Hidden Assassin 147

“So much money? Where did you get it?”

It was a little past two in the morning, and the commotion in the room had finally quieted down. The television was still displaying a gaming screen, and amidst the piles of snacks, Heidi, sporting a five-million dollar diamond necklace, was finally asleep, her cheek resting on Jia Ming’s thigh, a dribble of saliva escaping her lips. Marilyn was clearing empty snack bags, her eyes gazing upon Jia Ming as he gently stroked Heidi’s cheek, a soft smile gracing her lips.

“Stolen, is it a lot?” Jia Ming asked, looking at the necklace around Heidi’s neck.

“One million US dollars, of course it’s a lot.”

“Heh, just a little bit. To be honest, even though I know the real value of this necklace, I still can’t understand why people would put such a high price on a few stones. Just like I can’t understand the concept of one million US dollars being a big deal… money is…” He shook his head lightly, picked up Heidi, and headed towards the inner room. Marilyn cleaned up the garbage, softly laughing, “Don’t always act like an old man…”

He placed Heidi on the bed in the inner room, and as he closed the door and came out, Marilyn was standing in the middle of the room, gazing at him with an ambiguous smile. Jia Ming shrugged and picked up two packaging bags by his feet, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s been a long time, today I realized that you’re as tall as I am now. Three years ago, you were only this…” She gestured at a point just above her chest.

“Heh, that height was indeed more convenient.” He casually joked, and as he passed Marilyn, the blonde woman gently pulled down the straps of her nightgown. The white silk garment slid down her body, revealing her alluring figure clad only in a sexy lace bra. This was the second time in three years she had made such a move, and Marilyn’s breathing was noticeably quick, her cheeks flushed. Then, she brought her knees together and knelt gracefully before Jia Ming.

Still holding the snack bags, Jia Ming stood there, his mind seemingly wandering. He looked at her with a faint smile.

This kind of situation wasn’t unfamiliar to them. After a moment’s hesitation, Marilyn’s pearly white teeth gently nibbled at her sexy lips. She stretched out her hands towards Jia Ming’s trousers, but before she could unbutton them, Jia Ming gently shook his head, holding her hands, “Let’s talk first.”

“……Huh?”

Marilyn’s eyes widened, and a trace of confusion flashed across her gaze. A moment later, she lowered her head and stood up. Jia Ming pulled up the straps of the nightgown on the carpet and helped her put it back on before turning around to throw the food bags in the trash can by the wall. “I’ve had two girlfriends last year. It’s not a big deal, but since neither of us really needs it, you don’t have to force yourself, okay?”

“Forcing myself… I don’t feel that way…” she mumbled, lifting her head, “You… do you have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” Jia Ming turned around, raised two fingers, and smiled, “Two!”

“Tw- two!?”

Marilyn’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing Jia Ming take out his wallet and hand her the photo, he said, “The details are complicated, but the three of us live together now.” They sat on the couch, and Jia Ming pointed at the figures in the photo, introducing them, “The one on the left is Ye Lingjing, the one on the right is Liu Huai Sha, we usually call her Sha Sha. The three of us have been together since we were little. A year ago, something happened unexpectedly, and we ended up living together. This kind of thing… heh, it’s really hard to say.”

“There aren’t any arguments?”

“Well… their relationship with each other is better than their relationship with me. To be honest, I’m more like the third wheel…” Jia Ming shrugged.

“Oh, what beautiful girls… does our Heidi have no hope then?” Marilyn raised her eyebrows, looking at Jia Ming with a smile.

“What do you think?” Jia Ming asked ambiguously, “Is it popular in America for mothers and daughters to come together?”

Marilyn’s face turned red, and she glared at him playfully, but ultimately didn’t say anything. The yellow lights cast a warm glow in the room, and the television screen remained fixed on the game’s opening sequence. Marilyn poured two cups of coffee, then started telling him about Heidi’s adventures in America, their life together over the past three years, and so on.

Talking about these little things in front of Jia Ming was a habit Marilyn had developed three years ago. However, during that time, most of the conversations took place in bed, with Marilyn naked and speaking unilaterally. Perhaps this was a way for her to not only give her body but also share all aspects of her spirit with Jia Ming. Whenever Marilyn was naked, that feeling of complete openness, of exposing herself to his gaze, became even more apparent.

But now, sipping her coffee, dressed in her white silk nightgown, Marilyn’s smile was affectionate and elegant. One could see the changes that had taken place in her over the past three years. As she shed the shadow of Tang Jingyao, began managing her family business, and mingled with various people, Marilyn had gradually transformed into a mature and independent woman, filled with an elite aura. However, as time went on, Jia Ming still felt a subtle tremor of unease in his heart.

The most obvious sign of this was Marilyn’s habit of repeatedly drinking coffee. Whenever she spoke of something exciting or proud, she would hold the cup and gulp it down in large gulps, one cup, two cups, three cups… The glass pot of coffee had already been significantly reduced by Jia Ming and Heidi, and after the fifth cup, there was no coffee left. She gave an apologetic smile, “I’ll go brew some more.”

“Uh…”

For Jia Ming, normal human emotions were always an unsolvable puzzle. It would be stupid to analyze it purely from a psychological perspective, but at this moment, that was the only way he could analyze the situation. His relationship with Marilyn wasn’t normal. She had made that promise to him because after Tang Jingyao died, she felt like she had lost her purpose in life. Three years had passed, she had shed the shadow of Tang Jingyao, and he now had girlfriends. Whether they slept together or not didn’t matter, but it was undoubtedly the right choice to be honest about it and try to downplay the promise. However, it was clear that his honesty had once again made her feel abandoned.

From the moment she heard about Lingjing and Sha Sha, Marilyn had been trying to appear natural, mature, and independent. She wanted to arm herself, but… Just as he thought this, a “thud” came from the other side of the table. Jia Ming pushed off the coffee table with his hand, and his entire body instinctively leaped forward.

Marilyn had accidentally dropped the coffee pot on the table in the corner of the living room. The glass shattered, the hot water splashed everywhere, and Marilyn stood there, gazing at the scene on the floor, looking momentarily dazed and helpless. The boiling water splashed onto her藕一般粉嫩的小腿 (literal translation: lotus-like tender calf) seemed to not register, but when she saw Jia Ming, a slight panic appeared on her face, and she quickly said, “I, I… that… sorry… I wasn’t paying attention…”

As she spoke, Marilyn turned to find a cleaning tool. Jia Ming sighed, “Wait, forget it. The hotel staff will come to clean tomorrow.”

“But…”

“I just said I have girlfriends, I’m not implying that you and Heidi should leave.”

“But…” Marilyn turned back, and tears suddenly welled up in her stiff expression. Then, she seemed to lose the right expression and started laughing, her voice becoming choked, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to cling to you, and I don’t want you to fall in love with me, but… but Heidi, she likes you, I mean… I like you too… I can’t find my place, after Tang Jingyao died, I couldn’t find my place in this world…”

In her incoherent words, she started crying softly. She slowly squatted down on the floor, and Jia Ming walked over, picked her up directly, and then put her back on the couch. He lifted the hem of her nightgown and reached inside.

“I thought you could understand what I meant, I didn’t know you would misunderstand everything…”

“So- sorry… yeah…”

Jia Ming pulled the lace bra out from under her skirt and gave a faint smile. “You know, I rarely get close to anyone emotionally. There are less than ten people in the world who I truly care about. We weren’t supposed to have any connection, but since we ended up together because of a twist of fate… I always consider you as friends, Heidi is, and you are too. If you want to see me as your place in this world, that’s great. As for sleeping together, I wouldn’t say no, you know, every man would welcome it, so I think… when there’s no one else around, you shouldn’t wear clothes in front of me, okay?”

Her long legs clamped down on the hand that was moving around under her nightgown. Marilyn’s face was flushed red, her eyes like water. After a moment, she made a soft, sighing sound.

“As long as… you like it… yeah… anything is fine…”

********************************************************

The room was warm and cozy. As the clock struck five in the morning, Marilyn, lying beside Jia Ming, curled up in her naked body, a tired smile on her face, “Yeah, sorry.”

“Don’t talk like you’ve taken advantage of me. It’s me who’s taken advantage of you.” While putting on his clothes, Jia Ming kicked the blonde woman’s bottom, “But to be honest, it seems like we only ever sleep together when we meet… we don’t even feel comfortable talking without being in bed…”

“Sorry, but…” Marilyn blushed, her voice a low murmur, “I… I haven’t done it for three years…”

“Don’t always apologize, it’s me who’s taking advantage…” He picked up the underwear and nightgown on the floor and helped Marilyn put them on. He smiled, “Cover yourself up. Don’t let Heidi see you like this. Good night.”

“Good night… that, Heidi must really want you to play with her today… you, you won’t go say goodbye to her?”

“It’s better not to wake her up. By the way, today is Saturday, I’ll be singing at a bar called Bluebird tonight. Heidi really likes singing, right? Bring her there then. The address is here.” He placed a card on Marilyn’s pillow, kissed her cheek, and turned to leave, “See you tonight.”

“See you… tonight…” She waved with a smile, picked up the card, and soon, the sound of the door closing came from outside. In her smile, tears silently flowed down her cheeks again.

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