Xia Lei did not see Shentu Tianyin’s Rolls-Royce Phantom when he left the restaurant. He phoned her but it always rang into voicemail. The man was worried that she would act against his advice and storm off to America in anger but now that the woman was not answering his calls at all, there was no point for him to prolong his worry.
His heart was troubled. Xia Lei was just living his best life and settling down with his family, had he wronged them? Shentu Tianyin and Tang Yuyan were acting as if he had committed a great crime.
Sometimes, love was difficult. It was as difficult to love and to not love.
Returning to the Peace Mansion, Xia Lei caught sight of Fan Fan and Liang Siyao talking at the front of his study. Noticing his presence, his two pregnant lovers immediately fell silent and turned to stare at him. Their expressions looked rather feline.
Xia Lei mustered out a wry smile. “Uh, about that… I’ll be honest. I went to have a meal with Shentu Tianyin. Vientiane Group is about to enter the American market and she is headed to America soon. I advised her against going there herself. But Tang Yuyan had arrived at the restaurant after that to talk about the issue. We talked for a while but it was an unpleasant experience, so I left.”
For a happy husband and wife relationship, both parties would have to do their part to upkeep it. However, in Xia Lei’s case, it was a matter of multiple parties. As the man, he needed to be more proactive.
To no one’s surprise, his ‘honesty’ immediately melted away his lovers’ intention of dealing him serious consequences.
Liang Siyao rolled her eyes at him. “We didn’t ask you about that. You and Shentu Tianyin were once married. It’s only natural for you to care about her. You’re our man, are we not clear about what kind of a person you are? You’re a loyal person and you care about everyone close to you, it’s not weird for you to meet her.”
That brought out Xia Lei’s smile. “Siyao, you’re the best.”
Liang Siyao was starting to become more generous, and it was a genuinely good thing.
“What about me?” asked Fan Fan.
Xia Lei walked over and placed a warm palm over the surface of his lover’s shoulders. “You’re the best too. My wives are the best.”
It earned a pretty smile from both of them.
Xia Lei mentioned, “Oh right. I just remembered that I ate nothing earlier. My stomach is empty, is there anything to eat today?”
“I’ll go make you some noodles, you can go talk to Sister Fan Fan for a bit. She’s also here to talk about the spy issue,” said Liang Siyao as she went to the kitchen.
There were in-house chefs working in the Peace Mansion but Liang Siyao loved cooking for Xia Lei.
Fan Fan hooked her arms over Xia Lei’s elbow and brought him into the living room. After settling him down onto the couch, she unceremoniously plopped herself on top of his thigh.
The man allowed himself to enjoy the soft fleshy sensation pressing against his leg. He teased, “Darling, you’re planning to talk about serious matters like this?”
Fan Fan’s presence here definitely meant that she came with orders from the higher-ups. There was no need to second guess that.
Fan Fan retorted, “Do you not like it? I can talk about work and check if you have cheated on us four.” Whispering words in a lowly seductive tone, her plump breasts closed in on his chest. There was a smile on her face when she said, “The little doggy knows to appease and ask for a meal from his female owners. All conditions are normal, you have not cheated on us.”
Xia Lei was at a loss for words.
“Alright then, let’s talk about serious matters.” Fan Fan adjusted her tone and put on a straight face. “The higher-ups had received reports from Bureau 101, so they sent me here specifically to find out more about the situation.”
“What do they wish to know?”
“Plenty. They’d like to know everything about it. Who are your suspects and where it might be and so on? If you know anything, please do tell,” answered Fan Fan.
Xia Lei replied, “I’ve got no suspects for now. Tang Yuyan mentioned that she had checked through everyone’s information but found no one worthy of suspicion.”
Fan Fan furrowed her brows. “If that spy can go unnoticed by Tang Yuyan, they must be very good at their job.”
Xia Lei agreed. “Yeah. He must’ve been lurking beside me for a very long time. I’ve noticed nothing all this while and this must mean that I’m met with a master. Just tell the authority everything I said word for word but emphasize them to not worry about this. I can solve this issue myself.”
Fan Fan nodded. “You need to be careful, okay? The spy might…”
Xia Lei interjected, “Honestly, I just wish he could attack me right now. The sooner he attacks me, the faster I’ll find him. But I’m more worried about you and Siyao. Bring some bodyguards with you when you’re out. If bodyguards are not an option, I can assign the four knights to protect you.”
“There’s no need for that. I can call a bodyguard up if I ever need them. Don’t worry about me, focus your energy on protecting Siyao. She’s working in the office too, the spy might be lurking around her,” said Fan Fan.
At this moment, Liang Siyao finally appeared in the living room with a bowl of hot noodles. “Hubby, are you going to eat your noodles or Sister Fan Fan?”
“Noodles, of course,” said Xia Lei. An obvious hint for Fan Fan to get down from his thigh.
Despite that, Fan Fan had extended an arm over to hold the bowl of noodles up. She grinned, “Since you’re such a good boy today, allow me to feed you this.”
Liang Siyao chimed in, “You’re going to spoil him at this rate. What if he bugs you to feed him his meals next time?”
Fan Fan giggled. “I’m not trying to spoil him. I’m just making him feel indebted so he’d feed us next time.”
“Ah, then that’s no problem.” Liang Siyao laughed.
What kind of double standard was this?
Everything felt hot. The noodles were hot and so was the warmth of Fan Fan’s bosoms.
Xia Lei and Liang Siyao returned to the company after sending Fan Fan off.
Entering his office, there was a brief moment of hesitation before Xia Lei brought out his satellite phone. He dialled Long Bing’s number.
Japan, Tokyo.
“I’m doing alright, there’s no need to worry.” That was the first thing Long Bing said through the phone.
“I’m glad you’re well. Where are you now?” Hearing her voice comforted his heart.
“I’m in Tokyo, currently in a safe house in a village.” Long Bing pulled away the Japanese paper windows to peek through a narrow gap. In her line of vision was a Kendo Dojo, where a group of inked yakuza members were practising their skills.
“Don’t lie to me, I can hear hitting noises.” Xia Lei’s voice rang through. “Is it a Dojo?”
Long Bing heaved an audible sigh. “It’s a Kendo Dojo owned by a very small yakuza group. Kyoko had rescued their leader and they’ve agreed to let us stay here for a few days. There really isn’t anything for you to worry. This place is Kyoko’s turf, she can handle this.”
Xia Lei replied, “Every member of the Zodiac Team holds power in their own turf. That I know better than you. But you need to know that the one you’re going against are the Japanese Intelligence Department and the Special Forces. Let’s not forget about the CIA. Your identity has been exposed, it’s time to come home. Don’t risk it further.”
“But my team was captured by HyperTech. I cannot leave them behind and escape. This mission is very important to the country. I must fulfil it. Quit convincing me. This is my last mission assigned by Bureau 101 and I do not wish to see my career end with a failure.” Long Bing’s tone was stern.
“Ah Bing, listen to me…”
“That’s all, I’m ending the call. Don’t call me again, this would only increase my risks.” And with that, Long Bing hung up without any reservation.
Meanwhile, the yakuza members were finally done with their training in the Dojo.
One of them stared into the direction of Long Bing’s room. “That woman is a stowaway from China. The leader has allowed her to stay here for a few days. I’ve met her, she’s pretty hot.”
Another said, “Smuggling herself into Japan? She’s probably a prostitute.”
“Hahaha! I bet that too. How about we go give her some business today?” Another yakuza member chortled.
The few of them had reached an agreement and began to head towards Long Bing’s room.
Long Bing quickly closed the window, scowling violently at the approaching group. “What are they trying to do?”
Her Japanese was awful, barely sufficient to converse with someone else. It was unfortunate that the translator for this mission was captured too. She didn’t know what Tsukino Kyoko had fabricated about their situation to the leader. Due to the secrecy of being a spy, Long Bing was now placed in a difficult position. When Xia Lei had asked her to return earlier, Long Bing had to admit that she was tempted to accept the offer.
Since this was what she had signed up for, she would not allow herself to desert her battle!
As Long Bing entertained herself with her woes, the wooden sliding door was opened with a loud thud. A few half-naked yakuza men dressed in shorts barged into her room.
Instinctively, Long Bing took a few cautious steps back. In staggering Japanese, she questioned the lot. “What are you…” She had intended to ask what they were doing here but she did not have the vocabulary to finish her own sentence.
“Chinese lady, come play with me.” One of them grinned lewdly at her.
Another began to sway his hips suggestively and cackled. “We’ll all join in, I promise you’ll feel really good.”
Though she could not comprehend their words, Long Bing could get a gist of their intentions through their body language. Immediately, her eyes shifted into something cold.
“I’ll help you strip!” A man extended an arm to reach for her proud-standing breasts.
In a swift motion, Long Bing caught his wrists and had her other arm pushed against his chest. The next time her palms had stopped, there was already a cold military dagger against the yakuza’s bare chest.
Fear was bullshit. If she needed to kill, she would kill!
Before anyone could understand the situation, one of their comrades was murdered, leaving behind a group of stunned yakuza.
Long Bing drew her dagger out and lunged forward, slashing it harshly against the vile men!
Danger finally sunk into the mind of the surviving members, urging them to run for their lives.
Another cold metallic sheen zoomed through the air to embed itself comfortably in the back of the frontmost escapee.
Before the unfortunate skull could land onto the ground, there was another cold sheen and a few more of them slumped unceremoniously onto the ground. Fresh, warm blood began seeping out from their bodies. The wooden floors were dyed maroon in no time.
Clack! Returning the katana blade into its sheath, Tsukino Kyoko bowed respectfully to Long Bing. “I’m terribly sorry, Madam Long. I was running a little late.”
Long Bing cleaned her dagger on one of the bodies. “No need to apologize. Tell me, what did you find out?”
“The ones who attacked us earlier and captured your team was acting under Hattori Mei’s instructions. She holds a very high position in Hyper Technology,” reported Tsukino Kyoko.
“Where are they holding my people at?”
Tsukino Kyoko was about to answer before she caught her own tongue.
“Tell me!”
Despite that, Tsukino Kyoko only shook her head. “I have no instructions to disclose this to you. I need the boss’s instructions for that. We must leave this place, their bodies will only bring the police here.”
“Got it, let’s leave.” Long Bing did not press on. As they walked, the woman asked, “Is there any news from the FA?”
Tsukino Kyoko answered, “For the time being, no. But I believe that the FA must be in Tokyo. Sa’im’s intelligence resources are plenty useful in America and the Middle East. Sadly he’s a little slow in Tokyo. We need to give him more time.”
Long Bing could only let out a long sigh in her heart. The urge to go home was resurfaced once again, but she just couldn’t allow herself to give in to the comfort. This was her last mission, did she really want to see it fail?