Hidden Assassin 158

Chapter 158: Troubled Heart

2013-02-08

Seeing the woman he had long lusted after being pressed down on the bed, uttering incredibly suggestive words, Huang Haoyun’s reaction was to spurt out a nosebleed. From this, it’s probably not difficult to guess what kind of fantasies he had about Ya Han in his daily life.

On the other hand, when Ya Han groggily opened her eyes, her first reaction was an even more intense struggle. Knowing she usually had low blood pressure and was often disoriented when waking up, Jia Ming held her hands down: “Hey, having a bad dream? Uh… Ms. Ya Han.”

“No… no… that… you always… I… that… I beg you to spare me… But… but you don’t listen to me… I… I… shame… that… that… uh…”

Her words came in broken fragments. Due to her muddled thoughts, most of it was unintelligible. Only a few words could be vaguely recognized, and even those were uncertain. But even through conjecture, these few words were clearly more suggestive than the previous “Brother Jia Ming, don’t.” Releasing Ya Han’s hands, Jia Ming awkwardly looked back at Huang Haoyun. By now, Ya Han had regained some clarity.

“Uh… that… that… what’s wrong…”

“No… no, you were having a bad dream? I remember you usually have low blood pressure, and you can’t tell the difference between dreams and reality when you wake up…” With a nonchalant smile, Jia Ming sat on the edge of the bed and pointed at Ya Han’s skirt. Her earlier struggle had caused the hem to rise, revealing the faint outline of a black lace-trimmed panty. It was no doubt that not only he, but Huang Haoyun had also unwittingly gotten a glimpse. Jia Ming couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret.

Quickly pulling down her skirt, Ya Han picked up a pair of large-framed glasses from the desk beside her and put them on. She lowered her head, bending her knees as she sat down on Jia Ming’s bed. The room fell into an uneasy silence. The atmosphere seemed to resemble that of Ya Han and Jia Ming being caught in bed by Huang Haoyun after committing adultery. In this charged atmosphere, Ya Han recalled what had transpired, and her face began to turn red, eventually resembling a layer of tomato sauce.

“Uh, that…” After a moment, Ya Han broke the silence. “I… I think I was having a nightmare. I… I need to use the bathroom.” Taking a deep breath, she stood up, still with her flushed cheeks, and put on her black high heels. Then, with a smile, she walked toward the door.

“Hey, come eat.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll be right there…”

“There’s a bathroom in my room…”

Jia Ming wanted to follow her out, but Ya Han seemed unwilling to wait for him. With a series of thuds, she disappeared from sight. Meanwhile, Huang Haoyun glared fiercely at Jia Ming, then lunged forward, grabbing him by the collar.

“Tell me the truth! You and Ya Han…”

Before he could finish, Jia Ming was shoved towards the window. With a swift movement of his hand behind his back, the window suddenly swung open, and Jia Ming fell onto the grass outside. He rolled a few times, then scrambled to his feet.

“Please, use your head, Boss. It’s definitely not what you think.”

“Then what is it? And at the hotel in New Ning City… I haven’t questioned you about that yet…”

“She was just having a bad dream… And I’m seven years younger than her. We’re just friends. You know, soulmates, soulmates…”

“Soulmates your head! I’ll kill you…”

Trying to chase him from the windowsill, Jia Ming had already turned and run off, disappearing into the distance. In this house, he couldn’t fight, so he would always run away, nobody could catch him.

…

…

More than ten minutes later, Ya Han emerged from the bathroom and appeared in the hall. After greeting a few acquaintances, she went straight to the corner and sat down beside Jia Ming. The table was filled with young people from the Huang family, such as Jia Ming, Huang Haobing, and Xu Yiting, who had just paid respects to her father. Ya Han’s presence among them seemed a bit out of place, but judging by her current state, she didn’t seem to notice.

This time, Ya Han was a guest, and her status in the Zhang family wasn’t insignificant. Half a minute later, one of Jia Ming’s aunts came over to arrange for her to sit at a table next to the main banquet table. Seeing that someone was trying to find a seat for her, Ya Han quickly stood up and smiled, refusing.

“Auntie, no need to bother. We’re all so familiar, it’s like being at home here. Besides, everyone at that table is talking business. I’m a girl, I wouldn’t have much to say. Yiting is at this table, too… And I’m a teacher, I teach them. You know…”

However, even though she said she was sitting with Yiting, she didn’t go to the seat next to her but instead chose to sit beside Jia Ming. Seeing that she was unwilling to move, the others didn’t insist. Not far away, Huang Haoyun, his suspicions slightly lessened, cast a resentful gaze her way once again.

Speaking of which, after the kidnapping incident during the picnic, Ya Han had never come to the Huang family again. If she had given up on Huang Haoyun completely, there would have been no problem. But with Jia Ming as a stark contrast, the situation was a cause for great frustration. He couldn’t understand what exactly he lacked compared to Jia Ming.

While he was brooding, Ya Han seemed to be in a state of internal conflict as well. From the moment she sat down, she hadn’t spoken to Jia Ming. As the dishes came out, she just ate in silence, only occasionally smiling and greeting people she knew. The hall was buzzing with noise and activity, but Jia Ming felt a chill swirling around him, never leaving his side. When he was about halfway through his meal, Huang Bingxing came over with a glass of wine and chatted with Ya Han.

As Huang Haoyun’s father, Huang Bingxing had always hoped Ya Han would be his daughter-in-law. Although Ya Han and Huang Haoyun couldn’t see eye to eye, Huang Bingxing had always maintained a good relationship with Zhang Jing’an, Ya Han, and the Zhang family. After a brief conversation and a couple of drinks, Huang Bingxing smiled and asked: “I heard that Ya Han gets along very well with our Jia Ming. Is that true?”

“Haha, of course.” Hearing him mention Jia Ming, Ya Han was slightly taken aback, but quickly broke into a bright smile. “We’re like brother and sister. I’m his senior sister at the martial arts school. Plus, Jia Ming once saved my life. Ugh…” She patted Jia Ming’s head like she was petting a puppy, then put her arm around his shoulders, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. Even though Jia Ming was sixteen now, there was still an age gap between them. To outsiders, this open teasing seemed genuine and heartfelt. Huang Bingxing laughed, and the other adults nearby, seeing Jia Ming wiping his cheek in disgust, all started teasing him.

After asking that question, Huang Bingxing smiled and left. He went over to speak to Huang Haoyun a short distance away. Although they were too far to hear clearly, Jia Ming could still read their lips and understand what was being said. Huang Bingxing was probably saying: “Good-for-nothing… such a big age gap, how could she…”

“Hey, stop wiping. There’s nothing on your face…”

Just as he was reading their lips, Ya Han smiled and grabbed his hand, which was wiping his cheek. Jia Ming rolled his eyes: “How could there not be…”

“Hmph, how do you know there is? You haven’t looked in the mirror!” Ya Han said, tilting her head in defiance.

“See.” Jia Ming pointed at the white porcelain bowl next to her. There were a few faint traces of lipstick along the rim. “You’re smitten! Your lipstick is so thick…”

“Hmph… So what if I’m smitten…”

If they were alone, Ya Han would probably treat this as a game and jump on him, leaving another lipstick mark. But under these circumstances, she wouldn’t dare to do anything like that. Hearing Jia Ming say her lipstick was too thick, Ya Han’s face flushed even redder. She had reapplied her makeup in the bathroom earlier, and her emotions had been a little chaotic at the time…

Recalling those events and seeing the red mark on Jia Ming’s face, Ya Han picked up the porcelain bowl and pressed her lips against the rim, biting down hard. Then, a vivid crimson lip print appeared, inner and outer edges bright and alluring.

By now, even Jia Ming, with his emotional bluntness, had a sense that something was amiss. His mind had already made its judgment, but his heart still couldn’t comprehend it. He felt confused. Ya Han sat quietly beside him, eating silently, occasionally raising her head with a smile. She no longer spoke to him until the end of the meal.

After dinner, they rested for a while, and Ya Han got up to leave. She had a short conversation with Jia Ming about the performance the next day, but her tone was carefully formal, without excessive intimacy.

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

At the crossroads, the red light came on. The car stopped quietly before the white line.

Looking at the traffic light for several seconds, Ya Han took a deep breath and lightly hugged the steering wheel, resting her forehead against it.

She recalled the scene in the bathroom, taking off her underwear. The sticky, embarrassing wetness, she could still feel the coldness between her legs, and her whole body felt limp and weak.

She actually had a spring dream on Jia Ming’s bed… You’re dead, you… Zhang Ya Han…

Did Jia Ming… know? Everything at the dinner table seemed normal, but pretending to be innocent was his forte. He was sharp, he probably knew, but because he didn’t want to embarrass her, he didn’t say anything. So what was he thinking? How would he look at her in the future?

And that dream…

She always considered herself a pretty normal person, but what exactly did that dream represent? Did she really like Jia Ming? Love, or like, whatever it was, she wouldn’t be able to say it out loud. If Jia Ming really did… force her, for his own pleasure, forcing her to do this and that shameful thing, even if she cried and begged, he wouldn’t stop… Then she wouldn’t have to face the difficult choices…

According to psychological theory, dreams are a reflection of a person’s desires. Could it be that she was hoping for that kind of situation…

She couldn’t figure it out, nor could she easily admit it. After a moment, the green light came on, and she pressed down on the gas pedal, forcing herself to focus on the school’s anniversary celebration tomorrow.

But… Jia Ming and the others’ performance…

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