Stolen Love

Chapter 29

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Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Business

Anyone could become a thief, but being a legendary one took skills. First and foremost, one needed to understand the concept of time, to become good at judging it intuitively and accurately. Without such a skill, it was impossible to be a good thief. This was the reason why Li Xin was one of the best: She had good judgement when it came to time and was able to adhere to time limits down to the second.

Yellow Falcon narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He had forgotten that this woman was one of the world’s best thieves and also simultaneously Dark Cloud, the legendary race car driver. Either of these t.i.tles made her more skilled than him; she was part of the elite in the world of thievery and the valiant queen of the racing world. Seeing her forced into servitude by Qi Mo had nearly made him forget her impressive resume, which was a mistake.

He swept an inconspicuous glance at the bruises on her neck before shifting his gaze down to the legs that had just carried her at the speed of lightning into the car and raised his eyebrows. Legendary or not, being Qi Mo’s servant meant obeying his commands.

“Put that down, it’s highly inappropriate.” Red Falcon was watching Li Xin with a frown, having observed the rebellious intentions hidden beneath her otherwise perfectly poised and laid-back expression.

She ignored his chiding and instead, responded spitefully, “I’m not your servant. You have no right to order me around.” What a joke, she thought to herself. She had to submit to Qi Mo because he had leverage and new her weaknesses. They were kidding themselves if they thought she would have to submit to them as well.

Besides, there was a high chance that they would end up in the middle of another attack, or be forced to act as human magnets for flying bullets. She needed to be full so she could run for her life when it was necessary.

Although her voice showed no apprehension, she still shot a glance at Qi Mo through the rearview mirror to read his face. Red Falcon couldn’t kill her, but the overlord definitely could. Said man was sitting in his seat calmly, and when he felt Li Xin’s gaze on him, he looked back at her coldly with eyes full of warning.

Clearly, he wasn’t happy with her actions, but regardless, he said nothing and simply warned her with his eyes. Li Xin let out a short huff of laughter and handed him a piece of her sandwich. She would make an effort to be a “good” servant. If she could get on his good side, she’d be able to gain his trust and have him lower his guard. Then, she’d be able to figure out where Sui Xin was.

She had learned from her time with the thieves that obedience could be used to her advantage. If she hadn’t always been the most obedient, skilled, considerate member of the organization, she wouldn’t have gained the mentors’ trust, which in turn gave her the opportunity to escape.

Red Falcon crooked an eyebrow at the sight of Li Xin casually handing Qi Mo her sandwich. He shared an astonished and slightly humorous look with Yellow Falcon. It was the first time either of them had seen anything like it, and they both shifted their eyes out the window as if the scenery outside was the most interesting thing in the world.

Qi Mo frowned at Li Xin’s stretched out hand and there was a brief moment of silence before he said, “Focus on driving.”

She eyed the uninterested expression on his face and shrugged. Whatever, if he didn’t want to eat, she certainly wasn’t going to force him. At least she’d done her duty as a servant and offered, so later he wouldn’t blame her. She twisted her arm back and popped the sandwich into her mouth.

Amazingly, their drive was speedy and uneventful, which Li Xin was eternally grateful for and gave h

er reason to sigh with relief— who wanted to be shot at every day? — and they soon found themselves in another one of the city’s rural districts.

They arrived in an extremely desolate area. After going through several security checkpoints, Li Xin stopped the car and marveled at the scene before her. Flowers stretched out all across the horizon in a sea of vibrant colours. The elegant petals possessed a graceful yet exotic charm, creating the impression of a strikingly picturesque painting.

An orderly row of men in silver suits emerged from the sea of flowers and approached the car, their bodies lowered respectfully in a bowing position. Their leader appeared to a middle-aged man who went to greet Qi Mo and guide him along whilst explaining things, albeit reluctantly, from the look on his face.

The moment Li Xin stepped out of the car, she was a.s.saulted by the strong perfume of the flowers, the scent traveling on a cool breeze through the air. It was a dizzyingly sweet scent that caused her to shake her head in an attempt to relieve a sudden jolt of pain in her chest. The scent was so nauseatingly strong that it seemed abnormal.

“Don’t breathe it in,” a voice chimed in quietly from behind her. She didn’t turn around but knew that it was Yellow Falcon who had spoken.

“Come over here,” Qi Mo ordered breezily from his place ahead of her.

She shook her head again, clearing the dizziness caused by the fragrance, and hurriedly ran up to where he was. The second she arrived, he reached out and grabbed her head, pulling it close until it brushed up against his shoulder and both her eyes and nose were buried.

She felt her sudden vertigo and dizziness expire gradually as she matched her pace with Qi Mo. She found that even as they walked along, she was desperate for one more glance of the lush blanket of flowers. Surprisingly, Qi Mo only tightened his hold, not giving her the opportunity to raised her head to look as he simultaneously picked up their pace. He didn’t let go until they had walked through the flowers and arrived within a building made of gla.s.s.

“Overlord Qi, this project is extremely profitable and it would be a waste to give it up. If you aren’t interested in it, what do you think about transferring the project to us? We would provide the Qi Clan with a portion of the profits annually, of course.” Their middle-aged guide opened his mouth as soon as Qi Mo took his seat. He seemed to Li Xin to be in a rush.

“You want to do it?” Qi Mo asked, leaning against the sofa and eyeing the man expressionlessly.

The guide bobbed his head up and down quickly in a.s.sent. “We can negotiate how we’ll split the earnings. Overlord Qi, please give us a price.”

The overlord laughed coldly. “Negotiate? Are you fit to negotiate with me?”

Li Xin watched as the other man’s face turned ashen. She cringed inwardly at Qi Mo’s bluntness and insensitivity. Although, she thought to herself, the overlord obviously had the means to act the way he did. She felt a twinge of sympathy for the middle-aged man — she knew firsthand what it felt like to be threatened and disregarded by Qi Mo.

“No, I wouldn’t dare,” the man stuttered. “Overlord, I used the wrong words. It is just that this business is important to those of us in the Southeast Asian region. You can’t just get rid of it! There are still many of us that depend on it, Overlord…”

Their conversation went on, and Li Xin found her thoughts wandering. As she glanced around the room, she found that there was a small couch tucked away in the back. The dry discussion taking place was lulling her to sleep, especially considering she had slept so terribly the night before. She snuck a glance at the two men again, observing that Qi Mo had his back to her, and decided to tiptoe her way towards the couch. While doing so, she stared daggers at Red Falcon and Yellow Falcon, daring them to speak up.

She crawled into the couch, curling up stealthily, and prepared to take a nap. The middle-aged man was the only person who had entered the building with them and she wasn’t in his line of sight; it was the perfect opportunity.

She had just shut her eyes when a faint buzzing sound emerged from her earrings. The vibrating jolted her awake and her eyes flew open. She raised her right hand to her earlobe and fumbled with one of the earrings. They were custom-made by her — capable of letting her stay in communication when required, and they were able to discover any nearby frequencies. She fingered the device, slowly clicking through the channels, yet found no interception.

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