"It was nice walking down those stairs and the first thing I saw was you" She heard Muchen"s deep voice whisper to her.
Sara did not turn around to look at Muchen. Her sad eyes were still gazing at the Painting.
"You seem to suddenly like this painting today" He added jokingly after noticing she had been staring at it without saying a word to him.
Sara sighed before finally saying something.
"Have you ever...thought about selling this painting? It is worth millions of dollars right?"
Muchen placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him.
She looked at him and could see his brow was arched questioningly.
"Sell it? He shook his head. I intend for it to remain in the Li family for as long as life exists."
She avoided looking at him and turned her attention to look at the door that just opened.
"Oh... Sorry for intruding. The bikes are outside. I will just wait for you outside you can carry on with what you were both doing." Heya said to the both of them with a smile on her face before turning to go outside.
"Are you okay?" Muchen asked Sara.
He noticed something was off with her but he could not exactly place it.
"I am fine. I just feel a bit sick" She answered in a low voice.
"Then you should not bother to go biking with Heya. I can do it for you. Just rest here. I"ll go with her"
"No... I have to. I will see you when I return."
She turned to go but he pulled her back and searched her eyes with his.
"If something is bothering you, talk to me. You trust me right?"
She faked a smile and nodded slowly.
Of course, she did trust him. She just did not know the depth yet.
When he saw her smile and nod, he smiled also. "I will ride with you both outside the gate and when I am sure you are really okay, I will come back home. Got it?"
He did not wait for her to oppose or accept the idea before he moved outside to go get his own bike.
While riding outside, his gaze was fixed on Sara. She was not her usual cheerful self who always looked at him with starstruck eyes and smiled brightly whenever she saw him. He could not help wondering what exactly was wrong with her.
Immediately they rode outside the gate, they saw a black car coming out from the next villa. The car slowed down when it got to where the three people were slowly biking.
When they saw the car stop, they also stopped to see who it was.
And to Sara"s shock, the one who came down from the car was none other than Snake!
She swallowed hard and looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what the h.e.l.l he was doing there. Fuji had given her three days. So why was he here in front of her and Muchen!?
Was he here to meet her? Or was he here to tell Muchen something about her?
Different questions ran through her mind when she saw him walking towards them.
She looked around nervously and began to think of what to do but then, she noticed he was not looking at her but at Muchen instead.
"CEO Li." He greeted with a "pleasant" smile as he approached him.
Sara wondered what those people were up to now. And she was sure whatever it was, it was not something good.
When she noticed he was gradually getting closer to where Muchen was standing, she quickly got down from her bike, left it on the ground and swiftly moved to stand in between Muchen and Snake who was about offering his hand in a handshake.
Heya and Muchen looked at her in confusion and the same question was in their minds; What was she doing right now?
Sara stared fiercely at Snake who stared right back at her.
She did not trust him one bit. Maybe she did at one point in her life. But now, she was smart enough to know that every member of the gang were willing to die for Fuji.
He could have been sent here to poison Muchen somehow so they could use his life to threaten her. Using poison was another of his speciality. And she did not want to risk it.
"She probably is your girlfriend. Is she jealous that someone else is trying to touch her man?"
They heard him laugh amusedly before withdrawing his hand. "Sorry miss. My bad" He apologised to Sara with a smile.
"I only wanted to say h.e.l.lo to CEO Li. We have met before" He said with another "smile".
Sara raised a brow in confusion before turning to look at Muchen. "You know him?"
She could see the amused look on his face when he nodded. "We have met before. This is Yue King. The new owner of Grand Castle hotel." He introduced.
Yue King? It was the first time hearing the name after so many years. There was a time when Snake had told her that his real name was "Yue King" and had asked her to promise never to tell anyone since he did not wish to live with that ident.i.ty. So what was he doing now?
Sara remembered Grand Castle Hotel as the hotel Snake had taken her to just a few hours ago. So he was the new owner?
"It"s probably for show" She concluded.
But she was still very surprised and uncomfortable that Muchen knew someone as dangerous as Snake.
"Do you know him?" Muchen then asked Sara who was still standing in between them.
She looked at all of them and knew she should have a reasonable explanation for her att.i.tude just now.
She scratched her head awkwardly before answering.
"I don"t know him. He just looks like a bad person." She answered his question the best way she could.
"Sorry about that" Muchen apologized to Snake with a laugh. "She says whatever comes to her mind." He explained.
In fact, he had actually thought the same from the very first day he saw this Yue King. He looked like a normal businessman but when he was taken a closer look at by someone with keen eyes, they would see the kind of dark aura that was emanating from him.
Everything about him was strange. He suddenly popped out from no where and took over the Jin"s Grand Castle Hotel as the new owner when he was sure the Jins were not lacking money for them to sell it off.
He felt Sara"s senses must have been really sharp for her to easily notice what he had been suspecting about the guy.
But for Sara"s safety, he just had to apologize and make everything seem like a joke.
Snake chortled dryly before saying..
"It"s fine. She seem like a fun person. Even if she does not know me...I do know her" He replied with a smile Muchen did not like at all.
Sara"s hands fisted beside her and her heart began to thump even faster.
"You do?" Muchen asked in surprise.
Sara swallowed hard and waited for Snake"s next answer and it was not long before she heard it.
"Sara w.a.n.g. Of course I know her...." He paused to look at Sara"s dark eyes before adding with a smirk "Her pictures are all over the net."
Sara finally breathed out when she heard his answer. She then glared at Snake for messing with her.
Heya had been watching their entire exchange and thought it was cute that Sara was trying to protect her brother by standing in between both men.
To her, it was hilarious.
But to Sara, this was one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life.
Muchen felt he had already had enough of this King guy looking at Sara with those unreadable eyes.
Shouldn"t he just say what the h.e.l.l he was doing in his neighborhood instead of talking too much about his girlfriend?
"So what are you doing around here?" Muchen finally asked when Sara moved slightly from his front.
Yue King was a businessman just like himself. He was only applying courtesy in entertaining him. Besides, he had been the one who greeted them first. Else, he would have walked out on him from the very moment he called Sara "jealous"
"Oh... I came to see a friend closeby. I am also considering moving into one of these beauties." He turned his head to look at the houses in the direction he had just appeared from.
Throughout their entire conversation, Sara was tensed. The realisation of Muchen knowing Snake was too much for her to bear.
She realised that now, she was not actually scared of Muchen knowing about her past. She was more scared of him getting hurt by these people.
Even if she refused to give them the painting, those people were never going to give up. They would not waste time in searching for someone else to do it for them and that might be even worse.
Snake appearing here right now, was obviously a warning for her. To remind her that they were watching.
She made up her mind to hand it over to them. If it was the only way to guarantee his safety, she was going to do it and more.