, ¡°Mister¡­ mister¡­¡± At that point, Jiaming knew ¨C the situation had escalated. As the three of them were in middle school, Lingjing and Huaisha also understood simple English phrases. They were a bit disgruntled that the little girl only called ¡®mister¡¯ instead of ¡®miss¡¯, but they still felt concerned for the ten year old girl. After a quick discussion, they placed two sets of clothing, a pair of shoes and some loaves of bread that they had bought earlier into the little girl¡¯s hand. Lingjing slowly said in English, ¡°For¡­ you¡­ (it¡¯s for you)¡±. ¡°Sir¡­ help¡­¡± The little girl clutched the items given to her and tears dripped down her face while she continued to pitifully call out to Jiaming. The two girls were puzzled when they saw that she was only looking at Jiaming. Finally, Huaisha took out any remaining money she had and gave it to the little girl before their bus arrived and they had to board it. Even though they had bought quite a few things earlier, there was still quite a bit left over and would be enough for the mother-daughter pair to eat a few meals. Despite feeling sorry for them, the two girls never thought of bringing the little girl and her mother back to their place. After all, even though they had good intentions, there was also a limit to what one could do. As for the little girl, since Jiaming looked puzzled from the beginning to the end, she believed she had recognized the wrong person and only watched tearfully as the three of them left. After this incident, they were feeling a bit down because the two girls felt sorry for them. However, they fulfilled their duty by doing the best they could, and shortly after, they started getting excited again as they finally arrived at the Banshan bus stop. The three of them disembarked from the bus. To the left of them, there was a mountain covered with beautiful green trees; various gorgeous, western-style villas with red walls could be seen, as well as a clean and tidy road following the curves of the mountain. To their right, there was a crescent-shaped coastline following the mountain as it extended outwards; a refreshing sea breeze could be felt. This was the first time Jiaming and Lingjing visited Huaisha¡¯s home at this location. Huaisha¡¯s identity was verified, and the three children entered through the heavily guarded main gate. The house was a luxurious two-storey villa on the hillside with a beautiful swimming pool in the backyard. Huaisha flung the front door open and excitedly declared, ¡°This is our territory now!¡± Having arrived, Lingjing called her parents to let them know that she would not be returning home tonight. The previously quiet villa became lively again as the three of them made themselves at home. They prepped the food, washed the rice and started cooking. In the afternoon, Lingjing and Huaisha made themselves comfortable on the sofa in the living room, watching tapes and playing games. Jiaming wandered into the study and played on the computer. Even though Huaisha¡¯s father did not know how to use it, the computer in the study had relatively good specs. In the twenty-first century, an outstanding assassin should have some basic skills in hacking. Currently, he had to be backwards compatible by being able to adapt to the DOS operating system, so he tried it on a few small websites to regain the feel of it. When it was close to evening time, the two girls came in several times to watch him, but were unable to understand what he was doing. After dinner, Jiaming pulled up Monopoly that was installed on the computer, and the three of them started playing. This was the first time the two girls had played computer games, and they were quickly enthralled. Sadly, they were not very talented in games; Lingjing only knew how to buy property by the book and did not want to use the community cards she had, while Huaisha would happily use all the chance cards and make a mess of everything. Eventually Jiaming made the both of them go bankrupt and the two girls retaliated by whacking him with pillows, feathers flying everywhere. In the next few rounds, the two girls ganged up on Jiaming, but were unable to defeat him. They could only fight for the pillows and chase each other with them. Their excited shouts could be heard once in awhile. Even though they had fun with the game, Jiaming and Lingjing were early sleepers. At around ten, the computer was turned off and the three of them prepared to go to bed. It was on this night, a certain situation happened which affected the future of the three people¡¯s relationship. The start of the situation was due to a small cause. That night, Jiaming was to sleep in Huaisha¡¯s room while the two girls decided to sleep in Huaisha¡¯s father¡¯s room, which had a larger bed. Wearing thin pajamas, the two freshly showered girls lay on the bed and were gossiping, when Lingjing suddenly discovered a small square box under the bedsheets. Inside the box were sealed foil packages with circular things inside it. Curious, Lingjing innocently asked Huaisha to explain what these packages were. ¡°Ah? Oh those. Uh, they¡¯re condoms. They¡¯re very common you know.¡± It was rare that Lingjing asked her questions, so the blushing Huaisha was eager to explain even though she did not really know what it was used for. Readers please understand, it is the year 1995 and China is still very pure; so pure that sterilized vacuum packaged condoms were still a new concept. Shasha did not really know what they were used for, other than what they were called, and confused herself and Lingjing when she tried to explain it further. However, because of the rare chance of getting to explain something to Lingjing, Shasha rummaged around in a drawer and took out some secret tapes. She hoped to use those to explain to Lingjing what condoms could be used for. ¡°Hehe, Papa thinks I don¡¯t know about these, but I knew where to find them. Lingjing, these are some interesting tapes¡­ hahahaha¡­¡± There was a television and tape player in the room they were currently in, so they did not have to go to the living room. Making sure that the room door was closed, they turned off the lights and, after a moment, a naked, moaning, large-breasted, foreign young woman appeared on the television screen. It was a cold spring night, the two girls huddled together under the blankets, staring unblinkingly at the TV screen, neither of them daring to make any noise. Shortly after, the two of them started breathing faster and their bodies started to feel warm¡­ Not really a cliffhanger, because the next chapter will be released tomorrow (Feb 2). On a side note, survey time! If you haven¡¯t done the survey yet, or don¡¯t know what it is, Gravity Tales is doing a quick survey about why readers pick or drop certain novels on here. This would help us pick up more series that readers would enjoy for the future. If you have some time, please do fill it out :3 This survey is complete-able for each novel, so even if you¡¯ve filled it in for another novel, you can still fill it in for Hidden Assassin! Link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2ZL329D If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it :3 Chapter 16 Chapter 16 ¨C Lily (Middle part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi The next morning, Lingjing opened her eyes and looked around, her face instantly flushing. She had woken up to a messy room ¨C blankets, pillows, condoms, last night¡¯s tapes and their pajamas were everywhere. The two girls were both topless; she was the only one still wearing her plain white panties, and they were intertwined like two octopi. Huaisha¡¯s hand was on Lingjing¡¯s relatively flat chest while one of Lingjing¡¯s hands was sandwiched in between Shasha¡¯s naked thighs. Oh no! To wake up like this¡­ What on earth happened last night¡­ It was difficult to untangle herself from Shasha in this position. From what she remembered last night, after watching those few tapes, the two girls started tumbling around on the bed together. Shasha had touched herself down there and Lingjing did not want to be left out, so she imitated what she saw from the tapes. But she only felt shy and unsure about it, so the two girls giggled about it for a while and eventually, while muddle-headed, they had fallen asleep¡­ Feeling embarrassed, Lingjing chewed on her lower lip nervously. She wanted to extract herself from this position without waking Shasha up, but with a muffled ¡®Huh¡¯, Shasha jerked awake and looked directly into her eyes. They both froze. ¡°Ah¡­ Lingjing, you¡­¡±¡°I¡­ I¡­ ¡° The two of them rolled apart extremely quickly, blushing furiously, both as red as a tomato. After an awkward pause, Shasha was the first to recover some of her wits, and she cautiously shuffled over to Lingjing. ¡°We¡­ Nothing happened last night¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Nothing happened¡­¡± Lingjing echoed her and nodded in agreement. ¡°We¡­ We¡¯re both girls¡­ So¡­ ¡° ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ We¡­ Nothing happened¡­¡± They both completed each other¡¯s sentences and then picked up their pajamas to wear when Lingjing suddenly tearfully said, ¡°Oh no¡­ Shasha, we¡­ Are we still virgins?¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Shaha swallowed nervously, ¡°We¡­ We should be¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ Last night we watched that type of show and¡­ And we did those things¡­ ¡± ¡°B-But¡­¡± At that time, physical education and sex ed was not taught at school, so folk customs and myths were the norm. The two confused girls could only sit there, flushed and miserable, when Lingjing suddenly remembered, ¡°Oh, oh right, I remember reading one of my mum¡¯s books. It said that virgins should¡­ They should still have a hymen¡­ And that it can be seen¡­¡± ¡°Oh, yes yes, I have heard that too. Then¡­ Lingjing, do you know how to find it¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I only took a quick glance at the book, so I¡¯m not sure¡­ But¡­ But we can try to look for it, perhaps we¡¯ll recognize it¡­ I¡¯ll help you look first, then you help me¡­¡± ¡°O-okay¡­¡± Shasha furiously blushed as she considered it, and finally nodded in agreement. She sat near the head of the bed; conscious about being naked, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, before spreading her legs in front of Lingjing. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know how to look, but¡­¡± Lingjing also blushed and then reached out with a trembling hand. ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t say that¡­ Ah! Don¡¯t, don¡¯t randomly touch¡­ Don¡¯t put your fingers in there¡­ Ah¡­¡± The normally tough Shasha was suddenly sounding all shy and seductive. However, the only person able to witness this was upset about the situation and was also very close to bursting out crying. ¡°I¡­I didn¡¯t reach in there¡­ I¡¯m being very careful¡­ I don¡¯t want to go too far in, what if I accidentally break it¡­Uh, I can¡¯t see this clearly¡­ I need a flashlight¡­¡± After examining for a bit, she poked her head out from between Shasha¡¯s thighs. Originally, Shasha thought that Lingjing would be quick about it, but it ended up being dragged out instead like a special kind of torture. She reached over to rummage in the side drawer next to the bed for a flashlight. Tears were slowly filling her eyes, but then she suddenly thought of something, ¡°Oh I¡­ I heard that it would hurt and bleed for a girl¡¯s first time. It didn¡¯t hurt last night, so hurry up and check if there¡¯s any blood¡­¡± With that reminder, the two girls examined themselves for blood and discovered that they had been worried about nothing. At this time, Lingjing was only wearing panties while Shasha was completely naked and the two of them were jumping around in relief. After a pause, Shasha grinned mischievously, ¡°Since you took a look¡­ Now¡­ Now, it¡¯s my turn to take a look¡­¡± ¡°Haha, no need¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s needed; don¡¯t even think about running¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡ª Help me¡ª¡± The two of them started chasing each other in the room, neglecting the fact that they were barely wearing anything. Even though Lingjing practiced martial arts, she did not have as much stamina as Shasha and Lingjing was quickly tackled onto the bed. At that moment, she was feeling very relieved, so she was laughing and struggling at the same time, and Shasha easily stripped Lingjing of her panties. ¡°Haha, stooop, help me¡ª¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to help? Jiaming? If I want to look, I will look¡­¡± ¡°Nooooo¡­¡± Lingjing was lying on the bed naked, with one leg lifted over Shasha¡¯s shoulder. Lingjing¡¯s hands were on Shasha¡¯s head, pushing her back, when a ¡®click¡¯ was heard and the door suddenly opened. ¡°What are you guys doing, I made breakfast¡­¡± Jiaming walked in, drinking a cup of milk. He blinked blankly at them, before a choked ¡°pu¡± was heard and he spat the milk out in surprise. He was truly surprised at the scene unfolding before him. It was definitely the most shocking thing he had seen since his rebirth. Drip¡­ Drip¡­ Sweat drops slid down his forehead. Jiaming got an eyeful when he walked into this scene where a naked Lingjing and Shasha were in this type of position. Even though the two girls had not yet finished going through puberty, their chests had some delicate mounds. They also froze when Jiaming walked in, and both were looking at him embarrassedly. Naturally, Jiaming was the first to recover. Placing the cup near his mouth, he quickly backed out of the room and closed the door as he started laughing. ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª!!¡± ¡°Go away¡ª¡ª!!¡± The two girls indignantly cried out at him and threw whatever they could get their hands on towards the closed door. While retreating, his uncontrollable laughter could be clearly heard outside of the room. As they ran out of things to throw, the two girls gradually quieted down. Still pink from blushing, they quietly put on their clothes. Shasha put on some boy-suit pants accompanied with a blouse and a denim vest, while Lingjing wore yesterday¡¯s pale blue floral dress. Suddenly, Lingjing sat down on the edge of the bed and started crying. All this girl skinship¡­. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Lily (End part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Ling-lingjing¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡± Even though Shasha was bothered at having her naked body seen, what could she do about it? When she saw Lingjing cry, she pushed her worry aside and sat on the bed to comfort her first. ¡°Sniff¡­ Jiaming¡­ He¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Jiaming is the worst. He didn¡¯t even knock before entering. When I see him again¡­¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s not that. Sniff¡­ Jiaming saw us like that. He¡­ He¡¯s going to hate me¡­¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s not possible. He wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°He won¡¯t say it out loud, but¡­ He will definitely think it¡­ sniff¡­¡± As the little lady sat there sniffing and sobbing, Shasha could only pat her awkwardly, unsure of how to comfort her. She could only mentally swear to beat the crap out of Jiaming when she saw him, because it was not just Lingjing whom he saw naked ¨C he had seen both of them. After another ten minutes or so, having nearly going through a box of tissues, Lingjing finally stopped crying. She hoarsely asked, ¡°He¡­ He¡¯s really not going to hate me, is he?¡± ¡°Oh please, he wouldn¡¯t. In fact¡­ He¡¯d be jealous.¡± Shasha spouted whatever nonsense came to her mind. After an awkward pause, she quietly asked her, ¡°Lingjing, do you¡­ Do you like him?¡± Back in those days, asking if one ¡°liked¡± someone basically meant if they ¡°loved¡± someone. Lingjing blushed furiously again. ¡°I¡­ We grew up together and we¡­ We¡¯re good friends¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking about that.¡± Shasha tried to lighten the situation by poking her gently. ¡°You know what I mean¡­ Do you want to marry him when you grow up?¡± Lingjing hung her head shyly and stuttered out very slowly, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ When I got caught by the two people during our camping trip, he¡­ He offered himself to go instead of me and called me his¡­ his¡­¡± Her courage failed and she faltered as she could not say the word ¡°girlfriend¡±. Shasha understood her thought process however, and while her heart seemed to clench in reaction to that, she only grabbed Lingjing¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand. If he dares to laugh at you, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ Hmph, he wouldn¡¯t dare. Come, let¡¯s go eat breakfast¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°We should eat breakfast! There¡¯s two of us and one of him, you don¡¯t need to be afraid!¡± She temporarily forgot that the two of them were usually not afraid of him. She smoothed down her clothing and pulled Lingjing along ¨C Lingjing¡¯s eyes still red rimmed from crying. Hot congee, youtiao (Chinese fried dough) and soymilk were already waiting for them on the dining table. When Jiaming saw the two of them, he picked up his bowl of congee and shovelled it into his mouth, his shoulders silently twitching. Originally, Shasha was unconsciously feeling shy, but when she saw him like this, she took a small pillow and whacked him with it. ¡°Why are you laughing, who told you to laugh¡­¡± ¡°Pfft¡­ Hahahaha¡­ Don¡¯t hit me, I surrender¡­ Hahahaha¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re still laughing!¡± Shasha stood next to him, her hands propped on her waist, glaring at him, while Lingjing stood on the other side, arms crossed on her chest. Her red rimmed eyes were tearing up again. Jiaming gently wiped a few of her tears with his rough thumb, and then spread his arms wide and slung one over each of the girl¡¯s shoulders. The chairs at Shasha¡¯s dining table were really large, so when Jiaming did this, the two girls plopped down beside him. The three of them had played together since they were young, but it was very uncommon for Jiaming to act so intimate towards them. The two girls pressed against his side and he was basically hugging them with one arm each. They blushed at that, but did not struggle against it. That was, until they heard Jiaming quietly say, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I understand. We¡¯ve known each other for so long already, this is just a small thing¡­ Even though I was shocked, no matter what, the three of us are still good friends right? Even from now to the rest of our lives, we¡¯d be good friends¡­ That¡¯s why, now that I know, you two don¡¯t need to spare my feelings. Come, you should just kiss in front of me¡­ Hahahaha¡­ Ow, that hurts¡­¡± The truth was that Jiaming had overestimated the two girls¡¯ EQ. They did not understand the first part of what he was saying, but they did feel relieved from his words. When Jiaming pushed the two girls together to kiss however, they both turned and punched him at the same time. A blushing Shasha wriggled out of Jiaming¡¯s grasp and was just about to say something, when Jiaming jumped up and whacked her face with a cushion. Shocked at the action of the normally nonviolent Jiaming, she stared at him before grinning viciously and leaping at him. Jiaming hurriedly turned tail and ran from her. ¡°Gu Jiaming, stop running¡­¡± ¡°Come, Liu Huaisha! Lingjing was originally my girlfriend, but since you snatched her, I have to teach you a lesson!¡± ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s right! You suck! Lingjing¡¯s mine now, you can stop running¡­¡± Caught up in the moment, Shasha lightly kissed Lingjing¡¯s snow white cheek and then continued chasing after Jiaming. Bang! Bang! Bang! The sounds of running and things being knocked over filled the room¡­ Amidst the chaos in the villa, Lingjing only stood there blushing furiously. Jiaming said I was originally his girlfriend and then Huaisha joined in and done that. What exactly is it that Jiaming understood? And that thing about being good friends forever¡­ forever huh¡­ Is the situation resolved now? Won¡¯t it be¡­ Somewhat strange¡­ She thought for quite a bit, but was not able to come up with a satisfactory answer. She only touched the place where Huaisha had kissed with a complicated expression. Then, picking up another cushion, she ran after the two of them. ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Forget it, I¡¯ll just leave it as is¡­ ¡°Hey! Two against one, that¡¯s not fair¡­ You pair of loose girls¡­¡± Jiaming shouted as as he ran away from them. ¡°Haha, Lingjing help me corner him, hurry, hurry¡­ Wait, why are you hitting me too?! Jiaming you jerk, you¡¯re attacking now as well¡­¡± When Lingjing attacked her, Jiaming turned around and snuck in a few hits of his own. ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª Help, I¡¯ll stop, I¡¯ll stop! Help¡­¡± The two of them had turned against Lingjing as she was pushed back onto the sofa and continued hitting her with cushions from both fronts¡­ This noisy, bustling atmosphere, full of the simple joy of children, happened early in the morning at the Liu family¡¯s villa. The word ¡®lily¡¯ had a few meanings, so I kept it as is; one meaning is the actual flower, another is figuratively used to describe a pure and spotless person and lastly, it refers to a virgin. 1 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is tomorrow, Feb 5). If you haven¡¯t done the survey yet, or don¡¯t know what it is, Gravity Tales is doing a quick survey about why readers pick or drop certain novels on here. This would help us pick up more series that readers would enjoy for the future. If you have some time, please do fill it out :3 This survey is complete-able for each novel, so even if you¡¯ve filled it in for another novel, you can still fill it in for Hidden Assassin! Chapter 18 Chapter 18 ¨C Living Together TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi In any case, the two girls¡¯ relationship was set in Jiaming¡¯s thoughts. If he pondered over it a bit further, he would have found the situation a bit strange, but he did not think too deeply about it. He had, in fact, fantasized about spending his future with either one of the girls¡­ But the fact that he thought of them in such a way made it kind of terrifying. However, having determined that the two girls were still virgins, the relationship between the three of them had evolved further. Jiaming was able to unrestrainedly crack adult jokes which caused Lingjing and Huaisha to be shy and angry at the same time. Though the three people¡¯s relationship ended up seeming like an interaction between gay siblings, the two girls naturally did not realize this until around two years later when they mentally matured. However, because this relationship status was established that day, it was already too late to revisit the situation in the future. That morning, the three of them were in high spirits. Shasha withdrew a wad of cash from the bank near her villa and was prepared to gift it to the foreigner mother and daughter they had seen yesterday under the bridge. She was hoping that they could use it to travel home, however when they got off the bus, they discovered that the pair was no longer there. She felt slightly regretful, but did not keep it in mind. When they arrived at school, they were sternly reprimanded; they had to write up a self-review and a meeting with parents was also requested. Of the three people, it was usual for Shasha to get in trouble, so she treated it as something normal. Jiaming put on the appropriate regretful expression, but deep down he did not care ¨C the self-review could be copied, and since his parents were nowhere to be found, the request would be considered unseen. Unfortunately, Lingjing, the stellar student representative, was the only one affected by this. Luckily, Jiaming and Shasha acted together and helped with hiding the situation from Lingjing¡¯s parents. After going through this situation, they thought that Lingjing would be severely depressed and were even thinking of consoling her. However, she only stuck her tongue out at them and said, ¡°This is exciting! We should do it again some time¡­¡± After all, even though she was a paragon of virtue and learning, Lingjing had never been one to strictly follow by the rules. Her rebellious streak had always been hidden under the pure and adorable facade she kept up. About a month after the skipping-school incident, summer arrived. Jiaming maintained the usual percentages in his midterm results. On the weekends, the three of them would gather at the Liu family villa. Jiaming would use the computer to surf the internet and play various DOS games ¨CMonopoly, Small Warrior Battles, Emperor¨C with the two girls. Whenever they played Emperor, Shasha would spend a lot of time on the inner court and then, together with Lingjing, would judge the concubines on their beauty. However, her reign caused unrest amongst the people and she would usually end up being assassinated. Whenever they had their discussions about the concubines, Jiaming would always interrupt with jokes, making Lingjing blush prettily. However, she would occasionally fight for one of the concubines due to her preferences, cheeks flushed excitedly from arguing against them. The three of them would also split up the duties ¨C Lingjing bought the groceries for meal times, Jiaming prepared the food, and then Shasha cleaned up. That was how they passed their weekends, living together in this strange way. Jiaming stayed in Shasha¡¯s tomboyish room, while Shasha and Lingjing slept together in the same bed as they did the first night. After a few weekends, on top of Jiaming¡¯s unconcerned attitude, the two girls would be rather loud and chatty at night. They only blushed guiltily when they saw Jiaming the next morning. The three of them gradually adapted to this style of living after a few weekends. In the morning, Jiaming would usually buy breakfast and wait for the two girls to come down to eat. One time, he was using the bathroom and a barely conscious Shasha came in and started brushing her teeth. That caused Jiaming to be in an extremely awkward situation. Shasha rinsed her mouth next to Jiaming and had just finished washing her face, when a piercing scream could be heard from the bathroom. At around mid-morning, they went to the farmer¡¯s market as well as the supermarket, and the three of them wandered through the city streets, carrying various sizes of shopping bags. In high spirits, they also split the task of cooking lunch when they arrived home. Leaving the television on, the sound of the afternoon news could be heard in the background while Lingjing and Jiaming were busily running back and forth. They were both wearing a small apron with a robot cat pattern on it, while Shasha was on the side, sorting and washing the ingredients. After lunch, they would normally play games or use the computer to browse the internet. Jiaming often taught the computer illiterate girls some basic computer knowledge, but due to the contempt in his tone, the two would usually end up chasing and beating him. After they ate dinner, the three of them would take a walk up to the mountain top or stroll by the sea side to enjoy the view of the setting sun while dreaming about the future. In the evening, the pajama-wearing girls and Jiaming would nestle on the sofa and watch TV with drinks and snacks. Sometimes, the three of them were rowdy and cushions flew everywhere. That was generally a rather warm and fuzzy occasion in this family of three. Not long after the exams, Jiaming happened to come across those five high schoolers at the middle school¡¯s sports field. After the previous incident, news of the fatty being the leader of the group of five and being part of the criminal underworld had spread across the whole school. Jiaming and the girls had been punished, but the five of them had been severely criticized as well and they had to lay low for around a month. However, when they saw the person that had been the cause of all their troubles, fury overcame them, and with a quick gesture from the fatty, the group quickly surrounded Jiaming.It was currently the last class of the day, and for Jiaming it was gym class, which basically meant he was done with school. He needed to wait for Lingjing and Shasha, so he had planned to stroll around the sports field. However, it seemed that there were some prominent guests visiting the other school building, so it was arranged for many students ¨Cincluding the five high school students¨C to clean up the sports field. When Jiaming saw them surround him, his mouth twitched a little before making a helpless expression. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t even think of running¡­¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t run. Please sirs, it¡¯s already been awhile since that situation happened. What is the point of you all remembering me? Besides, since there¡¯s many of you ganging up on me, it would reflect badly on you instead,¡± he helplessly said while staring at the fatty. Seeing an ugly-looking scar on the bridge of the fatty¡¯s nose, he could hardly refrain from sneering. ¡°The f*ck, I didn¡¯t forget you! I swore I would remember your face!¡± The fatty unconsciously touched the bridge of his nose, ferociously glaring at Jiaming. ¡°Hmph, there¡¯s no teacher here; you think I won¡¯t dare to beat you up? I am letting you know right now; once you enter the high school division, I will make sure you will never have a peaceful day for the rest of your life¡­¡± The fatty signaled with his hand, and they were all about to jump him when Jiaming suddenly pointed to one side: ¡°Fatty bro, look, what is that?¡± A few of them turned, and at that moment, a group of teachers arrived at the entrance of the sports field. The group consisted of some high school teachers, some middle school teachers, a few more senior teachers and staff, as well as some smartly dressed young men and women, who were likely the important guests. ¡°Hmph, you have good luck!¡± The fatty grudgingly lowered his hand, but it was too late as the teachers had spotted that the five taller students had surrounded a shorter person. Looking displeased, they shouted, ¡°You few over there, what are you up to?!¡± ¡°N-nothing¡­¡± the fatty quickly responded, glaring one last time at Jiaming. A female voice interjected and interrupted whatever else he wanted to say, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Jiaming looked over at the group of teachers and a slight frown appeared on his face ¨C he had wanted to leave, but was stopped instead. The fatty shifted his gaze towards the teachers that were coming over, and suddenly, his eyes sparkled in delight. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s Teacher Zhang!¡± he told the few boys standing nearby, ¡°Do you see the prettiest female teacher? She¡¯s from that aristocratic school that newly opened and I was there a few days ago with my father to pay our respects. Look, she still remembers me and is coming over to greet me, hahaha¡­¡± As the group of teachers walked over, Zhang Yahan¡¯s stunning beauty was like the moon amongst the stars ¨C it seemed that the guests visiting today were staff members from the aristocratic school. Jiaming knew that she was only around twenty, but from the look she gave herself ¨Cwavy hair, a pair of flat spectacles, a tight blouse and pencil skirt¨C she seemed like a strong and independent woman. However, her look reminded him of the teacher stereotype from a Japanese AV, because she was wearing the exact same outfit. He smirked to himself internally. Even though he was ridiculing her in his mind, the others obviously did not think the same way. After all, Zhang Yahan¡¯s beautiful face and graceful figure matched the stereotype of the ideal traditional Chinese woman. The few male teachers by her side would occasionally sneak glances at her, and that fatty even tried to flirtatiously smile at her as he straightened up, ¡°Teacher Zhang, were you calling for me?¡± ¡°Um? Ah¡­ You are¡­¡± Zhang Yahan originally was heading towards Jiaming, but having been interrupted, she could only look at the fatty confusedly. He seemed familiar but she could not remember who he was, so the fatty could only respond, ¡°Teacher Zhang, my father and I visited you a few days ago. My father is Ma Guangzu, and I am Ma An. We were inquiring about studying at the aristocratic school.¡± At that statement, the faces of a few of the teachers darkened; this fatty wanted to transfer schools and even decided to flaunt it right now. Was he not acting like a Buddhist monk scolding a bald donkey[1]? Zhang Yahan remembered this visit and hmm-ed and haah-ed a few times, but when she saw Jiaming preparing to leave again, she rushed over. ¡°Jiaming! I was looking for you. You¡¯re going to really test my patience if you run away from me again.¡± Her eyes glittered slyly. Even though the tone used to familiarly call his name was not very kind and sounded like she had a quarrel with him, Jiaming could only turn his head back with an innocent and adorable smile on his face, saying, ¡°Sister!¡± He spread his arms and then ran towards Yahan. The two of them hugged intimately¡­ He hugged her waist and then buried his head in her bosom, rubbing his face between the two mounds. Yahan felt awkward and flushed brilliantly at his actions. ¡°Sister, I really wanted to see youuuuu¡­¡± The situation looked just like a heartwarming greeting between siblings. [1] ¡°ºÍÉÐÁR¶dóH¡± ¨C idiom meaning that the main issue they are complaining about seems to be the only issue on the surface, while they are actually indirectly criticizing a secondary issue. ? 2 / 5 chapters of the week (next release is Wed, Feb 7). As to Yahan¡¯s outfit and what stereotype Jiaming is referencing to, I shall leave that to your imagination ;D Chapter 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Perfect Life TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws, IlkonEbi ¡°How are the two little ladies? I heard that the three of you skipped school together and got written up?¡± Bathed in the warm rays of the distant sun, from afar, the two of them seemed like a mature sister and an affectionate little brother sitting next to each other on the swings. They were currently near the sports field, and the distant noises of the school could be heard in the background. ¡°Sis, you get updates really fast¡­ For you to get news about this insignificant matter at your prestigious school¡­ You¡¯re not actually a teacher, but rather a part of the FBI, right?¡± Jiaming sighed. ¡°Hah!¡± Yahan promptly explained, ¡°When I passed by the announcement board earlier, your names were on it. Oh, by the way, has that Huang Haoyun been bothering you at home lately?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m generally not at home, so he isn¡¯t able to find me¡­¡± ¡°If he bothers you, let me know.¡± Truth was, after that situation at the summer camp, Jiaming had wanted to get rid of the troublesome connection to Zhang Yahan. But Yahan trained at the Ye family¡¯s martial arts hall, and they would occasionally meet; once in a while, she would also suddenly visit the Huang family¡¯s villa, causing a ruckus within the family every time. When Yahan visited the Huang¡¯s villa, Huang Haoyun was always be by her side chattering away. She did not have any interest towards the Huang¡¯s young master to start with, as they did not have much in common, so after his pathetic response during the hostage situation, she ended up being disgusted by him. Yahan¡¯s original intention in visiting the Huang family was to befriend Jiaming, but it ended up causing trouble for him instead. Even though Huang Haoyun was already over twenty, his EQ was lower than that of a 12-year-old. He thought the only way to make Yahan pay attention to him was to pick fights with Jiaming every day. Fortunately, Jiaming did not have the mentality of a child and only regarded this matter as a temporary inconvenience. Otherwise, with Huang Haoyun causing trouble all the time for no reason, he would have long since killed him. Still, Jiaming chose to only appear helpless and laugh grimly in his mind. After being bullied by Huang Haoyun for a few days, it was inevitable for him to feel smothered. Since he was already hiding from Zhang Yahan during this time period, he had to spend even more effort on hiding and avoiding. However, not long after, Yahan discovered Huang Haoyun¡¯s bullying. Around 1994, during one of the Chinese New Year meet-and-greet events, Zhang Yahan confronted Huang Haoyun and broke off their friendship. After that, she no longer visited the Huang family, and Haoyun¡¯s bullying of Jiaming eventually stopped. As to Yahan¡¯s opinion about Jiaming, it seemed that she considered him to be a child genius that had matured early. Having gone through a life-or-death situation with Jiaming, it was natural that she considered him to be a friend. As for Jiaming, after being reborn, he had only been able to interact closely with the two young girls and had almost no chances to befriend older people. After thinking it through, he decided not to avoid Yahan anymore. Whenever they had a chance meeting at the martial arts hall or at other locations, they would exchange witty barbs ¨C it could be considered that they had become good friends. This was actually the first time the two of them had met in a school setting. When Jiaming heard Yahan mention Huang Haoyun, he smiled nervously. ¡°Are you trying to stir things up again? He already doesn¡¯t like me. If you say something, he¡¯ll just hate me more¡­ Of course, if you¡¯re willing to sacrifice yourself and sleep with him, then everything would be solved¡­¡± Yahan blushed furiously. ¡°Child, what are you saying¡­¡± ¡°I wanna drink milk~¡± After being called a child, Jiaming jumped up and clung to her chest. Shrugging him off, Yahan disappeared for a bit. When she returned, her face was all red. She placed a bottle of milk next to him and smiled sharply at him. ¡°You do this every time I call you ¡®child¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± He drank two mouthfuls of milk, then reached over and took Yahan¡¯s glasses while scrutinizing her face. He did not say anything and stared until her cheeks went rosy red and her gaze turned vicious. He only smirked and said, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re much prettier like this. I think I¡¯ll keep these glasses.¡± ¡°Stop giving me trouble.¡± Yahan reached out for her glasses a few times, but Jiaming dodged her and she temporarily gave up. Jiaming perched the glasses on his own face, but because his features were too ordinary, he ended up looking like a naive and unsophisticated bookworm. Yahan took one look and burst out laughing, saying, ¡°You¡¯re such a joker¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re actually wearing these glasses to stop yourself from flirting, right?¡± Jiaming asked with great interest. ¡°Hey, let me know honestly. In that group of male teachers, you¡¯re interested in at least one of them right? Is it the Mr. Handsome from just now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, you troublemaker.¡± Yahan smirked when she thought back to when they had first bumped into each other. When the unscrupulous Jiaming ran over and hugged her, a colleague of hers had amicably asked, ¡°Yahan, is that your little brother? How come you never mentioned him before?¡± ¡°Nope, Yahan is my bride-to-be,¡± Jiaming interjected while clinging to her intimately. Even though she had flushed and instantly pushed Jiaming away, the male colleague had jumped to conclusions and wore a stunned expression. When Yahan remembered the look, she could no longer hold back her laughter and turned towards where Jiaming was currently looking at. The group of teachers had gathered on the sports field and some of them were sneakily looking at them. When they accidentally met Yahan¡¯s eyes, they quickly turned and pretended they were busy doing something else. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t look down on him. That male teacher is Xu Mo, an honors graduate of Peking University. His family deals in foreign trade, even though it¡¯s not on the same scale as the Huang and Zhang families. As his older brother took over the family business, he decided to pursue another career instead.¡± ¡°I bet he said he did not want to rely on his family¡¯s influence and wanted to see how far he could go or something along those lines right?¡± Slightly startled, Yahan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°How did you know?¡± Jiaming took another sip of milk. ¡°Silly girl, haven¡¯t you read novels? The playboy always says that to the girl he¡¯s wooing¡­ Hmph, that guy is actually my love rival.¡± ¡°Go die!¡± Laughing, Yahan lightly hit his arm. She had a lot of confidence because she was aware of her own beauty and family status. She also knew that, because of those two things, men that were interested in her generally had ulterior motives. This was why she usually maintained a low-key attitude when it came to work and people; she would be courteous but distant, and that made it difficult for her to make close friends. However, Jiaming was different because he was still a child. Even though he was somewhat mature, somewhat sarcastic, somewhat cunning and somewhat perverted, he could be considered a good friend. Not to mention, he volunteered to be a hostage during that camping incident ¨C it was hard to find someone that was selfless enough to offer themselves in exchange. He was also able to step up during the important moments. If he had not loosened his ropes and taken the gun, she believed that they would not have survived that hostage situation. She felt it would be difficult to find another interesting friend like him, so even if she had to deal with his flirtatious attitude, she would take it without complaint. Curious, Yahan suddenly asked, ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, when I first arrived, it seemed like that fatty and a group of people were surrounding you. Did they want to fight? His dad came with him to the school a few days ago and I believe they wanted to transfer. If you would like, I can instantly ¡ª¡± She made a neck slicing movement and smirked, ¡°Cut him off.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just a small matter.¡± Jiaming side-eyed Yahan when her eyes twinkled mischievously and hurriedly interrupted, ¡°Stop interfering, I would rather wish he died somewhere far away from me. It¡¯d be better if he left this school instead of coming to bother me again.¡± ¡°Oh, leave it to me then!¡± Yahan grinned as she thumped her chest. Under Jiaming¡¯s reproachful look, she quickly made a ¡®pfft¡¯ sound and said, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look.¡± ¡°Tsk! Fine¡­¡± Jiaming took a look at his watch. ¡°Class is ending soon and I have to go to the bathroom. Go do whatever you were doing because I¡¯ll be leaving with Lingjing and Shasha after.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? I¡¯m driving today and was planning to drop by the martial arts hall. Speaking of which¡­¡± Yahan came up to Jiaming, ¡°Give me my glasses back.¡± ¡°Dream on, haven¡¯t you heard of finder¡¯s keepers?¡± ¡°Hurry up and give them back.¡± ¡°Take them back if you dare.¡± ¡°You think I won¡¯t? Come, give them back or I¡¯ll fight you.¡± ¡°I dare you to take them!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t give them back, I¡¯m really going to hit you!¡± ¡°Come hit me if you have the guts then!¡± ¡°You really want me to? I¡¯m¡­ Ah¡ª¡± As the two of them fought over the glasses, Yahan lost her balance and accidentally pushed Jiaming off the swing. The two of them fell and she collapsed on top of him, pressing him down. ¡°Ugh¡­Gasp¡­ Help me¡­ I¡¯m going to die¡­¡± As the two of them had different heights, Yahan¡¯s bosom was pressed firmly onto Jiaming¡¯s face. Smothered by two lumps of tender flesh, Jiaming had difficulty breathing; Yahan gave a cry of alarm and quickly leaped off Jiaming, her face turning crimson again. However, she also took this chance to retrieve her glasses from him. ¡°Haha¡­ Sis, if you wanted to kill me¡­ you didn¡¯t have to use this method¡­ hahaha¡­¡± Jiaming chuckled while lying on a floor ¨C an impression of a button of Yahan¡¯s shirt still visible on his forehead. Yahan smacked him violently. ¡°Go die!¡± After making sure that her glasses, hair, and clothing were neat and straightened out, she stepped away and then looked at him. ¡°Hey, I want to catch up with Lingjing and Shasha as well. Once you meet up with them, wait at the school entrance. You recognize my car, right? ¡°Ok, ok, I know already. Are you my bride-to-be or my mother?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because no one raised you when you were young¡­¡± Yahan made a face at him, and with her cheeks still flushed, she walked back to the group of teachers. Once she was far away, Jiaming slowly smiled as he picked himself up and took in several deep breaths. Getting the chance to grow up with other children and then getting to experience the older sister once in a while¡­ Life really is perfect right now¡­ Thank you, Mr. Firebird¡­ ***************************************************** After he came out of the bathroom, the fatty with his four followers suddenly appeared again. The classes were ending so the school was currently at its quietest time. He grudgingly looked at them. ¡°What do you guys want?¡± ¡°What do we want? Now that there are no teachers or anyone around, we are going to beat you until your mother doesn¡¯t recognize you!¡± ¡°Whether you beat me or not, my mother won¡¯t recognize me and I won¡¯t recognize her. But¡­¡± Jiaming smirked, ¡°There really is no one around right now.¡± The fatty caught sight of Jiaming clenching his right hand into a fist and stretching his wrist, so he took the initiative and rushed forwards. ¡°You dare to fight back?!¡± The fatty was a head taller than Jiaming and at least double to triple his weight. Taking advantage of his quick-start, he reached out with both hands to push Jiaming, but¡­ he was not there. In a flash, Jiaming had taken a step back and swung his right fist in a perfect arc. Bang¡ª¡ª From that one fist, the fatty went flying almost two meters away. He crash-landed in front of the other four, a few teeth falling out and blood splattering everywhere, no longer able to move. The other four stared at him in shock, mouths agape as Jiaming casually strolled over. ¡°You know, I only used 3% of my strength. I am paying you back for what you did to Shasha. Don¡¯t ever, let me see you guys again.¡± 3 / 5 chapters of the week (next release is Fri, Feb 9). Welp oppai~~ Jiaming OP. If you haven¡¯t done the survey yet, link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2ZL329D Chapter 20 Chapter 20 ¨C Heidi TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws TL Note: Bold text is spoken in English. Turning the street corner, he saw that little girl again. Every day, after Jiaming finished his homework at Lingjing¡¯s home, they would watch some tv before leaving around ten at night, to return to the Huang villa. For the past few days, Jiaming had seen this black-haired biracial little girl in tattered clothing watching him hesitantly from behind a streetlight. The first time he saw the little girl was during the evening three days ago. Jianghai City was a large town and even though this street was close to the suburbs, when it was evening, it still could not be considered empty. There were several shops that were still open and there was also a street food cart nearby that stayed open until late. This was because construction crews worked around this area and they would come out in groups of two and three for a late-night snack. It was also at this food cart that Jiaming and the mixed-race girl had met each other by chance. She did not have the doll-like appearance from a month ago; her current outfit was dirty and shabby ¨C Jiaming realized her clothing were the ones Shasha had gifted them. There were traces of dirt across her face and she was still not wearing any shoes. She had cupped both hands in a begging pose in front of her, carefully wandering back and forth in front of the food cart. She would peek at the food cart occasionally and when she saw Jiaming, her nose twitched. A look of suspicion appeared and she put some distance between them before turning back to observe him carefully. Her pale sparkling eyes had not changed from when he first saw her. Jiaming did not know how the little girl had come to this circumstance. The first time he had seen the mother-daughter pair, he assumed that they were relatively well off because of their expensive clothing and the number of bodyguards they had. Because they were foreigners, they could have requested for aid at their embassy. Shasha had also given them some money which should have been enough for an overseas call. So how did they end up in this situation? Another question was¡­ Where was her mother? Jianghai City had been rapidly expanding for the past few years and on this particular street, there were several construction sites. There was one building site that was in the middle of being rebuilt, but it was currently stuck in limbo. Now, it was a haunt for homeless people and beggars; seeing the state of the girl¡¯s clothing, Jiaming deduced that it was probable that she and her mother were currently living there. He was not thinking about them out of the kindness of his heart. When he was an assassin in his previous life, he knew early on what kind of world this was. There were many people that needed help and sadly, he was just one person. However, when he met the little girl¡¯s eyes, Jiaming could not help but feel a trace of compassion. She looked to be only around nine or ten years old ¨C the same age he had been when he was taken in by the assassin group. Over the next two days, whenever they saw each other, the little girl always timidly watched Jiaming from afar. Then, Jiaming stayed at the Liu family villa for the weekend. On Monday night the week after, Jiaming had played until late with Lingjing, so it was nearly midnight when he left to return to the Huang villa. The street was quite deserted and the street food cart was also preparing to close. The little girl was standing in front of the street food cart, both hands cupped together and attempting to talk to the boss with some difficulty. Even if one was a genius, it was not possible to learn a new language in a month, especially since Chinese was considered one of the more difficult languages. The little girl could only stutter several sounds and the boss of the food cart was getting impatient with her. He loudly said, ¡°Get lost, girl. You¡¯re bumming around every day and I¡¯m not running a charity here. Get lost, shoo¡­¡± The two struggled with communicating before the little girl finally understood that she was not getting through to him. She turned and squatted in the ditch on one side and start sobbing, her hands hugging her knees to herself tightly. She glanced up at the street once in a while, but Jiaming was hiding in the shadows so she could not have seen him. Even though it was already summer, the heat had not arrived yet, so it was still quite chilly during the night. The little girl occasionally rubbed her feet to keep herself warm as she sniffled. Jiaming watched her for a while before he finally sighed and grudgingly walked up to her. Someone suddenly appearing out of nowhere caused her to raise her head in response. A look of recognition flashed across her face, but she did not run towards him in the end. In her heart, she believed that the boy was the person that had saved her and her mother that night, but Jiaming had always denied it. Jiaming went up to the food cart and said, ¡°Boss, are you still selling fried noodles?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, yes. Take a seat, it¡¯ll be ready in a second. You came at a good time, I was about to pack up for the night.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Jiaming nodded. ¡°I would like three portions, one to go, thank you.¡± He then waved at the little girl to come over. She hesitated, before her eyes brightened and she ran towards him, saying in English, ¡°Mister¡­¡± ¡°Sit down,¡± he responded in English and pointed at the seat next to him. He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders; then he gently wiped the stains from her face without saying anything else. After a moment, the first plate of fried noodles arrived and Jiaming pushed it towards the little girl. Seeing her inhale the food, Jiaming gently stroked her back and chatted with the food cart owner, ¡°Boss, does this little girl come by every day?¡± ¡°Eh, she¡¯s been coming for the past few days. She looks foreign and it seems she¡¯s waiting for someone every day. Yesterday night she didn¡¯t wait though and just came to bother me directly without leaving. She was crying the whole time. Ugh, it¡¯s a pity but I¡¯m only running a small business, y¡¯know? I can only do so much. Kid, do you know her?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m her distant relative. She actually just came from America, but she had wandered off and gotten lost a few days ago. We¡¯re very relieved now that she¡¯s been found.¡± ¡°Oh America huh, it¡¯s a good place¡­¡± As the boss continued talking about how great America was, Jiaming absentmindedly nodded along as he poured a cup of water for the little girl. She had choked as she was wolfing down the food and he quietly said to her, ¡°Slow down, the food is not going anywhere.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ thank you¡­ mister¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t choke again¡­ What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡­ Heidi, my name is Heidi Tang.¡± ¡°Heidi Tang¡­¡± Jiaming repeated and nodded to himself; so she really was a biracial child. After a little while, the other orders of fried noodles arrived and Jiaming split it up accordingly into takeout boxes. Heidi continued devouring her noodles like her life depended on it until she was satisfied. Afterwards, under Heidi¡¯s lead, Jiaming followed her to the abandoned building which was what he had deduced. In the last two years, a lot of homeless and beggars did stay there. But over the past year, Jiaming did not know that several floors had collapsed, so fewer people dared to stay there now. As the two of them arrived at the third floor and entered a dark corridor, there was a slight glimmer of light at the end of it. The little girl was just about to speak, when Jiaming suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. The faint sounds of a struggle and the weak cries of a woman could be heard¡­ 4 / 5 chapters of the week (next release is tomorrow, Feb 10). Y¡¯all get an extra chapter this week because it¡¯s a ¡°cliffhanger¡± ending XD If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 21 Chapter 21 ¨C Mafia TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws TL Note: Bold text is in English. ¡°Mommy, Mommy¡­¡± Having heard the sounds of a struggle, the little girl rushed out into the darkness after slipping out of Jiaming¡¯s grip. The little girl¡¯s footsteps echoed along the corridor as she stumbled over something in her haste. She ignored it and continued running towards the only source of light in the dark area and disappeared into it. ¡°Let go of my Mommy, what are you doing¡­ Let go! Ah¡­ Let go, let go¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s cries came out from the room as Jiaming silently stalked after the girl in the darkness. He took a quick inventory of what he was around him: door frames, broken windows, walls, stone slabs, wooden planks¡­ He peeked into the room and then barged in with a wooden plank in his hands. Apart from the blonde mother and the little girl, there was a relatively tall and muscular man wearing construction worker gear. The little girl¡¯s clothing was torn as she was being held down onto the ground by the man ¨C his pants were half pulled down. She was struggling to get out of his hold with no success. Since it was only one man, it was much easier for him to act¡­ Inside this room was a flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It swung back and forth, blinking at random intervals. The man had been trying to keep it quiet, so he was also alert as the little girl was trying to escape from his grasp. However, a small silhouette suddenly leaping at him out of nowhere took him by surprise. The small figure had taken a flying jump off a small box on the side with a wooden plank aimed right at him. Peng¡ª¡ª Hastily, the man could only raise one arm in defense as the wooden plank hit his wrist and broke into two. The front part of the plank whacking him in the back of his head as it flew by, stars bursting in front of his eyes. Immediately right after, there was a violent crack in his leg, because as Jiaming was landing, he had used the other piece of the plank to shatter the man¡¯s kneecap. The man was about to shout out in pain, but ended up eating a mouthful of a rough material filled with cement ash when Jiaming smashed it into his face. Then, commandeering the dagger from the man, he slashed quickly in between his legs. It had only been a blink of an eye from when Jiaming had first leapt through the air to landing on the ground. The originally dominating-looking man had already fallen to the ground and passed out from pain with a mouthful of plaster ash; he had been unable to make a sound during this whole process. Seeing that blood was gushing in between the man¡¯s legs, Jiaming sneered coldly, before ripping the man¡¯s shirt and did some basic first aid to stop him from dying of blood loss. ¡°¡­If you can no longer get it up, remember that you should¡¯ve called for a hooker instead.¡± After making sure that the man would not die, Jiaming turned his attention towards Heidi and saw that she was sobbing by the blonde¡¯s side, crying out, ¡°Mommy, mommy¡­¡±. He saw that the mother¡¯s clothing was even more torn than Heidi¡¯s. He assumed that the two of them were originally rather well-off young ladies, so no one knew how much suffering they had gone through in this past month. The mother¡¯s face was a pale sickly white, her body was shivering while drenched in sweat, the skin around her lips and corners of her eyes were dry and cracked. The thin undergarments she was wearing had been torn and thrown aside by the a**hole who Jiaming had made into an eunuch earlier. Jiaming reached over and touched her forehead before sighing, ¡°This fever is very serious, do you know how long you¡¯ve had it? We have to go to the hospital now, are you able to get up?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± The fever combined with the shock from just now had sapped a lot of her strength and her situation had become even worse. She curled over and it was difficult for her to complete a sentence, ¡°¡­No¡­ I-I don¡¯t want¡­ to go to the hospital¡­ Heidi, Heidi, she¡­¡± Jiaming frowned, as he had been an assassin, he understood that everyone had their own circumstances so he did not push. He only said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will take care of Heidi. Since we¡¯re not going to a hospital, I have somewhere close by where there¡¯s medicine. We should go there first. Heidi, can you help support your mother so I can carry her on my back?¡± Jiaming was only fourteen and not very tall; when he was carrying the blond-haired lady, it was kind of awkward due to the height difference. However, it did not matter at this point in time, because Jiaming had already been training his body for the past four years and his legs were very strong. Soon, the three of them quickly left the dangerous building site. If he had some explosives, he would have blown this place to smithereens to get rid of all traces of evidence¡­ Jiaming smirked internally to himself at that thought. He could feel two soft lumps pressed against his back, even though she was currently sickly and her breathing was labored, there was no doubt that she had been a bombshell and tempted a lot of men with her devilish figure. Passing through several streets, Jiaming could not help letting his imagination roam. Having this soft feeling on his back, he thought back to Zhang Yahan as well. Even though her chest was smaller, she had the well proportioned Chinese-style body type that he rather liked¡­ However, this semi-naked woman hanging onto his back tightly was also causing quite a strain on his self-restraint. This was similar to that situation when he had walked in on Lingjing and Shasha, but they were still underaged girls and it was a test of his self-control. He mentally slapped himself and chided himself that he was supposed to be the good guy here¡­ It could be said that not all assassins were serious and cold. Jiaming liked to think of silly things to lower the tension before a job and it had become a habit. Not long after, the three of them arrived at a small residential area. On the second floor of an older building, Jiaming stopped in front of a door, took out a key, unlocked it and then entered. This place belonged to Jiaming¡¯s short-lived parents. After the two of them died, the apartment had become the Huang family¡¯s property. However, the family did not want to be associated with it so when Jiaming was twelve, he had the key liberated from them. It was a simple outdated place ¨C it had three rooms and a living room. He placed the blonde on the bed in one of the rooms and then went to the kitchen. He turned on the gas stove and boiled some water, then took out a medicine box. After looking through it, he took out some medication, painkillers and a syringe. ¡°I have the basics to treat a physical wound here, but you have a cold and the fever has gone on for so long. Let¡¯s hope that it did not become pneumonia; otherwise, we really will have to go to the hospital.¡± He lifted her head to feed her some medicine, before letting her lay back down on the bed. He then pushed aside the dirty skirt she had been wearing and then prepared to give her two injections. Even though his imagination was going wild with the semi-naked lady in front of him, his hands were steady and he administered the injections adeptly like a surgeon ¨C keeping clear-minded was a skill that a qualified assassin possessed. After the shots, he pulled the blanket over her and her trembling slowed to a stop. Even though she looked tired, she managed to ask, ¡°You¡­ Who are you? That day¡­ was it you that saved us?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m an outstanding student of the People¡¯s Republic of China ¨C demonstrating the perfect example of Lei Fung¡¯s[1] ideals. Even though I am not able to act out all three ideals all the time, I will still help an old lady across the street at least once a week. I also have two wives, but they¡¯re lesbian. In the future, I plan to become a doctor; so you should relax and let me examine you.¡± Jiaming said all this in English fluently with a British accent and then smiled harmlessly at her, ¡°Speaking of which, Heidi¡¯s mommy, what is your name?¡± She examined him weakly for a while before she smiled softly, ¡°My¡­ My name is Marilyn Sali¨¨re.¡± ¡°Sali¨¨re¡­¡± Jiaming frowned, ¡°As in New York¡¯s Sali¨¨re Family¡­ that Sali¨¨re?¡± ¡°That Sali¨¨re¡­¡± Marilyn nodded weakly then as she looked like she was about to fall asleep, quietly whispered, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect a child like you to know it¡­¡± ¡°Well, Sali¨¨re is Sali¨¨re.¡± Jiaming only nodded, ¡°You should rest first, if you haven¡¯t died by tomorrow, then we can talk more. However Marilyn Monroe is a good name, are you sure your last name is Sali¨¨re? That name isn¡¯t fun at all¡­¡± Nagging at Heidi to give him a hand, he filled a small plastic tub with hot water and then gave her a clean towel. He told her to take off the dirty clothing her mother was wearing and to wipe her down with the towel, before he retreated to the sofa in the living room to organize his thoughts. Sali¨¨re Family huh¡­ Ugh, first it was the assassins, now it¡¯s the mafia¡­ The Sali¨¨re Family was one of the major mafia families in New York. After twenty minutes or so, the little girl limped out with the towel and a basin full of dirty water. It seemed that she had hurt her knee back in the abandoned building and it finally acted up after all this time. Jiaming made her sit down on the sofa as he went to the kitchen to get a new basin of hot water. He cleaned the towel as well and then had her wipe off the dirt and stains before applying the medicine. However, it seemed that the injury was worse than expected. When the little girl carefully wiped at it, her eyes brimmed with tears and she pushed the towel at Jiaming instead before pitifully saying, ¡°Mister.¡± ¡°Um, you want me to help you clean it?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°¡­You should do it yourself. My pain tolerance is higher than normal people. If I clean it, you¡¯ll definitely cry. If you clean it yourself, you¡¯ll know where it hurts and where it doesn¡¯t. Be good and take care of it yourself, ok?¡± ¡°I¡­ I won¡¯t cry.¡± The little girl stubbornly said, so Jiaming did not protest again. He only pulled up the little girl¡¯s dirty leg onto his lap and slowly wiped at the dirt with the towel. Even though he was being careful, it seemed that it was still quite painful for her. He looked up at her occasionally ¨Cshe had pressed her lips together and puffed up her cheeks with a look of abject suffering¨C and he held back a smile at her stubbornness. After getting her leg clean, the little girl¡¯s skin returned to its delicate white smoothness and Jiaming mischievously tickled her toes. As she burst out into giggles, he swiftly dabbed on the medicine and wrapped it up with gauze and bandages. He led her to the bathroom and then placed a small stool in front of Heidi. ¡°Sit here when you¡¯re cleaning yourself. Be careful not to get the bandages wet, ok? I¡¯m going to find a new set of clothing for you.¡± Jiaming tapped lightly on Heidi¡¯s dirty nose and then closed the bathroom door behind him as he went to look for clothing. Faint sounds of Marilyn¡¯s coughing could be heard when he was looking through the closets, but the only thing he could find was a larger shirt that could pass as a gown for the little girl. He took it with him and then knocked on the bathroom door. ¡°Heidi¡­¡± After a moment, he tensed at her lack of a response. ¡°Heidi! I¡¯m coming in!¡± He picked the lock of the bathroom door with a wire and rushed in before he stopped in his tracks. The naked little girl was sitting on the small stool by the bathtub and she had fallen asleep halfway through cleaning herself, the towel still clutched in her hands. He sighed in relief, then gently patted the little girl¡¯s cheeks, but the only reaction he got was a sleepy ¡®hmm¡¯. With no other choice, he took the towel out of her hands and quickly and efficiently cleaned and dried the little girl before pulling the large shirt over her. When he carried her to the other bedroom, the little girl curled up in his embrace like a little lamb and continued sleeping soundly. It seems that I picked up a daughter¡­ Jiaming thought to himself. [1] Lei Feng was a legendary communist soldier in China and a propaganda poster boy for selflessness, modesty, and devotion to Mao ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng for reference. ? Today is a bonus release! 5 / 5 chapters of the week (next release is Monday, Feb 12). Assassins and now, the mafia! Whatever will Jiaming do? Chapter 22 Chapter 22 ¨C Reason TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws TL Note: Bold is spoken in English. That night, Jiaming slept on the sofa and woke up around 4 am in the morning. After he made sure he was presentable, he went downstairs and left the building. There was a small food market close to this residential area. Even though it was only four in the morning, some farmers had already set up displays of vegetables or meats, and on the side, one of the western bakeries had already turned on their lights. As Jiaming walked in through the door, he made casual conversation that some cousins were visiting him from overseas, and they had not gotten used to the jet lag yet, so they were clamoring for food in the middle of the night. He bought some bread, ham, condensed milk, butter and similar items before returning back to the apartment. As he entered the apartment and closed the door behind him, there were some faint sounds coming from the master bedroom. Jiaming knew the blonde, Marilyn, had woken up. He placed the two bags of food down and had just poured a cup of hot water, when the master bedroom door opened; he handed it to her as she stepped out. ¡°Thank-thank you¡­ cough¡­ cough, cough¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re coughing fiercely and your fever doesn¡¯t seem to have gone down. You should sleep a bit more.¡± ¡°I¡­ cough¡­ I can¡¯t sleep. Heidi, she¡­¡± Marilyn caught sight of the slumbering girl in the other room just as she asked, so after watching her for a bit, she shuffled over and took a seat. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°This is something a member of the Young Pioneers[1] would do.¡± Jiaming smiled briefly before scrutinizing the blonde in front of him. The apartment did not have a lot of his father¡¯s clothing, so currently she was wearing one of his mother¡¯s blouses and pants. However because his mother had been rather petite, when Marilyn wore this shirt, she could not button it up completely, and her bosom looked ready to burst out of it, while the pants she wore became the popular, low-waist type. She looked quite seductive. He was thought this as he asked, ¡°So¡­ Why didn¡¯t you want to go to the hospital?¡± ¡°They would find us¡­ At the hospital¡­¡± ¡°They?¡± Jiaming wrinkled his brow, ¡°I thought whether it is the Sali¨¨re Family or Gambino Family or whomever, their power shouldn¡¯t be able to reach here?¡± Jiaming used to belong to Pei Luo Jia; even though their headquarters were in Japan, they were a worldwide assassination organization. Their roots were quite deep, and thus they were able to acquire the rare Newtypes and other ability users. In his previous life, even though Jiaming was an assassin with the Asia section, he would still have some sort of contact with the mafia or triad. There had been around twenty or so well-known mafia families from New York at that time and the Sali¨¨re Family, as well as the Gambino Family, were a part of that. If he recalled correctly, the Sali¨¨re Family and the Gambino Family were rivals and fought each other quite fiercely. Even though they were losing territory to the Gambino Family, until the time that Jiaming had met the phoenix, they had not yet been completely defeated. Another way of looking at it was that even if the survivors of the Sali¨¨re Family had fled overseas, the Gambino Family should not have been able to extend their reaches to China to clean up the stragglers. This was because at that time, the Hong Kong triad ¡®Big 6¡ä had been very strict with controlling their territory. Even if some of the mafia arrived and caused some trouble, they would not be able to gain a foothold in the hospitals, communications or embassy sectors. ¡°Yes but¡­¡± Marilyn hesitated for a bit before she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°It¡¯s Heidi¡¯s father, he¡¯s¡­ his name is Tang Jingyao¡­¡± That did give Jiaming a shock because Tang Jingyao was Jianghai City¡¯s deputy secretary. Around a year ago, he had become a well-known figure in Jianghai City¡¯s political ring because he had studied overseas and was considered quite able and willing to get things done. Earlier in the year, he had visited the Huang family to pay his respects to the Provincial Party¡¯s secretary, Huang Bingxiang, and Jiaming remembered him bringing his wife along¡­ Jiaming finally understood the whole sequence of events as Marilyn explained. Around ten years ago, Tang Jingyao was sponsored by the government to study in America. At that time, he met a young Miss Marilyn and the two of them had fallen in love at first sight. Heidi was the result of that relationship. The way Americans viewed romances was different from Chinese people. Tang Jingyao had wanted to return to China to start a career after his overseas study. However, as Marilyn¡¯s father was the boss of the Sali¨¨re Family, he naturally did not like Tang Jingyao and he also did not wish for his daughter to go to some ¡°barbarous and uncivilized¡± country like China to suffer with him. Thus, for various reasons, Tang Jingyao abandoned his wife and daughter and returned back to China. It was only early this year when he seemed to have remembered that he had left them behind in America, that he had sent people to bring them to China. It had been open warfare between the Sali¨¨re Family and the Gambino Family during that time period and Marilyn¡¯s father had grudgingly let them leave for their safety. However, when they arrived in China, Marilyn realized that something was not right. Even though her marksmanship and fighting skills were not good, she still had the background of being the daughter of a mafia don. Tang Jingyao had arranged for the two to stay at a villa in a remote location; even though he visited them often, he always wanted to know details about the Sali¨¨re Family. What he did not realize was that when he left America ten years ago, Marilyn had withdrawn from being involved with her family due to her love for him and was not a valuable resource for information. Marilyn had arranged her own investigation on him and discovered that Tang Jingyao had become an influential figure at Jianghai City. He also had connections with the Gambino Family and had married another woman. However, before she could confront him about this, Tang Jingyao had hired an assassin from Pei Luo Jia to remove this useless chess piece and thus, it resulted in what had happened that night. Having heard all this, Jiaming had a rough understanding of everything. Because there was no movement from the police, it showed that Tang Jingyao did not trust them. Even though he could have trumped up charges and requested for the police to help, he was probably worried that someone within the police would be able to dig up dirt on him and undercut his power and influence within the government. Thus the forces he was currently only able to rely on would be from the mafia, but the only problem was¡­ ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call home? Tang Jingyao is powerful, but he would not be able to narrow down and listen in on one overseas call. If you had called right at the beginning, you would probably have returned back to America already¡­ Speaking of which, recently the Department of Immigration and Border Protection had suddenly rigorously enforced their searches, it must be due to his command¡­¡± Even though he was only a student, he still kept up with all the news and rumors he could on the workings of Jianghai City ¨C unfortunately, it had become habitual due to his previous occupation as an assassin. ¡°I¡­ cough¡­ cough, cough¡­¡± Marilyn looked like she wanted to say something but she kept hesitating about it. Jiaming had a sudden flash of insight. Back then, her father had not agreed to their relationship and still did not approve of it. However due to the circumstances, Marilyn was sent to China for refuge, and it seemed that the father and daughter had not reconciled over the relationship argument and Marilyn had likely decided to break things off with her family. Unfortunately, when Marilyn realized Tang Jingyao¡¯s connections, she was unwilling to endanger her family, while her pride also kept her from asking for help at the same time. Her pride had nearly killed her and her daughter. Jiaming scolded her mentally as he rolled his eyes, ¡°Ok, you can stop coughing. I understand, let¡¯s move on. Give me a number so that I can contact your family directly in case anything happens.¡± ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°What, what? If I hadn¡¯t saved you, both of you would be dead or worse, such as getting raped or dying of hunger. And now you¡¯re staying here¡­ Do you think I¡¯m a god? To go against an organization, I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t care about yourself or your daughter, but my life is very precious. I want to live a long and peaceful life no matter what happens, so stop with your nonsense. Here, a pen and paper, write it down already.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Marilyn appeared conflicted as she eyed the pen and paper in front of her, then looked towards the sleeping Heidi. After a bit, she finally made a decision and wrote down a number, ¡°Cough¡­ My father¡¯s name is¡­¡± ¡°Tom Ford Sali¨¨re, usually called Ol¡¯ Tom, I believe.¡± Jiaming took the paper, quickly memorized the number and then set fire to it. As it burned and the ashes fluttered down, the blonde watched him with an incredulous smile as she coughed lightly. ¡°Young child from China, you¡¯re really miraculous¡­ Do Chinese children actually know kung fu like the stories say?¡± Jiaming helplessly facepalmed as he sarcastically said, ¡°They don¡¯t just know kung fu, our streets are filled with horse-drawn carriages and you¡¯re actually living in a thatched cottage right now. You¡¯re also sick and seeing illusions¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, cough, I¡¯m sorry.¡± The blonde could not hold back her laughter and then said, ¡°May I know your name?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you. Your symptoms don¡¯t seem to have improved, but your mood is better which is why you can talk to me so much. If it ends up being worse than just a cold, I¡¯d have to bring you to the hospital. At that time, if you get caught and mention what I did, I don¡¯t want my name to be brought up. Besides, Young Pioneers are not supposed to leave a name after they do a good deed¡­¡± He was joking but the other side did not understand him. ¡°It¡¯s also getting late, I have to go. You and Heidi should stay here without wandering around outside. There¡¯s bread, so please try to eat breakfast. In the afternoon, I¡¯ll bring some more groceries back and check on your condition and whether you¡¯d need another injection or not. I really gotta go, say good morning to Heidi for me.¡± He waved at her, then as he was opening the door to leave, Marilyn spoke up, ¡°Where are you¡­ going?¡± Jiaming sighed, ¡°Us Young Pioneers have to go to school, does America not have Young Pioneers?¡± He knew they did not but he asked anyway, and when Marilyn shook her head, Jiaming made a hurtful expression. ¡°You guys don¡¯t even have the Young Pioneers, what a barbaric and uncivilized country¡­¡± ****************************************************** As Jiaming left the apartment, the sky had already started to brighten. He ran all the way back to the Huang family villa and when he approached the back door, he saw Lingjing¡¯s figure about to slip in. He hurried to catch up to her and then covered Lingjing¡¯s eyes from behind, whispering roughly, ¡°Guess who, if you guess wrong, I¡¯ll tie you up with my beard.¡± ¡°Jiaming, you jerk. Stop imitating my dad¡¯s voice, I¡¯mma hit you.¡± The little beauty broke away from Jiaming¡¯s hands, flushing attractively as she scolded him, ¡°Why did you show up from behind today?¡± ¡°Hehe, I was up earlier today and went for a quick run. I entered from the back door and hid to scare you.¡± ¡°Be careful that it doesn¡¯t come back and bite you.¡± Lingjing punched him lightly on the chest then said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Shasha should be waiting for us at the grassy slope already.¡± The two children teased each other as they made their way to the secret meeting spot ¨C it seemed more like they were going on a date instead of morning exercise. As the sun slowly rose over the mountain ranges in the east and the glow of sunlight filled the sky, a new day began. [1] Young Pioneers is a youth organization for kids between 6 to 14 set up by the Communist Party. Sort of like Boy Scouts, but the purpose is to be loyal to the Communist Party. ? Only weekday chapters this week, 1 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, Feb 14). He finally took them in :3 Chapter 23 Chapter 23 ¨C First Attack TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold is spoken in English. Jiaming naturally concealed the situation about Heidi and her mother from Lingjing and Shasha. He would bring them food every afternoon and evening, and it felt like he was secretly taking care of two mistresses. Worried that Marilyn¡¯s cold had persisted for too long and could have become pneumonia or worse, Jiaming browsed through various medical texts. He made beimu[1] congee, garlic congee, chuanbei snow pear and pig lung soup[2], and similar dishes for her to eat. Over the next few days, her fever finally receded and Jiaming could relax a bit more. However, while he was giving injections to this beautiful, seductive lady, he had been subjected to an eyeful of curves every time. No matter what she was wearing, it hugged her body closely and made his heart beat faster. However, he naturally pretended that everything was as per usual. Even though he did not stay long when he visited, Heidi still stuck to him like glue when she could, and would ask him to play with her. After a few days, Jiaming realized that this little girl was especially interested in kung fu. Because she saw how incredible he was at his young age, she misunderstood and thought that he was one of those legendary martial arts experts. Her mother also had a similar impression of him, but he could only smile helplessly; he knew that their knowledge of kung fu was likely only from movies. Despite their expectations, it was just not possible for him to fly through the sky or pull out some invincible kung fu moves. Over the next week, Marilyn¡¯s symptoms subsided, and Jiaming could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Thus, he spent the weekend with Lingjing and Shasha at their secret base. On Monday afternoon, when he returned to the apartment, as soon as he opened the door, a small figure suddenly leapt at him and clung to him while crying furiously. Naturally, this was the little girl, Heidi. However, because he did not detect her presence, when he felt someone recklessly charge at him, he released a strong killing intent. The little girl¡¯s actions had taken him off guard and a dagger appeared in his right hand, before he noticed that it was only Heidi who was clinging onto him like an octopus. He was examining the apartment warily, when Marilyn came out from the master bedroom with a towel in her hand. It looked like she had just finished showering, as her half-wet half-dry hair lay loosely draped over one shoulder, and the open collar of her shirt showed off an expanse of milky whiteness. It did not look like she was wearing a bra because he could see her erect nipples pushing against the shirt. While he was processing this, he determined that the situation was safe and returned the dagger to its sheath. He quietly breathed out. On the other hand, Marilyn was quite intimidated by Jiaming¡¯s sudden burst of killing intent. She had just gotten out of the shower and had barely pulled on her clothes, when she heard someone enter the apartment. Knowing that it was probably Jiaming, she casually walked out with a small smile as a greeting. However, when she encountered Jiaming¡¯s reaction, she froze in fright. She had never done anything bad or killed anyone before even though she had grown up in a mafia family. As her father was a mafia don, she had naturally met countless assassins, mercenaries and desperate people. Nonetheless, she had never experienced such an ice-cold killing intent. She originally thought that this youth was quite miraculous and was an expert in kung fu, but she now understood that he must have gone through countless life and death struggles, or he would not be capable of having such an imposing manner. One did not know what to expect from people that had this type of manner. Before she could say anything, the killing intent disappeared, and the young man before her transformed back into a harmless looking fourteen-year-old. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Heidi? Why are you crying so hard, who bullied you?¡± As the little girl clung to him ¨C her legs wrapped around his waist, and both of her arms flung around his neck ¨C as she cried nonstop. Jiaming was having some difficulty breathing, but he gently patted her back and closed the door behind him. Having heard his question, the little girl¡¯s hands formed into fists and thumped him on the back a few times. ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ because of you, you¡ªyou, butthead¡­¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°You deserve it.¡± Marilyn smiled shakily at him, ¡°Who told you to disappear for two days and not say anything at all? Look at Heidi, this is the result.¡± She finished saying what she needed and retreated back into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind her so she could change. Jiaming pinched the little girl¡¯s cheeks and examined her face; her originally delicate features were now red and swollen from crying, and she thumped him again on the back. ¡°You¡¯re a big buttface!¡± ¡°Ok, ok it¡¯s my bad, I¡¯m a buttface. Heidi, you¡¯re a good child, please forgive me ok? You cried so much, you won¡¯t be pretty any more.¡± As he carried the little girl over to the sofa for a seat, she refused to let go and clung tighter to him. If the two of them were a bit older, they would be in the standard missionary position¡­ (please note this is the author¡¯s thought, not the main character¡¯s thought ;D) ¡°You¡¯re a big butthead, a buttface¡­ sniff¡­ I thought mister wasn¡¯t going to come back¡­¡± the little girl said while crying and thwacking him on the back. He gently replied, ¡°Don¡¯t think like that. I still have to teach you how to do qigong[3]. I was wrong, it¡¯s my fault for the past two days. So please forgive me, ok?¡± At the word ¡®qigong¡¯, the little girl instantly brightened up. She choked back her sobs and asked, ¡°R-really?¡± ¡°Yes, really. But qigong is difficult to learn. You can¡¯t complain or give up halfway ok?¡± He took some tissues and carefully wiped the girl¡¯s face until he was satisfied, ¡°There, now you¡¯re all pretty again. We can¡¯t have you looking all teary and snot dripping everywhere.¡± He could not do anything about her eyes since they were still swollen, but he could clean up her face so that she looked delicate and cherubic-like again. ¡°Heidi¡­ Heidi is not afraid of it being difficult¡­¡± She tried to stop crying, but tears kept leaking out. In the end, she kept wiping her face with a sleeve, while smiling happily as she sniffed away. It tugged at Jiaming¡¯s heartstrings to see how adorable she was. Moved by the little girl, he smiled at her sincerely and then placed her on the sofa. Even though kung fu was not miraculous like how it was in dramas and movies, qigong could steady the heart and mind. After practicing it for a while, one was less likely to get sick, and it could help prevent aches in the body as well. He taught her the basics of qigong, and as the little girl sat cross-legged on the sofa with her eyes closed tightly as if afraid to move, Jiaming could not help but suppress his chuckles. At this point, Marilyn finally stepped out of the room fully clothed. Even though Jiaming had ranked her as someone that he could go to bed with, Marilyn obviously only considered him a child. When she saw Heidi and him on the sofa, her face filled with motherly affection. This difference in point of view was a strike to Jiaming¡¯s ego and he could only smile bitterly internally. ¡°You two really seem like actual siblings, if I had a child like you¡­¡± ¡°Let me guess, you want me to take care of Heidi if you die?¡± That sentence startled Heidi out of her meditative state and Jiaming stroked her shoulder to calm her down. Marilyn panicked. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying I don¡¯t care what you want to do. As long as you two stay here until your family comes and picks you up, there shouldn¡¯t be much trouble. If nothing I say can persuade you, then you need to think about Heidi¡¯s circumstances. Also, I¡¯m only a kid as well, don¡¯t expect me to be invincible!¡± As he coldly said those words, he looked directly at her; their eyes clashed and sparks flew. ******************************************************** Jiaming had always known that women were generally unreasonable creatures. From the various interactions that he had with Marilyn, he saw that it was in her character to be independent and not rely on anyone. Jiaming had tried to prevent anything from happening in advance, but to no avail. On Thursday evening, school had just finished; the students were on their way home, and the sunset dyed Jianghai City in beautiful hues of orange and red. Jiaming, Lingjing and Shasha were also heading home when they they saw a little girl standing on the other side of the road, crying terribly. Jiaming had a nagging feeling that something had gone wrong. Heidi did not know where Jiaming went to school, but she had a general idea of which area he was in and which roads he could take. He assumed that she had been waiting at home, but when Marilyn had left the apartment and did not return, she was worried and had taken the risk of looking for Jiaming. When Jiaming noticed Heidi, Shasha saw her as well and tugged at Jiaming and Lingjing. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it the mixed-blood little girl that we saw the other day? The one we gave some clothes to? Why is she alone, did she get separated from her mother?¡± ¡°We should ask her, in case bad people come to take her away,¡± Jiaming suggested, and as the three of them started walking towards her, the little girl finally noticed Jiaming. Heidi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and she was about to wave at him when a yellow van suddenly stopped in front of her and blocked their view. Not good¡­ Lingjing and Shasha did not even have time to react, when Jiaming had already rushed forward like a rocket. He vaulted over a meter high railing that separated the sidewalk and the road, but he had leapt without looking. Just as he was about to dash across the road, frantic honking came from oncoming traffic and he was forced to twist his body back. The car barely missed him as the brakes screeched. The van started to move. This road prohibited cars from stopping, so the driver only opened his window and shouted at Jiaming for nearly getting hit. The two girls were terrified after witnessing the close-shave; they climbed over the railing and thumped Jiaming really hard. ¡°What are you doing, acrobatics?¡± ¡°Was it impressive?¡± ¡°Do you know you nearly got hit by a car¡­¡± Shasha was so angry that her face had turned red, while Lingjing had tears in her eyes after thinking back to the previous scene. Jiaming only looked at the opposite sidewalk, devoid of the little girl¡¯s figure. ¡°That little girl has been taken by the people in that van just now.¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± The two girls stopped scolding him at that. They looked across the road and said in unison, ¡°We need to hurry and call the police.¡± ***************************************************************** Of course, the police could not be notified in this situation. As night settled, Jiaming returned to the apartment and saw that Marilyn had left a note. It basically said that she wanted to find Tang Jingyao, and hoped that Jiaming would take good care of Heidi and not get further involved in this matter. ¡°Big breasted bimbo¡­¡± He murmured with a slightly hoarse voice, similar to a middle-aged uncle. This time, Jiaming wore a suit and tie, a pair of soft-soled shoes, and he disguised his face. He decided on looking like the bearded dwarf men from those freak circus shows, as he had to consider his own height. This was an identity he had prepared in advance for before he became an adult. He became a rather funny-looking, dwarf-like assassin. Because he was an assassin, he considered offence as the best defence. Even before Marilyn got better, he had already gathered the necessary intel and set up a plan of action in case of any emergencies. ¡°My first time in action, I¡¯m such a rookie.¡± One hand over his heart and one hand pressed against the makeup mirror, he could hardly believe that the reality now and his assassin life had actually converged. ¡°Time to go!¡± [1] Beimu is a type of Chinese herbal ingredient. This porridge consists of powdered beimu, short grain rice and rock sugar. It is said to help clear the sinuses and alleviate coughing symptoms. This is suggested to be used for acute or chronic bronchitis and emphysema (shortness of breath). ? [2] Chuanbei is pretty much beimu (have a link) ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbus_fritillariae_cirrhosae Asians also consider snow pear to have soothing properties, especially when it¡¯s boiled in a nourishing soup or made into sweet soup dessert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_nivalis) ¨C for your reference. ? [3] Qigong ¨C a system of deep breathing and meditation exercises (basically cultivating your qi) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong ? 2 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, Feb 16). Jiaming finally gets to make his move :3 Chapter 24 Chapter 24 ¨C Midget TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws Chen Junbin was somewhat happy today because he had finally found their target after two months. He thought that by accomplishing this, he could gain some merits and have the boss place his trust in him again. As a 35-year-old ex-special forces soldier, he was quite robust with a medium build. His official job was a trading company¡¯s business manager, but secretly he reported to Tang Jingyao as one of his team leaders. Every month, he would receive an astonishing amount of income off the books. As the saying goes, the thirties is when someone was at the prime of their life. Last year when he went to worship Buddha at the temple, a monk said that he still had eighteen years of great luck and everything would be smooth sailing. However, Tang Jingyao¡¯s men had lost the mother-daughter pair and there were still no results after a month even after mobilizing all his forces. It also seemed that the situation in America was not going well, so every little thing provoked Tang Jingyao¡¯s wrath. Chen Junbin thought that his incompetence would be punished, but that woman suddenly delivered herself right into his hands; and due to a stroke of good luck, his subordinates had even managed to find her daughter as well. It seemed that the monk was right, he would have to drop by the temple later during the year and give some offerings. As one of Tang Jingyao¡¯s confidants, he was aware of the organization¡¯s current matters ¨C Tang Jingyao, a mafia family in New York, and a mafia family in Italy had made an alliance. Currently, China was beginning to expand, so the drug market had great potential and these families wanted to claim their stakes first. As Tang Jingyao was one of the partners, they had him handle the supply chain in China while they provided the goods. As long as the buyers could provide enough cash, they would be able to receive the best drugs. Occasionally, he would recall the oath he had made back when he was in the army; however, this was only at moments when he was being weak and naive. He had to make a living somehow and the way of the world was survival of the fittest, so he would deal with it. When he had received the call from his subordinate, he was actually working on closing a large trade deal. He knew that he should have reported this to Tang Jingyao first, but there were a lot of procedures with closing a deal. His boss was also a busy man and would not be able to handle the situation until evening, so he did not have a particular urgency to update him. When the trade deal was closed, it was already night time and Chen Junbin rejected his customer¡¯s offer for dinner. He called his boss, but reached his secretary instead; guessing that he still had some time before he was summoned, he went home to pick up some things. Since the situation had already resolved, there was no longer a sense of urgency. Since he was now quite rich, he was able to buy and live in a small villa. When he returned home, the living room was completely dark and sounds of water could be heard from the second floor bathroom. He thought that it was his wife taking a shower and when he imagined her naked body, his heart thumped with excitement. Feeling that everything was currently going his way, he quickly shut the door behind him and did not turn on the lights. He had planned to sneak upstairs and share his joy with his wife. He had taken two steps when the second floor bathroom door opened with a bang and a body came tumbling out. Chen Junbin was ex-military, so his first reaction was to take cover behind the glass tea table in the living room and reach for his gun at the same time. However at that same moment, a body landed on the tea table with a loud bang, causing it to shatter into pieces. His hand jerked as his gun was shot out of his hand and clattered into the darkness of the living room. Miraculously, he was not injured at all. Such incredible shooting skills! ¡°Move, and your wife dies.¡± A cold, hoarse voice stopped Chen Junbin in his tracks. He slowly peered up at the second floor; however due to the figure standing right in front of the bathroom light, his features could not be seen. He only saw a relatively short man wielding two guns with silencers on them, one pointed at him and the other pointed at the naked woman sprawled at his feet. It seemed that his wife had been interrupted during her shower. ¡°Turn on the light¡­ I suggest you don¡¯t press the panic button that¡¯s built in the sofa armrest.¡± Chen Junbin paled and quelled any panicked thoughts of resisting. He turned on the lights and finally saw the features of the short man. He looked to be a middle-aged dwarf and he had a scar on his face. He did not look very friendly and it was possible he had some psychological problems¡­ He analyzed this and was further dismayed when he thought about what happened just now with his gun. ¡°Friend, where did you come from? No matter what happened to you, think of your wife and kids¡­¡± Seeing the murderous glare from the midget, he gulped, ¡°At least¡­ let my wife put some clothes on¡­¡± ¡°That depends on your attitude.¡± The midget made no movement and coldly continued, ¡°I don¡¯t like bullshit. I¡¯m currently protecting the two people your boss is looking for and you are to bring me to them. Your wife was at the hospital a few days ago for a checkup. If you delay me, your wife¡¯s dead body may suddenly show up in the busiest location in Jianghai City¡­ along with the death of your unborn child.¡± ¡°U-unborn child!¡± Chen Junbin¡¯s eyes widened as he looked down at his wife. She shyly nodded at him and he did not know whether to be happy or worried; when the midget continued, ¡°This is why I picked you¡­ Chen Junbin, I have thoroughly researched you and your history of up to three generations. You better not think of double-crossing me. I will give you three seconds to decide. One, two¡­¡± ******************************************************** It was around 8:30 in the evening and many cars were still weaving back and forth on the main streets of Jianghai City. On both sides of the streets were a variety of shops; under the city streetlights, a black nondescript Jeep was driving along the airport road. This car consisted of Chen Junbin, his wife, and the dwarf-sized assassin. Chen Junbin was driving while the assassin sat motionlessly next to him, his eyes hooded and seeming like he had dozed off. The beautiful young wife that had previously been pulled out of the bathroom was now dressed in a bathrobe and sitting in the back of the Jeep. Her hands and feet were tied with rope and she was currently fearfully staring at the back of the seat where the scarred dwarf was sitting. Chen Junbin had been tightly gripping the steering wheel with both hands, but when he saw that the midget had closed his eyes, his breath quickened as he made a split decision. His right hand had just lifted off the steering wheel when a gun was suddenly placed under his chin, ¡°Unless I say something, both hands cannot leave the steering wheel.¡± He hurriedly grabbed the steering wheel; after a moment, the midget continued, ¡°Relax, I like to give people one chance¡­ but only one chance.¡± Chen Junbin was aghast, the midget had just repeated Tang Jingyao¡¯s favorite line. This person, just where did he come from? He suddenly remembered that the boss had requested for Pei Luo Jia to get rid of the mother-daughter pair. At that time, Pei Luo Jia had determined that only one person was needed to get rid of all the bodyguards and the pair. Of course, they had not been pleased with that fact and while the assassin had been able to dispatch the bodyguards, he ultimately failed to kill the mother-daughter pair. They had assumed that the assassin had let his guard down and the mother with the mafia background had gotten a lucky shot and killed the assassin. But back then, had this terrifying person shown up and saved them? Having considered it, he did not dare to try anything after that. As their journey continued, he stopped at a red traffic light and in front of him was an expensive silver convertible. On this warm summer night, the man in the convertible was wearing a scarf and seeing that they had stopped at the red light, he had leisurely climbed to the back seat, fiddling with something there. People that had caught sight of this unusual action from this man in the convertible were pointing and staring at him. If he had not been in this stressful situation, Chen Junbin would have oogled the silver convertible and imagine himself being able to buy it a few years down the road. He gazed forward nervously, his thoughts in a clutter, and thus did not notice the dwarf frowning slightly as his eyes opened and watched the man in the car in front of them. Pei Luo Jia¡­ It¡¯s him, huh¡­ The traffic light turned green and the convertible turned right at the fork in the road. When Chen Junbin hesitated briefly, the dwarf had already turned and pointed his gun at his wife. ¡°This is a very important junction, if you still insist that the mother and daughter are at Jiangdong Sha factory, I will instantly shoot her abdomen.¡± Chen Junbin swallowed nervously and looked back at the road. He had originally planned to go down the right fork behind the silver convertible. ¡°S-sorry, they¡¯re¡­ They¡¯re actually being held at the abandoned second cement factory, please don¡¯t hurt her, I won¡¯t lie again¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to explain, you¡¯ve used your one chance trying to lie about the location. If you make another mistake, I guarantee you, there are some really painful ways to die. Now, drive faster.¡± A moment later, the Jeep passed the cars, including the silver convertible, in front of them. It soon became a one lane road and as they reached the city outskirts, they drove towards the abandoned cement factory. The vehicle drove down a scarcely used road; a one way lane on both sides and there were barely any street lights. In the darkness, a lonely jeep gradually drove in the opposite direction of the bright twinkling lights of the metropolis. On one side was a mountain wall, while the other side was a deep mountain creek. Of course, if a car were to roll into the creek, it could potentially kill someone. Thus on that side of the road, there were many short jagged cement posts acting as a safety fence. Following the assassin¡¯s instructions, the jeep was to continue driving in the darkness and barely any cars passed by them on the other side. After a while, a bright light appeared in the rear-view mirror and seeing that it was rapidly catching up, the midget assassin ordered, ¡°Speed up, but drive closer to the side and let them pass.¡± Driving in the darkness was dangerous, but Chen Junbin naturally did not dare to say anything. As they continued, the road gradually widened and the vehicle that was behind them caught up and drove up parallel to them. It turned out to be the expensive silver convertible from previously and the man with the scarf raised his hand in a waving gesture. It seemed that this man must like racing against other cars because he returned to show off next to this Jeep. If this was a regular situation and Chen Junbin was taunted like this, he would have said something. However in the current moment, Chen Junbin did not dare to make any wrong moves. The gun was suddenly pointed at his temple and the dwarf lunged over, shouting, ¡°Let go of the wheel!¡± The threat of the gun caused Chen Junbin to let go of the steering wheel like it was on fire. The assassin then grabbed the steering wheel, made a sharp jerk to the side and then returned it to its original position. With a bang, the silver convertible was suddenly hit at a high speed, and the convertible was pushed against the short cement posts. The man that was driving the convertible was sent flying out of his car, spinning in a perfect arc and the convertible also flipped over and fell into the mountain creek below. Meanwhile, the Jeep continued driving forward and only felt a violent shock as the car exploded at the bottom of the creek, turning into a giant fireball; the heat and air pressure rushed up from below. ¡°Perfect¡­ we shall continue on¡­¡± He faintly issued this command as he glanced briefly behind him before settling back down to his original position. Jiaming OP¡­ Happy lunar new year (coming from an EST zone so just in time :D)! 3 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Sunday, Feb 18). If you haven¡¯t done the survey yet, link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2ZL329D Chapter 25 Chapter 25 ¨C Pei Luo Jia¡¯s Expert Assassin TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is in English. ¡°Why¡­ Why did you crash into him¡­¡± Chen Junbin could not refrain from asking as he thought about the expensive car ¨C now wrecked due to falling down into the creek. This assassin next to him was definitely a cold-hearted demon! He was originally not a materialistic person, however the more one earned, the more likely they were to become cowardly. To be able to own such an expensive convertible, that person must have come from a rich background; if that person had not died from the fall, it was possible that they would cause a lot of trouble in the future. In the midst of Chen Junbin¡¯s confusion, the assassin only calmly said, ¡°Pei Luo Jia has a very good clean up crew. I think that earlier this afternoon, they had notified you that they would be sending someone?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Chen Junbin was bewildered for a moment, but then he suddenly remembered and his eyes widened. ¡°Pei Luo Jia has a procedure they follow when they receive a job. First they investigate the target, then an assessment is given to determine what level of assassin they should send out. Then if it fails, they will send an assassin one level higher to complete the task after reviewing what caused the failure. As Number Seven¡¯s rank in Pei Luo Jia was B-level, after he died, they would have sent another person.¡± ¡°Asia Division¡¯s A-level assassin, codename Aoi, is the best at surviving in the wild. He has excellent close combat skills and is familiar with all kinds of machinery and modes of transportation. However, regardless of being an assassin or an eunuch, both of these occupations are regarded as unsavory. Having gotten accustomed to killing and destruction for so long, his personality became warped and he started seeking extreme ways to fuel his adrenaline rushes such as street racing, driving speed boats and flying stunts. Unfortunately he will never reach the highest level of assassins because of this fatal weakness.¡± Hearing that this person knew such intimate details, Chen Junbin could only breathe out. ¡°You¡¯re so familiar with him, are you also¡­¡± ¡°I used to belong to Pei Luo Jia.¡± The dwarf turned his head, showing off the scar on his face and smiled coldly, ¡°Highest level.¡± When they could see the cement factory from afar, the Jeep turned its lights off, pulled over and stopped by the woods on the side of the road. If he were following his previous habits, at this point in time, the couple would have been long since killed and disposed of. However, the current him did not want to do it, partially due to the unborn child. If they were smart, after this incident, they would flee far, far away¡­ He knocked out the two of them, then tied them up and left them in the back seat of the Jeep. As he walked out of the woods, he glanced back into the darkness. The assassin called Aoi used to be one of his teachers, and having gotten rid of him today, he let out a small sigh ¨C his heart felt somewhat rueful. When he arrived at the abandoned factory, the feeling faded and was replaced by a look of total indifference. From the day he found out that his opponent was Tang Jingyao, he had already started his preparations. Within a few days, he had thoroughly and completely investigated Tang Jingyao without his knowledge. He knew everything: his daily schedule and movements, what locations he went to, the ongoings of his subordinates and his trade routes. He had even visited this abandoned cement factory once. Even though he was not very familiar with it, the knowledge he had was enough for his purposes. This was the quality of Pei Luo Jia¡¯s highest level of assassins. If he did not have these skills, then he would not have been able to escape from Pei Luo Jia¡¯s base in the first place. Even though there were a lot of people patrolling this factory, they did not dare to make it like a military base and have it brightly lit. From afar, one could see that the lights were scattered in various locations; Jia Ming could only laugh inwardly. The danger level is pretty low, but¡­ Since this is the first time I¡¯ve acted and I¡¯m still a rookie, I should make it somewhat elegant. ***************************************************************** In a room on the third floor of the abandoned factory, an impeccably dressed Tang Jingyao sat across Marilyn and Heidi at a coffee table. He was flanked by two vicious looking foreign men and looked upon the mother and daughter with a small smile. Marilyn was hugging her daughter tightly while glaring daggers at them. ¡°How many times do I have to say it for you to believe me, the assassin that night was not sent by me. If I truly wanted to kill you, would I have just sent one weak assassin¡­ God, you are my wife and child, why would I want to harm you?¡± Having been a politician for many years and having crawled his way up from the bottom to the top, Tang Jingyao¡¯s current attitude seemed sincere and was quite reasonable sounding. Heidi could only softly say, ¡°Daddy¡­¡± while the golden-haired woman resolutely shook her head. If she fell for this again, shame on her. She coldly jeered, ¡°Keep pretending, Tang. If you were like this ten years ago, then not only I would have been tricked, but even my father would have really liked you, and this situation wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± ¡°It originally is already not like this! Did you hear what Heidi called me? She is my daughter, you are my wife! I have never tricked you both, please believe me!¡± Having continuously said it for more than an hour, Tang Jingyao was also starting to become irritated. It was not like giving a report, where people would listen closely to him, take notes and then applaud him. This woman in front of him obviously knew what situation he was in; he did not want to have to use violence to solve this. He hoped that she would believe his lies instead and that it would not come back and bite him in the ass. However, getting her to believe him seemed to be quite a difficult trial to pass. Regardless of the situation, he was still a traditionally raised Chinese man. Thus, when faced with this mother-daughter pair who were someone he had a past relationship with, in the end, he did not want to shed all pretense of cordiality with them. Since this woman had waited for him in America for the past ten years, it could be said that she loved him deeply and that it was still possible for him to move her with his words. Sh*t, it was all because of those Italians¡­ He glanced briefly at the two bodyguard-sized foreigners. He had not even considered sending an assassin, but who knew that they would act independently and arrange for an assassination. Currently the situation in America was not going that well, even if he wanted to turn this situation around, what could he do? Now that it had come to this, how did they expect him to solve it! He unbuttoned his suit, loosened his tie, then paced back and forth around the room with his hands on his hips. After he relatively calmed down, he tried one last time, ¡°Please, can you just believe me?¡± In his heart, he already knew that she would no longer believe him. However, he could not help but hold onto the thread of hope that she still loved him regardless of what happened, and that she would forgive him. If she could not forgive him, at least she could perhaps pretend to? She was a smart woman. She should know that at this point in time, there was no longer any way to retreat. If she told him what he wanted to hear, then he could at least treat the mother-daughter pair properly. After a long while, Marilyn finally said, ¡°Fine, I believe you.¡± A hint of a charming smile appeared on her face, ¡°However I don¡¯t have anything to tell you. After you left the United States, I no longer participated in the family business because you returned to China to become a politician, and I did not want to affect your chances. I have told you this many times, and I will continue saying this. If you had not involved yourself with the mafia, then you wouldn¡¯t need information related to them, would you?¡± Tang Jingyao retreated two steps and finally gave up. ¡°Fine then! I will tell you everything. I did not hire the assassin, but it was them acting independently!¡± He shouted as he wildly pointed at the two men next to him, ¡°Do you think I actually call the shots? They¡¯re the ones in charge! I am also a pawn in their chess game! It¡¯s them that need the information you can provide! They¡¯re the ones that hired an assassin to kill you! I didn¡¯t want that to happen, but what could I do? You refused to tell me anything no matter what. Did you know that regardless of whether your family sends reinforcements first, or if they send additional people, we will be killed first! Our family of three will definitely die!¡± He shook his head, his eyes bloodshot, ¡°I only want to protect you both, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been like this. You two are the ones I love most in this world¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re finally not pretending anymore?¡± Marilyn only faintly smiled, ¡°You love us, but then what about your other wife?¡± ¡°It was a political marriage because it was important in securing her family¡¯s support. Without her family, I would not be where I am now, the ones I love are¡­¡± ¡°So I¡¯m just a bargaining chip, right? Even though previously I wasn¡¯t important, now I am. Tang, you¡¯ve changed, you¡¯re no longer the Tang I knew from ten years ago. The you now sees things as bargaining chips, and the only things you love are money and power.¡± Tang Jingyao was startled as the foreigner raised a gun at him, ¡°Sorry, Tang, we gave you more than enough time. I don¡¯t want to see you flirt anymore, starting from now, give her to us to handle.¡± ¡°Marilyn, I¡¯m begging you, please tell me.¡± Marilyn only shook her head again. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything. If you still have any conscience, don¡¯t let anything happen to Heidi. After all, she is your daughter. If I remember correctly, Chinese people view blood-related daughters as important, right?¡± ¡°You only need to¡­¡± Tang Jingyao still wanted to continue persuading her, but suddenly, static could be heard from the walkie-talkie on the table and someone started rapidly reporting in Chinese. Because they were speaking too fast, the two foreigners did not understand, and Marilyn and her daughter also did not know what was going on when Tang Jingyao¡¯s expression turned grave. He gave a few curt orders, then opened the drawer in the table and took out a gun. He turned to the two foreigners and said, ¡°Six people are dead downstairs ¨C they were the patrols of two on the edges of the factory. Their throats were slit and they did not even have the chance to retaliate. I don¡¯t know who it is, but, Mr. Ramos, I think your people should make a move.¡± The two of them immediately leapt into action after sparing one last glance at the mother-daughter pair. They left the room to talk to the other Italian mobsters that had not joined the patrols. There were a total of six of them ¨C four of them were currently in the other room playing cards. When the mobster called Ramos returned, Tang Jingyao questioned Marilyn, ¡°Who is coming to save you? Is it your father¡¯s men?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Her eyes flickered with a strange expression before she smiled wanly and shook her head, ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡± 1 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is tomorrow, Feb 19). Some Japanese assassin names are introduced in a later chapter, so this is a deliberate choice instead of just ¡®Blue¡¯. If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it (: https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 26 Chapter 26 ¨C To Kill a Hundred People TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in English. Marilyn¡¯s ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± caused Heidi to cautiously raise her head, ¡°Mommy, is it¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak.¡± Marilyn hurriedly clapped a hand over the little girl¡¯s mouth, but Tang Jingyao had already heard her. With a giant smile on his face, he walked towards them as Heidi¡¯s face paled. Suddenly, a huge explosion, akin to an earthquake, shook the entire building. Tang Jingyao hurriedly grabbed the side of the table and was about to pick up the walkie-talkie to ask what the situation was, when gunshots could be heard! The light inside the room where the Italian mobsters were was suddenly extinguished. Due to the explosion, the light in the room they were currently in was also flickering. Under the shouts of the Italians and the rat-tat-tat of machine guns and handguns, one could also see flashes of pistol fire. Marilyn tightly hugged Heidi and they sprawled on the floor, while Tang Jingyao froze in place, horrified as he pointed a gun at the room¡¯s entrance. One of the mobsters that was standing by the entrance of the room barely managed to pull out his gun when he stumbled and collapsed into the room, a bloody hole in the center of his forehead. After a few moments, the shaking stopped and the sounds of gunfire also ceased. From the room, the three could see the corpses of the mobsters lying in fresh pools of blood all over the hallway. Tang Jingyao gripped the gun in his hand tighter, and did not dare to head out of the room. After a pause, when everything became quiet, his heart pounded. He pulled Marilyn up from the floor and shoved her in front before heading towards the entrance. Marilyn had a basic idea of who it was, so she was not afraid at all. The other room was illuminated by the light behind them, when they looked inside, she sucked in a deep breath and secretly rejoiced. The room was a complete mess, there were five corpses and the floor was splattered with fresh blood. The only window in the room was wide open and it was clear that whoever attacked had entered from there. After massacring the Italian mobsters in this small space, the person had unexpectedly exited via the window. After seeing that scene, Tang Jingyao started trembling. He looked at Marilyn and shouted into the walkie-talkie, ¡°Give me a report! Just now¡­ what happened just now?¡± ¡°Boss, there was a package on the west side conveyor belt, and it exploded. We¡­ we lost around five people to that.¡± The voice on the walkie-talkie sounded panicked and Tang Jingyao only anxiously shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t care, get everyone to come up here¡­ I need everyone here right now!¡± Just as the other side heard this, another voice suddenly interrupted, ¡°Help! Help me! He¡¯s outside! He just jumped down from up there. Ol¡¯ Two and Ol¡¯ Four were both killed. It¡¯s a kid, no, he¡¯s¡­¡± The walkie-talkie suddenly cut off. ¡°It¡¯s not possible for that person to be a kid¡­ I know, it is a midget. It has to be a midget¡­¡± He hurriedly ran over to the window to take a look; they were on the third floor of the factory which was at least five floors high. It was completely dark outside, and he could not see how that person had gotten up here and then down there. The walkie-talkie suddenly started up again. ¡°Boss, a collapsed cement pillar is blocking the corridor. We¡¯re currently pushing it aside, we¡¯re nearly done¡­¡± Suddenly, the sounds of gunfire could be heard. ¡°¡­He¡¯s coming, he¡¯s rushing in!¡± Hearing the gunshots coming from downstairs, Tang Jingyao could only feel his whole body shake. As he walked back into the room, he only glanced briefly at the mother-daughter pair, keeping an ear on the sound of gunshots that was gradually decreasing. He asked into the walkie-talkie, ¡°What happened, did you get rid of him?¡± A tense and confused voice came through, ¡°N-no, we haven¡¯t. He¡¯s very nimble, like a monkey. A few of my fellows have already been shot in the confusion. N-now¡­¡± Now that Tang Jingyao knew the reason why the gunshots decreased, he gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°What?? You¡¯re saying that it¡¯s only one person, and you have so many people with you¡­ You guys are being suppressed by one person?!¡± ¡°Boss, h-h-he¡­ his gun shots are incredibly accurate; whoever goes out instantly dies¡­¡± ¡°My a#$%^¡­¡± Tang Jingyao was so angry that his words became unintelligible. He shouted into the walkie-talkie, ¡°On my count to three, I want everyone to shoot! I don¡¯t believe that this many people cannot kill one person! One, two, three¡­¡± On the ¡°three¡±, all his remaining subordinates did start shooting, and as if in response to him, a voice suddenly broadcasted in the factory, ¡°You really think that¡¯s going to happen?¡± A few of them rushed out and discovered that they could not find their opponent¡¯s location. The broadcasted voice caused them come out of hiding and shoot wildly at their surroundings. Machine gun bullets rained down from above and tore through four people¡¯s bodies and the remaining subordinates scurried back to their original hiding spots. The leader of the group nervously said into the walkie-talkie, ¡°Boss, be careful. He¡¯s at¡­ the broadcast room¡­¡± ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you gone there yet?!¡± Tang Jingyao trembled in agitation. There was, in fact, a broadcast room in the factory after Tang Jingyao took over the location, and it was right next to the room he was in. But how can it be?! Even though my subordinates downstairs were blocked from coming up, there should still be a few people stationed outside. Have they all been silently killed¡­ As he thought about it, he could already see that demonic assassin draw closer to their room. He promptly took out a submachine gun from the drawer. He was just considering using Marilyn and Heidi as hostages when the voice that was heard on the broadcast suddenly came from the walkie-talkie. ¡°Mister Tang, please know that my codename is Phoenix. Someone spent a lot of money in exchange for your life. Once you¡¯re dead, please don¡¯t come back and haunt me. It¡¯s just business.¡± Tang Jingyao tightened his jaw. To think that when the Italians died, that person had not entered the room because he was not there to save the mother-daughter pair. It was purely¡­ because someone wanted to kill him¡­ ¡°How much did he give you, I can¡­¡± Bang! Someone was thrown against the door and at the same time, Tang Jingyao¡¯s fingers subconsciously tightened, causing the machine gun to spray bullets. The voice continued leisurely on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Mister Tang. If I was moved by money, I would not be suitable to be an assassin. At this point in time, please accept your fate,¡± the hoarse voice gently said, offering earnest and well-meaning advice. If there had been a lot more people attacking, then Tang Jingyao might not have felt like it would become like this. But the situation tonight was really too bizarre, it was only one person that had gone through this five-story building. He had created an opportunity with the explosion, calmly dispatched six experienced members of the Italian mafia, then single-handedly suppressed all the remaining people in the factory. This person had controlled the situation from the start and made the impossible happen, just like a supernatural being. The door had been destroyed by the machine gun and as it fell with a crash, it revealed one of the subordinates he had arranged to guard outside the room. The poor man was riddled with holes from his wild shooting earlier and had become a human sieve. Tang Jingyao started recklessly shooting again at this sight, and then, with a final ¡®click¡¯, the machine gun ran out of bullets. At that moment, pu, pu!, two bullets tore through both his hands as a child-sized figure calmly entered the room. ¡°Daddy¡­¡± Even though Heidi knew that her father was a bad guy, when she saw Tang Jingyao on the ground wailing pitifully, she just could not help but call out to him. Marilyn pulled her along, and the two of them headed towards the door. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°M-mister¡­¡± The two of them were startled at the appearance of the middle-aged midget with a scar on his face instead of the regular harmless-looking young boy. The midget only waved his hand. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. Marilyn, take a gun and get ready to leave.¡± After a brief pause, he hesitantly asked, ¡°Can you use a gun?¡± ¡°I-I can.¡± At this point, Marilyn understood that this person was that little boy. She did not know which one was his real identity, but Marilyn nodded regardless and took the dropped pistol near Tang Jingyao. The little girl ran towards him. ¡°Mister¡­ are you really Mister? W-why do you look like that?¡± ¡°Heidi, be good, we¡¯ll talk once we get out.¡± The little girl¡¯s hands were reaching towards his face, and Jiaming hurriedly turned away as he looked towards the stairs near the room they were currently in. If he had been alone, he could easily leave this place, but now that he had to take these two females with him, it had become a difficult situation. As he considered their escape route, a gunshot sounded from behind him and he whirled around in a conditioned reflex towards Marilyn¡¯s side. It turned out that Marilyn had shot Tang Jingyao while he was still struggling on the ground. He had seen people kill backstabbing husbands, but had not seen such a clean kill. Was this due to a deep love turning into a strong hatred¡­ Not thinking too much into it, he turned back to the door. ¡°Ok, prepare to¡­¡± He did not finish speaking when Heidi screamed, ¡°Mommy¡ª!¡±. Fortunately, Jiaming had quick reflexes; Marilyn had turned the gun towards herself, but he interrupted her. With a sharp noise, the gun flew into the air and scattered into pieces. ¡°You big boobed, empty-headed stupid woman!¡± Jiaming stopped himself from slapping her when he saw her tearing up, but he roared, ¡°I risk my life to save the both of you, and this is how you repay me?! You owe me two lives! According to a Chinese saying, you have to spend the remaining of your current life and then the whole of your next life working hard to repay me! If you want to die, then I will leave right now. I will leave you and your daughter here to be raped and killed by those gang members! Raped and killed!¡± He usually acted like an airhead, but this time he scolded her with a mouthful of profanity. When Heidi heard that he was going to leave them behind, her hand tightened nervously around Jiaming¡¯s hand. Marilyn trembled faintly, tears filling her eyes as she looked down at the dead man on the floor. After a moment, Jiaming placed another gun in her hand and said coldly, ¡°Follow behind me, I will point out the safest route to leave this place. I don¡¯t want to waste any more time on nonsense. If you do die today, I will definitely leave Heidi behind! I said it and I will do it, so keep that in mind!¡± Those who had tried to commit suicide and did not succeed the first time, generally would not have the courage to try a second time. With a small submachine gun in his hands, Jiaming shot two people directly in the head as they appeared from the stairs. The rubble downstairs had been cleared away, so many people rushed up and the next part of the battle was about to start. There was a degree of difficulty to it, but they could do it¡­ The corners of Jiaming¡¯s mouth curved up slightly; combined with the scar on his face, it made him look cold and sinister. Not bothering with the foolish blonde beauty behind him, he patted the little girl on the head and softly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± 2 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, Feb 21). Jiaming is just that OP. The title is actually referring to something like this ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contest_to_kill_100_people_using_a_sword Chapter 27 Chapter 27 ¨C Let¡¯s Go Home TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws TL Note: Bold text is in English. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± At that time I knew that if I were to follow that figure, I would never get lost or get hurt again. ¡ª¡ªHeidi Tang, a few years later. ********************************************************* The sound of continuous gunfire signified the increasing danger losing a life. The sheer amount of bullets fired caused one of the factory walls to collapse. It was the first time that Heidi, who would grow up to become a beauty, experienced something like this. She was scared, tired, and hungry, and was also surrounded by danger. The gunfire was almost deafening, and even though they were behind a wall, flakes of cement and dust would fly around due to the bullets hitting the wall. Her mother tightly held her and was in the blind spot of all the shooting, but the little girl was making whimpering noises and shivering. In this cramped area, Jiaming stood on the edge of the hallway, two submachine guns aimed at the stairs, accurately and coldly shooting whoever came up the stairs. Several of the factory¡¯s high-wattage lights shattered and enveloped most of the building in darkness. Jiaming¡¯s shooting remained precise however, as soon as there was a slight sound, a bullet would follow. On the other side, the remaining subordinates of Tang Jingyao were going crazy. It was one person, only one person was suppressing all of them! The factory was in darkness, but the opponent¡¯s eyesight seemed to be even better than an owl¡¯s. Whoever dared to move out from the safety of their cover would be instantly shot down. Even if there was a gap and they shot in his direction, the opponent would immediately counterattack because he was an expert sharpshooter and they were not. Knowing that their boss had already died, a lot of them just wanted to escape, while some of them tried to throw a grenade. But because their opponent was in the corridor ten meters above them, they were sitting ducks. If someone were to risk throwing a grenade up there, they first had to expose themselves, pull out the safety pin, and then throw it. However as soon as they revealed themselves, bullets would interrupt them, and as a result, two people had already been killed. Another person had panicked so severely, he threw it in the wrong place and killed their people. In the end, no one dared to use a grenade again. Forget it, just hurry up and run, let this monster go already¡­ Afterwards, these remaining subordinates would remember the intense sense of powerlessness they felt. Their boss had wanted to establish the Chinese mafia, but the quality of people that joined could not compare. Even though the recruits had passed the strict entrance tests, most of them were riff-raff from the jianghu. They thought they belonged upon picking up a gun, but the truth was that they were still the same old worthless amateurs. Even though some of them were retired military men like Chen Junbin, a lot of the recruits were mostly swayed to join by the amount of money they could earn. They were obviously not trained and thus unable to act when faced with Pei Luo Jia¡¯s special elite assassin. ¡°It¡¯s safe, stay against the wall, take four steps. It¡¯s a blind spot¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe, turn left with me, then hide in that corner¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe, come down with me and stay behind me at a three-step distance¡­¡± ¡°Heidi, don¡¯t cry. Everything will be fine¡­¡± Under the dim light, the little girl would tearfully look at Jiaming¡¯s back. He would always be calmly viewing the situation, get into position, shoot, smoothly reload a new magazine before the empty one even fell to the floor, and then it would repeat. It looked like he was dancing instead of fighting and he even had time to gently reassure her. When they arrived at the second floor, there was an opening in the wall that had collapsed, and Jiaming asked faintly, ¡°I need you to take Heidi and jump down from here, can you do it?¡± Marilyn nodded and took off her heels before holding on to Heidi and jumping down. It was only around three meters high, but the ground was full of gravel and rubble, making it challenging to land steadily. Heidi heard her mother lightly grunt in pain before Jiaming descended behind them. ¡°There should be cars in that shed. We should be safe, so find one quickly.¡± Just by wielding the two guns, the people inside the factory did not dare chase after them. Jiaming saw an Audi 100 with a license plate of 000035 and recognized it as the car of the dead Tang Jingyao. In 1995, politicians used this brand and type of car, and the first hundred plates were reserved for them. The police would not dare to stop them as long as they saw that license plate, so they decided on that car. Originally Marilyn wanted to drive, but Jiaming was occupying the seat as he hot-wired it, so she sat in the back while holding onto Heidi. Because of Jiaming¡¯s short stature, when he started driving, it was a somewhat funny sight. The scenery rushed by quickly as they drove away from the factory, but the three of them traveled in silence. Jiaming did not have much to say, Marilyn was sitting lifelessly, and Heidi sat on her mother¡¯s lap while staring at the side of Jiaming¡¯s face. He shed his disguise as he drove, changing the look of his face and taking off the suit, becoming a middle school student again. Not long after, they arrived at the section of the road where the silver convertible had exploded in the creek. The police had cordoned off the area, causing some cars to stop and look at what happened as a police officer directed the traffic. Jiaming did not slow down at all and zoomed past. ¡°Did you sprain your ankle?¡± Marilyn nodded, ¡°Yeah.¡± Jiaming noticed Marilyn rubbing her ankle in the rear-view mirror; it was the only question he asked during the whole drive back. When the car finally reached Jianghai City, it was around ten at night, but the main street was still quite busy. The side streets were much quieter; they pulled over at an empty road, removed all the fingerprints in various locations and then the three of them exited the car. ¡°I¡¯ll carry Heidi.¡± When he saw Marilyn limping along, Jiaming picked up the sleepy little girl while carrying his suit in his other hand. Heidi fell asleep on his back quite peacefully as Marilyn hobbled behind him in her hosiery as she did not put her heels back on. On this quiet street under the dim streetlights and the lightly blowing night wind, they seemed like a family of three¡­ ************************************************************* When they returned to the second floor apartment, it was already eleven at night. He gently placed the sleeping Heidi down on the bed in the smaller room and then assisted Marilyn with taking her destroyed hosiery off. She washed her feet and then Jiaming helped apply some medicinal cream to her ankle which had swollen to the size of a bun. The two of them sat on the bed in the master bedroom, Marilyn tightly gripped the sheets as she gritted her teeth and tears filled her eyes. Jiaming had held onto her foot and was being quite rough with applying the cream. He had to be doing that on purpose¡­ After a terse moment of silence, Marilyn finally asked, ¡°You¡­ Do you still want to scold me?¡± ¡°Already did.¡± Jiaming calmly said as he continued to furiously massage her swollen ankle, ¡°Are you still thinking about him?¡± Marilyn tilted her head in thought, and after a long while, she faintly said, ¡°There¡¯s a type of plant called a dodder flower[1] that needs to rely on a tree to survive. I thought I was that type of flower; when that man left, I was sure I couldn¡¯t survive without him¡­ But now that I¡¯ve thought about it, it seems that I wasn¡¯t thinking about that man and only longing for the feeling of a relationship. I think I don¡¯t even hate his other wife or hate him for lying to me, what I hate is¡­ I¡¯ve given so much, but haven¡¯t received anything back, and now, there¡¯s nothing left¡­¡± ¡°Heidi¡¯s still here.¡± Jiaming glanced at her, ¡°So you¡¯re saying you want to forget him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Marilyn smiled bitterly as she winced in pain, and spoke honestly under that young boy¡¯s gaze, ¡°I thought I loved him, so I read Chinese novels, ate Chinese food and familiarized myself with everything Chinese. I tried to learn to read and write Chinese and I even rarely left home so I could seem like a proper lady. But now that I can see him clearly, he let go so quickly within these past ten years and just left me behind¡­¡± As she finished, tears streamed down her cheeks, unsure if it was due to her being sad or because of Jiaming deliberately causing her pain. ¡°From now on, Heidi will be my only concern. I¡¯ll take care of her until she grows up, finds a good partner, and stay with her until she doesn¡¯t need me anymore¡­¡± ¡°Uhh no, you should find a nice man and remarry. How old were you when you gave birth to Heidi?¡± ¡°¡­ If I remember correctly, I think it was the second day after my eighteenth birthday.¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes, no wonder her father rejected their relationship. She got pregnant at seventeen and then gave birth at eighteen; if he had children that were like that, he would beat them to death. ¡°Only twenty-eight years old? You¡¯re still young, plus there are a lot of men in the world. If you remain single for the rest of your life just because of Tang Jingyao, you really are a big breasted bimbo¡­¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t China have strict traditions? No one wants a woman that has given birth before¡­ Ah¡ª¡ª¡±Jiaming wanted to strangle this sexy, yet pure-hearted woman to death. She tried to commit suicide because of Tang Jingyao and then actually said these things out loud. He had never comforted people before, and now he had to say something that could reach her? He shook his head, ¡°Please no! You are an American! Taking drugs at the age of twelve, having sex at the age of fourteen, getting pregnant at seventeen and then giving birth at eighteen ¨C a pure American! Don¡¯t you guys consider having sex as normal as meal times with your family? Please don¡¯t destroy the American dream in my heart, ok?¡± ¡°But¡­ I feel that the Chinese traditions are very beautiful¡­¡± ¡°Face the truth; there are no horse-drawn carriages in China, and we¡¯re not living in a wooden cottage!¡± Jiaming shrugged and then sighed, ¡°You big breasted bimbo, women are fine just to cuddle with and to be appreciated for comfort. Who has the time to spend that much effort to thoroughly analyze someone?¡± Previously when he still had the identity of an assassin, he could only keep everything in his heart and was not allowed to have feelings or expectations. Now that he had been reborn with the identity of a child, he felt relieved that he could say such things. The woman in front of him was already used to him thinking like an adult and was no threat to him in this current situation. Marilyn blushed and the two of them fell silent for a while. Jiaming broke the silence, ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯ve called your father already. Within a week¡¯s time, there should be someone coming to pick you both up.¡± Marilyn absentmindedly nodded as it seemed that she was thinking about something. After a short while, the swelling on her ankle seemed less serious and as Jiaming was about to let go of her foot, she suddenly spoke up, ¡°Gu¡­ Jiaming¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I was thinking¡­¡± She raised her head and smiled briefly. ¡°Are you actually an adult? What I¡¯m trying to say is, your mentality seems like one.¡± ¡°My situation is very complicated, but treating me like an adult is correct.¡± ¡°But you only look like a young child¡­¡± ¡°What adults understand, I understand. What adults don¡¯t understand, I still understand. It¡¯s like that.¡± ¡°Then, if I were to¡­ If I were to take off all my clothes in front of you right now, would you look down on me? Or would you find me sexy?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Not expecting her to say that, Jiaming speechlessly gaped at her. [1] Dodder flowers are parasitic plants mostly found in tropical regions ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta for reference. ? 3 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, Feb 23). Marilynpls¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Chapter 28 Chapter 28 ¨C Farewell, Sexy and Lolita! TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ** Warning, this chapter may trigger you and is sorta NSFW. Please read with an open mind. ** TL Note: Bold text is spoken in English. The atmosphere in the room turned somewhat strange. Marilyn was blushing lightly, then boldly continuing on like how an American would, she stared intently at Jiaming, her leg still in Jiaming¡¯s grasp. As to Jiaming, after the brief shock, he lightly shrugged. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think I would, but¡­ this is kind of weird¡­¡± Actually, according to Jiaming¡¯s experience, the current situation was very simple. In his previous life as an assassin, he was not allowed and never did dabble in relationship matters. Even in terms of partners, there was only a very small amount of people he worked with. Being an assassin was very lonely, as the only person he could trust was himself. However, even in that situation, he did have sex with women before. When he was not on a mission, he would spend some money on a high quality prostitute and never contact her again after that one night. Or, when he encountered an impressive female assassin, they would discuss killing techniques while maintaining various difficult positions and then get it on with each other. Sometimes, after an important mission, even if they did not do anything, they could rent a room and then spend the night together just for comfort. One does not need a reason to have sex, sometimes it could just be because of lust, and at other times, lust is not even present. The current situation was similar to that. With that woman¡¯s attitude regarding love, to say that she fell in love with a little boy like him in ten days, was basically impossible. At this point in time, the only explanation was that today¡¯s incident had largely affected her, and even though it seemed that she had forgotten about her dead husband on the surface, she probably wanted to do something to numb her feelings. Of course, to an assassin, this type of life-or-death situation was something that no longer affected him due to his previous experiences. On the other side, Jiaming¡¯s body was no longer that of a child, and when it came to a mature and sexy female body, it was not like he did not think about it, but¡­ It really was strange¡­ ¡°Um, I¡­¡± Marilyn quietly said, ¡°I remember the time you gave me that injection, and¡­ how you looked at me. I think that you also¡­ seemed interested and¡­ might like to¡­¡± Even though she was acting courageously, when it came to actually saying it, she was worried because he was fourteen years old and still young. If she did this, she wondered if it would affect the rest of his life. Jiaming sighed and said, ¡°Of course I would like it, I¡¯m a guy. In fact I would gladly do it with you, but you have to consider this clearly¡­¡± Having heard his words, Marilyn bit her lip and then reached up to unbutton her shirt. Shortly after, she slowly took off her snowy white underwear, revealing her curvaceous thighs and blonde **** in front of Jiaming. Suddenly having thought of something distressing, Jiaming scratched his head. ¡°Um, you know¡­ I¡¯m only fourteen. Even though it¡¯s functional, but¡­ cough, cough¡­ It can¡¯t compare to those in America¡­ Um you know, those men in America, if you¡¯re¡­ um, what are you¡­¡± As he spoke, Marilyn had already gotten up and off the bed. She slinked over closer to where he was sitting and then kneeled in between his legs, looking up at him with crimson cheeks. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I would need to work hard to pay you back? Then¡­ let¡¯s start now.¡± She pretended to be calm, but she was actually feeling very emotional, and her heart was thumping like a drum. Both her hands had just unbuttoned Jiaming¡¯s trousers when suddenly, her sorrow overflowed and tears dripped down onto him. Jiaming sighed again, and just as he was about to push her away, Marilyn stop crying. She looked up at him with a mix of boldness and bashfulness, then opened her sexy lips and pushed Jiaming¡¯s leg away as her head went down. ¡°Unnn¡­¡± Jiaming spread his legs and lay down on the bed, a strange expression on his face as he looked up at the mosquito net that was placed over the bed. It really was¡­ such a weird feeling¡­ *************************************************************** Over the next few days, Tang Jingyao¡¯s death caused a lot of hubbub in Jianghai City. Naturally, this could not be traced back to Jiaming. Every afternoon and evening, he accompanied Heidi and taught her qigong; Marilyn joined in as well. Heidi was quite adorable and loved sticking by Jiaming¡¯s side, calling him ¡°brother, brother¡± all the time. At times, when Heidi did not like the food and refused to eat it, she would throw a tantrum with her mother. However, when Jiaming said a few words, she would listen and ended up eating the food. Combined with the secret that he had with Marilyn, the relationship he had with Heidi seemed more like a father-daughter relationship instead of a siblings one. As he ate dinner and completed his homework at Lingjing¡¯s place, it would usually be quite late by the time he arrived at the apartment. He left the Ye family¡¯s home around ten at night and then when he dropped by the apartment, he would only say a few things, then leave. One time, Heidi made a fuss saying that she wanted to eat dinner with Jiaming, so he only ate a few mouthfuls before leaving. This whole situation seemed like Lingjing was his wife while he snuck out for an affair. Usually when Heidi was asleep, Jiaming and Marilyn would close the master bedroom door and quietly go to bed together. The truth was that the both of them did not have an intense relationship in bed, and the only reason why it happened every night was due to Marilyn¡¯s careful consideration. On one side, she was worried that this situation would affect Jiaming¡¯s future, on the other, she was worried that if she rejected it, Jiaming would not be happy ¨C especially because he had just recently tasted these carnal desires. Even though she had these thoughts, she also expected Jiaming to be shy, so she would be the one to request for him to come every night. Jiaming naturally did not want to feel bad for declining, so as a result, this strange situation arose. However, even though it became like that, the times that the two of them actually did it was minimal. In the end, Jiaming was still a child going through puberty, and if he did not initiate it, she would only use her mouth and gently coax him to completion. After one time, the two of them would lie on the bed and talk about general subjects. Marilyn did most of the talking however, while Jiaming would listen and comment once in awhile. When they actually had sex, Marilyn would eagerly show off her body in front of Jiaming. Every night, the bedroom light would be on and she would lay on the bed naked, or let Jiaming freely touch her body. Sometimes she would hold Jiaming like a mother would or sit next to him; at other times she would roll around next to him while stopping in various poses, allowing Jiaming to admire all parts of her body. This blonde beauty would also endlessly chatter away about trivial, daily life things, such as almost cutting her finger when she was making meals or Heidi clumsily tripping over something, etc. This was something that happened all the time, no matter what they were doing. Jiaming would occasionally respond mindlessly, as he knew that even if he did not say anything, as long as there was someone beside her, Marilyn enjoyed talking by herself until the sun came up. No matter what he wanted to do to her, she would not decline or reject him, so after a period of time, Jiaming began to feel a thread of warmth towards her. After a short nap, around two or three in the morning, Jiaming would sit up in bed and start to meditate, followed by some simple exercises. Marilyn would naturally wake up and follow along with what he was doing. But, because she could not keep up with Jiaming, she would sit on the side and ramble away about weird things as well as theorize about Jiaming¡¯s origin. She would say things such as Jiaming having been adopted by a martial arts master, or him going through a magical portal when he was very young and learning some miraculous kung fu. She even guessed that he had been exposed to a lot of strange and thrilling situations ever since he was a child. Of course, these were all only her imagination, and she never actually asked Jiaming to confirm anything. After having interacted with her for a while, Jiaming updated his perception of this foreign woman. He found her similar to a typical Chinese provincial young lady ¨C gentle, exquisite and sensitive; as well as not hesitating to reveal herself intimately regardless of whether it was one of her strengths or not. Generally people liked to keep little secrets to themselves, however she was willing to talk about it and share with Jiaming. It may not have been love, but she was willing to entrust everything to Jiaming without expecting anything in return. Occasionally, she would lay naked with a leg draped over the side of the bed, awkwardly touching herself and quietly describing what she was doing, and it could light a fire in Jiaming, causing him to instantly push her down. There were two words that perfectly described her: simply lovable. That Saturday and Sunday, Jiaming lied to Lingjing and Shasha and did not go to the trio¡¯s usual weekend haunt. Because Marilyn knew that they were going to leave soon, she begged Jiaming to spend the last two days with Heidi, and Heidi also cried at Jiaming to keep her company. Because the mother-daughter pair were suspects in Tang Jingyao¡¯s case, they naturally could not carelessly wander out of the apartment. Thus, during the day, Jiaming played video games with Heidi, and occasionally Marilyn also joined them. When Heidi fell asleep, Jiaming and Marilyn talked in their room. During these two days, they did not undress and just talked until the morning with the lights off. They lay in bed like husband and wife and shared the blankets while embracing each other. On Monday afternoon after school, Jiaming did not go to the Ye home, and went to have a final meal with the mother-daughter pair. As the sun was setting, the three of them left the apartment and headed towards a nearby park as their time of separation was drawing near. ¡°Have you forgotten about him now?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve forgotten about him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sad anymore?¡± ¡°Nope, not anymore.¡± ¡°Un, that¡¯s good then. From now on, this is a new start. When you return to America, if you find someone better¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t marry another man. Chinese traditions are still the most beautiful. I¡¯ve given my body to you, so I don¡¯t want to give it to anyone else.¡± ¡°You big breasted brainless woman. When China used horse-drawn carriages and one was living in a wooden cottage, those traditions were correct. But it¡¯s different now. Besides¡­ I can¡¯t give you anything. I¡¯m currently only fourteen years old, and you¡¯re double my age. Another way of saying it is that when I¡¯m twenty, you¡¯ll be forty; when I¡¯m twenty-five, you¡¯ll be fifty¡­ Ugh.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± The blonde whacked the youth next to her while pouting, ¡°Once I¡¯ve decided on something, no matter whether you¡¯re mine or not, I will always be yours. If you occasionally remember me, give me a call, or if you want to come see me, that¡¯s enough as well. If you ever need it, I will instantly come to be by your side as well.¡± The little girl bouncing in front of them could not hear their exchange, instead she happily smiled while pointing at the children at the park, ¡°Brother, brother, what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Oh that, that¡¯s cotton candy. Does Heidi want to eat it?¡± Jiaming looked over and saw a cotton candy stand. A middle-aged man poured white sugar into the machine and then turned it on; thin white strands of sugar started swirling about and as the man used a bamboo stick to gather the cotton candy, it slowly became a big fluffy ball of sugary goodness. ¡°I can eat it? Yay!¡± The three of them went towards the stall and Jiaming paid for three portions of cotton candy. Because there were quite a lot of people, the children had to line up to pick up their cotton candy. Heidi stood in front of the machine, her eyes sparkling as she watched the process. Jiaming and Marilyn found a bench and sat on the side. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t mention me to anyone and also don¡¯t casually contact me. It may make things difficult.¡± Marilyn looked down at her clasped hands and lowered her head like a dejected mistress. ¡°Of course, if you really do encounter something dangerous or something threatens you and Heidi¡¯s life, I have an emergency contact number. Leave a message there and I will rush to your side.¡± He took out a piece of paper, ¡°Keep it safe. ¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Marilyn took the paper slip for safekeeping and nodded firmly. ¡°I would suggest for Heidi not to have any contact with the mafia. Of course I have no say in it, but if you or your father feels¡­¡± ¡°I will listen to you.¡± Marilyn smiled while nodding, ¡°I said I owe you two life times worth, so whatever you say, I will follow.¡± ¡°Eh, you only need to owe me in bed.¡± Jiaming said while smirking. Not long after, Heidi returned with three portions of cotton candy and the three of them sat together in a row, quietly nibbling away. Seeing that the arranged meeting time was getting close, Jiaming held Heidi¡¯s hand and the three of them headed towards a grassy patch close by. ¡°Heidi.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Can you promise Brother one thing?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about Brother, ok? Can you do that? ¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We promised yesterday that Heidi wouldn¡¯t cry.¡± Jiaming smiled while cupping Heidi¡¯s small cheeks. She had finished her cotton candy and was nodding while licking on the bamboo stick like her life depended on it, avoiding his gaze. Her eyes had already filled with tears and when Jiaming cupped her cheeks and she saw Jiaming¡¯s smiling face, she finally broke down with a quiet ¡°waah¡± and started crying. ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t hold it in, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Hey, we talked about this! If a chance comes, Brother Jiaming will visit you, ok?¡± He gently hugged the little girl, then placed the half-eaten cotton candy into her little hands. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, ok? Brother will give you this.¡± Lifting her head, Marilyn¡¯s eyes were also misty with tears. She gently hugged him and then kissed him on the mouth. Because there were a lot of old people strolling in the park, they did not dare to kiss for long. People that saw them would just have thought that it was a western custom. ¡°I¡¯ll think of you.¡± Marilyn said. Jiaming smiled briefly. ¡°And I repeat, if you meet a good man, marry him, don¡¯t be stubborn.¡± Marilyn did not reply, but her eyes were hazy with unshed tears as she shook her head. Then Heidi came and hugged him again. Originally she was going to kiss him on the cheek, but ended up deliberately planting a sweet sticky kiss on his lips. ¡°You have to watch me leave.¡± Jiaming nodded. ¡°Also, once I grow up, I¡¯m marrying you,¡± she determinedly said. Jiaming laughed and patted her on the head. Marilyn took the little girl¡¯s hand, wiped the tears from her eyes and then headed towards the small fountain in the middle of the park. The little girl held onto the cotton candy and kept looking back towards the waving boy. When they arrived at the fountain, the two foreigners, one old and one young, stood up as they had originally been sitting with their backs to it. ¡°Daddy? You came as well?¡± ¡°We have a temporary truce with the Gambino family. When I heard something had happened to you, I immediately rushed over with Joseph. Aye, let¡¯s go home.¡± The old man said as he hugged her. ¡°Marilyn, it¡¯s good that nothing happened to you.¡± The man known as Joseph looked at Marilyn¡¯s beautiful appearance with interest. Not paying attention to the talking adults, the little girl turned back, hoping for one last look at that figure, but it had already been obscured by trees and was no longer there. 4 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Sunday, Feb 25). Yeah, I don¡¯t even know. It was supremely awkward to translate this chapter, but at least after this chapter, there¡¯s not really any more underaged hanky-panky¡­ ON A SIDE NOTE, do you guys prefer to be redirected or have a new tab popup for the new chapter when coming from the announcement post of chapter releases? I personally have a zillion tabs and I like that, so that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been setting it up for new tab popup. But if you prefer being redirected instead, let me know and I¡¯ll add in that extra link so there¡¯s both options lol. Also, I think there¡¯s a special announcement coming up sometime next week for this novel, so stay tuned ???? Chapter 29 Chapter 29 ¨C Putting On An Act TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws After Marilyn and Heidi¡¯s departure, life went back on its usual track. Weekdays passed by as before and on the weekends he went back to living with the two girls, while secretly training his body early in the mornings. Regarding the battle at that abandoned factory, Jiaming discovered that his current body¡¯s sensitivity was much higher compared to when he was at the peak of his previous life. This was likely due to the accumulated experience, and he knew what his strengths and weaknesses were. Thus, the training for building the foundations of this body was a lot more effective. In a few years, he had the confidence to handle any dangers ¨C even if it was Pei Luo Jia¡¯s Japanese king of assassins, Minamoto Hajime, his previous partner. Though one had to admit, when it came to outstanding assassins, a lot of them were Japanese people, for example: Morogami Munen, Amane Masanori, Tatsumodo Asahi, and Omamori Yoshi. He remembered that he had never won against them before, but hopefully it was not a big issue anymore since he was no longer associated with Pei Luo Jia. After Aoi¡¯s death, Pei Luo Jia should have sent out an expert assassin to investigate, but they probably returned empty-handed. Thus Aoi¡¯s cause of death was likely determined to be a genuine car accident. Per Pei Luo Jia¡¯s rules, if a mission fails the first time, it¡¯s a mistake. If it fails the second time, there¡¯s no excuse. Now that it¡¯s at this stage, they would no longer send someone to cause trouble for Marilyn and her daughter. Marilyn also understood the importance of her position; she should be fine as long as she kept a low profile and gave the assassins a false trail. When he had disguised himself as a middle-aged, midget-sized assassin, he actually based it on someone with abilities that he had previously encountered. During his original timeline, many years after he reached his peak status, he had been partnered with Minamoto Hajime to look for that dwarf. After a fierce battle, they had managed to kill the dwarf, but Jiaming had barely escaped with his life, and his partner ended up dying while protecting him. Presently, Pei Luo Jia did not know who he was, but who knew how things would proceed if he was discovered. He was mostly concerned about two people from Pei Luo Jia. One of them was precisely that Minamoto Hajime, a cold-hearted Japanese man. When they had been partners, he had treated him decently, so when Jiaming had been the cause of his death, it became a tragic affair. Now that he knew how the future would unfold, he could nip the flower at its bud, but¡­ Based on the current situation, he was no longer an assassin, and it was unlikely for them to come into contact. Jiaming was most worried about Hajime directly assaulting him if the situation somehow came to be. The other person he was concerned about was Morogami Munen, a psychotic, patriotic extremist with an intense hatred for Chinese people. When he was young and was receiving his assassin training, he had been taught to discard any respectful feelings regarding any country. However, because of that psycho, he had suffered since he was young and also had to fight him when he escaped Pei Luo Jia. Just thinking about it made him depressed, and he hoped that it would only occur in his previous life, as he never wanted to meet that psycho again. At the end of June, summer vacation started. During these lazy vacation days, the three children primarily lived at the Liu family¡¯s villa, contently passing the days playing video games, watching tapes, using the computer, and swimming. There was a beautiful beach near the villa and a lot of people visited it during the summer. Jiaming and the girls set up a tent there for three days, barbecuing every day until Shasha got canker sores and they talked non-stop until their throats were sore before returning. This was something they had originally wanted to do during last year¡¯s camping trip. Around August, as Lingjing and Shasha were students talented in martial arts, they were entered in the National Martial Arts Youth Competition. Jiaming was not a participant and initially was not going to go, but Lingjing and Shasha both refused to join if he was not there. People that knew them since they were young understood that the three of them were inseparable and they ended up making special arrangements as their hopes were on Lingjing. In the end, Jiaming was setup to be part of the cheerleading squad and joined the team to the competition. However, this competition would bring many troubles to the three of them in the future. One of the members in Starlight Secondary¡¯s competitive team was a tenth-grader, Cao Dongfeng. Normally he did not have much interaction with Shasha, but they could be considered to be from the same social circle because his father, Cao Jinghao, was one of the gang leaders under Shasha¡¯s father. With his background, he had been held back two grades and was currently already sixteen years old. He was quite robust and also the oldest participant at the maximum age limit of the National Martial Arts Youth Competition. The school had made him team captain due to his age. After meeting Lingjing, his heart had been captured by her, and he would send her flowers every day. Because of his family background and age, he was one of the main competitors in their team and the teachers did not dare to say anything to him. Naturally, Lingjing was extremely disgusted by him; if Shasha saw him, she would chew him out as well. One day, during a gap in the competition, he had requested for Lingjing to meet him in a secluded area near the gym; he brought flowers and wanted to confess to her. However, Lingjing had made preparations and brought Jiaming and Shasha along with her. When they arrived in front of Cao Dongfeng, she had grabbed Jiaming¡¯s hand and intimately kissed Jiaming on the cheek, before announcing, ¡°He¡¯s my boyfriend!¡± If Lingjing had not been attached, Jiaming would probably have considered the consequences of this rumor. But because he knew the Lingjing and Shasha were a hidden couple, due to their friendship, he naturally covered for them; he instantly stepped up and started being affectionate with her. Shasha, being a troublemaker, ran over and joined them as she latched onto Jiaming and declared, ¡°He¡¯s my boyfriend too!¡± Cao Dongfeng felt like he had been slapped in the face with feces. The two girls had grown up quite well, while Lingjing was extremely beautiful and elegant, Shasha was not bad looking as well. Even though her temperament was quite violent, her figure was slender. When she tied her hair back in a ponytail, she was the refreshing athletic girl that turned quite a few heads on the streets. Yet this extremely ordinary¡­ no, this wretched boy that was shorter by half a head was able to attract these two beauties?! Cao Dongfeng had seen a lot of rich people playing around with two ladies, but this boy in front of him gave him the urge to kill someone! It was simply unforgivable! These two girls knew the other existed, yet they were still able to get along so well! The rumor about the three of them living together during the holidays was actually true¡­ As he was of the underground criminal background, he tended to act rashly, but as soon as he looked like he was going to hit Jiaming, the two girls were already prepared and leapt to Jiaming¡¯s defense. ¡°Run if the situation seems bad,¡± Lingjing said. ¡°No need, the two of us are enough to deal with him,¡± Shasha placidly said.Thus in this current situation, not only was this boy, plain, weak, and incompetent, he was being protected by two women, and the two of them were even happy to do so. Cao Dongfeng reckoned that he would not be able to win against two people, so he ended up skulking away in defeat. After that humiliating incident, Jiaming would occasionally feel a death glare directed at him. Jiaming naturally thought nothing of it, only concentrating on keeping the image of a weak, relying-on-women boyfriend. He knew that the more he acted useless, the angerier the other side would be. On the other hand, Shasha knew Lingjing liked Jiaming, and the two girls had arranged for many scenes they could use. For example, if there were a few people around, as soon as Cao Dongfeng saw Jiaming and Lingjing together, Lingjing would lean over and kiss Jiaming¡¯s cheek. Jiaming did not expect her to do this with an ulterior motive, so he would put an arm around her waist and pretended the two of them were extremely blissful. During the competition, as part of the cheerleading squad and a gopher, Jiaming would be quite attentive ¨C he prepared towels, brought drinks, and would help massage their muscles if needed. He was serving others for the success of the competition; however, most people would look down on this type of person. Cao Dongfeng was one of them and mocked Jiaming for not having any manly pride. Jiaming pretended he did not understand him while contently massaging his back. Every time it was Lingjing¡¯s turn during the competition, Shasha would pass two large pompoms to Jiaming and tell him to fulfill his cheerleading duties. Jiaming would brandish the two large colorful balls and become part of the hall¡¯s scenery, causing Cao Dongfeng to look down on him ceaselessly. However, every time Lingjing returned, she would immediately run towards Jiaming and hand him a towel to wipe his sweat and ask him if he was tired or not. This blatant flirting in front of Cao Dongfeng made him grit his teeth in envy as he looked on with bloodshot eyes. Jiaming and the girls would run to a hidden corner and laugh themselves silly whenever they saw him looking extremely jealous. Sadly, the competition ended too soon with Starlight Secondary¡¯s team finishing in second place. Cao Dongfeng could only return home full of resentment, while Lingjing had gotten many chances to kiss Jiaming on the cheek. Their situation had returned to its previous state, and she was somewhat regretful that she did not get to kiss him on the mouth. As to Jiaming, he was quite delighted about getting to experience the childish pleasure of pranking. After school started in September, the three of them entered Grade 10. Cao Dongfeng had tried a few times to cause trouble with Jiaming at school, but Jiaming had always managed to avoid him or hide with Lingjing and Shasha. He might have been willing to fight against Lingjing, but he did not dare to offend Shasha¡¯s father. When October came, there was only one time that he had managed to find Jiaming alone, but never got the chance to rough him up. At this time, King of Fighters 95 had just released, and arcade games were extremely popular. The three of them would also occasionally go to an arcade to play games; coincidently that day after school, they had decided to go to an arcade. Lingjing liked playing the airplane games, but she died very quickly in those. As she made a fuss on her own, Shasha and Jiaming decided to try KOF 95. This type of game was not difficult for Jiaming, but because his opponent was Shasha, to prevent her from beating him up, he would willingly lose to her. After having won several times, Shasha was in a great mood and decided to let the poor Jiaming play on his own as she ran over to where Lingjing was to help her with her game. After Shasha left, Jiaming lost interest in playing; however, to maintain his facade he pretended to be interested in playing the game while clumsy fumbling away with the controls. At this moment, Cao Dongfeng and around four to five lackeys came in. Then they noticed him and decided to head towards him. 1 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Monday, Feb 26). Author¡¯s note: Ah, I just randomly came up with those few Japanese names, Japanese people would likely not have these names, I also didn¡¯t think to go look it up, please forgive me. As to that last name ¡®Omamori Yoshi¡¯, previously when I saw Japanese H anime, the bathroom had the three words ¡°Omamori Hand Wash¡±. I felt that it was really refreshing, hehe, so that genius idea is now borrowed. Okay, cool~ TL Note: That author note, I can¡¯t even right now. *facedesk* Chapter 30 Chapter 30 ¨C Video Game TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Boss, today¡¯s business is quite good.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not bad today. Young master Feng, are you free to drop by today?¡± The boss said with a face full of smiles. ¡°Yeah, I just met a few of my friends, so we decided to drop by.¡± Cao Dongfeng casually received the boss¡¯ protection fee. As he looked around the arcade, he noticed Jiaming, who was still clumsily pressing buttons. He instantly sneered, ¡°Boss, come, come, give me a few tokens. I also want to play for a bit.¡± He headed towards them with the tokens in his hand and then leaned over, blocking half of Jiaming¡¯s screen. ¡°Huh, what a coincidence. What are the three of you playing?¡± He looked over Jiaming and stared intently at the two girls who were immersed in the airplane game. Due to their family¡¯s relationship and the fact that she did not care about him, Shasha frowned and grumbled, ¡°What rotten luck. If I knew, we wouldn¡¯t have come here to play.¡± Lingjing only bestowed one cold glance upon him before turning back to her screen. The two girls continued playing on their arcade machines, but because Jiaming¡¯s screen had been obstructed, his character was soon dead. He sighed and lightly pushed the body in front of him. ¡°Excuse me, can you please not block me? I can¡¯t see the screen.¡± The two girls were startled, the boy in front of them generally would not have said something like that. Cao Dongfeng¡¯s face darkened in anger. He smacked the machine in front of him. ¡°You f*cker, who do you think you are, making such demands!¡± When he stood up to hit the machine, the second round started and Jiaming nodded satisfactorily while smiling, ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s rude to block people¡¯s view when they¡¯re playing.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Cao Dongfeng only pointed at Jiaming and his lackeys ran up to surround him. ¡°You little brat, how could you talk to Brother Feng like that!¡± The newbie who spoke had just entered the Sha Zhu gang; he did not recognize Liu Huaisha who was standing on the side. He raised his fist and was about to hit someone when the few people next to him hurriedly stopped him. Shasha slammed her hand down on the machine in front of her and lifted the stool she was sitting on, blocking Jiaming¡¯s side. ¡°Are you guys trying to start something?! Do you wanna fight?¡± Lingjing had also stopped playing and stood by Jiaming¡¯s side. Even though she did not say anything, she was angrily looking at the lackeys as well. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Sister Sha. He¡¯s new here and doesn¡¯t know anything. Please forgive him.¡± As the arcade was in Sha Zhu gang¡¯s territory, those lackeys were part of the gang as well. However, if Liu Huaisha and Cao Dongfeng had any conflict, they naturally did not dare to intervene. Thus, one of the more senior lackeys said a few things to clarify their position. Cao Dongfeng also innocently raised both his hands in surrender. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not a big deal. Just a small misunderstanding. Little Sis Huaisha, we¡¯re all part of the same family, why would we fight each other? I¡¯m only¡­¡± He pointed at Jiaming, ¡°We¡¯re only playing a game. Since he¡¯s playing, I can also play too. Only through friendly competition can we improve ourselves. This fellow Jiaming here is so weak, but he¡¯s playing the video game so skillfully, I just wanted to play a round with him.¡± ¡°Jiaming, let¡¯s go.¡± Lingjing grabbed Jiaming¡¯s hand, intending to leave as she knew that Jiaming was not good at video games. Since the opponent was so confident, if Jiaming were to play against him, he would definitely lose. So what if Cao Dongfeng was better though? Would this guy be willing to exchange his life for hers if there was danger? Shasha also grunted and said, ¡°I¡¯ll play a round with you.¡± Currently, because of the racket they were making, a crowd gathered around, watching them. Seeing the two pretty girls defending Jiaming, jeers and shouts rose from the crowd. Cao Dongfeng spread his hands in defense, ¡°I know Little Sis Huaisha is very strong, and I can¡¯t win against you. But I¡¯m around Jiaming¡¯s level, so I feel that we could play a round to improve ourselves. What do you say, Jiaming, my friend?¡± ¡°Who the hell is your little sister! Jiaming, don¡¯t listen to him, let¡¯s go.¡± Huaisha¡¯s face darkened. Just as she was about to pull her two friends away and leave, Jiaming suddenly said, ¡°Uh, sure. What he said is correct; only by competing we can improve. I keep losing to you, Shasha, so if I play a few rounds with him, maybe I can get better.¡± ¡°Jiaming, you¡­¡± The two girls said at the same time and looked at him with concern. Jiaming only smiled and gave them an ¡®ok¡¯ gesture. Cao Dongfeng smirked, ¡°See, Jiaming understands; we can improve together.¡± He placed the few tokens down on the machine next to Jiaming, ¡°Since we¡¯re both men, we should spice this competition up with a small bet. Let¡¯s say, whoever loses would have to loudly say three times ¡®I am a chicken¡¯.¡± ¡°Say what three times?¡± Lingjing said while smiling innocently. Seeing Lingjing¡¯s beautiful smile, Cao Dongfeng hurriedly repeated, ¡°I am a chicken.¡± The two girls and Jiaming snickered, and the watching crowd jeered as well. Knowing he had been tricked, Cao Dongfeng¡¯s face flushed red. He really felt like hitting someone, but just then, Jiaming also stood up, ¡°Ok, yeah¡­ I agree.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Seeing Jiaming nod in agreement, Cao Dongfeng, angry at being tricked, said loudly, ¡°One more thing! Apart from saying that, the loser also has to pretend to be a dog and run three circles on the floor. Do you still dare to play against me?¡± Jiaming appeared to hesitate, ¡°Um, it¡¯s not necessary to be that extreme, right?¡± Cao Dongfeng lowered his voice and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to pretend to be a dog, that¡¯s fine. But Lingjing has to go on a date with me if you lose, so take your pick.¡± ¡°You really want to die, don¡¯t you?¡± Blushing, Lingjing pulled on Jiaming¡¯s hand, wanting to drag him away, when Jiaming swiftly decided, ¡°Ok, since you want to play like that, I will accompany you. I agree that the loser has to run three circles and say three times what you just said. Hmph, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s set in stone that I¡¯m going to lose though.¡± Hearing him agree, Cao Dongfeng was relieved and felt that the time to teach this brat a lesson had finally come. Seeing that Jiaming had decided, the two girls no longer persisted in trying to leave. The three stacked their hands together and chanted, ¡°Go, go, go!¡±[1] Jiaming and Cao Dongfeng inserted their tokens and selected their characters. As more and more people surrounded them, hoping for a good show, one could see Cao Dongfeng looking composed, while Jiaming looked panicked. Even though the two girls were wholeheartedly cheering for Jiaming, the fight was quite one-sided. Jiaming was barely able to scratch the opponent before losing his first character. As Jiaming¡¯s second character came up, he still played quite terribly and Shasha whispered to a worried-looking Lingjing, ¡°Jiaming is actually quite concerned about you.¡± Lingjing blushed lightly, but did not look any less worried and continued watching the game anxiously. After a pause, Shasha leaned over again and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if he does lose, I don¡¯t care what happens, but I will smash that machine.¡± Moved, Lingjing looked at her gratefully before softly saying, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do that. The only thing that could happen is me going on a date with him once, so Jiaming doesn¡¯t need to act like a dog¡­ Besides, the situation Jiaming is in right now is my fault.¡± When playing the second character, it seemed that Jiaming had gotten a feel of the game and muddled his way to decreasing his opponent¡¯s health to around half before dying. Shasha was prepared with her stool to smash the machine, when Cao Dongfeng laughed loudly, ¡°Brat, looks like you¡¯re losing for sure.¡± Jiaming looked tense as he replied, ¡°The third character is Iori Yagami and I¡¯m more familiar with him, I haven¡¯t lost yet.¡± ¡°Hehe, we¡¯ll see.¡± At this time, Jiaming was on his last character, while Cao Dongfeng still had three characters, and it looked like the results had been decided. However, he was not lying when he said Iori Yagami was the character he was more familiar with. After a short while, Cao Dongfeng¡¯s first character died and when his second character came out, everyone thought that Jiaming was going to lose for sure. To the crowd, it seemed that the boy was under a huge amount of pressure, as his hands trembled. Lingjing took out a handkerchief to wipe some of the beads of sweat that had appeared on his temple. Shortly after, the next round started. Clickclickclickclickclickclickclick¡ª¡ª As soon as it started, Jiaming seemed to enter a berserk state; one of his hands was shaking the joystick like there was no tomorrow, and the other hand was hammering the buttons like a fiend. The crowd could see the Iori Yagami on the screen jumping around and kicking away madly: kick after kick after kick¡­ Cao Dongfeng only smirked, and had just entered within range to attack, when suddenly, a miracle happened. During the first move it seemed like he had been kicked by Iori Yagami mid-air, then during the second move, when he was in the air, Iori Yagami suddenly went in the wrong direction and jumped back. On the third move, Iori jumped again and kicked him midway. During the fourth move, Cao Dongfeng was already feeling somewhat depressed because he had blocked expecting a mid-air kick, but Jiaming had done a low kick instead¡­ Under this monotonous and repetitive jumping and kicking, Iori Yagami¡¯s health had only dropped by half, but Cao Dongfeng¡¯s character was slowly being kicked to death. ¡°Haha, this brat¡¯s luck is too good.¡± ¡°How did that even happen¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s too strange, did he get possessed?¡± The crowd pointed and whispered with each other, but most of them thought it was due to luck. The two girls could not contain their giddiness after that victory and were happy for Jiaming. After that second round, Jiaming¡¯s Iori Yagami only had around half health left, and the opponent still had a full health character. This third round was not looking good regardless, so Shasha was still prepared to smash the machine. Cao Dongfeng only coldly snorted, and the third round started. This time, there was no frenzied smacking of buttons and Jiaming¡¯s hands also did not tremble, however not many people noticed that. As before, Iori Yagami jumped backwards and kicked pointlessly while Cao Dongfeng¡¯s character rushed forward, but like last time, somehow got hit again. He still thought this was due to luck, but during the remaining time, he was unable to control his character because he had been caught in a combo of skills. Scum gale, Ge Shiki Yumebiki, Shiki Aoi Hana, Shiki Yaotome[2]¡­ Even though Jiaming¡¯s character had started at half health, Cao Dongfeng could only stare at Jiaming, who had an earnest smile on his face while his fingers lively pressed buttons. He could only watch in shock as his character went from full to zero and with one last hit, the result was Jiaming¡¯s win. ¡°Yay!¡± Amidst the disbelieving silence, the two girls cheered, jumping up and down and hugging each other happily. Cao Dongfeng¡¯s face changed to a pig-liver colored grey, ¡°You¡­ you tricked me?¡± ¡°What? I didn¡¯t though?¡± Jiaming smiled excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s just a game! I have to thank you; I¡¯ll no longer lose to Shasha thanks to you letting me link those skills into a combo. Oh right, since we agreed on a bet, what did the loser have to do again?¡± Cao Dongfeng shuddered, ¡°Mr. Gu, it¡¯s better to leave a path of retreat, so that one can pass their days better.¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± Jiaming only smiled magnanimously, he did not have to pretend to be a dog, so he pulled on Lingjing and prepared to leave together with the two girls. ¡°I don¡¯t really mind. But you already declared it in front of so many people. If you do as you promised, then fine, but even if you don¡¯t, I can¡¯t force you to. As to how other people would see you for not following through though, that¡¯s your problem.¡± Huaisha originally wanted to see him crawl on the floor, but then she only smiled and turned back, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever see you again. Cao Dongfeng, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s the useless chicken.¡± If Cao Dongfeng did not pretend to be a dog and this news was spread out, then his honor would be as good as gone. However, even if he did do it, Jiaming and the girls had already left. If he did it just for the crowd, his pride would take a hit as well. Cao Dongfeng stood there, his face puce with rage, looking like he was about to have an epileptic fit. On the streets outside of the arcade, the victorious hero Jiaming was currently getting his cheeks viciously pinched by Lingjing and Shasha. ¡°Ow¡­ I give up¡­My dear ladies, please¡­I¡¯m going to die¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to strangle you, you jerk. We were so worried just now¡­¡± But the two girls laughed happily and continued to tease Jiaming. The three of them noisily ran down the streets as the clouds in the sky looked like they were burning under the last rays of the setting sun. [1] I contemplated keeping it as ¡°Add oil!¡± or translating it as ¡°Ganbatte!¡± instead because the english equivalent wasn¡¯t as catchy. Let me know what you think and I could change it. XD ? [2] Basically a list of Iori Yagami¡¯s skills. Please let me know if I made an error or not. Also you can youtube them if you¡¯re curious. ? 2 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, Feb 28). If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it (: https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 31 Chapter 31 ¨C Kidnapped TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws After the video game competition, Cao Dongfeng no longer looked for Jiaming to cause trouble. However, when Jiaming was at school, he kept feeling a stare of hatred from afar, and he was quite uncomfortable with it. In October, as autumn arrived, the leaves changed to a golden yellow. The three of them were walking home after school, and leaves slowly drifted down from the trees. Shasha was actually calmer now as she was no longer her violent younger self. If there was no one provoking her (i.e. Cao Dongfeng), she had times when she appeared gentle and quiet. Ever since the martial arts competition during summer, she had started carrying around and reading romance novels. If one was particularly good, she would lend it to Lingjing for her to reference. The two girls were somewhat careful with their actions, as they did not realize that Jiaming had thought that they were a couple since a long time ago. When the three of them were together, sometimes the two girls would whisper in each other¡¯s ears, cheeks a light rosy pink. Thus, Jiaming thought that the two girls¡¯ relationship was quite splendid. However, he still found women difficult to understand. When the fifth day of the ninth month of the lunar year (October 28th) arrived, it was Shasha¡¯s fifteenth birthday. Like usual, she spent her birthday with her two best friends, Jiaming and Lingjing, as her father was busy and unable to get away. It seemed that recently, the clean up of gang areas in Jianghai City was quite high and this was likely due to Jiaming. That time when he went to rescue Marilyn and her daughter, tens of people including the politician Tang Jingyao had died. Guns were not the only things confiscated, and these actions were considered one of the most severe blows dealt against the gangs in Jianghai City. This crackdown continued for around half a year, and a lot of the smaller gangs were rooted out. There were a lot of free territories now, and as the Sha Zhu gang was one of the big three triads, they naturally did not slack off on expanding their domain. These days, when school ended, Jiaming noticed that various triad members were hanging around the area near Shasha ¨C they were the bodyguards that her father had secretly sent to protect his daughter. Even though Shasha did not seem to notice the triad members, Jiaming and Lingjing both knew that she was disturbed by them. As usual, the three of them made their way to the Liu family villa to play for the rest of the day. When evening came, Lingjing¡¯s mother called and asked them to return home to have dinner and celebrate Shasha¡¯s birthday at the same time. When they entered Lingjing¡¯s home, the usually tomboyish girl¡¯s eyes were red-rimmed. After dinner, when father Ye said that Shasha should come over for dinner regularly, she was so moved that she could not stop the tears from leaking out. ¡°Hey, does that mean I have two wives now?¡± Seeing Shasha cry, Jiaming intervened by joking. The Ye family was used to joking around, but hearing the usually sincere Jiaming make a joke, the Ye couple laughed heartily. Lingjing blushed as she blew a quiet raspberry at him and punched him hard. Shasha stopped crying and leaped out of her seat to chase after him as Jiaming ran off. He did not evade her for too long; he only ran ten laps around the arena before letting Shasha catch up to him and punch him fiercely. However, because he did this, Shasha was no longer crying which was exactly his intention. The next day after Shasha¡¯s birthday, an unusual situation happened. That day after school, Lingjing had stayed behind to help a teacher with distributing some documents, so Jiaming and Shasha left first and planned to wait for her near the school gate. The two of them were browsing a small stall nearby when two minivans suddenly drove up and sandwiched them on each side. The hiding bodyguards instantly rushed over, but because one of the minivans was obstructing them, they could not get there in time. The masked men that leapt off the van had already grabbed Shasha and were getting back into the minivan. If he had acted at that time, he would definitely have destroyed a few of them, but¡­ there were too many people¡­ In terms of strength, Jiaming and Shasha combined would have not been enough against that many adults, so rapidly adapting to the situation, Jiaming held onto Shasha¡¯s hand with a death grip. He ended up being thrown into the minivan with her.The minivan instantly drove off, and the two teenagers were quickly tied up, blindfolded, and gagged. When Jiaming had been tied up, he had already hidden a blade in his hand, and it would have been easy for him to get out of the ropes. He lay quietly, concentrating on feeling the direction that the van was moving in; Shasha, who was quite afraid, leaned towards him, her voice muffled behind the gag as she struggled with her bindings. ¡°I say, Brother Feng said to take three people, right?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only two of them, where is the third person? How about stopping the van and just take some random kid? Also what Brother Feng, that pint-sized brat, I only listen to Brother Hao. Brother Hao said to take one person only, if this boy hadn¡¯t refused to let go, I wouldn¡¯t have taken him as well,¡± that person said as he kicked Jiaming. It was Cao Dongfeng again. Since it was like this, was the Cao family relying on the Ling Hai gang or were they trying to set up their own gang? Jiaming reviewed what he knew about them. After clashing with Cao Dongfeng, he had looked up both father and son¡¯s backgrounds. In the Sha Zhu gang, Cao Jinghao considered himself to be an important figure; when some of the elders died, he named himself as second-in-command, while hiding his ambition to be the head of the gang. Sadly, this person was actually somewhat capable, partly due to a foreign influence. Jiaming had not considered it to be too big of a deal, but because he was only one person, if he were to investigate, it would be very troublesome. However, before he had a chance to gather all the information, his opponent already made their move. Jiaming had long since memorized all the locations in this city. He estimated that the van¡¯s final destination should be on the west side of the city at a lumber mill. After they stopped, Jiaming and Shasha were forcefully separated, and their blindfolds and gags were removed. They had actually arrived at the lumber factory as the ground was littered with wood chips and building materials. They were currently at the central plaza, in between a row of covered sheds and a small two-storey building. A crowd of people gathered around watching the two children on the ground, their main interest naturally on Shasha. ¡°Little niece, it¡¯s been a while. How are you recently?¡± Shasha coldly eyed the slightly chubby middle-aged man that was speaking. ¡°I know you, Cao Jinghao! Don¡¯t worry; my dad will come here soon!¡± ¡°Haha, I am worried about that, so I wanted niece Huaisha to help me and say a few good things about me. Hm, that little guy, he seems to be the boy in your group of three, what was his name again? Oh right, what about the other girl?¡± As he asked, Cao Dongfeng standing next to him spoke up, ¡°Yeah, what about Ye Lingjing, you guys didn¡¯t catch her?¡± ¡°We saw those two kids together outside the school. Because the girl looked like Liu Huaisha¡¯s photo, we made a move.¡± ¡°Hmph, Cao Dongfeng.¡± Even though Huaisha was tied up and lying on the ground, she retained her sharp tongue, ¡°You¡¯re a toad that wants to eat swan meat[1], haven¡¯t you given up yet? Seeing how virtuous you are, even a real toad wouldn¡¯t like you!¡± ¡°If you continue spouting sh*t, I¡¯mma f*ck you up.¡± An angry glint appeared in Cao Dongfeng¡¯s eyes. ¡°I may not be a match for Ye Lingjing, but I sure as f*ck am better than that brat! Since Lingjing isn¡¯t here, it¡¯s fine that you¡¯re here. If you don¡¯t want to die after getting played with, my last name isn¡¯t Cao!¡± ¡°Jiaming, don¡¯t be scared.¡± Shasha was quietly comforting him even though she was trembling herself. ¡°Mmm, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Jiaming nodded as he absent-mindedly scanned his surroundings. Opposite them, there were two people inside a small bamboo shed that had caught his attention. One of them was a 50-or-so Japanese old man wearing a samurai outfit, while holding a shinai[2]; the other was a girl clothed in a loose red kimono sitting on the ground. She seemed to be around Jiaming and Lingjing¡¯s age and looked like a carved porcelain doll as she sat there unmoving, like a millennium-year iceberg. That old man loudly shouted something but did not get a response, so he viciously hit the girl once with the shinai. Jiaming could see that he used his full power without holding anything back, but the girl barely reacted, only a brief thread of pain flashing past in her eyes. The old man was speaking Japanese, so other people did not understand him, but Jiaming understood. The old man said, ¡°I¡¯ve given you two days, but you still refuse to talk¡­ Fine, tomorrow if you still won¡¯t talk, don¡¯t blame me if I destroy your future!¡± That girl¡­ Jiaming searched his memories for someone similar looking. It seems that in his previous life, around eight years ago, he had seen her adult self once. Apparently, that girl had lived in a room for eight years without leaving until one day she slashed her wrists and painted a sakura blossom on the walls with her blood. At that time she was also wearing a brightly colored kimono, neat and graceful, her last expression serene and cold like ice. Back then, Jiaming thought that Japanese people were bizarre. An unmatched beauty that could calmly kill herself like that¡­ even though he had gone through countless training, he did not believe that he could maintain that expression at the time of his death, let alone if he committed suicide. Now that he thought about it, he had been here for around eight years, but the butterfly effect was not that strong. So what she was going through right now should follow with his previous timeline. If he remembered correctly, Tsukichi was the Japanese clan¡¯s name, and they knew a mystical type of ninjutsu, Ikesakura Senmaboroshi[3]. Her name was¡­ Kaoru. [1] A toad that wants to eat swan meat basically means someone not suitable (eg. someone the girl¡¯s parents would not approve of) wants to marry someone out of their reach. ? [2] Shinai ¨C bamboo sword used in kendo. ? [3] Ikesakura Senmaboroshi (³Ø™Ñǧ»Ã) ¨C literally translates into pool of sakura blossoms, a thousand illusions. 3 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, March 2). A new loli Kaoru is introduced :3 Chapter 32 Chapter 32 ¨C That Must Be Love TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in Japanese. That night, Jiaming and Shasha were locked in a room on the first floor of the small building. Since the windows were welded shut and there was a metal door with a lock, their ropes had been thoughtfully loosened and a meal was delivered to them. Jiaming originally expected to receive a violent beating from Cao Dongfeng, but it had not happened yet. When he thought about it again, he realized that Cao Dongfeng liked Lingjing, so if Shasha and him were locked in the room, he had probably ordered people to kidnap Lingjing as well. Jiaming figured that once Lingjing was caught, then he would be tortured in front of her, to cause her pain. Since it was like that, he would wait for one more day¡­ He would only act once Lingjing was in front of him. If he were to make a move now, when the other side had a hostage, things would become quite troublesome. Also, he could now take a look at what was happening with Tsukichi Kaoru. The food was not laced with anything so Jiaming sat down and ate a couple of mouthfuls. An energetic Shasha constantly kicked the door while cursing loudly. When she finally got tired from all the yelling, it was completely dark outside. Because there was no light in the room, she had to blindly grope along the table to take a seat and eat something. She was a picky eater, not liking garlic or ginger; so when she started eating, she occasionally stopped and spat things out. When she was halfway through her meal, she suddenly asked, ¡°Ah! What if the food was poisoned¡­¡± Jiaming sniggered, ¡°Then I would be dead already.¡± Shasha paused, then asked him if he felt fine. However, even though she got a positive response, she no longer felt like eating. It would take a lot of effort on Jiaming¡¯s part to escape from this concrete-walled room with bars across the window and a locked metal door. Apart from a table, a bed and a small toilet in the corner, there was basically nothing else in the room. Shasha sat at the end of the bed and cursed quietly, fantasizing about an escape strategy, while occasionally comforting Jiaming with a ¡°don¡¯t be afraid¡±. Jiaming did respond once in awhile, but he was focused on listening to the situation happening next door. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for this; you being in this situation is all because your father owes me¡­¡± ¡°He was the one who originally used underhanded means to snatch away your mother when she was my fianc¨¦e. He actually dared to contest with his senior brother for his wife¡­¡± ¡°Over the years, I had to hold myself back until I got support from Lyra Tenebris. The Tsukichi clan is finished, Kaoru, I caught you to save you, and also to not let the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi skill disappear. I originally was the main successor of the Tsukichi clan because I was the most qualified to succeed the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi¡­¡± ¡°Since I¡¯m forced into this situation, I will do anything to get it!¡± The old Japanese man¡¯s tone of voice was surprisingly effeminate, sounding just like a eunuch¡¯s, his words sounding higher pitched every so often. After a few sentences, there would be a ¡°pa¡± sound. It seemed that he was using the shinai to heavily beat the little girl, but he was skillfully controlling his strength so as to maximize the amount of pain she felt while not harming her bones or muscles. Jiaming wondered if that fellow was actually an expert at BDSM play. Deeply engrossed in their own thoughts, he and Shasha sat still until around midnight. Shasha was no longer in the mood to shout, and after she yawned a few times, Jiaming said, ¡°Shasha, go to sleep.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one bed. I¡¯ll go sleep on the table in a bit.¡± ¡°How can you do that!¡± Shasha jumped up and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°It¡¯s nearly winter and it¡¯s so cold, you¡¯ll get sick. How about¡­ how about we share the bed; we¡¯re just sleeping.¡± Jiaming smiled briefly, he did not care about these things, but since Shasha did, he made the cursory objections before giving in. The two of them took off their shoes and climbed into the bed. Jiaming laid on the outside while Shasha slept on the inside, against the wall. Because the quilt was as thin as paper, they tried not to touch each other. The two of them were already quite familiar with each other; when they were at the Liu family villa and the three of them were tired after playing, they had occasionally fallen asleep together on the carpet. However, this was the first time that it could be considered as ¡®sharing a bed together¡¯. For the first ten minutes or so, Shasha was as stiff as a corpse and did not move. However not long after, she suddenly muttered, ¡°There¡¯s no pillow¡­¡± then she started shifting around on the bed, showing how uncomfortable she was feeling. Jiaming was a light sleeper to start with, so in this situation, even though he had closed his eyes, he was still aware of anything that was happening around him. Hearing Shasha change positions every few minutes, he thought that she was quite laughable. After around an hour, she finally fell asleep. However, because she felt cold, she curled up and pulled more and more of the thin quilt towards her until it ended up completely wrapped around her. After around three hours, in the middle of the night, Shasha started to unnaturally move around again. She lifted herself off the bed and waved her hand in front of Jiaming¡¯s face a few times. Then it seemed that she climbed over him to get off the bed. But when she leaned over him about halfway, she stopped and returned back to her original position, carefully covering Jiaming with the quilt, while nudging his shoulder. She was acting just like a clumsy newlywed who was still not familiar with taking care of her husband. After pulling the blanket over him, she waved her hand in front of JIaming¡¯s face again, then finally climbed off the bed. What is she planning to do¡­ Jiaming thought it was strange. Usually Shasha was quite easy to read; her acting this late at night time was different from her usual attitude, so he opened his eyes a sliver. He saw her shadow heading towards the corner of the room and pulling down her pants, before he finally understood what was going on. As he closed his eyes again, there was the quiet sound of water from that corner of the room and then afterwards, Shasha climbed back onto the bed, crawled under the quilt and then laid down like a corpse again. Because there was no pillow and it was quite cold, Shasha started to uncomfortably shuffle around again, and after a few times, she finally grabbed Jiaming¡¯s hand and then gingerly moved his arm into a horizontal position. ¡°Lingjing, forgive me, it¡¯s just this one time¡­¡± Jiaming heard her softly whisper and then she promptly used his arm as a pillow. Not long after she fell asleep, she rolled over a few times and ended up cuddling with Jiaming without waking. Jiaming smiled wryly and clasped her shoulder. This girl¡­ lilies really are loyal and true¡­ Even though she was only hugging him to sleep properly, she still sincerely apologized to her partner. At that moment, Jiaming was quite moved and thought, That must be love. The night passed uneventfully, and when morning came, Shasha¡¯s face was as red as a tomato. To avoid the embarrassing situation, she started loudly cursing again, and not long after, someone came by and passed two steamed buns through the bars of their window for breakfast. Through the crack of the door, Jiaming could see the plaza where the little Japanese girl in the same red kimono was sitting quietly as she was getting thrashed. In the morning, the factory was relatively quiet ¨C Cao Jinghao and Cao Dongfeng had both left the area and only the effeminate voice of the old man could be heard from the plaza, accompanied by Shasha¡¯s energetic cursing. Jiaming found it quite amusing when the two voices ¨C one in Chinese, the other in Japanese ¨C mixed together. In the afternoon, the Cao father and son returned in an angry mood. As soon as they arrived, Cao Dongfeng demanded them to open the metal door and have the two children tied up, before pushing them out. They probably did not have anything prepared for Shasha as they only tied her to a chair, while Jiaming was brought to a two-meter tall pillar. He was forced to stand against it with his hands tied behind it. Right next to him, Tsukichi Kaoru was still being tortured. His current position made Jiaming think of being one of those heroical martyrs that sacrificed their own life for the sake of revolution. ¡°Sh*t, I don¡¯t feel like waiting for Lingjing to come anymore.¡± Just like the old Japanese man, Cao Dongfeng was also holding a shinai. Cursing viciously, he walked towards Jiaming while Shasha was loudly shouting, ¡°Cao Dongfeng, what are you doing! I won¡¯t forget this if you do anything to him!¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a little b*tch with no power to say anything. Shut her up!¡± Cao Dongfeng ordered the two subordinates nearby. They brought out a gag and stuffed it into her mouth to stop her from talking, ¡°F*ck, student Jiaming, to be honest, I¡¯m super f*cking pissed today, so now I¡¯m just going to take it out on you!¡± As he said that, he aimed the shinai at the pit of Jiaming¡¯s stomach and swung at him! 4 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Sunday, March 4). THIS MAIN CHARACTER IS SO DENSE ABOUT SHASHA AND LINGJING, I CAN¡¯T EVEN RIGHT NOW. Also a special announcement that I was hinting at¡­ Ilkon and I were working hard on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin ???? Book 1 consists of prologue to chapter 40, but do know that I¡¯ll be keeping the consistent release rate. We will get to chapter 40 eventually and you can still read this for free XD If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Or you would like to show your support another way, you can continue voting for our fledgling novel and improve our GT rankings ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 33 Chapter 33 ¨C Tortured TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in Japanese. Pa¡ª the shinai viciously landed on Jiaming¡¯s body. Opposite them, Shasha made a choked noise before struggling wildly on the chair. ¡°Haha, seems like student Jiaming has good tolerance; he didn¡¯t even make a sound.¡± Proud of himself, Cao Dongfeng propped the shinai on his shoulder. ¡°Why is little sis Huaisha so concerned? Jiaming didn¡¯t call out, so it obviously didn¡¯t hurt.¡± He smiled nastily before landing a succession of heavy blows on Jiaming¡¯s body. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt! It doesn¡¯t hurt! It¡¯s not painful, right? I¡¯m being quite gentle! I¡¯m only lightly tapping you!¡± As Cao Dongfeng worked himself into a frenzy, the old man on the other side was also beating the japanese girl with his shinai. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were caused by the blows of the shinai. Tsukichi Kaoru was just sitting there like an empty shell, occasionally straightening up whenever the impact from the shinai moved her from her original position. Jiaming also did not make any sounds other than gritting his teeth and bitterly holding it in. After a while, Jiaming could feel Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s ice cold gaze pass over him, probably curious about how he was able to suffer in silence, and he could not help but inwardly smile wryly. If he was really trying to hold back from reacting to the beating, then naturally he could not assume a completely impassive disposition like her. He was currently pretending to be an ordinary little boy, so he had to show that he was suffering while trying to keep it in, and gritting his teeth worked quite well. While the two people being beaten were keeping silent, Shasha, who was tied to the chair, was struggling wildly and making muffled noises. It seemed that every hit that landed on Jiaming made her struggle harder; but unfortunately, the ropes were tied tightly. Eventually, the chair tipped over along with her and she fell onto her knees. She did not take her eyes off Jiaming as tears poured down her face, unclear whether this was due to her falling or due to her feeling distressed about Jiaming¡¯s situation. Hearing Shasha fall, Cao Dongfeng finally took a break. He looked at Jiaming, his eyes filled with surprise, ¡°It seems that you really can hold it back¡­ It must be because you normally get beaten, that¡¯s why you¡¯re immune to it now!¡± He derided and then looked back at Shasha, ¡°But your girlfriend is kneeling. Cousin Huaisha is begging for your forgiveness. Come, loosen that gag on her, let¡¯s hear what she has to say.¡± As his subordinate removed the rag from Shasha¡¯s mouth, she instantly spat out, ¡°Cao Dongfeng, you¡¯re supposed to go through me first! If you have the balls, fight me 1-on-1!¡± ¡°1-on-1?¡± ¨CCao Dongfeng raised an eyebrow¨C ¡°I think not. I don¡¯t want to hear that at all.¡± He turned back to Jiaming and started beating him again. Spending that much effort to beat someone just for them to keep acting like a block of wood was quite boring. It was like a famous singer singing without getting applauded, or a comedian not getting any laughs from their audience. However, even though Jiaming was not making any noises, behind them, Shasha was angrily cursing him nonstop, giving him the motivation to continue beating Jiaming. ¡°Cao Dongfeng, you bastard¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a man, you¡¯re a chicken¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even dare to fight 1-on-1 with a girl, if you have to beat someone, beat me¡­¡± Eventually the angry cursing became crying and begging¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t beat him anymore¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you, please stop. You¡¯re going to beat him to death¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Jiaming could only sigh internally when he saw a normally tough Shasha all teary-eyed and crying until her voice became hoarse. If he were a regular child, then he would not have been able to suffer this beating quietly; however, Cao Dongfeng was not actually trying to beat him to death as he was not hitting any vital areas. The main question was whether he wanted to make a move in front of her or not, because he did not know how to explain it afterwards. Feeling a slight headache, he inwardly sighed again. Jiaming had been tortured for around an hour and Shasha¡¯s throat was already hoarse from shouting and crying. She was still tied to the chair and was slowly crawling her way towards him on her knees. The people watching this whole scene did not do anything to stop her. As Cao Dongfeng raised his shinai for another hit, with a ¡®pa¡¯, the Japanese old man reached out and grabbed his weapon, frowning as he said something. T he Japanese translator on the side piped up, ¡°Brother Feng, Mr. Tsukichi is saying that he can¡¯t keep watching silently. Your torture method is not producing the most amount of pain on the target, you don¡¯t want to prematurely maim them. To save time, he will show you how he does it.¡± Cao Dongfeng¡¯s eye lit up, and he gladly agreed, ¡°Please let the master show the way.¡± He knew that the Japanese man was quite impressive, so he hurriedly moved aside. The shinai in the old Tsukichi¡¯s hand flashed, and immediately, Jiaming felt a sharp, bone-deep pain piercing his arm. That old man then painstakingly explained in Japanese about the amount of force used, when to stop, the flexibility of his wrist, whether it should be a heavy or light blow, while Cao Dongfeng nodded and listened raptly. Afterwards, the old man took a look at the color of the sky, then said in Japanese, ¡°The time has come.¡± He returned to Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s side, ¡°The three day time limit is now over. If you still refuse to say anything, then don¡¯t blame me for what happens now!¡± When the old man had moved away, Cao Dongfeng was excited to use the knowledge he had just learned. Shasha could only quietly cry, ¡°Please¡­ please stop hitting him¡­¡± This, however, only spurred him on even more. After taking a couple of breaths, he deliberately turned back to face Shasha, before shouting a loud ¡°Ah¡± as the shinai descended. Pa¡ª The sound of this blow landing was louder than his previous hits. Jiaming¡¯s small body shook and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, before his head drooped down. Cao Dongfeng excitedly ran up to check, ¡°Haha, he passed out! He finally fainted¡­¡± Stunned and feeling panicked, Shasha quietly keened, ¡°Jiaming¡­ Jiaming¡­¡± and tried to crawl faster towards him. Cao Dongfeng had just ordered someone to take a bucket of water to wake Jiaming when suddenly, the old Japanese man interrupted, ¡°Mr. Tsukichi said he wanted you to strip the Japanese girl and then¡­¡± the translator made an obscene gesture as he leered. ¡°Right here, where everyone can see?¡± Cao Dongfeng stared blankly for a moment, while his father, Cao Jinghao, who had just been observing since the beginning, also spoke up, ¡°Mr. Tsukichi said that you can do whatever you want! Why are you still asking so many questions?!¡± Cao Dongfeng rubbed his hands together. Even though he thought this was rather ridiculous, he decided to not think too much about it. That girl was extremely beautiful and not inferior to Lingjing at all. Because she was someone Mr. Tsukichi had brought, he had worked hard on getting rid of any thoughts about that girl. However, now that he had the chance, even though there was a crowd of people watching, they could be considered people he was familiar with, so it was not all that bad. As he thought about that, he walked in front of the girl and looked at Mr. Tsukichi again. Once he got confirmation, he reached out with both hands; but just as he touched the collar of her kimono, a white light suddenly flashed in front of his eyes! With a sharp pa¡ª, Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s left hand withdrew. Cao Dongfeng was so scared that he had retreated several steps and nearly fell down in his haste to get away. In front of them, a few drops of fresh blood dripped from the wide left sleeve of Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s kimono. They suddenly realized that this porcelain doll of a little girl had made a move. Were it not for Mr. Tsukichi thwarting her with a hit just now, Cao Dongfeng¡¯s neck would have been cut severely. What weapon did she use¡­ Mr. Tsukichi was torturing her the whole time, so she did not have any weapons on her, so¡­ it was a fingernail?! As he thought of this, the old Tsukichi poked him on the back with his shinai and motioned at him to move forward. The translator said on the side, ¡°Mr. Tsukichi says not to worry, he will keep a lookout.¡± ¡°Hehe, I am grateful.¡± This time, Cao Dongfeng went straight towards her and Tsukichi Kaoru tried to jump away and escape. The old man moved quickly, another ¡°pa¡± sound was heard and the girl fell to the ground like a butterfly with broken wings. Her leg was revealed from under the oversized kimono and a shocking amount of welts could be seen. She still looked beautiful on the outside because she was wearing the red clothing, but the fact was that he had beaten her every day, and under the kimono, it was extremely likely her body was beaten black and blue. Cao Dongfeng hesitated again, before continuing to reach out towards the girl. She moved, suddenly stabbing out her right hand. Cao Dongfeng quickly retreated, and another vicious swat of the shinai met her hand. This time, as the girl fell to the ground, Cao Dongfeng could see blood on her slightly trembling hand. Deliberately looking towards the old man again, he released the breath he was holding in and then stooped down. While this was happening, Shasha, watching the fainted Jiaming, had been slowly shuffling towards him. Her heart was clenching in pain¡­ She had never felt like this before¡­ Suddenly, she saw Jiaming raise his head and then open both eyes. She froze as she looked at Jiaming¡¯s face, her shout stuck in her throat. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with a strong killing intent. ¡°Jiaming¡­¡± She had not seen that look on him before and was so frightened, her mind went blank. On the other side, Cao Dongfeng had pulled open Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s collar and revealed her body. The observing crowd let out several shocked gasps at the sight of the amount of wounds on her body. During this moment, the outer layer of the old man¡¯s shinai suddenly shattered into pieces, and Cao Dongfeng felt a cold prick; but this time, the old man could not react as swiftly. Cao Dongfeng was lifted up. He was tightly grabbed by his collar from behind, and he felt the sharpness of a blade pressing onto his lower back. In front of him, the old man¡¯s newly broken shinai had stopped right at his throat. ¡°Don¡¯t move¡ª¡± ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°Jiaming¡­¡± During this commotion, the japanese girl, who had fallen on the ground, quietly raised her head and watched the young boy. His dagger was pressed tightly on the back of Cao Dongfeng¡¯s waist, fresh blood slowly dripping out of the corner of his mouth as he too, had been beaten black and blue like she had been¡­ Then, she saw the youth smile. ¡°Old man¡­ you¡¯re not fast enough¡­¡± ¡ª¨C 1 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Monday, March 5). Jiaming, sometimes you forget Shasha is still just a young maiden. Also if you missed our special announcement¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin ???? Book 1 consists of prologue to chapter 40, but do know that I¡¯ll be keeping the consistent release rate. We will get to chapter 40 eventually and you can still read this for free XD If you would like to show your support to our team, or want to read ahead to ch 40, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Or you would like to show your support another way, you can vote and improve our GT rankings ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 34 Chapter 34 ¨C To Feign Madness TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Scram! Move away¡ª Everyone move¡ª¡± Using Cao Dongfeng as a hostage, the bleeding Jiaming staggered around as though he had gone berserk. He cut Shasha¡¯s ropes with the dagger, and then they retreated back towards the logging area. The porcelain-like japanese girl also took this opportunity to desperately stagger towards Jiaming¡¯s side. Even though every step she took caused her to feel a huge amount of pain, and it felt like every part of her body was being pricked by needles, the expression on her doll-like face remained unchanged. She knew that this was her last chance to escape, so she would do anything to follow him. On the other side, Shasha also followed behind him, worried about the state that Jiaming was in. The shinai had not hit his face, but blood was still dripping out of his mouth and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Normally, he was a timid boy with an honest smile, but right now he was shouting hysterically. He must have been frightened and in a great deal of pain, otherwise how would he be able to come up with this kind of courage? When they were at the Lingjing¡¯s place, father Ye used to force Jiaming to learn martial arts. However, Jiaming would laze about and would rather be a gopher that brought drinks and towels. If he had no other options, he would do a few stances, and his posture was always accurate and precise. When he was forced to fight, no one could beat him because he would leap around the arena like a loach. According to father Ye, he was quite talented at learning fight techniques as he could execute a complete and beautiful set, but he just did not know how to apply them to a fight. As to what happened just now, from the few movements he made, it was quite obvious that they were the various techniques taught by father Ye ¨Cmoving into position, grabbing the person and evading¨C all executed in one go, at a speed that even that perverted old Japanese man could not follow. However, as Shasha was next to him, she could clearly see the faint trembling that was going through his arms and body. ¡°All of you, go further away¡ª Cough, cough¡­¡± The boy¡¯s voice sounded slightly frenzied, and after finishing the sentence he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Because of his coughing, the dagger just so happened to stab a bit deeper into Cao Dongfeng. He hysterically cried out, ¡°Retreat! Move it! He¡¯s going to stab me! He¡¯s stabbing me!¡±The multiple knife-wielding, angry looking subordinates paused at Cao Dongfeng¡¯s words, then slowly parted into a semi-circle. Cao Jinghao loudly shouted, ¡°Brat, don¡¯t do anything crazy. If you dare hurt him, I will kill your whole family!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll kill your whole family!¡± Cao Jinghao had barely finished talking before Jiaming angrily shouted back, ¡°You have the balls to threaten me, I will end your family right now!¡± ¡°Fine, fine. It¡¯s my fault, I won¡¯t say it again. You¡¯re a good boy, please relax, don¡¯t act too hastily¡­¡± Cao Jinghao hurriedly changed his tone. He was used to ordering people around, but then realized that this time his opponent had a hostage. If they were an adult, then he could have reasoned with them, but because this child seemed half-crazy, if he pushed too hard, anything could happen. Holding onto the hostage, the three of them retreated from between the two short buildings to the back area of the logging yard ¡ª there was a small gate in the fence separating the yard from the woods. Shasha thought that it would be better to leave from the front, but she figured that Jiaming was unable to think about that point. Now they were half-surrounded by knife-wielding hooligans and it was not possible to push through them. She looked at the erratic-acting Jiaming again and felt her heart clench. It had always been her and Lingjing protecting him, but now that they were in this situation because of her, he had gotten tortured. However, seeing him act like this and trying so hard to protect her, deep down in her heart, she felt it was kind of sweet. A few people ran ahead through the gate and waited by the trees. When Jiaming saw this, he suddenly bellowed, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to move! Don¡¯t follow after us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible, please think about our side of things.¡± Cao Jinghao tried to sound as gentle as he could, ¡°If you run out of sight, what if you kill my son? I have to keep an eye on you¡­¡± ¡°Your son deserves to die!¡± Jiaming continued shouting, ¡°However I won¡¯t leave, I will let you watch him. But Shasha has to escape, she has to! I have to make sure that Shasha escapes before I let him go!¡± ¡°Ok, Shasha can leave, but I have to see that my son is safe. Also that other girl¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s none of my concern, but if anyone dares come near us, I will kill him!¡± ¡°Ok, ok. We¡¯re not coming over, I will also speak with Mr. Tsukichi¡­¡± He asked the translator to tell the Japanese old man not to make any sudden moves. The old man only quietly sighed, but did not take any action. Under the watch of the hooligans, the four of them slowly retreated into the woods and eventually stopped near a short bush. The pursuers could see Jiaming and Cao Dongfeng, as well as the Shasha girl wailing about something. ¡°I don¡¯t want to run. If I run, we run together, I¡¯m not leaving you behind¡­¡± ¡°I told you to hurry up and run! I¡¯m staying behind to delay them! You¡¯re being a nuisance, just get lost!¡± ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t wanna¡­¡± Shasha shook her head, her face full of tears, ¡°I won¡¯t leave. You have never yelled at me before, and I know you want me to be able to escape on my own, but I don¡¯t wanna¡­ It was because of me that you got beaten, if only my father was not part of the criminal underworld¡­¡± ¡°Why are you talking so much, just run away already!¡± Jiaming said as he kicked Shasha in the stomach. He did not use a lot of strength, but Shasha never thought that he would kick her. She staggered back a few steps before falling onto the leaf-covered ground. Clutching her stomach, she sadly cried out, ¡°Jiaming, you kicked me¡­¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Jiaming paused, then he finally relaxed his tense muscles and briefly returned back to his cowardly self. His hands were shaking intensely, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ It¡¯s just, Shasha, I¡¯m very scared, and only one of us can run away¡­ Since I¡¯ve taken Cao Dongfeng, they will definitely follow after me, so we have to split up¡­¡± The reasonable tone he was using, gradually changed as he started to choke up, ¡°Shasha¡­ I¡¯m scared of getting hurt, and I¡¯m scared of dying. I like being together with you and Lingjing, if I die, I can¡¯t see you both again¡­ Previously, when I was being beaten, I nearly couldn¡¯t hold back my groans, but then it hurt so much that I cried. I¡¯m a man, so sometimes I can¡¯t give in and I can¡¯t cry¡­ Also because I am a man, I am staying behind. If you manage to escape, you have to call for the police to come save me. It¡¯s going to be night soon, so Shasha, you have to escape from here¡­¡± Seeing the state that Jiaming was in made her cry even harder, but she eventually said, ¡°Fine¡­ I will definitely call the police, but Jiaming, you have to promise me that you will escape and won¡¯t get caught.¡± ¡°Mmm, I will definitely escape.¡± ¡°Also¡­ could you¡­ give me a kiss¡­.¡± ¡°Um?¡± Jiaming was quite surprised at her request and nearly dropped his mask of pretense. Thankfully it was evening, so there was not much light, and Shasha could not see his face clearly. While he was astonished at her request, he felt Shasha¡¯s soft lips kiss the side of his mouth. Her tongue flicked out and licked Jiaming¡¯s blood, then she fiercely wiped away her tears and ran off into the woods while sobbing quietly. Eh¡­ there is a big difference between the feeling of saliva and blood¡­ Shasha left behind her saliva when she licked the blood off his cheek. Feeling conflicted inside, he raised his eyebrow and looked at Tsukichi Kaoru who was standing behind him. She looked at him at the same time and their eyes met. Because she did not understand Chinese, she continued following Jiaming. However at this time, she suddenly bowed and said in a sweet-sounding voice, ¡°Arigatou (thank you),¡± then turned and slowly ran off in a different direction. Er¡­ what was that about¡­ Jiaming was somewhat stunned as it seemed that she had misunderstood Jiaming¡¯s look. When she had been captured, the old man had focused on beating her legs the most, so even though she had gritted her teeth and forced herself to follow after him, her mobility was already severely limited. Jiaming had only looked at her to think about how to help her escape, but in Kaoru¡¯s eyes, she thought that she was being a burden to this boy. Even though Jiaming was only pretending, in her eyes, he was someone who had not received the same training as she did. Despite the fact that he had been severely beaten and managed to persevere, she saw that his body was shaking from fear. She admired him for the fact that he was able to bring the two girls to this location even when they had been surrounded by so many enemies. Since their enemies were quite powerful, trying to escape in this state was basically impossible. That boy¡¯s ability was quite limited, and she did not want to drag him down. Even though there was only a one in a million chance of escaping, she still wanted to try¡­ Outside of the woods, Jiaming was glared at by the many subordinates watching him, while Cao Jinghao stared at his watch intently. Around ten minutes after Shasha had escaped, Cao Jinghao loudly shouted, ¡°They¡¯ve been gone for 10 minutes! Release him now!¡± Behind the bush, Cao Dongfeng felt the dagger behind his back shift and he hurriedly said, ¡°Jiaming, it¡¯s fine now. You should hurry and escape, I guarantee that no one will chase after you. If you leave now, you¡¯ll definitely be able to escape.¡± He had listened in on what Jiaming said to Shasha and thought that Jiaming was in a state of panic. However, when he turned and saw at Jiaming¡¯s expression, he realized he had made a huge mistake¡­ The trembling he had shown in front of the two girls had disappeared and Jiaming approached the youth in front of him with a relaxed look and a hint of a wicked smirk on his face. ¡°Previously¡­ Did you have fun beating me?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Relax, I won¡¯t beat you and I won¡¯t kill you. I will only¡­ teach you what it means to truly suffer and give up all hope ¡ª the true feeling of despair.¡± Cao Dongfeng did not get a chance to fully comprehend that sentence before Jiaming hit him on the back of his head with the handle of the dagger, knocking him out. He then lifted the fainted boy up and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Outside of the woods, Cao Jinghao and his people blankly stared at Cao Dongfeng¡¯s body suddenly falling limp to the ground, then Jiaming carrying him and disappearing with him. ¡°Follow him!¡± Holding machetes and iron rods, the crowd of people swarmed into the woods, while the old Japanese man sped towards where Tsukichi Kaoru had disappeared to. With the sun setting behind the mountains in the west, the last ray of sunlight gradually disappeared from the horizon. At dusk, the woods was like a savage monster, swallowing everyone that entered it¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 2 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, March 7). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, or want to read ahead to ch 40, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Or you would like to show your support another way, you can vote and improve our GT rankings ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote #Jiamingpls Chapter 35 Chapter 35 ¨C Fang (First part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi It was night time. Everything was deathly still and pitch-black in the woods. Feeling along the tree trunks, Kaoru used the last of her strength to keep running forward. Hearing the sound of voices coming from far away, she figured that they were probably looking for the boy; however, she knew that demon of an old man would definitely look for her and would not let her escape so easily. She gritted her teeth and kept moving, but every step she took caused her whole body to shudder in pain. She carefully trod forward, quietly and cautiously, keeping the hand with the two missing fingernails wrapped in her long sleeve to prevent blood from dripping to the ground. Any trace left behind for a ninja to find would be fatal for her. Even though she had undergone severe and harsh training, it was not much help right now. After the adrenaline rush faded away, the side effects from going through several days of torture and starvation rushed to her head and made her feel light-headed. Thus, she could no longer see clearly in the woods even though she should have been able to if she was in her top condition. Occasionally, she would trip and stumble onto the ground, and at that time, she could only try to get her balance back. However, her fingers would spasm and the pain would pierce all the way to her bones. After all, the reality was that she was still a child¡­ She wanted to sleep, she wanted to rest, she hoped that closing her eyes would lessen the pain; but she knew that no matter what, she could not close her eyes, even though everything was pitch-black in front of her¡­ Finally, a sliver of light appeared in front of her ¡ª she had reached the other side of the woods. Unfortunately, she could only blankly stare, because in front of her was a wide, gushing river. This river passed through Jianghai City district and led all the way to the sea, and currently, there was no way she could cross it, even if her body had been in good condition. As she stood there with the trees behind her and the river in front of her¡­ just where could she go? If she were to enter the water, the current state of her body meant that it would be very painful and that she would meet her end. Her training did not allow her to throw away her life, but if she were to return back the way she came¡­ she knew that she would not be able to escape¡­ After circling around twice and failing to come up with an alternative, she suddenly noticed an approaching shadow seemingly holding a long sword ¡ª the one person she wanted to hide from was coming. Having no other choice, she ran as hard as she could towards the river. She wanted to use every last bit of her strength! Pa¡ª the old man finally caught up, the back of his katana struck a hard blow on her left calf and she staggered forward onto the pebbles covering the side of the river bank. The old man did not expect Tsukichi Kaoru to have any energy left over, but she lurched forward, putting all her weight onto her right leg. He landed another blow on her right leg and she finally fell down onto the river bank. Seeing that the girl had nowhere to run, the old man quietly said, ¡°Tell me the secret to the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi and I will take care of your wounds and let you go.¡± The girl did not answer him and obstinately continued to crawl away. ¡°Haven¡¯t you realized it yet? The Tsukichi family is in the middle of a giant crisis!¡± The old man said heavily, ¡°The Tsukichi clan clashed with Pei Luo Jia and I know the clan had requested for help from Takamagahara. But what can they do? Even though they¡¯re the oldest Newtype organization in Japan and they have a few powerful Newtypes, they can¡¯t even compare to China¡¯s organization, Ancestral Awakening! Pei Luo Jia isn¡¯t just some regular organization; if they need to, they can mobilize half of the world¡¯s assassins in one go. Also, they have countless more Newtypes, you really think that the clan can rely on the younger generation¡¯s Amane Masanori and be able to resist against Omamori Shou¡¯s ambitions? The only one able to help at this point in time is Europe¡¯s organization, Lyra Tenebris.¡± He neurotically said, ¡°I am right! I am the only one that can save the Tsukichi clan, but you have to help me become the head of the clan¡­ it was originally supposed to be my position anyways!¡± If Jiaming had been there to hear what the old man was saying, he would have probably agreed. He had only met Tsukichi Kaoru in his original timeline because he had entered the Tsukichi clan as a spy. A few days after Kaoru had committed suicide, Pei Luo Jia had ordered open season on the Tsukichi clan and most of Takamagahara¡¯s members were wiped out by Pei Luo Jia¡¯s Newtype team as well. At that time, if the Tsukichi clan had made an alliance with Takamagahara and Europe¡¯s largest shadow organization, Lyra Tenebris, then they might have been able to resist Pei Luo Jia for a period. As to Pei Luo Jia and Lyra Tenebris¡¯ battle, when Jiaming had met that phoenix, Pei Luo Jia and China¡¯s Ancestral Awakening had just started their conflict, so¡­ since he was currently here, there was no need to elaborate on that. Kaoru was startled at the old man¡¯s outburst, but she suddenly turned around and took a chance to throw a pebble at him. The old man dodged, then in a flash, hit her neck with the back of his katana. The girl immediately lost consciousness and slumped onto the ground. ¡°I am right, I am right¡­¡± The old man continued muttering to himself while looking at the fallen girl lying on the river bank. He then hoisted her over his shoulder and slowly went back the way he came from. ************************************************************ As it was already winter, as soon as the sun started setting, the sky would turn dark very quickly. Thus, the lights in the small plaza automatically flickered on. In one of the rooms on the second floor of the two-storey building, Cao Jinghao was currently making a phone call. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m telling you to hurry up and sign it! Ok, ok, if he doesn¡¯t want to because of that place then fine. Sh*t, Houzi hasn¡¯t come back yet. They probably caught the boy already, but not Liu Huaisha. She practiced martial arts since she was young, so her body is in good condition. It¡¯s already been more than ten minutes, she might have already escaped.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s night time, and cars don¡¯t often pass by. She also doesn¡¯t have a phone, so she¡¯ll only be able to call the police once she gets to the city in around one or two hours. Hurry up and get the deal through, say that his daughter ate something bad and has a terrible stomachache. We¡¯re triad members so we don¡¯t dare go to the hospital¡­ Once it¡¯s signed, get back here, everything else can be handled tomorrow! F*ck!¡± He hung up and paced around the room a few times. That Houzi was really useless, even though they could not catch the girl, as long as they caught the boy and saved Dongfeng it would have been fine. He had given them a cell phone and they did not even call him to give a report, did they want to be punished so badly?! Depressed, he left the room and stood at the balcony of the second floor and looked down into the plaza. Even though most people had been sent out to look for the children, there should still be some subordinates left behind. He turned and looked into the room next door, where a few hoodlums were playing cards. ¡°Hey, you, where¡¯s Ah Ming and the others?¡± ¡°Oh, Boss.¡± One of them put down their cards, ¡°Ah Ming and Ah Cheng went to guard the main gate. Ah Jian and Ah Chuan should be downstairs.¡± ¡°Downstairs?¡± Cao Jinghao took another look around the plaza, vaguely feeling that something was off, then said, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right ¡ª there¡¯s no one down there. A few of you go look for Ah Jian and Ah Chuan, I¡¯m going to call the search team and see what the situation is.¡± He returned back to his room and swiftly dialed a number; however, before he could call, several loud explosions reverberated through the building. Shocked, he whipped out his gun and ran out of the room while clutching the phone, ¡°What is it? What happened?¡± The subordinates he had just been talking to had not yet left and were now crowded on the balcony. When he took a look outside, one of the small sheds by the plaza was completely destroyed. The fire was blazing fiercely in the crisp night wind of this winter evening. ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s the garage. A few of our cars exploded.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know how many people Liu Zheng had sent, Ah Ming and Ah Cheng have not reported in.¡± ¡°Motherf*ckers¡­¡± ¡°Boss, we should tell Houzi and the others to come back.¡± During this chaotic situation, four to five of his subordinates ran back into their room to pick up their weapons. At that moment, his call finally connected and Cao Jinghao hollered, ¡°Houzi, where are you guys? It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t catch that little girl, hurry and come back now. Liu Zheng found us¡­¡± As he looked down at the plaza, he froze at the scene unfolding in front of him. A bloody human head rolled out onto the small plaza. In between the flickering light of the raging fire and the fluttering shadows, a hazy human figure was walking towards the building, holding a cell phone. ¡°Oh, so the owner of that head is called Houzi, huh? Such a pity, I¡¯m afraid he can no longer answer you. Though I believe he was trying to call you when he died.¡± ¡°Who¡­ are you¡­¡± Cao Jinghao felt a chill run down his spine; even though he asked that, he had recognized the voice on the phone ¨C it seemed to be that little boy, Gu Jiaming. ¡°Who am I¡­ hehe, to be honest, my actions speak louder than words. I am someone that is part of the shadows with the flair of an assassin; I chop heads off and terrify people so that they get to know the strongest feeling of fear. Of course, you would not know who I am¡­ Actually, it¡¯s already something you don¡¯t need to know¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª 3 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, March 9). I took some liberties with the name of Europe¡¯s organization (chinese is ÓÄ°µÌìÇÙ, literal translation of the name is ¡®darkness zither¡¯¡­ yeah.) Thus, it became Latin and is now Lyra Tenebris. Takamagahara is actually referring to the heavens in Japanese mythology. The shadow organization belonging to China was also very difficult to translate without it sounding dumb. Names are such a headache OTL If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Or if you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it (: https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 36 Chapter 36 ¨C Fang (Middle part) TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws, IlkonEbi TL note: Bold text is in Japanese. She gradually regained consciousness. Her eyes took in the grey scenery; as expected, she was slung over that old man¡¯s shoulder, and they were currently on the trail by the edge of the woods, returning to the lumber processing plant. Every jostle on his shoulder caused a sharp shock of pain to go through her body. Even though the old man knew that she had woken up, he did not say or do anything. She realized this was because all the fingernails on both her hands had already been ripped off¡­ However, it did not matter¡­ Keeping both arms hanging down limply, she shifted her muscles slowly in time with the movement of his walking; she had hidden a sharp pebble from the river bank before being knocked unconscious, and little by little, it slipped down towards her hand from within her sleeve. She was moving extremely slowly, careful to keep her body still as a corpse, but she might have been too slow. Even though the old man had not been hurrying, the outline of the lumber processing factory soon appeared on the horizon. When they arrived at the back gate of the factory, he suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. ¡°The smell of blood¡­¡± There was also the smell of blood coming from Tsukichi Kaoru, so the old man tilted his head and took another sniff. Before he could come to a conclusion, a ¡®bang¡¯ was heard from the direction of the small plaza. The old man was alarmed, and just as he pushed open the gate and took one step in, Kaoru chose this moment to make her move! The wide sleeve of the kimono came flying up like a butterfly flapping its wings in the wind; the sharp stone was aimed directly at the old man¡¯s neck. Unfortunately, the old man was quick to react and he nimbly grabbed Kaoru¡¯s arm and proceeded to fling her away. As her body flew through the air, even though she was a certain distance away from him, the sharp stone was behind the old man, aimed at the back of his head where he was defenseless. Ikesakura Senmaboroshi! Under the red clouds in the night sky, the girl¡¯s body drew an arc in the air as he swung her away; at some point in time, the old man had unknowingly ripped off her kimono. She was not wearing any undergarments under the kimono except for white stockings, so her naked body flew for around four to five meters before crash-landing onto the plaza. Her scar-covered bare body was alarmingly red, seeming like she was wearing a layer of tight undergarments or possibly like a layer of skin had been peeled off. She struggled to sit up on the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood, her right hand still tightly clutching the sharp stone. It was her one and only weapon left, but there was not much point to it anymore seeing the current situation. Still holding the kimono, the old man gingerly touched the back of his head and felt blood. Seeing the blood, he suddenly smiled, ¡°Hehe, good, Ikesakura Senmaboroshi¡­ Using the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi on me¡­ Kaoru, since your sneak attacked failed, come try again¡­¡± He wanted to learn the secrets of the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi via battle, but after taking another look at the naked girl on the ground, he realized that she looked close to death and would not be able to fight him. As he walked closer to the girl, he finally had a proper view of the plaza and was astonished at the sight. The two buildings in front of the logging area had formed a 90¡ã angle and after entering the back gate, the two-story building had blocked his line of sight. As he passed the buildings on his way to the girl, he could finally see the plaza clearly. There were four to five headless bodies scattered across the plaza accompanied by scarlet pools of dazzling blood. On the opposite side, one of the shacks was a raging inferno, and the fire had started to spread to nearby buildings. In front of the water service pipe on another side of the square, a child was in the middle of cleaning a machete. Dizzy and stunned from the fall, Tsukichi Kaoru was unable to see the old man¡¯s expression clearly until she steadied herself. As she struggled to her side and looked around her, she realized what he was staring at, and the two Tsukichi clan members stared at the child amongst the dead bodies. No one had said anything, but the old man tightened his hold on his katana. Having cleaned the blade of the machete carefully, the boy moved on to scrubbing the handle. Then he casually reached for the soap and cleaned both hands, before turning to smile and bow at the two of them. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I saw the both of you, what a coincidence!¡± He said under Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s puzzled gaze. The last time she saw him, he was a trembling child that was terrified out of his mind. But now, here he was, speaking fluent Japanese with a Tokyo accent. ¡°Welcome to China.¡± The old man involuntarily shivered as he felt a chill down his spine. *********************************************************** After an unknown amount of time, Cao Dongfeng suddenly jerked awake in the middle of the woods. Surrounded by darkness, he did not dare to make careless movements. After taking a careful look at his surroundings, he roughly understood that he was currently on the branches of a large tree. He really did not know how that bastard Gu Jiaming had placed him up there¡­. Calming himself down, he searched through his pockets for a pack of matches. He lit one up and estimated the height of the large tree before climbing down the trunk. When he landed on the ground, he thought back to what Gu Jiaming had said before he lost consciousness. ¡­True despair. Naturally, he did not want to believe those words. Since he had been left behind in a tree, even if his subordinates had caught him, the boy would probably not be killed. Once he returned, he would teach him a lesson and make him beg for his life! Having decided this, he did not get a chance to walk far before he tripped over something. Taking out his box of matches again, he broke the first match before successfully getting the second one to light up. Placing the match close to what he had tripped over, he realized that it was a person¡¯s leg, and as he slowly raised the match, it was a familiar pair of leather pants, then a leather jacket, then¡ª WAAAAAHHHHH¡ª A horrified scream resounded in the woods. Cao Dongfeng hastily scrambled away, backing up against the trees. He had been so terrified his heart nearly jumped out of his chest because in front of him was a headless body! ¡­True despair. An indistinct voice seemed to whisper near his ear. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he trembled as he felt around the ground for his dropped matches when his fingers brushed past a fleshy lump. Petrified, he leaped back against the trees again, and it was a long while before he could light up another match. Then he shakily waved the match in the area over the thing that his fingers had felt earlier. ¡ªA human head! This time, his teeth chattered so hard from fear that he was unable to scream. After a long pause, low whimpers could be heard, ¡°Help me¡­ please, someone, come save me¡­¡± Desperately gathering and piling a bunch of leaves together, he tried many times to light some matches before succeeding. As the fire flared up, his surroundings were finally revealed. That headless corpse and human head definitely belonged to one of his father¡¯s subordinates. As he looked further into the darkness, he realized that there was another headless corpse propped up against a nearby tree. Trying hard not to look at the ghastly corpses, Cao Dongfeng shuddered when he gathered a few branches. Setting them on fire and making them into a makeshift torch, he then anxiously ran in a direction where there were no corpses. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped. He let out a choked gasp; in front of him was a headless corpse with its stomach slit open, the internal organs spilling out. When he looked to the side, there was another human head, and it was another one of his father¡¯s subordinates that had been sent out to rescue him. Violently retching as he tried to get away from the sight in front of him, he turned towards another direction. But after another few steps, there was a corpse, a human head, another corpse and another human head. Those corpses sported various types of wounds, but they were all his father¡¯s subordinates with their heads cut off. Extremely agitated, he ran off aimlessly; every time he saw a corpse he would change directions, but in the end, he found himself back at the area where he had originally woken up! The trees had caught on fire from the leaves he had lit up earlier. As he stared blankly at the first headless corpse, Gu Jiaming¡¯s final words to him resounded in his head again. It was¡­ true despair! But no, his father had to be ok. He was overlooking the situation so he shouldn¡¯t have followed the search team¡­ He had to be ok¡­ As Cao Dongfeng was not familiar with this area, it was quite difficult for him to navigate in the darkness. But this time, he tried his best to ignore the corpses and estimated where the lumber processing factory was, then headed off in that direction¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª- 4 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, March 9). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Poor sod doesn¡¯t even know what hit him. Chapter 37 Chapter 37 ¨C Fang (End part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL note: Bold text is in Japanese. ¡°What are you?¡± The old man queried the machete-holding boy as he gripped his katana and raised it, drawing a wide arc in the air. ¡°What I am is not important.¡± The boy smiled briefly, ¡°What¡¯s important is that you caught me in the act. So according to our rules, I have to get rid of any evidence.¡± After saying that, the boy playfully waved the machete, ¡°Hehe, come to think of it, since I have been playing with a bunch of kids recently, I must have gotten dumber. I originally planned to get rid of you in secret, but in the end, we ended up like this¡­ Well, I mainly wanted to tell you that it actually really hurt when you beat me.¡± ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± The old man leapt into action before the sentence faded away, slashing the katana down at the boy like a bolt of lightning. Jiaming brought his machete up to parry single-handedly. Ping! An astonishing amount of sparks flew as the two blades met in mid-air. From this one exchange, the old man felt that his strong blow had been completely deflected by this child. In fact, when the boy pressed forward with his machete, the old man felt his body being forced back instead. Most people thought that Japanese swordsmanship meant ¡®one hit, one kill¡¯. It was fully offense-based and depended on brute force ¡ª if they missed, then everything would be finished. The truth was that this was a misconception caused by the swordsmanship seen in movies. True swordsmanship was actually quite similar to martial arts, where application of power in the waist area and footwork were important. Because the old man lost in the first exchange of blows, he immediately cut across with his katana to prevent his opponent from taking advantage of the brief opening. At the same time, he dropped towards the ground and lowered his center of gravity. Balancing his body on one hand, he did a low spinning kick aiming to knock the boy down. However, the boy had long since moved closer. He was exactly where the old man had been previously standing, and easily avoided his legs with small hop while brilliantly smiling at him. ¡°Wow, such a splendid spin! To think that you could still do such a difficult move. Old man, does your waist not hurt?¡± ¡°Shut up! Make your move!¡± The old man frowned, his expression serious. He pointed his katana at Jiaming, slightly lowered it and aimed to the right. Jiaming squinted briefly and said, ¡°Taishizume¡­ You think you¡¯re Okita Souji[1]?¡± before rushing towards the old man. ¡°You wanted to see the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi right? Let me show it to you!¡± Sparks flew again when the old man¡¯s katana lowered his body to counter Jiaming¡¯s attack. The difficulty of Taishizume was quite high. If mastered, it could cause the enemy to feel that they were impaling themselves on the sword. However before he had the chance to press on with his attack, Jiaming vanished and suddenly reappeared by his side, his machete swiping down at him. When Jiaming had used the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi, it was obvious that it was of a higher mastery than Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s. The old man was forced to withdraw his katana and agilely twist his body to one side. At the same time, Jiaming suddenly appeared on his other side, the blade of the machete aimed straight at him. During this short flurry of blows, the crisp sounds of swords clashing rang out across the plaza under the night sky. Even though Jiaming had trained his body, because he was still a child, his strength could not be compared to the old man. However, in terms of sensitivity, the old man was unable to match up to Jiaming at all. Having used the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi, Jiaming¡¯s body seemed to be fluttering in a frenzied dance between light and shadow. However, ninjutsu was not actually based on illusions ¡ª it uses the surroundings to create a false image. Because the buildings blocked some of the light, it caused the environment to be clearly divided into light and darkness. Accompanied with the fact that the lighting did not remain consistent and that Jiaming was able to move his body quite skillfully, the end result was an illusion of him appearing and disappearing at different locations. Of course, even if the lighting was not ideal, as long as one could move their body in a certain set of complex movements, they would be able to cause this illusion. The old man was overwhelmed by Jiaming¡¯s movements as there was no set pattern to when he would appear at his side or behind him. The old man could only flounder and barely react in time whenever it happened. As to the naked Tsukichi Kaoru who was lying on the floor, she was even more shocked. Out of her whole family, she could not think of someone who was skillful enough to use Ikesakura Senmaboroshi to such an extent. After expanding all of his strength, the old man finally managed to break away and put some distance between the two of them. Tightly holding onto his katana with both hands, he leveled the blade at Jiaming and charged at him like a bolt of lightning. Okita Souji¡¯s Mumyouken no Toge! He saw that Jiaming wanted to close the distance between them, but because he was too fast, the boy was unable to use Ikesakura Senmaboroshi to dodge. As a result, he managed to stab him successfully. However, it was not because Jiaming could not dodge, it was because he did not want to dodge. The first blow was firmly blocked by Jiaming, while the second and third followed closely behind the first blow. However, when the boy subtly diverted the force behind the thrusts to nullify his attack, the old man was shocked to discover that his opponent¡¯s speed was even faster than his. Their blurred figures passed each other and suddenly, blood splattered everywhere. A long gash opened in the old man¡¯s stomach, in the area where Japanese people generally performed seppuku. The old man staggered a few steps back, ¡°Ikesakura Senmaboroshi! How did you¡­¡± ¡®So stupid, of course it¡¯s because it was stolen¡­¡¯ Jiaming thought, but instead he said, ¡°The Tsukichi clan¡¯s old residence is isolated and quiet, filled with beautiful sakura trees. When the sakura blossoms fall from the tree, the petals land on the surface of a pond and cause certain ripples. This allowed the Tsukichi clan¡¯s ancestor to create the Ikesakura Senmaboroshi. The old residence has been kept the same ¡ªsimple, tranquil and untainted. The key to Ikesakura Senmaboroshi lies there: one has to maintain a serene state of mind, while the state of the outside world are the ripples. Your thoughts are conflicting with each other, and you can¡¯t even maintain Tennen Rishin-ryu[2], so how would you be able to learn Ikesakura Senmaboroshi?¡± After saying that, he felt like an enlightened monk. Even though the first half of it was mostly nonsense, the second half was the crux to the state of mind one needed when learning Ikesakura Senmaboroshi. The old man was struck speechless, blood continuously gushing from his stomach wound. As he stood there motionless, a figure brushed past him, inflicting a fatal wound on his neck ¡ª it was the naked and heavily wounded Tsukichi Kaoru. ¡°Cough¡­ I¡­ I only wanted¡­ the Tsukichi clan¡­ cough, cough¡­¡± The old man kneeled over and finally passed away. The training this time was quite good¡­ Jiaming thought, then looked towards Tsukichi Kaoru. She was looking at him at the same time, even though she was exposed and heavily wounded, Jiaming naturally did not harbor those types of thoughts towards her. Jiaming came over and placed the machete at the side of her neck. ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re a loose end. I can¡¯t let anyone know about today¡¯s incident¡­ Hey, hey¡­ can you let me finish before fainting¡­¡± Jiaming supported the fainted girl¡¯s body as she fell towards him. He had never actually considered killing her and just wanted to have a chat with her to find a solution to keep this a secret. Unfortunately, she fainted before they could even talk¡­ ¡°Honestly¡­ since you¡¯re wounded so heavily, whether there¡¯s medicine upstairs in the building or not will really depend on your luck¡­¡± *********************************************************** Around an hour later, a large group of police officers arrived at the wood processing plant and discovered an extremely shocking scene. At the entrance of the factory, there were two headless corpses and further in the plaza, the sight became even more ghastly ¡ª countless headless corpses were lying there, while half of the factory had almost burned to the ground. The police needed only one look to tell that this was linked to the cement factory case around half a year ago which the mafia had been involved in. Leading the police was a dirty and disheveled Liu Huaisha. She too was extremely shocked at the scene and cried furiously while looking for traces of Jiaming. However, they only found a half-dead Japanese young girl on one of the beds on the second floor of the building instead. Basic treatment had been applied to her wounds and she was currently unconscious. According to Shasha¡¯s report, there should have been more people at the wood processing factory, so the police took a team with bloodhounds to check out the woods. Not long after, they found a lost and wandering Cao Dongfeng holding a small torch. Shasha instantly lunged at him and hit him wildly while crying, ¡°What did you do to Jiaming? What did you do to him¡­¡± Because he had been scared witless, he could only respond hysterically, ¡°Dead people¡­ there¡¯s dead people everywhere¡­ help¡­¡± Shasha thought Jiaming had died and charged at Cao Dongfeng to beat him up again. Then she sank down to the ground on her knees and started wailing loudly. The police continued to further examine the scene while Shasha was still crying. A few policemen turned pale and some of them even vomited at the sight of the headless corpses. While Shasha aimlessly looked around for Jiaming, one of the bloodhounds finally found a shivering boy in the hidden crevice of a tree. Seeing that Jiaming had not died, Shasha leapt at him in joy, forgetting that he had been injured and causing him to tear up in pain. ¡°Ah¡­ A doctor, we need a doctor! Jiaming¡¯s been hurt, he got beaten by that Cao Dongfeng for quite a while¡­¡± Shasha exclaimed while she burst out crying again. The medic quickly took off Jiaming¡¯s shirt and was shocked at the amount of wounds he found. It was almost comparable to the wounds on the Japanese girl they had found earlier. They hurried and placed him on a stretcher while Shasha followed behind in worry. A policewoman questioned Jiaming on his situation, but Jiaming responded by saying that he had run into the woods and when the screaming are started, he only hid and did not dare to leave. Seeing that this child was still young and he had been tortured, they naturally believed him and did not think he could be lying. ¡°Oh yeah, Shasha. They said they were going to catch Lingjing, did they manage to?¡± ¡°Mmm, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± Shasha held his hand, ¡°When we disappeared, it was already reported to the police. Lingjing nearly got captured, but because father Ye was picking her up, he had beat them all until they ran away. Then the police came and protected them¡­ Father Ye is really amazing, and of course, Jiaming, you¡¯re amazing too!¡± ¡°Uh, hehe¡­ hehe¡­¡± Jiaming could only laugh simply. The medics, who had seen two severely tortured children today, were quite angry on their way back to the factory. When they saw Cao Dongfeng, Shasha had angrily pointed him out, ¡°It¡¯s him, he beat them!¡± She rushed at him again and wanted to hit him, but was prevented by the policemen. In the confusion, when Cao Dongfeng saw Jiaming on the stretcher, he grimaced and started frothing in the mouth. His whole body was twitching in terror as well. It seemed that from that moment on, he completely understood what true despair was. As the group entered the ambulance, Shasha stood protectively by Jiaming¡¯s stretcher and held onto his hand. Seeing that the boy managed to fall asleep, she sighed softly. She was quite depressed as she still had a lot to say to him. While she mused about it, she awkwardly smoothed out Jiaming¡¯s bed sheet and sat by his side. The vehicle disappeared into the night, heading towards the distantly lit city. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- [1] Okita Souji: if you¡¯ve read Rurouni Kenshin, then you would understand. Okita Souji was considered Japan¡¯s number one expert in the Shinsengumi with a mastery of the sword. Taishizume and Mumyouken no Toge are skills I made up and have nothing to do with him. Fangirls that are familiar with the shouta Okita Souji should like the shouta here right? *The above is an actual note from the author. Rurouni Kenshin for your reference ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurouni_Kenshin The Shinsengumi was a special police force in Kyoto during the late shogunate period. Taishizume ¨C direct translation is ¡®quiet eyes¡¯ Mumyouken no Toge ¨C direct translation is ¡®invisible sword three thrusts¡¯. ? [2] Tennen Rishin-ryu: it is a Japanese swordsmanship type practiced by the Shinsengumi. It pays attention to the flow and nature of one¡¯s surroundings to react appropriately and adapt to changes. Similar to what was written about Ikesakura Senmaboroshi. *The above is an actual note from the author. Tennen Rishin-ryu ¨C direct translation is ¡®natural law mind flow¡¯ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennen_Rishin-ry%C5%AB Seppuku ¨C a samurai committing suicide by disembowelment. ? ¡ª¡ª 1 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Monday, March 12). Jiaming is such a bs-er lel. If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get the first ebook here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! Or you would like to show your support another way, you can vote and improve our GT rankings ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 38 Chapter 38 ¨C Recovery (First part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL note: Bold text is in Japanese. A clean, floral, elegant hospital ward. When Jiaming moved his body, he felt like he was a dumpling. Of course, on another bed in this room, there was another outstandingly wrapped dumpling. If she were to try and get off the bed, she did not need to wear any clothing at all. Of course, it was just a metaphor. Jiaming thought, ¡®If that old man had beaten the girl¡¯s legs due to that reason, then he was a big pervert.¡¯ ¡°Jiaming, come take a bite. I bought canned tangerines today. Open your mouth, ah¡ª¡± ¡°Oh but¡­ they said that pigments are added to canned foods¡­¡± ¡°Just eat them! Don¡¯t be picky!¡± ¡°Mmmm¡­¡± ¡ªa tangerine slice was forced into his mouth¡ª ¡°Shasha your mask changes really quick, did you learn from those Sichuan face-changing performers[1]?¡± ¡°If you say more, I¡¯mma hit you.¡± Shasha jokingly raised her hand, while the timid Jiaming surrendered and focused on eating the tangerines. After a pause, Jiaming asked again, ¡°Oh yeah, Shasha. Why are you here so early today? Were there no classes?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a recitation competition at school today. Did you forget?¡± Shasha smiled as she passed over another half a can of tangerines. Jiaming declined with a wave of his hand, indicating he was full, ¡°Lingjing joined it as well; you didn¡¯t go see her perform?¡± ¡°Of course I saw her first, than skipped class.¡± Shasha grinned, ¡°Besides, Lingjing¡¯s gonna win first place anyways. She¡¯ll probably drop by with the award after. Since you don¡¯t want the tangerines, should I give them to her to eat?¡± She pointed at the sleeping girl next to them. ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± The patient in the other sick bed was also someone that had survived this incident, so these past two days, Shasha had some sort of interaction with her. However, it was the first time she initiated contact first. Tsukichi Kaoru propped herself up when she felt someone was coming near her bed. White bandages were wrapped around her whole body from her neck downwards, but she had proven to be extremely resilient. After all, she had been able to kill someone even before receiving treatment, so currently she had no problems moving around. She made a limited, but extremely graceful bow at Shasha. ¡°Um¡­ Hi¡­ This¡­ For you.¡± Faced with such grace and courtesy, Shasha fumbled slightly as she passed the open can of tangerines with the spoon in it to her, then hurried to bow at her in response. Tsukichi Kaoru glanced down at the half-filled can, then looked past Shasha towards Jiaming in the other sick bed. However, Jiaming was looking out the window and enjoying the scenery outside without any indication of paying attention to them. She only briefly hesitated before raising her bandaged hands to pull the can closer to herself and said, ¡°Arigatou.¡± ¡°Ah, arigatou, arigatou¡­¡± Shasha repeated what she said without the faintest idea of what it meant. She ran back to Jiaming¡¯s side, ¡°Jiaming, what does ¡®arigatou¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°It means ¡®thank you¡¯.¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Oh right! ¡®Arigatou¡¯ is thank you, ¡®sayonara¡¯ is goodbye. I completely forgot.¡± Shasha stuck her tongue out at him, ¡°I wasn¡¯t responding to her correctly at all huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just stating the obvious. However¡­ why are you so afraid of her?¡± Jiaming looked at her doubtfully. ¡°I¡¯m not scared, but I¡¯m in awe of her. When that bastard Cao Dongfeng was beating you so much, I felt that it must have hurt so much that I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it, but she got tortured by that perverted old man for three days! Also, look, she¡¯s eating in such a refined way.¡± Shasha nibbled on her bottom lip as she pulled on Jiaming to look at the girl eat. This Tsukichi Kaoru seemed to exude the aura of an ancient chinese lady when she delicately took in small mouthfuls of the tangerine. Shasha could not help but comment, ¡°Even more impressive than Lingjing¡­¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t really seem like a person though, right?¡± Since Shasha liked to debate about things, Jiaming would be impish and deliberately point out all the flaws. ¡°I mean, take a look at her, she can only open her mouth to a certain size, what if she wanted to eat a steamed bun? It¡¯s difficult to imagine, right? Since she¡¯s insistent on not showing her teeth when she smiles or when she eats, and instead keeps such an unnatural expression, it must be because all her teeth have rotted away. They are probably really yellow and it¡¯s possible some of them have turned black! Also, it seems like she¡¯s testing for poison when she¡¯s eating. It really doesn¡¯t give off an ounce of sincerity¡­¡± As Jiaming was blabbering away, the currently eating Kaoru puzzledly looked over towards them, then she politely bobbed her head at them. Jiaming and Shasha, who had flushed from holding back her choked laughter, hurried to bow in response. ¡°Go die, saying that about someone.¡± Slapping Jiaming on the uninjured shoulder, Shasha lay face-down on top of the blanket, trying to suppress her laughter. At that moment, Lingjing came into the room still carrying her schoolbagt and instantly complained, ¡°Shasha, you didn¡¯t wait for me!¡± Shasha rolled over on the bed to face Lingjing and asked, ¡°So how was it? Did you win a prize?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Lingjing nodded carelessly, then took out a certificate and a notebook from behind her. ¡°First place! And I also got this notebook.¡± ¡°Yay! The notebook belongs to me!¡± Lingjing won a lot of awards ever since she was young. However, once they had become a group of three, all the prizes would be given to Shasha, as she had never won anything ever since she was young, due to her naughty temperament. Writing into the notebook, she felt that something was slightly off, so she nudged Jiaming, ¡°Lingjing is very beautiful today, isn¡¯t she?¡± At that time, when students performed, the beautiful girls all had a certain way of dressing up. Lingjing was no different ¡ª she had rouge and lipstick on and was wearing a pristine white, frilly princess dress; she looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, Jiaming was used to this sight since he was young, and he did not feel that she needed to be that dressed up. He felt that she was enchanting even when wearing a simple sleeping gown, while Shasha usually liked Lingjing all dressed up. He assumed that it was because women tend to like to beautify themselves. ¡°Lady Lingjing, as a reward, Huaisha-bro will give you a kiss.¡± Shasha smirked as she jokingly pounced at Lingjing to kiss her red cheeks. Lingjing was in the middle of taking off her school bag and did not have anywhere to hide. The only thing she could do was lean away from Shasha, while smiling. ¡°No need¡­ Ah¡ª!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Well¡ª!¡± Bang¡ª the two girls tumbled onto the ground, with Shasha on top of Lingjing, the former finally succeeding in kissing the latter. Truth was, the two girls slept in the same bed during the weekends so whether it was a kiss or even touching each other was something they were used to already. They would also shower together and sometimes slept together in bed while naked. Since they basically did everything but last base together, Jiaming imagined them to be a true lily couple. In any case, it was somewhat embarrassing for them to be tangled together on the hospital floor, so they hurried to pick themselves up as Jiaming watched them from his bed. He was currently feeling¡­ some sort of admiration. It was not like he had not seen homosexual women before in his previous life. Life in the criminal underworld was very dangerous and no one knew if they would see the sun rising the next day or not. Many people had different ways of dealing with it, some followed an extremely strict ascetic routine, while some ended up with twisted tendencies and some female assassins were extremely cold when they shared a bed. One time, he had finished a job and him and two female assassins were going to share a room. When he came out of the shower, he saw that the two ladies were sharing the bed passionately, so he just sat on the side and listened to the two of them enjoy themselves. When morning came, one of the women wondered why he did not join them, while the other thanked him and said that because they had such an incredible bodyguard by their side, last night had been particularly relaxing and satisfying. However, in this type of situation where they were not part of the criminal underworld, as these two young ladies had been together since they were young and had a good opinion of each other, what would those feelings of love become once they grow up? Would they be together and be able to live happily ever after? Jiaming could not help but be curious as to how the two girls¡¯ relationship would evolve. ¡ª¡ª- [1] Bian lian ¨C literally face-changing ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bian_lian for your reference. ? 2 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, March 14). MCpls, the misunderstanding is getting out of hand lel. Chapter 39 Chapter 39 ¨C Recovery (End part) TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws, IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in Japanese. The rouge on Lingjing¡¯s cheek had been smeared by Shasha, while Shasha¡¯s lips were now the color of the rouge. The two girls raced to the bathroom to clean up and shortly after, Lingjing washed off all the remaining makeup. She was alarmingly pretty with her hair tied in a ponytail combined with her princess dress. Later in the afternoon, mother Ye, who was working at the hospital, brought over some dinner and the three of them ate together in the hospital room. A nurse had also brought dinner for Tsukichi Karou, and even though she was the only one here at the moment, the hospital knew that she was from a powerful family in Japan and did not dare to neglect her. Even though a special care nurse had been arranged for her, the hospital was still unfortunately short-staffed. The hospital bill would still register the fees of the special care nurse, but the nurse would generally be assisting with other cases in the hospital as well. Because Tsukichi Kaoru was generally quiet and also able to use the bathroom on her own, the nurse would only appear with her meals or when the assistance button was pressed. Hospital food generally focused on nutrition and was not very appetizing, so when Lingjing saw Kaoru take small bites of the food, she suggested that they share their food with her. They split a portion of Mother Ye¡¯s home-cooked dishes, and Lingjing passed them over to her ¡ª Lingjing had heard about what happened to Kaoru and felt sorry for her as she and Jiaming had both been tortured. This time, Kaoru did not say thanks using Japanese, but used English to say ¡°thank you¡± instead. Because Lingjing was good at studying and had learned English for around a year and a half, she was able to respond with simple phrases such as ¡°you¡¯re welcome¡± and ¡°My name is Lingjing¡±. The two of them spoke a bit while they ate, and Kaoru managed to find out the names of the three of them; she repeated ¡°Gu Jiaming¡± a few times until she memorized it. After dinner, the two girls remained and started on their homework; shortly after, Jiaming asked how the recitation competition went, and Lingjing¡¯s gentle and sweet-sounding voice rang out clearly in the hospital room: ¡°¡­ Until now, I meander slowly in this garden in my chair. There is a constant feeling, a feeling that I have been playing alone for far too long. One day, I organized my old photo album and I came across a photo taken of me of years ago in this garden ¨C a young man sitting on a wheelchair; behind him, an old cypress tree and even further back, an ancient altar. I went to the garden to look for that tree. Following the background in the photo, I quickly found it. Comparing the shape of branches with the photo, it was definitely the same tree, but this tree was already dead, and a thick vine had twisted around its body. One day when I was in this garden, I met an old lady, she said, ¡°Yo, you¡¯re still here?¡± She asked me, ¡°How is your mother?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, but I remember you. Your mother came to look for you one time, she asked me if I had seen a child in a wheelchair¡­¡± I suddenly felt that I have been playing alone in this world for far too long. One evening, I sat alone at the altar reading a book under a streetlight. Suddenly, a sound came from the depths of the altar; surrounded by towering ancient trees, this square altar occupied hundreds of square meters, this broad and spacious area looked like a firmament. I could not see the person making the noises, but the sounds resounded clearly under the night sky ¨C sometimes sad, sometimes happy, sometimes touching and sometimes desolate. Sometimes they were indescribable, and as I try to clearly listen to it to find out where it is coming from, it comes from the present, it comes from the future, it resounds from the ancient past and does not fade. A day will come, when I hear it call for me to return¡­¡± ¡°The Temple of Earth and I¡± (¡¶ÎÒÅcµØ‰¯¡·)[1] Since this young lady¡¯s voice was beautiful and emotional, it was certain that she would have won an award for reciting ¡°The Temple of Earth and I¡±. Jiaming thought it was kind of pretentious for her to recite it at her age, but naturally, he did not say those thoughts out loud. At nine in the evening, Mother Ye¡¯s shift ended, so she and the two girls returned home. The nurse dropped by a few times to check up on them, but the two children were quietly lying in their beds ¡ª Jiaming was reading a book while Kaoru lay there and stared at the ceiling. She would occasionally glance over at Jiaming, wait until Jiaming turned to look at her, then return her gaze to the ceiling. At around ten, Jiaming got off his bed to turn off the lights as Kaoru was only lying there staring blankly. Shortly after, he suddenly heard her say, ¡°Gu¡­ Jiaming¡­¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I should thank you for keeping my secret,¡± Jiaming responded in Japanese. The next day was Saturday, so the two girls arrived early in the morning. They had brought some warm preserved egg and pork congee for Jiaming, and naturally, Kaoru got a bowl of it as well. Lingjing ended up chatting with her in English again because she knew that to learn English properly, one had to practice speaking it, even though she only had around a year¡¯s foundation. Thus, the two of them ended up happily babbling away; when Lingjing did not understand, she would get Kaoru to write it down on a piece of paper, then she would look through an English dictionary to translate it to get the general meaning. When she had trouble saying something, she would look through the dictionary and put together a sentence, after which the Japanese girl would guess what she was trying to say. Then once Kaoru guessed correctly, she would write down the correct sentence for Lingjing. At this time, Tsukichi Kaoru was probably very bored and had nothing to do, so when she accompanied Lingjing in speaking English and writing the sentences down, the morning passed by quickly and the two became friends. Shasha had wandered over to take a look, but when she saw all the scribbles on the paper, she quickly became dizzy and hurriedly retreated to Jiaming¡¯s side to gossip instead. At around ten in the morning, Mother Ye came by and let them know that a police officer would be taking their statements in the afternoon, leaving Jiaming to contemplate on what to say. Regarding what happened that day, Jiaming had already said most of the lies the day of the incident and the police had believed him, so he figured that this was probably a routine check-up procedure. At around two in the afternoon, a policewoman entered their hospital room; when Jiaming saw her, he gave her a penetrating look. The person that had just come in was definitely unusual in Jiaming¡¯s eyes. With her cap slightly pulled down, the lady that had entered was far too young, almost around the age of a high schooler. Even though some women do have a baby face, Jiaming could tell from the way she held herself that she was still a student. Something was definitely up, so Jiaming put on his usual pretense as a young child and behaved as a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. He had already eyed the fork on the bedside table next to him, if someone did come to investigate him or sent a young female assassin to get rid of him, he would be prepared. Glancing over at Tsukichi Kaoru in the next bed, he saw that she was looking somewhat doubtful at the policewoman as well, but she probably had not thought about her to the same extent as he did. ¡°Cough, I believe you are Gu Jiaming.¡± This policewoman was trying to sound older than she was. She tidied up his bedside table, placing everything including the fork into the drawer, before putting a notebook on top of the table. With that action, Jiaming was even more certain about his judgment of her. ¡°My name is Mu Zhenzhen, and I am here to take your statement.¡± She briefly flashed her police badge, and naturally, one did not get the chance to see her name or photo on the badge clearly. Jiaming felt nervous as he glanced at Lingjing and Shasha who were still in the hospital room. It had been very difficult for him to hide his abilities from Shasha, if he really were to act right now, then his secret would be exposed. Or, if push came to shove, maybe he could rely on the Japanese girl instead? ¡ª¡ª¡ª- [1] It¡¯s actually something the author quoted -¡¶ÎÒÅcµØ‰¯¡·by Ê·èFÉú. It¡¯s a philosophical work where the character contemplates about life and death and is split into three parts. The Temple of Earth is an actual location in Beijing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Earth). For the full work, https://baike.google.com/item/%E6%88%91%E4%B8%8E%E5%9C%B0%E5%9D%9B/6241817 if you¡¯re curious. Someone also read and recorded the whole thing, the passage the author quotes starts here https://youtu.be/E0biyzyzdls?t=52m14s until 54:16. ? 3 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, March 16). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! (¨s¡ã¡õ¡ã£©¨s¦à ©ß©ß Trying to keep the same flow in English¡­ I tried *bows* Chapter 40 Chapter 40 ¨C Sisters TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws, IlkonEbi ** Please note that some names are being updated from ch0 to currently, sorry for the trouble. (Pei Luo Jia changed to Peroka) ** ¡°Miss, you became a policewoman at your age? How amazing!¡± A curious Lingjing had returned to Jiaming¡¯s side while he was still contemplating how to react. ¡°Eh? Haha, call me Auntie! Does Auntie still look young? Good child, Auntie¡¯s always had a baby face since I was young and likes it best when people call me young, hehe, hehe¡­¡± Jiaming¡¯s expression froze on his face as he saw this fake policewoman try to cover up after Lingjing¡¯s question. If this woman had come with an ulterior motive, then she was failing terribly because she seemed kind of silly and did not seem like an assassin at all. Maybe someone had escaped from the psychiatric ward of the hospital and came to cause trouble? ¡°Um, cough cough, so my young friend, Gu Jiaming. Please think back to what happened that night, and then we shall start.¡± Jiaming nodded his head. ¡°First, what is your name¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jiaming¡¯s expression was also slightly stupefied at this point. Did this lady cross over into her past self as well? Her act of pretending to be dumb was even more brilliant than his act was. With one look at Jiaming, the female cop seemed to realize that she had asked an unnecessary question. Face flushing, she stammered, ¡°Um, that is¡­ that was a regular procedure question, and better to have you answer it so that it¡¯s proper. Ok, let¡¯s start.¡± ¡°Gu Jiaming.¡± As the two of them went through the follow-up questions, even though the policewoman seemed like a phony, the procedures were prim and proper. It seemed that she was familiar with the police way of questioning and note-taking, but even if she were looking for any errors or any additional details, she naturally would not be able to glean any from Jiaming¡¯s statement. ¡°Ah, so it was like that.¡± After asking the key questions for the investigation, the policewoman tapped her notebook with her pen a few times and asked, ¡°There are a few less important questions I would like to ask, it¡¯s like this¡­¡± The following questions were extremely nonsensical leading Jiaming to listen incredulously. Not only were they such a huge contrast from the official questions, when he looked at her, all flushed from excitement, he could not help but think, ¡®This woman, was she just enjoying the feeling of asking questions¡­ Was she actually crazy?¡¯ As he answered her questions, when she was particularly concentrated with one of them, he suddenly asked, ¡°Miss, do you go to Starlight Secondary?¡± ¡°Oh, no, I go to Sacred Heart Institute¡­¡± That institute received foreign funding and took on the name ¡®Sacred Heart¡¯, but it was actually one of Jianghai City¡¯s aristocratic schools. With this one answer, Jiaming slapped his forehead and whistled in response. The policewoman, Lingjing, and Shasha all suddenly blinked at the same time Being played around with by this young lady for more than an hour, shame on me! ¡°Um, that is¡­ hehe, actually sis here is in the work-study program, um¡­ The police station was running short on staff today¡­¡± This high school student pretending to be a policewoman was in the middle of trying to explain the situation when the hospital room door suddenly opened. A policewoman that looked quite similar to her entered the room, and when she saw the young lady by the patient¡¯s bed, she bellowed disbelievingly, ¡°MU ZHENZHEN?! YOU¡­ YOU STOLE MY UNIFORM AND WORE IT.¡± ¡°Ah, Sister, I saw that you were too busy, so I wanted to help you out. Coming to the hospital to take notes is too troublesome for you. Besides, I¡¯m planning to take the exam for police school. This can be considered practical experience¡­¡± ¡°Troublesome?¡± The policewoman scowled ferociously at her, seeming like she was about to bring down the sword of justice on her, ¡°You think taking notes is a small thing? You even dared to steal and wear my uniform! Don¡¯t you know that you are breaking the law by wearing a police uniform to trick people?! Also, you have a gun, where did it come from?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the replica gun you got for my last birthday.¡± Mu Zhenzhen shrank back at the face of her sister¡¯s fury, ¡°Ugh, Sister please, I won¡¯t do it next time. I won¡¯t do it again¡­¡± ¡°YOU BETTER NOT! Strip right now!¡± ¡°Ah? Strip right here?¡± Mu Zhenzhen looked around disbelievingly at the four people in the hospital room. Jiaming had just taken a sip of water and spat it back out onto the blanket, unable to hold back his choked laughter. He hurriedly patted down the wet area while Lingjing and Shasha both blushed at her words. The policewoman seemed to realize that this was not a good place for her to strip, so she paused her berating briefly before continuing, ¡°Why not here? A few children can¡¯t watch you undress? It¡¯s fine if you wear it at home, but now you¡¯re wearing the police uniform to trick people!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± The female high school student clutched at her collar, ¡°Sister, I didn¡¯t bring a change of clothes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Stunned, the policewoman resentfully shook her head before saying, ¡°I guess you can change when you¡¯re home. Give me your notes and let me take a look.¡± Mu Zhenzhen respectfully handed over the notes she had taken to her sister. After her sister read through it and nodded her head slightly, she could not refrain from asking happily, ¡°Sister, how did I do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I guess. But what is with this last section of nonsense? If someone saw it and thought I wrote it, they might think that I was crushing on this Gu Jiaming!¡± She smiled at Jiaming and nodded at him briefly, before staring strictly at her younger sister. ¡°Hehe.¡± Mu Zhenzhen stuck out her tongue in response, ¡°It¡¯s because I know that the last section is useless, that¡¯s why it¡¯s on the last page. You can get rid of it, ok?¡± After giving her the stink-eye, the policewoman finally went to Jiaming¡¯s bedside, ¡°Ah, hello there. My young friend Jiaming, I am Mu Qingqing. I hope you remember me as I was at the factory last time and today I was supposed to take your statement. However, since Zhenzhen already asked all the questions, it¡¯s not necessary to do it all again. I would like to go over some things with you though, is that ok?¡± Jiaming nodded before listening to Mu Qingqing repeat some of the previous questions. The truth was, this was just routine procedure, and the answers Jiaming responded with were basically the same. She stood up, smiled good-naturedly at him, before turning to look steelily at her sister and slapping her on the head, ¡°Let¡¯s go, time to go home!¡± ¡°Ouch, Sister, why you gotta hit my head? You¡¯re going to make me stupider.¡± ¡°Are you even able to get dumber?¡± ¡°Poor me¡­ after Father passed away, Sister, you¡¯ve always abused me¡­ Once you get married, I¡¯m definitely going to get chased out of the house and forced to sleep on the streets.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I was too kind to you¡­¡± The two left in a bustle of noise, giving off the feeling that the two sisters were very close as their voices disappeared down the corridor. Inside the hospital room, Jiaming and the girls finally burst out laughing. The next day after having given his statement, the Tsukichi clan finally sent someone. However, it was not Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s relative; rather it was one of the Tsukichi clan¡¯s housekeepers in charge of foreign affairs. He had originally wanted to transfer Tsukichi Kaoru to a better environment for her recovery; however, she rejected his suggestion. As a result, he ended up paying the hospital a larger sum of money to have the special care nurse increase her attention on taking care of Kaoru. Then, he told her that Amau Masanori would be arriving in the next few days to pick her up to return to Japan. Those arrangements were well within Jiaming¡¯s calculations. In the original timeline, without his involvement, after that pervert old man tortured Tsukichi Kaoru for a while, Amau Masanori would end up saving her. The Amau clan was an important part of Japan¡¯s metahuman organization ¡°Takamagahara¡±. Masanori was the eldest son of the Amau clan, and because of that situation, he ended up being engaged with Tsukichi Kaoru. However, Jiaming knew that the two of them did not have any feelings for each other because once Kaoru returned home, she would lock herself in her room. When Jiaming infiltrated the Tsukichi clan eight years later to prepare for Peroka¡¯s attack, Tsukichi Kaoru would commit suicide in her room. Now that he thought about it, that time was about when it would be getting close to her wedding date to Amau Masanori. However, due to the changes in this timeline, this would naturally be set on a different direction now. Just what would happen in the future? Well¡­ it¡¯s unrelated to me anyways¡­ Jiaming thought calmly that night. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª 4 / 4 chapters of the week (next release is Sunday, March 18). FAMOUS LAST WORDS, BRAH. If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 41 Chapter 41 ¨C Scheme TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is spoken in Japanese. It was already late autumn; the golden leaves floated down from the trees and littered across the ground of the hospital atrium. A variety of ornamental fish swam lazily in the pond, and leaves fell into it at times, causing ripples on the surface of the water. The middle-aged and elderly people, wearing white hospital gowns, were either supported by family members or strolled around the spacious courtyard in groups of two or three. Even though they were here for treatment, they seemed relaxed and comfortable. Jiaming, on the other hand, did not, as he would leave his hospital room every day. He felt like a psychiatric ward patient who could not stay still because there was an annoying bug stuck to him. Based on his physique, once medicine was applied and he was stitched up, he would have been able to move like normal. Staying at the hospital was quite unnecessary. However, when it came to the Huang family, even if they did not care about Jiaming, they cared about their name and pride. Ever since Jiaming had entered the hospital, the only thing they did was pay large amounts of money and never showed any signs of caring about him. Since the hospital was aware of the Huang family¡¯s situation, they were willing to exaggerate Jiaming¡¯s conditions as long as the Huang family kept paying. Thus, a week later, Jiaming ended up having no choice but to start living at the hospital. As to the bug that was following him around, it was neither Lingjing nor Shasha ¡ªthey both had to go to school¡ª it was the person that was sharing the room with him. Though, the truth was that after they entered the hospital, apart from that one night when she had said ¡®thank you¡¯ to him, they did not interact at all. Apart from the weekends, when Lingjing and Kaoru had exchanges in English, the japanese girl sat in bed all day and stared blankly at nothing. Thinking that she was afraid of being in an unfamiliar place, Jiaming had suggested that she should go out for walks as well. Even though she had not responded to Jiaming¡¯s suggestion, when Jiaming went out every day, she would follow behind him like a silent ghost. When Jiaming strolled around the hospital courtyard, Tsukichi Kaoru would quietly follow behind; when he sat down on a bench, she would sit quietly next to him; when he squatted down by the pond, she would quietly squat down as well; when Jiaming played Go with the elderly at the pavilion, she would watch quietly from the side. What was more horrifying though, was that whenever Jiaming had the upper hand in the Go match, Kaoru would tap on some locations on the Go board and then the opponent would laugh merrily and say, ¡°Oh, oh, over here, over here¡­¡± and then they would counter-attack and win the match instead. Thus, Jiaming was very depressed! Was it because he did too many wicked deeds in his previous life that a vengeful spirit had latched on to him? Well¡­ he did do a lot of atrocious things, but Kaoru had commited suicide in the other timeline, just why was it his goddamn business? It was not possible that her spirit had travelled through time, right? But to tell the truth, Jiaming did not take all of this too seriously. Even though he was depressed and thought about a lot of things, he did not speak up about it. Besides, they were not really friends and he did not want to have any contact with someone that would be part of Peroka. If she wanted to follow him around, then he would let her do so, but he would keep the ¡®I don¡¯t know her¡¯ expression on his face. Lingjing and Shasha visited every afternoon; when they brought meals with them, they would bring a portion for Kaoru as well. Lingjing and Kaoru ended up being friends through learning English, and while Jiaming seemed indifferent to it, he was actually wondering what potential trouble this could bring him in the future. After staying at the hospital for another four or five days, Jiaming was finally allowed to check out. Lingjing must have said something to Kaoru, because late that night, when Jiaming was around seventy percent asleep, he heard Kaoru¡¯s voice. ¡°Gu Jiaming¡­¡± The gentle voice was cautious, testing to see if he had fallen asleep or not. After a pause, Jiaming ¡°mmm¡±-ed in response. ¡°Excuse me¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but¡­ could I request for you to help me with something?¡± ¡°Nope, not interested, thanks,¡± Jiaming quickly responded in Japanese. She fell silent at that and Jiaming turned over, preparing to go back to sleep, when she spoke up again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ but it¡¯s really important to me. I was wondering if Gu-kun could¡­ listen to me first before deciding¡­¡± Jiaming did not reply, and only listened as she continued, ¡°I wanted to ask, Gu-kun¡­ Have you done anything with girls¡­ do you have that experience¡­¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes and thought, Are you kidding me?, while he said, ¡°Yes, but it was with a sexy foreign woman and not with a flat-chested, small-butt japanese girl. Why? You want me to do it with you?¡± Jiaming did not pay attention to his tone when speaking with people that he did not care about. He thought that the aristocratic japanese girl would be struck speechless by his vulgarity and would go back to sleep. But then she quietly said, ¡°Yes¡­ yes, I was wondering if you could¡­¡± ¡°Forget it. You¡¯re not sexy at all and your body¡¯s full of scars right now. Not only are you ugly as heck, but I¡¯m a young, healthy, growing boy. If I were to do it with you, I¡¯m going to get scarred for the rest of my life. Even if you were to repay me for saving you, you don¡¯t have to do this. Please just disappear from my life and it¡¯s enough thanks for me¡­ If it weren¡¯t for the hospital not having any space, I wouldn¡¯t want to share a room or bed with you¡­¡± While he was spouting nonsense, he was doubtfully wondering, Just what is going on? Do women nowadays want to repay people using their bodies just by being saved? My previous self didn¡¯t really pay attention to the ethics of normal society because I was still in the middle of training. Is it possible that within two to three years time, society¡¯s morals had actually been completely ruined? Thinking that it was just a joke, Jiaming waited a while before Kaoru responded apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know if Gu-kun knows or not, but the Tsukichi clan is currently facing a crisis¡­¡± Jiaming would naturally be more aware about that situation than she was. The director of Japan¡¯s division of Peroka, Onmori Shou, had long since wanted to make a move on the Tsukichi clan, but he did not have any excuse to do so. When his son, Onmori Yoshi ended up taking a liking to Tsukichi Kaoru, who was fourteen-years-old at that time, it finally became the fuse for his father to make his move. Now that he thought about it, Jiaming frowned. Was it due to his skills that this girl was going to sacrifice her virtue to him, thus causing Onmori Yoshi to fight him? Was this her plan to use him to kill that guy off? Onmori Yoshi was one of Peroka¡¯s best ability users. Even though he was extremely powerful and normally seemed kind and honest when handling affairs or interacting with people, he was actually a deviant and an extreme lolicon[2]. He felt disgusted by women over the age of eighteen and would only go to bed with naive and adorable thirteen-fourteen year old girls. Once he took their virginity, he would no longer have any interest in them. Because he took a fancy to Tsukichi Kaoru, even though he only wanted to propose an engagement, the Tsukichi clan naturally did not want to agree to it. Thus, this gave an excuse for Peroka to make their move. Even though Onmori Yoshi was a pervert, he did not like to use force. He would use large amounts of money to dazzle the young girl¡¯s family, and then use candy and toys to swindle his way into the young girl¡¯s bed ¡ª it was this strange older brother¡¯s goal and the pervert¡¯s usual tactics. As to using these tasteless means of dealing with the Tsukichi clan, anyone could see that it was his father¡¯s plan; and as to whether they agreed to the engagement or not, the Tsukichi clan could not avoid this crisis. ¡°¡­ Because of this, our family requested for assistance from Takamagahara and father had asked me to strengthen the relations with them. He wanted to arrange for an engagement with the eldest son of the Amau clan. I have not yet met the Amau clan¡¯s Masanori-kun, but when I return back to Japan, I can no longer avoid my father¡¯s intention. That¡¯s why I hope that, at least for my first time¡­¡± ¡°You should give your first time to your dad. I already said, I¡¯m not interested¡­ otherwise, I do have a pen. You can just directly break it¡­¡± ¡°B-break it¡­¡± ¡°Yup, just break it, then go to Peroka and show it to Onmori Yoshi. Since that guy has that disgusting type of interest and was used as an excuse by his father this time, you should know that once you don¡¯t have your first time, he would definitely announce to the whole world that he¡¯s not connected to you at all. He doesn¡¯t really have any ulterior motive other than that, so you don¡¯t even need to be forced to marry Amau Masanori too! Hoho, I¡¯m so smart¡­¡± He continued rambling nonsense, somehow unexpectedly reaching a solution to her problem. Feeling satisfied with himself, he got up to drink a cup of water when he heard rustling behind him. The girl had also gotten up off the bed and was suddenly approaching his side of the room. ¡°Hey, what are you up to?¡± Jiaming had only been joking just now and was not taking anything seriously, but the girl extended out both hands and said, ¡°I¡­ I would like to borrow your pen¡­¡± Gu¡ªPu¡ª Jiaming gagged and, to avoid spitting water onto Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s doll-like face, he choked and spit into his cup instead. Then clutching his stomach, he started rolling around, ¡°Hahaha¡­ Is your brain damaged? I¡¯m only joking! You actually wanted to use a pen¡­ Hahahahehehe¡­¡± With his mind full of thoughts of this beautiful girl, Kaoru, spreading her legs and sticking a pen into her, he could not control his laughter. After a long while, when he was finally able to stop, he patted his aching stomach and then swiped at the water stains on his blanket. When he took another look at Kaoru¡¯s face, he started laughing again, ¡°Hahaha¡­ just go back to sleep, you silly girl. Peroka has wanted to take over the Tsukichi clan for a long time; even without an excuse, they will still make a move. If you use a pen¡­ hahaha, that¡¯s just going to make Onmori Yoshi depressed. You are just his type¡­¡± ¡°Gu-kun, you¡­ are you really familiar with Peroka?¡± ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t have any relations with Peroka at all and I don¡¯t want to be connected to them¡­¡± As he lay back down on his bed, he felt that Kaoru should be rewarded for being able to make him laugh, so he said, ¡°Relax, once you get more familiar with Amau Masanori, you would find that he¡¯s quite a good catch. However, whether you like him or whether you get engaged with him or not, he won¡¯t make a move on you because he has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Gu-kun¡­ do you know Amau-kun?¡± Jiaming turned his head and did not reply to that question, while Kaoru thought that the silence meant tacit agreement. The Jiaming at that time did not realize that his silence was the first mistake he made in his current reborn life. Luckily, it did not lead to too much trouble later on. The next day was when Jiaming checked out of the hospital and could return to school. He did not exchange additional words with Tsukichi Kaoru. After another few days passed, on the Thursday of the week after, when Jiaming left the Ye family and returned home, he sensed that something was different even before entering his room. It seemed that someone had slipped in while he was out. As he carefully pushed his door open, he noticed that there was a note left on the bedside table. The note was written in chinese and the script was extremely neat and tidy, ¡®Tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, Dongcheng Road, Fleeting Dusk Cafe. This is only a brief meeting, see you there. Amau Masanori¡¯ It was a school holiday tomorrow as it was an Education Committee Inspection day. The guy inviting him out was definitely aware about it. TL note: I kept the Japanese honorifics in (¡®-kun¡¯) because that was what the author did. [2] Lolicon ¨C a complex where one is attracted to young girls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolicon ? 1 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, March 21). Chapter 42 Chapter 42 ¨C Amau Masanori TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi TL Note: Bold text is in Japanese. If Jiaming was to follow his current personality, when the other person said ¡°see you there¡±, he would definitely not go and would have let Amau Masanori wait there forever. Of course, the other choice was to comply, since the two of them were around the same rank and the guy had asked so sincerely. However, he knew that Amau Masanori was the good guy type who would try to not offend anybody, so he did not expect him to react violently even if he decided not to go. In the morning of the next day, on the way to eat breakfast, Lingjing and Shasha suddenly proposed something that caused him to be in a dilemma. ¡°Xihai Road Cinema, 3pm in the afternoon? They¡¯re showing ¡®A Chinese Odyssey Part 1: Pandora¡¯s Box¡¯[1]?¡± ¡°Yep! Last night, Dad gave me three tickets and said that it was very good. He said we¡¯d probably like it, so we should go watch it,¡± Shasha said happily while holding the three tickets. ¡°But I have something to do at 2pm¡­¡± He pointed at the two girls. Even though he did not say anything, he did not want to be the third wheel at their date. When Shasha looked like she was about to freak out on him, he hurriedly smiled and said, ¡°Haha, actually it¡¯s not a problem. I will definitely get there in time. Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Who are you meeting up with? Is it that japanese girl?¡± Shasha narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°I don¡¯t even understand what¡¯s she saying, why would I be meeting up with her? My father¡¯s friend was planning to leave Jianghai City today but wanted to see me first. I¡¯m only gonna chat with him briefly and he¡¯ll probably give me some pocket money. I¡¯ll buy the popcorn at today¡¯s movie, ok?¡± The suspicion on Shasha¡¯s face cleared up a bit, but she continued to say, ¡°Hmph, there¡¯s a lot of things one could do without saying anything.¡± ¡°How would you know?¡± Jiaming eyed her and she blushed lightly. It seemed that she remembered something and felt guilty ¨C she was probably remembering their kiss in the woods behind the lumber processing factory. As the three of them finished eating, Jiaming walked ahead while eavesdropping on the two girls whispering behind him. ¡°Shasha, why are you asking him so many questions¡­¡± ¡°Ach, I heard from my dad that men take the wrong path easily. Lingjing, we have to watch over him closely!¡± ¡°But¡­ but¡­ it feels weird¡­¡± Jiaming could hear everything they were whispering about and could not help but feel powerless. Little girls nowadays¡­ what are they learning?! For goodness sake, the two of you are lilies, can you keep an eye on your girlfriend instead? I¡¯m only a friend to you guys, not your shared body massager¡­ After cleaning up and school ended, the three of them ate lunch at Lingjing¡¯s place. As Jiaming had a prior engagement, he got ready to leave around 1pm. When he passed by Shasha as he was leaving, she punched a sandbag, and as she hit it, she said, ¡°Remember¡­ to get there¡­ earlier!¡± She threatened Jiaming as if he was the sandbag as she continued punching. He strolled along nearby streets and arrived at Fleeting Dusk Cafe at precisely 2pm. As he entered through glass doors, a warm, comforting aroma enveloped him. The waiter at the entrance was about to question Jiaming as he was wearing Starlight Secondary¡¯s school uniform and looking around, when at the furthest seats near the window, at the back, a familiar face poked their head out and started waving at him. The Amau Masanori eight years later was mature and earnest; however, at this point in time, he was still only a university student. He could not be considered especially handsome, but he had features that made one feel he was trustworthy. If one did not know his background, they would have assumed that he was a young salesman that had just entered his profession. The soothing piano music tinkled away in the background and every table was seperated and set up with a beautiful decoration. Jiaming only saw Kaoru when he approached the table, as the decorative plants on the separation screen had blocked his view. Evidently, her injuries were better, and she had been allowed to check out of the hospital. She was wearing a spotlessly-white casual outfit that clung to her delicate and slender figure, giving her a growing young lady feel. When she saw Jiaming arrive, she placed both hands on her legs and bowed, and a trace of an apologetic look appeared on her usually emotionless face. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Amau Masanori.¡± The man beamed at him as he reached over to shake his hand, speaking fluent Chinese. If Jiaming did not know that Masanori had a honest and sincere character, he would not have decided to come and would have sniped him long ago. ¡°I¡¯m Gu Jiaming, please call me Jiaming.¡± Jiaming sat down opposite him, ordered a cup of coffee, and asked, ¡°You know the police is watching you. Since you¡¯ve asked me to meet at this time, it might bring me trouble, and I hate trouble.¡± ¡°Hoho, I¡¯m confident that I have the ability to evade police observation. Besides, I believe Jiaming has the ability to do it too, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if they¡¯re regular police, but how would you know who¡¯s part of Ancestral Awakening?¡± ¡°You mean you¡¯re not part of them?¡± Amau Masanori asked doubtfully as Jiaming sipped at his coffee. ¡°Don¡¯t try to probe me, I said before that I hate trouble.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I called you out this time for a few reasons. First, I wanted to thank you for helping Kaoru out, and secondly, she said that you were quite familiar with my circumstances, so¡­ You know, even my family is not completely aware of my private affairs. Of course, I hope that you can forgive Kaoru for unintentionally revealing some matters about you, but I actually did some investigating on my own. I also hope you don¡¯t mind, but I¡¯ve dispatched of your little friend, Cao Dongfeng, who you left residing in the mental hospital.¡± ¡°I already knew that you would see that something was odd. Though, I did overlook Cao Dongfeng.¡± Jiaming smiled briefly as he looked at the somewhat-forced indifferent expression on Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s face. ¡°She¡¯s still not that mature huh¡­ Oh right, is Yui currently at Todai[2]? If I remember correctly, she should be in her second year. Also her home-ec skills are quite impressive¡­¡± With that one sentence, the atmosphere around the table suddenly changed. Amau Masanori¡¯s manner suddenly turned cold, but then after a moment, he slowly relaxed. ¡°Is it¡­ do you know Yui? Is that why you know about my matters? But that¡¯s not possible, even though the Ryuudo family has contacts everywhere, they never did like China. Yui¡¯s also never been here before, so it must mean that you¡¯ve been to Japan before¡­¡± Masanori analyzing this in front of him was a means of him saying that he did not want to create any hard feelings between him and Jiaming. Jiaming only smiled and stood up, ¡°My circumstances are very complicated. You won¡¯t be able to find out anything, so don¡¯t bother. I¡¯m not affiliated with any of the groups, and I don¡¯t want to have any contact with them. If you want to continue investigating me¡­ Well, I¡¯m part of Japan¡¯s Katsuyoku clan, and I am second in line¡­ Ok, I have things to do. I hope I never see you again, and the both of you, please do have a safe return trip.¡± He left the cafe with those parting words and then Kaoru spoke up, ¡°Amau-kun, what did Gu-kun say?¡± ¡°Ah, he said that he was Japan¡¯s Katsuyoku clan¡¯s second son,¡± Masanori responded, his mouth twitching, trying not to smirk. ¡°Katsuyoku clan¡¯s¡­ second son¡­¡± Kaoru repeated the strange name and when Masanori saw her serious expression, he finally chortled, ¡°Yeah, well, if we consider it from the Chinese meaning, he was actually saying that he¡¯s Katsuyo Kujiro[3]. Anyways, there¡¯s still three hours before the flight. Kaoru, let¡¯s prepare to return to Japan.¡± Jiaming took the public transit after he left the cafe. When he looked at his watch, it was only 2:35pm, and there was more than enough time for him to make it to the cinema. Even though it could not be considered rush hour, the passengers on the bus were still packed together like a can of sardines. As he stood by the door, Jiaming saw a familiar figure ¨C the high school girl that was masquerading as the policewoman and asked for his statement a few days ago, Mu Zhenzhen. This time, she had shoulder-length hair and was wearing bright blue sportswear, rushing her way onto the bus. Since it was the start of winter, the heater was on. However, since there were a lot of people on the bus, it was quite stuffy. A lot of the passengers were absentmindedly staring into empty space, but this high school girl was one of the rare few who retained their alertness. Following her gaze, he saw a young lad in the midst of carefully pulling out a small wallet with two fingers from a middle-aged woman¡¯s handbag. The fellow only looked to be around 17-18 years old and was keeping a lookout around him when he noticed Mu Zhenzhen¡¯s scrutiny. He fiercely glared her and without batting an eye, she promptly hollered, ¡°Catch that thief!¡± The bus instantly descended into chaos as the passengers, one after another, frantically looked around to inspect their bags and items, while the thief was scared into letting go of his loot. Mu Zhenzhen wanted to apprehend the thief, but two other youngsters pretended to accidentally crowd around her as she tried to make her way towards him. The thief was trying to escape and shoved his way towards the exit of the bus. Mu Zhenzhen mustered up all of her power and somehow successfully bulldozed her way through the crowd and caught onto the thief¡¯s arm. At the same time, the thief had just kicked out at Jiaming who was squashed against the door and was unable to avoid it. The kick was not very strong, but it left a distinct footprint on the front of Jiaming¡¯s shirt. Trying to wipe the stain off, Jiaming¡¯s lips curled up helplessly. ¡°Wow¡­ so powerful¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª [1] A Chinese Odyssey (1995): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Chinese_Odyssey ¨C This movie is actually loosely based on Journey to the West https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West and it stars Stephen Chow as the Monkey King ???? ? [2] Todai is short for University of Tokyo ¨C the most prestigious university in Japan. ? [3] Katsuyo Kujiro ¨C this name in chinese is Ò»Ò¹¾Å´ÎÀÉ (y¨©y¨¨ji¨³c¨¬l¨¢ng). Unfortunately, this is an untranslate-able pun¡­ It actually means a guy that can do it 9 times in a night. ? 2 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, March 23). Chapter 43 Chapter 43 ¨C The Chase TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi The thief had been caught and the middle-aged woman finally shrieked as she realized her handbag was open. However, the situation turned complicated. ¡°Don¡¯t pull on me! You meddlesome woman, why are you calling me a thief?!¡± ¡°I saw you, why are you trying to shift the blame!¡± ¡°You say you saw it, but how can you just say it¡¯s me! I also saw that it was you! What evidence do you have?!¡± ¡°If you weren¡¯t guilty, why did you run?¡± ¡°Who said I ran? There are so many people on the bus, where can I run to?¡± ¡°You¡¯re obviously trying to escape.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± There was no evidence and the people on the bus were not used to stepping up to be a witness. After the middle-aged woman inspected her handbag and realized that she had not lost anything, she tugged at Mu Zhenzhen, ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t lose anything¡­ So just leave it be¡­¡± ¡°How can that be! Even though you didn¡¯t lose anything, who knows how many people he robbed! No, I can¡¯t just let him go!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What basis do you have to keep me!¡± Seeing that his original target wanted to drop the matter, the thief continued saying angrily, ¡°Let go! Stop holding on to my arm. I¡¯m letting you know, if you weren¡¯t a woman, I would¡¯ve hit you already!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see who hits who, huh! Wah!¡± Before she finished speaking, the youngster pushed her roughly. Caught off guard, she staggered backwards and the few people behind her moved away trying to avoid her. Even though the bus was already jam-packed with people, when she fell back, the passengers suddenly realized that there was still some more space for them to squeeze in together to avoid her. However, as there actually were a lot of people, Mu Zhenzhen did not fall down. She struggled to rush back at the thief, but the two youngsters that were blocking her earlier purposely obstructed her again. They pretended to advise her, ¡°Ah, you must have made a mistake, don¡¯t be so serious.¡± ¡°Exactly, you must¡¯ve made a mistake. You¡¯re a girl, you don¡¯t want to get hurt, right?¡± During 1995, young people that wanted to be stylish wore a strange style of casual wear. As the three of them wore similar outfits, it was obvious that they knew each other. When the crowd saw that there were three of them, they naturally did not dare to interfere. However, Mu Zhenzhen continued on without any fear, ¡°You two better let me through; I will catch him and bring him to the police station today!¡± Even though she had a strong sense of justice, she was only a single female high school student. At this point in time, the victim did not want to pursue the matter, and the watching passengers did not dare say anything. She felt that the situation was taking a turn for the worse and her eyes reddened slightly. However, a voice suddenly came from the side. ¡°I can be a witness! He¡¯s a thief!¡± The voice of a boy¡¯s who was in the middle of going through puberty could be heard, and the passengers turned to look towards him. They saw a boy wearing a Starlight Secondary School uniform, pointing at the footprint on his chest, ¡°When he tried to escape in my direction, he kicked me in the chest. I¡¯ve also heard that people leave their fingerprints behind on what they touch, and since that person just tried to take that Auntie¡¯s wallet, as long as we go to the police station to check, then we can definitely discover the truth.¡± As soon as that boy said that, the three youngsters blanched and the thief¡¯s face instantly paled. Mu Zhenzhen agreed, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! Hmph, you can¡¯t escape this time. Mr. Bus Driver, we are going to the police station!¡± But the truth was, this auntie¡¯s wallet would have definitely been touched a lot during the day. Even if there was another person¡¯s set of fingerprints, it would be quite difficult to find them. However, this was something only a professional would know, as normal people would not be too aware of the details. When the thief thought about the fingerprinting technology used on TV to catch people, he thought that he would definitely be shown as guilty and he started thinking of how to escape. But, just as he started thinking that way, the young boy standing nearby ¡°naively¡± said, ¡°Ms. Zhenzhen, of course he can¡¯t escape. Isn¡¯t Ms. Qingqing part of the police? Since she¡¯s part of the homicide department, all you have to do is remember how that guy looks like. As long as he stays in Jianghai City, Ms. Qingqing would definitely be able to find him.¡± ¡°Oh, oh yes. My sister is a police woman. You can try escaping if you¡¯re not afraid! Mr. Bus Driver, please hurry and drive to the police station.¡± The bus driver originally did not want to drive there, but when he heard that the girl¡¯s sister was part of the police, he did consider changing his mind. However, because he was the type of person that would not step up when something happened, and it was part of his nature to only watch a scene from afar, he ended up saying, ¡°But¡­ the closest police station is not part of my route and everyone might have urgent matters to attend to¡­¡± During that part of the day, not a lot of people were in a rush. Since the thief had been caught, the passengers started to get excited instead and someone said, ¡°I knew there was something fishy about that guy.¡± Someone else said, ¡°If I knew that earlier, I would have definitely thrashed him.¡± The bus subsequently shifted over to another road and Jiaming was momentarily stunned. ¡°Oh no¡­ I¡¯m going to get killed at this rate¡­¡± As they were currently on the way to the closest police station, the cinema was actually in the opposite direction of it. Now that the matter had been settled, Mu Zhenzhen watched the thief closely as she said to him, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Gu Jiaming from the other day. I¡¯m really sorry about the other time.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Jiaming smiled awkwardly, his smile looking like Conan¡¯s[1] long suffering smile, and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Ms. Zhenzhen really wants to become a police officer, huh?¡± ¡°Yes I do. I¡¯m graduating next year, and I¡¯ve always wanted to take the exam for police school, hehe. Hmph, brat, don¡¯t get any funny ideas. I¡¯m a black belt third dan in Judo!¡± The latter half of that sentence was directed at the ashen-faced thief. Jiaming did not keep talking and the thief¡¯s two accomplices also did not dare to say anything. When the bus arrived at the police station and the door opened, the thief instantly tried to escape. However, Mu Zhenzhen grabbed onto his clothing, and both the thief and Mu Zhenzhen went tumbling out of the bus as Jiaming, who had been standing by the door, ¡°accidentally¡± tripped the thief. ¡°Who said you can run¡­ you still want to escape¡­¡± As the two of them fell off the bus, the thief fell straight down to the ground without any cushioning and Mu Zhenzhen flopped on top of him. Because he cushioned her fall, she was not wounded and picked herself off him easily. When she pulled the thief up, blood streamed out of his nose and his forehead and his face had been scratched and wounded by the gravel on the ground. The middle-aged woman that was going to be pickpocketed and a few other witnesses that were being ¡°warriors of justice¡± helped escort the thief into the police station. Jiaming mentioned that he had things to do, so he rejected Mu Zhenzhen¡¯s offer of candy as a reward and rushed to the cinema. When he turned around the corner, the thief¡¯s two accomplices speedily caught up to him. ¡°You must feel like a hero, brat.¡± ¡°A great hero, huh.¡± One of the guys shoved Jiaming¡¯s shoulder, but Jiaming only sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t have time to play with you guys. Run along now, little boys.¡± ¡°You f*cker¡­ oi, don¡¯t run from me¡­¡± Before the two of them finished cursing him, Jiaming had already dashed past them. ¡°Sh*t, you better not let me catch you¡­¡± ¡°If you keep running, I¡¯ll kill your whole family¡­¡± Thus, two big boys started chasing after a small boy all over the streets of Jianghai City. However, regardless of how much effort or energy the two men spent, they could not catch up to the relatively short young boy. Before long, the two of them started to feel frustrated. The child was running extremely swiftly even when crossing roads or leaping over fences; just looking at how he was running was giving them a headache. They had never encountered a child that could run so fast! The two of them swore at Jiaming as they chased after him for around three to four blocks. However, they were gradually losing steam and when they turned a corner on one of the streets, a bicycle suddenly screeched to a halt and hit one of them. One of the youngsters sprawled on the floor, but then hollered, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, follow him! Catch him!¡± Their self-esteem was quite affected by the fact that the two of them could not catch up to a 14-15 year old boy. Thus, even when one of them had been hit by the bike, he did not forget to encourage his partner to his last breath. The other youngster only glanced back briefly, clenched his teeth and started to run after Jiaming even faster. After desperately pursuing him, he finally managed to somewhat close the gap between them. Huffing and puffing, he turned into a small alleyway and saw that the young boy was not far ahead. This alleyway actually led to a dead-end and was filled with heaps of trash and several garbage cans. Overjoyed with this fact, he panted out while running, ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t run¡­ you¡¯re stuck now¡­¡± Having finally gotten closer, the delinquent felt that he would be able to catch him, but was unsuccessful. The young boy did slow down, despite it being a dead-end. In fact, the boy continued on and hopped on top of one of the garbage cans, then leapt across onto the opposite wall. Bump¡ª Clattercrash¡ª Bangclangclang¡ª Astonished at what he saw, the delinquent was unable to stop in time and crashed into the garbage heap. He was buried in a large amount of garbage bags as the young boy¡¯s figure easily leapt over the wall and disappeared from his view. How is that¡­ how is that possible¡­ ***************************** Having jumped over the wall, he arrived on the street where the cinema was. When he took a look at his watch, it was 2:58pm and he had just made it on time. Two gorgeously dressed-up girls were bored to death waiting by the entrance of the cinema ¨C Lingjing was looking around while Shasha¡¯s impatience was shown on her face. When the two of them saw Jiaming rush towards them, the two girls excitedly ran towards him. He expected them to complain or beat him up like how relatives do when they met up. ¡°Hey, where did you go!¡± Shasha questioned him while punching and kicking him a few times. ¡°Why did you come from there?¡± Lingjing asked softly compared to Shasha ¨C she only patted the dust off his clothes while peering curiously at the dead-end behind him. ¡°Argh, you said 3pm! I risked my life to run here, Shasha don¡¯t hit me anymore. Look, it¡¯s only 2:59pm!¡± He said self-righteously as he thrust his watch out in defense. ¡°Mine says a minute past 3pm,¡± Lingjing raised her watch. ¡°And mine says two minutes past!¡± Shasha also showed her watch. ¡°Uh, just because your watches aren¡¯t right¡­ it¡¯s not my fault!¡± Jiaming said gloomily. Shasha did not respond. As she also scanned the alleyway behind him, her face darkened, ¡°It¡¯s a dead-end! That means¡­ you weren¡¯t actually late, but were waiting there for a chance to scare us, right?¡± ¡°Ah, about that¡­ Help¡­¡± Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Jiaming hurried to escape out of Shasha¡¯s reach. Lingjing hoisted her skirt up and then the two girls laughed and ran after him to beat him up. The scene of a young boy being chased by two people over several blocks along Jianghai City¡¯s main streets reappeared again. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare run!¡± [1] Detective Conan (or Case Closed) ¨C a teenage detective gets drugged by baddies and his body got reverted back to a child¡¯s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Closed Smile example ¨C ? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 3 / 3 chapters of the week (next release is Sunday, March 25). There¡¯s also another survey going around, please fill it out: It determines what novels GT would pick up, so please do fill it out :3 Shout out to dethrophes for being such a boss XD Chapter 44 Chapter 44 ¨C The Great Escape of Avoiding an Arranged Marriage in 1996 TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Wah! Why are you using a flame to burn me?¡± ¡°Why did you shave your beard? Don¡¯t you know that the charm of your character is lost once you lose your beard?¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°Aye, you¡¯re not well-read and your fighting skills are bad. If you¡¯re not the bandit, are you trying to be the main character?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve considered it¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath! You can¡¯t change your image! Just do well in your prosperous role as a bandit!¡± This classic dialogue between Stephen Chow and Karen Mok[1] was playing in the cinema as the Journey to the West film was shown all across China. In retrospect, it might be difficult to imagine this scene playing in the cinema in 1995 when it first came out, but one word could be used to describe it: frosty. These unfathomable jokes were received with a chilly response and made one wonder if that was how movies were supposed to be filmed. How could they change the story of the Journey to the West to something like this? Thus, viewers in the cinema were split in their reactions: some were amazed, some were jeering and some were stunned speechless. Or some had weird tastes like Shasha ¨C she was laughing raucously while energetically slapping Jiaming¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is that actually the Monkey King? He is¡­ how could he be the Monkey King¡­ Hahaha, hit him, hit him¡­¡± ¡°Hey, Shasha, stop laughing already. A lot of people are looking at you¡­¡± Lingjing said as she smiled at her antics. When Shasha got excited, she tended to hit people and, naturally, the target of this ended up being the long-suffering Jiaming. As to this parody of the Journey to the West, Jiaming naturally understood all the jokes in it. He also occasionally jeered at the jokes while secretly thinking that Shasha must have a screw loose. After that incident with the Cao father and son, she had become more and more addled. The truth was, Shasha also felt that she had been acting somewhat strange lately. It had all started after that situation in the woods behind the lumber processing plant where she had licked the side of Jiaming¡¯s mouth. The scene where she had kissed him kept replaying in her mind, and every day she wanted to spend more time with Jiaming. When she was by his side, she felt safe and comfortable, and sometimes she would even blush which was extremely rare for her. According to the romance novels that she read, it seemed that she had fallen for Jiaming. But how could that be possible, Jiaming was her best friend, and the boy that Lingjing, her other best friend, had feelings for. Since Lingjing liked him, then it was reasonable to say that she should not have feelings for him too. However, if she could not, then how was she supposed to act around him? Since the three of them were childhood friends, they had long passed the point of keeping secrets from each other. Also, due to several mishaps in the past, Jiaming had seen the two girls¡¯ bodies and they had also basically seen Jiaming¡¯s secret before. Yet since she could not have feelings for this boy, then what kind of distance did she have to maintain from him? Did she have to drift away from him as a friend? This type of misgiving had been plaguing Shasha recently and caused her to act somewhat different than usual. If she got too close, then she would think about Lingjing and she would flush and her heart would beat quickly. If she acted too distant, then she would feel that it would force the two of them out of her friend circle and she could not stand that feeling. She was stuck in a hopeless situation and thus, would sometimes act quite violent, but at other times, would act like a virtuous lady. Troubled by her thoughts, these attitude swings persisted for the rest of 1996. From an observer¡¯s point of view, Shasha was actually ahead compared to Lingjing¡¯s progress regarding their first awakening of love. Even though Lingjing had feelings for Jiaming, she had not sorted it out yet and it was simply still in the ¡°childhood love¡± stages. She did not mind sharing Jiaming¡¯s attention with Shasha and could even cheer about how well her two best friends were getting along. However, no one could say how these feelings of love would develop in the future. The three soon entered the year of 1996. School was on winter break and there were a lot of opportunities for the three of them to hang out together. At this time, Jiaming and Lingjing were almost 15 years old, while Shasha was about to turn 16 years old and enter the prime of her youth after September. Along with the happy but confusing and inexperienced feelings of love, the two gradually maturing young girls and the already mature young boy remained in their little haven. As to when this peace would break, no one knew or thought about how it could happen. Jiaming thought that the two of them had already matured because their interactions were no longer as childish as before. The two of them were lilies in his mind, and his interaction with them did not turn strange. He could use the two of them as a excuse and he could also become an excuse for the two of them; this three person combination was absolutely perfect. Since he had never experienced a normal childhood, he currently felt comfortable and relaxed ¨C this was what happiness was. A few days after the year ended, Jianghai City was covered in pure white snow. The three of them wore down-feather coats and gloves as they strolled down the city streets. They played at the arcade, did some ice-skating and went to the park to play bumper cars and air-guns. The two girls¡¯ cheeks were flushed with excitement and they were all in high spirits. On the fourth day of the new year, they discovered an abandoned cage with a litter of kittens. It seemed that they had been abandoned by their owner shortly after they were born. Of the five kittens, four had already died from the cold, and Lingjing was only able to rescue an exceptionally ugly white kitten that barely stirred in her grasp as they hurried to carry it home. When they returned home, Shasha suggested that it should be called Ugly, while Lingjing said it looked like a newly-born lamb, so it should be called Baabaa; Jiaming thought thought the ugly kitten would not survive long, so he suggested Years as a shortened form of celebrating the kitten¡¯s remaining time on this earth. Shasha won in the end ¨C the little kitten was named Ugly and joined their three-person circle as the newest member. During this period of tranquility and comfort, Jiaming occasionally accessed a secret intelligence website to check up on the situation in America. He knew that Marilyn¡¯s Salieri family and the Gambino family had a large number of conflicts in the shadows, but there was not yet a clear outcome as these two families had fought each other for quite a while already. Meanwhile, little Heidi had won a singing competition during christmas last year, but because the internet was not yet developed, he could only read a report and there were no videos or audio recordings of it. In April, along with the blooming flowers of spring, a letter mysteriously appeared on Jiaming¡¯s desk. It was a letter regarding an engagement ceremony for Amau Masanori and Tsukichi Kaoru. Jiaming only glanced briefly at it while thinking, ¡®What does it have to do with me?¡¯ and then burned it. He spent his days with the two girls and occasionally saw the mature-looking, beautiful, and large breasted teacher, Zhang Yahan. He would flirt with her sometimes, as he thought that he had no hope with the lily couple. Since they were all familiar with each other, maybe he could possibly marry Yahan instead? But, right after he thought that, he felt he must have been brain damaged to even consider that. One evening in June, Jiaming, Lingjing and Shasha had just returned to the Ye¡¯s Martial Arts Hall when Zhang Yahan suddenly showed up. However, the visit this time was different than usual, the beautiful teacher was more dress-up than usual. She was not wearing her ugly pair of glasses, her usual wavy hair was completely straightened out and draping over her shoulders like a waterfall. She was also followed by six burly bodyguards and they seemed even more capable than father Ye when it came to fighting. ¡°Ah, older sister here will be turning 22 in a couple of days and there will be an engagement announcement. These invitations here are for the three of you, please remember to be on time, hohoho¡­ also these two invitations are for Master and his wife. May I ask where they are?¡± At this time, father and mother Ye were currently preparing dinner. Zhang Yahan¡¯s smile was charming but seemed exaggerated at the same time. The two girls were excited for her, but did not notice her forced smile. Jiaming eyed the six bodyguards and figured that Yahan was not very willing to do this, but because of her family, her wishes were likely being ignored. Since a potential candidate who he could marry had been snatched away, he faintly curled his lips in disappointment. He congratulated her appropriately however, and Yahan, seeing that the bodyguards were standing behind her, seemed to be making a strange expression at him. He thought she looked funny while trying, but he pretended not to understand her and only shrugged helplessly in response. After a moment, Jiaming went to the bathroom to relieve himself, but before he could finish, the sound of several people could be heard right outside the bathroom door. He had just thought to himself, Miss Yahan, are you so desperate that you¡¯re willing to do anything?, when his door was already forced open and then quickly closed with a bang. Flustered, Jiaming was trying to pull up his zipper when Yahan ignored what was going on with his lower body and rushed towards him; she clapped a hand over his mouth while frantically shushing him. ¡°Please, I¡¯m in the middle of peeing. If Miss suddenly barges in like this, you could seriously affected the rest of my life. It concerns the most important parts of a man¡¯s body¡­ their kidneys and their prostate¡­¡± Jiaming protested quietly after a short pause while being muffled by Yahan. ¡°If you can¡¯t find any women due to this, I will help you look. There are millions of girls in university¡­¡± Yahan completely ignored him and then turned on the tap water to simulate the sound of someone urinating. Then she looked at Jiaming, ¡°We are friends, right? We are the best of friends, right?!¡± ¡°M¡¯lady, are you being slow? Please consider your identity clearly! Trying to escape from an arranged marriage¡­ Didn¡¯t you already realize that you would be getting married to someone you didn¡¯t like?¡± ¡°You knew I was trying to escape from this marriage, but you still pretended to not understand my message when I looked at you earlier! Do you think I won¡¯t dare to kill you in the bathroom?!¡± Yahan made a threatening gesture at him, ¡°It¡¯s not time for jokes! I don¡¯t want to sacrifice my happiness for the sake of the family! You¡¯re not allowed to ignore this, you¡¯re the only one that can help me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, sis Yahan. Is there something wrong with your brain? I¡¯m still just a child, don¡¯t you have a better option?¡± ¡°If I did, would I still come to find you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, you have really failed in life, huh¡­¡± Jiaming facepalmed as the two of them stood in the bathroom, staring into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t care, you¡¯re still the only one that can help me.¡± Yahan stood up and lifted up her skirt, showing off an expanse of sexy thighs and even her underwear could be seen. Then, she pulled a long piece of paper out of the flesh-colored stockings of her right thigh. ¡°The engagement is coming in the next few days. I needs you to prepare these few things for me. I know it might be difficult, but¡­ I¡¯m begging you, even if you have to sell yourself, I have to one-up these guys!¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Jiaming took a look at the list, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be that excitable, it¡¯s just an engagement. I thought you wanted to kill someone then escape to Thailand¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, right!¡± Yahan said sarcastically, ¡°You don¡¯t know their customs. An engagement is an engagement, but that same night, I have to sleep with that guy. That old-fashioned fogey at the Liu family said there¡¯s no such thing as engagements in China and previously said that there should be a wedding immediately. I fought desperately for this to be an engagement, but ended up with having to sleep with the guy on the night of the engagement¡­ It¡¯s just not the same, I would rather give up my first time to a piece of chalk¡­¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s Yahan¡¯s first time? Since you don¡¯t want it, how about giving it to me. Hmmm, this smells nice¡­¡± Jiaming sniffed the piece of paper, but Yahan fiercely stabbed downwards with two fingers, ¡°Ah-ah~ Is that the attitude you should have when begging someone? Don¡¯t blame me if I scream loudly!¡± ¡°Fine, you pervert, don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± Seeing Yahan¡¯s blushing face, Jiaming knew she felt embarrassed from his previous action. Before he could gather his thoughts, Yahan had pulled him over and pressed his head against her bosom, ¡°Since it¡¯s like this, remember to gather all the items on the list. The fate of my happiness is in your hands!¡± After hurriedly speaking, she rushed out of the bathroom, her cheeks rosy red. Jiaming shook his head at her actions as he read the note again, then shredded it and flushed it down the toilet. [1] Stephen Chow and Karen Mok ¨C in this scene, Karen (a female demon) is chastising Stephen (the monkey king) for shaving his beard. The joke is that they¡¯re breaking the fourth wall, when he¡¯s actually the main character even though she sees him as a bandit character only. ? There¡¯s also another survey going around, please fill it out: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FX53WBQ It determines what novels GT would pick up, so please do fill it out :3 On a side note, it¡¯s Ebi¡¯s birthday! Don¡¯t forget to leave a comment and wish her a happy 130th birthday! (: Chapter 45 Chapter 45 ¨C Meeting at the Pavilion TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi If one were to live with great integrity, one should vote when reading books. Once someone had already placed their eggs in someone else¡¯s basket, they are not allowed to not help out. Conversely, the current situation could not be ignored, but it also could not be considered to be an extreme one either. The five big-name families in Jianghai City were led by the Fang family, then followed by the Huang, Lu, Zhang and Liu families. They were all considered well-known, as most of these families were involved in politics; for example, one of the Huang family members was a Provincial Party Secretary. Since the political reform and opening up of Deng Xiaoping¡¯s policies that were set in the 1980s, there was a rapid rise in development. The Zhang and Liu families had a strategic alliance in the market: the Liu family produced the raw materials, while the Zhang family would handle the sales of those materials. Over the years, the both of them had jointly expanded their trade overseas. Smooth sailing aside, some people, who had a keen instinct, could feel a crisis incoming. This was how the year 1996 looked like. As to Jiaming, even though he was an assassin in his previous life, he knew that at the beginning of June in 1997, a huge financial crisis would sweep across the whole of Asia. China¡¯s foundations were not affected; however, they still felt the effects of the waves. Even though the Zhang family was unable to predict the future, it felt that its business had developed too quickly and it did not have stable foundations. Thus, that year, the Zhang family decided to consolidate the center of their operations by returning to their roots in China. However, the Liu family refused to do the same and a rift appeared between them. The truth was, even though the relationship between the first generation was excellent, when it came to Zhang Yahan¡¯s generation, they did not get along at all, causing the elders to feel somewhat anxious. This was because the Liu family had an extremely spoiled second generation heir, Liu Wenli. As the age of the two was close the adults had often teased them, despite the fact that they did not really have any interaction with each other. However, when Yahan returned from studying overseas, this Liu Wenli stuck to her like a flea. This was because Yahan now had three special characteristics that caused men to flock to her ¨C she was a beauty, she had the title of a genius overseas student, and she had an alluring aura that attracted men. Thus, Yahan was stuck. The fracture had been caused by the expansion plan disagreement and the younger generation not getting along. Thus, when Liu Wenli begged his grandmother for a whole night to reconcile the two families, the Liu family set out a condition: Zhang Yahan had to marry Liu Wenli before the Liu family would completely support the Zhang family on their company development plan. Besides, since the younger generation were already not on harmonious terms, they might as well drop the pretense now. Of course, the relationship between the two families could not be completely broken off. Even though Liu Wenli was a second generation with no good qualities, he was still the Liu family¡¯s future successor. Regardless of Yahan¡¯s title as a genius overseas student, she was still just a chess piece that could be married off to the Liu family. If the arranged marriage was successful, not only would it be economically prosperous for their businesses, it would bring the younger generation together too. Thus, Yahan had no choice but to ask for help from Jiaming. Jiaming guessed that young little Yahan probably wanted to wreck havoc during the engagement party, then escape on a getaway car with a small bag of money and hide out at some other city for around 8-10 years before coming back. He thought that she either read too many novels or watched too many movies to come up with an inane idea like that. Not only would it cause too many waves, there also was a high possibility of failure. If it was not successful, he could get implicated as a conspirator. With these thoughts on his mind, that same night, he started doing some research on Liu Wenli and the previous generations of the Liu family. It was not a difficult matter for him, because he had already gathered some valuable intel on the second night. When the third night arrived, Jiaming brought a VCD to the Zhang family¡¯s large mansion. The Zhang family had a security system that was considered top of the line at that time, but Jiaming easily took control of the computer system before scaling the wall. He crept his way to Yahan¡¯s room, which was on the second floor of the mansion. Jiaming did not carefully research the details of the Zhang family¡¯s land. It was only through casual conversation that he knew that her room had a gorgeous windowsill and was on the second floor. If he wanted to know the exact room, he would have to find the half-bankrupt construction company and look through all their construction plans. Since that was too much effort, and he figured that the Zhang family¡¯s security guards would not pose a threat to him, he acted like Batman and easily glided into the mansion grounds. The Zhang family¡¯s mansion design was quite artistic ¨C each large windowsill was aesthetically designed to protrude on the outside. To Jiaming, these windowsills were like a staircase for voyeurs, because one could easily leap from one window ledge to the other, then leap again to lightly land in front of another window. Jiaming easily demonstrated by peeking through three different rooms (each with different exciting things happening in them) before climbing to the side of the mansion onto a window ledge with the shutters half-closed. He guessed that this was Yahan¡¯s room. It turned out to be a bathroom window. When he peeked through the shutters, he saw a completely naked Yahan, who had just finished bathing and was wiping her body with a fluffy towel. He barely managed to ogle her before someone entered the edge of his peripheral vision. He quickly flipped himself onto the balcony in front of Yahan¡¯s room and hurriedly slipped into her room through the glass door. This room was shrouded in darkness and the only source of light was a sliver leaking from the bathroom door. As soon as Jiaming entered, the bathroom door suddenly opened and he did not have time to hide as he closed the glass door behind him. Thus he pressed the light switch and with a ¡®click¡¯, the room was flooded with light. ¡°Shhhh!¡± Scared that Yahan would scream at the sudden intruder, Jiaming moved towards her and placed a silencing finger on her lips to prevent her from saying anything, while the two of them stared at each other blankly. Jiaming was cowering when he placed a finger on Yahan¡¯s lips after she had left the bathroom naked. It was not yet summer and the nights were quite chilly, so when she finished bathing, she rushed directly to her room, as her clothing was laid out on her bed. She tiptoed out on her dainty bare feet, but suddenly stopped as she saw Jiaming; her arms were clasped around her bosom with nothing hiding her well-developed figure. Perfect, exquisite curves and a beautiful flawless body¡­ After a brief pause, Yahan clasped a hand to her mouth and quickly turned around. She slipped and fell on the ground, but ignoring the pain, she crawled her way into the bathroom and hurriedly shut the door behind her. A moment later, a completely flushed Yahan came out of the bathroom while wrapped in a large towel. She opened the glass door that led to her balcony and peeked out to see what the situation was, before turning back to the black-clothed boy. He was currently making a mess of her desk by sitting on it and she was ready to yell at him. ¡°Speak¡­ how did you get in here and even¡­ even managed to¡­¡± Yahan¡¯s tone was dangerously low as she viciously questioned him, indicating that there were people around outside her room. ¡°Um, don¡¯t lose your temper, I can explain!¡± Jiaming smiled uneasily, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you would run out of the bathroom naked. I expected you to be wearing a towel¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s my room, you don¡¯t decide whether I wrap myself in a towel or not!¡± Yahan instantly snapped at him before controlling the volume of her voice. She climbed on her bed and wrapped herself in the blanket before patting the side of her bed. ¡°Be honest with me, how did you get here¡­ Hmph, I knew you weren¡¯t as simple as you looked¡­¡± ¡°I only know a few things, ok? The one that¡¯s amazing is my master; he helped me find the layout of your mansion and determined which one was your room, as well as dig up dirt on Liu Wenli¡­ I only really know how to climb a few walls.¡± ¡°Your master¡­ Like I would believe that.¡± Jiaming sat on her bed, looking innocent, as she eyed him suspiciously before processing what he said. She asked him excitedly, ¡°Hurry up and tell me what kind of dirt you found on Liu Wenli?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s something good.¡± Jiaming took out the VCD and waved it, then pointed at the TV and VCD player, ¡°Can I use that?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yahan quietly said, ¡°But you¡¯ll have to lower the volume, there are two bodyguards stationed outside day and night.¡± Jiaming turned the TV on and then went to turn off the room light. The naked Yahan, who was still only wrapped in a blanket, stared at the boy intensely under the glare of the TV screen. ¡°Hey, that time at the summer camp, did you do it on purpose? You handled those two robbers, right?¡± ¡°It was an accident, only an accident, that time.¡± Jiaming glanced at her quickly, before taking off his shoes and climbing onto the bed. He made a gesture seeming like he would pull the blanket off her. In the darkness, Yahan stretched a leg out from under the blanket to give him a kick as she pouted cutely, ¡°Get lost, in your dreams.¡± ¡°How can you say we¡¯re friends? It¡¯s such a cold night and there¡¯s only one blanket. I¡¯m willing to sacrifice myself for you, so you should make some sacrifices for me too.¡± ¡°I really do want to sacrifice you right now¡­ Does that CD belong to Liu Wenli? What kind of devastating secret is on it?¡± ¡°Just watch, you¡¯ll see. It should be absolutely brilliant.¡± As the VCD started, the tied-up naked body of a girl could be seen on the TV screen. ¡°Go die! You came late at night to watch porn from Liu Wenli¡¯s collection?¡± Yahan had aimed a kick at Jiaming, but he grabbed her foot before it landed. ¡°Just continue watching, ok?¡± ¡°Let go of my foot.¡± Yahan¡¯s ears turned pink as she pulled her foot back. The two of them leaned on the edge of the bed as the video continued playing. The girl was letting out obscene sounds and it seemed like a couple was doing some SM play. The camera angle only showed the naked back of the male figure and Yahan thought it seemed somewhat familiar. When the angle suddenly changed, she quietly exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s Liu Wenli!¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know who he is, this was something my master had passed to me. He set up quite a few secret video cameras and it should have filmed from all different angles. Oh, I haven¡¯t watched it, so this is quite interesting¡­¡± After another two minutes, as Liu Wenli pulled on tight leather shoes, Yahan unexpectedly snatched the remote control from Jiaming¡¯s hands and turned off the TV. ¡°It-it¡¯s fine, we can stop. You don¡¯t need to continue watching something like that¡­¡± ¡°Tsk.¡± Seeing that the blanket did nothing to hide the signs of arousal on Yahan¡¯s body, Jiaming pretended he did not see anything and quietly said, ¡°Besides, since you have such a large family, you should at least have some sort of projection system right? If you show this CD to your family privately, they would probably ignore it for the sake of the future of their business. But you should arrange to show this video to everyone at the engagement party that¡¯s happening on the evening two days later. Also, here are two notebooks ¨C it¡¯s a record on the shady dealings Liu Wenli did at his family¡¯s business. If you do all that¡­¡± He did not get to finish speaking, when the sound of a key turning in a lock to open a door could be heard. Yahan had caused a huge scene at home yesterday, so currently her movements had been restricted. An older female voice spoke, ¡°Yahan, have you fallen asleep yet?¡± In a state of emergency, Jiaming instantly thought to rush out to the windowsill, but before he could move, Yahan had thrown herself and the blanket over him, pressing him down onto the bed with her body. ¡°Argh, what are you doing? You¡¯re squishing me to death¡­¡± ¡°Hurry up and hide¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m in your bed, wouldn¡¯t running outside be better¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s too late¡­¡± ¡°Mmph, you¡¯re crushing me¡­¡± Originally, there was a better alternative than this dubious situation that was caused purely by Yahan feeling guilty. Firm and naked thighs clamped around Jiaming¡¯s neck and her body was curled awkwardly around him. As the blanket covered the two of them, after a frantic adjustment, Jiaming tried to curl up closer towards her. He shamelessly ended up hugging one of her thighs as he positioned himself in between her legs ¨C the top of his head close to her warm ****. It was a good thing that the blanket was quite large and it was dark enough, so things could not be seen clearly. Feeling Jiaming¡¯s light breathing on the inner of her thigh, Yahan¡¯s heartbeat fluttered; at that moment, the door opened and a woman entered. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re sleeping so early?¡± ¡°Ah, Little Mom, I already fell asleep. Don¡¯t turn on the light¡­¡± ¡°Ok, I won¡¯t. I just had a discussion with your father, and there¡¯s something I wanted to tell you.¡± ¡°Can it wait until tomorrow?¡± ¡°Hoho, you know Little Mom can¡¯t keep a secret. Little Mom will only sleep tonight after telling you, so be sure to listen properly.¡± With a smile, she entered the room and closed the door behind her. Then she sat down at the edge of the bed¡­ TL Note: As to the title of this chapter, it¡¯s based on one of China¡¯s Four Great Folktales, The Butterfly Lovers. It¡¯s a tragic love story about a pair of lovers that were unable to be with each other as the lady¡¯s family arranged for her to be married to a man from a rich family. In the end, she dies to be with the man she loves and they become butterflies together (: Links below for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_Lovers This is the scene where the soon-to-be-ex-lovers meet at the pavilion and laments that they cannot be together due to the arranged marriage: The translated version of a performance script (starts around page 45): ¡ª- Next chapter release is March 30th. Sorry announcement post was a bit late today, it¡¯s been quite busy recently¡­ If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it on our Gravity Tales ranking ???? Chapter 46 Chapter 46 ¨C Deciding to Elope TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Uh, haha¡­ Little Mom, what did you want to say to me¡­ Haha, that is¡­¡± Seeing the woman sit on the edge of the bed, Yahan¡¯s heartbeat increased even more. Even though Jiaming was only hugging her thigh, he could feel her heartbeat thump loudly like a drum. Since she was feeling guilty, she subconsciously shifted away from where the woman was sitting and her leg crooked under Jiaming¡¯s armpit, hooking him closer. This stupid woman¡­ Originally, it had been quite an erotic situation, but now, Jiaming¡¯s neck and chest were being squashed by Yahan¡¯s legs and he was having some difficulty breathing. It was true that he had trained his body, but that did not mean that his neck had been trained to be as hard as steel and it was also very stuffy under the blanket. Meanwhile, oblivious to what was going on under the covers, the woman continued talking, ¡°Yahan m¡¯dear, we know you don¡¯t like Wenli, but your father has already decided. Please stop being angry at him¡­ Little Mom knows you don¡¯t like to hear this, so please don¡¯t get angry¡­¡± ¡°Fine, haha, I won¡¯t be angry¡­¡± Yahan was not aware of Jiaming¡¯s situation, only where she was placing her body and pressed closer against Jiaming. So when Jiaming struggled slightly without any effect, he followed the curve of her thigh and directly touched the beauty¡¯s plump and firm buttocks. Yahan¡¯s muscles tightened in surprise and her leg subconsciously pressed down harder on Jiaming¡¯s neck. Left with no choice, he roughly grabbed down on her butt. ¡°Ahhhn!¡± ¡°Hmm? Yahan, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ahaha, nothing¡­ Little Mom, please continue¡­¡± Previously, whenever they talked about Liu Wenli, Yahan would instantly flip out. However, seeing that her attitude was like this today, her stepmother thought that she had given up after being locked up for two days. Thus, she continued, ¡°Your father knows that it¡¯s not fair to you, but even though the relationships and marriages nowadays are all about freedom of choice, it¡¯s actually rare to find successful ones. Since you came back from overseas, you can¡¯t bear to stand the whole ¡®get married first, and then nurture the feelings¡¯ idea between the two of you. However, you can gradually get used to it¡­¡± Under the blanket, after Jiaming had grabbed her, Yahan was slowly adjusting her body. One of her hands reached down to cover her ****, while the other hand reached for Jiaming¡¯s head and sharply tugged at his hair. Her legs ended up curling tighter around Jiaming, preventing him from making any additional movements. However, Jiaming shoved her hands away and scratched at the bottom of her feet, hoping that her legs would loosen instead. The blanket trembled as a fierce but small-scale battle happened under it. At the other end of the bed, the woman continued speaking, oblivious to the trembling blanket. ¡°Your father also does feel somewhat sorry, so you know that race car that you were eyeing before? You previously said that you would buy it with the money you earned, but your father has decided to buy it and gift it to you. I know you¡¯re obstinate, but it is your father¡¯s apology, so you should just accept it. Also, your father gave me the jewelry case that your mother had left behind for safekeeping. Now, it can be used as part of your dowry; do you want me to bring it now, or should I give it to you tomorrow? ¡­Ahhh, these are the signs of the love that your parents are passing on to you; every time Little Mom sees it, I admire it so much¡­¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­ tomorrow¡­ we can talk tomorrow¡­ Little Mom¡­ if there¡¯s nothing else¡­ ah, haha¡­¡± ¡°Yahan, just what is up with you?¡± ¡°Haha, nothing¡­¡± ¡°Why is the blanket moving so much?¡± ¡°Um, um¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Little Mom, but I recently got athlete¡¯s foot¡­ it¡¯s just very, very itchy¡­¡± Under the blankets, the two¡¯s battle was at a fever pitch. Yahan¡¯s legs were basically strangling Jiaming, while Jiaming did not dare to struggle too hard. However, after Yahan had pulled out some of his hair, it hurt enough that he finally butted back at her. The two of them felt fluffy hair at the same time¡­ Then¡­ the world quieted down¡­ The fluffiness that Yahan felt was Jiaming¡¯s hair, as to Jiaming¡­ well¡­ Jiaming instantly went still, while Yahan also suddenly lost all strength in fighting back. Shortly after, Yahan¡¯s embarrassed voice could be heard, ¡°Ahaha¡­ it¡¯s fine now¡­ it¡¯s not itchy anymore¡­¡± Then, hearing her stepmother quietly exclaim, it seemed that she had accidentally sat on something, and the TV turned on. ¡°Ah! It hurts¡­ It feels good¡­ Master¡­ save me¡­¡± Even though Yahan had turned off the TV, she did not have a chance to turn off the VCD player. When the TV turned on, an explosive scene instantly appeared. Apart from the couple¡¯s sounds broadcasted on the TV, the atmosphere had frozen in the room. The two of them looked at each other awkwardly, before her stepmother brandished the remote and forced a smile, ¡°Ah, haha¡­ that¡­ um¡­ I didn¡¯t see anything¡­ nothing at all¡­¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ nothing, haha¡­¡± Since the video did not have any characteristics of Liu Wenli at that moment, her stepmother thought it was just a regular porn video. She pressed a button on the remote control and turned off the TV again. To pretend that everything was fine, she sat down on Yahan¡¯s bed again and reached out to pat the blanket a few times. ¡°Haha, that¡­ Yahan¡­ Huh, what is¡­¡± With a ¡®whoosh¡¯, a black shadow suddenly rushed out from under the blanket. Yahan¡¯s stepmother did not even have a chance to react before something knocked her on the back of her head and she lost consciousness. When Yahan confirmed that her stepmother had actually fainted, she suddenly aimed a kick at Jiaming, while Jiaming viciously aimed a kick at her at the same time. ¡°Why did you go and do that¡­¡± ¡°You stupid woman, what were you trying to do¡­¡± The two of them quietly shouted at each other at the same time, while Yahan¡¯s tone sounded slightly violated. ¡°I¡­ I treated you like a friend, and only thought you were slightly perverted. Yet you actually did this kind of thing to me¡­¡± She felt wronged, but Jiaming did not back down, ¡°Tell me, what did I do to you? I also have a question for you, I spent so much effort to come and save you, but you actually want to kill me!¡± ¡°When did I want to kill you?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that your legs were crushing my neck?!¡± ¡°I just wanted to bring you closer so you could hide better!¡± ¡°Bring me closer?!¡± Jiaming brutally kicked her thigh, as Yahan also gave her all and kicked him away, ¡°You think that I¡¯m just here to look at your sexy, beautiful legs? Those two things nearly strangled me to death!¡± ¡°Well, you shouldn¡¯t have done that¡­¡± ¡°What could I have done then? Should I have announced myself when climbing into your room to show you a video? I warned you, and then you strangled me even harder!¡± ¡°When did you warn me!¡± ¡°I put my hand up there to warn you that if you continued strangling me, I would grab it!¡± ¡°You just wanted to cop a feel! I feel violated!¡± ¡°You were trying to murder me, of course I would¡¯ve grabbed you!¡± Jiaming did not care much about naked bodies, so he really did not feel any concern at all. The two of them continued heatedly countering each other, and shortly after kicking each other again, they quieted down. She asked, ¡°So what are we going to do about her¡­¡± Yahan kept an eye on him as she started putting on some sexy lingerie. Jiaming tilted his head to the side and declared, ¡°None of my business!¡± ¡°If she doesn¡¯t leave the room, someone will come looking for her in a bit.¡± She bitterly continued, ¡°Also that VCD¡­ Unfortunately there¡¯s no way I can broadcast it. My family¡¯s projector is used for movie films, so the VCD has to be converted to a film reel before it can be shown.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? How is your family that behind the times?¡± ¡°Those old fogeys like watching movies in their original form and projecting them in the courtyard all the time. What can I do about it?!¡± ¡°F*ck¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have to convert the VCD into a movie film reel, but how do you want to solve the current situation?¡± ¡°No idea¡­¡± Yahan racked her brains before looking foolishly at Jiaming, ¡°The only thing we could do is elope¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª Have a Good Friday! I¡¯m going to be a bit busy the next few days, so the next release is a little later than usual, sorry about that > Chapter 47 Chapter 47 ¨C Brief Interlude TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Elope?¡± Jiaming¡¯s jaw dropped, and the world grinded to a halt. ¡°Well, since the situation has come to this, at this point in time, apart from eloping, what else can we do? Besides, I had already planned on leaving.¡± Yahan ran to her wardrobe and started looking for clothes. Jiaming closed his mouth with a snap and sighed, ¡°Then don¡¯t say elope. Elope is something that a cheating couple would do. You want to leave in secret, but that doesn¡¯t involve me, so hurry up and change already¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t peep on me.¡± Yahan took some clothes and entered the bathroom, but soon stuck her head back out, ¡°Also, don¡¯t do anything to my stepmom.¡± ¡°Oh please¡­¡± Jiaming wanted to hit her for implying such a thing as Yahan smirked at him. Shortly after, she came out in her changed outfit. ¡°A swimsuit?!¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a small pond under my window. If I didn¡¯t change, how would we get out?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going out by climbing!¡± ¡°Climbing on the walls? But I¡¯m afraid of heights¡­¡± They looked at each other in exasperation, before Yahan quietly harrumphed and returned to the bathroom. Shortly after, she changed into a set of black workout clothes. However, her outfit had a white stripe, and it was quite eye-catching in the darkness. ¡°Hmm, I have my ID card, my passport, and my bank card. What else do I need to bring¡­ There are these few diaries, and also these two books because I hid some money in them. Wah, what are you doing? These are my favorite pair¡­¡± Jiaming had taken a brush used for calligraphy and started scrubbing on her clothing. Shocked, Yahan tried to move away, but before she could, the white stripe started to turn black. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you like it or not, white doesn¡¯t blend in with the darkness. Also, is there something wrong with your brain? It¡¯s fine to bring money, but why are you bringing your diaries? Do you need to bring your pillow as well?¡± ¡°I have thought about what to bring¡­ I¡¯m not stupid.¡± Yahan glanced at Jiaming, ¡°That year when I received Cambridge¡¯s admission letter, my family did not allow me to go. I secretly arranged for a visa, took a small amount of money with me and left for the UK. The time spent there had been difficult, and those few diaries were written when I was there. These ¡°Diaries of Surviving In A Foreign Land¡± are filled with tears and bitterness and are very significant to me, I have to keep them.¡± Seeing that Jiaming continued painting on her clothes, Yahan briefly revealed an expression full of pain and bitterness. She hurriedly snatched the brush from him when it reached her chest and continued painting the stripe herself. Jiaming sat on the side, flipped through her diary, and casually asked, ¡°The one on your bed is your father¡¯s second wife?¡± ¡°Yeah, my stepmom,¡± Yahan nodded, ¡°But she treats me quite well. She used to be a less-known celebrity and, once she entered the family, she was quite content and didn¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± The two of them casually chatted as Yahan finished turning her clothes black. She pushed her window open and looked around for a moment, before sneakily turning back to Jiaming and gesturing at him. ¡°The two bodyguards have just passed by, but are we really going to climb outside?¡± Below her room window was a small ornamental pond and there would be no problems swimming in it. However, when she looked around outside her window, she did not see anything that seemed climbable. Since she was afraid of heights, she quietly suggested, ¡°Um¡­ I think we should swim instead¡­¡± ¡°Idiot, go stand on the railing first.¡± ¡°Stand¡­ on the r-railing?¡± Yahan pointed at the railing by the window in disbelief. Just thinking about it made her dizzy, ¡°I¡¯m going to fall for sure¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you to stand on it! Of course I have a plan, ugh, just wait.¡± As Jiaming said that, he went to get a towel from her room, ¡°Stuff this in your mouth, it¡¯ll muffle your screaming¡­ Just relax, I guarantee nothing will happen to you. The time is tight now, can you please hurry up? Are you going to wait until the bodyguards come back, before going onto the railing?¡± Yahan took two deep breaths before her mouth clamped down on the towel, and she tied it around her mouth. She looked at Jiaming, barely concealing her bitterness. When he saw her look, he smirked, ¡°Now you seem really similar to that girl in the video¡­ Oh, I forgot, to prevent you from moving too much, I¡¯ll have to tie you up.¡± Yahan narrowed her eyes in anger and aimed a kick at Jiaming. As her temporary wrath decreased some of her fear, with one hand on Jiaming¡¯s shoulder, she clambered onto the railing. Before she could stand properly, a rope shot past her ear, her body was suddenly lifted up, and the two of them went flying downwards. For a split second, Yahan fell into a state of panic. The towel was tightly covering her mouth so only a muffled scream could be heard. The reflective surface of the pond flashed across her eyes as the wind whistled sharply in her ears. Before she had a chance to close her eyes, her trembling legs had already reached the ground. ¡°Ugh, we¡­ did we actually get down here like that?¡± She ripped the towel off her mouth and sat on the ground, stunned, staring first at the small pond, then back up at her window. Jiaming had hooked a rope around the window¡¯s railing and then they had swung down from there like Spiderman. ¡°Let¡¯s go already.¡± Jiaming retrieved and packed away the rope, then smacked her on the head. She understood it was not the time to sit around, so she stood up in a hurry. As they weaved their way through the ornamental thicket, Yahan thought back to what had happened just now and continuously bombarded him with questions, ¡°Jiaming, how do you have that much strength¡­¡± ¡°Does that rope have a hook? Is it like the ones on television?¡± ¡°Did you start receiving special training when you were young?¡± ¡°So at the camping trip last time¡­¡± ¡°Shut up¡ª¡± Jiaming was at the end of his patience and smacked her heavily on the forehead. However, when he saw Yahan clutch her stomach, he asked doubtfully, ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± Yahan kicked him on the butt, ¡°It was all because of your shoulder digging in just now!¡± ¡°Haha, who told you not to stand firm. When I jumped up, your body lowered a bit. No wonder I felt that it was so soft, haha¡­ Oh¡­ shhhhh¡­¡± Yahan was about to retort angrily when she was interrupted by his ¡®shhh¡¯ and was yanked backwards by him. The two of them hid in a section of the garden¡¯s short shrubbery as two burly suit-wearing men patrolled past. Naturally, those two men were Yahan¡¯s family bodyguards. They looked like they were on patrol; however, as they drew near, they sat down on a stone bench in the garden. The two of them talked for a bit, then suddenly, the man sitting on the left tugged on the hand of the man sitting next to him, and the burly man sitting on the right gently leaned on the other man¡¯s shoulder. When the two hiding in the bushes saw this, they turned to stone! Jiaming and Yahan looked at each other¡¯s paling faces with an identical expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. One minute, five minutes, ten minutes passed and the two burly men continued to lean on each other, whispering sweet nothings. Yahan felt like she was close to combusting from embarrassment; when she saw Jiaming¡¯s weird smiling expression, she could not help but pinch him firmly a few times. Her eyes hinted at him to hurry and think of a way for them to get out of there, but Jiaming only raised his hands and shrugged helplessly. Suddenly, it seemed that there was a change in the situation with the two men in front of them. ¡°You want to do it here?¡± ¡°Relax, no one is going to come here¡­¡± ¡°But we¡¯re still at work, we shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± ¡°If someone actually comes, they¡¯ll see us¡­¡± ¡°Then we should go over there.¡± Hearing the two burly men speak so coquettishly to each other made Yahan gag. Subsequently, one tugged onto the other, while the latter half-willingly let himself be dragged along towards the shrubs where Jiaming and Yahan were hiding. Yahan suddenly felt a sharp pinch on her left ear as Jiaming pulled her closer and quietly whispered something. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± ¡°What? Don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡± ¡°But I definitely heard something¡­¡± Yahan finally could not stand it anymore and popped up from the short shrubbery. Even though the two bodyguards were homosexuals, they were still professionally trained and instantly jumped into a defensive stance. Yahan lowly exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s really unexpected that the two of you are gay!¡± Since it was the biggest secret between the two of them, hearing it said out loud made them freeze temporarily. During that fleeting moment, a black figure flashed out and resolutely knocked their heads together. Then he grabbed their lapels and gently lowered the two of them to the ground. Yahan eyed them and asked, ¡°You knocked their heads too hard and they¡¯re bleeding; they¡¯re not going to die, are they?¡± Jiaming dragged the two unconscious bodyguards deeper into the short thicket and rolled his eyes at her, ¡°Stop nattering away by my ear, it¡¯s nauseating!¡± ¡°Go die already.¡± Yahan could not hide her smile, but when she looked at the two burly men, she felt goosebumps all over. Jiaming continued saying, ¡°I once heard an extremely perverted person say, ¡®homosexuality isn¡¯t shameful, but shameless homosexuals are not beautiful¡¯. I think I finally understand what that means.¡± Jiaming thought of Lingjing and Shasha and definitely felt that that pair was a lot more comfortable to think about¡­ After this brief interlude, the two of them scaled over the outer walls without any further incidents. When the Zhang family finally discovered the fainted woman in Yahan¡¯s room, they immediately notified the police. However, by the time they received their orders to search for the missing Yahan, Jiaming and Yahan had already long since escaped far away and disappeared into the vast darkness of the night. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 1/ 2 chapters of the week (next release is Saturday, April 7). I¡¯ll release a bit more chapters next week, sorry for the lack of chapters this week. I¡¯ve been quite busy and I¡¯ll explain a bit more on Saturday. If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it on our Gravity Tales ranking ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 48 Chapter 48 ¨C Two Choices TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi July, a sunny, clear blue sky with a few rare fluffy clouds to be seen. The atmosphere in the Liu family¡¯s villa was relaxed and comfortable. A healthy, wheat-colored Shasha was relaxing in the pool like a young dolphin. Lingjing sat on the poolside chair in her spotlessly white dress reading a novel and hugging an ugly, white cat. Jiaming lay on the chair next to her and read comics. An attractive older girl in sunglasses wearing a sensual white swimsuit was relaxing spread-eagled on an inflatable air bed in the pool. She sighed happily, ¡°So this is the life of freedom¡­ I¡¯m too fortunate.¡± That girl was, of course, Zhang Yahan. That night, after Jiaming had assisted that woman in running away, he originally wanted to bring her to the safe house that Marilyn and Heidi had stayed at. However, on the way there, they coincidentally met Shasha, who was on her way home. After he told her about Yahan¡¯s arranged marriage situation, and how he had coincidentally met up with her outside after she escaped, Shasha felt extremely sympathetic. Thus, Yahan joined them at the Liu family¡¯s villa. After Yahan left her home, the Zhang family sent out their men along with the police to search high and low for her. Naturally, they were unable to find her, as she was hiding at Shasha¡¯s family villa. On the day of the engagement, the Liu family had expected Yahan to be there, so the Zhang family had no choice but to show them the video that Jiaming had deliberately left behind. They then said that their daughter had ran away from home due to that video. The Liu family was temporarily speechless when they found out that it was their fault Yahan had disappeared and the elder of the Liu family said they would severely discipline Liu Wenli. As a result, they would follow the business development plan the Zhang family had proposed, but would like to ask them for another chance regarding the engagement with Liu Wenli and to properly persuade Yahan when they found her. The Zhang family naturally accepted this condition, but their ardour in searching for her had significantly weakened after that day. Shasha¡¯s father, Liu Zheng, did not usually live at that villa. Thus, this large house became a haven for the few of them. Yahan had originally had some reservations, but ended up settling into their small family environment after a short adjustment period. When school ended and summer vacation came, the four of them lead a life of decadence at the villa ¨C they swam in the pool, relaxed in the sun, watched videos, and played games every day. Of the four, Yahan was the oldest; she had been a teacher for two years. Having a lively and cheerful personality, as well as being multi-talented, Yahan could dance even better than Lingjing; her kungfu framework was steadier than Shasha¡¯s, she could sing, knew how to play a few instruments, and even knew English. It did not take a lot of time for the two girls to see her as an older sister. Jiaming occasionally scoffed at Yahan, so the three girls would join up and bully him. Naturally he was not afraid of Yahan, but because he was used to being bullied by the two little girls, he would get beaten up until he looked like a swollen bun every time. It made him squat by the wall and wonder if he was being too much of a nice person to allow them to do that to him. ¡°Huhu, now you know how awesome we are!¡± When the two girls left, Yahan smirked smugly at Jiaming, causing him to roll his eyes at her, ¡°Saving you is the biggest mistake of my life. Good people don¡¯t get rewarded for being good in this world.¡± ¡°Who told you to take advantage of things¡­ Speaking of which, since you already took advantage of me, I gotta do the same to you. You shouldn¡¯t agitate me too much, otherwise I might accidentally leak your secret¡­¡± Noisily arguing with each other, the two of them tried to kick at each other¡¯s butts. Years later, when they would rewind their memories, this type of interaction would be considered as a warm and fond expression of friendship between the two of them. As to revealing Jiaming¡¯s secret, it was naturally just a bluff. In front of this mentally mature boy, for some reason, Yahan could finally relax. It might have been possible because he still had the body of a child, or because, even though he had seen her whole body, and they had had some overly familiar contact, she only felt that it was natural and unrestrained. His views were already developed¡ª just like an adult, and at the same time, he exuded an aura of stability and safety. She did not want to make assumptions, but if his two closest friends did not know about it, she wondered if she was the only one that knew his secret. Was this a secret between them? If that was indeed so, she did not know why, but the thought of it made her feel warm. After finding out that Yahan knew how to play various instruments, Lingjing decided to learn the piano from her. There was a piano at the Liu family¡¯s villa, but because no one knew how to play it, it had just become an expensive furnishing. Yahan had played it once and Lingjing fell in love with the beautiful sounds. Once she started learning from Yahan, Yahan discovered that Lingjing had an astonishing talent for it. By the end of the first month of lessons, she was already encouraging Lingjing to develop in the direction of playing the piano because she would definitely be successful in it. Thus, July passed quickly. When August arrived, Yahan¡¯s body started to take a turn for the worse and she became thin and pallid for no apparent reason. She also did not have a lot of energy, but when Jiaming and the girls asked about her health, she brushed off their concerns. Finally one day by mid-August, she got a fever and her body suddenly became bloated. When she woke up, her whole body ¡ª including her face ¡ª seemed to be swollen and filled with gas and her originally well-proportioned elegant figure had completed disappeared. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to the hospital. Jiaming, you have to help me buy a medicine, prednisone[1], I¡¯ve¡­ had to take that medicine before¡­¡± The two girls were at a loss of what to do, as the weak Yahan insisted on not going to the hospital. It seemed that she had been sick before, and even though the Zhang family had appeared to temporarily stop searching for her, if she were to go to the hospital, she would be instantly discovered. Jiaming went out for two hours to search for the medicine, but he returned with a gloomy expression. ¡°Your whole body is swollen and it¡¯s a sign of kidney disease. Prednisone is a hormone drug, if your situation was stable, then I would¡¯ve followed your instructions. But seeing you like this now, taking the wrong medication could be more harmful. Your only option is to go to the hospital to receive treatment.¡± ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t want to go to the hospital¡­ they¡¯ll make me go home if I do¡­¡± Her weak protests were ignored, and Jiaming carried the powerless, swollen woman against her will. The two girls went outside to flag a taxi and they rushed to Jianghai City¡¯s best hospital. ¡°Jiaming, Lingjing, Shasha¡­ I don¡¯t want to return and get married, I want¡­ to stay with you all¡­ Don¡¯t let them take me back, Jiaming¡­¡± In the taxi, Yahan continued weakly begging the three children, but Jiaming coldly ignored her and did not say anything. Lingjing and Shasha had already been crying with worry since earlier. They knew that Yahan needed to go to the hospital for treatment, so they could only tearfully comfort Yahan. Reaching the limit of his patience, Jiaming only said one thing, ¡°I assure you that you will not be marrying that useless Liu Wenli!¡± ¡°Your tone of voice¡­ is so rude, I really want¡­ to give you a kick¡­¡± Yahan smiled weakly. Not long after they entered the emergency room of the hospital, members of the Zhang family received the news and rushed in as well. They were somewhat startled to see the three children. Jiaming used the reason that they had studied martial arts together before to explain their presence there. He clarified that when they met a swollen Yahan, they just accompanied her to the hospital. Even though the Zhang family was somewhat suspicious that they had bumped into Yahan, who had runaway from home, because they knew that Jiaming was the Huang family¡¯s young master, they did not say much. After all it was only a small incident between the Zhang family and the Huang family. Afterwards, they discovered that Yahan had a kidney disease since she was young and it would occasionally flare up. The last time that happened had been last year. If the disease was not treated in time, it could have turned into uremia¡ª a disease where the byproducts, usually secreted in urine, enter the bloodstream and then it would ultimately end in kidney failure. Even though they had arrived at the hospital a bit later than they should have, it was still treatable and the situation did not worsen, otherwise their only option would have been to perform a kidney transplant. At the hospital, late at night the next day, under the steady beeping of machinery, Yahan was sleeping soundly when someone suddenly lifted her hand. As she weakly struggled to open her eyes, she fuzzily saw Jiaming¡¯s abominable face. He was currently poking curiously at her swollen cheeks. Every time he poked, her cheek would sink in, then slowly flatten out and return back to it¡¯s swollen state, and judging by his expression, he seemed to find it very interesting. ¡°There should be guards outside, how did you¡­¡± Yahan asked halfway before smiling sheepishly, ¡°Ah, I nearly forgot that you have remarkable abilities¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re rather cute right now.¡± Poking the girl¡¯s cheeks, Jiaming smiled, ¡°I came to visit you tonight, but I didn¡¯t bring anything. I just wanted to ask you which plan you would like to use to escape from your arranged marriage.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°There are two choices and you can only pick one. The first plan is rather simple and there¡¯s not many loose ends ¨C this useless Liu Wenli heard that you have been caught and tonight he¡¯ll be drinking more than usual to celebrate. Then, he will decide to drive home on the highway, and unfortunately, because he is so loved by the gods, it would lead to an untimely death and we would all feel very sorrowful about this loss. The second plan is rather more complicated, but it¡¯s not unachievable. If you can drag the wedding out to next year around October, then my teacher can cause the Liu family to completely collapse. Then, when you take over, you will be the queen and no one in the Liu family would be able to question your orders. Tell me, which plan do you pick?¡± Yahan blinked slowly, ¡°About the first plan, there really won¡¯t be any loose ends?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick the first plan. But, if possible, could people not die?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s possible, since he wants to marry you, then he only needs to not be able to perform.¡± Jiaming shrugged. ¡°Then it¡¯s decided, I¡¯m sorry to trouble you, Jiaming.¡± Yahan smiled, ¡°You crafty bastard¡­¡± Shortly after, Jiaming¡¯s figure disappeared from the room and Yahan fell back asleep. The corners of her mouth were curving up gently into a smile. She would just leave everything to that man to handle¡­ [1] Prednisone ¨C a synthetic corticosteroid drug that is used to suppress the immune system and inflammation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisone for reference). ? 2/ 2 chapters of the week (next release is Monday, April 9). Sorry for the lack of chapters this week. I changed jobs recently so I¡¯ve been adjusting and I haven¡¯t had time to translate. I¡¯m still aiming for the 15 releases a month, but it will definitely be irregular for a bit this month because I don¡¯t have any stockpile >_<> I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming¡­ There¡¯s also another survey going around, please fill it out: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FX53WBQ It determines what novels GT would pick up, so please do fill it out :3 Chapter 49 Chapter 49 ¨C The Tragedy Caused By a Threesome Living Together TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi On the third night of Yahan¡¯s hospitalization, it was reported that the Liu family¡¯s young master, Wenli, had overdosed on some low quality aphrodisiac at a club. That night he had done it with an unknown amount of women until he eventually started bleeding and ended up dysfunctional. This incident became an infamous achievement in Jianghai City. Many years later, the other pampered young masters that were there that night still thought that the Liu young master was heroic and could not help but sigh in admiration. Even if they relied on medication, they could not do it as much as the Liu young master had that night. Not to mention that their investigation revealed the aphrodisiac to be only a low quality one. When the news reached the frail Yahan, who was still confined to the hospital bed, she laughed for a full three minutes, until tears came out. The few doctors that were monitoring her situation saw her clutch her stomach while whole body shook and were worried that she would laugh herself to death. However, after this news, Yahan seemed to regain some strength and she started recovering faster. Thus, that laughter could be considered part of the treatment. Once she recovered, no one mentioned the engagement between the Zhang and Liu families anymore, and it was shelved for an indeterminate amount of time. A few days later, Yahan returned to the aristocrat school to continue teaching and also increased the amount of times she visited the Ye family¡¯s martial arts hall and the Liu family villa. This childish, yet pretending to be mature, older lady joined the three teenagers at the Liu family¡¯s villa, and their lives became increasingly colorful and vibrant. That year, on new year¡¯s eve, the four of them secretly met up downtown at Heping Plaza. The clock counted down and fireworks filled the sky as they welcomed the new year of 1997. Yahan secretly kissed the top of Jiaming¡¯s forehead and whispered, ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiaming only grimaced and scrubbed his forehead until only a faint red lipstick mark remained. Then the two of them joined Lingjing and Shasha who were in the middle of setting off fireworks. The first half of 1997 passed by quite peacefully for the four of them. However, the rest of society was not as peaceful ¡ª the state-owned enterprise reform had been implemented and fell under the shadow of laid-off workers. Unemployment was rampant, and there was a large number of people falling under that category. Around early June, when the exam period started, that situation had also indirectly affected Lingjing. To get to the source of this, well, one should probably start with the aristocratic school. When this school opened in Jianghai City, it had been privately funded by various parties as the people that had opened this school had the necessary money and connections. The quality of teachers as well as the facilities were much better than in any other high school and, naturally, the fees at this school were several times more expensive as well. However, to the Huang and Zhang families, this small fee was not an issue; if they had children of the appropriate age, they naturally were sent to study at that school. Even though the family was rich, it did not mean that the students were smart, and even the best teachers could not guarantee their child getting into university. To guarantee the graduation rate of this school, the Department of Education had issued some stern rules. Every middle school in Jianghai City could recommend several students to apply for the aristocratic school¡¯s free slots. Of course, the requirements were for the student to excel in both their studies and behavior. If successful, they would be allowed to attend for free. If the student maintained their status, then the aristocrat school would provide some benefits for the middle school in return ¡ª thus using the carrot and stick method. In this way, even if it was Starlight Secondary School (the middle school and the high school were part of the same school there), every year they would hold a competition amongst the top students for a chance to go to the aristocratic school. Even if some people were not willing to participate, this open slot was quite sought after. On one hand, the pressure of unemployment was strong ¡ª to allow their child to attend and study at the best high school for free was something that parents would definitely wish for. On the other hand, being able to acquire one of these open slots was an honor and recognition in itself. As Lingjing was one of the outstanding students, one of the slots would have naturally been offered to her. However, it seemed that due to some backdoor dealings, bribery and shady things of that sort, the school actually did not end up offering a spot to Lingjing. Truth be told, not getting a slot did not matter too much to her. Due to the socio-economic depression of the past two years, the Ye family¡¯s martial arts school business was not doing so well. However, that did not mean Lingjing¡¯s family did not have any money. What irritated the three of them was that during the exam period, the bald headmaster suddenly called Lingjing, Shasha and Jiaming to his office at the same time. He had wanted to explain why he did not extend this offer to Lingjing before announcing the final decision on the free slots and an explanation to the school. ¡°Hmm, today, I called the three of you here, because the school is making a decision and we would like to notify the three of you. From early on, we received reports from several students that the three of you lived together on the weekends which could severely affect the school¡¯s moral standards and reputation. However the school did not consider it to be an issue because the three of you are childhood friends. Now that all of you are older, we understand that it¡¯s normal for men and women to play around, afterall, we are not old-fashioned like in the movies or TV shows. ¡°However, after the school¡¯s investigation, we discovered that this situation was actually true. Sigh, the three of you¡­ you¡¯re still two girls and one boy, us teachers feel very sad about this situation as you are ruining your lives. Even though we¡¯re reaching the final exams period, as long as you¡¯re part of this school, the school will feel responsible for your growth. To prevent this type of situation from happening again, the school decided to give you a stern reminder today. Lingjing, your qualification for a free slot at Sacred Heart Institute is cancelled and we hope that the three of you understand the pain the teachers are going through¡­¡± When that bald man presented a set of official documents to Lingjing, she lowered her head and did not say anything; Shasha¡¯s eyes were practically spurting fire, while Jiaming merely frowned. Lingjing had not demanded for a slot at the Institution, in fact, if another student with a difficult home situation had wanted the slot and asked her for it, she would have gladly handed it over. However, currently, this baldy was going excessively overboard. Having been the headmaster for several years, his infamous reputation was well known across the whole school ¡ª he accepted gifts and bribes and was both vulgar and lecherous. It was an open secret that when it came to the free slots for the aristocratic school, as long as someone bribed him, they would be able get a slot, and he would use any excuse to make that happen. As Jiaming stared at that bald head, he started thinking about what he could do to overthrow this useless person. In fact, it was quite simple for him to do so. However, before he even got a chance to fully formulate a plan, Lingjing suddenly threw down the documents onto his desk, turned, and silently left the room. Until now, Lingjing had always behaved as a proper and obedient student, but if you knew her for longer, one would know that she actually had a stubborn, rebellious streak. This was actually the first time she had shown her displeasure in front of a teacher. Shasha also did not say anything and followed her out of the room, while Jiaming just shook his head and went out of the room with his hands in his pockets. The three of them were not in the same classroom, so when the news was announced that the three of them were living together, Jiaming was sleeping on his desk and he could not go over to comfort Lingjing. Not long after, an alarming amount of noise could suddenly be heard outside of his classroom. When they ran out of the classroom, several nervous looking school security guards from the school grounds had arrived. There was a crowd of students surrounding the staffroom and it looked chaotic. As Lingjing ran over, she asked, ¡°What happened? I heard that Shasha went on a rampage¡­¡± ¡°Did she actually¡­¡± Jiaming paused doubtfully and then pushed to the front of the crowd with Lingjing. When the other students saw the two of them, they seperated and let them through. As they reached the staffroom, they saw Shasha brandishing her baseball bat and chasing after the headmaster while several teachers were hiding far away; homework and exam papers were scattered everywhere. As Shasha had entered the school later and was also behind by a grade, she was already 16 and had the body of a mature young female. Adding in the fact that she trained her body in martial arts as well, regular men were not able to even get close to her. While the bald headmaster was screaming and shouting as he was being chased, Lingjing and Jiaming entered the room to try and restrain Shasha. The security guards that had just arrived also entered the staffroom, some of them tried to protect the headmaster by brandishing a wooden stool at Shasha and calling for her to stop. Some of these security guards were retired police officers while some were just regular hoodlums. As they ganged up and forced Shasha to retreat, seeing that he was safe, the headmaster loudly shouted, ¡°Restrain her, she¡¯s gone crazy! Hold her!¡± Just as these words left his mouth, a human figure darted across, seized a wooden stool and threw it towards him. This person was the normally honest and introverted Jiaming. Seeing that the conflict had escalated, the spectating students became even more animated and started pointing and gesturing excitedly. When the security guards saw that the headmaster was in danger of being beaten again, they hurriedly rushed forward to surround Jiaming, but then another figure inserted themselves in between. She raised one of her hands in a fist while elegantly kicking out at the same time. One of the security guards was sent flying due to Lingjing releasing her anger from earlier. Quietly cooperating with Lingjing, Jiaming grabbed onto the arm of the other security guard before he even had a chance to retaliate. At the same time, just as the guard¡¯s armpit had been punched, an acute stab of pain came from his weak point in the lower abdomen and lower leg. Then, under a flurry of beautifully executed Jeet Kun Do attacks, the remaining security guard toppled to the ground and could not get back up. In the blink of an eye, the two security guards had fallen and Jiaming was dusting off his hands and quietly scoffed, ¡°The security guards at this school need to be trained better.¡± Lingjing remained silent as she headed towards Shasha who was still surrounded. The students outside had not seen an actual fight before, so when they recalled that the three of them had martial arts background, they suddenly exclaimed in understanding. 1/3 chapters of the week (next release is Wednesday, April 11). 3 chaps this week, but next week is going to shrink again, sorry for the fluctuating amount of chapters. On a side note, at least you can except a mass release probably by the last week of April? Ahaha ha ha ha ha¡­ I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming¡­ There¡¯s also another survey going around, please fill it out: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FX53WBQ It determines what novels GT would pick up, so please do fill it out :3 Chapter 50 Chapter 50 ¨C The Awakening of Adolescence TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi As Starlight Secondary School was established in the most complicated area of Jianghai City, the school¡¯s security was not a joke. Even if these three knew a little martial arts, they would not have been easily able to achieve such results. These results were all due to Jiaming secretly changing the flow of the fight and thus, the end result as well. He did it by picking up the legendary hidden weapon ¡ª a wooden stool, which seemed quite harmless. In the midst of the chaos, the two gorgeous girls attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Their punches, kicks, and swings seemed to all hit, forcing the security guards to retreat. On the other hand, the two girls seemed to be able to easily dodge all of the guards¡¯ attacks and this was because most of them were blocked halfway by the wooden stool. All the people present, including Lingjing and Shasha, did not have a strong and deep understanding or experience of actual fighting. However, the security guards had completely ignored Jiaming, and under his secret orchestration of the incident, the security guards ended up in a pile on the staffroom floor shortly after. The two girls had not gotten hurt at all, and the spectating crowd all stared in wide-eyed wonder, impressed beyond belief. This situation led to the Ye Martial Arts School gaining a lot of business ¡ª something the three of them had not expected at that time. After the fight, Lingjing pulled on Shasha¡¯s hand and calmly left the staffroom. Shasha waved her baseball bat threateningly while glaring viciously at the bald headmaster and Jiaming only shook his head and smiled as they followed her out. When Jiaming reached the door, he turned back and said, ¡°Why did you bother¡­ everyone already knew you accepted a bribe for one of the free slots. You should be more generous and sincere. Now that this incident has occurred, we¡¯ll see who has the last laugh.¡± As this had all occurred during school hours, the three of them decided to leave early under the watch of the crowd as the students pointed and gossiped about what had happened. Lingjing pulled Shasha along, while Jiaming strolled behind the two of them with his hands in his pocket. Not long after, they left the school building. On that June afternoon, the sun shone brightly and the trees casted motley shadows on the silent school grounds as three of them made their way to the exit. When they reached the school gates, Shasha turned back to look at Jiaming and pouted while shooting glances at Lingjing who still had not said a word. Jiaming only shrugged and then sighed, as he did not know how to console Lingjing at this point. He did not feel that there was anything wrong with their so-called ¡®living together¡¯ situation even though the school considered it a serious matter. After thinking for a bit, he increased his pace to catch up and patted Lingjing on the shoulder lightly. This would have originally been a normal interaction for the three of them, but at that moment, Lingjing shuddered and suddenly stopped. ¡°Ah, Lingjing, I think¡­¡± Feeling Lingjing¡¯s reaction, Jiaming was about to retract his hand, but her hand suddenly reached out and grabbed onto his. This young lady¡¯s hand was delicate and exquisite, and even though they had held hands many times before, this was the first time he felt her gentle and soft palm this distinctly. ¡°Jiaming, we should ignore them¡­¡± Lingjing faintly said as she choked back her sobs. Then she used the back of Jiaming¡¯s hand to lightly wipe away her tears, ¡°We should still remain as before¡­¡± ¡°Oh, of course¡­¡± Jiaming smiled, relieved, and started walking in front. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the villa,¡± Shasha said. Seeing that Lingjing had finally said something, she also brightened up, ¡°That baldy, I will beat him to death next time!¡± ¡°First, we should go on a shopping spree, because we¡¯re celebrating tonight!¡± Tears wiped away, Lingjing also started smiling, and the three of them held hands with each other as they left the school grounds. That night was the first time they had such an extravagant party. Shasha had withdrawn all her savings from the bank and the three of them went on a shopping craze, buying all sorts of things they could not even name. When evening arrived, the kitchen became quite lively, and they spent around two hours to fill up the large dining table with all sorts of dishes. Many cans of beer and a mountainous pile of snacks were scattered on the tea table as the television broadcasted the weekday comedy drama. The two girls¡¯ moods were at an all-time high as they joked about ways to plot revenge on the baldy. They were gulping down beer like juice, and the two of them sometimes combined together to force beer down Jiaming¡¯s throat. Since they were that excited, Jiaming was naturally willing to entertain them. In the depths of his heart, the faint stirrings of an unknown feeling arose. To him, this was unusual ¡ª something he had not felt before. He naturally knew why the two girls were acting like this. Originally, no one had mentioned anything, even though the two girls knew they were now considered grown up. If they had been three girls, it would not have mattered, but because Jiaming was a boy, and they were all adults, how could they remain as innocent as before? If no one said anything, the three of them would have continued on as usual, but now that someone had pointed it out, those words left a thorn behind in their hearts. The awkward awakening of puberty, filled with springtime and the rainy seasons of youth, even though a bit late, had finally arrived for both Lingjing and Shasha. As to Lingjing and Shasha, because they had been interacting with each other for so long, they both understood that this change could cause them to drift apart. Jiaming also did not have any good feelings about it either. Thus, at the request of the two young ladies, he brought out the beer and they all drank it without any reservations. His chance at a new life had only brought over his soul ¡ª his body was not the same as before, despite his physical training. He did not have any alcohol tolerance, so after a short while he started feeling tipsy. However, who cared about him, as long as the two girls were happy, getting drunk this one night was not an issue. The three of them were very rowdy; they ate, drank, snacked, played games, and kept playing until they forgot about the time. In the living room, pillows and snacks were scattered everywhere. Jiaming had also relaxed a bit by this time and let himself use some of his nimble skills to deal with the two of them. Sometimes, he would be the one pouring beer down someone¡¯s throat; at other times, he would be the one being pressed down by the two girls, beer poured down his throat until he could not breathe. As midnight approached, the villa gradually became quiet, and a tragic film started playing on the television. The three of them rolled around on the carpet in the living room, various bags of snacks were scattered around them amidst empty wrappings and empty cans of beer. Shasha tried looking for more beer but did not find any, so she shakily stood up, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve just remembered. Dad seemed to have dropped by yesterday¡­ There should be a bottle in his room¡­ A bottle of unopened red wine, hehe¡­ It¡¯s very expensive¡­ I¡¯ll go bring it down¡­¡± After a bit, she wobbled her way downstairs with a bottle of red wine in one of her hands, and the other holding a video tape that she waved around, ¡°Video¡­ there¡¯s nothing good¡­ on the TV, Lingjing, let¡¯s watch this¡­¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Lingjing struggled to get up from the floor, as she propped her chin on the back of the sofa, ¡°That¡­ No, no¡­ we can¡¯t let Jiaming watch it¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I¡­ It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t watched it before¡­ hehe¡­¡± When Jiaming, who was lying on the floor, caught sight of the video tape, he basically understood what it was, and snorted disdainfully at it. Shasha shoved the tape inside the player and said, ¡°Who¡­ who cares, he¡­ He said¡­ so what if we live together!¡± Shortly after, the television started broadcasting AV scenes, and she poured red wine into rice bowls for the three of them. ¡°I¡­ I heard from my dad, to drink red wine, first, you have to smell it, then you have to shake it¡­¡± She used her nose to take a sniff, then used both hands to shake the bowl, causing wine to sprinkle all over the floor. Lingjing drank a mouthful, a charming smile across her flushed cheeks, ¡°It¡¯s so sweet¡­¡± Jiaming naturally knew how to drink wine. When he looked at the rice bowl filled with red wine, he smirked, took the bowl and gently swirled it, ¡°Shasha you idiot¡­ this is how you swirl it, haha, dummy¡­¡± ¡°You dare to call me dumb¡­¡± Shasha kicked at him multiple times before tilting over and holding onto the wine bottle while shaking it, ¡°You see¡­ I can also swirl¡­¡± she said as she gulped down large mouthfuls. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re wasting it¡­¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes at her, and took a sip of the red wine before frowning slightly, ¡°This¡­ the taste is kind of strange, but¡­ it¡¯s not poison¡­¡± ¡°My dad¡­ left that behind¡­ how could it be poison¡­¡± If it was a normal situation, then Jiaming would have definitely easily identified what type of alcohol it was. Shasha¡¯s father rarely visited the villa, but even if he did, he would do it when the children were not around. When he did visit, he would bring a lady over once in a while, talk about life and ideals, drink red wine and do similar activities. He had come over earlier in the morning and did not think that the children would be visiting today, so the red wine had not been hidden securely. Thus, Shasha ended up commandeering the bottle and it was shared between the three of them. After finishing the bottle of red wine, the three of them fell into a state of drunkenness while the television continued broadcasting sounds of a woman¡¯s pleasured moaning. Jiaming lay down on the carpet and then he blurriedly watched Shasha crawl over to him like a kitten. ¡°Jia¡­ Jiaming¡­ Lingjing likes you, and¡­ I also like¡­¡± After that moment, everything turned white and blank. The long night quietly passed by, in the Liu family¡¯s villa, the lights were brightly lit and the curtains swayed occasionally. On the balcony of the second floor, a small white cat named Ugly meowed plaintively at the moon in the night sky¡­ ¡ª¨C 2/3 chapters of the week (next release is Friday, April 13). (WOO CH 50.) Oh geebus, the title of this chapter was difficult to make it catchy enough from Chinese to English. Basically it was referring to an age phase ¨C transitioning from the childhood naivety of a relationship between girls and boy to feeling quite aware of the complicated, mature and *dokidoki* relationships between men and women. Hahahaha kill me pls. If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it on our Gravity Tales ranking ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 51.1 Chapter 51.1 ¨C Starting From Today TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi When Jiaming opened his eyes and felt a splitting headache, he faintly thought that something might have happened¡­ He still had his clothes on, but some of them were torn open, and a deeply asleep Shasha was lying on his bare chest. Her developing naked female body was tightly hugging his chest; her bosom was tightly pressed against his body. When he eyed Shasha, he did not know how to feel about this situation. Based on touch alone, he could tell he was not wearing pants and something was on his leg. After lying around in a daze for another ten seconds or so, he struggled to get up and a less developed naked female body swam into sight ¡ª it was a deeply asleep Lingjing. Her soft black hair was spread across his legs, and she was tightly hugging his thighs. This scene felt¡­ somewhat strange. Up to this point, he had never cared about the gender or the virginity of others, but now, when he looked in-between the two naked young ladies¡¯ legs and saw what seemed to be blood on the carpet, he felt at a loss of what to do¡­ Shasha was embracing him quite tightly and Lingjing showed no indication of loosening her grip as well. He shifted around slowly, wanting to sit up properly, but due to the blinding headache and decreased awareness, when he put his hand behind him, he knocked against an empty beer can, and¡ª ¡°Wah¡ª¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± Shasha jerked awake and shook her head as she woke, Lingjing also blearily looked up from Jiaming¡¯s legs before lazily saying, ¡°Mmm¡­ Shasha, Jiaming¡­ good morning.¡± Then, the two young ladies were suddenly came to a realization! The three people¡¯s line of sight crossed as they looked at each other speechlessly. The strange thing was that no one screamed, and as Jiaming facepalmed, Shasha quickly retreated behind the sofa, grabbing onto a piece of clothing to cover her exposed body; Lingjing hid behind a vase by the wall, but was unable to find anything to cover her body, so she could only close her legs and cover her chest with her arms, ending up posing like those artistic naked statues. Jiaming found his pants and quickly pulled them on, even though he was not wearing any underwear. The three of them, in three different locations, sat there in silence for quite a while when Ugly scampered into the living room from the second floor. He tilted his head and looked at his three masters, seemingly curious about what they were doing before running to Lingjing, who doted on him the most. He rubbed his head against her foot. Lingjing nudged him away, but the little cat refused to budge. Jiaming and Shasha watched Lingjing and the little cat do their dance for a while before Lingjing¡¯s soft voice ¡ªembarrassed, and at a loss of what to do¡ª sounded in the living room. ¡°What¡­ are we going to do¡­¡± Just what could they do? It was a good question, indeed. Since the situation had developed to this point, even Jiaming was not sure of what to do. If he decided to take responsibility, he would have to marry both of them. The three of them had known each other since they were young, and he would not be able to leave one of them behind. He was at a loss of what to do, and as the silence dragged on, Shasha suddenly sank down to the floor and started crying, ¡°Lingjing, I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± Jiaming thought it was somewhat strange that she said that. When Lingjing heard it, she also felt perplexed before remembering that she had told Shasha she liked Jiaming. Shasha had been giving her advice on that matter, but the situation had now developed like this¡­ She wiped her tears away, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Shasha, we are still best friends.¡± The room became silent once again, and only the little white cat continued wandering around Lingjing¡¯s legs. Was this love or was this friendship? Jiaming had never experienced something like these emotions, so he could only silently contemplate. Since he did not have an answer, he was about to ask them to put some clothes on first, but Lingjing suddenly stood up. The naked, pale young lady stood up without covering herself, gnawed on her bottom lip and wiped away her tears with her forearms. She went over to the naked Shasha and then pulled her up as well. ¡°Lingjing¡­¡± If one ignored Jiaming¡¯s hidden manipulations, between the three of them, it looked like Shasha had the most influence due to her boisterous attitude. However, it was actually the gentle and steady Lingjing¡¯s suggestions that they followed. Thus, Shasha doubtfully stood up, not rejecting Lingjing¡¯s actions. Pulling Shasha over, the two of them presented themselves in front of Jiaming, naked, without hiding anything. Lingjing continued to wipe her tears and said, ¡°I also don¡¯t know what we should do¡­ but starting from today, you have to treat us well, you¡¯re not allowed to bully us, and you can¡¯t leave us; you have to be with us forever¡­¡± Not knowing how to feel as well, with tears leaking out, and her desperately wiping them away at the same time, she said, ¡°The three of us¡­ we will be together forever¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª England, London, in an extremely messy small room. The room was cluttered with computer screens, various machine lights faintly flashing in the dark, wires criss-crossed across the floor, used napkins, lunch boxes and empty packaging as well as various bags of trash. In the midst of this, a person was sleeping sounding on a similarly untidy bed. Under the faint illumination of a computer screen, this person turned out to be a shockingly beautiful 18-19 year old young woman, with messy, long, black hair and an oval face. Her slim and slender fingers were sticking outside of the blanket and were holding¡­ holding a rotating vibrator with the English words ¡°Woman¡¯s best friend¡± written on the packaging thrown to the side of her bed. ¡­¡­ Suddenly, a small red light lit up by her bed, and loud screeching was broadcasted into the room. The woman on the bed subconsciously used the vibrator she had been holding to knock on the button and when the screeching stopped, she rolled over and stared intensely at the data flowing by on her computer screen. ¡°Fantastic, you¡¯re here again!¡± Looking at the clock on her computer, it was 3:21 am ¡ª in other words, the middle of the night. After a few moments, her fingers flew across her keyboard akin to those of a professional pianist, occasionally whistling in appreciation. Around five minutes later, a few English words appeared on her screen, and the naked and perfectly shaped body sat up from the bed. ¡°You have lost. The time is five minutes and nine seconds.¡± Sighing deeply, the young woman¡¯s fingers brushed past the vibrator on her bed, but she did not show much interest in using it. Instead, she grabbed it and threw it at the wall. After a moment, her eyes flashed briefly ¡ª on the computer screen, another set of words had appeared, ¡°Kelly Foun?mes, female, 19 years-old, finished high school education, graduated from¡­¡±, it seemed to be filled with her personal information. ¡°You are finally willing to contact me. Who are you?¡± She responded, and then added, ¡°You must be a stunning beauty?¡± ¡°I have some money I need you to take care of.¡± ¡°Money management? I can¡¯t even take care of myself, and you want me to take care of your money? How much? What for?¡± ¡°Seven billion USD, manage it how you will. I don¡¯t want or need to know what you will do with it.¡± ¡°Seven billion¡­¡± Distressed, the young lady counted it out on her fingers before responding, ¡°Do you want to buy me? Do you think that¡¯s enough?¡± ¡°I only hope that, if a certain situation arises, you would use your full ability to assist me then. Of course, I¡¯m also hoping that time will never come.¡± The girl frowned and deliberated for a bit, before finally typing ¡®OK¡¯. ¡°You think of a way to transfer the money over and it¡¯s your responsibility if I get it or not. Also, one month later, once I improve my firewall, come attack it again.¡± She received no further response. The young woman reflected on the situation on her bed. Starting from last year, a mysterious person had continuously attacked and penetrated her firewalls. The hacker¡¯s skill was unbelievable, and they had never reached out to her until today. But, when they had finally initiated contact, it was to gift her seven billion US dollars? Just what was wrong with them? Afterall, she was only good at using her brain. She really hoped that the mysterious person was a beauty¡­ after a moment, a strange smile appeared on her face. Of course, the current Kelly Foun?mes would never know what kind of person she would have become in the future had that hacker not appeared. Pushing aside his keyboard, Jiaming also revealed a strange smile. In his memories, he had the following information regarding this young lady: Kelly Foun?mes, in the criminal underground she was referred to as the woman of destiny. In 2001 she joined Europe¡¯s largest hidden organization, Lyra Tenebris, and by relying on her supreme intellect she easily became that organization¡¯s number one think tank. She had authority that was second only to one of Lyra Tenebris¡¯ leading members, the ¡®Empress¡¯. This young woman had an astonishing gift. With her wide range of interests, as long as she set her mind to it, she could miraculously complete the task to perfection. In his previous timeline, when they were dealing with Lyra Tenebris, just facing this one person¡¯s intellect had almost caused Peroka to collapse. Peroka had deep enough roots to withstand it, but when Lyra Tenebris was uprooted and the Empress had been sieged and killed, Kelly was still able to continue living easily. She single-handedly contacted China¡¯s Ancestral Awakening, North America¡¯s Creation of Miracles and Wisdom of Heaven ¡ª the type of organizations that could counter-attack Peroka. During that period, Peroka had planned and executed 47 detailed assassinations against her, but not one succeeded. She was a genius, and she was also a lesbian; or more appropriately, she was a pure homosexual. She hated men, but at the same time it was said that she had never slept with any women; she professed she liked women, but it was reported that she had an extreme dislike for sleeping with anyone, so she had never touched another woman. Her motto was ¡®homosexuality isn¡¯t shameful, but shameless homosexuals are not beautiful¡¯. As an assassin, the feeling of security was a must. Previously, Jiaming had been on his own, so even if anything happened, he could handle it. But now that there were two people he needed to protect, it seemed prudent to prepare in advance. He did not know how this hidden chess piece could function in the future, but¡­ it could become a pleasant surprise¡­ As he leaned back on the chair, lost in thought, soft footsteps could be heard, and two young ladies, each wrapped in a towel, appeared. Their faces were flushed and had somewhat unnatural expressions. Lingjing spoke up, ¡°Um¡­ we finished showering. Shasha said¡­ she¡¯s still tired, so she wants to sleep for a bit. So¡­ um, the bath is ready and I¡¯ll help set out your clothes, so you should go clean yourself¡­¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Jiaming nodded, and the two girls, who had just lost their first time, rushed upstairs. Jiaming smiled helplessly before turning off the computer and headed towards the bathroom¡­ Two days later, Starlight Secondary School¡¯s bald headmaster received another bribe. The unusual activity in his bank account and some ironclad evidence appeared on the Municipal Bureau of Education Bureau Chief¡¯s desk, while several newspapers also obtained this information at the same time. There was a huge report on this and the headmaster was arrested. Thanks to Yahan¡¯s connections, the news about the fight of Jiaming and the other two with the teachers and the security team was suppressed. Around ten days later, when exams started, by relying on Yahan, it was quite simple for them to gain the qualifications to enter Sacred Heart Institute. At the same time when the bald headmaster had been exposed, a small storm arose among the world¡¯s criminal underground. The cause of this storm was the seven billion USD that had disappeared without a trace from a Swiss bank account of the world¡¯s strongest assassination organization, Peroka. Even though Peroka had the theft investigated by several of its departments spread around the world, they were unable to find any clues. Then as July arrived, a financial crisis erupted and spread across Southeast Asia, starting from Thailand. During this time, in a villa by Jianghai City¡¯s shore, three not-yet-fully-grown people ignored society¡¯s norms and started properly living together¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 3/3 chapters of the week (next release is Tuesday, April 17). Next week is going to shrink again, sorry for the fluctuating amount of chapters. On a side note, at least you can except a mass release probably by the last week of April? Ahaha ha ha ha ha¡­ I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming¡­ An author¡¯s note will be coming later today at around 2pm EST or so (it does not count as a regular chapter). Chapter 51.2 0051.2 ¨C Author¡¯s Note ¨C Regarding Hidden Assassin, Regarding the Defloration TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Regarding the first time of the two lolis, when I discussed this idea with others, they said that it seemed too hasty. After I wrote it, people did, in fact, say it seemed rushed. Yeah, it may seem rushed, and as to why everyone said this, I could probably guess why. This is because, in many books, this defloration situation could be considered one of the highlights as a big climax. The process leading up to the moment is brilliant and then after that climax, it¡¯s common to change to the next female character. This is an ordinary, regular type of plot point, but I did not wish for this book to follow this type of cliche. Even though this could also be considered as a self-insert novel, Banana has never been one of those safe authors and Banana hopes to put his own twist in it. As to what kind of twist ¡ª I wanted to show another type of natural, comfortable feeling. These two girls, Lingjing and Shasha, had already made their decision to live together after losing their first time. Try imaging it: one boy and two girls, the three of them being high school students. During the time period when they go to school, they are living together, almost like a married couple. At school, they have to interact a certain way, but when they return home to the rented apartment, it is another way of life. Their life would definitely not be monotonous and the two girls would hope to mature quicker to handle society and handle the students at school. As to the teachers, there was a small incident and that is during the later time period of high school. In addition, the power of the criminal underworld would move during this high school period as well. It would affect their school and home life and create a comfortable and stimulating atmosphere, which is what Banana is aiming for. Afterward, as the children finally mature, they would be able to finally experience true feelings of love. Of course, when the two girls finally do mature, it is the time I am waiting for, while at the same time, this part of the story reaches one of its climaxes. I have said to people before that this novel does not have a complete outline yet, because the outline of the ¡®Diary¡¯ is too perverted and instead restricts my writing. The outline of this novel is not yet completely defined, the only thing that I can be sure of is that I want to write out certain kind of feelings. The high school period of this novel is the first important focus, so I will work hard on it! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Thus brings an end to this first arc. Next release is Tuesday, April 17. If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 52 Chapter 52 ¨C Great Waves TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Tokyo, Japan ¨C August, 1997. As midnight approached, the sound of motorbikes and gunshots echoed, and lights flashed and flickered. People living on the second floor of the surrounding households looked gingerly downwards, towards the street. During June of 1997, George Soros[1] had secretly sniped the economy of Thailand, and by July, the Quantum Group of Funds had swept up the Thai baht causing a banking crisis and unrest in the Southeast Asia region. It was similar to the financial crisis nightmare that occured in Japan during the 1990s and had left a shadow in the minds of many japanese people. There was a lot of social unrest and the organized crime syndicates had been especially active during the recent months. However, as long as the fire did not reach them, everyone would protect themselves by keeping one eye open and one eye closed to the situation. As the sound of motorcycles faded away, the people in the house sighed in relief. Not long after, a group of young people wearing black designer suits entered the building at the end of the street, which was a hospital. Due to its location, there were not a lot of people there during the day and there were even less people this late at night. The young men in this group were all missing the pinky finger on their left hand, and the hospital¡¯s security guards, doctors, and nurses actively avoided them. It was well known that all members of the Yamaguchi team were required to cut off their pinky finger upon joining. ¡°Has a Chinese man with a gunshot wound in his shoulder shown up here?¡± ¡°N-no, I haven¡¯t seen anyone¡­¡± The right hands of the members in the Yamaguchi team were intentionally or unintentionally held by their waists, and it seemed that they all carried firearms. However, when they asked around, hoping to find any trace of this Chinese person, both doctors and nurses shook their heads. In fact, at that hour, not a lot of people were at work, and the corridors were normally empty. After a while, a young man wearing an extremely bright Hawaiian shirt, like the ones people wear when on vacation, came by and said, ¡°I¡¯ve searched the area and this is the right place. Take a few people to block the exits and entrances and then leave the rest to search this location.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After confirming the orders, the group dispersed. The young man continued casually strolling along the same floor. His nose twitched occasionally, as if he had a cold. After a while, he stopped in front of a staircase leading downstairs and tried to descend. A nurse ascending from the basement exclaimed, ¡°Ah, sir, it¡¯s the morgue downstairs, you¡¯re not allowed to enter.¡± The young man rubbed his slightly red nose and a demonically charming smile appeared on his face as he approached the nurse and she instantly stiffened. Her face warped into a horrified expression as a submachine gun had appeared out of nowhere in the young man¡¯s hands. The muzzle of the gun lifted her short skirt and rested lightly in-between her legs. ¡°¡­I-I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± The nurse¡¯s eyes filled with tears while the young man sniffed her neck a few times and said, ¡°Hmm, you smell nice. Ms. Nurse, I really want to go take a look¡­ it¡¯s just a look, please let me through.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s fine¡­¡± The nurse was so scared that she started crying. The young man smiled and withdrew his submachine gun. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so glad. I¡¯ll treat you to a meal, so don¡¯t cry, ok? You¡¯re not pretty when you cry,¡± he said as he continued walking downwards. The nurse staggered away in fear as he disappeared from her line of sight. When the young man reached the bottom of the staircase the cold air of the morgue assaulted his senses. It was relatively dark and the entrance of the hospital¡¯s morgue was blocked by a plastic curtain as a ray of light peeked through. Snatches of a relaxed and amiable tune was coming from inside as a soft female voice sang quietly. ??? ¡°Wild buffalo are gone from the prairie, and the land knows humans are coming. So it waits for men to awaken, New life and blossom at their hands. The prairie will be covered with golden ears of wheat, As the mighty city will be built soon. We welcome folks of all faiths and all races, To visit this beautiful new world.¡±??? [2] When the young man realized that the song was sung in Chinese, he subconsciously frowned. He pushed aside the plastic curtain, he saw a surgical table in the middle of the morgue and the back of a tall woman, who was singing and dissecting a dead body. She had just pulled out some internal organs to place on the side, when she let out a sudden ¡°Ah¡± and asked in stilting Japanese, ¡°Mister, who are you? You can¡¯t come in here without permission.¡± Even though she was very pretty, she was still Chinese¡­ The young man rubbed his nose, too lazy to respond, and casually started opening the metal storage cabinets that held dead bodies. He would take a brief glance in it, then would go open another one. After he opened around three doors, the Chinese woman, holding a scalpel and her hands still covered in blood, rushed over to stop him. ¡°What are you doing?! If you want to view the dead bodies, you have to go through the proper procedures, eh¡­¡± Before she finished talking, the muzzle of the submachine gun was already pressed against her forehead, ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°N-no¡­ you¡¯re not allowed to act like this¡­¡± The woman seemed quite afraid, but ultimately did not budge. The young man impatiently pushed her away, and the woman staggered a few steps backwards, hit the operating table, and fell to the ground. She frowned slightly at her left shoulder ¡ª it seemed that it had been injured. ¡°As expected, Japanese people¡­ are barbarians¡­¡± She said it quietly, in Chinese, but the man seemed to understand it. He rubbed his nose and continued to check the dead bodies in the storage spaces. After a thorough inspection of the morgue, he turned back, knelt by the woman¡¯s side, and roughly responded to her in Chinese. ¡°Hmm, actually¡­ Chinese people see Japanese people as barbarians, while Japanese people see Chinese people as cowards. I feel that this is quite accurate. The thing I hate most are those Chinese-loving Japanese people, or Japanese-loving Chinese people. We¡¯re clearly enemies, so what is there to like about each other? So, Miss China, let us continue this friendly and accurate hostility against each other. My name is Morogami Munen, if I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll come play with you again.¡± He then left the morgue. After a while, the Chinese woman got up from the ground and continued dissecting the dead body. Around thirty minutes later, she suddenly went to one of the storage cabinets and knocked on the door once. Then she opened it and asked the middle-aged man who was lying inside it, ¡°Mr. Chen, are you still alive?¡± ¡°Yeah, still ok,¡± the man with a bleeding shoulder wound weakly responded. ¡°But the bullet in my shoulder¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle it immediately.¡± The woman took off the pair of plastic gloves she had been using when dissecting the dead body, and then pressed lightly against the man¡¯s shoulder with her left hand. Shortly after, a soft white light glowed and the bullet flew out from his shoulder wound. Once the bullet had been extracted, the wound did not bleed at all. It seemed as if the bleeding stopped due to the ability she had used. ¡°The bullet has been taken out. For the time being, you won¡¯t die of blood loss, but Mr. Chen, you have some severe internal injuries. It might be difficult to heal in this short time.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The middle-aged man studied her, before nodding approvingly, ¡°Your ability is quite good. I¡¯ve trained for so many years and thought that I would be fine in Peroka¡¯s general headquarters, but who knew that that young man could easily wound me, cough¡­ That Japanese person, Morogami Munen, is very strong. Since he said he was going to come find you, to avoid any unforeseen incidents, you should be relocated. Oh, right, my name is Chen Guxia.¡± ¡°Mr. Chen, you are quite famous in Ancestral Awakening, and as a junior, I have long heard of your name.¡± ¡ªthe woman retrieved a towel¡ª ¡°My name is Li Yunxiu, even though I¡¯ve been taken care of by the organization, I still have not been admitted as a member. When I came to Japan, I was assigned to act as external personnel and was only allowed to respond to situations that were considered as emergencies. Since Mr. Chen is here, has the situation deteriorated to such a level? The news I¡¯ve been receiving these days are quite turbulent. People are saying that the financial crisis is reaching here. Has Peroka been affected?¡± She asked confusedly before quickly smiling apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be asking this.¡± ¡°Heh, it¡¯s fine.¡± Chen Guxia shook his head, ¡°Peroka is not related to the financial crisis. It¡¯s just that around the end of June, seven billion USD disappeared without a trace from Peroka¡¯s Swiss bank account. Without any leads and no clues to investigate, it shook up the entire underworld. If it wasn¡¯t for that situation, I wouldn¡¯t have been discovered so soon¡­¡± After a moment of reflection, the man shook his head again, ¡°It has really opened my eyes. I thought I was already very powerful, but I was only a frog at the bottom of a well. Even though I could not find out any useful information to report, I at least saw the strength of Peroka¡¯s high-level members. When I return, our organization should be able to prepare better defenses against Peroka. Oh right, since you¡¯re external personnel, and you¡¯ve encountered danger once, there¡¯s no reason for you to take the risk a second time. You should prepare to return home.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The woman called Li Yunxiu nodded in acquiescence. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Early morning, August 30, 1997. When the alarm clock rang, two pairs of lips lightly met each other. Then a small moist tongue inserts itself in the other¡¯s mouth. ¡°Good morning¡­ Jiaming¡­ oh¡­¡± Lingjing woke up blearily and was struggling to open her eyes, when she saw Shasha¡¯s charming face and felt her tongue nudging hers. Pushing Shasha¡¯s face away, Lingjing glanced out outside to see the color of the sky, then turned back to the alarm clock which was showing ¡®06:00¡¯. ¡°Why is it so early¡­¡± After lying on the bed for a little longer, she remembered that it was the first day of registration for high school. As the three of them had played too wildly last night, she was still quite muddled. The blanket covering the bodies of the two naked girls was thin, but because it was summer, they did not feel cold exposing their bare and beautiful bodies to the air. Shasha had latched onto Lingjing like an octopus, so the latter had to spend quite a lot of effort to push her away before she could finally sit up properly. Then Lingjing tried to shake Shasha awake, ¡°Wake up already! We have to go to school today.¡± ¡°Ugh, no please.¡± Shasha had the bad habit of lazing around in bed so if Lingjing had not tried to wake her, there was no way she would have woken up in time. Shortly after, Shasha still continued muttering, trying to hug Lingjing¡¯s slender waist, and rubbing her forehead against Lingjing¡¯s skin. Lingjing hurriedly pushed her away again, ¡°Get up, you¡¯re tickling me! If Jiaming saw us, he¡¯d say we¡¯re lilies again.¡± ¡°We are lilies though¡­¡± Shasha opened her eyes slightly and tried to latch onto Lingjing again. However, Lingjing had already leapt off the bed in all her naked glory and was going around the bed picking up her bra, underwear and other various pieces of clothing. After nudging Shasha and pushing her away, she said, ¡°Get up already, you¡¯re lying on my underwear¡­¡± Not long after, the door of the master bedroom opened and a neatly dressed Jiaming entered. Seeing a naked, sleeping Shasha on the bed, he wandered over to the bathroom and pushed the door open. Lingjing was in the middle of washing up when she felt someone come in. She stepped backwards and splashed water towards him, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to peek, you pervert!¡± ¡°I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready. Besides, if I wanted to peek, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen it last night.¡± Jiaming closed the door behind him and laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do about Shasha.¡± ¡°Ok, you should tell her to get up. Every time I tried, she just hugged me.¡± Lingjing called out from the bathroom. ¡°Well, you two are lilies, it¡¯s natural.¡± ¡°Just what is a lily, you always call us that. Can you please explain it to us¡­¡± Jiaming smirked internally. Of course he was not just going to explain it to them! He paused before saying, ¡°Well, lily just means a pure best friend, you silly girl.¡± When he directly picked Shasha up from the bed, the young woman naturally embraced him, still half asleep. Jiaming then carried her into the bathroom, where Lingjing was just wiping off the bottom half of her body. She smirked and filled the tub with water, then Jiaming promptly dropped Shasha in, ¡°I¡¯m passing her over to you. This lazy piggy needs to be clean. If she still wants to sleep, we should just put her on the table and make her our breakfast.¡± ¡°Ack, you wanna die?¡± After lazing around for so long, Shasha was naturally no longer sleeping and she splashed water at Jiaming while laughing. He dodged and retreated out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Since the incident during the final middle school exams, the three¡¯s relationship had evolved to a new stage. Even though it had been quite awkward and embarrassing during the first few days, as the days continued, the three of them found a new balance between them. After having experienced their first sexual encounters, they were currently in their honeymoon phase, which coincidentally was also during the worry-free time of summer vacation. The two girls had at first shyly taken turns to sleep with Jiaming, but that had now developed to this new 3P situation. That is to say, humans get corrupted really quickly, and that is only if you see this type of situation as depraved. According to society, it would be considered unhealthy for the three not-yet-adults to form a bond like this. However, between the three of them, because they had grown up together and they felt like they might not be allowed to continue being together, they naturally found a reason to create a new relationship. After the awkward period had passed, they came to accept the new relationship. They naturally understood one another ¡ªdespite Jiaming hiding his identity¡ª and they felt comfortable and familiar with one another, like married couples would. After a short while, the two girls finished bathing and Lingjing put on an elegant and refreshing white blouse and a long blue skirt, while Shasha wore a casual sweatshirt. As they gathered to eat breakfast, they joked around as usual, before settling down to discuss some more important matters. ¡°Oh, I passed our tuition fee to Yahan already, so I have our remaining funds on me. Today we should rent an apartment outside of school grounds, and we should also buy necessities such as towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cups, a plastic bucket, a gas stove, pans, a chopping board, knives¡­¡± Lingjing took out her small wallet, confirmed the amount of money inside it, then continued writing a list of things they needed to buy. Renting an apartment was something the three of them had previously decided on. Lingjing had written an article for a newspaper, and had received some money for it around mid-August. This was the first windfall the three of them had gotten. Of course, this was without counting the funds from Jiaming¡¯s hidden identity. The two girls were quite excited. Over the past two months, they had gotten used to living together and hoped to continue with this lifestyle. They had even read some magazines that described an adult lifestyle and so the three of them had decided to try to live independently. Apart from tuition fees, they did not want to borrow money from their families. Even though Jiaming still received some ¡®living expenses¡¯ money from the Huang family, it was currently stored as emergency funds and not used for everyday expenses. As the three of them matured, they tried to think of ways to earn money so that they could start living together and form a small family. They had to become financially independent as a family and had to know how to support themselves. If adults knew what they wanted to do, they would have just thought that their children wanted to play house, but the two girls had been quite firm with their decision. As to Jiaming, he understood their situation and knew that three children trying to earn money in this society was not an easy thing to achieve. However, he did not feel they were being naive and he also wanted to grow up quicker, as the two girls were quite determined to keep their small family. Even if it was considered a game, he really looked forward to this type of life. He anticipated it so much¡­ that he was willing to do it for a lifetime¡­ The three of them chattered away noisily as they prepared for what they were going to do today. As they collected the dishes, the honking of a car resounded from outside of the villa. Shortly after, the doorbell rang, and a wavy-haired, glasses-wearing Yahan appeared by the gate, waiting for them. [1] George Soros ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros For additional information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_financial_crisis about the SEA financial crisis during 1997. ? [2] The tune of the song ¨C https://youtu.be/iCx-muKS0rI ? ¡ª¡ª TL note: Start of a new arc and new characters to be introduced as well as familiar characters returning (: 1/2 chapters of the week (next release is Saturday, April 21). I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming¡­ There¡¯s also another survey going around, please fill it out: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FX53WBQ It determines what novels GT would pick up, so please do fill it out :3 Chapter 53 Chapter 53 ¨C Aristocratic School TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°So¡­ you guys really decided on not staying in the residence?¡± Yahan turned to look at the three of them as the car passed through a spacious street. She was looking at Jiaming who was sitting in the front, next to her, when Lingjing spoke up from the back seat, ¡°Yeah, sis Yahan. We have also decided that starting from today, we will not ask our families for a single cent. The three of us will be taking care of ourselves.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s correct.¡± Shasha nodded her head. ¡°But¡­ don¡¯t you guys feel that it¡¯s a bit early? I mean, it¡¯s good to want to be independent, but you all are still in high school. If you wanted to experience what it is like to worki, shouldn¡¯t you at least wait until university?¡± She felt uncomfortable with their decision. She did not doubt their ability, or at least she knew about how capable Jiaming was, but¡­ to become completely independent¡­ She felt that they were still too young for that. If they wanted to continue living together, even though the relationship between the three of them was very good, they were no longer children¡­ After all, she had lived with the three of them for a short while and did not want to pry into the three¡¯s relationship. She felt that these relatively sensible and precocious children decided to mature early, just like her when she had ran away to England. She was a bit puzzled about why Jiaming was accompanying the two girls though. This type of independence exercise that the two girls were going through was absolutely meaningless for him. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine then. I am living in a house off-campus as well. The house is quite big and I¡¯m living alone, so would you like to live with me? We can discuss the rental fee if you¡¯d like.¡± Jiaming looked out the window, trying to hold back his laughter, while Lingjing and Shasha looked at each other, before resolutely saying, ¡°No, thank you!¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, because¡­¡± Lingjing smiled brightly, ¡°Because we want to be independent! If we live at sis Yahan¡¯s place, we¡¯ll definitely be taken care of by you. That¡¯s why¡­ hehe¡­ we would rather rent our own apartment.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Yahan nodded as Lingjing hurried to add, ¡°If we do run into trouble, we¡¯ll ask our families for money, so sis Yahan, you don¡¯t need to worry about us.¡± Yahan saw Jiaming secretly laugh at her, so slightly frustrated, she reached over and bopped him on the shoulder. Jiaming winced as Shasha and Lingjing laughed at him from the back seat. Sacred Heart Institute was funded by foreign investors as well as the few big families of Jianghai City and was located in the southern part of the city, in the prosperous Shaohua District. This flourishing district could be considered as one of Jianghai City¡¯s newer districts, as it had all sorts of high-end shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, etc. The suburbs of this district were famous and known as the ¡°rich district¡±. Its hillside was full of villas and mansions facing the beautiful scenery of the ocean. Also, two of the five large families, the Dongfang family and the Lui family, had large amounts of property there. Sacred Heart Institute covered quite a large area and was built several years ago. As a large amount of wealthy children studied at the school, there was a lot of school affiliated merchandise. There was even talk about expanding Sacred Heart Institute to include a university. At that time, this new district could become a university town. When they went through Sacred Heart Institute¡¯s gates, Lingjing and Shasha were in awe of the surrounding scenery. Even though they had been to Shaohua District before, they had not yet visited Sacred Heart Institute. The lake, the pavilion, the gardens, the scenery¡­everything was beautiful. The aristocratic school was surrounded by a beautifully tended garden full of lush green trees and a clear blue lake. Man-made pathways snaked across the lake and between the trees, leading to an octagonal pavilion. The whole landscape was a harmonious combination of man-made construction and breathtaking natural scenery. Once one walked further past the trees, one would see an elegant European-style living area. The basketball and badminton courts in between the villa-style buildings seemed like a scene right out of a television show. ¡°Sacred Heart Institute was actually constructed based on a university in mind, so the area is quite large. This location is the living district, while the other side is the housing for teachers and employees. However, since this is only a high school, there are definitely less people than one would expect. One villa normally houses four students, and each of them has their own room. However, according to school regulations, male and female students are not allowed to live together. Since you three plan on living together, you can only rent a place outside of school grounds. There are several school employees that rent their own places, so I can help you ask for some details¡­¡± Yahan drove slowly and introduced the various facilities of the school. One could occasionally see expensive cars such as Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo¡­ It was difficult to imagine that there was a financial crisis happening at that point in time. The school looked like a scene from the United Nations as Lingjing and Shasha eagerly looked out the window and were discussing which cars looked better. Jiaming was also looking around. Yahan thought that it was natural for men to be interested towards famous brand cars, but she did not realize that Jiaming was actually estimating how long it would take him to disable the various cars¡¯ anti-theft systems so he could own them. He previously had training in this area, but after settling in his new life, he was out of practice. A short while later, Yahan, in her small car that could not be compared to the fancy ones, arrived at the gates of the education area. ¡°The school usually arranges for the senior students to welcome the new students, but since I have already handled the procedures in advance for you guys, I¡¯ll be showing you around. Oh, but Lingjing and Shasha, you should be careful, since you¡¯re both such adorable new students, you¡¯ll be very popular.¡± Yahan smiled, ¡°Also Shasha, you didn¡¯t bring your baseball bat today, so I¡¯m worried that Lingjing might be stolen by others.¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Shasha smirked, then took out a small can of pepper spray from her pocket, while Lingjing also took out the exact same thing. Yahan rolled her eyes, ¡°Children nowadays¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re being prepared, just in case.¡± Lingjing said, ¡°This is Jiaming¡¯s gift to Shasha for her birthday. It¡¯s a mix of some specific substance and pepper, if it gets into the eyes, water won¡¯t wash it away, and the person sprayed with it would have to go to the hospital.¡± Yahan groaned internally, as she eyed the innocent-looking Jiaming, before saying, ¡°Next time, you should gift me a can too.¡± It was quite lively in the school¡¯s small public square outside of the car as various clubs and associations had gathered to welcome new students. Many welcome banners could be seen, such as: ¡°Martial Arts Research Society Welcomes New Students of 1997¡±, ¡°Culinary Society Welcomes New Students¡±, or ¡°The Chinese Chess Club Welcomes New Students of 1997¡±. When Yahan stopped the car and Lingjing opened the door to exit, a glasses-wearing male student who caught sight of her, hurried over, ¡°Hello, are you a new student joining today? Do you require my assistance?¡± ¡°Haha, no thank you.¡± As Lingjing exited the car, she waved him away, ¡°We are new students, but we¡¯ve already registered.¡± ¡°No worries, since you two are new students, I can show you around, so you can familiarize yourself with our campus. Our school grounds are quite large, so it¡¯s very easy to get lost when you are a newcomer¡­¡± Seeing that Lingjing and Shasha were both beauties, one calm and one animated, but both exceptionally enchanting, a few male students wanted to run over as well, as they stepped out of the car. However, something seemed to change their minds as they turned around halfway. The originally eager male student suddenly stopped and said, ¡°Oh, haha, greetings, Teacher Zhang.¡± ¡°Mm, these three students have already registered. I will be showing them around campus, you should should go assist other new students.¡± ¡°Ah, understood¡­ ok, fellow students, good¡­ goodbye¡­¡± Seeing the male student escape in an instant, Lingjing, Shasha and Jiaming all stared dumbstruck at a very stern-looking Yahan. Not long after, Yahan brought the three of them to a less busy corridor, and after looking around sneakily to make sure there was no one around, her face slowly relaxed into a smile, ¡°Hehe, did I scare you guys just now?¡± ¡°You did scare us.¡± Jiaming said directly as he held back his laughter, and took a smack to his head for his efforts. Lingjing also looked around before smiling curiously, ¡°Sis Yahan, so you¡¯re like this at school?¡± ¡°Of course, Lingjing! You don¡¯t know how naughty students are nowadays. If I want them to listen to me, they need to be afraid of me! Oh, you guys shouldn¡¯t act too familiar with me at school, otherwise the other students will reject you. Also, don¡¯t be in a rush to join the clubs or societies. Those fellows just want to show off to each other and there aren¡¯t a lot of clubs with genuinely interested people. You should familiarize yourself with them first before actually joining.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Lingjing asked doubtfully. ¡°Well you know, there¡¯s so many rich kids at this school. When they grow up, they¡¯ll be taking over their family businesses, and these clubs are just a place for them to train their leadership skills. They¡¯re only interested in proving their ability in building a successful club and increasing the amount of members. They are not interested in what the club is actually about. You¡¯ll realize that these clubs are mostly there just for these young masters to drink and party. Ok, let me show you around the school campus now.¡± After Yahan finished, she put on her stern face again and took Jiaming and the girls to various locations around the school such as the office building, the cafeteria, the library, etc. Any students they bumped into, as soon as they saw Yahan, would be afraid and would take a detour. Other students would look on from afar and discuss within their group, ¡°Oh, those three students couldn¡¯t have done something bad, right? They just started school and they already got caught by that old witch.¡± ¡°Such a pity¡­¡± ¡°Look, they¡¯re laughing! Are they so scared that they went crazy?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Those discussions they had overheard combined with Yahan¡¯s spinster look was really hilarious to the three of them. Whenever they reached a location where there was no one around, they would howl with laughter, and a somewhat embarrassed Yahan would chase after them. By the time they visited the main locations, it was around 10:30 am, so Jiaming requested to go to the bathroom, while motioning for the three ladies to return to the car first. After using the bathroom, he walked through the crowd of registrants at the school plaza and took in the busy scene around him, finding it somewhat interesting. He saw Lingjing wave at him from the car, however, just as he was about go over, a taxi stopped near him and blocked his view. The taxi door opened, and a girl in a blue dress, carrying a big pink suitcase came out. The girl had a short ponytail and her face was completely covered by a white wide-rimmed sun hat as her head was lowered. As the taxi left, a male student rushed over to help her with the large suitcase and said, ¡°Hello fellow student, you¡¯re new, right? I¡¯m He Ting from the International Finance Research Society, registration is over here, please follow me.¡± A brief glance at the girl¡¯s appearance caused a chill down Jiaming¡¯s spine and gave him an eerie feeling. The girl¡¯s porcelain doll-like features, her indifferent expression and her detached ice-cold aura made her seem like she did not belong to this world. She stood there with her brow furrowed, as she looked at the enthusiastic person in front of her. Her gaze then silently turned to the suitcase that had fallen into the other person¡¯s hands, looking like she was thinking if that was her suitcase or not. Stopping to consider the matter, she lifted her head and briefly saw Gu Jiaming who was standing nearby and looking around with no intention of greeting her. On the other side, the fellow student He Ting saw that the beauty did not make any movements and smiled reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a bad person. Sacred Heart Institute has a regulation where the senior students have to show the new students around, so please do follow me.¡± ¡°She obviously doesn¡¯t want to follow you, you¡¯re being too pushy. Get lost already! Fellow student, my name is Lui Fang, is there anything I can help you with?¡± Another boy¡¯s voice suddenly interrupted, as he came over, acting proudly like a knight in shining armor. As he barged over, the two of them obstructed her view and the boy she was gazing at earlier could no longer be seen. Lowering her head, she looked down and frowned again¡­ ¡ª¡ª- Sorry this chap was a bit late, I was so tired I forgot the schedule it last night. I¡¯m waiting for a bunch of chaps to be edited right now, so as soon as they¡¯re done, I can release them over the course of next week XD Next chap release on April 23rd! Chapter 54 Chapter 54 ¨C The Story of the New Residence TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Wow, it was quite crowded this morning. I heard that there was an extremely beautiful Japanese girl there. It¡¯s a pity we didn¡¯t see her. Jiaming, you could¡¯ve bumped into her, did you see anyone?¡± Lingjing asked as she placed the dirty rag into the bucket to clean. ¡°Oh, no I didn¡¯t. Haha, when I wanted to take a look, those eager seniors gathered and gave me a scare, so I hurriedly escaped¡­¡± Jiaming smiled and shook his head. ¡°When it comes to a cute Japanese girl, I think of Tsukichi Kaoru. That girl¡¯s attitude is very similar. Even when she was surrounded by that many people, she still managed to register on her own, pay her fees, and then disappear. However, I heard that she knew Chinese, so it¡¯s probably not her. Hehe, all those poor foolish boys¡­¡± Shasha brandished her mop while laughing. The three of them were currently on the second floor of an apartment building outside of the school grounds. They were actively cleaning the place and chatting about what had happened in the morning as the three of them thought it was quite amusing. While Lingjing and Shasha had been waiting by the car for Jiaming, another teacher had approached Yahan, asking her to return to the office building to talk about school matters. They were just watching the crowd when a huge commotion happened. It started with the two male students fighting over the suitcase of a new female student. Then the two societies started an intense brawl in the small square and even managed to smash a racing car that was parked nearby. The funny thing was that while the two groups of people were fighting, the Japanese girl ignored them and retrieved her own suitcase, went to register, paid the school fees on her own, and then disappeared without giving the boys any of her attention. This situation became a funny story of their first days at Sacred Heart Institute. Receiving the news, Yahan, a large group of teachers, and security guards rushed out to stop the brawl. The three later heard from Yahan that the two male students that had started the fight had a history. Lui Fang was the first generation¡¯s third young master of one of Jianghai City¡¯s five large families; and he was quite brash and bossy at school. He Ting, on the other hand, was also a young master of a large conglomerate, and he had always disagreed with Lui Fang. That was not the first conflict between the various young masters at Sacred Heart Institute, and as long as it did not become a huge incident, the families could use the competition between their children as a basis for evaluating their heirs. After handling the chaotic brawl, Yahan helped the three of them out with looking for a rental apartment. On an older street near the school, there was a two-storey building. The first floor was a smokey, dingy game cafe, and if one took the side stairs to the second floor, they would lead them to a relatively spacious but old-fashioned apartment. The two bedrooms were naturally given to Lingjing and Shasha, while the smaller storage room was to be cleaned up to become Jiaming¡¯s bedroom. It was slightly cramped, but this bedroom setup was mostly for maintaining the semblance of propriety in front of ¡°outsiders¡± such as Yahan or Lingjing¡¯s parents. Most of the time, Jiaming would be in the master bedroom, sleeping on the same bed with the two girls. The apartment included a somewhat narrow living room, a kitchen and a bathroom which was already quite good. Due to Yahan having connections in the area, the rent was also lowered quite a bit by the owners. Even though the apartment could not compare to the Liu family villa, Lingjing and Shasha were both very satisfied with this place. ¡°Oh, we need to put a desk here. I want to buy that spacecraft lamp I saw at the market the other day. It would be very pretty. Then on the wall there, we should put two posters ¡ª I like Andy Lau and Wakin Chau. We need to buy a tea table and a sofa for the living room. Should we get a single couch or a long one? They¡¯re both expensive though¡­¡± ¡°We also need a small TV, around 14¡± or 15¡±, but it has to be a color TV. I wanted to set it out straight, but that corner only seems to be able to house a triangular-shaped cabinet¡­ it doesn¡¯t look that good¡­¡± ¡°The bathroom needs a showerhead¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s barely anything in the kitchen, we¡¯ll have to buy a few more pieces of dinnerware and a small plastic cabinet to place everything in. Eh, it¡¯s probably not going to be that expensive¡­¡± ¡°I was also thinking of buying three bicycles, one for each of us. Second-hand bikes are too ugly, so we should get new ones, but those are expensive¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a black mark on that wall that can¡¯t be scrubbed off, we should buy some beautiful wallpaper to cover it¡­¡± ¡°Jiaming likes computers, but we¡¯ll have to get it on our own. We will probably have to wait for quite a while before we can afford it, but we should probably get a small computer desk first. Oh, and we can put it over there¡­¡± After cleaning up, the two girls excitedly ran around the empty apartment planning the future of their small family. The rented apartment did not come with many things: there were two empty beds, a few chairs, and an ugly looking table that was holding everything they had at the moment. They even had to buy a bed for Jiaming to use. They could just take simple things such as blankets from their homes, but furniture or the TV was not something they would take. Otherwise, how could they be considered independent? As school had just started, there was not a lot happening on the first few days. The 1st and the 2nd of September were registration days. The 3rd of September was the day of the freshmen placement test, and the 5th of September was when the results were usually posted. The 6th and the 7th of September just happened to be on a weekend and were also vacation days. In other words, they had the whole week to decorate their new home. However, even after a few days, they had only bought some small necessary items such as bedding, wallpaper and kitchen essentials (kettle, cups, etc). That was because¡­ the amount of funds they had was just not enough. The three of them could be considered to have come from wealthy families. The amount of monthly living expenses allowance Jiaming got from his family was more than what an ordinary family could use. Lingjing had already rejected the support of her family, while Shasha had a lot of money saved up as usual. If they were to add the funds they had altogether, the three of them could come up with around four to five thousand kuai. Of course, now that they wanted to furnish a home, this amount was definitely far from enough. A set of well-made, beautiful sofas was over ten thousand; a desk could be a couple hundred, and a tea table could be another couple hundred. A proper dining table could be several thousand, and a TV was also at least over a thousand. After strolling around for a while, they realized that it was not that they could not afford it, it was more that they could not bring themselves to buy it. After buying a TV, a suitable dining table, a desk and other items, they were unable to afford a beautiful sofa as the cheap ones were ugly. They could not use up all their money at once as they still had to live on their own. The two girls were not wasteful in their spendings, but they had also never had to worry about it before. In the end, they decided that as long as it was useable it was good enough. They would also not acquire anything unnecessary, so until the three of them had a steady income, they would have to spend the money slowly. By the fourth day, they had already bought most of the necessities and the three of them officially moved into their new home. That night, the two girls excitedly bought beer and barbeque meat to celebrate until late at night. It was fortunate that Jiaming had managed to tire out the two girls in bed, so that they were able to sleep soundly. Otherwise, they would have gone to school with pandeyes the next day. Later that night, Jiaming sat on the balcony and looked up at the stars in the night sky, quietly laughing to himself. The feeling of living the life he had dreamed of was so good¡­ even though he had ended up with two girls, and that was a bit strange. However, if he were to try living the life of a regular person, how would he be able to earn money? Apart from the seven billion from Peroka given to Kelly Founimes, he had transferred out a few additional billion USD for himself, but this money could not appear in front of the two girls. During 1997, because of the financial crisis, crowds of people could not find employment, and the three of them were high school students and children on top of that. It would be quite difficult for them to earn money the regular way. Temporarily shelving the matter of finding a job, when the three of them went to check on the announcement of the class divisions the next day, they discovered that they had all been separated again. The fees of Sacred Heart Institute were relatively high, but the standard of living in Jianghai City was not that bad. As long as a family had enough funds they would wish for their child to attend that school. There were around 600 new students, and they had been divided into twelve classes. Lingjing ended up in Class 1 due to her outstanding results. Jiaming, with his average results, ended up in Class 6; and Shasha, having improved her results under Lingjing¡¯s tutoring, ended up in Class 7. When Shasha saw them all split up, she suggested that they talk to Yahan to place them together, but Lingjing rejected her idea, ¡°It¡¯s fine, this situation doesn¡¯t look too bad. Besides, we¡¯re together every night. If we stagger our courses and leave the last lesson slot free, we can take turns preparing dinner. Jiaming, what do you think?¡± Eating lunch at school and having to return home for dinner was very family-like, and the three of them planned it out. Yahan had originally expected the three of them to come look for her after being separated into different classes. However, in the end they actually did not and she felt slightly put out at that. On the weekend, the three of them went shopping for some second-hand furniture. On Sunday afternoon, the two girls finally settled on a goose-yellow desk. After some clumsy bargaining, the price of the desk was decreased from 100 RMB to 80 RMB. The shop owner eagerly offered to call a taxi to help them move the desk, but Lingjing ended up refusing when she heard that it would cost 20 RMB. ¡°Forget it, this small desk isn¡¯t too heavy and we don¡¯t live too far. Hey, Jiaming, Shasha, we¡¯ll just move it!¡± Out of the three of them, Lingjing was usually the one that made the decisions. Thus, when they heard her, Jiaming directly lifted the desk onto his shoulder as Lingjing assisted from the front and Shasha assisted from the back. The second-hand furniture store owner stood by the shop entrance and watched them leave, unsure whether he should be impressed with them or disdain them. It was true that the store was not far from where the three lived ¡ª they just needed to pass by their school¡¯s gates and then turn around another corner onto a small street and they would arrive. However, the area mostly consisted of well-off families, so as they passed by the aristocrat school¡¯s gate, many high school students in the small plaza pointed and gossiped upon seeing the three of them. Jiaming completely ignored them, but the two girls felt slightly embarrassed. The two of them had grown up in good families, so they had never encountered that before. Lingjing secretly thought that it would probably be better to call a taxi next time. As they passed by, Shasha suddenly called out, ¡°Lingjing, be careful!¡± The desk was blocking Jiaming¡¯s view, so he did not have time to react. Shortly after he heard a quiet ¡®Ah!¡¯ from Lingjing as her forehead knocked against the desk, and a soccer ball flew backwards into Jiaming¡¯s line of sight. ¡°What happened?¡± The desk was hurriedly dropped. Lingjing was standing there slightly stunned. She was rubbing her forehead and there was a dirt mark on the side of her face caused by the soccer ball. Shasha and Jiaming gently tugged her hands away to inspect her forehead. They were relieved to see only a small red mark that was not bleeding. On the side, a person wearing their school uniform ran over from the plaza, laughing as he said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m so sorry. We accidentally kicked the soccer ball from over there. Are you ok? Please let me take a look¡­¡± From behind him, a dozen men and women leaned against three expensive sports cars that seemed to be his companions watched on with smirks. The student that rushed over could be considered relatively handsome. He had a sincere smile as he tried to reach out to check Lingjing¡¯s forehead, but Shasha suddenly rushed up and pushed him away, ¡°You guys did it deliberately! I saw everything!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jiaming examined the bruised area of Lingjing¡¯s forehead as he asked seriously. Lingjing only shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°I saw everything very clearly!¡± Shasha turned to look at the people behind her, ¡°I saw that group of people over there pointing and gossiping. They weren¡¯t even kicking any balls, then that tall guy in the middle deliberately kicked the ball over here. That¡¯s why I warned Lingjing!¡± As she said this, she was already glaring at the boy in front of her. When Lingjing heard this, she also turned and looked angrily at the group of people.Some of them pretended to be innocent, while some looked like they did not care. The two girls¡¯ body language in that group clearly indicated ¡°Even if we did it, so what?¡±. Getting in a fight bare-handed was not a good idea and the pepper spray they had was not suitable for a crowd of people. Shasha looked around and picked up a wooden beam that had been dropped on the side of the road and then waved it at the male student closest to them. The group of people had not expected her to be that valiant and as that male student backed away with an ¡°I¡¯m innocent¡± look. The group moved forward towards them. Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Jiaming walked back a few steps and then picked up the soccer ball. ¡°Ah, fellow student, that soccer ball is mine. I accidentally kicked it over, I really am sorry. Could you please pass it back to me? Haha¡­¡± That tall male student from just now raised a hand at Jiaming while his fellow companions laughed at what he said. Then, Jiaming also smiled good-naturedly. ¡°No worries. I¡¯ll return it to you, please catch it.¡± Smiling harmlessly and sounding very sincere, he gently threw the soccer ball towards him. Boom¡ª In a flash, the group of people heard a sound akin to a cannon going off. The tall student reached out with both hands to try and catch the ball. However, it seemed that he miscalculated its speed because his thumbs snapped as the soccer ball flew past and hit him straight in the face. The male student went flying! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª 1/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 24). Start of a mass release, just waiting on chaps to be edited and I have around 2 chaps to tl lol. I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming if it¡¯s not the next day¡­ Chapter 55 Chapter 55 ¨C To Evaluate TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi The soccer ball flew high into the air and with another boom, the tall male student fell to the ground. His body was twitching and his nose was bleeding profusely. The sight of him was extremely devastated and pitiful. The laughter suddenly died out like a hand had pressed down on it, and the dozen or so people stared in shock at their companion. The two girls were so shocked that they had even screamed. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I wanted you to catch with your hands¡­ Why did you¡­ uh¡­¡± Jiaming¡¯s expression was one of innocence and helplessness, ¡°Why did you use your face?¡± Seeing that the tall male student had been reduced to such a sorry state, Lingjing rubbed her sore cheek, trying to hold back her laughter. When Shasha saw that they had gained the upper hand, she only brandished the wooden beam and no longer moved forward. The fallen student¡¯s companion pointed at Jiaming, looking like he was about to rush at him, ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°You what? You wanna come over here and try something else?!¡± He had only moved forward slightly, but Shasha raised the wooden beam, blocking him with it. At this time in the afternoon, bored students who were taking a stroll in the school plaza and were attracted by the commotion going on. The male student shrunk back in front of the wooden beam before pointing at Jiaming again, ¡°This isn¡¯t over! If you¡¯re a man, come over here. I won¡¯t be hitting a girl!¡± As he spoke, Shasha had already swung her wooden beam over and smacked his hand, causing him to grit his teeth in pain and retreat a few steps, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not over. Who¡¯s scared of a sissy like you?¡± She said as she wielded the wooden beam full of killing intent. That male student ended up being smacked in the arm twice and once on his leg. At the same time, Jiaming and Lingjing were afraid that she would lose her advantage so they followed her closely. Suddenly before Jiaming shouted, ¡°Shasha, be careful!¡± A figure suddenly rushed towards Shasha with a flying kick! It was a perfectly standard Taekwondo kick! Shasha subconsciously blocked it with the wooden beam and it broke in the middle with a loud pa sound. As the figures crossed, three bodies fell in different directions: Shasha was sent tumbling backwards, Jiaming toppled forward onto the ground after ramming into the attacking figure, and the student that executed the beautiful kick went flying as well. Jiaming had crashed right into his waist ¡ª his weakest spot. His lower abdomen violently collided with a nearby street light post before he finally fell to the ground, completely winded and clutching his stomach while rolling around, his face clenched in pain¡­ The spectators were stunned and their faces were filled with trepidation. The male student that had attacked earlier was called Lu Jianchuan and was currently in his second year of high school. He did not have a powerful background, but could be considered an expert in martial arts so he did have some influence at school. He was proficient in Taekwondo, Judo and several other local martial arts, as he would also not be careless if he got into a fight with more than ten students. When he acted, the knowledgeable spectators thought that the three of them ¡ª or at least the boy ¡ª would most likely lose. The spectators thought that the fierce flying kick had been beautifully executed as it had broken the wooden beam, but no one knew that the boy would be able to rush forward that quickly. It was just a clumsy, awkward collision and the lamppost just so happened to be there as well. Thus, a miracle that resulted in this tragedy was created. That kick from Lu Jianchuan had actually only lightly landed on Shasha, and when she clambered up, she eyed the broken beam apprehensively. Seeing Jiaming struggling to stand up, she had to hold back the urge to kiss him a few times. It was true that even though Jiaming usually seemed schmaltzy, when it came to an important moment, he would be the most reliable one. Seeing that Jiaming had blocked the kick for her, Shasha could feel herself sweetly melting inside, and was momentarily distracted from starting a fight. However Jiaming was not feeling the same, when he stood up, he instantly threw himself at the Lu Jianchuan who was lying on the ground. This martial arts star did not even have a chance to take a breather when Jiaming suddenly grabbed onto his hand. He knew that it was a dangerous moment, so he struggled with all his might. Soon after, his dozen or so fellow companions finally arrived. ¡°What are you doing¡­¡± ¡°Let go of him¡­¡± By the time the closest two reached out to pull Jiaming away, both Lingjing and Shasha had already reacted and kicked them away. Immediately after, a heart-rending miserable shriek resounded in the school plaza and an even more tragic sight greeted the observing people. A horrified feeling bubbled up. After a somewhat ridiculous sight of arm wrestling, Jiaming directly broke Lu Jianchuan¡¯s right index finger. Lingjing and Shasha were somewhat shocked when hearing this pitiful cry as well. A few days ago at the martial arts hall, father Ye had unintentionally talked about an actual combat technique. He had said that if it was possible, breaking someone¡¯s fingers was a very practical method, but he also mentioned that one had to be very agile and it needed to be a preemptive strike. Who could have guessed that Jiaming not only learned how to apply that technique, but he had even taken the opportunity to strike when the opponent was unable to resist and broke that person¡¯s finger. ¡°You schmucks, who else wants to come over here?!¡± As the struggle over the finger had been quite fierce, Jiaming was currently panting deeply and squatting over his fallen opponent. He was holding onto Lu Jianchuan¡¯s right middle finger and waving it at the crowd of people as his index finger was at an awkward angle. Lu Jianchuan had a tough guy reputation at school, but now his face was covered in tears and he could not even speak up. His left hand shook and he was pathetically gripping his right arm. When the situation developed to this point, there were a few people that could no longer handle it in the group. A few girls¡¯ faces had turned ashen, while some of the male observers¡¯ faces also showed feelings of unease. One of the male students in the group spoke up, ¡°D-don¡¯t be reckless, we¡¯re all here just to study. This is just a trivial matter, there¡¯s no need to be so extreme, fellow student.¡± ¡°Trivial? Who had initiated this, huh?¡± Jiaming questioned as he looked at him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I agree, it is our fault. We just saw those two beautiful girl students and we wanted to attract their attention. I really am very sorry.¡± Hearing him say such words, Lingjing and Shasha both felt slightly embarrassed. Jiaming lightly snorted, let go of Lu Jianchuan¡¯s hand then turned and left abruptly. The two girls naturally did not want to stay behind and be gawked at. They followed him, picked up the goose-yellow colored desk and continued walking towards their home. As the crowd gossiped and pointed at them, Lingjing quietly said, ¡°I saw sis Yahan¡¯s small car earlier. It was parked by the plaza and she was in it.¡± ¡°She was there and didn¡¯t come help, what a disgrace,¡± Jiaming said. ¡°But, Jiaming, you were really awesome just now. Breaking that person¡¯s finger was kinda dumb; however, if you hadn¡¯t rushed up, I would¡¯ve gotten kicked.¡± ¡°Since I was so awesome, what kind of reward do I get?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it when we get home.¡± ¡°Oooh, Shasha you want it again¡­¡± The three of them chatted with each other and peals of laughter could be heard occasionally as they disappeared into the afterglow of the setting sun. Back at the plaza, in the cheap small car, Yahan was currently expressing her doubts to a middle-aged man sitting in her back seat. ¡°Mr. Chen, why didn¡¯t you let me leave just now? When that kind of conflict between students occurs, teachers have the responsibility to step in.¡± ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t it fine now? I just feel that that child¡­ is quite interesting. Has he studied martial arts before?¡± ¡°Martial arts¡­¡± Yahan was startled but did not show it as she wondered if that old man had seen something. She only said, ¡°Are you talking about the finger breaking? His name is Gu Jiaming, he has trained in martial arts before. He¡¯s actually my junior brother, but it¡¯s only at a regular martial arts hall. We have just learn some simple fighting techniques, and he is considered the stupidest student there. He only knows very standard moves and does not know how to apply the techniques. When forced to fight someone, he usually just runs away. Does Mr. Chen think there¡¯s something special about him?¡± As she asked this, she kept her unease in check and observed Chen Guxia from her rearview mirror. This middle-aged man was said to be a national martial arts expert. Since he was quite knowledgeable about qigong, was he be able to see something from Jiaming¡¯s actions? As Chen Guxia still did not say anything, she continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything. It just seems that his luck is rather good since he was quite clumsy.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not luck.¡± Chen Guxia shook his head, ¡°He acted with precision both times and grasped the situation quite accurately. If he usually runs away, we could consider him to be the type of person that can perform extremely well when he¡¯s cornered. He has some good qualities, but doesn¡¯t usually use them. If he were to overcome those inner obstacles, then he would definitely achieve great results. Oh, the school is starting a martial arts class, I could try to guide him¡­¡± When Yahan heard him say that, she relaxed and the small car continued steadily advancing into Sacred Heart Institute. Jiaming did not have prophetic abilities, so he naturally did not know that this ¡°martial arts expert¡± wanted to make him his disciple. When Jiaming returned home, his only concern at that moment was to satisfied his two young wives¡¯ needs. ¡°Hey, I gotta ask¡­ why are you so excited today, it¡¯s not even night time yet¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ Jiaming, you were so awesome just now¡­¡± ¡°And Shasha and I found a good husband¡­¡± They locked up behind themselves when they returned and jumped straight to bed. The young husband did his best to satisfy his two young wives. ***** After a while, his expression turned somewhat distressed. ¡°Even though it makes me happy to hear you both say things like that, I haven¡¯t eaten yet¡­ I¡¯m really hungry¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ But we haven¡¯t bought any groceries¡­ and it¡¯s already getting dark¡­¡± ¡°We were too excited to get home¡­¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± The young husband sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll just eat noodles.¡± ¡°Then¡­ who¡¯s going to cook?¡± Someone asked as they lazed around on the bed. The three of them looked at each other without moving. This scene was actually not a first, as the three of them were living a decadent married life. However, in the end, because it was two against one, the young man sighed and climbed off the bed. As he went to the kitchen to prepare dinner on his own, he heard the two young ladies giggle happily and his heart felt warm with comfort. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª In case you don¡¯t remember, Chen Guxia is that older guy with the shoulder wound a few chapters back¡­ (: 2/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 25). A mass release (hopefully), just waiting on chaps to be edited *cracks whip at Ebi* I will do my usual procedure of saying when the next chap is going to be released so you¡¯ll at least have some idea of when the next one is coming if it¡¯s not the next day XD Chapter 56 Chapter 56 ¨C A Duel Challenge TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Bright and early the next morning, Lingjing crawled out of bed and went downstairs. She was wearing a Doraemon-patterned apron and sang to herself as she started preparing breakfast. Last week had passed in a blur, and now that they had been divided into different classes, today could be considered the first day of the new semester. The dining table was an older piece of furniture that came with the apartment, and the three of them bought a warm blue-colored tablecloth to cover it. During meal times, the two girls liked to take off their slippers and either swung them, or tangled their legs with Jiaming as they rested on him. Occasionally, Jiaming would be bothered by them, so he would use the other side of his chopsticks to jab at the soles of the two girls¡¯ feet which would cause them to quickly retreat. Of course, if they were overly excited, it could lead to a slightly different explosive situation. It was difficult to know how the situation would evolve as children are usually unrestrained. They went to school together, each holding their own lunch boxes. They set up a time to meet at noon at a certain location in the beautiful school building, then headed to their own classes. There were six classrooms on each floor of the school building: Lingjing¡¯s classroom was the first one on the second floor, Jiaming¡¯s was the last one on the second floor, and Shasha¡¯s was the first one on the first floor. The three of them could be considered as being completely separated from each other. The classroom was still a noisy room, full with a crowd of strangers, but the main thing that was different was that it was much more spacious and brighter than their old one. The desks were also cleaner and more beautiful, and there was a computer monitor screen in the front top corner of the classroom. At the teaching podium, a beautiful female student was currently writing the names of each student on the blackboard. As school had just started and there were no assigned seats, Jiaming headed to the back corner seat and placed his bag down. Unexpectedly, in the crowd of noisy students, he discovered an acquaintance. It was the fatty that used to bully him: Huang Haobing. As a matter of fact, this past relationship between the two of them had lasted when and before he was ten years old. Ever since he had been reborn and met Shasha, Huang Haobing no longer dared to provoke him. Because Jiaming, Lingjing and Shasha started hanging out together, Jiaming usually returned to the Huang family¡¯s mansion late at night and there was a very low chance of them interacting. Today, the sixteen year old Huang Haobing could no longer be considered a fatty, but was a burly young man instead. He still had the tendency to bully people, but he had not caused any incidents lately. It was also common knowledge amongst the Huang family that he played basketball quite well. When Huang Haobing caught sight of Jiaming, he actually gave him a friendly wave and Jiaming returned it with a smile. Then he sat down at his desk and prepared to go to sleep. After being in a half-awake state for an unknown amount of time, a certain feeling suddenly roused him. There was someone nearby jabbering on and on. ¡°Ms. Tsukichi, I¡¯m really sorry about the situation a few days ago. Please accept my sincere apologies¡­¡± When he opened his eyes, a large fresh bouquet of red roses dazzled him. The person holding these flowers was one of the leaders that had started the riot in the plaza, Lui family¡¯s Lui Fang. The female student wearing a refreshing set of light blue casual clothes that he was apologizing profusely to, had not looked at Lui Fang once. Her eyes widened when she saw Jiaming and then she bowed politely at him, before asking him in not fully proficient Chinese, ¡°Fellow student, is there anyone sitting beside you?¡± Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s voice was as indifferent and cool as before, like a refreshing spring in the middle of this scorching summer heat. It was so frosty that it gave Jiaming shivers. If he knew that this woman would be so troublesome, he would rather have let her hang herself¡­ However, those thoughts just flashed by quickly and he ended up nodding, ¡°There¡¯s no one. Please feel free to sit.¡± He actually wanted to say, ¡°If you want to die then feel free to sit there¡± but it was a pity that Tsukichi Kaoru had not been learning Chinese for long and so would have been unable to pick up on his sarcasm. At this aristocratic school, the rich children were exposed to relationships between men and women way earlier than usual, and it was not a big deal for someone to gift roses. However Lui Fang¡¯s loud voice attracted many people¡¯s attention. He was still jabbering away non-stop, when suddenly the classroom door opened and several people appeared. A big male student in a sports suit led the way, while a few people behind him looked into the classroom and pointed. Jiaming¡¯s memory was quite good, so he recognized that two of them were from yesterday¡¯s incident with the soccer ball. Sure enough, that male student along with his group of people walked towards them, then he patted Lui Fang on the shoulder, ¡°Hey, Ah Fang, why are you also here?¡± ¡°I came over to apologize.¡± Lui Fang raised the bundle of roses in his hand, ¡°Ah Cheng, you also came over. Is that kid in this class?¡± ¡°Un, it¡¯s that guy behind you.¡± That big male student said, then slammed on Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯s desk before pointing at Jiaming, ¡°Hey you, elementary school student, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Gu Jiaming,¡± Jiaming yawned and smiled faintly. ¡°Gu Jiaming¡­ come with me.¡± The big male student beckoned. Before Jiaming had a chance to respond, another voice suddenly interrupted, ¡°Lui Fang! Han Gangcheng! What are you doing in this class?!¡± It was the female student that had been writing names on the blackboard just a moment ago. She rushed over and pushed aside the male student¡¯s hand. It seemed that she knew the two of them, and when Lui Fang saw her, he smiled and said, ¡°Dongfang Wan, it¡¯s none of your business. You¡¯ve just entered this class, and you already want to stand up for someone you don¡¯t even know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of standing up for someone. The teacher made me this class¡¯ monitor, so I will not allow you guys to just disrupt it! You both must be very free to have time to come into this class and bully someone without any reason!¡± ¡°For no reason?¡± That Lui Fang smiled briefly, ¡°You know that incident yesterday afternoon by the school gates? That kid fractured Lu Jianchuan¡¯s ribs and broke his finger. He won¡¯t be able to join the mixed martial arts competition this year, and you¡¯re saying that it¡¯s for no reason?¡± Hearing this, Dongfang Wan turned to look at the innocent-looking Jiaming. At the same time, Huang Haobing that was sitting at the front started laughing. ¡°Haha, and I was wondering who got into a fight. Cousin, you¡¯re really awesome. It must be due to that Ye Martial Art¡¯s School, right? I also want to join this summer.¡± Jiaming sighed, ¡°I accidentally collided with him¡­ There were so many of them bullying us, and the most I could do was break his finger¡­¡± ¡°Huang Haobing, he¡¯s your cousin?¡± Lui Fang revealed a stunned expression, before that Han Gangcheng spoke up, ¡°So what if you¡¯re part of the Huang family. He caused Ah Chuan to become like this! I have to resolve this matter today no matter what. Dongfang Wan, even if your brother was here, he would not be able to stop me!¡± Dongfan Wan did not back away and raised her head instead, ¡°No matter how you say it, you think I don¡¯t know happened? A lot of people know about yesterday¡¯s situation. You and your bunch of friends saw how beautiful his two friends were and deliberately caused trouble. The soccer ball hit that girl¡¯s head and if it was me, I would¡¯ve beaten you all up as well!¡± ¡°Ok, ok, everyone¡­¡± Lui Fang waved his hands a few times, ¡°We¡¯re not talking about who caused trouble right now. At this point in time, Lu Jianchuan is unable to participate in the competition and it is a great loss to our martial arts club. We did not say we would gang up on him, but this situation needs to be resolved. We want to propose a one-on-one fight, just like a proper man would! After this one fight, we¡¯ll no longer pursue this matter!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a challenge, who¡¯s afraid of you!¡± Dongfang Wan declared strongly. ¡°You think our Huang family is scared of your Lui family?¡± Huang Haobing was also unwilling to back down. ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s afraid of you!¡± ¡°Then today, in the afternoon!¡± ¡°Yes, today in the afternoon!¡± ¡°After school then!¡± ¡°Fine, after school! The dojo, the gym, or the sports field, take your pick!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Lui Fang, Han Gangcheng, Dongwan Fang and Huang Haobin all shouted and completed each other¡¯s sentences while the agitated Lui Fang waved the bundle of roses in his hands and caused petals to fly everywhere. Jiaming watched on, amazed at their antics. Then shortly after, the four of them decided on a time and location, and Lui Fang and Han Gangcheng both left satisfied. Dongfang Wan and Huang Haobing felt somewhat embarrassed after they left. She smiled flusteredly at Jiaming, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem right? After school, I¡¯ll gather our class to come cheer for you, Gu¡­ um, student Gu Jiaming, haha¡­¡± After saying that she hastily returned to her seat without waiting for Jiaming to reply. Huang Haobing also smiled, and leaned on his desk to whisper, ¡°Jiaming, how good are you at fighting? Well¡­ if you¡¯re not confident, you should get Lingjing, or even Liu Huaisha, ok? One of them has won martial arts competitions, while the other has a criminal family background. No matter who Lui Fang sends out, the three of you can handle it. Hehe, you guys will win for sure!¡± After Huang Haobing finished, the bell signifying the beginning of class rang and he turned back to the front. Jiaming¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. A male teacher entered the classroom and started introducing himself, but before he could finish, a stern-looking Zhang Yahan appeared at the door. She greeted the male teacher before striding into the classroom and coldly requested, ¡°Student Gu Jiaming, please come with me.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 3/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 26). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 57 Chapter 57 ¨C Mediation Match (First part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Do you know what happened to the two that you beat up yesterday?¡± A stern, righteous face took a look around, before closing the door behind them and drew the curtains, before Yahan¡¯s expression changed to a smirk. ¡°Broken ribs and a fractured finger, someone said it earlier. Did you call me over just to tell me that?¡± Jiaming sat down on a chair in the office, then casually turned on the computer in passing and Yahan was put off by his actions. She looked at him, ¡°I have to put up an appearance at least. Also, the other guy, his injures was even more¡­¡± ¡°He has two broken thumbs, lost at least seven to eight teeth, has a dislocated jaw that isn¡¯t too big of issue though, and a nose that might be broken as well¡­ does your computer have access to internet?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to use the internet¡­ get lost, that¡¯s my seat!¡± Yahan smiled, walked over, and then sat on the desk right in front of the computer monitor, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I was there last night. I told them that you were part of the Huang family, so they would not dare to cause too much of a ruckus. However, I heard that you agreed to do a one-on-one duel with the people from the martial arts club?¡± ¡°Are you actually an exchange student?¡± Jiaming moved the computer screen over, ¡°That duel is obviously not something I promised. There¡¯s a Dongfan Wan in my class, I think she¡¯s part of the Dongfang family? I was planning to let them take care of it in the afternoon.¡± Yahan scoffed and then kicked the chair¡¯s armrest with her high-heels, ¡°In your dreams. Dongfang Wan¡¯s brother, Dongfang Lu is the student council¡¯s president. Since she and Huang Haobing spoke up for you and you didn¡¯t reject it, even if you wanted to escape, I guarantee that you won¡¯t be able to leave at all. Oi, speaking of which, if you want to hide your strength, you should be careful.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Yesterday when you were fighting, I went to the airport to pick up two teachers and I heard from above that they are a big deal. One is a woman around my age; she¡¯s here to be the school doctor. The other is reported to be a martial arts expert, but I just thought that it was his reputation. When he saw you fight yesterday though, he said that you had potential and he wanted to be your teacher. It gave me a scare, but it was a good thing you hid your skills well.¡± ¡°Martial arts expert? What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Chen Guxia.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Jiaming¡¯s face changed slightly. It seemed that he had caused a butterfly effect. In his previous timeline that old guy was still undercover at Peroka at this time and would not be discovered until a few years later. It seemed that transferring seven billion dollars from Peroka at the end of June had really caused a large storm. ¡°What, you know him? Is he really strong?¡± Yahan hurriedly questioned as she saw Jiaming¡¯s serious expression. ¡°Yeah, I heard from my teacher that he¡¯s not bad.¡± Jiaming smiled, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really mind if other people find out about me ¡ª I¡¯m just only slightly better at fighting. It¡¯s just that when Lingjing and Shasha find out, they¡¯ll definitely kill me. You know them¡­ They¡¯re both always using me to gain confidence¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re always saying that it¡¯s because of your teacher¡­ I¡¯mma smack you. Is it actually because of your teacher though? Is this why you¡¯re hiding your skills?¡± ¡°I have a clean background, student Yahan. What are you saying? Are you suggesting that I would join a triad just because I¡¯m able to fight?¡± Yahan stared blankly at him for a bit before continuing, ¡°Hmm, you really do treat them well. ¡­Oi, what¡¯s this about some system files, can you not mess around with it? If you want to play around, can you just do it on the desktop?¡± ¡°Get lost, you computer illiterate. I¡¯m helping you optimize your computer, it¡¯s only 32MB of memory, what a pain¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a kid, how would you know how to use a computer. Don¡¯t be ridiculous! The computer has my school-related files as well as my save file for a game. If you destroy them I have to start all over, ah¡­ help¡­¡± The two of them squandered the time for quite a while. When the first class came to an end, Jiaming exited the office in an extremely deferential manner, ¡°I am very sorry, Teacher Zhang. It is all my fault. I will not be so rash next time.¡± ¡°Hmph, if this happens again, you won¡¯t be let off so easily! You can return to your class now.¡± Yahan was wearing the pair of ugly glasses, and her gaze was full of righteousness. The students passing by pointed and whispered, ¡°Poor guy! Not sure what he did wrong, but last time, I got lectured by her for a full hour. She nagged me so much¡­¡± When Jiaming heard them he could hardly hold back his laughter and his facial muscles were twitching. When he returned to the classroom, some students that had been lectured by Yahan before looked at him with sympathy. The language and literature textbooks had been distributed, and one was lying on Jiaming¡¯s desk. By his side, Tsukichi Kaoru was currently flipping through the textbook. Her eyes were looking at it coldly, and her forehead was slightly wrinkled ¡ª it seemed that she found the chinese text somewhat difficult to read. She gently tipped her head at him when he sat down and quietly whispered, ¡°Gu-kun, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Jiaming looked around, then said, ¡°I have already said I did not want to be associated with you. Why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but¡­ I came here this time, because I¡¯m hoping that Gu-kun could help me reach a higher understanding of Ikesakura Senmaboroshi¡­¡± ¡°Ikesakura Senmaboroshi is part of your family¡¯s secret. How would I be able to enlighten you on that? If you want to be stronger, shouldn¡¯t you go find Amau Masanori?¡± ¡°That was what Amau-kun suggested after the engagement announcement. Amau-kun doesn¡¯t know the secret to Ikesakura Senmaboroshi. However, according to his speculation, since Gu-kun was able to execute it to such a degree, you must be very familiar with similar types of martial arts. He thought that if I were to learn these skills from you, I would be able to improve on my current Ikesakura Senmaboroshi as well. He also suggested that I go study in China because there were many different types and sects of martial arts, and the origin of Japanese martial arts had come from China. Unfortunately, when it comes to the people I know in China¡­ it¡¯s only you, Gu-kun¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m already contemplating on whether to kill you or not! If you want to study martial arts, go find a dojo, don¡¯t come bother me!¡± Jiaming turned his head away and ignored her. Shortly after, he heard a quiet, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± In the following two classes, new teachers entered to introduce themselves and to give out textbooks. The Dongfang Wan girl was very active in the class and helped with distributing them. When she got to Jiaming¡¯s desk, she said, ¡°Good luck in the afternoon.¡± Tsukichi Kaoru continued struggling with reading unfamiliar Chinese words, occasionally glancing at Jiaming, but did not dare to say anything else. After the morning classes, Jiaming met up with Lingjing and Shasha at the school cafeteria for lunch. The two girls had also been harrassed by the members of the martial arts club, but no one had challenged them. When the competition in the afternoon was mentioned, the two girls were somewhat incensed. ¡°What bullies! Jiaming, did you actually agree?¡± Lingjing asked anxiously. ¡°I should do it instead; I¡¯m not scared of them. Hey¡­ Jiaming, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re scared of it, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Shasha said, worried that she had insulted Jiaming¡¯s pride. After all, running away in front of people they knew was not an issue; however, once there were strangers involved, boys of Jiaming¡¯s age were usually worried about their pride. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll go. Besides, I¡¯ve already thought about what to do.¡± Jiaming smiled encouragingly, ¡°I only need to keep running and dodging, tire him out, and make him super angry. Relax, if I really can¡¯t win, I¡¯ll admit defeat since it¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡± ¡°Well, admitting defeat isn¡¯t a bad thing. Men should not just be all about fighting.¡± Lingjing blushed slightly as she held Jiaming¡¯s hand, ¡°You¡¯re really admirable.¡± Shasha looked around, then placed her hand on top of theirs, ¡°You can do it!¡± Not much happened at school that day, apart from giving out textbooks. In the evening, when the bell rang signifying the end of school, Jiaming got surrounded and was escorted by a crowd of spectators to the gymnasium. In the center of the spacious basketball court, a boxing ring had been set up. Around a dozen members of the martial arts club were waiting inside, and a lot of the spectators had entered from the side door and taken their seats on the stands. As Jiaming took a look around, he saw Yahan wave at him. She was also sitting next to the sharp-eyed middle-aged man, Chen Guxia. Lingjing and Shasha had also taken a seat in the spectator stands and were on Jiaming¡¯s side. Shasha was holding her favorite baseball bat and looked like she was ready to use it if anything went wrong. Seeing Jiaming arrive, Han Gangcheng detached himself from the other martial arts club members and walked towards him, accompanied by a dashing male student who was wearing a sports uniform. When he got close to Jiaming, the male student smiled and extended his hand, ¡°Hello student Gu Jiaming. I am Dongfang Lu, Dongfang Wan¡¯s second brother. I will also be the referee of this friendly match. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 4/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 27). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I were working on the first ebook release for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B461V7H! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? https://gravitytales.com/vote Chapter 58 Chapter 58 ¨C Mediation Match (Middle part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi It was a common thing for the clubs at Sacred Heart Institute to hold a competition; sometimes it would be clubs against clubs, sometimes it would be a club against a person. Because this school had many wealthy students, they were mostly acquainted with each other. If a few of them had some conflict, they would mobilize all their connections and it could end up evolving into a catastrophic incident. Thus, the school usually had the attitude of keeping one eye open and one eye closed to these somewhat barbarous challenges. If these competitions could resolve the conflict between the two parties, as long as there were no heavy injuries and no one died, they were allowed. Therefore, when Dongfang Wan and Huang Haobing had accepted the challenge without consulting with Jiaming, even though it was brash, it was actually the simplest way to solve the conflict. If he was unable to fight, as long as he let himself be beaten up, his actions could be considered as an apology. However, according to Huang Haobing¡¯s reasoning, as long as those two girls were allowed on stage, their opponents would be unable to beat them. At most the martial arts club would have to surrender or grudgingly apologize instead. As it was the first ¡°mediation match¡± since the start of school, it had attracted a lot of people¡¯s attention. The gymnasium was very large and did not feel crowded despite the few hundred people within it. Some of them had brought their lunches, some had snacks while chatting with each other, there were also some teachers like Yahan and Chen Guxia who were bored and came to observe the situation. Downstairs, on the stadium, the student council president, Dongfang Lu, said a few cursory words of politeness, then stated that the loser of this match would have to make a public apology and take full responsibility for the bet. Then he started explaining the rules of the competition. However, halfway through, Jiaming somewhat embarrassedly raised an objection. ¡°Uh, that¡­ I don¡¯t feel like it seems too fair?¡± ¡°Hmm? Does student Jiaming have an objection?¡± Dongfang Lu smilingly inquired, while Han Gangcheng thought Jiaming wanted to withdraw, and interjected, ¡°You scared? Forget it, we¡¯re definitely doing this today, so just take the beating!¡± When Shasha heard him, she frowned and wanted to rush up to the boxing ring, but Lingjing hurriedly pulled her back. Shasha had a simple plan, she just wanted to rush up there and give that hateful boy a beating, not caring about the consequences as long as Jiaming did not have to participate in that match today. Of the two girls, Lingjing¡¯s personality was gentle on the outside and hard like steel on the inside. She usually seemed good-natured, but was actually quite stubborn and opinionated. Shasha on the other hand, was exactly the opposite ¡ª she seemed impatient and reckless, but was actually quite gentle and caring on the inside. As long as Jiaming was alright, she did not care about her pride or what she had to do. Jiaming threw a quick consoling look at the two girls before saying, ¡°The thing is, I¡¯ve always only been a sparring partner at the martial arts school and have never taken part in competitions. I¡¯ve gotten into fights before, but with so many rules, how would I be able to remember them? He¡¯s different though, he always does this kind of thing and he can adapt to any rules. So aren¡¯t you clearly favoring him?¡± Han Gangcheng did not know whether to laugh or not as he raised his eyebrow, ¡°Then what kind of rules do you want to set? I¡¯m not going to back down.¡± ¡°Apart from no weapons allowed, anything goes. If one leaves the ring, they lose. If one surrenders, they lose. If one gets beaten up until they can¡¯t get up, they lose!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to be afraid of that? I see that you¡¯ve never been beaten to pulp before!¡± Han Gangcheng laughed as they had investigated Jiaming thoroughly. Even though he went to the Ye¡¯s martial arts hall, it seemed that he did not learn anything and mostly assisted with holding the practice target pads. If anything happened, the two girls that were always with him would step up. Even though Lu Jianchuan had been injured quite severely yesterday, it was determined to be an accident. As to the time he kicked the soccer ball, his leg power did not seem bad. However, as someone who had no training, once he entered the ring, it was not like he could fly. Since both sides had agreed on this, Dongfang Lu announced the new set of rules. When Chen Guxia heard what was said in the ring, he could not help but be amused as well, ¡°Well, it is true that there were too many rules for someone who hasn¡¯t gone through training. However, in an actual fight, things like jabbing at eyes or a sneaky move like kicking at their lower body wouldn¡¯t be that easy to do. Teacher Zhang, what are student Gu Jiaming¡¯s usual tactics?¡± ¡°His tactics?¡± Yahan thought briefly before a smirk slipped through. She nodded her head and then said unhesitatingly, ¡°He¡¯s very deceitful!¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Hearing her assessment, Chen Guxia doubtfully asked, ¡°Does he often use some underhanded tricks when at the dojo?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ ah¡­ haha, it¡¯s not that.¡± Having said that, Yahan felt that she had over-exaggerated. As his friend, she should not have slandered him, so she hurried to explain, ¡°He¡¯s usually very sincere, behaves with integrity, and his grades are average. I said he was deceitful, but I was just joking. When he goes into the sparring ring, haha, he usually just runs away.¡± ¡°Runs away? Was there a situation when he was forced to be in the sparring ring?¡± ¡°Oh no, I meant that when he¡¯s in the ring, he would just run around in it.¡± Chen Guxia looked at her skeptically, ¡°You mean he would just run around within the constraints of the ring without getting caught?¡± Yahan smiled helplessly as she shrugged, ¡°Of course he¡¯s not successful every time. He¡¯s afraid of getting into a fight so he would run, jump and roll around when he¡¯s in the arena. If he¡¯s in a situation where he can¡¯t run, he¡¯s really skillful at defending due to being used to holding the target practice pads. Haha, let¡¯s just watch the competition.¡± Down on the stage, Jiaming and Han Gangcheng both entered the ring. As soon as Dongfang Lu announced the start, Jiaming instantly protected his head and face with both arms. Han Gangcheng smirked internally, before suddenly sweeping his leg at Jiaming. That move was followed swiftly by a second kick, a third kick and then four sharp punches in a row. This series of seven moves were executed very smoothly. Chen Guxia straightened up when he saw those moves and smiled, ¡°Oh, not bad. But, such a pity¡­¡± Jiaming had easily dodged them all. Both arms still raised, Jiaming¡¯s position was very orthodox and could even be considered as a teaching standard. However, because Jiaming had passively resisted him, when Han Gangcheng had moved back expecting an attack, but did not get any, his concentration wavered slightly. He watched Jiaming¡¯s posture and where he could dodge to, feeling somewhat puzzled at what Jiaming was doing. Naturally, he did not give it much thought. Afterall, when they had researched him, it had been clearly reported that Gu Jiaming was only good at dodging. Han Gangcheng¡¯s moves from earlier had already forced his opponent to the side of the ring, and with another smirk, he fiercely aimed a sweeping kick at Jiaming¡¯s waist. Let¡¯s see how you can dodge now! After this strike, Jiaming retreated another step and was forced to the corner of the ring. Han Gangcheng used this opportunity to continuously throw punches at him. When he saw Jiaming suddenly lower his body, he was long prepared with his knee to block him. If Jiaming were to dodge or flee to the side, then he would be kneed directly in the face. However, just in the last moment, Jiaming actually managed to throw himself out of the corner. I only managed to knee the air? ¡°What flexible movements!¡± Chen Guxia clapped when he saw this, but his applause drowned out by the surrounding booing from the crowd. When Jiaming made this jump, his body had been extremely low and almost seemed like he would have fallen out of the ring, which was out of Han Gangcheng¡¯s calculations. He turned back to look at Jiaming, who was currently standing in the center of the ring with his arms still raised to protect his head. He was professionally bobbing left and right on his feet, without the slightest intention of attacking. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Just hit him already! What is this even?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a man, you just keep dodging!¡± The audience jeered at the match, but Jiaming completely ignored them and did not attack. Han Gangcheng felt somewhat embarrassed, but he still cautiously advanced forward and took the offensive again. As before, Jiaming¡¯s movements did not change and he kept dodging. Every time he was forced into a corner, he would somehow be able to escape from it by using all sorts of ways and unimaginable movements. After around five minutes of this, Lingjing and Shasha were both laughing so hard they almost collapsed. Shasha had personally experienced this type of oppressing feeling when fighting against Jiaming before, so everytime Jiaming was forced to fight someone else, she would be extremely excited. This was because she was no longer alone in having to experience this type of frustration¡­ Amidst the boos and jeers of the audience, Han Gangcheng felt like a fool. He no longer felt like he was the protagonist of this match as everyone was watching the running and jumping monkey instead. Somewhere within the crowd, Yahan was clutching her stomach in pain. At school, she was a stern witch, so she had to try very hard to hold back her laughter. By her side, Chen Guxia was laughing heartily. To him, this was just a very interesting performance from the younger generation. ¡°Fantastic, this is great! That kid has a high aptitude for learning martial arts. He¡¯s extremely flexible and has good instincts. The only drawback is that he doesn¡¯t attack; it must be a mental block. I have seen such children before. As long as they¡¯re carefully groomed, the results would be quite satisfactory. If he was able to put this agility towards attacking¡­ hehe¡­¡± As he said this, the venue suddenly quieted down because at that moment, Jiaming finally attacked. It was the first time he had taken the offensive since he had entered the ring and it hit the target¡¯s face extremely accurately, yielding spectacular results. Before Han Gangcheng could react, Jiaming had already escaped out of reach and returned back to the middle of the ring. His arms were still raised to protect his head and he continued bobbing left and right on his feet. ¡°You¡­¡± Han Gangcheng turned around and rubbed his right cheek disbelievingly. It felt moist, slimy and slippery¡­ It was a mouthful of spit¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 5/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 28). Aaaaaaaaa deadlines, so close to the end of the month lol, I hope you¡¯re enjoying the mass release OTL Ebi and I are working hard OTL If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I had the first ebook released for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C ! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? Chapter 59 Chapter 59 ¨C Mediation Match (End part) TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi How¡­ how shameless¡­ The audience was completely silent. Han Gangcheng gritted his teeth and spat out, ¡°You¡­ You actually spat on me¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jiaming seemed faintly startled, ¡°Were there any rules against spitting? You can spit on me too!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Han Gangcheng was filled with righteous indignation, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any competitive spirit?!¡± Many people agreed with his shout, and it seemed that the whole audience was on his side. Jiaming helplessly spread his hands, ¡°Competitive spirit? Please, you guys forced me to do this match. I never promised anything.¡± When he said that, the audience was slightly stunned. It was true that even though this was called a ¡°competition¡±, the members of the martial arts club could not consider this to be an official competition. They just wanted to beat up that brat on stage in order to humiliate him and make him lose his pride. Dongfang Wan, who was sitting near the stage felt somewhat embarrassed, because this competition was not something Jiaming had agreed on. She had been the brash one who had agreed to it on his behalf. Now that she thought about it, she was not even on familiar terms with him, and since she had made a decision for him, it was somewhat unreasonable. But then she changed her mind and felt somewhat annoyed. It was just a mediation match, it was not like there was another way to resolve the situation. She frowned as she watched Gu Jiaming, feeling irritated. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± In the arena, Han Gangcheng finally could not take it anymore and threw himself at Jiaming with all his might. Chen Guxia rubbed his forehead as he watched the fight, not knowing what to expect next from the kid. ¡°Huh¡­ Student Han is obviously infuriated. Even though the result is good, that tactic used seems a bit¡­¡± He was a martial arts expert, but he was also a member of Ancestral Awakening. Being picky during a competition is fine, but when it came to life and death situations, as long as one survived, any tactic could be used. He was currently evaluating the competition partially as an martial arts expert, and also partially as someone who would do whatever was necessary to survive. This other side of him also understood that student Gu Jiaming had been cornered to such an extent that his actions were excusable. His opponent wanted to humiliate him, so Jiaming did not feel any qualms about using that kind of tactic. Chen Guxia could not help but smile weirdly at Yahan as he turned to look at her. ¡°Teacher Zhang, how does student Jiaming act usually¡­¡± ¡°Oh, haha¡­ He usually doesn¡¯t like to get into fights. If there¡¯s no way to avoid it and he¡¯s forced to fight, he¡­ he usually panics¡­ haha¡­¡± ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s like that. He seems to have a good character and his temperament does not appear to be that bad. Since it¡¯s hard for him to not panic, as long as he gets the right guidance¡­¡± Hearing that Chen Guxia still did not seem to have given up on teaching Jiaming martial arts, Yahan felt slightly anxious. She internally chided that brat for playing around with his opponent. He could have done something else, but he chose to spit on him instead. Not only was that disgraceful, it made her feel dirty as well. Jiaming might have as well just defeated him with two or three punches or kicks and be done with the competition already. At this moment, the competition seemed to have reached its climax, or perhaps one could say that Han Gangcheng¡¯s mental state had already reached its peak. Jiaming not only managed to dodge every wave of attack, but he even managed to escape further away from him as well. In response, Han Gangcheng kept attacking him non-stop by trying not to give him any breathing space at all. Under this frenzied wave of attacks, Jiaming¡¯s dodging did not seem as miraculous as before. Sometimes it seemed that he was unable to avoid the attack and a few attacks did land on him before he could escape. Even though his posture was still very orthodox, he was slowly being beaten, and almost everyone in the audience believed that he would lose any moment now. The entire stadium was filled with cheering for Han Gangcheng. ¡°You can do it!¡± ¡°Faster, faster! Don¡¯t give him any room to escape!¡± ¡°Hit him harder! Hit him!¡± Amidst the cheering crowd, two girls tightly clenched their fists in worry as they nervously watched the fight; A dodge, another dodge, a block, good, Jiaming you can do it, hang in there¡­ On the stage, Han Gangcheng ferociously assaulted Jiaming. As some of his punches were now landing on Jiaming, he had finally grown complacent. Two of his attacks landed on Jiaming¡¯s arms while his third punch missed. He immediately stepped back and followed up with a spinning kick. As long as he attacked fast enough, that brat would not be able to keep dodging for long. Even if he kept his guard up, Han Gangcheng figured that he would be able to outlast his opponent as long as his attacks landed, and he would be able to grind him down. Dodge, dodge, keep dodging, let¡¯s see how long you can keep it up¡­ Every minute and every second of the fight passed intensely. The whole stadium was resounding with cheers for Han Gangcheng; as Shasha did not want to appear weak, she stood up and loudly shouted, ¡°Jiaming, you can do it! Jiaming! Jiaming, go, go, go!¡± Unfortunately, her voice was easily drowned out by the rest of the audience. An attack, a dodge, another attack, a block, so close! You can do it! By this point, Jiaming¡¯s situation had become rather difficult, while Han Gangcheng continued with wave after wave of fierce attacks. It seemed that the mood of the audience was one with Han Gangcheng, as they wholeheartedly encouraged him to chase after the retreating opponent. Han Gangcheng¡¯s daily training also started to show its effect during this ten minutes of never-ending powerful and nimble attacks. It was getting increasingly difficult to react to this storm of attacks¡­ Amateurs were captivated by the fierce action, while the experienced watched for their skills and abilities. The audience as a whole thoroughly enjoyed the scene however. The members of the martial arts club admired Han Gangcheng, and even Chen Guxia could not help but praise him, ¡°Yes, this is the result of hard-work and daily training. Not bad at all. Being capable to continuously attack for more than ten minutes means that his stamina and body are well trained and his movements are skillful. The fact that student Jiaming has been able to evade for so long is impressive, but I¡¯m afraid he might not be able to last any longer¡­¡± However, as soon as Chen Guxia finished speaking, the originally animated audience suddenly fell into a deep cold silence. The people that were in the midst of cheering fell quiet as they could not believe their eyes¡­ In the arena, Jiaming had made a move once again. This could be considered the first time he made a proper move, because it was an extremely orthodox move. He acted in the midst of Hang Gangcheng¡¯s flurry of attacks. Han Gangcheng had been so caught up in the fact that Jiaming was only dodging and retreating that he was completely caught off guard when Jiaming kicked out. In fact, everyone found it completely unexpected. In the ring, Han Gangcheng¡¯s legs trembled, and he stumbled back. He painfully covered the area in between his legs. His eyes rolled back, and he slowly leaned back, hitting the ground. He was in such agonizing pain that his mouth warped into an exaggerated ¡®O¡¯ shape and it seemed like his soul was about to fly out¡­ Oh~ Oh~ Oh~ It seemed like he was hearing the song of heaven right now¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª 6/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 29). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I had the first ebook released for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C ! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? Chapter 60 Chapter 60 ¨C Advertisement and Killing Intent TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Arghhhhhhh¡­¡± Han Gangcheng¡¯s mournful cry echoed in the gymnasium. He was lying on the ground, curled up like a shrimp. All the spectating male students winced as if they felt the pain expressed by his posture as well. Within the whole gymnasium, Chen Guxia was probably the only one that stood up and applauded. From the very beginning, when he heard Jiaming suggest a change to the rules, he had guessed what the boy wanted to do. In a regular competition, attacks against the throat and genitals were forbidden. Since Gu Jiaming knew that he was at a disadvantage, he had come up with a game plan that Han Gangcheng had overlooked. If Han Gangcheng had been more cautious, or at least had not attacked unrestrainedly, Jiaming would not have been able to find an opening. However, due to that mouthful of spit followed by patiently enduring ten minutes of continuous attacks¡­ If the boy had planned everything from the very beginning, then he was a rare talent, with terrifying foresight. The worst trait of a genius was their pride, and the fact that they would not be putting their talent to good use. However, the child in front of him clearly had the ability, but was not willing to use it on others; even if he were to make a move, it was used for escaping. However, once he had been forced to such an extent, he acted ruthlessly. In other words, this situation could only be described as Han Gangcheng bringing trouble to himself. It was rare to find a child with such a temperament. Of course, this assessment was made after the fact; regardless of whether the child had planned it in advance, or adapted to the situation, he still had excellent abilities, even if his tactics had been somewhat exaggerated¡­ The exaggeration must have been due to him being backed into a corner. ¡°Hey, this¡­ this counts as me winning, right¡­¡± In the ring, when Jiaming saw that Han Gangcheng did not show any signs of getting up again, he let out a relieved sigh and looked around to find Dongfang Lu. When he naively asked that, loud shouts of anger ¡ªmostly by the members of the martial arts club¡ª arose in the gym. ¡°Shameless!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare run!¡± The arena instantly became crowded as people wearing martial arts uniforms rushed onto the stage. Some went to attend to Han Gangcheng, yelling for a doctor, while others rushed towards Jiaming, shouting and preventing him from leaving. When Shasha saw the situation was about to turn violent, she hurriedly retrieved her baseball bat and rushed towards the arena together with Lingjing. However they were a bit too late ¡ª the ring had already been completely surrounded by people. Although Dongfang Lu tried to obstruct the martial arts club members, there were too many troublemakers that wanted to fan the flames. They hoped to see Jiaming getting beaten, and if it came to that point, they might even want to join in as well. Seeing that it was possible for the situation to further escalate, Chen Guxia wanted to jump down into the ring to help control the situation, but just as he was about to do this, one of the club members that was closer to Han Gangcheng broke through and rushed towards the trapped Jiaming. It seemed that the much awaited scene had finally arrived! ¡°Wa¡ªaah¡ª¡ª!¡± Another piercing shriek resounded throughout the gym, the club member that had rushed forward sounded like he was being raped as he covered his eyes and fell to the ground in pain just like Han Gangcheng. Seeing that his painful cries were as exaggerated as Han Gangcheng¡¯s, the audience looked down in between the pitiful member¡¯s legs, then at Jiaming, and realized that he was holding a can of anti-wolf spray. ¡°Oh, he should be sent to the hospital, water won¡¯t wash it out.¡± Jiaming shook the spray can and then slowly put the cap back on. He spotted Shasha who was currently running down, turned and said, ¡°Actually¡­ I still have something to say¡­¡± The audience was so stunned by his actions, that they listened to what he wanted to talk about. He took out the can of anti-wolf spray again, and hesitatingly said, ¡°Um, this is a can of a special mix of anti-wolf spray. It¡¯s a lot stronger, so if anyone would like to buy one, it only costs 168 kuai a can, thank you¡­¡± Ever since this aristocratic school had been established until now, there had probably never been such a farce. A fight had just ended up as an advertisement. The thoughts of the crowd were very split up: some of those who had found Jiaming despicable earlier, were speechless now; some found the whole situation absolutely entertaining, while others did not know whether to laugh or not as their face muscles twitched. Jiaming exited the sparring ring and Shasha was there waiting for him. It seemed that she wanted to rush up and hug him like at home, but ended up holding herself back. She only nudged him gently with her baseball bat, while Lingjing smiled and said, ¡°You actually advertised it, so shameless¡­¡± Jiaming only shrugged, and was about to speak, when Lingjing continued, ¡°Oh right, Jiaming. Wanna guess who I saw just now?¡± ¡°Who did you see?¡± ¡°When I went to the bathroom just now, I bumped into Tsukichi Kaoru! The riot that happened over the Japanese girl was in fact over Kaoru, and she has even learned Chinese! I just spoke to her for a bit, but was rushing to come back. She should be by the entrance of the gymnasium waiting for us right now. Let¡¯s go find her.¡± ¡°Is it really her?¡± Shasha was surprised when she heard Lingjing¡¯s news. Jiaming could only mentally sigh before smiling, ¡°Oh, Lingjing you met her already. I was going to tell you guys later. I have known it was her since morning.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Haha, yes, she¡¯s in the same class as me, so I already saw her in the morning. However I was too worried about the competition and was kind of nervous, so I forgot to mention it during lunch.¡± Lingjing smirked, ¡°You still say it was a competition¡­ are you trying to make me laugh? You were really mean¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s only ¡®cuz I had good luck. I originally thought I couldn¡¯t escape this beating, that¡¯s why I spat on him so that I could at least get my revenge. Who knew that it would lead to him revealing his weakness¡­ Haha¡­¡± The three of them laughed and exited the gymnasium. When a few students saw Jiaming pass by, they all avoided him and Jiaming could not help but recall a sentence: ¡®Ever since my name got smeared, no one would dare step on my head¡­ Sigh, being invincible is lonely.¡¯ At this point in time, he also wondered if he had gone a bit overboard with his actions. He did not care what others thought about him, in fact he would rather have people ignore him, but Lingjing and Shasha were different. They still had other friends, and had a more normal life within society. Today¡¯s situation did not involve any danger, so he thought it was only a small task he needed to deal with, but if this affected their future, then it had not been worth the trouble. As they walked out of the gymnasium, they saw Tsukichi Kaoru who was waiting for them by the entrance. After greeting her, Lingjing tugged on Kaoru¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Oh right, Jiaming, Shasha. Kaoru said that she came to China because she wanted to learn martial arts, which is just great. I wanted her to teach me English, so I will introduce her to my family¡¯s dojo. Of course, since the school is too far from the dojo during regular school days, I suggest that the three of us teach her! She could also help us with our English, after all, she¡¯s really good at it.¡± Shasha nodded in agreement, while Jiaming smiled happily. However, a sliver of cold and heavy killing intent flashed deep within his eyes. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 7/8 chapters before the end of the month (next release is tomorrow, April 30). If you missed it¡­ Ilkon and I had the first ebook released for Hidden Assassin (which consists of prologue to ch40) ???? If you would like to show your support to our team, you can get it on Amazon ¨C ! If you¡¯re interested in this novel, please consider voting for it at our Gravity Tales Ranking ???? Chapter 61 Chapter 61 ¨C Forest of the Night TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Night time. At Sacred Heart Institute, the lights in the residential area would turn off at around 11pm. In a bedroom on the second floor, a Japanese girl wearing flimsy nightwear was sitting quietly on her bed. Due to the fact that school had just started, and probably due to her nationality, the three other rooms in this student residence were unoccupied. After the lights went out, she appeared even more still and quiet. Suddenly she recalled the incident that had happened the previous day. She had multiple reasons to come to China; firstly, she wanted to avoid the annoying matters that would happen after the engagement to Amau Masanori; secondly, she was curious about the Jiaming¡¯s mysterious skills. She was unable to determine how he was able to become so incredibly strong that even Amau Masanori felt a sense of danger from him. Since her family was facing the threat of Peroka, and she was unable to be of much help, the only thing she could do was go to China and become his disciple or beg him for help. Of course, this was not immediately achievable, as Gu Jiaming knew her background clearly and had stated right at the beginning that he did not want any further connection with her. She realized that convincing him would be a slow process, and that she herself was not too sure how to go about that. In the afternoon, when she had bumped into Lingjing and mentioned that she had come to China to learn martial arts, it had appealed to Lingjing¡¯s enthusiasm and the situation had taken a turn for the worse. She could definitely feel that he had gotten angry about that. Gentle starlight was flowing into the room through the window by the balcony. Suddenly, a black figure flashed by the window and her eyes snapped opened in response. Is it him? She slightly loosened her right hand and a pitch black kodachi appeared. Not wanting to be careless, she rushed out to the balcony in her bare feet and saw the figure that had passed by her window travel along the edges of the small plaza and slip into the woods. Was it him, or was it someone from Peroka? The Tsukichi clan¡¯s power was only limited to Japan, while the assassins of Peroka were spread all across the world. Even though their influence in China could not be considered strong, when Kaoru had left home, she had been prepared for an eventual attack. She even had a pistol in her suitcase, but now¡­ Her usual pale expressionless face suddenly showed a sliver of determination. She reached out to the railing on her balcony and, still in her pajamas, she leaped over silently onto the ground and her bare feet landed on the soft soil below. A moment later, she followed the figure and rushed into the woods. In the darkness, under the blue-grey shades of the trees, specks of starlight filtered through the treetops. The woods had a pedestrian trail, and there was an open pavilion further in. If it had been earlier in the night, there would have been multiple couples that would have flocked to this area to whisper sweet nothings to each other. However, it was the middle of the night at the moment, and even if the couples had a taste of the forbidden fruit, they would not continue doing so outside. These students usually came from a good background and had more than enough money to spend on renting a hotel room. Kaoru focused on sensing her surroundings and lowered her body when moving through the woods. She kept tight control over her breathing and her presence. Suddenly, there was movement ¡ª an attack came from behind her. Her blade gleamed like a falling star as she turned and counter-attacked as quick as lightning. However, halfway through her move, she was blocked by the opponent¡¯s wrist. They had reached out with their other hand, seemingly trying to catch a hold of Kaoru. But in the next moment, she quickly twisted her knife-wielding arm like a serpent, and her body arched elegantly before disappearing. Ikesakura Senmaboroshi! In a burst of wind, the girl¡¯s body suddenly appeared next to the enemy¡¯s side, her blade aiming right for their neck. The person immediately took two steps backwards to avoid her cleave and the girl¡¯s momentum carried her straight past her opponent. It was not easy to see things clearly in the dark, but she was certain that her opponent was an adult and not Gu Jiaming. Her battle intent suddenly increased by several times, and despite wearing only sleepwear, her body delicately and elegantly flashed through the air. With another sharp keen, her small kodachi pierced forward again. This flurry of attacks in the midst of Ikesakura Senmaboroshi caused the opponent to retreat, but after five strikes, her wrist was unexpectedly caught and her body was forcefully thrown out of her technique. Caught off balance, she crashed onto a thick tree trunk and her momentum caused her to roll over on the ground a few times. When she finally stopped, she propped up half her body on her arms and looked up. Her opponent seemed to have retracted his animosity and leisurely strolled over, ¡°Ikesakura Senmaboroshi, you definitely are a member of Tokyo¡¯s Tsukichi clan. So, why¡¯d you come to Jianghai City?¡± ¡°You are¡­¡± Tsukichi Kaoru hesitated briefly before asking, ¡°Chen Guxia from Ancestral Awakening?¡± ¡°The Tsukichi clan¡¯s intelligence team is quite good, huh. Or is it due to relying on Takamagahara¡¯s strength?¡± Chen Guxia stopped in front of her, ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of Peroka, so relax, I won¡¯t do anything to you. I only want to know the purpose of you suddenly coming to Jianghai City.¡± Tsukichi Kaoru calmly dusted herself as she stood up, ¡°I¡¯m here for training.¡± ¡°Why did you choose Jianghai City?¡± Kaoru fell silent at that question and Chen Guxia waited for a moment before he speculated, ¡°Two years ago, you had encountered danger here. At that time, that boy, Gu Jiaming, had been with you. He¡¯s usually weak, but in critical moments, he is able to release explosive strength. You had benefited from that and had nearly successfully escaped with him. However, even though you had been recaptured, you recognized that boy¡¯s strength and I¡¯m guessing you wanted to recruit him for your family? Hmm, that doesn¡¯t seem right, they probably wouldn¡¯t value him that much. So, it should be something between the two of you then¡­¡± Chen Guxia naturally would not link the massacre from two years ago with Jiaming. Since his analytical ability was high, after considering all the scenarios, he thought that he had discovered the crux of the matter. At that time, Tsukichi Kaoru had been tortured and Jiaming had then arrived at the scene and been able to create an escape route for the two girls. Even though it seemed that Kaoru had a calm and cold deposition, she had been at an age when feelings between people could bloom. It was also reported that afterwards the two of them had shared a hospital room. They were both young, pure children, so it was natural for such passionate feelings to develop between them. ¡°Ah, well, whether you¡¯re here for training or for vacation, as long as you don¡¯t do anything out of line, you are a guest here. Speaking of which, Peroka could act against you, and they could also act against me. Since you¡¯re here at Sacred Heart Institute, if anything happens, you can ask me for help. Now go back to sleep.¡± With his hands behind his back, he walked away and gradually disappeared into the woods. Kaoru resheathed her blade, not knowing what to think. After a moment, she turned and moved a couple of steps, preparing to return to her residence, but suddenly she froze in place. Donned completely in black, an ordinary-looking boy was standing there watching her, with a fake-looking smile on his face. ¡°Your performance¡­ was very disappointing. Chen Guxia is already suffering from internal wounds, yet you were only able to attack six times.¡± The boy walked closer to her and reached out to lightly stroke her pale cheek. Tsukichi Kaoru did not dodge, but her usually indifferent gaze could not help but tremble slightly. His palm rested on her cheek. His fingers lightly caressed her hair, her ear lobe, and then gently wrapped around the back of her neck. Following that motion, he pulled her forward towards him. ¡°The biggest disappointment though, is that you had a gun in your room. Even though this was an unexpected incident, you didn¡¯t even bring it out¡­¡± W-what is he doing¡­ The young maiden tensed up, as he pulled her closer, making her lean against his shoulder. It felt like something a pair of lovers would do, and while she had prepared herself that he might do something to her due to his anger, she had never expected this kind of situation to happen. ¡°You are searching for a way to help your family fight against Peroka, and you want to become strong. You even want to drag me down with you. Apart from that incident two years ago, have you actually killed anyone before? Have you¡­¡± As the boy said this, his grip on the back of her neck suddenly turned heavy. A keening sound came from her scabbard and then the tip of an ice-cold blade pierced into her lower abdomen, fresh blood slowly expanding along her nightgown. ¡°¡­Have you died before?¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 8/8 chapters (next release is May 2). Jiaming is such a douche to her zzzz. Also FINALLY IT¡¯S THE END OF THE MONTH. I¡¯m sorry, but May¡¯s releases are likely going to be erratic as well as I don¡¯t have any buffer at all. I apologize in advance. Chapter 62 Chapter 62 ¨C To Forgive TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Tsukichi Kaoru groaned quietly, as an acute pain came from her lower abdomen. Even though being able to endure pain was an important part of a ninja¡¯s skill set, she had been taken by surprise. During the incident at the lumber factory, even though the boy had killed everyone and chopped off their heads, when they were at the hospital, Jiaming had kept up an extremely innocent and seemingly-weak young boy image in front of the two girls. She also¡­ she also knew that he would be angry, but did not expect that it would be expressed in such an intense and decisive way. Am I going to die? The next moment, Jiaming grabbed her hair and flung her backwards. The blade exited her abdomen and the pain intensified as her bleeding increased. She fell to the ground, subconsciously pressed down on her wound to try stop the bleeding, and curled up defensively, quietly saying, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­ sorry¡­¡± She continued bleeding out, laying on the ground curled up in a fetal position, gritting her teeth and making no noises at all. After a while, Jiaming crouched down beside her and caressed her pale, porcelain-like cheek with the back of the bloodied blade. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Kaoru faintly shuddered, ¡°¡­It hurts.¡± ¡°What makes me hate people the most is when their plans happen to affect the people closest to me. Lingjing and Shasha are both passionate about helping other people. I know that Lingjing was the one that had offered to teach you martial arts today, which is why you¡¯re not dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Get up.¡± Kaoru struggled to get up from the ground, clutching her bleeding wound, and staggered back to her residence behind Jiaming. They entered her room on the second floor of the apartment. Jiaming directly opened Kaoru¡¯s suitcase and retrieved a first-aid kit. She propped herself up against the wall by the side of her bed, looking to be on the verge of collapse, before Jiaming said, ¡°Sit down,¡± and she slowly sunk down on her bed with her back against the headboard. Jiaming used the strong beam of a flashlight to illuminate Kaoru¡¯s abdominal wound. As her night dress was torn open, and she was only wearing a white pair of underwear in between her slender legs, most of her milky bosom was showing. However, the two of them were not people that placed a heavy importance on those kinds of things. Jiaming gave Kaoru the scabbard of her kodachi to bite down on. He then proceeded to stop the bleeding, disinfect and sew the wound up while talking. ¡°I¡¯ve never taught anyone before, and I don¡¯t know how to teach. I¡¯ll do what I can, as long as you come when there¡¯s nothing going on. Of course, I also can¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll learn anything or whether you will return to Japan in one piece. If you don¡¯t have any problems with that, then I naturally do not have any problems either. ¡°Since Lingjing and Shasha are that enthusiastic to teach you, you can try and learn something from them. I will also teach them some things through you. Also, since Lingjing wants to learn English from you, I will leave it to you. ¡°But, you are not allowed to report this situation to your family or anyone from Takamagahara. Remember this one wound today. If one day, for some reason, your family attempts to include me in their plans, I can guarantee Peroka will not even need to lift a hand for at least half the people in the Tsukichi clan to die. Also, watch this closely. Take a good look at your wound.¡± The one blade wound inflicted by Jiaming was extremely accurate. It passed through the gap between internal organs and did not wound them. However, it caused an unbearable pain when the combination of being stabbed, pulling the blade out, and then sewing it up occured. Especially so due to the fact that Jiaming deliberately did not take extra care to be gentle. Kaoru tightly bit onto the scabbard and watched her wound. Her face was of a pale, horrific white color, and it seemed like she was about to faint, but forced herself to listen to Jiaming¡¯s words. As to Jiaming, he was completely focused on the young maiden¡¯s lower abdomen. As a seasoned assassin who had encountered countless situations of life and death, he was extremely experienced in sewing up wounds, possibly even more experienced that surgeons. It was particularly interesting to suture wounds in the lower abdomen, because once the needle and thread were applied, the muscles in the wounded area would tremble non-stop and something similar to ripples would appear. However, if it was a strong and brawny man, their ability to withstand pain was higher and the trembling muscles would not usually be so apparent. However, a woman¡¯s response was a lot more obvious, and Kaoru was someone that just became sixteen. It was the first time Jiaming had treated someone that did not have a trained female assassin¡¯s muscles. Kaoru¡¯s skin was soft and smooth, and when Jiaming pierced her skin with the needle, the muscles in her lower abdomen trembled interestingly. This kind of trembling usually occurred when a woman was in the midst of her orgasm. This interest in these type of things was one of the bad taste that Jiaming had developed in his previous career as an assassin. Having Kaoru watch her wound as he stitched her up caused her to be even more tense. ¡°Ok, your wound isn¡¯t too serious, you can remove the stitches and apply the medicine on your own later. The ointment from your family is quite good as to whether it¡¯ll leave a scar or not, it¡¯ll depend on your karma¡­ now go sleep¡­¡± He applied the ointment after he finished suturing up her wound. When he finished talking, Kaoru finally closed her eyes. He wrapped gauze around her waist a few times, adjusted her sleepwear and then covered her with the blanket. He then left her apartment, cleaned up the blood stains left behind along the way and returned home. The interesting thing was that based on his past personality, he would have chosen to kill Tsukichi Kaoru and cut off any loose ends. However, because she was backed by Amau Masanori, even if he had killed Kaoru and gotten rid of any and all the evidence, he believed that Masanori would have been able to discover that it was him who did it. At that time, the situation would become very troublesome, as he would not be at the peak of his form yet due to him still having the body of a growing child. After what he did though, he would at least be in control of the situation. On the other hand, after having settled in his new life for the past six years and having experienced life with Lingjing and Shasha, he wanted to reduce the presence of anything that could affect his normal life. Given the fact that phoenixes existed in this world, there could be a heaven full of gods or buddhas as well, and they were watching people¡¯s actions. The people that needed to be killed were already dead, and also¡­ he wanted to continue down a path that was unlike his previous life. He did not want to accumulate ghosts that would haunt him. The next few days passed by very peacefully. After the extremely surprising result of the match, everyone saw Jiaming as a perverted, deceitful hoodlum. Every time he was at school, people would point at him and whisper behind his back. During classes, no one was willing to talk to him except for Kaoru. Dongfang Wan, who had originally supported him either due to the fact they were in the same class or to maintain the honor of her class monitor title, now looked at Jiaming with disdain, while Huang Haobing clearly drew the line with his ¡°I don¡¯t know you¡± attitude with Jiaming. This result was what Jiaming wanted. On the other hand, Lingjing and Shasha also received bizarre looks and comments in their classes, but the effect was not as strong as it was with Jiaming. What was rather interesting was that within a week, a few female students contacted Lingjing and Shasha regarding purchasing some anti-wolf spray after Jiaming had used that time on the arena to advertise it. The purchase quantity was not large, but due to it being cheap to make, they made a profit of around five hundred kuai, which was about a month¡¯s worth of groceries. After a night of revelry, the two girls suggested that they open a stall to sell the anti-wolf spray, but Jiaming knew that there would not be a lot of business. After all, this spray already existed and he only improved it, so naturally other people could replicate it as well. As the school was full of wealthy children that were not short on money, the only reason why they were buying these from Lingjing and Shasha was because it was a new and exciting item. After some time passed, they would lose their interest and there would no longer be any business. After some more discussion, the two girls, who were focused on finding ways to earn money to support their family, felt disappointed. The truly troublesome matter amongst these was the news regarding Chen Guxia. Yahan told him that despite his despicable actions in the arena, Chen Guxia had not given up on the idea to teach him martial arts. It seemed that people who had experienced life and death situations were different from purely theoretical martial arts experts. However, Jiaming planned on rejecting him regardless of what Chen Guxia thought, and he believed that the latter would not force him to take him as his master. On another matter, the day after Kaoru was wounded, she attended class like nothing had happened. For around a week, Kaoru, Jiaming, Lingjing and Shasha were in a getting-to-know-each-other period. They would eat lunch together at noon as teaching martial arts had not yet started. Only after a period of time, Jiaming discovered that the girl had a particularly funny and embarrassing problem ¡ª she was never able to find any studying supplies. Her pencil case, pens, rulers, a geometry compass, textbooks, notebooks¡­ During that week she had misplaced them nearly every day. It was not that she did not bring them, she just could not find them. Jiaming could not help but be amazed how this type of girl could be an assassin. When he asked her about this, Kaoru confessed that during ninja training, she had never forgotten anything, and the only thing she would lose were her school supplies. Although the girl said this with an indifferent tone, Jiaming could see a trace of embarrassment behind her blank expression. This kept happening ever since she was young, and it did not matter whether she was in China or Japan, she often was just unable to find them. When Jiaming thought about the fact that she would grow up to be a beauty and a top quality assassin, but with such an unexpected shortcoming, Jiaming could not help but want to burst out laughing. Of course, this situation persisted over the next few days. Everytime Kaoru looked through her desk to find something, Jiaming would pass over his school bag. Lingjing packed his bag for him, so he never had to worry about forgetting anything. When Kaoru found the item she needed and quietly thanked him, Jiaming would turn his head to the side and stifle his laughter. This helped breakdown the distance between the two of them, and gradually pulled them closer together. Around two weeks after school started, Lingjing actually managed to find a job at a nice western restaurant. Every night from eight to ten, she would play the piano for two hours there. She received a standard salary based on a work-study program criteria and earned around eight hundred every month. During this period of high unemployment rate when even adults had difficulty finding work, it was a miracle that Lingjing could actually find this job when she was not of-age yet and had only learned piano for around a year. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 1/2 chapters (next release is May 5). I apologize in advance, but May¡¯s releases are definitely going to be erratic. I don¡¯t have any buffer at all and they¡¯re being edited once they¡¯re translated ahahah OTL Chapter 63 Chapter 63 ¨C To Accumulate Happiness TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°That¡¯s because they said that my piano playing was very soulful and people could resonate with it. The piano teacher there also said that I still had a lot of room to grow and would teach me.¡± Wearing a newly bought female suit, a white tie and a pair of low heels, Lingjing circled the living room twice, letting Shasha evaluate her. They currently did not have a full body-length mirror, so it was inconvenient; however, they could still ask someone else to check their outfit. Once Shasha nodded in approval, Lingjing excitedly ran to the kitchen. Jiaming was the only one there at that time, as Lingjing had been trying clothes on. The kitchen also did not have any strong ventilation other than an old-fashioned fan, and the whole kitchen was filled with smoke and a strong pepper smell. ¡°Jiaming, what do you think?¡± Carefully standing by the entrance of the kitchen, Lingjing did a cute twirl. Jiaming washed his hands, came out of the kitchen to take a look, then smiled, ¡°These are just clothes we bought in the interim so the quality isn¡¯t very good. I¡¯ve never seen you so excited even when you used to wear better clothing.¡± ¡°How is it the same? These are work clothes for my first job!¡± Lingjing stopped moving her head, and Jiaming reached over to smooth her long black hair back into a simple ponytail, ¡°Does that look better?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re pretending to be a boy, you should learn from Shasha. She wears a ponytail everyday.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not pretending to be a boy!¡± Shasha yelped indignantly as she tried to strangle Jiaming. He dodged left and right while smirking and fixing Lingjing¡¯s hair, ¡°My bad, I¡¯m wrong! Shasha¡¯s not pretending to be a boy. You¡¯re very chic, ok! Since Lingjing is going to be a pianist, she needs to have a certain aura! Tying a ponytail would give her a clean and steady appearance ¡ª just like a powerful woman! Of course, she is but a miniature version of that right now.¡± Lingjing kept her head still, allowing Jiaming to fiddle with her hair, while giggling at Shasha¡¯s antics. Shasha managed to hit him a few times before laughing, ¡°Clean and steady appearance, huh? I¡¯ve always thought that you aren¡¯t very sharp. Lingjing, we should have him grow out his hair so he can tie it back into a ponytail!¡± ¡°We should,¡± Lingjing agreed instantly. ¡°My two queens, please forgive me¡­ Ah, the vegetables are going to burn. They¡¯re gonna burn! Shasha please forgive me¡­¡± Using the excuse of burning vegetables, Jiaming hurriedly changed the topic. He only had ordinary looks and was not considered handsome, but if he were to grow out his hair and have a ponytail, he would definitely be laughed at. He did not care what other people thought about him, but he did not want to deliberately make himself into a clown. Seeing that Jiaming was in a rush to escape the current predicament, the two girls smirked and returned to the living room to discuss buying a television. The two of them felt that improving their home even a little bit was bringing them closer to their dream future. They were not worried about any hindrances, or about how people would view them, as they were still students. Their life like a simple and comforting raising game and every day was a new discovery, full of hope and dreams. After they finished their dinner, Yahan, who was still in her school dress-up, came over to visit. She was one of the few that had been notified about Lingjing being able to find a job, and she also knew that Lingjing was a genius at playing the piano. She was surprised, however, that Lingjing was able to get a job so easily. Speaking of which, every time Yahan visited the three of them at their home, she felt that there was something strange going on. She knew how well the three of them got along and that originally they were only living together two days a week. However, now that they were living together everyday, the two girls seemed to act like newlyweds when discussing their home situation. She felt awkward, and also felt an unspeakable kind of embarrassment around them because the three of them were no longer children. She wondered if they would become a polygamous family if they continued carefreely along this path¡­ Yahan came from a wealthy family, so she knew that there were men that had mistresses or even blatantly have a couple of wives. However, this little family had neither prestige nor wealth¡­ Of course she did not doubt Jiaming¡¯s ability, and she thought that he did not have this type of inclination. It mostly seemed that he just wanted to have a low-key life, but this family had somehow included Jiaming¡­ In the end, this was a relationship that was revolving around Jiaming¡­ Yahan also discovered that she was being somewhat strange recently. Every time she saw how happy the two girls and Jiaming were at their apartment, she could not help but feel that something was wrong with her. She did not know whether what she felt was worry, anxiety, or that they were getting along a little too well and it made her feel left out. At night, Yahan offered Lingjing a ride to her job at the western restaurant. During the drive, Lingjing and Shasha discussed about buying a bicycle. It was not that they did not have money, they just did not want to wastefully spend it on things because they already had to put a lot of effort into decorating their new home. Lingjing had a job at a western restaurant called ¡°Nordic Fantasy¡±. It was actually part of a large hotel and was luxuriously furnished with beautiful decorations. That night, when Lingjing had been buying things, she heard flowing piano sounds and she stopped by the glass wall to listen for a while. It just so happened that the restaurant manager happened to come out and was discussing with his employees about the need to find another pianist. Lingjing gathered up her courage and asked about it, expecting to be ridiculed, but that manager¡¯s interest had been piqued, and he let her try out. In the end, he hired her on the spot and even figured out the work schedule with her so that her study time did not conflict with work time. Lingjing considered the manager to be quite a good person. As they stopped in front of the hotel, Lingjing brought the three of them to the back door of the restaurant. A man was standing by the entrance talking to some other employees. This twenty-four or twenty-five year old handsome man was wearing a well-fitting suit and had a striking demeanor. This was Manager Zhang of the western restaurant. After waving goodbye to Yahan, Shasha and Jiaming, Lingjing greeted Manager Zhang and followed him into the restaurant through the back door after. Not long after, her figure could be seen on the other side of the glass wall, inside the restaurant, where she was waving at them playfully and sticking her tongue out at them¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 2/2 chapters (next release is May 8). Chapter 64 Chapter 64 ¨C Assassin Lesson #1: Pretending to be Stupid TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Early morning, Sacred Heart Institute. ¡°Speaking of which, the Wing Chun Fist fighting style is really suitable for girls. Let me tell you, when I first started learning it, it only took me around a day to learn it all.¡± Standing by the shore of the man-made lake, Shasha boasted proudly, ¡°I¡¯ll execute a set for you to see first, so you can slowly¡­ Eh, since Lingjing and I are teaching you, you will definitely learn it quickly.¡± Patting Kaoru on the shoulder, Shasha smiled in encouragement and then got into position, ¡°Watch me carefully.¡± Shasha had practiced this style for a few years, so she was very familiar with the three forms: ¡®Siu Nim Tau¡¯ (Little Idea), ¡®Chum Kiu¡¯ (Seeking Bridge) and ¡®Biu Ji¡¯ (Thrusting Fingers). Jiaming and Lingjing had gone out to buy breakfast, leaving Shasha, who had volunteered to teach Kaoru martial arts, behind. After she finished one complete set of forms, she proudly turned back to look at Kaoru. ¡°This is the Wing Chun style. The first time you only need to watch so that you have a general idea of how it works. Father Ye originally taught me the forms like this as well. Then afterwards, you can put it into practice, and then by repeating it multiple times, you¡¯ll fully learn it. I gotta say though; this fighting style looks silly and doesn¡¯t look elegant like Taekwondo. It also doesn¡¯t look very powerful but it¡¯s very useful when separated into different parts. It depends on how you good you are at adapting it to the situation. Even that dummy Jiaming can perform all the forms, but he doesn¡¯t know how to put them to use. Ok, you should first learn the forms, then increase the speed of the movements and apply them to the wooden dummy. When you¡¯re competing with someone, the most important thing is speed¡­¡± Shasha complained about Jiaming¡¯s inability to adapt while speaking about her understanding of the fighting style of Wing Chun. However, she ended up somewhat stunned. She barely finished talking when the expressionless Japanese beauty who stood next to her started practicing the forms. Shasha even said, ¡°Oh, you remember some of it?¡± but soon became speechless, as Kaoru completed all the forms even though she had only seen them once. ¡°Did¡­ did you learn this before?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± The beauty said calmly. It was obvious from her demeanor that she was treating this like it any other usual daily task. ¡°Then how did you¡­ One time! You only saw it once!¡± Shasha felt the pride at her genius was collapsing. At that point, Lingjing and Jiaming had returned with soy milk and meat buns for breakfast. Jiaming was smiling brilliantly at Shasha and praised, ¡°Wow Shasha, you¡¯re incredible! Such a short time and you¡¯ve already taught her the Wing Chun style. I feel that it won¡¯t be long before father Ye asks you to help him teach other students!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­ Hahaha, of course. But Kaoru¡¯s talent is incredible as well, haha¡­¡± Shasha decided to take it as it is and grinned brilliantly. Lingjing smiled in response and passed the breakfast over, ¡°You really are amazing, also¡­ Kaoru, here, your breakfast.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The four of them sat at the pavilion by the lake and watched the many members of the martial arts club do their morning exercises. They were sprinting at their fastest speeds, clearing obstacles and fighting each other. The truth was that when they saw Shasha teaching Kaoru the fighting style, they had been watching them derisively, because they considered the Wing Chun style a woman¡¯s fighting style and not something they would learn. To them, styles such as Jeet Kun Do, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, and other fierce fighting styles were the ones that should be learnt because it would allow them to take out an opponent quickly. As for Tai Chi, that was something that only old people would be interested in. When they saw Jiaming appear, the club members looked at him with either anger or disdain. They still considered his win against Lu Jianchuan and Han Gangcheng a result of Jiaming¡¯s luck and clumsiness. Even though his escape skills were good, if they were to fight seriously, all the martial arts club members were confident that they would be able to defeat him. Especially since they had already seen what happened with Han Gangcheng. If they were to fight him again, they would definitely not be complacent and make the same mistakes. Both sides looked at each other, but did not make any moves despite their mutual dislike. After they finished breakfast, the four of them returned back to the classroom area, and after Lingjing and Shasha left them to go to their classrooms, Jiaming said calmly, ¡°Next time when you learn something, pretend to be dumber.¡± ¡°Pretend¡­ to be dumb?¡± Kaoru¡¯s expression did not really change, but a hint of doubt appeared in her tone, as if she did not know how to be stupid. The two of them were just about to turn around the corner of the building, and seeing that nobody was around, Jiaming stopped and turned towards her, ¡°I know that it might be difficult for you, but let me tell you, being able to put up a pretense is an important skill. You know what, since the Tsukichi clan¡¯s stupid training has already turned you into a block of wood, currently what we need to do is to thoroughly change that. Everytime I look at you, and I want to teach you something, I feel like giving up, because the basics are¡­ do you even know how to smile?¡± A second passed, and then another, and then the perfectly sculpted porcelain doll¡¯s face warped into something akin to a melted doll. Jiaming laughed bitterly, reached out and patted her cheeks twice before stretching them out. ¡°Do you call that a smile? That expression is even more horrible than Sadako from The Ring. Let me tell you, a smile should be like this¡­ You need to squint your eyes a bit¡­ The corners of your mouth turns up a bit¡­ I¡¯m not requesting you to show any teeth right now, but you should at least include some dimples¡­ Uh¡­ Forget it, just go back to your usual face. This is why I¡¯m saying that I want to give up. You only know how to be blunt and direct¡­¡± His hands fiddled around with her perfect expressionless doll cheeks before finally giving up and turning to return to the classroom. Kaoru followed behind him with her head lowered, seemingly pondering about the meaning of his previous actions. The first class of the day was self-study. When Jiaming saw Kaoru immersed into looking through her drawer for something, he grudgingly handed over his pencil case. She retrieved a ruler and then nodded with a quick ¡°Thanks¡±, while Jiaming rolled his eyes at her and started talking. ¡°You do know the deal about Peroka, right?¡± Kaoru nodded her head and quietly said, ¡°Peroka is the world¡¯s largest organization of assassins.¡± ¡°Then do you understand what it means to be an assassin?¡± Jiaming glanced at her and did not expect a response, seeming like he had been talking to himself before continuing, ¡°Hitmen are different from ninjas. It seems that a ninja is also an assassin, but that is due to the training. Ninjas conceal themselves and then carry out the assassination, but to a hitman, as long as the target dies, any method is acceptable. You consider Peroka an enemy, and you want to become an excellent assassin, so the most important thing is to learn how you change and conduct yourself through the art of deceit. ¡°The art of deceit covers a broad range of domains, and you¡¯ve probably learned some basics. Of course, there are some cold-faced assassins like you, but this type of assassin would never become a first-rate one. An assassin that is truly difficult to deal with should be able to become anyone, at any time and any place. If we take you as an example, if you had good disguise skills, you could become an 80 year-old granny, an 18 year-old teenager, a 28 year-old prostitute, a 38 year-old successful woman, 48 years-old or even 58 years-old¡­ But if you keep this blank-faced look, you¡¯re finished. Instead of training a disciple that would end up being easily killed, I might as well kill you now. ¡°When killing, a ninja would use an all-out method, but hitmen are different. At any point in time, one has to have an escape route and leave some leeway. If you could complete a task with three parts of your ability, you are absolutely not allowed to apply four parts, as that one extra part is to always be kept as a reserve card to play. Thus, what you should do is maintain your dead expressionless face, but at the same time secretly learn to smile and cry. You should give everyone the impression that ¡®Tsukichi Kaoru¡¯ is a doll, but secretly you should be able to become anyone you wish. Only by doing this would you be able to withstand Peroka¡¯s onslaught. Mmm, ok, starting from today, you should learn to be stupid. If the girls teach you more fighting styles and you end up showing that you¡¯ve learned it after watching it only once like today, I will kick you!¡± Having finished what he needed to say, Jiaming slumped down on the table and started sleeping. When the class finally started, the noise and bustle in the room woke him up. He looked up and saw Dongfang Wan and Huang Haobing both standing on the podium. They made two announcements. First, the school¡¯s basketball game would be held after National Day and would, as usually, be hosted early in the year, just after school commenced. This event was a good opportunity for the students in the lower grades to mingle with the students in the higher grades. In this class, Huang Haobing was one of the people to take the lead as he was naturally good at basketball and came from a good family background. Second, the school¡¯s associations had been looking for new people to join their group and Dongfang Wan wanted to establish a new social club. She wanted to hear suggestions from everyone, and the students all eagerly put forth their opinions. Jiaming, however, was not interested in this kind of thing and attempted to continue sleeping by laying on his desk. He idly thought back to a few days ago when Shasha had mentioned that she wanted to establish her own club ¡ª one that did not need to have a lot of members. She mostly wanted to have a club with Jiaming, Lingjing and herself, so that if the three of them were usually seen together, it would not rouse other people¡¯s suspicion or criticism. However, there was a school rule that establishing a club needed a minimum of five people. That natural airheaded Tsukichi Kaoru could be included, but then trying to find the last person would be rather difficult, and also, what kind of name could they come up with for this club that was to be ultimately used as a cover for them? Gu Jiaming¡¯s Harem? Ye Lingjing¡¯s Harem Study Club? Queen Shasha¡¯s Private Space? Hahaha¡­ coming up with a good name was such a mind-racking matter¡­ TL Note: Additional info on Wing Chun forms ¨C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chun#Forms_and_San_Sik ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C 1/2 chapters (next release is May 11). Chapter 65 Chapter 65 ¨C On the Way Home TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Night time, at Nordic Fantasy. The soulful melody of a piano resounded under the warm restaurant lighting. Dinner had just finished and the remaining guests were mostly the restaurant¡¯s regular customers. One was drinking a cup of coffee; some were listening to music, and there were also several guests that had come for a late dinner. Nordic Fantasy was part of a high-class hotel and the restaurant gave off a refined aura. However, its prices were reasonable even for ordinary citizens, so apart from a few of the hotel¡¯s wealthy guests, a lot of the loyal customers were average white-collar workers. They came there to listen to good music and admire the active bustle of the city streets through the glass wall, relaxing after an exhausting day at work. The standard of the pianists at this restaurant had always been high, and the newly hired one did not disappoint. The 15 year-old beautiful young lady naturally could not be compared to a veteran pianist, but the way she played the piano was unique, as it somehow resonated with the listener. Young and inexperienced, the melody of her piano was able to convey her thoughts, feelings, and her understanding of life. People that listened to her playing could not help but think back to their younger selves ¡ª to the more innocent and simpler times, to young and inexperienced romances and all those precious and happy moments in their lives. As they gazed attentively at this young lady who was single-mindedly playing the piano, their long-forgotten memories came roaring back to them. The pianist wore a simple ponytail with youthful bangs, and under the soft restaurant lighting, lightly pursing her lips, her delicate fingers danced over the piano keys with flowing movements. The guests that usually liked to watch the scenery through the glass wall could not help but find themselves drawn by this captivating scene as well. Over the past few days, quite a few of them had privately asked around the hotel about this young lady¡¯s situation, but there was not a lot of information available. They only knew that this young lady was in high school, that she was currently working part-time while studying and had the very suitable name of Ye Lingjing. ¡°Good, good, regarding the publicity of the matter, I will convey it to my father. Farewell, Mr. Wang, I will accompany you only till here.¡± It was near 10pm and the restaurant¡¯s manager, Zhang Jingfeng, escorted a guest out of his office. That person waved in response and had barely left before he turned around and said, ¡°Oh right, young master Zhang has good taste. Before I entered, I heard that young lady perform for a while. Based on this kind of temperament, if you allowed my company to package her for show business, she would definitely be quite successful. Could I ask what that young lady¡¯s name is¡­¡± ¡°Ah, her name is Ye Lingjing. She¡¯s a high school student working part-time while studying, but¡­ Mr. Wang, both you and I know how complicated show business is. I don¡¯t want to prevent her from joining, it¡¯s just that if this young girl got pulled into that type of social circle, wouldn¡¯t it be rather¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I understand. I understand completely, young master Zhang, please rest assured¡­ Ok, I will take my leave now.¡± ¡°Farewell.¡± When that person¡¯s figure disappeared around the corner, a handsome man holding a wine cup appeared next to him, with a somewhat dubious smile on his face. He was one of the the restaurant¡¯s string instrument players and also Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s best friend from university. His name was Chen Kean. He said, ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t understand, but he obviously understands something. Jingfeng, what does he understand? Does he think that little Lingjing is the girl you¡¯ve taken a fancy to?¡± ¡°Kean, you can drink however much you want, but don¡¯t speak nonsense. She¡¯s still only a high school student.¡± ¡°Eh, I won¡¯t speak nonsense, but what I said was true, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ignoring you. You can think whatever you want¡­¡± Zhang Jingfeng helplessly shrugged, ¡°Oh right, I¡¯ve got to go right now. Please take care of matters here.¡± ¡°Is your shift over? A workaholic like you wants to leave at 10pm?¡± Chen Kean gave him an exaggerated stare before smirking, ¡°I see¡­ I see¡­ You¡¯re going on the offensive, aren¡¯t you? At this time¡­¡± ¡°What are you saying.¡± ¡°I mean that since you know that beauty¡¯s schedule, you can offer to drive her home. Didn¡¯t you do that often during university? Well, I understand and support you. However, you should get some things straight ¡ª we¡¯re currently not in university so the rule of mutual consent does not apply. You can¡¯t play around with that girl.¡± ¡°Shaddap, I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± Zhang Jingfeng waved at him and turned to leave. He went to his car in the parking lot and waited for a while before exiting. When he drove out, he saw the young lady come out of the back alley way of the restaurant. She was holding a small handbag, standing under the streetlight, while a light night wind was blowing lightly, causing her bangs to sway. There were not many pedestrians on the street and she stood out amidst them like a quietly blossoming small flower. Driving up to her in the silver-colored, high-class sports car, Zhang Jingfeng nonchalantly called out to her, ¡°Hey, Lingjing. Just finished your shift?¡± ¡°Oh, hi, Manager Zhang, you¡¯ve finished as well.¡± Lingjing smiled and greeted him. ¡°You¡¯ve done quite well over these past few days. I feel that it won¡¯t be long before all the guests that visit would become your fans. Oh, are you returning to Sacred Heart Institute?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s on the way. Let me give you ride back. It¡¯s probably not a good idea to wait for public transit at this time.¡± Zhang Jingfeng said, as he reached out to push open the passenger door. However that young beauty hurriedly waved her hand in rejection while smiling apologetically, ¡°Ah, thank you, but there¡¯s no need. My friend is coming to pick me up. We had arranged for it a few days ago¡­ Ah, he also bought a new vehicle a few days ago, hehe¡­¡± Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s eyebrow twitched slightly. Sacred Heart Institute had many sons from wealthy families. Listening to Lingjing¡¯s words, it seemed that she was quite close to that fellow student. Also what kind of vehicle would it be? A new sports car? None of those thoughts showed on his face, and he only smiled gently, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine then, I¡¯ll be taking my leave first. I have something to take care of nearby, so we might even bump into each other. Goodbye then.¡± ¡°Goodbye!¡± Lingjing waved back at him. The sports car had not gone far when a new-looking bicycle zoomed by. When Zhang Jingfeng looked at the rear-view mirror, his expression changed. When he turned his head to look back, he saw the bicycle that passed earlier, come to a stop next to Lingjing. The extremely ordinary looking boy said a few things to Lingjing. He then saw her smile as she climbed onto the bicycle seat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. At that sight Zhang Jingfeng smiled slightly bitterly, and the sports car sped away. This kind of opponent¡­ shouldn¡¯t be that difficult to deal with¡­ They had bought a bicycle and a television on the second day Lingjing went to work. To Lingjing and Shasha¡¯s dismay, a fourteen inch color television was extremely expensive, and thus, they only ended up buying one bicycle. Every day after dinner, Jiaming would deliver Lingjing to work and then would pick her up at 10 pm to return home. The truth was, Lingjing could ride a bicycle herself, but Lingjing and Shasha both insisted that Jiaming should be the chauffeur. This was because the two of them had read too many romance novels where romantic feelings would bloom when the male main character drove the female main character to and from work. Another worry was that due to the unemployment crisis, public safety also decreased, and even though Lingjing could take care of one or two hoodlums on her own, no one knew what could happen late at night after she got off work. At another street corner, they bought half a pound of Shasha¡¯s favorite sweetened chestnuts and then continued ro ride home. Lingjing ate a couple as she sat in the back and then tried to pop one into Jiaming¡¯s mouth. She enjoyed the cool city wind as the bicycle sped across the streets. But then she started feeling mischievous and started wriggling around, ending up swapping seats with Jiaming¡­ ¡°Oioioi¡­ can you watch the front? Ugh, stop wobbling so much, are you trying to drop me?¡± ¡°I am looking! Hahaha, it¡¯s ticklish! Jiaming, you¡¯re putting your hand there on purpose¡­ Don¡¯t just randomly touch there, hahaha¡­¡± ¡°Who¡¯s tickling you randomly¡­¡± Jiaming protested from the back seat, not admitting anything, ¡°You keep wobbling around, if I don¡¯t hold on to you, I¡¯ll fall¡­ Also I¡¯ve never heard you say you¡¯re ticklish at home¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re the worst! If you keep tickling me, we¡¯ll both fall¡­ Ah¡ª¡± Losing control of the bicycle, Lingjing¡¯s shout was cut short as the bicycle tilted over while Jiaming was holding onto Lingjing¡¯s waist and they all fell onto the ground. Jiaming grouched, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡­ You actually caused us to fall¡­¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ it¡¯s all your fault¡­¡± Lingjing smiled, smacked him, and then the two of them lifted up the bicycle. This time, Jiaming did not tease her and sat behind her properly. He placed his arms around her waist in a proper manner. The bicycle wobbled for a bit, but then smoothed out and Lingjing smirked, ¡°Oh right, have you thought about Shasha¡¯s club? Finding of basis to form this club on is quite difficult.¡± ¡°How would I know? There are so many clubs at school, and all kinds of names have been used already. If it was a more normal interest, then we might as well join someone else¡¯s club. I¡¯m usually not really interested in anything¡­¡± ¡°But you like computers.¡± ¡°Uh, well, there¡¯s also a computer club. They¡¯re pretty bad though, and I don¡¯t want to join them.¡± ¡°Ugh, dummy.¡± Lingjing wrinkled her nose, then said, ¡°Jiaming, if we were to start saving money, how long do you think we¡¯ll need before we can get you a computer?¡± ¡°Huh? There¡¯s not really any need¡­¡± ¡°But you¡¯re interested in it, Jiaming.¡± Lingjing looked back with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve asked some of my classmates, they said you need around ten to twenty thousand¡­ We also sold another can of anti-wolf spray these past few days, and my job brings in eight hundred¡­ Jiaming, should we use the saved up money to buy the computer first? What do you think?¡± Jiaming originally wanted to say that it did not matter whether he had the computer or not, but he swallowed his words. He only tightened his grip on Lingjing¡¯s waist and she leaned back against him, neither of them saying anything. At that moment, Lingjing spotted a group of people in front of them and slightly panicked. With an ¡°Uh oh¡±, she turned the bicycle into a dark alley behind an apartment building. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°That group in front are my classmates. It¡¯d be bad if they saw you hugging me.¡± The two of them peeked out from the alleyway and saw the crowd murmuring to each other. When Jiaming heard Lingjing¡¯s reason he smirked at her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯re just sharing a bicycle and you can say that we¡¯re friends that coincidentally met on the way home. There¡¯s plenty of excuses.¡± ¡°Oh right!¡± Lingjing responded as she stuck her tongue out at him, ¡°I was being too nervous, huh.¡± When he went to retrieve the bicycle, he frowned. He heard a muffled ¡°mmm¡± coming from further in the alleyway and he decided to turn on the flashlight he had with him. Illuminating the alleyway, there was a man with a dagger out, whose hand was pressed tightly against a girl¡¯s mouth. The two of them looked towards Jiaming like deer that were caught by the headlights¡­ 2/2 chapters (next release is May 15). Lingjing¡¯s name actually means spiritual and calm or something along those lines. Chapter 66 Chapter 66 ¨C Going In Through the Backdoor TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°Ah, sorry for interrupting the two of you¡­¡± Jiaming did not know whether to laugh or not, because shortly after, the criminal let go of the young girl, pointed the dagger at them instead, and shouted, ¡°Move aside! Let me through!¡± Lingjing naturally understood that they had just interrupted a robbery and felt the urge to step in. However, the man was holding a sharp dagger, and while Lingjing had learned martial arts that allowed her to deal with blades, it was only in theory and her mind was blank because of the panic. Jiaming fiercely pulled her aside and waved the flashlight in his right hand around seemingly in distress, blocking the dagger the man was holding. But if someone like Chen Guxia was around, he would have noticed that the beam of the flashlight shone directly into that man¡¯s eyes. The man was also brandishing his dagger around, but due to the flashlight, it did not reach Lingjing, avoiding an otherwise dangerous situation. Fortunately the man forced his way past the two of them and escaped from the alley. It seemed that he was not very experienced at robbing people. ¡°Jiaming, are you ok?¡± Lingjing recovered from her previous panic, turned around, and grabbed Jiaming¡¯s right hand, inspecting it nervously. Jiaming only smiled, ¡°I¡¯m fine. We should check up on her though.¡± The two of them walked towards the other side of the alley and saw a young girl groping along the ground, seemingly searching for something. Lingjing tilted her head and quietly asked, ¡°Is she blind?¡± Jiaming shone the flashlight on the ground and noticed a pair of round glasses, ¡°Nope, looks like she¡¯s short-sighted.¡± Lingjing smilingly stuck her tongue out at Jiaming, then went to retrieve the pair of glasses and placed them on the young girl¡¯s face. At that moment, Jiaming felt that the girl seemed somewhat familiar. ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¡°Yeah, he wanted money, but I didn¡¯t have any on me¡­ I came out unscathed due to you guys.¡± The girl in glasses nodded her head in thanks, then when she saw Jiaming, she exclaimed, ¡°Cousin Jiaming?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lingjing looked at the two of them doubtfully, ¡°You guys know each other?¡± Jiaming frowned for a bit, then suddenly laughed, ¡°We met¡­ last year during Chinese New Year¡­ Xu¡­ Yiting?¡± ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t think that cousin Jiaming would remember me¡­¡± the girl happily nodded. Actually, the two of them were connected by a thread of fate. The Huang family and mansion were large, and Xu Yiting was similar to Lingjing¡¯s family. They had some relatives in the Huang family and would only visit once a year for greetings during the Chinese New Year. Even though Jiaming lived at the Huang mansion, the older he grew, the less time he spent there, so he had only met Xu Yiting once ¡ª during her visit earlier last year. This was because her father had instructed her to come along when greeting the Huang family. Even Jiaming had only remembered her because his assassin training gave him impressive memory, so it was a surprise that she remembered him. After they recognized each other, explaining the situation became much simpler. After school, Xu Yiting had visited a classmate, and on her way home, there was an attempted robbery. It was lucky that Lingjing and Jiaming had managed to interrupt that attempt. After further conversation, they discovered that she was also a first year attending Sacred Heart Institute and was in Class 2. Pushing along the bicycle, the three of parted at the end of the street. Once Xu Yiting was far away, Lingjing smirked before playfully punching Jiaming on the shoulder, ¡°You only met her once last year, and you still remember her. Did a pervert like you take a fancy to her?¡± ¡°How could that be¡­ You and Shasha would cut me, also she¡¯s not even pretty¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s quite pretty without her glasses.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice¡­¡± The next day in the afternoon, when Jiaming knocked on Yahan¡¯s office door, the stern-looking beauty was in the middle of coldly rejecting a male teacher, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have an appointment on National Day. Maybe next time.¡± ¡°Yahan, you¡¯re joking, right? You didn¡¯t make any appointments on October 1. I¡¯ve already tried asking you so many times. I definitely obtained these difficult-to-obtain tickets for a luxury cruise through my own power. If you don¡¯t want to go with me, these tickets would be wasted¡­¡± Jiaming had seen this male teacher before. He was one of the teachers that had visited Starlight Secondary School a while back. He remembered that his name was Xu Mo, and he was the second young master of a foreign sea freight shipping corporation. He also remembered mentioning that Yahan was his bride-to-be, but based on Xu Mo¡¯s current expression, it seemed he had forgotten all about it. ¡°I am very sorry, but I do in fact, have an appointment during National Day.¡± Yahan kept up her cold, uncaring front and straight up rejected him, ¡°A student is here. Teacher Xu, let¡¯s talk about this another time, ok?¡± ¡°Sigh, another time then.¡± Xu Mo nodded his head, ¡°I will wait for you to change your mind before October.¡± Jiaming closed the office door behind Xu Mo as the latter left. Yahan took off her glasses and loosened her shoulders, a troubled expression on her face. Jiaming sighed, ¡°Oi, when he passed by me just now, I heard the sound of a heart shattering into pieces.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Such a pity¡­ Oh right, hurry up and get over here. I can¡¯t pass this level in this game¡­¡± On the computer monitor, there was a screen with proper report on the top, while behind it was the screen of a paused game. Jiaming curled his lip in disdain, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you die at that level. I came here this time, because I have something I need your help with and wanted to use your backdoor.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Yahan¡¯s eyes glittered as of a moon that had previously been hidden by clouds had revealed itself, and grinned, ¡°Hehe, you finally came to use my back¡­¡± She paused, the two of them realizing something was not right. She flushed prettily, coughed twice to hide her embarrassment, and said, ¡°Hmm, speaking of that. What is it? If it¡¯s something only I can do, hehe¡­ I refuse to help.¡± ¡°So childish¡­¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes at her, then took out a piece of paper from his pocket. ¡°You know a few days ago, Shasha mentioned about wanting to make her own club? We found the fifth member yesterday, and the paperwork has been signed and filled in. I¡¯m too lazy to find another teacher, so came to find you here. Please process it.¡± ¡°Eh, what kind of club did you want to make?¡± ¡°No particular purpose. We came up with a random name, the club had been made on Shasha¡¯s whim.¡± He pushed the application towards her, and she skimmed through it, ¡°Huh, Xu Yiting¡­ That girl¡¯s related to the Huang family, right? Apart from you, they¡¯re all girls. Name of the club¡­ Um, cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Seeing the name, Yahan suddenly choked on something and clutched the table. She kept coughing and gasped for breath. After a long while, with tears streaming down her face, she looked up and laughed incessantly, ¡°You¡­ you pervert! You did it on purpose¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said this was an anyhow club. You can say it¡¯s a sci-fi novel research club or something¡­¡± Jiaming spread his hands in surrender. The name of the club was: The Future of Ultradvanced Technology and the Development of Sustainable Resources of Earth ¨C Crisis Prediction Rescue Team. The goal of the club was: We predict any major crisis that the Earth will face, we are the frontier in leading the development of science and technology, and we maintain world peace¡­ ¡ª¡ª¨C 1/2 chapters (next release is May 17). Chapter 67 Chapter 67 ¨C Hacker TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi Jiaming had had a part in the naming as well. He fully expected the name to be rejected or to be changed when the application was passed to Yahan; however, not only did she nearly suffocate from laughing, but she lay limply on her chair for quite a bit before saying, ¡°Haha¡­ that¡¯s great! I don¡¯t think you guys would be advertising this club, and since it¡¯s only a few of you, I will think of a way to push this application through. However, this won¡¯t be processed until after National Day, so this¡­ Future of Ultradvanced Tech¡­ hahahaha¡­¡± Seeing that the usually elegant beauty ¡ªnot counting her image at school¡ª clutched her stomach while laughing like a hyena, Jiaming huffed and unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor. He then sat in the vacant seat and started playing the level that she was stuck on in that game. Still holding the application form in her hands, Yahan sat on the wooden floorboards, laughing non-stop while hanging on the armrest of the chair. The floor was clean and only Jiaming was around, so she did not really care about her image. Once she had her fill and finally stopped laughing, she sat up languidly, like a newly awoken puppy, and watched the computer monitor. ¡°Huh? Is that what you need to do to pass it?¡± ¡°How did you do it?¡± ¡°I sent more people there to deal with it¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? Am I wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking to an idiot¡­¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Yahan felt wronged by his accusation and watched him as he skillfully played the game. She started asking questions again after a few moments but got a reply along the lines of, ¡°People with IQ under 80 don¡¯t have a say¡± or ¡°Shaddap, stupid¡±. If someone were around to see them, they might have mistaken them for a pair of very close siblings. After a while, Yahan suddenly asked, ¡°Hey¡­ do you guys have any plans for National Day since it¡¯s a seven day holiday this time?¡± ¡°Dunno, depends on what Lingjing and Shasha say. Most likely we¡¯ll return home for a bit. The Huang family usually gathers and has a family dinner.¡± ¡°Our family is the same as well. Any plans for after National Day dinner?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know then. Lingjing and Shasha mentioned something about working part-time at the supermarket to help with bagging things, but I don¡¯t plan on allowing them to go. There¡¯s no need to do such tiring things¡­¡± ¡°Your families have money, why are the three of you trying so hard to earn it? Did you guys just want to test your own abilities? Also, you clearly are able to¡­. Forget it, I¡¯m not going to talk about you. You¡¯re abnormal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about testing our abilities, it¡¯s more like experiencing something new. As long as it¡¯s not too tiring, and they have fun doing it, they can do whatever they want.¡± Yahan turned silent for a moment. She had originally wanted to ask if the three of them would split up eventually, but ended up not asking anything. She took out a few pieces of fine stationery paper from her bag and smiled, ¡°If you don¡¯t have any plans, I have a few cruise tickets here. They are for a three-day luxury cruise on ¡®Dream Star¡¯ during the National Day celebrations. The boarding date is October the 2nd. Let¡¯s go together with Lingjing and Shasha as well.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Jiaming took a ticket from her, then reached into his pocket and fished out two more tickets to compare. Yahan¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, ¡°Y-y-y-you¡­ Where did you get those?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Jiaming smiled carefreely, ¡°I took them from that Teacher Xu just now. Since he wasn¡¯t able to invite you, then he doesn¡¯t need these two tickets. It seemed like a big deal ¡ª the tickets looked quite difficult to buy. I originally wanted to secretly sell them and keep the funds for family uses. But since it turned out like this¡­¡± Yahan looked conflicted as Jiaming happily took two more tickets, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll let the girls know. If they don¡¯t want to go, then we can sell them off. We wanted to buy a computer anyway. Are these tickets expensive?¡± ¡°Xu Mo¡¯s two tickets would cost around three thousand each. I got my tickets due to my family¡¯s influence though, so they¡¯re the highest tier you could get. This cruise trip is where the upper echelons of society would show up, so they would probably sell for more than ten thousand on the black market. I was only able to take four tickets at once due to my status at Sacred Heart Institute, y-y-you¡­¡± Yahan rolled her eyes at him, ¡°You¡¯re telling me you want to sell them, are you even worth my attention?¡± ¡°Be good.¡± Jiaming patted her on the head as if comforting a small dog. Yahan smacked his hand away with a huff, ¡°Don¡¯t pet my head! You disrespectful brat¡­¡± While the two of them argued, Jiaming had already cleared the level and returned to the Windows 95 desktop. He spotted an icon and quietly exclaimed, causing Yahan to stand up and present it like it was a treasure, ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, last time you asked about accessing the internet. I called someone over the other day and they installed it on my computer. I just turned it on and didn¡¯t get a chance to use it yet. I¡¯m not that familiar with it so you should teach me.¡± ¡°Haha, with your zero IQ, it¡¯s too difficult for me to teach you¡­¡± ¡°You brat!¡± Yahan huffed enraged and ran over to pinch his cheeks, while Jiaming reached out with both arms to hug her waist. Used to his actions, Yahan switched to viciously smacking him on the forehead and the two of them wrestled each other on the chair. Jiaming¡¯s expression changed briefly and his hand, that had been on the mouse, clamped down by Yahan, suddenly slipped out of her grasp. He broke through her two-handed defense and directly clutched her neck. ¡°Ack¡­¡± At that moment, Yahan honestly felt like a defenseless baby in front of him. A second later, Jiaming seemed to realize that he had briefly lost control and gently loosened his left hand and placed it on the keyboard. He stared closely at the open window on the computer monitor and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, please excuse my manners. There¡¯s something wrong with your computer, someone¡¯s currently invading it with unusual means¡­¡± He did not say what unusual means they were, but hearing his calm tone, Yahan was somewhat pacified. Fixing her hair, which had been messed up by their fight earlier, she nudged him over and sat on the chair as well, ¡°Invading? Is it¡­ a hacker?¡± ¡°I¡¯m proud that you know what a hacker is.¡± ¡°I was an exchange student. I¡¯m not a primitive!¡± Yahan angrily smacked him on the back again. When she looked back at him she was shocked by his movements. His hands furiously flew over the keyboard akin to a phantom and the clicking sounds coming from the keyboard seemed to never end. On the computer monitor, black windows flickered in and out, and Jiaming stared intensely at the screen with a lopsided smile on his face. Yahana nervously asked, ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the situation? Is it serious?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking into it, so it won¡¯t be serious. Relax.¡± ¡°If I knew there were hackers, I wouldn¡¯t have connected to the net. A lot of the school¡¯s information is stored here and also the questions for the next exam. Oh right, who¡¯s the hacker? Is it a student?¡± ¡°Leave it to me, your exam questions won¡¯t be taken. It was a good thing I made some preparations last time and was alerted when someone invaded¡­ Hmm, they should have only recently arrived in Jianghai City ¡ª maybe a day or two ago. If the security of your office had not been so tight, they wouldn¡¯t have chosen to remotely access your computer. Let me guess¡­ it should be that dummy¡­ You can¡¯t see me, you can¡¯t see me¡­¡± As Jiaming was chanting ¡®You can¡¯t see me¡¯, his smile became vicious, and after a while, his hands finally left the keyboard and he directly unplugged the network line, ¡°I see you didn¡¯t die from depression¡­¡± ¡°What happened just now?¡± ¡°Just a small matter. I¡¯ll come help you with your computer tomorrow, but you probably shouldn¡¯t use the internet. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to take care of some matters over the next few days¡­¡± ¡°Is it dangerous? Is it related to that hacker? W-what did he want to do? My computer doesn¡¯t have any incredible information¡­¡± Yahan looked at Jiaming anxiously, but he waved the network line in his hand in response, ¡°Relax, nothing¡¯s going to happen. If I guessed correctly, it should be a group of broke Thai men. I¡¯ll handle it ¡ª nothing¡¯s going to happen to you.¡± ¡°Who says I¡¯m worried about me? You¡¯re the one I¡¯m worried about. Don¡¯t give me cheek!¡± Yahan seethed, while Jiaming seemingly blanked briefly, before giving her an ¡®OK¡¯ gesture. He then grinned mischievously and prepared to escape, but suddenly turned back to say, ¡°Oh right, this luxury cruise¡­ Will Chen Guxia going to join it?¡± ¡°Teacher Chen¡­ I heard he was getting one ticket for sure. Why?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just asking¡­¡± Jiaming waved and disappeared through the door before Yahan could ask anything else. On the other side, in a rented apartment somewhere in Jianghai City. When Jiaming yanked out the network line, a young man with a crew-cut, wearing a suit, threw his mouse away and cursed loudly. On the sofa nearby, a charmingly naked young woman was painting her toenails. She looked up smiling, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Naga?¡± ¡°Nothing, my luck is terrible. When I had finally managed to connect successfully, the internet cut out¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, did you get discovered?¡± ¡°There was no indication of me invading. Also, the other side never reacted ¡ª they were only playing a game. The internet cutting out should be a coincidence, tsk¡­¡± ¡°I told you we didn¡¯t need to do such troublesome things. Boss Tank didn¡¯t want to do anything at the school. Once the cruise ship enters the open ocean, we can take care of everything in one go. We have to make it spectacular, so that the Japan headquarters doesn¡¯t look down on our Asia division.¡± ¡°And I have also said before that a frontal assault is a stupid plan. Assassins aren¡¯t warriors ¡ª we should be using a safer method to handle this!¡± ¡°Ok, ok, Naga!¡± The naked woman went around, lightly draped herself over his back and shoulders, and sensually whispered next to his ear, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about these troublesome things. We can¡­ do more meaningful things instead¡­¡± Then¡­ they started doing more worthwhile things¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- 2/2 chapters (next release is May 20). Meaningful things if you know what I mean ???? Chapter 68 No content Chapter 69 – Tulip No content Chapter 70 – Car Thief No content Chapter 71 – Aftermath No content Chapter 72 – The Night Road No content Chapter 73 - The Heart of An Assassin No content Chapter 74 - Worry No content Chapter 75 - Decision No content Chapter 76 - Boarding the Ship No content Chapter 77 - Prophecy No content Chapter 78 - Heroes With No Home Chapter 78 ¨C Heroes With No Home TL: Milaryn Edit: IlkonEbi ¡°W-what happened¡­¡± The cruise ship had just started its journey, so even if Minamoto Hajime was quite arrogant, it was difficult to say whether it was him who had acted this time or not. Jiaming felt uneasy, but in the next moment, the power recovered and the countless lights on the ship turned on again. Since there were no strange incidents like a sinking ship or hitting an iceberg, when darkness had suddenly descended, Shasha had clung onto Jiaming while Yahan and Lingjing were both holding each other. The four of them exchanged a few embarrassed glances and then quickly let go¡­ Shortly after, on the deck, the three women were chasing after Jiaming to beat him up. ¡°That scared me¡­ don¡¯t jinx things¡­¡± ¡°Do you really want the ship to sink?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the king of the world? Huh, tell me!¡± ¡°Help! I¡¯m innocent! It was all a coincidence¡­ Only a coincidence¡­¡± As the four of them chased each other on the deck, fireworks flew up into the sky and exploded magnificently into thousands of beautiful flowers. According to the ship¡¯s staff, they explained afterwards that the brief power outage was just an accident that occurred during the ship¡¯s system checks as it was still relatively new. However, during the fireworks show, Jiaming had noticed some guards hurrying somewhere and he sighed internally. It seemed that he had guessed right and Minamoto Hajime was really aboard this ship. Night time, Control Room #1 on the cruise ship. In front of a control station monitor was a melon-shape faced, delicate young woman. She was continuously tapping away at a keyboard, as a flood of data regarding everyone on the ship appeared on the screen. Her fingers were skillfully clicking away, and a faint frown was showing on her face. There were several differently dressed men surrounding her. After a long moment, the tapping on the keyboard started to slow down and eventually stopped. A thin-faced man next to her asked, ¡°Guolin, have you found anything?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t find anything at all,¡± the young woman smiled indifferently, ¡°However, that doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s no issue. I just have a nagging feeling that the power outage wasn¡¯t normal.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the thin man nodded, then looked at the other people around them, smiling. ¡°Since little sis Guolin says there¡¯s a problem, then there definitely is a problem. Let¡¯s be alert over the next three days; Guoyi, Guoan, increase your inspection rate in the sensitive areas; Guolin, please inspect the system here a few more times. If we can get through this event safely, I¡¯ll treat everyone to a meal.¡± ¡°We know, we know. Let¡¯s skip on the meal though; bro Guohua, everytime you say you¡¯ll treat us, we have to help pay the bill as well,¡± the young woman named Guolin smirked as she scratched her cheek and the others burst out laughing. ¡°That¡¯s right, boss. The food on this mission is a few hundred times better than what you can treat us to. So, because of the caviar we¡¯re eating tonight, we¡¯ll do our best to not let anything happen during this trip.¡± ¡°I really gotta say, Boss, all the money you earn you send home to donate to those few kids, if you have any money left over to treat us to a meal, you might as well save it to marry a wife instead. If you go on another matchmaking date, we¡¯re gonna have to end up paying for you, haha¡­¡± Hearing their opinions, Cui Guohua blushed, feeling self-conscious, but he also good-naturedly waved his hand, ¡°If you want me to treat you to a meal, then I will, otherwise just don¡¯t bother. Shoo, shoo, there¡¯s things to do and take care of, as to matchmaking¡­ You guys suggested it! You know how many women are crushing on me back at the base? Why would I need to go on on a matchmaking date¡­¡± They snorted in unison, as the most handsome one, Lin Guoan, adjusted his clothing, ¡°Boss, I know how many women send you love letters. When we were rooming together for a short while, some of those love letters ended up transferring over to me, you didn¡¯t think that they were being sent to you, did you?¡± The young woman called Guolin also nodded and smiled, ¡°I can testify for Boss, a lot of women did crush on Boss, but when they gossiped about it¡­¡± She paused for dramatic effect as the men listening looked at in anticipation, and she smirked, ¡°One night¡¯s worth of passion is enough, and no thank you to marriage.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± They looked at each other before bursting into wild laughter. By this time Cui Guohua was completely flushed, so he swept up and kicked the still giggling men as he chased them out of the control room. They disappeared quickly, but strains of their laughter could still be heard and the monitor reflected Guolin¡¯s smile as she turned back to reinspect the console. She thought to herself: Brother Guohua is a very good person. He always does everything to the best of his ability; so much so that sometimes he returns from missions covered in severe wounds. People highly respect him, but are also extremely worried for him at the same time. His salary can not be considered low, but he always sends some of it home and then sends the remaining part to the orphans living in the mountain area. All the ladies at the base have come to a consensus that they would not want to marry him, because no one would willingly spend their life with a husband that could die at any time. However Guohua was not the only one that acted like that. Among them, aside from Guoan, who seemed to have a different girlfriend every month, the others did not try to involve themselves with others. They were restraining themselves in that aspect to prevent themselves from having any liabilities. ¡®Heroes do not have a home¡¯ as Guohua often said. Compared to the other hidden organizations, the difference in overall strength of Ancestral Awakening was still too big. Thus, every time they had a mission, the only thing they could do was to throw their life on the line and complete it no matter what. This was the type of mentality that Cui Guohua would adopt whenever he accepted a mission. Through two generations¡¯ worth of hard work, Ancestral Awakening had finally become an organization that could be compared to Peroka and Wisdom of Heaven. From the outside, it seemed that the people that joined Ancestral Awakening were fiercely passionate, even to the point of fanaticism. There were organizations where people were not afraid of death, and those relied on their belief that they would be able to complete their mission regardless of what they did. So, even if they had to grit their teeth, they would persist to the end and bite their opponent to death. This attitude was what set the people in Ancestral Awakening apart ¡ª only they would be able to do that. Ancestral Awakening was best at brainwashing and turning people into machines, or at least that was how the outside world perceived them and why they were feared. As to whether they became machines or not, Guolin could not say. When there were no missions, they wore ordinary clothes. They did not drive expensive cars or live in mansions. They ate normal meals in the cafeteria or returned home to eat with their family. Their leisure activities included reading books, playing basketball or table tennis. On the base, if the staff was free, they would play some games on their computers and they would usually have quite a sunny disposition¡­ if these people were that easy to satisfy, it¡¯s possible they really were machines. But regardless, she knew she wanted to become like that¡­ If that made her a machine, then so be it. Turning back to the screen, Guolin sat up properly and switched her focus back to inspecting the ship¡¯s control system again. At the same time, a gray-clothed Jiaming was secretly operating in Engine Room #2 on the cruise ship. He was holding a small instrument with a display screen in his hands, moving in between the large machinery like a demon, disappearing into the shadows and then appearing in the next location. Whenever he saw one of the staff members, he would take a detour. Shortly after, he was standing between two giant atmospheric pressure pumps. He raised his head and looked up towards the lampshade. Determining that there was no one around, he nimbly scaled the pressure pumps and then took out a small screwdriver. He unscrewed two bolts with his gloved hands and pried open the lampshade to examine it. A small black box was attached next to the yellow light bulb. However¡­ Just as he was about to retrieve it, he was suddenly alerted. He quickly took out a slip of paper from his pocket as well as the screwdriver and placed it into the lamp cover. Soon after, his figure disappeared into the shadows around a corner. The next moment, another figure soundlessly appeared. The silhouette noticed the open light shade and came to a stop. It was Natalie Annis! Taking a look around and seeing no one, a curious smile appeared on her face. Just as she was about to look closer at the light shade, a fierce killing intent suddenly surged. Even after all these years, she had never experienced such a fierce killing intent warning her, ¡®This is none of your business. Leave!¡¯ Chapter 79 - Warning Chapter 79 ¨C Warning TL: Milaryn Edit: Fireclaws In the hold of the ship, the atmosphere gradually froze in tension and under the yellow light and the rumble of the turbines, Natalie¡¯s face showed a faint smile as she unhurriedly closed her eyes. She was not going to advance, but she would also not retreat. Her opponent had made a clear warning, which meant that he was not looking to start a fight. The reason why she came was because she felt a sense of danger and she was also not looking to start a conflict. However¡­ no one was allowed to taunt her like this without some sort of penalty! Her eyes closed and as she spread her senses outwards, shortly after, there was a loud ¡®bang,¡¯ and all the lights in the engine room suddenly turned off. In the darkness, the staff members all shouted in alarm and descended into chaos, but the machinery was still operating normally. The blinking red and green indicators were the only source of illumination left in the darkness. Unexpectedly, Natalie suddenly rushed forward. The space around her seemingly rippled as she lashed out gracefully with her left and right palms, but it did not strike anyone. However, she distinctly felt a person slip by her the moment she attacked. In the darkness, the two of them criss-crossed as they flew past each other. If their surroundings were illuminated, any observers would have been stunned silent by the scene in front of them. It had been a fierce attack, and it was also perfectly avoided as well. The two of them seemed to have crossed in a beautiful flawless dance in this limited space. Natalie¡¯s attack had been decisive and smoothly executed. However the person that had been dodging was inhumanly agile, and one could not determine how he had predicted his opponent¡¯s attack. From the beginning to the end, he was within the range of her attack, but not only did they not touch, but it also seemed like a well-rehearsed dance. What followed was another short exchange, but Natalie was feeling quite apprehensive, as even though they were not fighting to the death, she was not using her full strength, but her opponent¡¯s movements¡­ were just too exaggerated. Another way to explain it was that her opponent knew her better than she knew herself! If the high-speed movements did not leave behind an impression, she would have thought that it was just a trick of her mind and that there was no enemy nearby. At the same moment, her opponent made a move, and the tip of something sharp was aimed right in between her eyebrows. Natalie¡¯s body leaned back to avoid it, and her right hand subconsciously grabbed her opponent¡¯s neck. This is bad¡­ ¡°Wha-¡­¡± In the darkness, that person said a word before he was viciously knocked out. Natalie realized that it was one of the staff working on the ship as she supported his fainted body and dropped him on the floor. The presence of her opponent had completely disappeared during that short moment and could no longer be found. The Empress of Lyra Tenebris had never been toyed with so thoroughly. Natalie took a deep breath to calm her agitated mood, while her eyes revealed a sliver of excitement. This was a challenge! She was being unabashedly provoked! This matter¡­ was just too interesting¡­ Her figure melted back into the darkness and disappeared from the room. A moment later, Cui Guohua and his team had arrived at the entrance of the engine room from the upper floor and questioned, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure. The machinery is still functioning properly, but the illumination system on the lower floor had completely crashed. It should be due to the computer system malfunctioning, so there are only emergency lights right now¡­¡± The man was still in the middle of reporting when all the lights on the lower floor suddenly turned back on again. Cui Guohua adjusted his earpiece as Guolin¡¯s excited voice could be heard, ¡°Bro Guohua, I found it! I found the problem with the system, come over and take a look!¡± ¡°Ok, Guorui and I will come immediately. Guoping, Guoyi, we¡¯ll leave this floor to you.¡± As the two of them rushed back to the control room, Guolin continued excitedly chattering away nonstop, ¡°This is brilliant, incredible, and amazing, he is a genius! That person is definitely a genius¡­¡± He knew that Guolin would become quite enthusiastic about matters related to computers, but he had seldom seen her that passionate. When they returned to the control room, he saw the flushed young woman pointing at something on the monitor and said excitedly, ¡°I found it, I found it! It¡¯s that right there! That code there caused the power to stop on the cruise ship¡­¡± Cui Guohua and Qiao Guorui exchanged glances; Guorui was somewhat familiar with coding, but Guohua was a novice at it. Regardless, the two of them were not geniuses like Fang Guolin, so he said impatiently, ¡°What is it? Guolin, could you please simply explain? Unless you¡¯re saying that you caused the blackout?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Fang Guolin sat down in front of the control console, ¡°I don¡¯t know who did it, but he¡¯s incredible. I don¡¯t know when this code was inserted, but bro Guohua, I told you before that a true computer expert, even if they¡¯re just using an old-fashioned phone, would be able to easily hack anything. The one that caused all the lights to turn off on the lower levels just now was that type of expert¡­ If he were to become my teacher¡­¡± ¡°Ok, ok.¡± Qiao Guorui smiled as he interrupted, ¡°Get to the main point.¡± ¡°Oh yes, because I discovered the short code, I was able to turn all the lights back on. Also, through that code, I discovered the main culprit that caused the power on the whole ship to stop. That piece of code was very well hidden though, it had certain conditions set on it, where once those were fulfilled, then someone could easily take control of the ship¡­ I¡¯m so lucky that I could see two amazing experts fight it out. Bro Guohua, you have to find the expert that¡¯s helping us, hehe, I really want him to become my teacher¡­¡± ¡°Fine, if he can be found, then we¡¯ll force him to be your husband.¡± Qiao Guorui smirked, then patted Fang Guolin on the head like a little girl. She swatted at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t pet me! I¡¯m not a child!¡± ¡°Hmm, little sis Guolin is a big girl now, huh. No wonder she¡¯s looking for a¡­ Oh?¡± In the middle of his joke, a voice reported into their earpiece, ¡°Boss, we discovered one of the staff members had been knocked out. Also, we found something interesting.¡± ¡°Knocked out? Where?¡± ¡°Engine Room #2.¡± ¡°Huh, the one that had all the lights turned off just now shouldn¡¯t have been an enemy. We don¡¯t need to start an official search, you¡­¡± ¡°Haha, we also know he¡¯s not an enemy, but actually a very good friend. Even though his attitude isn¡¯t great.¡± Lu Guoyi smiled briefly, ¡°One of the lamp covers had been opened, and we discovered a bomb there. It seems like that friend had discovered it before us and left behind a screwdriver and a slip of paper. Ah, the tulip on the paper is quite beautiful¡­¡± ¡°Tulip?¡± Cui Guohua showed a surprised expression, ¡°It should be that Mr. Tulip from Jianghai City. It¡¯s great that he¡¯s aboard this ship as well. What did he write on the piece of paper?¡± ¡°Boss, it¡¯ll hurt our pride. He didn¡¯t write anything important; it¡¯s better you don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Just tell me,¡± Cui Guohua frowned, ¡°Why are you being coy? Hurry and say it!¡± ¡°Uh, if you insist. He said¡­¡± Lu Guoyi paused briefly, ¡°The note said, ¡®You guys are such tools.¡¯¡± Chapter 80 - Sounds of knocking in the night Chapter 80 Sounds of knocking in the night He says¡­..you¡¯re such a bunch of clowns. ¡°Eh? ¡° Upon hearing these words, the three in the upper control room were dumbfounded. Then Cui Guohua laughed, ¡°Haha, intriguing, since this guy can say something like that, it shows that he¡¯s on our side. Very good! It appears his strength is much greater than ours. Our chances of success this time has increased a lot. Guoyi, let¡¯s take a look at that bomb¡­.¡± As the members of Ancestral Awakening were getting thrilled over this discovery, Jiaming had already returned to his room. It was nearly midnight. He laid down on the balcony to calm the excitement in his heart. The brief clash with Natalie was not intense but it was still extremely dangerous. Since being reborn, this was his first time going up against someone of the same level. Jiaming felt it was satisfactory to be able to slip away from right under her nose. As it stood, all warnings and cautions had been delivered. Ancestral Awakening now knew of his existence. Peroka¡¯s and Lyra Tenebris¡¯ people on this cruise ship should also be aware of his shadowy presence. The beauty of this was, without a clear understanding of what he represented, any action they took would be akin to entering a trap. ¡°Gu Jiaming, ah Gu Jiaming, you are really a mighty and miraculous fellow!¡± After hiding away his equipment, he went to take a shower. Suddenly, there came a light knocking sound on his door. Then Shasha¡¯s lowered voice could be heard: ¡°Jiaming, Jiaming¡­¡­open, open, open the door quick¡­¡­¡± Forced to come out wrapped only in a bath towel, he looked through the peephole. Shasha stood outside dressed simply in a finely patterned flower pajama, nervously looking left and right. The moment he opened the door, she rushed inside, furtively closing it again. ¡°Whew, that was dangerous, luckily no one was around¡±, she exclaimed while making a motion of patting her hand over her heart. Seeing her barefooted state, hopping back and forth on the carpet, obviously she must have rushed out of her room once there was no one in the passageway. Jiaming couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being seen? If sister Yahan finds out it won¡¯t be good.¡± Shasha glanced at Jiaming and saw that he was covered in soap bubbles. She laughed, jumped on to the bed and pulled the quilt over her legs: ¡°Blame it on sister Yahan. She wanted to watch a horror movie. I got so scared I couldn¡¯t sleep. You go finish your shower, I can go to sleep by myself.¡± ¡°You being able to sleep by yourself would be weird¡±, Jiaming chuckled. ¡°However, sister Yahan will definitely come over tomorrow morning to wake us up. Aren¡¯t you afraid of her finding you here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care¡±, Shasha giggled from under the quilt. ¡°Anyway it¡¯s your responsibility to help me fall asleep. After I fall asleep, it¡¯s your responsibility to carry me back. There¡­ my keycard is besides the pillow.¡± ¡°You little vixen¡­¡± Jiaming laughed while shaking his head. Originally, he wanted to ask her why she didn¡¯t go to Lingjing¡¯s room. The two of them could just as easily help each other sleep and this wouldn¡¯t risk making Yahan suspicious. When he thought about saying it though, he realized this would certainly embarrass her and rouse her temper, resulting in another drawn out tussle. It was already late, better to not get into that. As he returned to the bathroom and turned on the shower, Shasha¡¯s soft voice floated over from the bedroom: ¡°Jiaming, I feel a little bit seasick.¡± ¡°Oh, seasick? No way, you have such a sturdy disposition¡­¡­¡± ¡°Careful I don¡¯t smash you flat, daring to describe me this way¡­¡­¡±, Shasha¡¯s voice came over again with a snort. ¡°Anyway¡­¡­whenever the boat sways a little, I feel like throwing up. I feel better when I lie down but I¡¯m having trouble sleeping. Of course, watching that horror movie is another reason¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you some seasickness medicine from the ship¡¯s dispensary tomorrow¡­¡­¡± Jiaming hadn¡¯t finished speaking when the sound of knocking came again from the door. A sudden silence fell over the room. Jiaming came out with a towel to see Shasha looking through the peephole. She opened the door noiselessly as Lingjing darted in. Lingjing stared blankly at Shasha for a moment, then the three broke out in laughter. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep,¡± Lingjing grinned as she turned around to close the door. Jiaming chuckled: ¡°I¡¯m going to finish showering, you two go to bed first.¡± The two girls teased each other as they got on the bed. Shortly afterwards, the sound of their playful antics filled the room. ¡°Another threesome tonight, ah life is perfect. Work hard student Gu Jiaming, and soon you shall be the world¡¯s number one¡±. He finished washing and came out wrapped in the bath towel. Amidst the frolicking, the two girls¡¯ pajamas had become fully undone. Shasha had Lingjing pinned down while tickling her. Lingjing resembled a dolphin while struggling, laughing mischievously as she blew up a condom to test it for leaks. What would have been a pure and beautiful scene, instead looked bizarre with that added element. If one were to turn it into a painting, perhaps it could become a piece of French artwork, which always combines the tasteful with the obscene. Then, ¡°Peng Peng Peng¡±, the knocking sound came from the door for the third time. The three froze awkwardly in their movements. Lingjing opened her eyes wide. Shasha slid off the bed naked, silently running barefoot across the carpet. She looked through the peephole, turned her head around and held up a finger: ¡°shhhhh¡± Shasha returned to the bedside and whispered: ¡°It¡¯s sister Yahan.¡± The two girls recalled the reason they went to Jiaming¡¯s room, then turned their heads in unison to glower at Jiaming. Jiaming naturally knew what they were thinking. Whispering, he plead his case : ¡°I don¡¯t know either why she¡¯s here¡­¡­even if she can¡¯t sleep there¡¯s no reason to look to me for comf¡­..uhh, to look for me.¡± He wasn¡¯t bold enough to use an intimate sounding term like comfort. He put on an honest looking face, ¡°I¡¯m innocent, your Honors¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hmmph, that better be true, otherwise you¡¯re doomed¡±, Lingjing wrinkled her nose. ¡°Yes, doomed¡±, Shasha echoed, shaking her fist. The three put their heads together. The two girls without a stitch on, looked like two puppies kneeling on the bed. It was a truly enticing sight. Then they gathered their pajamas from the bed and scampered into the bathroom. Jiaming sighed, ¡°I beg you, Big Miss Yahan, please don¡¯t tell me the reason you¡¯re looking for me is because you¡¯re horny. I know we¡¯re very close and all. You falling for me is totally normal, but this is not the place for your passion to erupt¡­¡±, Jiaming thought nonsensically. Obviously, he didn¡¯t think such a thing was likely. Through the peephole, one can see Yahan in a nightgown, standing in front of the door with a delicate frown on her beautiful face. It was a picture that could move the heart of any man. As there was no response coming from the room, she resumed her knocking on the door, calling out softly: ¡°Jiaming, Jiaming¡­¡­¡± Her tone of voice made it sound like they really had a secret relationship. He rolled his eyes, then reached out and opened the door. A male voice suddenly sounded from nearby: ¡°Eh? Teacher Zhang is on this ship? It¡¯s really¡­¡­is this where you¡¯re staying?¡± These words were said in the manner of a man suddenly happening upon a beautiful woman, conveying an overwhelming mixture of surprise and pleasure. At this moment, Jiaming had already opened the door. Yahan, who looked like she had something on her mind, gave a slight start upon hearing that sudden voice. She looked towards the corridor as she stood there. A man¡¯s handsome figure also hurried over to stop besides the doorway, delight written on his face. It was that Xu Mo from whom Jiaming had stolen the two cruise tickets. At this juncture, Jiaming blinked his eyes while presenting a clean and honest face at Yahan and alternately the infatuated Teacher Xu. Yahan, confronted with Xu Mo¡¯s demeanor, looked back at Jiaming, seemed to suddenly realize something, and flushed red. As for that Xu Mo, he stared at the two opening his mouth wide, unable to say a word. The gradual change from his previous smiling expression looked extremely farcical. They were all adults here. A woman in a nightie, deep in the middle of the night was standing in front of a man¡¯s door. The man was wrapped only in a bath towel, looking disreputable. There was no need to say what was going on. Although¡­¡­that man did look a bit young. However, what counted after all was that he was¡­¡­uh, fully developed. In an instant, Xu Mo¡¯s thoughts turned chaotic. He knew Zhang Yahan, when not dressed in her usual spinster getup, was actually a great beauty. However, he never imagined she could have such a bashful and charming temperament, never imagined she would be dressed in a nightgown knocking on a man¡¯s door at midnight, and definitely never imagined it would be such an average looking¡­¡­boy. Yahan had naturally figured out that the present circumstances were highly irregular. Flustered, with her face red, her feet moved of their own volition and she stepped into the room: ¡°Er¡­.hehe, what a coincidence¡­..this, Teacher Xu¡­¡­goodbye. The door closed in Xu Mo¡¯s face. It opened a couple of seconds later. Jiaming poked his head out, helpfully pointed at one of the nearby rooms: ¡°Er, Teacher Zhang Is staying besides that one. If you want to look for her¡­¡­er¡­¡­uh, have a good evening, bye¡­¡­¡± Outside, the sea breeze was blowing, Xu Mo had on a complicated expression. The initial euphoria hadn¡¯t even faded when countless other emotions had already welled up from the bottom of his heart. For lack of better words to describe it, we can temporarily put it this way: it showed he was very much in love. From heaven to hell, it¡¯s that easy. Chapter 81 - Worry After the door closed, Jiaming looked through the peephole, spying on Xu Mo¡¯s reactions outside. Then Yahan shoved him aside. She looked for a while. Finally, she sighed: ¡°This is just great. You¡¯ve ruined my reputation.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon. You came here by yourself ok? It¡¯s not as if I dragged you over.¡± Jiaming stared back at her. ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you can¡¯t ruin what was never there.¡± ¡°What was never there¡­.¡± Yahan was baffled for a second, then laughed as she aimed a kick. Jiaming promptly retreated to a safe distance: ¡°Settle down, settle down, it¡¯s so late already. What was your purpose in coming over?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say you can¡¯t sleep, don¡¯t say you can¡¯t sleep, don¡¯t say you can¡¯t sleep¡­¡­¡±, he beseeched silently as he invited Yahan to sit on the chair. Jiaming glimpsed the two malevolent glares coming from within the bathroom doorway so he quickly put back on his innocent face. Then Yahan gave another sigh: ¡°I can¡¯t sleep¡­¡­¡± ¡°Uh, you can¡¯t sleep¡­¡­it¡¯s not as if I can cure insomnia. I already told you guys not to watch horror movies¡­¡­¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡­I kept thinking about what you said earlier on the deck but I didn¡¯t know how to ask.¡± ¡°On the deck?¡± When the ship lost power, you said it was going to sink¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ah, hehe¡­¡­¡± Jiaming laughed, ¡°That was purely me joking, did you think it was for real?¡± ¡°But how can there be such a coincidence? One mention from you and the power went off. Granted it¡¯s a new ship, but something like that is still implausible. Also you¡­¡­¡± Yahan can be considered someone who knew exactly what kind of person Jiaming was. Afraid that she was about to ask if there were some kind of sinister goings on happening behind the scenes, Jiaming hastily interrupted. He looked at her sincerely: ¡°Of course it¡¯s a coincidence, haha¡­ really, there¡¯s no mistake, believe me.¡± The back of the chair was obstructing Lingjing and Shasha¡¯s view from the bathroom. Jiaming and Yahan faced each other for what seemed like an eternity. Yahan hesitantly: ¡°Your voice¡­¡­there¡¯s something odd¡­¡­¡± ¡°Eh, what¡¯s odd about it? Anyway, that was just me running my mouth off. In any case¡­¡­uh¡­¡­¡±He gave a yawn, ¡±Don¡¯t worry, how can there be such a coincidence? If I was that good at predictions, I would¡¯ve become a fortune teller long ago. Don¡¯t think too much, go back and sleep. You just got spooked after watching that horror movie. I already told you not to watch¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yahan stared at him for a while, then laughed, looking around. Lingjing and Shasha were scared into moving deeper into the bathroom. ¡°You aren¡¯t being honest ah, trying to chase me out. Can it be you¡¯re hiding a girl here? Lingjing or Shasha?¡± Jiaming rolled his eyes: ¡°It¡¯s that Natalie, daughter of the Duke of Annis. I just picked her up. Right now, she¡¯s sleeping inside. It¡¯s fine if you want to look, but please don¡¯t disturb her and wake her up. As you know, being a duke¡¯s daughter, she¡¯s likely somewhat temperamental. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t dare act that way with me, but as for you, I¡¯m not able to say.¡± ¡°Tssk, keep on blowing hot air.¡± Yahan peered inside the bedroom, then took stock of Jiaming¡¯s tired looking face. ¡°Ok, you already said it¡¯s going to be fine. I¡¯m going, you rest well¡±. ¡°The way you say it, it seems if something does happen, it¡¯ll be my responsibility.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t take responsibility, who will!¡± Yahan¡¯s face turned a bit red for some reason. She looked outside through the peephole. Since she hadn¡¯t been inside that long, she had to check that Xu Mo wasn¡¯t still there. After a moment, she opened the door, said good bye and scurried out. That was a close call. It was a good thing she didn¡¯t let out anything about his unusual abilities and the activities he was involved in. Letting out a deep breath, he smiled and went over to the two girls inside: ¡°Well? Now do you believe I¡¯m innocent?¡± ¡°How are you innocent?¡± Lingjing laughed, returning with Shasha to the bed. ¡°We heard everything. You¡¯re hiding that girl called Natalie. Sister Yahan also wants you to take responsibility. Hmmph, how can you say you¡¯re innocent!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Shasha had her body halfway out of the blanket. She was about to shake her fist when Jiaming charged into the bed. The two girls shrieked and dived like two meek little sheep inside the blanket. The sheets turned over and over, becoming a battlefield full of passion and warmth¡­. After the tempest came darkness and tranquility¡­¡­snuggled inside the blankets, the two girls, satiated, were lazing in the afterglow, rubbing their cheeks like puppies against Jiaming¡¯s chest. Shasha murmured: ¡±Jiaming, don¡¯t forget to bring us back so that sister Yahan doesn¡¯t find out. Also, I want some seasickness medication tomorrow¡­.¡± Cuddled in Jiaming¡¯s other arm, Lingjing blearily opened her eyes after hearing Shasha¡¯s word: ¡°Seasickness medicine? Shasha, you¡¯re seasick?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­¡­feel like throwing up sometimes, I¡­¡­¡± Following these words, Lingjing suddenly sat up. Jiaming also sensed something wrong, opening his mouth. Shasha, originally still a bit groggy, seeing Lingjing¡¯s reaction, opened her eyes wide. All the sleepiness was gone. The three exchanged looks with each other. In the end it was Shasha who, hesitantly, spoke first: ¡°No way, can it be¡­¡­I¡¯m pregnant?¡± ************************************************************** The next morning, with big circles under their eyes, Lingjing and Shasha came out of their respective rooms. Only Jiaming seemed relatively normal. Last night, regarding the pregnancy, the three discussed it for half the night. Yes or no, if yes, keep it or not, the two girls were especially anxious about this matter. Even though it was still too early to know for sure, but it was something that they were always wary of. Now that there were slight symptoms, the two girls couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was very likely. As far as Jiaming was concerned, having any girl carrying his child was an unfathomable feeling. If it were his previous life, he probably wouldn¡¯t give a damn. In order to avoid undue influence on himself because of sentiment, he might even personally kill the woman. However, the situation was different now. He already had deep feelings towards Shasha. Logically he knew that it was too early to jump to conclusions. However, he really liked this feeling, this warmth. He wanted to have this child. Consequently¡­¡­he gave no outward indication of what he preferred. He felt it would be too selfish. Of course, the easiest solution is to have an abortion. At their age, being pregnant was really rare, something usually seen only on remote villages. However, when Shasha mentioned it, Lingjing objected: ¡°Let¡¯s just leave this area.¡± This idea was rather impetuous. Jiaming could cast away his background as a member of the Huang family anytime, but how could Lingjing leave her parents? And even though Shasha did not spend that much time with her father on a day to day basis, it was also impossible for her to just leave. After their discussion, Shasha cried while holding on to Jiaming. Eventually Lingjing started crying too. Jiaming could only try comforting them, saying, it¡¯s nothing, or, it¡¯s really just seasickness. However, it had no effect. After the crying spell was over, the three huddled up in the blanket and started discussing the consequences of having a child. They imagined what it would be like as a small family, what roles each one would have, what to name the child, etc. This feeling of closeness was actually very heartwarming. However deep down they all understood that if Shasha was really pregnant, it would be the biggest test to date that the three of them would have to face. The two exhausted girls finally fell asleep at around 3 am. Jiaming dressed them in their pajamas and brought them back to their rooms. He also felt troubled. This was the first time in the past few years that he felt powerless. Even if this time was a false alarm, he also knew that in life there were many things that one can only be helpless against. If there was a child, their best choice might still be to abort¡­¡­ Hopefully it was only a simple case of seasickness¡­¡­After having breakfast, he immediately went to the ship¡¯s clinic. Chapter 82 - Small Clash Chapter 82 Small Clash There are three medical care facilities onboard the ship. The nearest one was in the last room on the starboard side of the second deck. The time was just past 8 am. Around the ship, the vast, still expanse of blue water stretched endlessly towards the horizons. The skies were clear, the clouds perfectly mirrored on the surface. The bright scenery on this autumn day was dazzling and invigorating. However, this hardly had any effect on Jiaming¡¯s mood. The ocean scenery made him feel powerless instead, especially at this moment. ¡°This really isn¡¯t a healthy frame of mind to have. If only there was a good reason to go kill a couple of people, it will definitely help me recover¡­¡­¡± Whenever his heart was feeling vexed, this ingrained chaotic way of thinking tended to worm its way out from the depths of his mind. While appearing to look around aimlessly, he swept his gaze down the sides of the ship and across the passageway at the people brushing past him. It was really a pity, none of them appeared to be trouble making Peroka assassins¡­¡­ The medical facility at the end of the passageway was big. On one side were beds and seats separated by screens. In the middle was the doctor¡¯s office. On the other side was a counter selling medical supplies, with an around 40-year-old matronly looking woman seated within. Most of the items displayed on top the counter were condoms from various well-known brands. The flowery, verdant packaging making it resemble the bubble gum you find on supermarket counter displays. Seeing Jiaming coming over, the middle age matron gave a smile. Jiaming smiled back politely, asking: ¡°Auntie, I want some seasickness medicine and a box of pregnancy test sheets.¡± Hearing the words pregnancy test, the middle-aged matron¡¯s expression immediately turned a little strange, eyeing Jiaming up and down a few times with a measuring look. She readily handed over a box of seasickness medicine, then went inside, rummaging among the shelves there for the pregnancy tests. At this very moment, the ship¡¯s doctor, wearing a white lab coat came out with a man and a woman. The man was precisely Xu Mo. The woman was someone Jiaming was also a bit familiar with. It was the person who started working at the school at the same time as Chen Guxia. The school doctor, her name should be Li Yunxiu. ¡°It¡¯s really true enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road, I guess we must have been love rivals in a previous life¡­¡± Jiaming helplessly rubbed his nose. As expected, once he spotted Jiaming by the counter, Xu Mo deliberately slowed down his footsteps. Right on cue, the middle age auntie finally came up with the requested item, dropping it on the counter: ¡°Here, the pregnancy tests you wanted, total for both is sixty-eight. This price is basically highway robbery but at present, Jiaming was naturally in no position to object. As he was taking out some money, the killing intent on his side rose up as Xu Mo charged over. One hand grabbed onto Jiaming¡¯s shirt with the other hand clutching the pregnancy test: ¡°You¡­ you are actually buying this thing, why are you buying it!? Speak!¡± ¡°Come on, that should be none of your business, Teacher Xu. The ship sells it, I want to buy¡­.¡± ¡°Speak!¡± Acting as if he was intimidated by the other person¡¯s imposing manner, Jiaming, smiling sheepishly: ¡°eh, me and a few friends were playing cards in our room, the bet was the loser has to stick a pregnancy test sheet on his face. Otherwise, would I be getting this to test myself as to whether I¡¯m pregnant or not?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± Shaking the pregnancy tests in his hands, Xu Mo¡¯s face turned a bit hideous. ¡°Admit the truth, is it¡­¡­is it because she¡¯s pregnant, you¡­¡­.¡± Mostly to protect Yahan¡¯s reputation, Xu Mo didn¡¯t mention her name. However, from his expression and manner, he was quite unhappy with Jiaming¡¯s slight smile, his fingers jabbing out like lightning. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to lose your fingers, let go of me. What are you to her? Do I have any obligation to explain anything to you?¡± The pregnancy test sheets dropped to the floor as Jiaming grasped Xu Mo¡¯s right index and middle fingers. If he applied force, it would definitely break. This should be among one of Jiaming¡¯s consummate skills that he retained from when he was a top assassin. The other people watching froze wordlessly. Even though Xu Mo did not teach any of Jiaming¡¯s classes, their statuses were still one of teacher and student. However, this was obviously a situation of two rivals feuding over the affections of a lady. Even though she wasn¡¯t too clear as to what was going on, that Li Yunxiu laughed as she stepped forward. ¡°Eh, this, it¡¯s student Gu Jiaming right? Teacher Yahan has mentioned you. I heard that you¡¯re her junior apprentice brother. This Teacher Xu is also Teacher Zhang¡¯s good friend. Even though I don¡¯t know what has happened between you two, but since we¡¯re all on this ship, you two should at least consider giving Teacher Zhang some face and both take a step back¡­¡­¡± How could she know that Xu Mo¡¯s rage was in fact due to Yahan being involved? The woman that he¡¯s in love with has another man. Even worse that ¡°man¡± was a very ordinary high school student. And now they even conceived a child together. At this point, Xu Mo¡¯s fervor had reached an extreme danger state, his gaze turning red, body trembling a little. Finally, his left hand with a spasmodic jerk, let go of Jiaming, almost hitting the nearby Li Yunxiu, who let out an ¡°Ah¡± sound as she moved aside. After Xu Mo let go of Jiaming¡¯s shirt, Jiaming smoothly let go of his fingers then picked up the pregnancy test sheets as if nothing happened. Xu Mo, feeling he had gone too far, calmed himself down: ¡°Teacher Li, I apologize, I got too excited.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡­¡± Originally, she wanted to say a few words about him being a teacher and such. However, in the end they weren¡¯t that close. These words were better left unsaid. Looking at the youngster called Gu Jiaming paying nonchalantly and examining the pregnancy tests, Li Yunxiu felt a bit amused. She wondered if Teacher Xu had jumped to the wrong conclusion. The kid buying that stuff, it might be for his older sister or mother to use but Xu Mo raised such a ruckus, acting like his girlfriend got snatched. That was what she was thinking. However, in the next moment, that youngster¡¯s words rendered her speechless. ¡°Eh, auntie, which brand of condoms here are good? Before I used¡­.heh, of course I haven¡¯t used any, only heard people say¡­¡­that brand is more thin but very safe¡­¡­haha, I feel like changing to another¡­¡­ auntie, do you have any that feels good but is also very safe¡­¡­.heh, of course it¡¯s not for me to use, haha, haha¡­¡­¡± A spurious smile, clumsily covering up the obvious while asking and answering his own questions, in an instant the good impression Li Yunxiu had formed disappeared. The face of the auntie on the counter twitched slightly. A little brat discussing the pros and cons of different condoms with a middle-age matron, how can this be happening¡­¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± The first person who couldn¡¯t stand it anymore was of course Xu Mo. Face distorted, he acted to wipe away this abomination. Turning around, he sent a fist smashing towards Jiaming. Li Yinxiu wanted to stop him but was too late. No matter what, acting so violently towards a mere student was honestly too much. Jiaming instantly stepped lightly to the side. Unable to stop his momentum, the middle-age matron ended up taking the punch on the face. The middle-age matron screamed, stumbled back a few steps then fell on the ground. The doctor promptly went over to check on her. The scene quickly became a flurry of confusion. Off to the side, Jiaming shrugged his shoulders, seeming as if to say: ¡°You look at this, you look at this¡­¡­¡± then with an innocent expression, stepped out of the office, leaving behind the red eyed Xu Mo who was shaking from head to toe. Xu Mo was but a small fry, it¡¯s pointless to take him seriously. After going out, Jiaming shrugged his shoulders once again, weighing the two boxes in his hand. After a few steps, as he was about to get up on the stairs, a man came jogging up from below. As the man brushed past, Jiaming suddenly gave a start. He looked at the man in front of him with an exceptionally clear gaze, mixed with a hint of coldness and excitement¡­¡­ ¡°Good, now I can vent a little, it¡¯s been too boring ah¡­¡­¡± Chapter 83 - Ball(1) When the alarm sounded, Cui Guohua and his men rushed to the control room on the fifth deck. Amid the lavish passageway, two men lay in a pool of blood. One of them was a ship¡¯s security officer. The other one was dressed like a tourist. Both were no longer breathing. ¡°Guorui, what¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Tulip.¡± He handed over a slip of paper with a tulip drawn on it to Cui Guohua. Tan Guorui¡¯s forehead wrinkled up a little, ¡°That security officer is one of the moles planted by Peroka. The other one¡­¡­if you remove his disguise, there¡¯s an 80% possibility this is one of Peroka¡¯s A-level assassins. ¡°What a fast knife.¡± while looking at the single slash on the tourist¡¯s neck, Cui Guohua spied a small pile of plastic in the corner that was still emitting a strange smell. ¡°They were here for the surveillance video from last night. It¡¯s obvious that that Mr. Tulip has also captured Peroka¡¯s attention. What we see is the warning he¡¯s giving Peroka. Guorui, you should have mostly figured out what happened at that time, right?¡± ¡°En.¡± Tan Guorui kneaded his temples, laughed lightly, ¡°It¡¯s like the boss says, these two from Peroka came for the surveillance video. After taking the recording, the mole was walking in front. As he turned around the corner, this A-level assassin from Peroka was ambushed. He had no opportunity to resist, a single slash taking his life, his blood spurting out over a meter. However, judging from his stunned expression right before dying, when that Mr. Tulip rushed out, he paused for a split second with the knife to his neck. This was to allow the target to feel fear. Tan Guorui took a deep breath, an admiring expression on his face: ¡°He was able to approach an A-level assassin from Peroka without being detected, under circumstances where the target is in a high state of alertness. Not only that, the level of skill with the knife, even pausing as he closed in, this is a clear indication of this person¡¯s agility and mettle. It also shows the ability to precisely judge his own skill level against the opponent¡¯s. This kind of matter, this person is flaunting his own strength. It¡¯s also a warning to the opponent to desist delivered through sheer intimidation. Except for the world¡¯s currently top ranked assassins and fighters, no one else has this capability. When the Peroka assassin fell, the security officer in front was startled, then turned around, pulling out his gun¡­¡­.¡± Tan Guorui strode over to the corner in the passageway, his voice sounding excited, seemingly as if seeing a marvel: ¡°This Mr. Tulip has no hesitation, charging in to the attack, wielding the knife, the security officer¡¯s wrist was immediately cut through. It was too late to fire the gun and it dropped to the floor instead. He might have been able to catch a glimpse of Mr. Tulip, or maybe not. It happened too fast, really too fast¡­¡­¡± In the passageway around the corner, both walls and the ground were splattered with bloodstains: ¡°This Mr. Tulip¡¯s speed is really too fast. The mole retreated three steps, dang, dang, dang. He was probably in disbelief, but didn¡¯t dare to shout for help. In that instant, his body already received 19 slashes. On the twentieth slash, his throat was cut open. Then the assailant burnt these recordings, walking off without a second thought. We can search for clues, maybe this Mr. Tulip¡¯s clothes will have some bloodstains, but¡­¡­¡± ¡°But with an assassin this good, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be very hard to find any clues.¡± Cui Guohua laughed, ¡°We should just be happy we have someone this strong on our side. If not, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to escape the fate of having my throat cut either. Let¡¯s block off any news of this incident first. However, I reckon Peroka already knows what happened. The high level leadership hadn¡¯t completed the preparations to formally enter into conflict with Peroka. If this incident can cause sufficient intimidation, Peroka might restrain themselves a little on this ship. If we can get through this situation peacefully, then neither side will suffer.¡± ****************************************************************** ¡°Damn this Cui Guohua¡­¡­he looks honest, is actually very sly¡­¡­¡± Killing the two people was arousing. However, when he returned, Jiaming was still feeling a little depressed. Thinking about what just happened, Ancestral Awakening appeared too weak. It was no better than a token show of force. They basically intended for Peroka or some other entity to take the surveillance video. They are trying all sorts of methods to uncover him, forcing him as Mr. Tulip to stand against Peroka and leaving him no choice but to ally with them. To be fair, this was a core principle in the art of war. Since he enjoyed the distraction and they obtained benefits too, it was a win-win situation. He handed the pregnancy test strips to Shasha. According to the instructions, the urine test should be done first thing in the morning because the hormone levels will be higher. However for the 3 people¡¯s peace of mind, and after talking it over, they felt that although the hormone levels right now might not be high, but it might still be able to show. After the test showed negative, the three were slightly relieved. However the two girls¡¯ mood still remained low for the rest of the day. Even though they tried to put up a cheerful appearance, they were unable to hide it from Jiaming. In the end, they didn¡¯t go out on the ship, staying in Yahan¡¯s room to watch horror films. They pulled close the curtains, turning the room pitch black. The 3 women screaming while wrapped up in a blanket. Jiaming dozed off on the side. Afterwards, the four played poker. Jiaming proposed buying a box of pregnancy test strips, with the losers sticking one on themselves then going out and walking for a loop. Ultimately it ended up with the 3 women laughing as they tried to beat him up. Throughout the afternoon, Shasha who had taken the seasickness medication no longer felt any nausea. Towards evening, her mood became much calmer. Subsequently, Lingjing also decided to cheer up. She proposed that the three of them put on their formal wear and go join the ship¡¯s ball. Yahan naturally agreed. ¡°But¡­..I¡¯m not used to this kind of formal dress.¡± The only one to object was Shasha. However, this protest was of course powerless against Lingjing¡¯s and Yahan¡¯s persuasion. In the evening, the golden light of the setting sun spread over the ocean surface and under the rolling foam. As Jiaming pushed open the door to go out, the already dressed Yahan was leaning over the railing watching the ocean. The spotlessly white, snugly fitting double strapped evening gown set off her beautiful and graceful figure while not appearing to reveal too much. The two broad straps crossed behind her back in an X, a patch of clear white skin showing on her sides. Her hair rolled up in a simple bun, at this moment Yahan appeared beautiful and elegant, a dazzling sight. Turning in a circle in front of Jiaming, she smiled softly then gracefully gestured with her right hand that was encased in white lace gloves: ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble.¡± Indifferently slapping away Yahan¡¯s hand, Jiaming look straight into her eyes, ¡°Gesturing towards me with your hand like that, do you want me to be your dance partner? I don¡¯t want to be killed by other people¡¯s stares. Furthermore, I hear these X-strap gowns are supposed to be worn for your lover, are you trying to ensnare me? So, are you in love? Uh, never mind¡­¡­I¡¯m gonna shut up now¡­¡­.¡± Seeing the flames emitting from Yahan¡¯s eyes, looking as if she was about to explode, Jiaming laughingly raised up both hands, ¡°Lingjing and Shasha aren¡¯t ready yet?¡± As these words came out of his mouth, the door to Shasha¡¯s room opened. The first to come out was Lingjing¡¯s beautiful figure. She then energetically started pulling Shasha out of the room: ¡°What¡¯s there to be shy about? It¡¯s beautiful, come on out, come on out¡­¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wait¡­¡­.I, I¡¯m not done preparing¡­¡­this close fitting gown is not comfortable to wear¡­¡­I¡¯m going to die from being laughed at, no¡­¡­.¡± The weak protests ultimately weren¡¯t much use. As Lingjing continued pulling, Shasha, clad in an all black dress finally stumbled out. She took a few rapid steps before regaining her balance, her heels tapping crisply on the floor. When she saw Jiaming¡¯s and Yahan¡¯s wide eyed looks, she lowered her head, blushing: ¡°eh, You¡­¡­.aren¡¯t allowed to laugh¡­¡­¡± In her more than 10 years of life, this is probably the first time she has appeared in front of other people¡¯s eyes in this fashion. A close fitting full length gown, a tall and supple figure, long and straight shining black hair, the lightly applied makeup on her lustrously pale skin bringing a shy blush to her cheeks¡­¡­From afar, she looked like a purple and black daffodil that was starting to bloom¡­¡­ Chapter 84 - Ball(2) A huge vaulted ceiling towered over the splendid and magnificent hall, the steel framework on all four sides drawing towards the center and rising up to the skylights. The skies above visibly darkened as night arrived. Big and small crystal neon lights set off an atmosphere of splendor. The sound of gently running water played in the background while waiters shuttled back and forth amidst the gorgeously dressed crowd engaged in animated conversation. Entering the ball room, Jiaming and the three reflexively looked for a secluded nook to sit and eat. Almost immediately, Yahan spotted some of her family members and wanted to go over to say hello. After Yahan left, the three engaged in friendly banter while simultaneously looking around for people they knew. In the distance were the siblings Dongfang Lu and Dongfang Wan. Huang family members were scattered throughout the crowd including Huang Haobing and Huang Haoyun. However, it looks like they hadn¡¯t noticed Jiaming in the corner. In addition, they were a lot of newly familiar faces from school, all from various well-to-do families. Xu Mo was staring tensely at Yahan¡¯s distant figure from another corner, together with some of Jianghai City¡¯s rich businessman who were conversing with the female royalty, Natalie Annis. Of course, Jiaming naturally would not bring this to Lingjing and Shasha¡¯s attention. Even though they purposefully secluded themselves in the corner, the two girls still drew the notice of more than a few people. Lingjing¡¯s innocent charm had a hint of maturity brought about by them living together. Although her appearance was still that of a fresh faced young girl, when compared to same aged girls who only knew how to be frivolous, she gave off the opposite impression. Shasha at the moment was sitting there awkwardly, but her original brashness had been replaced with an alluring and gentle shyness. They couldn¡¯t help but draw a few extra looks from the people who happened to glance at their area. Still, the first one to come over to break the ice was a familiar person. ¡°eh? Lingjing, you are also on the cruise. Haha, you¡¯re looking beautiful tonight. Are these two your friends¡­¡­.¡± ¡°ah, Teacher Chen, you¡¯re also here? Lingjing was pleasantly surprised as she stood up. ¡°Jiaming, Shasha, this is the Teacher Chen that I often tell you about. Teacher Chen, these are my two best friends, Gu Jiaming and Liu Huaisha.¡± Lingjing had indeed mentioned this piano teacher named Chen Ke-an from Nordic Fantasy restaurant to Jiaming and Shasha several times before. According to her, he was a very good piano player and had taken considerate care of Lingjing even though she was a newcomer. He was also very earnest in his greetings to the three. After a few moments, Zhang Jingfeng also came over holding a glass of wine: ¡°eh, Ke-an, how did you¡­.huh? Lingjing!¡± His gaze took in the stunningly beautiful Lingjing sitting to the side, then smiling: ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t accept the work reward I offered. It turns out you already had arrangements. Ah, ah, I was too presumptuous, too presumptuous¡­¡­ After another round of introductions, Zhang Jingfeng also sat down on the sofa. They had only said a few words when Yahan brought over an almost 30 year old woman with well maintained looks. Jiaming recognized her of course. It was Yahan¡¯s stepmother. He had even personally knocked her unconscious one time. Seeing the unexpected addition of two men to their company, Yahan was a little taken aback. However, after waiting for Zhang Jingfeng and Chen Ke-an to introduce themselves, the woman who looked like she could be Yahan¡¯s older sister also put on a warm expression. ¡°Oh, so is it the Ouling Group¡¯s 2nd young master? I heard that you just came back from your studies abroad, started from the bottom managing one of your family¡¯s restaurants and have done quite well. I had recently met your father, how is his health? Ah, ah, our Yahan also returned from studying abroad, no wonder you became friends¡­¡­¡± That stepmother gave a dazzling smile. It looks like she already added this Zhang Jingfeng as one of the candidates for Yahan¡¯s husband to be. As the two started conversing, Yahan sat to the side, eyeing Jiaming¡¯s group of three with a stiff expression, then tried to make conversation with Chen Ke-an. Not long after, the lights gradually dimmed. Dream Star cruise¡¯s captain went up to say some welcoming words, encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves and so on. Yahan¡¯s stepmother excused herself with a quick apology, got up and went over to where Yahan¡¯s father was. From all around, the dance music started up. This was the first song and generally one would look for their most significant person to dance with. Lingjing pushed Shasha towards Jiaming, telling her softly: ¡°Let Jiaming accompany you for the first dance.¡± ¡°But¡­¡­I don¡¯t know how to dance¡­¡­how about you go Lingjing¡­¡­¡± Since there were two outsiders present, Shasha could only whisper. Jiaming took a look at Lingjing¡¯s clear smiling expression, then also smiled: ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± He pulled on Shasha¡¯s hand to the dance floor. Chen Ke-an exchanged a look with Zhang Jingfeng, laughed and extended a hand towards Yahan: ¡°Miss Zhang, may I have the honor to invite you for the first dance?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Yahan, who was hiding feelings of abandonment, relaxed her guarded expression, gave a laugh and stood up. This left Lingjing alone with Zhang Jingfeng in the seating area. With the situation turning out so conveniently, Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s heart felt a little excited. However, when he observed Lingjing sitting to the side, he got an extremely weird feeling. This was because even though Lingjing was sitting there smiling, she was indifferent and never looked a him. Instead, she was looking at the fringe of the dance floor, where her two friends were spinning around clumsily. This attitude made him feel a bit disconcerted. Zhang Jingfeng just by himself was impressive. Adding on his family¡¯s affluence, when it came to the problem of women, he had never encountered any major setbacks. However facing off against this inexperienced and na?ve looking young girl unexpectedly gave rise to a sense of insecurity, giving him a bizarre feeling. Taking a deep breath, he tried to make his tone as natural as possible: ¡°How about¡­¡­Lingjing, lets go dance too.¡± At this moment, Lingjing¡¯s reactions seemed to have become listless. She slowly turned her head towards him, seemingly sizing up his appearance as she looked him up and down. Then the corners of her mouth quirking up to reproduce her most brilliant smiling expression: ¡°Apologies, I can¡¯t dance.¡± ¡°eh¡­¡­¡± Zhang Jingfeng nodded and smiled, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± Lingjing shook her head, gave a clear smile: ¡°No, I¡¯ll accidentally step on you.¡± To be blunt, this was already a very clear rejection. Zhang JingFeng was stymied, but nevertheless continued smilingly: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Being stepped on by a lady is the privilege of a gentleman. Come.¡± His hand had already been extended in the air for a while now. Seeing Lingjing still apologetically shaking her head, he finally had no choice but to sit back down on the sofa with a sigh. He glanced at Lingjing then at the slowly swaying pair on the outskirts of the dance floor, trying to puzzle out the extraordinary relationship between the three. As for Lingjing, she merely sat watching the couple intertwined on the dance floor, one hand holding a glass of red wine and taking occasional sips. Whenever Shasha happened to step on Jiaming¡¯s shoes, she would cover her mouth to laugh in genuine amusement. For the first time ever, he felt a twinge of jealousy¡­¡­ Under the sound of romantic music, Jiaming and Shasha were lightly going over the dance steps. Actually, there wasn¡¯t much of a wonderful feeling. Shasha was not at all knowledgeable with regards to dance moves. Although Jiaming that prodigy could dodge bullets using his senses, he was unable to avoid the destructive power of Shasha¡¯s mystical ability to step on feet. After floundering about for a while, the situation finally improved. Shasha rested her forehead on Jiaming¡¯s shoulder, gingerly moving in pace with the dance steps. Then murmuring: ¡°Jiaming, I don¡¯t like this kind of feeling¡­¡­¡± ¡°Is it because I dance badly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. You know that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about¡­¡­¡± Shasha¡¯s personality was originally very blunt and outspoken. Having kept it in so long, she finally said the words that were in her heart. ¡°I don¡¯t like¡­¡­I don¡¯t like the way the three of us are right now. It¡¯s evident we¡¯re not happy. I¡¯m unhappy, Lingjing¡¯s unhappy, Jiaming you¡¯re probably unhappy too. But we still have to try to appear happy¡­¡­I want it to be like what it was back then for the three of us. The three of us together, free from any care and worries. I don¡¯t want it to become complicated, like how it is now¡­¡­¡± ¡°When people get together, it always becomes complicated.¡± Jiaming replied hesitantly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re probably not pregnant. It¡¯s most likely a simple case of seasickness.¡± ¡°But¡­¡­even if it¡¯s not now, it¡¯s still going to happen some day¡­¡­so if I were to get pregnant, Lingjing might decide to leave us. If it was Lingjing instead, I would also feel, feel¡­¡­¡±, she sounded like she was choking back a sob, ¡°Why should it be like this? Three months ago, Lingjing even pulled me aside and declared that we would be together forever. Lingjing is my best friend and you¡¯re the boy I like the most. I would rather nothing had happened that day and the three of us just remained friends forever. Never get married, just stay friends, just never get involved that way¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hmmph, it¡¯s all your fault, all your fault. Why did you have to be a boy? What if that day you didn¡¯t do that to us, wouldn¡¯t we still be fine? Men are all bad, all bad. Not a single one is a good thing¡­¡­¡± as she continued to speak, she couldn¡¯t contain her anger and lifted up her leg to stomp on Jiaming¡¯s foot with all her strength. For the moment, Jiaming could only smile bitterly. ¡°Jiaming, is there no way all three of us can still be together?¡± After a period of time, Shasha leaned on him, murmuring. Jiaming looked glum, replying helplessly: ¡°I don¡¯t have any solution either.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to have no solution! I order you to think of something!¡± Shasha proceeded to stomp mercilessly on Jiaming¡¯s foot. ¡°Hmm, how about we make it our goal from now on to get me elected president, then change the marriage laws¡­¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense, that won¡¯t work¡±. Another stomp. ¡°Ah, we can start building a time machine, go back to the ancient era. With our combined knowledge and smarts¡­¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense, something else!¡± Yet another stomp. ¡°Then unless¡­¡­¡± when mentioning the third idea, Jiaming¡¯s smiled strangely¡­¡­ Chapter 85 - Ball(3) Chapter 85 Ball(3) A spray of water, splashing her face, she raised her head, then took a deep breath. Pressing her lips together, she tried hard to show a pure and happy expression. However, at present, no matter how hard she tried, she still came off like a bitter woman who had been abandoned by her husband. ¡°Not good to be like this, Lingjing. The three of us, we¡¯re different from others.¡± There was no one else in the restroom. It was only her mumbling and sighing to herself. Finally she wiped off the remaining moisture on her face. Leaving the restroom, she was startled into taking a step back: ¡°eh, Manager Zhang.¡± ¡°uh, you were in there so long, I was afraid something might have happened.¡± ¡°Thanks, there¡¯s no problem.¡± Lingjing grinned, then reentered the ballroom. Zhang Jingfeng asked: ¡°You¡­unhappy?¡± ¡°huh? Not at all.¡± Lingjing shaking her head. Zhang Jingfeng sympathethically: ¡°I can see it. You like that friend of yours. He¡¯s called Gu Jiaming right? But this Gu Jiaming likes your other friend, I could see that from the start. Besides, you¡¯ve been drinking a lot.¡± ¡°Haha, the things between the three of us¡­¡­it¡¯s not what you think it is.¡± Lingjing laughed while inwardly: ¡°You can think all you want but there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll guess that the three of us are living together.¡± Zhang Jingfeng though for a bit: ¡°then, is it like in the novels, originally you and that Gu Jiaming were in love with each other, but your good friend also fell in love with him, so you were the one to give way. It shouldn¡¯t be this kind of plot, could it? That would be too cliched.¡± ¡°en, not that either, haha¡­¡­¡± Lingjing smugly shaking her head. Seeing that she already drank several glasses of wine, she now felt a bit thirsty. Spying a waiter passing by with a tray of drinks full of clear liquid, she grabbed one. In front of Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s horrified look, she chugged down two big mouthfuls before suddenly stopping. Her cheeks puffed out, eyes bugging, making her look like a frog. Finally, after swallowing, she bent over and started coughing. Zhang Jingfeng immediately seized this opportunity to lean close to her, one hand holding her up, the other patting her back: ¡°Lingjing, you¡­¡­you¡¯re using wine to drown your sorrow, there¡¯s really no need to be this way¡­¡­.¡± She took a few deep breaths, managing with some difficulty to regain her composure. Lingjing with a bitter expression: ¡°I had no idea those were hard drinks, I thought it was water, ugh, that burns, so bitter¡­¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a maximum proof drink. Most people just get one glass and slowly consume it. You drank it all in one go, of course it burns and is bitter. Whoa, you¡­¡­¡± he exhaled. This kind of drink looked like water, however as long as one is sober, one can quickly tell the difference. Lingjing had already drank a lot and she was also a bit agitated which was why she made a mistake. However, Zhang Jingfeng would not accept that as the reason, artfully pressing the advantage: ¡°You don¡¯t have to be like this. If he doesn¡¯t know how to treasure you, it¡¯s his loss. Try to cheer up¡­¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I already said it¡¯s not like this.¡± Her alcohol tolerance was already not high, coupled with the hard drink she just had, her mood worsened. Lingjing felt that this persistent guy was detestable. He wasn¡¯t Jiaming, what the heck was he doing here: ¡°I¡¯m fine, no need to hold me up. Thank you, Manager Zhang.¡± She suddenly remembered Jiaming¡¯s joke about the phrases that were most devastating for a man to hear, immediately following this with a grin: ¡°You are a nice guy.¡± Unfortunately this kind of put-down might be said to be ahead of the times. Her slightly mischievous smile in Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s eyes turned into an innocent charm. The phrase ¡°nice guy¡± to him signified that she was well disposed towards him. Hearing the surrounding music, he once again opened his mouth: ¡°If you¡¯re fine, let¡¯s go dance. You have no obligation to wait around for him. If you don¡¯t know how to dance, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± His tone gentle, he leaned over to hold her as Lingjing push away on his chest with some loathing. ¡°uhm, not dancing, I don¡¯t know how to dance. Thank you.¡± Zhang Jingfeng perservered with a smile: ¡°Trust me, dancing will help you forget all these sad things. Come.¡± He extended his hand to pull on Lingjing as Lingjing retreated a couple of steps. Right at this moment, another person caught her around her supple waist. Leaning back and seeing who it was, this time Lingjing didn¡¯t try to free herself. Giving Zhang Jingfeng, who still had his hands outstretched an amicable nod, Jiaming then asked Lingjing in a low voice: ¡°Just now where did you go? I couldn¡¯t find you. Were you drinking?¡± ¡°I went to the bathroom. After I came out, I mistook a glass of hard liquor for plain water and drank it. I got very intoxicated.¡± Nestled in Jiaming¡¯s embrace, Lingjing made a small bitter face then stuck her tongue out in a very cute manner. It was a lovable expression. Compared to how she was with Zhang Jingfeng a moment ago, it was like two completely different people. ¡°You¡­¡­¡± Jiaming couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Giving Zhang Jingfeng an apologetic look, he supported Lingjing as they made their escape and went to look for some water to drink. After the two left, Chen Ke-an came over from the side, laughingly: ¡°How is it? Very Challenging? To tell the truth, I feel that this two girl one boy trio is a bit intriguing. Do you think it could be a case of two girls serving one man? If they¡¯re still high school students, this kind of situation might be probable. Just now, I was able to get some information from that Miss Yahan. Even though that boy doesn¡¯t look like much, he¡¯s still a member of the Huang clan. You know yourself the sort of things that bunch of rich fops from the Huang clan like to do best.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Zhang Jingfeng shook his head. ¡°These two girls don¡¯t seem like they¡¯re being forced. Two girls serving one man? No way. It may be a matter of youthful camaraderie instead. I¡¯m not giving up. At most, it just means I¡¯ll have to spend more time. Once she grows up a little, she¡¯ll understand the difference. Of course, if it¡¯s as you said¡­¡­I definitely won¡¯t let that guy off. The words were resolute and forceful, full of spirit. However not too far away in front of him, the Lingjing who wouldn¡¯t dance with him no matter what, who had repeatedly used the excuse of not being able to dance, was at the moment in the embrace of the boy called Gu Jiaming. Under the encirclement of the lights, they began dancing. ¡°uh, Jiaming, where¡¯s Shasha?¡± ¡°ah, I¡¯ve been abandoned. I was just joking with her. I don¡¯t know what got into her. She thought over it for the longest time then told me she needed to drink first to build up her courage¡­¡­I guess she went off to prepare a plan for blowing up the whole ship. Uhm, what I said was, what if the ship really sank and the three of us were marooned in a deserted isle, then we don¡¯t have to worry about anything. We¡¯ll be just like Robinson Crusoe, living happy and carefree. I guess she got inspired then¡­¡­¡± ¡°You always say this nonsense.¡± Lingjing had a hazy look in her eyes as she faced Jiaming. Then: ¡°That would be really good too. Jiaming, before¡­¡­it seems my understanding of life was too simple¡­¡­¡± Jiaming laughed softly: ¡°However, there won¡¯t be any contraceptives in a deserted isle. That means you and Shasha are going to have lots of babies¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to become a fat sow.¡± Lingjing wrinkled her nose. Not satisfied, she glared at Jiaming: ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. Men are not good things. Once we get to that deserted isle, Shasha and I will cut off your bad thing. It¡¯s like how Shasha says ¨C handsome chop handsome chop. That means once it¡¯s trimmed it becomes good looking. Yours hasn¡¯t been chopped off so you aren¡¯t good looking enough. (TL note Lingjing is making a pun here ˧¸ç means handsome guy and ¸ç sounds the same as the character for cut ¸î so ˧¸î or handsome cut, I decided to use chop instead of cut since it sounds like chap). Jiaming opened his mouth wide: ¡°Then¡­¡­how will you two manage?¡± Lingjing swallowed her laughter: ¡°Fingers will do just as well¡­¡­.uh, sorry¡­¡­¡± ¡°Between you and Shasha, my feet are almost trampled flat¡­¡­¡± ¡°I already told you I don¡¯t know how to dance. I¡¯m also feeling a bit dizzy, but you still made me dance. It¡¯s what you deserve.¡± Jiaming laughed: ¡°How about this then.¡± One hand went around her slender waist, the other went under her butt, at the same time bringing her close. Lingjing¡¯s feet left the ground. Startled, she gave a small cry as she grabbed onto Jiaming¡¯s neck. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Jiaming laughed as he carried her over to sit on one of the sofas. Then squatting down, he removed her high heels. Her alluring jade feet exposed and held in Jiaming¡¯s hands, Lingjing blushed as she hastily looked around and saw Zhang Jingfeng and Chen Ke-an staring at them. Embarrassed, she asked again: ¡°Jiaming, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Doing this.¡± Putting the pair of jade feet on top of his shoes, he pulled Lingjing up by the waist. The two¡¯s bodies were pasted so close together there was no room for even a thread of silk. Holding on to Jiaming¡¯s neck, Lingjing didn¡¯t dare to look again in Zhang Jingfeng¡¯s direction. She let Jiaming move and twirl her body as he wished: ¡°Jiaming, people are looking at us.¡± ¡°I know¡­¡­Lingjing, I was jealous earlier¡­¡­¡± A soft smile slipped from her face, Lingjing murmuring: ¡°Jiaming, to tell the truth¡­¡­I was also jealous earlier¡­¡­¡± When you¡¯re in the company of someone you¡¯re intimate with, without any unnecessary words, those other things are not needed anymore. As the wine took over, her thoughts slowed down. Tipsily hugging on to Jiaming¡¯s neck, Lingjing slowly closed her eyes. There was no need to think. She entrusted her body to Jiaming, letting herself be taken whirling and twirling through the dance steps. As the lights dimmed, the two persons¡¯ warmth and fragrance melded together, enclosing them in a world of their own¡­¡­ Chapter 86 - Blooming As Jiaming was attending to Lingjing at the ball, Shasha was putting her plan into action, downing cocktails at one of the side bars: ¡°I want your strongest drinks, the kind that is best at raising your spirits!¡± With her drop dead gorgeous looks tonight, there was absolutely no question about her effect on men. Due to what she said, the young bartender was galvanized into giving it his all, the cocktail shaker in his hands spinning so fast it was dazzling to the eyes. Soon, a Scorpion cocktail was placed in front of Shasha. The bartender didn¡¯t even get a chance to give an intro to the drink when Shasha already gulped it down, immediately following with: ¡°uh, I don¡¯t feel anything, I want more.¡± A few minutes later, a Bloody Mary was similarly guzzled down. Smacking her lips, her face was starting to turn red. This so-called courage, that¡¯s how one comes by it¡­¡­ Not long after the dance music ended, Lingjing came out of the ballroom supporting Shasha by the arms. As Jiaming escorted Yahan out, he was laughingly told by Shasha to go back in. Having thought some things through, she was obviously in a much better mood: ¡°Go back in, go back in. You haven¡¯t accompanied sister Yahan for a dance yet. Don¡¯t mind us, we can return to our rooms ourselves. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you make sure Lingjing is obedient¡­¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡­you¡¯re the one who drank too much, Shasha¡­¡­¡± Lingjing raised her head, which was still flushed red from the wine, also laughing,¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll take good care of Shasha. You and sister Yahan go have fun, we¡¯ll go back first, bye¡­¡­¡± After the intimate dance with Jiaming just now, Lingjing¡¯s restlessness seem to have gone down quite a bit as well. At the least, she looked happy on the surface. Observing the retreating figures of the two giggling girls, Yahan remarked doubtfully: ¡°What¡¯s got into those two tonight? I feel they¡¯ve been acting strange the whole day. They were obviously unhappy earlier. It looks like they came to some kind of understanding.¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t¡­¡­be that right?¡± He thought strangely, then shivered: ¡°Forget it, forget it, they didn¡¯t drink that much anyway. They¡¯re still capable of taking themselves back to sleep. I don¡¯t have anything interesting to do here, I¡¯m going out to the deck for some air in a bit¡­¡­why are you following me? There¡¯s a line of men waiting to invite you to dance.¡± Yahan¡¯s expression was a bit apathetic, then she rolled her eyes at him sourly: ¡°I have no interest in entertaining those men. Let¡¯s go out for some air together.¡± ¡°How about Xu Mo? I remember you had a good opinion of him.¡± ¡°Having a good opinion means I like him? He¡¯s yet another clueless guy who doesn¡¯t know how to take a hint, hmmph¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ah.¡±Jiaming smiled thinly. Standing there, he faced Yahan for a short space of time, finally remarking: ¡°Hey, I think¡­¡­since neither of us has a suitable dance partner, we might as well pair up. However, my dance skills are very high level, you have to control yourself and not fall in love with me because of that.¡± ¡°Go to hell.¡± Yahan snorted in laughter, while suppressing her flush of satisfaction at gaining what she wanted. Extending her hand, ¡°Since you so sincerely request it, this lady shall with great benevolence grant you some face. Besides¡­¡­you¡¯re at least a little bit more appealing than those boring men¡­¡­¡± A short while later¡­¡­ ¡°Hey, where do you think you¡¯re putting your hand¡­¡­¡± ¡°On your waist. This is your standard dance posture, ok?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it might be a tad bit too low?¡± ¡°Nah, it feels pretty good on my hand¡­¡­hey, don¡¯t hit, don¡¯t hit, pretty lady. Calm down. I¡¯m still a little shorter than you, so my hand naturally went to that area. Can¡¯t you just put up with it for now? ¡°You little pervert, you dare to take advantage of the situation to eat my tofu, I¡¯m going to¡­¡­¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re going to eat mine right back?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± The crisp night air blew across the sides of the ship. Bracing themselves against the wind, the two girls supported each other as they made their way back to their rooms, their steps unsteady. Opening the door to Lingjing¡¯s room, they hurried into the bedroom, then plopped down on the bed in unspoken agreement. ¡°uggh, so tired, but¡­¡­this won¡¯t do. Shasha, I¡¯m going to turn on the water, take a bath¡­¡­ take bath¡­¡­¡± Going over to the tub and turning on the water, Lingjing continued mumbling to herself to take a bath while going back to lying prone on the bed. In the midst of her befuddled state, she felt Shasha unzipper the back of her dress then undo the clasp of her bra. The fair, smooth skin of her back was exposed, like a lychee coming out of its shell. She heard Shasha murmuring: ¡°Lingjing¡­¡­I know what to do now, I know how the three of us can stay together, uhmm¡­¡­Lingjing, I feel very strange¡­¡­¡± ¡°What? Um¡­¡­Shasha, I can do this by myself¡­¡­let me do it¡­¡­¡±Turning over, Lingjing slowly pulled her dress up, her half naked body sliding its way out. This wasn¡¯t the first time for the girls to be naked together in bed, so she didn¡¯t feel any reticence. It was just that when Shasha lightly embraced her, and seeing the other¡¯s constantly changing face, Lingjing finally had a strange feeling too: ¡°Shasha, what are you trying, stop messing around¡­¡­¡± In a moment, the two were embracing, cheeks against each other. Shasha went on top of her, but half despondently: ¡°I, I feel too weird¡­¡­I can¡¯t do it, already drank a lot of wine still¡­¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Lingjing¡¯s tender voice sounded uncertain, the effects of the wine still heavy in her eyes. Suddenly, Shasha seemingly gathered her resolve. Raising her head, the pair¡¯s lips met together. Having learnt well from Jiaming¡¯s kissing technique, her dainty tongue probed deeply into Lingjing¡¯s mouth. Lingjing could only let out a muffled hum of protest. ¡°mmm¡­¡­mmmph¡­¡­stop¡­¡­messing around¡­¡­¡± Using all her strength to push Shasha off, Lingjing¡¯s face was all shades of red, her breath coming up short. ¡°Look at what time it is, why are you still fooling around¡­¡­Jiaming¡¯s not here, haha, uhm¡­¡­someone save me, spare me Shasha, I don¡¯t wanna play anymore¡­¡­¡± As Lingjing struggled momentarily, Shasha¡¯s face turned red. One hand went running down Lingjing¡¯s curves, before going to explore inside her white cotton underwear. Immediately, Lingjing¡¯s laughter ended in a squawk, her thighs clamping together. With both hands, she grabbed Shasha¡¯s naughty hand that was already between her legs, pressing it down. Whenever the two got in bed together with Jiaming, it was normal for them to mess with each other. Indeed, they had done similar things before. However this time was a bit different. That was because two of Shasha¡¯s slender fingers had slowly entered her, and like a feather, were lightly stimulating her sensitive spots. ¡°uhhnn¡­¡­Shasha, no more, that¡¯s going too far, we shouldn¡¯t do this, uhhnn, Shasha, I¡¯m not playing anymore, Shasha¡­¡­¡± ¡°Lingjing¡­¡­the three of us, we need to be together forever. Lingjing, I don¡¯t want to be separated from you. It¡¯s always like this in the novels. If I get pregnant, then you would leave by yourself. I don¡¯t want you to be unhappy, don¡¯t want you to leave¡­¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t leave, ok¡­¡­uh¡­¡­please no more, uh¡­¡­ah¡­¡­¡±Their two naked torsos were intertwined. Lingjing¡¯s legs were crossed together, hands still holding on to Shasha¡¯s. However, she was ultimately unable to restrain Shasha¡¯s actions. Her body curled up like a shrimp, her struggles becoming wilder. Her pleas for mercy gradually became mixed up with low cries, her breathing more rapid and short. ¡°I don¡¯t want anymore¡­¡­Shasha, I beg you, I don¡¯t want anymore, no, ah¡­¡­Ah¡ª¡ª¡° After a period of intense convulsions, Lingjing¡¯s body slowly relaxed while she took in quick gasps of breath. She cried softly, teardrops glistening on her cheeks. Shasha hugged her from behind, her feelings unknown. After a while, Lingjing gingerly freed herself, then curled up on a corner of the bed hugging her knees. Shasha was also crying as she sat up: ¡°I¡­¡­I don¡¯t want to be separated from you, Lingjing.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re both girls, how can we be this way¡­¡­¡± Lingjing, still crying. ¡°Jiaming says, this is called being lilies. If we¡¯re this way, then no one can object in the future. Lingjing, we agreed not too long ago for the three of us to stay together forever. I don¡¯t want you to leave because I¡¯m pregnant. If you got pregnant instead, I¡­¡­I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do. I love being together with Jiaming, but I also love being together with you. I only want for the three of us¡­¡­¡± Seated besides Lingjing, Shasha hid her face in her lap while crying. Both girls sat on the bed, crying shrilly. After a long time, Lingjing¡¯s crying gradually subsided. Feeling a sudden movement on the bed, Shasha raised her head to discover that Lingjing had crawled over to her side. Lingjing moved her face close to Shasha¡¯s then lightly started kissing her tear soaked cheeks. Shasha rubbed her tears off,sobbing: ¡°Lingjing, you don¡¯t blame me anymore?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± Lingjing pouted. ¡°You and Jiaming plainly like to watch my humiliation, that¡¯s not fair at all. I¡­¡­I think it¡¯s only right if I get to watch you too.¡± Hearing her words, Shasha¡¯s tears finally turned into smiles. The two girls continued sitting for a while with Shasha¡¯s face turning red: ¡°You¡­¡­really need to watch before you¡¯ll forgive me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡­¡± Shasha faced her, pursed her lips together and took a few deep breaths. Finally, she seemingly made up her mind. She delicately removed her underwear, then lay down on the bed, presenting the whole of her spectacular body to Lingjing. Covering both her eyes: ¡°You¡­¡­you go ahead¡­¡­¡± Chapter 87 - Foreboding The next day, the ocean weather started to turn bad. The skies were gray and there was the pitter patter of occasional rainfall. The strong winds cause the waves to start swelling. However, this cruise ship was huge, so the turbulence did not affect it much. Using the extra key card to open Lingjing¡¯s room, the first thing that met his sight was the utterly soaked carpet. Jiaming couldn¡¯t help but let out a deep sigh. No need to exaggerate here. Not in his wildest dreams would he have expected there to be so much water. Women were indeed mysterious creatures¡­¡­ It was already past 8am. The two girls were asleep in each other¡¯s arms. They didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of getting up anytime soon, clear proof of how wasted they must have been from the previous night. Jiaming shook his head, sighing once again in his heart. Raising the quilt, both girls were fully unclothed, their bodies tangled up ambigously with each other. Snow white flesh, alluring curves, one exposed bottom rubbing up against a thigh ¨C Jiaming burst out in laughter then smacked Lingjing¡¯s butt. Lingjing woke up in a daze as the offended part started to turn red. ¡°Oh, Jiaming, stop bothering me¡­¡­¡± Still in a daze, Lingjing grabbed on to the hand that was roaming over their two bodies but didn¡¯t push it away. After a while, Shasha also woke up. Lingjing gradually raised herself up, seemingly looking to hold on to Jiaming for support, her forehead resting on his chest. Jiaming obligingly held her up: ¡°Hey, last night the two of you¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s good you brought up last night¡­¡­¡± Like an obedient little puppy, Lingjing affectionately rubbed her cheek on Jiaming¡¯s chest while making lovey-dovey sounds. Jiaming suddenly had a bad premonition. Indeed: ¡°Shasha, I got him now, bite him!¡± Afterwards, the two still to be clothed young ladies acted out a fierce and charming show of ¡°slaying the husband¡±. Jiaming finally managed to get the two female leopards to retract their claws, getting the two of them to lie submissively in his embrace. His shirt had been torn off. His back carved up with uncountable red streaks. The three cuddled in bed for a while. Lingjing giggled, playfully extending her cute little tongue to lick one of the marks she had inflicted near the pit of his stomach. Shasha held on to him tightly, starting to doze. Jiaming hesitantly remarked: ¡°uh, can it be you two really went lily last night?¡± ¡°Lily, you still dare to say lily.¡± Hearing this word, Lingjing half laughingly, half in anger pinched his chest a few times. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. You¡¯ve led Shasha astray! Lily¡­¡­¡± Having this brought up, Shasha blushed scarlet then went on pretending to be asleep. ¡°You can¡¯t blame me, I only meant it as a joke. Who knew Shasha would actually do it? I had thought that maybe if I blew up the ship, it would be simpler¡­¡­but going back to that¡­¡­now that you really did it, how does it feel?¡± ¡°Hmmph, since the lord husband wishes for us to be lilies, we as the wives have to of course make it happen.¡±Lingjing cheekily rolled her eyes, ¡°I just realized, now that me and Shasha are lilies, we don¡¯t have any use for you anymore. Might as well kill you off¡­¡­¡± Amidst the jokes and laughter, the three engage in more raucous clowning. After interrogating them, Jiaming found out the reason for the completely soaked carpet. While Lingjing and Shasha were fooling around on the bed the previous night, they had forgotten to turn off the bath water and it had overflowed out from the bathroom. This in turn had kept the two girls up half the night. With regards to the matter of turning lily, Shasha and Lingjing didn¡¯t it discuss further by unspoken agreement. A little while later Shasha tried out the pregnancy test again and only just now determined that she was indeed not pregnant. The truth is, the source of the two girls¡¯ consternation couldn¡¯t be put squarely on the pregnancy. However, this had been a wake-up call to Lingjing and Shasha. The harsh reality had shattered the fairy tale of the three living happily ever after and instead gave rise to a feeling of trepidation. Between themselves, feelings of jealousy would be inevitable. From society at large, they would be subjected to disapproval, gossip, etc. Through hard work and determination, they might be able to overcome societal pressure. However, there was no way to guard against the ebb and flow of human feelings. Now this knot had been untangled by Shasha¡¯s actions the previous night. From here on all they had to face was external criticism. After this false alarm, the two girls became especially close. For the whole day, the ship navigated through the gloom of the wind and rain. Even though it wasn¡¯t possible to go out on deck, the ship had bazaars, casinos, cinemas, live shows and so on. There was no lack of options to entertain oneself. One doesn¡¯t have to worry about having nothing fun to do. However, the four of them opted to stay inside the room to watch movies, play poker and other games. Compared to the previous day¡¯s somber mood, today the inside of the cruise ship room was filled with cheerful talk and laughter. The four were transported back to that period of time that Yahan stayed over at the Liu family villa. The three pretty ladies proceeded to treat Jiaming as a laborer for them to order around. For Yahan, it was because she was still indignant about being taken advantage of by that fellow last night. For Lingjing and Shasha, every time they recalled that preposterous episode of playing lilies last night, they would find another reason to pick a fight with Jiaming. This picturesque scene filled with charming voices and laughter and the sight of elegant legs and bare white arms is naturally quite fulfilling to a man¡¯s libido. However, with the gradual passage of time, the wind and rain started to get stronger. Looking out through the room¡¯s balcony at the unending cascades of rain, Jiaming was furiously calculating. Since it was nearly two days, the luxury cruise ship was already on the return half of its journey. In order to prepare, he needed to be able to figure out in advance Minamoto Hajime¡¯s whereabouts and movements. For Jiaming, this was the personal bar he had set for himself. Since Minamoto Hajime¡¯s target was Chen Guxia, he had to protect the man properly. Even though the current Minamoto Hajime had reached the pinnacle, he was not yet at the level he would be in later years as the fearsome and matchless king of assassins. Jiaming can definitely still grasp his mentality to a certain extent. Presently on this ship, Ancestral Awakening and Peroka¡¯s forces were directly opposed. Lyra Tenebris whose purpose was yet unknown completed the 3rd corner of this triangle. While he, in his role as Mr. Tulip, was undoubtedly the most mysterious factor aboard this ship. As long as he didn¡¯t openly reveal himself, Peroka and Lyra Tenebris would hesitate to act rashly for fear of the unknown consequences. However, fearing to act wasn¡¯t the same as doing absolutely nothing. Tomorrow night, this ship will return to dock at Jianghai City. With Peroka¡¯s people on the ship, under the cover of the wind and rain, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for them to try take advantage of the situation. To avoid the interference of the mysterious Mr. Tulip and accomplish their objective, what method will Minamoto Hajime choose¡­¡­ In any case, playing defense is harder than being on the offensive. Sighing in his heart, Jiaming looked at clock on the wall, then at the three loosely dressed women playing poker on the bed, smiling: ¡°I¡¯ll go out first for a walk.¡± ¡°Come back quick, I already ordered dinner, it should be delivered soon. If you missed it, we won¡¯t wait for you.¡± Shasha said laughingly. ¡°En¡±. Nodding his head, Jiaming opened the door and went out. Although it was only just past 5 pm, the sky was already dark. Except for this solitary festive spot, in the vast expanse of ocean outside there was only water, water, water. This kind of feeling made him extremely uncomfortable. Facing the cold wind head on, he walked a few steps, then suddenly gave a start and stopped moving. No, that¡¯s not right¡­¡­ when taking on a mission with too many difficulties, then just keep on raising the stakes. As long as the mission is accomplished, it doesn¡¯t matter if it triggers a world war. That was the style he was formerly used to. If it was Minamoto Hajime¡­¡­ Peroka and Lyra Tenebris have been continuously at odds this last years, and no matter what, if this was a matter that needed Natalie of Annis to act personally, then it should be treated as a peak confrontation of the underworld. In his previous life, Kelly Foun?mes position in Lyra Tenebris was too high. Many of these matters naturally fell to her to oversee. As for Natalie, he was still more accustomed to her image of a willful woman who did things according to her fancy. Then this time around, his own considerations have not encompassed the whole picture¡­¡­ Supposing the reason Natalie showed up now was to personally deal with Minamoto Hajime, then that guy, under the pressure of the two powerful factions, in order to accomplish his mission¡­¡­ Jiaming understood him too well. The current Minamoto Hajime was flourishing in his ruthlessness. He wouldn¡¯t care about any innocents that were in the way of his mission. The things he would do, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to be even crazier than what Jiaming would dare. All the people on this boat¡­¡­ Slowly propping his hands on the railing, a grim smile appeared on his face. After a moment, he turned his gaze back to the sliding room door that he just walked out of. It was still hard to say whether the situation will turn out as he expected. If it did however, he would have to fight with his life. The unpredictable wind and rain unceasingly grew stronger. Around 8pm, after everyone had eaten, the captain stepped into the main control room, quickly checking over the relevant console data. As he prepared to leave, the radar technician suddenly remarked: ¡°There is an unknown ship 7 nautical miles away at the 2 o¡¯clock position¡­..eh? It disappeared¡­¡­¡± On the open ocean, the seemingly limitless torrents kept on pouring down, gradually engulfing the splendid floating palace in its midst¡­¡­