Freedom EDM Music Bar was evacuated a while ago. Regardless of its patrons or staff, all of them were detained. Awaiting them was a strict ident.i.ty interrogation. Anyone suspicious wouldn’t be able to escape Bureau 101. With that being said, Tang Yuyan and Xia Lei were now the only customers of this establishment.
With a grip around Xia Lei’s wrist, Tang Yuyan led them over to a dimly-lit corner. She pressed him down onto the couch and joined him.
On the gla.s.s table before the couch was a sealed bottle of untouched whiskey along with two gla.s.ses. From what they could see, there was no alcohol in the gla.s.ses, indicating that no one had used it prior. Perhaps the customer had ordered it but got brought away before they could even enjoy it.
Once they settled down, Tang Yuyan stared at Xia Lei intently. Her gaze was burning hot as if bearing the intention to melt Xia Lei into a puddle.
Xia Lei offered her a small smile. “Yuyan, what are you trying to do?”
Tang Yuyan swiftly twisted the bottle cap open then emptied a small portion into the gla.s.s to wash its cavity. While the rock gla.s.ses had clear indications that it was unused, the woman was reluctant to use it as it was. Before long, the deep caramel coloured whiskey was poured into the gla.s.sware. “Let’s have a drink. It’s been so long since we’ve drunk together.”
Xia Lei was bewildered. “Yuyan, this is not the time to fool around. We’re in the middle of a mission. We can’t be drinking on the job.”
“You killed everyone. What else do my underlings have to do other than cleaning bodies up? Plus, I’m now the leader of the bureau. I can drink so long as I permit it. Why are you so worried when I’m not even bothered?”
Domineering and self-willed. These were things deeply rooted in the bones of the proud daughter of the Tang family that were difficult to erase.
“Don’t tell me that you’re no longer willing to drink with me now?” Tang Yuyan’s voice mellowed down, its gentleness filled with faint melancholy.
Xia Lei chuckled breathily. “Drinking is not a problem. But could we do this some other day where we’re free to drink to our heart’s content?”
“You make it sound so easy.” Tang Yuyan frowned. “Your four pregnant wives have a personal vendetta against me. Arguments are inevitable whenever I come in contact with them. Some other day? It’ll be a miracle if they’d let you on an occasion like this some other day.”
That effectively drove Xia Lei speechless. While this filled him with awkwardness, he had to admit that she had a point. His wives had an iron grip over his whereabouts, they wouldn’t let any young beautiful woman get close to him, not to mention Tang Yuyan. It did not require much thinking that his expecting wives wouldn’t allow him out to drink with Tang Yuyan alone.
Xia Lei decided to not reply. Instead, he brought up the filled whisky gla.s.s and toasted with Tang Yuyan. The man downed its contents in one go.
Tang Yuyan too did the same, finis.h.i.+ng the beverage in one large gulp. She then placed her head on his shoulders.
Xia Lei’s body froze at the contact. “Yuyan, that was only half a gla.s.s. That’s not enough to render you tipsy.”
Tang Yuyan hushed him softly. “Things would be better if I died from intoxication now. I can finally be free from constant despair. Do you know? Ever since you left with Fan Fan, I haven’t felt a shred of happiness. I would spend most of my time trying to remember our past when things were alright. Long Bing told me to figure out what it is that I truly want. Back then, I paid no mind to her words. I’ve never even spared it a single thought. But after you left, I pondered about it every single day. What exactly do I want? Lei Zi, tell me. What exactly do I want?”
How on earth was Xia Lei supposed to answer her? He turned away and filled their rock gla.s.ses again and pa.s.sed one to her. “No need to ponder about complicated questions like this. Let us carry on drinking.”
Tang Yuyan abruptly hooked her arm over the arm that held Xia Lei’s gla.s.s. Their tangled arms now in an odd position.
Xia Lei studied Tang Yuyan’s expression oddly. The way their arms were linked was how grooms and brides would consume their ceremonial alcohol on the night of consummation. If they drank in such a manner, what would he be to her and what would she be to him?
“Didn’t you say that we should carry on drinking? Come on, let’s continue,” urged Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei awkwardly stated, “Uh… This isn’t right. How are we supposed to drink like this?”
Saying nothing else, Tang Yuyan tipped her gla.s.s and chugged it clean. Following that, she inched closer to his body and forced him to empty his gla.s.s with a tip.
Clap clap clap…
Two pa.s.sing Bureau 101 field agents that witnessed the scene coincidentally began showering them with applause.
“Leader Tang, I’m so happy for you! When will you and Xia Lei be getting married?” One of the field agents asked with a bright smile.
The other one mirrored his comrade. “Leader Tang, please remember to invite us to your banquet!”
Weirdly, Tang Yuyan did not reprimand them. Her cheeks were flushed red instead.
Xia Lei wanted to die. “Quit bulls.h.i.+tting, it’s not what you think.”
“Advisor Xia, you’ve already consumed your cross-cupped wine. You can’t hide it from us.”
“Yeah, we’re bound to attend your banquet. There’s no running away.”
The two agents continued to tease Xia Lei and Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei decided he had enough and fixed the agents with a hard glare. “Off you go. Go do your work properly. Quit slacking off already.”
The field agents snickered and left. The fact that Tang Yuyan was almost Xia Lei’s fiancee was no secret to the bureau. Which was why they had used it to appease their leader.
“Lei Zi, I know I have the temperament of a spoiled brat and you don’t like that. I’m eager to change for your sake.” Tang Yuyan’s voice was meek and soft.
Xia Lei was already at his limit. “Look, I need to go home now. We’ll… We’ll drink again next time.”
Her arm around Xia Lei’s elbow slumped wordlessly, all energy leaving her being in that brief second. Moistness began to cloud her eyes.
Xia Lei could only sigh. He toughened his heart, stood and took his leave. If he were to stay, he couldn’t guarantee that nothing would happen. If they continued to drink and Xia Lei gave in to her desperate pleas, the Peace Mansion would have one more new female owner. This was her strategy, Xia Lei knew it well. Tang Yuyan seemed to have finally figured out what she truly desired. She had mustered out the courage to offer change but Xia Lei did not dare to accept it. As soon as he was reminded about the Tang family, he did not dare to do anything else to her.
Tang Yuyan watched him leave with a longing gaze. Her lips twitched. She so desperately wished to stop him from leaving but failed to produce a single word.
Xia Lei turned around abruptly after a few steps. “Yuyan, you helped save Ah Bing and the rest. The safety of my wives and child are all thanks to you. I would like to invite you to my place for a meal. I’ll be your personal cook and pa.s.s you the item too. Certainly, that would be a treat, will you be willing to come?”
The item mentioned was the list of planted Chinese CIA spies stolen from the database with Xiao Qian’s help.
That earned a smile from Tang Yuyan. “Of course. But when are you planning to cook for me? I need to prepare myself for it.”
Xia Lei paused and thought. “How about tomorrow night? Take it as a celebration for your success.”
“Sure, I’ll be there on time.” Tang Yuyan’s smile grew sweeter.
Truthfully speaking, Xia Lei was never a hard one to handle. In the past, the four women were strong enemies that gave no chance for Tang Yuyan to attack. But now, things were different. She had rescued eight lives. How could they still treat her with hostility?
This may be a turning point. A turning point towards happiness.
Xia Lei left the bar and welcomed the night breeze. It was cold and comfortable, blowing away his troubles.
“Even if Yuyan and I don’t end up as husband and wife, we could still be friends. I really hope that the women at home can accept her as a friend. After all, Yuyan was the one who saved their lives at the cost of her own…” Xia Lei thought to himself.
Despite that, it was obvious that he didn’t know what Tang Yuyan thought or had in mind.
This was a good ill.u.s.tration of the differences between man and woman.
At this moment, a van abruptly turned into the street from the corner on the right.
The street was already blocked by the Bureau 101 agents and police forces a.s.sisting the operation. As soon as the van emerged, the policemen were already approaching it, ready to stop it for relevant questioning.
However, the van showed no signs of halting. It decided to speed up instead.
All of this was actually images captured through the corner of Xia Lei’s right eye. He was already alarmed by the vehicles sudden presence and as he habitually attempted to look into the situation with his left eye!
Before he could even adjust his left view, his right eye began to twitch involuntarily. What followed after that was as if his right eye cast a huge net forward, quickly locking his focus on the van. In that split second, his mind was fed with an overwhelming among of information.
A Baojun van, 4750mm in length, 1735 mm in height, 785mm in width, 2750mm in wheelbase… Current tire pressure is 165, a tad bit on the lower side, transporting heavy loads that were preliminarily estimated as 3 tonnes… The driver is 43 years old, male, Mexican, weight 90 kg, height 185 cm…
Xia Lei felt his jaw slack.
His right eye had evolved and it had offered such outstanding abilities that had exceeded all of his expectations!
While his left eye had allowed him to see through things along with microscopic and macroscopic vision, his right eye had provided him with a.n.a.lysis, calculations and scanning abilities!
This day had arrived late and too abruptly!
Xia Lei had never once thought that his right eye would receive any sort of abilities. But the surge of mysterious energy would act as it pleased, giving no warning or sign!
The policemen yelled for the driver to stop. One of them even reached for their holster as a warning. Despite that, the driver of the Baojun was unfazed. He exclaimed in Spanish, “Move away! I don’t understand what you’re saying! I need to get to the hospital. My child is ill! Move away! Move away!”
He screamed and continued driving his van over.
Xia Lei turned around and faced the van. At that very moment, his left and right eye were activated at the same time. His left eye brought him past the layers of material and the right projecting ridiculously detailed data into his mind.
Xia Lei’s left eye found a huge load of explosives hidden within the van. His right eye supplied him with information. He was currently 539 m 19 cm away from the moving van going at 30 miles per hour. The van would reach him within 10 seconds. The American produced explosives in the vehicle were 500 kg heavy, the explosion radius would be 50 metres. The shrapnel and steel b.a.l.l.s would have a killing range of about 1000 metres and the initial estimated death toll would be 270…
In the past, Xia Lei would only be able to see what was hidden inside the vehicle. It was essentially impossible for him to estimate the explosion range and death tolls along with data of the plausible aftermath. But now, with his newly-acquired right a.n.a.lysis and deduction ability, the collaboration between his eyes and brain was now seamless. He was now stronger and much more complete as a whole!
Xia Lei instinctively reached for his gun, not willing to offer the driver another second extra.