Hidden Assassin 177

In the darkness, the eyes of a lion darted fiercely, their gaze sharp and unrelenting. The camera pulled back, revealing a scene on the grasslands under the cloak of night. Several fierce lions silently formed a crescent-shaped encirclement. Ahead, a herd of water buffalo, sensing the lions’ presence, rallied into formation. The bulls created the first line of defense, their massive, one-meter-wide horns poised for battle.

The lions launched their attack.

After a brief scuffle, a smaller water buffalo was knocked to the ground, its body pinned. But the herd refused to yield. Another bull charged ferociously, sending the lion flying into the air. Soon after, the lions retreated, defeated.

“Whoosh—“

The sound of a door opening. Light from the side illuminated the room, revealing a pair of white, flawless legs. They were clad in adorable banana-patterned slippers, their owner stepping out of the bathroom. Dongfang Wan, fresh from a shower and clad in a cool, short-sleeved top, glanced at the animal documentary playing on the television. She reached for the remote and switched it off, then walked a few steps before turning it back on, letting it play as it was.

Yes, it was Animal Planet.

She turned on the lights in the room, followed by the whirring of a hairdryer. The cool night air carried the whispers and murmurs of a discussion going on below, a constant source of noise. She furrowed her brow, then turned the television completely off, silencing it.

After the May 10 incident, Dongfang Linghai had been seriously injured and hospitalized. Since then, Dongfang Wan had gained access to more inside information about Yan Huang Jue Xing (Awakening of the Yan Huang). This large organization within China was actually a coalition of various forces spanning both politics and economics. The more organized part of the organization was largely controlled by the government—for example, the National Security Agency and other special organizations. External forces, such as large corporations and wealthy families, were more loosely connected. They used the organization to gather information and intelligence, to counter similar organizations abroad, and to protect their own interests. They also contributed funds to support the organization’s operations and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with its other members.

Within this network, the Dongfang family was considered to be part of the inner circle of Yan Huang Jue Xing. However, despite being the top business family in Jiang Hai City, their position within the organization was only considered middling to upper-middling. Fang Zitian, Lei Xiaoyuan, and the others were considered to be part of the decision-making circle of Yan Huang Jue Xing—they possessed not only immense economic power but also significant political influence.

After the large-scale assassination attempt, two of the most powerful figures in the upper echelons of Yan Huang Jue Xing had been targeted. The ensuing impact sent shockwaves through the organization, and the incident indirectly affected the Dongfang family. There had always been internal tensions within the Dongfang family, with Dongfang Wan’s second uncle, Dongfang Yuanming, having a less than favorable opinion of Dongfang Linghai. Now, with Dongfang Linghai hospitalized, Dongfang Yuanming, aware of the inner turmoil within Yan Huang Jue Xing, believed that the family should seize this opportunity to rise to a higher position. He began to act with increasing ambition, making frequent visits accompanied by a retinue of associates. He constantly questioned Dongfang Linghai’s past decisions, and even occasionally challenged Dongfang Lu, the designated heir of Dongfang Linghai’s branch, with pointed questions. Although Dongfang Lu was intelligent and capable of handling herself gracefully, the constant stream of malicious gossip and veiled attacks from below left her feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

On another front, Lei Xiaoyuan had not yet left Jiang Hai, and his son, Lei Qing, was constantly looking for ways to annoy her. With her father hospitalized, the family felt like it had lost its anchor, and she had no energy to deal with this spoiled brat who shared nothing in common with her. However, since learning about the inner workings of Yan Huang Jue Xing and understanding the Lei family’s position, she had found it even harder to outright reject him. The family was in a vulnerable state, and she couldn’t afford to make any more enemies.

Her elder brother was only one year older than her, but he had been exposed to Yan Huang Jue Xing and formal business management courses for far longer. When she was a child, she had been pleased that she could play while he was forced to study. Later, when she became interested in these areas and began to self-study, she thought she had caught up to him. However, watching him now, effortlessly maneuvering through a group of seasoned veterans, she finally understood the vast gulf that separated them.

No matter what, she had to do something…

Her hair almost completely dry, she turned off the hairdryer, her frustration evident. Her gaze drifted towards a disassembled model airplane on the nearby desk. She had thought it would be a simple task, but a month had passed since she began disassembling it, and she had only managed to understand its basic structure. Although a few days had been lost due to the chaos, she had still spent over ten days researching it, even consulting with professionals from the family company. She now had some ideas about the project, but…it required Gu Jia Ming, a fact that annoyed her greatly.

Concerned about the Flower-Picking Great Thief Yu Jin Xiang, or Jian Suyan as she was known, Yan Huang Jue Xing, under strict warnings, had avoided conducting overt investigations. However, they were actively analyzing the situation behind the scenes. The only two known individuals with connections to Jian Suyan were the teacher, Ya Han, and Gu Jia Ming, who insisted that Jian Suyan was his child bride. Based on information gathered at Ya Han’s place, Gu Jia Ming seemed to have a closer relationship with Jian Suyan. This revelation only added to Dongfang Wan’s complex feelings towards Gu Jia Ming.

On one hand, she found him despicable, but on the other, she had to admit that he possessed extraordinary qualities. She wanted to learn more about Jian Suyan, but the phrase “child bride” filled her with unbearable resentment. No title, no “pearl,” and no “rose among thorns” could adequately describe her indignation. This emotional turmoil had kept her from engaging with Gu Jia Ming for the past few weeks.

But ignoring him didn’t mean she could dismiss him entirely. Though Gu Jia Ming was mostly invisible in the classroom, Dongfang Wan, who had taken notice of him, unconsciously observed his interactions. Something had recently caught her attention, something that also made her feel a sense of relief: Gu Jia Ming and Ya Han seemed to have fallen out…

Perhaps “fallen out” was too strong a word, but their relationship had reached an unprecedented stalemate.

Gu Jia Ming had not appeared before Ya Han on the night of May 10. The next day, Ya Han gave him a major detention. When they crossed paths in the teaching area, Gu Jia Ming mentioned that Sha Sha had acute appendicitis and apologized. Ya Han remained silent for a while, her expression softening slightly. She asked about Sha Sha’s condition and promised to visit her at the hospital, but she didn’t offer any further interaction. She turned and left abruptly.

The next day, Ya Han, through the school office, announced that the detention was revoked. Sha Sha was hospitalized, and Ya Han, understanding their relationship, also stopped requiring Gu Jia Ming to clean the classroom at night. However, that seemed to be the end of it. Ya Han reverted back to her usual role of the cold, stern teacher, professional, efficient, and ruthless. Every day, she wore her signature mature, voluminous waves, large black-rimmed glasses, and a gray professional skirt. Though her beauty and elegant figure still drew attention, everyone, including Xu Mo, was met with the same practiced, aloof demeanor. She no longer gave Gu Jia Ming any special treatment, no smiles, no casual conversations, no affectionate little-girl gestures, and she stopped calling him “Jia Ming ge” (brother Jia Ming).

In her work at the school, she already held a high level of authority. Previously, she had only handled significant matters, such as finance, delegating smaller tasks whenever possible. But now, she took on every single responsibility she could, handling everything personally. It was said that she worked late every night, pushing herself to her limit. The students weren’t particularly affected, but among the teachers, while some felt relieved, others perceived an intense pressure. However, with the powerful Zhang family backing her, no one dared to raise any objections.

As June arrived, Gu Jia Ming and Ya Han had essentially stopped interacting altogether. The past events had undoubtedly had an impact on Ya Han, and that impact manifested itself in this way: when Gu Jia Ming brazenly slept in class or violated any school rules, Ya Han didn’t even bother to say anything. In a sense, she had treated him as if he were invisible—whether intentionally or not.

This friendship seemed to have ended. While it was a bit sad, Gu Jia Ming understood Ya Han’s thoughts. Allowing their relationship to fade with time might be the best solution. With this in mind, the two of them finally had another encounter in early June. After school that day, Ya Han drove up to Gu Jia Ming in her vintage car and leaned out the window.

“I want to talk to you. Is that okay?”

“Oh.”

He got into the car, and Ya Han pulled over to the side of the road. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.

“Xu Yiting has been very depressed lately. I found her the other day, and she seemed to be trying to buy drugs again. I talked to her for a long time, but I don’t know if it had any effect…” No matter how aloof she appeared, no matter how distant she was towards Gu Jia Ming, Ya Han was still the same Ya Han, unable to abandon girls like Xu Yiting. Her gaze, as cold as it was, briefly scanned Gu Jia Ming in the rearview mirror before turning away.

“After her father died, she’s been living alone. She doesn’t have any friends at school. The Huang family claims to have forgiven her, but they’ve essentially left her to fend for herself. I wanted her to move in with me, but she refused. I’m so busy right now, I don’t know what to do to help her. But she’s always been afraid of you…well, I mean, when you were disguised as Jian Suyan. I tried to talk to her then, but she couldn’t even eat. She would force herself to eat even if she vomited. So I hope you can talk to her. Just get her to stop taking drugs, and I don’t know what else to do…”

Comforting others wasn’t exactly Gu Jia Ming’s forte, but this was Ya Han’s request. He nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to her. If she takes drugs again, I’ll…heh…”

“Okay, thanks.”

He had planned to crack a joke. In the past, Ya Han would have laughed hysterically at the slightest thing. But he decided against it. After thanking him, Ya Han remained silent, effectively dismissing him.

“Then…goodbye, Zhang laoshi (teacher Zhang)…”

As he got out of the car and passed by the front window, Ya Han rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Her side profile remained expressionless, her eyes closed.

He sighed and walked towards the front of the school. As he left the school gate, Ya Han drove past him. Then, another figure came running up from behind—Dongfang Wan, clutching her backpack strap. Her expression was serious.

“Hey, Gu Jia Ming, I have something to talk to you about. Find somewhere, okay?”

“Uh? What is it?” There was no precedent for finding a place to formally talk with Dongfang Wan. Gu Jia Ming blinked, wondering why everyone seemed to have serious business today.

“Okay, just a quick chat.” Seeing that Gu Jia Ming wasn’t particularly interested in going with her, Dongfang Wan pulled out several small parts from her backpack. “I took these from your helicopter. Did you invent these yourself?”

He understood what she was getting at, but still blinked innocently, his response vague. “Uh…what’s wrong?”

“You haven’t filed for patents.”

“Hmm…”

“Okay, here’s the deal. I want to open a model toy manufacturing company. If you’re willing, I can file for patents on these for you. With the Dongfang family’s connections, it’ll be approved quickly. You don’t have to worry about anything else, I’ll handle it all. I’ll buy your patents or we can split the profits based on how much money we make. I’ll have the contract reviewed by a professional and drawn up for you to sign. I don’t think you have any reason to refuse.”

Knowing his lazy personality, Dongfang Wan laid out everything without leaving any room for interpretation. She expected him to shrug nonchalantly and say, “Whatever,” but instead, Gu Jia Ming paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “A toy company?”

“It’s a model toy company!” Thinking he would laugh at her childishness, Dongfang Wan raised her chin proudly, ready for a fight.

“Oh.” He nodded. “Okay, no problem. But I have an idea. Do you want to hear it…?”

“Uh?”

“We’ll work together.”

“Uh…wh-wh-what?” Dongfang Wan’s mouth gaped open in astonishment, unable to close.

“Oh, I said it wrong. I mean, I have some ideas and designs for model toys—cars, tanks, trains. Why don’t you hire me as a designer? I’ll work for you.”

“Okay, okay.” Dongfang Wan nodded blankly. Her soul seemed to be floating somewhere in the clouds, unable to return. For her, it was unthinkable that Gu Jia Ming would be so interested in something and even offer to work together.

Of course, she couldn’t understand his true motives.

While teaching Yue Chi Xun how to make these bombs and other gadgets, he had realized how cumbersome a hand-operated workshop was. Some rudimentary improvised explosives could be made by hand, but for more advanced devices, specialized tools were necessary. In this regard, Yue Chi’s family, Gao Dayuan, and Yan Huang Jue Xing were all capable of providing everything he needed, but he didn’t want to rely on any of them. If he privately possessed such tools, he could hide them for a while, but he couldn’t keep them hidden indefinitely.

The May 10 incident had placed Yu Jin Xiang and Pei Luo Jia on completely opposite sides. If Yan Huang Jue Xing were to fail in the future, Pei Luo Jia’s pressure would be directed straight at him. Add to that the fact that several individuals connected to Yu Jin Xiang had been exposed, and even if he was extremely skilled, he couldn’t guarantee that he could protect everyone under his care from a group of assassins without Yan Huang Jue Xing’s help. Under these circumstances, having a legitimate workshop at his disposal would be ideal. With the Dongfang family’s backing, even if he built missiles there, no sensitive department like the Department of Industry and Commerce or other random agencies would come knocking.

A smile crossed his face. He could almost see Pei Luo Jia’s assassins landing in Jiang Hai and being blown to smithereens by remote-controlled micro-missiles. As for Dongfang Wan, although she wasn’t particularly fond of Gu Jia Ming, she knew he had a certain level of ability. After her initial shock, she was happy to have her first competent employee.

Little did she know that her pitiful toy company could become a cutting-edge workshop for weapons of mass destruction.

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