s.h.i.+ Boren and Tang Bochuan flew over via the helicopter in great urgency. Once the aircraft had landed on the helipad, Tang Bochuan sprinted towards Xia Lei. Before he had even come close, his voice had already made its way into Xia Lei’s eardrums. “Xia Lei, how’s my sister?!”
Xia Lei answered, “Yuyan is alright, but she’s very weak now. You need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“Quick, lead me to her.” Tang Bochuan"s tone was understandably laced with anxiety.
“Come with me.” Xia Lei brought him to the study.
s.h.i.+ Boren quickly caught up to them. “What about the a.s.sa.s.sin? Who does he work for?”
Xia Lei replied, “The a.s.sa.s.sin was shot dead by Yuyan. I haven’t gotten the chance to investigate his background. It’s most probably an a.s.sa.s.sin from the CIA or FA.”
“f.u.c.king h.e.l.l! They’re out of their minds!” s.h.i.+ Boren raged, his heart sheltering a violent burst of flames.
Approaching his study, Xia Lei could see the four pregnant ladies standing in a distance. Their stances were cautious and had not bothered to come closer. Truthfully, they had the intention to come over and take a look but with their minds fixated on the safety of their unborn child, they decided against it.
Xia Lei allowed Tang Bochuan and s.h.i.+ Boren into his study.
Tang Yuyan’s eyes were clamped shut and her cheeks were devoid of its lively flush. The corner of her lips, chin and chest were bloodied. The visual combination of everything looked awful.
“Yuyan!” Tang Bochuan was shocked by the state of his sister. He quickly rushed to the couch and grabbed her limp palm.
Her eyes flew open. She cast a glance at her brother. “I’m alright. Xia Lei saved me.”
“You’re spitting out so much blood! How can you say that you’re alright?” Tang Bochuan fussed over her.
“That’s actually… Xia Lei’s blood,” muttered Tang Yuyan weakly.
“Huh?” Tang Bochuan whipped his head around to spare a look at Xia Lei. It was only then that he noticed a wound on Xia Lei’s wrist. Blood was still seeping through the opening but it was not severe.
The ghost of a bitter smile manifested on Tang Yuyan’s lips. “Xia Lei, I owe you my life once again.”
Xia Lei said, “Don’t say that. If it wasn’t for you, Long Bing and the others would’ve been harmed.”
“Long Bing? What does this have to do with Long Bing?” s.h.i.+ Boren fumed. “Call her over, I need to talk to her.”
“Boss s.h.i.+, what exactly are you going to talk to her about?” Xia Lei shot a question.
s.h.i.+ Boren finally remembered. Long Bing was no longer affiliated with Bureau 101 and that he was merely an ex-boss. She was now Xia Lei’s woman. s.h.i.+ Boren had no power over her any longer. She was not someone he could call over and reprimand.
Tang Yuyan uttered, “G.o.dfather, this has nothing to do with Long Bing. I was the cause of my current state. No need to fret about it.”
“Nevermind, I got nothing worthwhile to say. This is a matter between you two, no third party can intervene in this,” grumbled s.h.i.+ Boren, facial expressions not veiling his displeasure.
Xia Lei called, “Bochuan, take Yuyan to the hospital. She needs a full check-up and relevant treatment.”
“But I don’t want to go to the hospital,” mumbled Tang Yuyan.
That earned a dirty glare from Tang Bochuan. “Look at yourself! You’re in no state to say no! I’m bringing you to the hospital.”
“No, I don’t want to.” Tang Yuyan was stubborn.
s.h.i.+ Boren reprimanded, “Listen to us and go to the hospital! How can you not go there in such a state?”
“No.” Tang Yuyan turned her face away, no longer wis.h.i.+ng to stare at his stern wrinkly face.
Tang Bochuan turned around to send Xia Lei a look.
Xia Lei braced himself. “Yuyan, listen to them and go to the hospital. Your condition is unstable and you really need professional care and treatment.”
“Okay, then I shall go to the hospital,” agreed Tang Yuyan. Her answer came gentle, her hint of submission heavy.
Tang Bochuan couldn’t help but lock gazes with s.h.i.+ Boren. One of them was her blood-related elder brother and the other was her G.o.dfather. Their words had done no magic against her but a simple uttering from Xia Lei had proved to be way more useful than harsh commands.
Hearing her agreement, Tang Bochuan walked over to pick her up, about to head for the helipad. But before his arms could even come in contact with her, she rolled her eyes at him. It was a telltale display of her cold-shoulder.
Tang Bochuan seemed to have picked up her hint, quickly stepping away. “Xia Lei, can you help me bring her to the helicopter? I’ll phone the hospital and have them ready for her arrival.” He dug out his phone and walked away without any consideration for Xia Lei’s feelings.
Xia Lei stared at s.h.i.+ Boren.
s.h.i.+ Boren stared back. “You can’t be serious about having her G.o.dfather do something like that?”
Xia Lei was speechless. He obediently went over to the couch and picked her up, bringing her towards the exit of the study.
Tang Yuyan was snuggled close to his chest. She was quiet and complacent. As Xia Lei neared the study’s door, she looped her arms around his neck. As a result, the misleading scene was displayed to his four pregnant wives blatantly.
His four wives watched their husband carry Tang Yuyan. Sure, Tang Yuyan had saved them and she was injured as a result. It was completely understandable for their husband to help move her to the hospital. Despite the voices trying to reason in their mind, the sight made them uncomfortable and worried.
“If that f.u.c.ker is still alive, I’d love to kill him one more time,” hissed Liang Siyao through gritted teeth.
Long Bing cast her a wry smile. “What’s the point even if you can kill him ten more times? Regardless of our feud with Tang Yuyan, you’ve got to admit that she saved us this time around. Without her, we’d probably be dead.”
Liang Siyao had nothing better to retort. Every encounter with Tang Yuyan of hers would always result in heated arguments. However, Liang Siyao had to admit that she owed her life to Tang Yuyan this time. If she were to count in the budding life in her womb, she would’ve owed two lives to Tang Yuyan.
Fan Fan chuckled distantly. “She saved us and we owe it to her. Yes, that is true. But I’m worried that she might use this incident to her merit. You know our man’s biggest weakness is that he doesn’t know how to refuse someone. Tang Yuyan saved us and our child. But if she wants to…” Fan Fan could not bring herself to finish her sentence.
“What would she want from us?” Jiang Ruyi looked at her innocently. “Is she going to use it to trouble us?”
Fan Fan pulled her lips into a tight smile. “She has never once stopped giving us trouble, okay?”
Jiang Ruyi furrowed her brows. In the face of such games, she was completely clueless. Her mind began feeding her the mental image of a dining table. Initially, five cutlery sets would be placed on the table but her mind had shown her a scene with six sets instead. The extra one was for Tang Yuyan.
“No need to fret.” Liang Siyao mused, “Tang Yuyan is part of the Tang family. There is no way her family would allow her to marry Xia Lei like us. The Tang family would want Xia Lei all to themselves. They’re too greedy for their own good.”
Fan Fan questioned, “But what if Tang Yuyan is willing to let her family go as we have?”
Liang Siyao immediately fell silent.
That was a tough question.
As they continued to mumble among themselves, Xia Lei had finally brought Tang Yuyan to the helicopter. He instructed its pilot, “Bring her to the hospital immediately.”
The pilot nodded and swiftly ignited the engine.
Just as he was about to peel away, Tang Yuyan seized his wrist. “Can’t you accompany me to the hospital?”
Her eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with sadness and antic.i.p.ation that melted the tip of Xia Lei’s resolution. He answered, “Get there first and I’ll come later. I need to check on the a.s.sa.s.sin and find out who he is. I will not allow something similar to happen twice.”
“Very well, then… I’ll wait for you in the hospital.” Tang Yuyan released her grip.
Tang Bochuan climbed into the helicopter while s.h.i.+ Boren opted to stay back. The older man and Xia Lei went to the main entrance.
The a.s.sa.s.sin’s body was placed at the entrance. Not far away from his body were the corpses of a few reporters. They weren’t as lucky as Tang Yuyan, who had access to the antidote and a stream of blood filled with super antibodies.
Xia Lei halted s.h.i.+ Boren before the older man got close to the body. “Boss s.h.i.+, stay far from his body. Leave the checking to me.”
“Your life has more value than mine, let me take over,” insisted s.h.i.+ Boren.
There were some things about s.h.i.+ Boren that Xia Lei detested, one could even say that he was utterly disgusted by it. But for the sake of the greater good and national interest, s.h.i.+ Boren had never once failed to be self-sacrificial. This fact, Xia Lei was impressed. He retorted, “Boss s.h.i.+, let me do it. I already consumed the antidote, you did not.”
s.h.i.+ Boren realized that he couldn’t win over Xia Lei. The older man relented, “Be careful. If it’s too difficult, we’ll wait till the experts arrive.”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Xia Lei was already striding over to the body. He activated his X-ray vision with approaching steps. The a.s.sa.s.sin’s body was very clean. Other than a few one hundred RMB notes on him, he did not have an identification card nor a driver’s license.
Xia Lei tried to search for his phone but there was none.
He returned his attention onto the a.s.sa.s.sin’s face. It was an Asian man and a stranger. His forehead was torn apart by the bullet, flesh and skin curling up at the edges. It was evident that he wasn’t donning a human face mask.
Xia Lei thought to himself, “He’s clean and has no cosmetic alterations. He’s a complete stranger too. Is he an a.s.sa.s.sin from the CIA or the FA? Or could he be from the Hattori family?”
Helpfully, he was suddenly reminded of the Hattori clan. Back then in the secluded tower on the Great Wall of China, Hattori Mei was the one who pa.s.sed him the poison that would eventually become his own murder weapon! This meant that this a.s.sa.s.sin was most possibly one that worked for the Hattori clan!
Deducing his ident.i.ty, Xia Lei’s heart burned with rage. He seethed to no one, “Hattori Mei… Hattori Masao… It seems that killing me no longer satiates your desire. You’re even turning to harm my women and children. Very well. Since you’re so eager to destroy my whole family, I reciprocate the sentiment!”
The horns of revenge were blaring.
“Xia Lei, what did you find?” asked s.h.i.+ Boren.
Xia Lei replied, “This is no place to talk. Let’s go to the hospital, I’ll tell you on our way over.”
“Alright. We’ll leave this to the experts. Come, sit in my car,” offered s.h.i.+ Boren.
“We’ll use my car.” Xia Lei turned to cast a glance at Long Bing, who was standing at a distance. He called out, “Ah Bing, drive your car. We’re visiting the hospital.”
“Alright, right away.” Came Long Bing’s answer.
“We’re coming with,” said Fan Fan out of the blue.
“Yeah. We’re going to check on her too.” Liang Siyao played along.
“I’ll go grab a few bottles to drink on the journey. Pregnant ladies should drink more water,” uttered Jiang Ruyi.
Xia Lei turned around and looked at s.h.i.+ Boren. “Yeah, I guess I should ride with you after all.”
s.h.i.+ Boren had nothing to say.