Staring seemed to be the only thing that Ah Sha was capable of at the moment. She was stunned, utterly shocked by the bombsh.e.l.l that Lin Musheng had dropped moments ago. Other than her two-year career as a bounty hunter, her had been leading a simple and clean life. Her circle of acquaintances was by no means large; in fact, she could pretty much recite the names of all her acquaintances from memory in under a minute. Well, she did just that, and Lin Musheng wasn’t part of her circle.
“Wait, you’re not going to tell me that you were kidnapped before and was rescued by the younger me, are you? What, after that you couldn’t forget about me and have been trying to track me down for years, and now your wish finally came true?”
Lin Musheng merely smiled at her, saying nothing.
“Seriously?” The disbelief was clearly written on Ah Sha’s face. “Impossible, I’ve never even met you before.”
“Well, that’s the gist of it. But it wasn’t a kidnapping.” Suddenly, Lin Musheng had a faraway look in his eyes. “Five years ago, I took over the leadership of the Triad. A lot of the members weren’t happy about it. One time, when I was taking care of a business transaction for the Triad, one of my men betrayed me.”
Five years ago, Lin Musheng was betrayed by one of his trusted henchmen. He ended up being held captive by a bunch of terrorist in a warehouse, after which he was tortured and beaten. The henchman who betrayed him didn’t kill him right away. Instead, he decided to bring Lin Musheng back to the Triad and then force him to give up his position as the leader. Only after that would he kill Lin Musheng. All h.e.l.l broke loose when a bunch of men showed up at the warehouse. Among the newcomers was a little girl. The men managed to take out the terrorists as well as Lin Musheng’s betrayer with ease. In a matter of minutes, the floor of the warehouse was filled with corpses; Lin Musheng was the only one left alive.
When the men were about to leave, the little girl stopped beside Lin Musheng’s half-dead form.
“Uncle Tie Dan! This man is still alive!”
“Ignore him, young miss,” said Tie Dan. “He was foolish enough to be betrayed by one of his own. Just let him die. I don’t think he could live with the shame anyway.”
At that moment in that filthy and decrepit warehouse, Lin Musheng could feel his own life slipping away with each drop of his blood that he lost through his wounds. He knew that the end of his life was near, and yet right before his eyes was a little girl who was as pretty as a doll. She girl crouched down beside him and began wiping his face with her handkerchief.
“Uncle Tie Dan! Look! He’s so pretty! I don’t want him to die!”
And that was how Lin Musheng got dumped in front of the hospital’s entrance by this Tie Dan guy. The last thing he heard before he pa.s.sed out was the little girls angelic voice.
“He’s not going to die, right?”
“He lost too much blood. Don’t think he’s going to make it…”
Lin Musheng’s leveled a stare at Ah Sha. “Do you remember now, Ah Sha?”
“You…” Ah Sha swallowed. “You really didn’t die?”
Boss Wan had sent Uncle Tie Dan and his team on a mission that year. Ah Sha snuck into their car without them knowing it. That was how Ah Sha ended up at the warehouse. Back then, she did find it to be a huge waste to allow a man with that kind of pretty face to die, so she begged Uncle Tie Dan to save him.
She had selectively forgotten about the incident because Wan Qingsi had spanked her in front of everyone after the mission. Wan Qingsi was unhappy about her sneaking into the car. It was one of the most mortifying experiences of her life.
“I survived,” Lin Musheng said, chuckling. “I survived because of a simple statement from you. But… you never recognized me.”
Ah Sha shot him a look of annoyance. “What else do you expect? You were covered in blood back then. You look totally different now!”
“But you said I look pretty back then.” Lin Musheng’s intense gaze was fixed on Ah Sha’s face. Subtext: “How could you forget about me even when you think I’m pretty? What a fickle.”
Ah Sha broke eye contact and chuckled. Now she remembered everything. The reason she thought Lin Musheng was pretty back then was because his eyes reminded her of her favorite anime character…
Well, Ah Sha decided that, for the sake of her personal safety, to never reveal that secret to Lin Musheng.
“In that case, I’m your savior, right?”
Lin Musheng nodded. “That’s right.”
“So I’m exempted from the one hundred million I owed?”
“I never wanted you to pay in the first place.”
“Then send me home right now!” Ah Sha stood up. “Do that and we’ll call it even!”
A dark look formed on Lin Musheng’s face. “I can’t let you go back.”
“Are you holding me captive?” Ah Sha’s eyes became cold. “The Ying family will hunt you down.”
“This isn’t captivity, It’s called bonding.” Lin Musheng held her eyes. “You’ll just be staying with me for a while. I’ll send you back once you’ve fallen in love with me. After that, we’ll meet your parents, where I’ll ask them for your hand in marriage.”
Ah Sha sat down and studied Lin Musheng. Seeing the look of concentration on Ah Sha’s face, Lin Musheng laughed. “Why, have you discovered my qualities?”
“You’re out of your mind,” Ah Sha said. “Send me home while you still have the chance. Or else Wan Qingsi will kill you.”
Lin Musheng laughed derisively. “Wan Qingsi? What’s so great about him, anyway? He’s just a useless n.o.body who relies on the Ying family. If you want to compare, I’m so much better than him!”
Ah Sha shook her head in amus.e.m.e.nt. “Obviously, your sources are totally unreliable.”
Lin Musheng frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Boom! Tremors shook the floor.
“What the h.e.l.l’s going on?” Lin Musheng sprang to his feet.
There was a series of explosions outside before Ah Sha heard a familiar voice.
“Ah Sha, I’ve come for you!”
A change went across Lin Musheng’s face. He grabbed Ah Sha, who was trying to run out of the room. “Who is he really?”
“His family name is Wan. Who do you think he is?” Ah Sha shook off his grip. At the door, a man was charging forward in huge strides. All of a sudden, a shadow pounced on the man. He opened his arms wide.
Ah Sha held on to the man’s neck tightly. “Xunxun, you’re too late. I’m already hungry!”
“I’m sorry. We have to make a stop to refuel the plane,” Wan Qingsi said. “We’ll have dinner at the night market, okay? I heard that Hong Kong’s night market is well-known.”
Lin Musheng clenched his fists and glared at the embracing couple while his henchmen closed ranks around him. One of them seemed utterly dejected when he turned around to face Lin Musheng: “Boss, those guys are from the Wan family.”
Lin Musheng closed his eyes. “The Wan family, huh? The f*cking powerhouse who controls all military munitions and secrets in the world! And it’s leader none other than Boss Wan, the man who deals with both criminal and law-abiding organizations!” All of a sudden, Lin Musheng was overwhelmed by a sense of bitterness. “I should’ve figured this out ages ago.” When Ah Sha showed up at the warehouse that year, he should’ve known that her background wasn’t simple…
“Lin Musheng,” Wan Qingsi said. “If you don’t explain your actions today, I’ll destroy the Triad!”
“How dare he touch my woman. And to take Ah Sha away from me? Not even death could pardon his actions.”
“Then you better pray you can kill every single one of us today. Or else, you and the Wan family better prepare to suffer the consequences of our vengeance!” Lin Musheng’s eerie eyes met Wan Qingsi’s gaze. “The Wan family. So what? Come on, then. If you’re so great, why don’t you try your luck and take me out.”
“You have a death wish!” Wan Qingsi growled. Ah Sha tugged his sleeve before he could move in to attack. “Xunxun, forget it.”
“What? What did you say?” Wan Qingsi lowered his head and touched his forehead to Ah Sha’s; he thought she was delirious.
Ah Sha wrapped her arms around him. “He didn’t do anything to me,” she said. “He just wanted to take me out to eat.”
Everyone in the room was looking at Ah Sha as if she belonged in a mental inst.i.tute. Yeah, h.e.l.l would freeze over first before they would believe that kind of c.r.a.p!
“Order them to stop the attack,” Wan Qingsi said, giving Wan Er a hand signal. The latter nodded and ran out.
Lin Musheng glanced around at his henchmen. “Give us some privacy,” he told them.
After Lin Musheng’s men cleared out, Wan Qingsi pulled Ah Sha to the couch and sat her down. “Come on, tell me. What’s going on?”
Ah Sha told him everything about how she’d rescue Lin Musheng all those years ago. Of course, she’d left out the detail about her rescuing Lin Musheng because she thought the guy was pretty.
Wan Qingsi remained silent for a long time after Ah Sha finished. “Don’t go around saving random men next time,” he said.
Ah Sha released him two forced laughs.
“See? Look how surly he is! You’d be better off with me!” Lin Musheng added. “I’ll definitely treat you better than he does!” Clearly, Lin Musheng didn’t value his life at all.
Wan Qingsi snickered. “Save it. I basically raised her since she was three. I bathed, fed and clothed her.”
“So what? I could do the same too!” Lin Musheng turned to face Ah Sha. “I’ll bathe you tonight.”
“p.i.s.s off!” Ah Sha hurled a cup she’d picked up from the coffee table.
“She’s mine, both in life and in death.” Wan Qingsi glared at Lin Musheng. “You were seventeen years too late. Try reincarnating earlier in your next life. Maybe you’d get your chance.”
What ensued was a p.i.s.sing contest between the two men. The longer Ah Sha listened to them, the more childish she found them both to be.
When she heard Wan Qingsi’s “My family owns an invisible plane, you don’t,” Ah Sha had enough.
“Enough!” Ah Sha slammed her palm on the table and stood up.
Both men glanced at Ah Sha.
Wan Qingsi reached out and took her hand. “I forgot that how hungry you are,” he said. Then, he glared at Lin Musheng. “Blame him.”
“Come, let me treat you to something nice,” Lin Musheng said, standing up. “If you’re planning to check out the night market, it’ll be more convenient if you follow me.”
Ah Sha rubbed her forehead. After that, she kissed Wan Qingsi and said, “He’s just a friend, Xunxun.”
“I understand,” Wan Qingsi said. He studied Ah Sha’s face for a while and then nodded. “I’ll let it go as long as he didn’t hurt you.”
The light in Lin Musheng’s eyes dimmed when he heard Ah Sha’s comment. “Just a friend, huh?” he thought. But soon, the light returned to his eyes again. “Regardless, I’ve already found her. That’s the most important thing for now. The other things can wait!”
In the end, the three of them went to dinner together. Ah Sha didn’t stay the night, but followed Wan Qingsi back to S City that night instead. Before they left, Wan Qingsi left An Ru to Lin Musheng.
“She’s mentally aware, but she can’t move her body,” Wan Qingsi said. “She’ll be bedridden for the rest of her life.”
To Wan Qingsi, death was the lightest form of punishment. An Ru’s punishment was to spend the rest of her life in a bed, paralyzed but conscious; even her ability to take her own life had been taken away from her.
Lin Musheng had no problems with it.
He ordered his men to bring An Ru to the old residence of the Lin family. When Old Man Lin, Lin Musheng’s father, was enraged when he saw the state his daughter was in. Old Man Lin insisted on seeking revenge for An Ru and punishing the ones who did this to her.
“The Wan family did it. You want revenge? Go ahead, I won’t stop you. Just don’t drag the Triad into this,” Lin Musheng said offhandedly. Old Man Lin went away to look for An Ru’s caretaker. The topic of revenge never came up again.
“Let’s keep daddy out of this,” Ah Sha said once they were home.
Wan Qingsi glanced at her briefly. “Why, you have a guilty conscience?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ah Sha said in a tone of amus.e.m.e.nt. “I just don’t want daddy and mommy to worry.”
“What about my worry?” Wan Qingsi removed his bathrobe. “How are you going to make it up to me?”
Ah Sha stared the growing bulge between his legs. She blushed and reached out. “Will this do?”
“You little minx!” Wan Qingsi pulled her up. “Wrap your legs around me!”
Ah Sha did as she was told obediently. She even removed her pajamas voluntarily and raised her neck.
“Good girl!” Wan Qingsi said. Evidently, he was happy with how compliant Ah Sha was. Trailing kissing along Ah Sha’s neck, Wan Qingsi kicked the door open and carried her into the bedroom.
A few days later, the news of An Ru’s retirement shook the s...o...b..z. The reason for her sudden retirement was that the Lin family prohibited her from exposing herself in public. A lot of people on the internet didn’t believe that reason because An Ru had already signed a contract with Sky Entertainment and was already in the middle of a movie production; the Lin family would be the ones charged with the fine if she breached her contract.
Then again, Sky Entertainment soon released a statement claiming that they had agreed to An Ru’s withdrawal. They even announced that An Ru’s role would be taken over by a contemporary actress, Li Bier.
“Do you think An Ru has gone mad?” Xiao Zhao said during the middle of Tang Yue’s physical therapy session. “She shouldn’t have retired from the s...o...b..z just because Boss Wan refused to accept her feelings!”
Tang Yue, who was supporting herself with the handrail attached to the wall, snorted derisively. “Did she retire voluntarily? Or was she forced to retire. She’s the only person who knows.”
Xiao Zhao was just about to ask her why when Tang Yue’s phone suddenly rang.
Tang Yue glanced at the caller ID, and her body went taut instantly.