Ring ring ring, ring ring ring…
Xia Lei picked up.
Long Bing held her breath when Xia Lei picked up.
Gu Kewen’s voice came from the phone. “Where are you now? I’m at the entrance to Taketa Hotel. Why don’t I see you?”
Xia Lei knew that Gu Kewen must have calculated the time and called to check when she estimated that he’d arrived. He was silent for a bit, then said, “My car ran into some problems on the way there. I can’t drive it. Give me a bit more time. Wait for me to fix the car before I get there.”
“Which road are you on now?”
“Heh. Gu Kewen, you think I’ll tell you where I am now? I don’t trust you.”
“You bastard. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll–”
“Gu Kewen, I’ll kill your brother and go back to China right now if you threaten me one more time. Do what you want. That evidence you have is no guarantee that you’ll send my wife to prison. Besides, I have my connections. I can get a pardon for her, or a lighter sentence. Your brother, however, has just one life. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
“How much time do you need?” Gu Kewen’s tone had softened. She had been demanding before, and uncaring of her brother’s condition.
Xia Lei thought for a bit. “I’ll definitely be able to make it before sunrise tomorrow.” He hung up.
“Phew–” Long Bing let out the breath she’d been holding, then took a deep breath. Her face had turned red from the exertion of holding her breath.
“Why did you hold your breath?”
“You can hear that woman breathing, so maybe that woman can hear me breathing too. She won’t hear me if I hold my breath. This can help mislead her, and Gu Kewen,” said Long Bing. Her breathing was back to normal after a few deep breaths, but a blush still lingered on her cheeks.
Xia Lei gave a laugh. “She can’t be that good. But the other thing you said is true. Gu Kewen doesn’t care if her brother lives or dies.”
“So her target really is you.”
Xia Lei recalled the two gunmen at the village entrance. They were obviously not from the CIA, but he still couldn’t guess where they were from. That woman with Gu Kewen, too. He didn’t know who she was.
Gu Kewen was the enemy, that was for sure. Xia Lei was not afraid of dealing with her at all, but that woman and those two mysterious gunmen made him uneasy. They pressured him.
“It’s not too late for us to leave now.” Long Bing drew close to Xia Lei, just milimetres away from him. Her eyes were smouldering. “What you said to Gu Kewen made sense too. She does have evidence which will make things difficult for Shentu Tianyin, but you have your connections too. That Mr Ling treats you well, and he’s a bigwig too. And you’ve contributed so much to the nation. The XL2500, and Gust. You’ve pretty much single-handedly increased the military power of our Chinese troops, and gained glory for China on an international scale. The higher-ups wouldn’t sentence Shentu Tianyin to death by shooting. She’s your wife after all.”
Xia Lei smiled wryly. “I know that. I also know that leaving now is the smartest thing to do, but… using my contributions in exchange for Shentu Tianyin… This may work, but only once. I don’t want all the merits I’ve painstakingly accumulated to be used up like this.”
He didn’t want to use his credits in this way even though it could guarantee Shentu Tianyin’s safety, because he could only use this once. And if he had to use all his merit in one go, he would rather use it for his father, Xia Changhe.
Xia Changhe’s status was fairly unique. He would get in huge trouble, and his father too, if Xia Changhe’s identity were to be revealed. That would be the time for Xia Lei to use his accumulated merits. It would be a waste to use it now.
XIa Lei could not tell Long Bing this, however.
Their close relationship was one thing, but he could only hide it when it came to Xia Changhe. He had no other choice.
Knock knock knocking came from the door.
“Sir, I’ve brought the food you ordered. May I come in?” The lady-boss’s voice came from behind the door, polite.
Long Bing looked down. Another obstacle.
Xia Lei gave a helpless laugh. He put Long Bing down, and went to open the door.
The lady-boss pushed a food trolley into the room and arranged the dishes on the table. She bowed respectfully, and back out of the room.
A feast was spread out before them on the table, but the man and woman in the room did not even glance at it. What they wanted to eat was each other. The instant the lady-boss exited the room, they pounced at each other, and their bodies intertwined.
There was no knocking this time, nor any damned phone ringing.
Meanwhile, the car at the entrance to the village started moving, going in the direction of Tokyo.
The white man driving spoke in Italian. “Boss, we’re moving off. I cannot confirm that I’ll find that guy on the road. He might be lying.”
A woman’s voice came from over the line. “Drive towards Tokyo for 50 kilometres. Report to me immediately if you spot the target. Return immediately if you don’t find him.”
“Yes, Boss.” The white man driving stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped towards Tokyo.
There were no less than 20 armed men in Oshino Hakkai, searching. They entered hotels with Xia Lei’s picture and asked the hotel staff if they had seen this man. Some of the armed men even burst into the rooms of tourists to see if their faces matched the picture.
These gunmen all spoke in Japanese, and were members of the Yakuza. The owners of the hotels did not dare say a word against them, much less call the police. The hotel staff and tourists also chose to cooperate with these fierce members of the Yakuza for fear of getting hurt. However, not one of the cooperating people had seen the young man in the picture.
That young man was very busy, and had no time to think of other things.