Long Bing and Liang Siyao alighted, and the two women walked towards Xia Lei and Tang Yuyan. They were both curvaceous and s.e.xy ladies, and a man would have a great headache indeed if he had to choose between them.
At least, for Xia Lei. He wouldn’t know who to pick.
Liang Siyao looked at Xia Lei, and he looked at her too.
Their gazes met in the air, soundless, sparkless, their hearts tw.a.n.ging with pain. They were meeting again, but the wonderful times of yesteryear were past, and they could not go back anymore.
“Hm.” Tang Yuyan broke the silence between the four of them. “It really is interesting. The enemy of the past is becoming an ally. What a small world.”
Was this a welcome or a reminder for Liang Siyao?
A faint smile appeared in the corners of Liang Siyao’s mouth, and she exuded a rare confidence and easy spirit. This seemed to be her response to Tang Yuyan.
Liang Siyao and Tang Yuyan were both women of a martial art line, but they were different.
“You’’ve… completed negotiations?” Xia Lei spoke, finally.
Liang Siyao laughed softly. “All done, or I wouldn’t be here.”
“It’s good that you’re back.” A thousand words were condensed into one sentence, and Xia Lei was happy for her.
“Liang Siyao, you have been granted immunity, but this does not mean you haven’t done anything. You hurt Xia Lei in the past. I hope it won’t happen again,” said Tang Yuyan.
Having old matters dragged out, and in front of Xia Lei too, made Liang Siyao unhappy. She wrinkled her brow. “Section Chief Tang, what are you trying to get at? Are you hinting something to me?”
“We’re all women. There are some things we don’t need to say out loud. Bureau 101 is not the CIA. You should cherish this opportunity you’ve been given, and work hard for the country to make up for your past transgressions. You don’t have to think about anything else,” said Tang Yuyan.
“What is this ‘anything else’ you speak of, Section Chief Tang?”
“You know what I mean.”
The conversation between the two women was tinged with the scent of gunpowder.
Xia Lei felt a headache coming on. He coughed. “Ahem. Let’s go meet with Boss s.h.i.+. This isn’t a place to be chatting.”
Tang Yuyans and Liang Siyao shut their mouths.
At that moment, Long Bing moved close, and grabbed Xia Lei’s collar, right in front of Tang Yuyan and Liang Siyao.
“Bing…” Xia Lei did not know what she wanted to do, and was inexplicably nervous.
Long Bing straightened out the collar of his s.h.i.+rt, and said evenly, “Do you not have a woman to keep you tidy after your divorce? Look at you, your collar’s crooked.”
Tang Yuyan and Liang Siyao seemed to turn to stone.
The two women had been sparring verbally while Section Chief Long left them in the dust.
It was sort of expected. Just based on relations.h.i.+ps, Liang Siyao was just an ex-girlfriend. Tang Yuyan did not even have an acknowledged relations.h.i.+p and was a sort of vague connection. Long Bing, on the other hand, was Xia Lei’s woman and could get him in her bed. With this sort of relations.h.i.+p chart of theirs, Long Bing had not found it impermissible to very openly straighten out Xia Lei’s clothing in a show of owners.h.i.+p, ignoring Tang Yuyan and Liang Siyao’s fight.
Section Chief Long seemed to also be using this method to tell them: No matter what happens between you and Xia Lei, he’s still mine and no one can push me away.
“All right, let’s go.” Long Bing straightened Xia Lei’s collar and patted him on the shoulder.
“Thanks.” Xia Lei was happy inside. He felt that Long Bing did brilliantly.
He did not like that he had become something for Tang Yuyan and Liang Siyao to s.n.a.t.c.h from each other, like a toy. If one looked at it this way, Long Bing did what she did to get him out of that situation.
But at that moment, Tang Yuyan suddenly swung her hand and smacked Xia Lei’s b.u.t.tocks.
Pah! The smack rang out.
Xia Lei stared at Tang Yuyan, flabbergasted.
Long Bing and Liang Siyao were flabbergasted too.
“Oh dear, Lei! You have dust on your trousers. Look at you, a divorcee with no woman to slap the dust off your trousers!” said Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei was speechless.
The same method to counter Section Chief Long — well played, Tang Yuyan!
But at that moment, Liang Siyao drew close too.
Xia Lei was immediately nervous, and he quickly checked himself for messy attire or dust. Too bad, there was none.
Liang Siyao did not straighten his clothing, and did not reach out to slap his a.s.s. She just said, “Lei, my father has moved to Jingdu too. He wants to see you. Come home with me tonight.”
Her “come home with me tonight” was said gently, softly, like a wife talking to her husband.
She was Xia Lei’s first girlfriend and would have been his wife if not for her ident.i.ty as a CIA intelligence agent at that time. Her father, Liang Zhengchun, was Xia Lei’s Master too, and had pa.s.sed on the true Wing Chun to him. He had long seen Xia Lei as his own son. This was her advantage over Long Bing and Tang Yuyan, and her “come home with me tonight” line was difficult for them to pick on.
Liang Siyao did brilliantly too!
Xia Lei bit the bullet and nodded. “Where is Master living now?”
Liang Siyao quirked her lips in a smile. “He’s living with me. We’re renting a place in the Suns.h.i.+ne Neighbourhood.”
Xia Lei said, “Why rent a place? Why not just…”
Tang Yuyan cut him off abruptly. “Go, go. My G.o.dfather will scold us if we’re late.”
The silent tussle between the three women ended.
Xia Lei breathed a sigh of relief too. This was just the first day and he was already running into a situation like this. If this was going to happen often, then how was he to live? He was starting to regret coming to Bureau 101 today.
The four of them came to s.h.i.+ Boren’s office. He had been waiting for them.
s.h.i.+ Boren’s expression was stern. “Liang Siyao, you have just this one chance. I hope you cherish it. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Understood!” Liang Siyao stood at attention.
“The decision was made to form a small team to counter Europe and America. The team would have to be responsible for information, and combat missions. Your team members will report to you. You’ll have to get familiar with them, and train them.”
“Yes!” Liang Siyao’s answer was simple, crisp.
“And finally, a reminder. This is Bureau 101, not the CIA. There is no fighting and scheming against each other here, and no dating between team members. I know that you’ve had a relations.h.i.+p with Xia Lei in the past, and it was fake, but I do not want any s.e.x scandals between the two of you now. Can you do that?”
Liang Siyao did not answer simply and crisply this time.
“Can you do that?” s.h.i.+ Boren’s voice was stern.
Liang Siyao forced herself to nod. “Understood.”
Rules were set by people, but what ruled the heart?
“Good that you understand. You three, out,” said s.h.i.+ Boren.
Long Bing, Tang Yuyan and Xia Lei turned to leave.
“Who told you to leave, Xia Lei? Stay, Boy. I was talking about them,” said s.h.i.+ Boren.
Liang Siyao paused, then followed Tang Yuyan and Long Bing out.
“What is it, Boss s.h.i.+?” asked Xia Lei tentatively.
“Sit, sit, sit.” s.h.i.+ Boren got up with a smile on his face. “What tea would you like? I have Jin Jun Mei tea and oolong tea here.”
“You don’t have to be so polite with me, Boss s.h.i.+. Please be frank,” said Xia Lei with a smile.
“Then I won’t be making tea for you.”
Xia Lei was speechless.
s.h.i.+ Boren put Xia Lei on the sofa and stood in front of him like a bear. “Say, you must know the feelings of that child, Yuyan, right? She’s not getting any younger either. You’re divorced with Shentu Tianyin now, and single. If you two are in a team together, and get together… What do you think?”
“That’s… No, wait, aren’t we not allowed to date?” Xia Lei felt the throbbing in head increase.
s.h.i.+ Boren glared at Xia Lei and said with a straight face, “It’s definitely out of the question if it’s just you, but this is a collaboration of different organisations, so it’s different, of course.”
The so-called “organisations” were probably him.
“Boss s.h.i.+, I’ve only just gotten divorced. I dread women. You want me to marry?”
“Yuyan’s not a tigress, so what are you dreading? Boy, others can’t marry even if they wanted too. This gift came right to your door and you’re pus.h.i.+ng it out your gate? Just you try to push it again — I’ll beat you to death!”
Xia Lei was speechless.
“All right, all right, I know you’re not feeling too good now either. I’ll give you some time, but you have to hurry up and make a decision. That Grandfather Tang calls me every day. I am getting sick of him.”
Xia Lei smiled wryly. “Thank you, Boss s.h.i.+.”
“Oh right, is your work at the Academy of Science going well?”
Xia Lei wanted to tell him the truth, but he did not say it in the end. Instead, he said, “It’s all right. Those people there are just not straightforward.”
“They’re a group of pencil pushers; don’t take them seriously. You can just go through the motions of getting the work done there. Hurry up and finish the work you have, then return here to go on missions. Oh, I’ll arrange for a relaxing job for you when you come back, just you and Yuyan. Take it as a relaxing trip. How about it?”
Xia Lei was speechless.
“Say something, Boy!”
“Sure, hehe, sure.” Xia Lei laughed flatly.
“Shoo.”
Xia Lei got up and left, and he felt like a stone had been lifted off his heart too.
“Wait.” s.h.i.+ Boren suddenly called Xia Lei to a stop.
“Is there something else, Boss s.h.i.+?” Xia Lei turned back and looked at him.
s.h.i.+ Boren pointed straight at him. “You’re not allowed to have a relations.h.i.+p with Liang Siyao, absolutely not, or I’ll beat you to death!
Xia Lei was speechless.