Hidden Assassin 181

## Volume Three: Cohabitation Era – Chapter 6: Under the Azure Sky – Section 181: Request

August in Jiang Hai City was as scorching as a giant furnace. Stepping out of the ice cream shop, Sha Sha held two large tubs of ice cream and ran across the white road to the bookstore opposite. Today, she was wearing a white tennis cap, a snow-white short-sleeved T-shirt, a knee-length skirt, and sneakers. Her energetic ponytail, slightly tanned healthy skin, and graceful figure were quite eye-catching.

Jia Ming and Ling Jing were at the counter, paying for several books.

“Didn’t we say we would wait for you while eating ice cream? Why did you come here?”

Jia Ming only read comics and martial arts novels. The few literary works in his hands were clearly bought by Ling Jing, who also thoughtfully included two romance novels for Sha Sha. Seeing Sha Sha running over, Jia Ming smiled and took the ice cream, asking first.

“I finished mine, and you guys weren’t here yet, so I bought them and came to find you.”

Sha Sha distributed the two ice creams and flipped through the two newly bought novels with interest. The cashier girl handed over the change and said with a smile, “According to our bookstore’s recent promotion, for purchases over two hundred yuan, you only need to answer three literary questions to receive a hardback copy of ‘Norwegian Wood’ and a bookstore discount card. The system on this computer will generate random questions, do you want to choose yourselves?”

In 1998, pirated copies weren’t yet rampant, and those who could afford to buy books casually were mostly from families with a certain level of income. The bookstore’s profits were also good. Even though they already had this book at home, it was a girl’s nature to not pass up a good deal. After discussing it, Ling Jing decided that each of them would answer one question, a united effort for the family.

“Okay, the first question: ‘Longs坂橋头杀气生…一声好似轰雷震，独退曹家百万兵’ praises which hero?”

The cashier girl, not much older than Ling Jing and Sha Sha, typed a few keys on the computer and asked the first question. This one was relatively easy. Sha Sha answered first, “I know this, it’s Zhang Fei!” If each of them answered one question, Ling Jing would be the most knowledgeable. Not wanting to lose, Sha Sha answered correctly first, completing her task, and was quite proud of herself.

“Heh, that’s right. The second question is… what is Mao Dun’s ‘Rural Trilogy’?”

Ling Jing glanced at Jia Ming, who was innocently eating ice cream, and then laughed, “It’s ‘Spring Silkworm,’ ‘Autumn Harvest,’ and ‘Winter’s Remains.’ Jia Ming, stop eating, it’s your turn.”

“Wow, you’re so smart. Then… the third question is pretty easy.” The cashier girl typed a random question on the computer, almost ready to turn around to grab the book and discount card registration form. “This question is… what comes before ‘春风吹又生’…”

This question was too simple. For a moment, Ling Jing and Sha Sha looked at Jia Ming with bright eyes. Sure enough, Jia Ming took a bite of ice cream and laughed, “Heh. ‘斩草不除根’…”

…

…

…

Walking on the embankment by the sea, Ling Jing was enjoying her ice cream. The red tide from their laughter had not yet subsided when Jia Ming, holding his ice cream, jumped around beside her, dodging Sha Sha’s flying kicks from behind. Carrying a large bag of books, Sha Sha, the big wife, was now chasing her husband fiercely.

“I’ll make you pay for saying ‘斩草不除根,’ I’ll make you pay for saying ‘斩草不除根’…”

“Hey hey, heh… I think it’s right, ‘斩草不除根, 春风吹又生,’ everyone says it that way, right? She didn’t say we had to answer with that poem, besides… besides, we got the book and the VIP card, wow…”

Back at the bookstore, although the answer to the last question was funny, it at least made the cashier laugh, giving them a second chance to answer and get the book and VIP card.

In fact, today was Liu Zheng’s 42nd birthday. They had lunch at the hotel. Because Jia Ming had an appointment at 3 p.m., Ling Jing and Sha Sha went out to buy books. They joked and played all the way to the fork in the road ahead, before Ling Jing laughed and said, “Okay, okay, you’ve beaten him up so badly he’ll be a mess to go out and see people.”

Sha Sha smiled ambiguously, “Someone’s feeling sorry for him?”

“No way!” Ling Jing blushed, “But why on earth did Dongfang Lu call you out? You guys don’t have any connection at school…”

Jia Ming shrugged with a smile, “How would I know… probably to ask me to write a song for someone.”

“Hmph, maybe it’s for Ling Jing.” Two men like one girl, and then one man goes out to talk to the other, this kind of romantic plot is something Sha Sha knows by heart, especially since Dongfang Lu’s secret crush on Ling Jing was already an undisputed fact. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, “If he throws money at you, Jia Ming, you must hold back, don’t betray Ling Jing! I’m warning you!”

“What are you talking about, Sha Sha…”

“Come on…”

After the teasing, the three of them went their separate ways. The two sisters carried their books and walked back to the hotel along the seaside, while Jia Ming took another path, turning onto a street, and there was a coffee shop called “Mingmei” ahead, where Dongfang Lu was waving at him.

“Originally, it would have been better if Xiaowan told you about this, but she’s been so busy lately, heh, what would you like to drink?” Smiling and inviting Jia Ming to sit down, Dongfang Lu was only seventeen years old, but he seemed to have an aristocratic leadership aura, almost as if anyone could tell he was exceptional at first glance, yet he didn’t give off too much of a condescending feeling. Although this wasn’t anything to Jia Ming, among his peers, it was quite remarkable.

“Actually, we learned some things about Miss Jian Suyan from Xiaowan, and we’ve been wanting to ask you to convey our thanks to her, but we were afraid of being too abrupt and upsetting Miss Jian. Of course, no matter what, I still have to thank you for what happened on May 10th.”

“May 10th? She was indeed here that day…” Jia Ming showed a puzzled expression, “Did something happen?”

“Uh, she… didn’t tell you.” Dongfang Lu frowned, then laughed, “Heh, that’s right. Please… just convey our thanks. Actually, about today… I heard from Xiaowan that you’ve already met your cousin Ruo, right?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Heh, in terms of blood, our two families are actually related. She’s actually your cousin… she’s sick, and the situation seems pretty bad… oh, sorry…” His phone rang amidst his sigh, Dongfang Lu took out a brick-sized phone from his backpack and pressed the answer button.

“Hello? Oh, Xiaowan? You’re… Uh, then come over, I understand… We’re at Mingmei, yeah, it’s very close… Also… hello? Hello?”

Dongfang Wan had obviously been extremely busy with the factory lately, and Jia Ming could only faintly hear a bunch of chatter on the other end of the phone. Before Dongfang Lu could finish, the other side hung up. With a wry smile, Dongfang Lu shook his head, then took out a sealed file from his backpack and handed it to Jia Ming.

“Uh, this is Ruo’s medical records from all these years. We… we hope you can help deliver them to Miss Jian for a look. This is a heartfelt request from all of us in the clan. If she can help cure her, we can agree to all her requests. If it’s for privacy reasons, we can send Ruo to any place she designates. This is just a… request, okay?”

“I understand.” Thinking about the possible situation with Dongfang Ruo, Jia Ming nodded and smiled, “Is it this?”

“Heh… also, there’s something hard to say, but… it’s a personal matter.” Dongfang Lu nodded and smiled awkwardly, “It’s about Ling Jing.”

Jia Ming put the straw in his mouth and didn’t answer. Dongfang Lu took a deep breath, “I like her.”

The soda passed through the straw, the glass was instantly empty. The cafe was filled with cold air and gentle music, and the exhaust fan brought a cool breeze. Yet, in this moment, the atmosphere at this table by the window seemed to freeze. Dongfang Lu opened his mouth, trying to find the right words, then smiled helplessly.

“Actually, you already noticed it on Christmas Eve last year, right? Heh, later Xiaowan said that Ling Jing wouldn’t be with you, and I believed it for a while. Actually, if you have money, you can investigate most things, but I didn’t think it was necessary at the time, no need to use extra methods in pursuing Ling Jing. But because of Miss Jian’s matter, people have actually been doing these things for a while. This time I want to give you this file, I happened to see those things about… you and Ling Jing, Sha Sha… ”

His voice was a bit bitter. But Dongfang Lu didn’t seem to be angry, he just said frankly, “When I first found out, I even wanted to come and kill you myself, uh… beat you up, although I don’t know if I could… or call Ling Jing out and scold her awake. But it looks like you guys are really happy, Ling Jing accepted it, Sha Sha also accepted it, the three of you are very happy, looking at those records, I really envy you…”

“Each of you does your own thing, takes turns cooking at home, works hard to make money, and plans for tomorrow. You’re good, Ling Jing’s good, Sha Sha’s good, you guys are all doing great. Ling Jing likes to dream about the future when she’s bored, she’s written a lot of plans for your future, thrown in the trash. We also collected two… heh, no malice, you understand… seeing those two plans, I knew I wouldn’t have a chance at all…”

“Even if I called her out and scolded her, then confessed my feelings, I probably would only make her dislike me… Honestly, Gu Jia Ming, you’re really outstanding, but I, Dongfang Lu, am confident I wouldn’t lose to you. But what’s the use of such a comparison? I couldn’t be part of her past. You guys played together since childhood, and I was still at the starting line while you were already at the finish line, heh…” Dongfang Lu sighed softly, then looked up and smiled, mature like a twenty-seven-year-old vagabond. “I won’t bother her anymore, but I won’t give up on her either, don’t give me the chance.”

“Oh.” Looking at Dongfang Lu’s serious, focused, and somewhat oppressive gaze, Jia Ming smiled faintly, “I understand.” No matter how hard he tried, in Jia Ming’s eyes, Dongfang Lu was just like a child who had become a precocious child, and he felt a sense of evil in bullying him, similar to the feeling when he admitted his “child bride” status to Dongfang Wan as Jian Suyan.

At this point, there wasn’t much left to talk about. It’s common for friends to become rivals, but it’s a bit contrived to be rivals yet try to be friends. Just as he was about to leave, a car had already stopped on the street outside the window. Dongfang Wan got out of the car along with Lei Qing. Seeing Jia Ming there, Dongfang Wan was clearly surprised, but then she quickly walked inside, as if she wanted to leave Lei Qing far behind.

“Brother, you said you would accompany me to buy clothes today, how come you’re meeting up with Gu Jia Ming?”

In Jia Ming’s impression, Dongfang Wan rarely spoke in such a sweet voice. This kind of behavior was clearly meant for Lei Qing to enjoy. After Dongfang Lu introduced Lei Qing and Jia Ming to each other, Dongfang Wan rolled her eyes, gave Jia Ming a suggestive look, and then said, “By the way, didn’t Lei Qing say he wanted to meet my dance partner? The one who will accompany me to the dance is Gu Jia Ming, okay, Jia Ming?”

Usually, she didn’t have much good to say to Dongfang Wan, but since they were now business partners, and her brother had just admitted to being her underling, Jia Ming just hummed noncommittally. Earlier, Dongfang Lu had emphasized the Huang family’s background when introducing Lei Qing, but Lei Qing was still unconvinced. He was looking intently at the ordinary boy in front of him, “Is it him?”

“Of course, don’t you know? He’s the technical director of our factory. The two models I showed you were also his work. I’m going to pull investments at the dance, so of course I have to bring him. By the way, brother, it’s almost four o’clock, are you going or not?”

These words didn’t reveal any ambiguous relationship. Lei Qing’s unpredictable face calmed down a little, but his gaze towards Jia Ming was still unpleasant. Dongfang Lu smiled, “Heh, we were thinking of leaving too, we’re going now. Jia Ming, that matter is really important, please.”

“Yeah, okay, I need to go too.” Nodding with a smile, Jia Ming picked up the file and stood up. Dongfang Wan walked in front, Lei Qing quickly followed, and Jia Ming walked beside him. Unintentionally, Lei Qing’s eyes looked down.

These days, whenever he tried to be nice to Dongfang Wan, he would encounter some roadblocks. The Lei family’s power was greater than the Dongfang family’s, Dongfang Wan didn’t dare to refuse him openly, so she could only drag things out like this. After two months, Lei Qing, who was no fool, naturally understood Dongfang Wan’s mind. He was unhappy, yet he couldn’t bear to give up. Today, although Dongfang Wan only said that Jia Ming was her factory employee, who knew if there was actually something going on between them. Thinking about this, he looked at the two of them who were only a step apart, and moved his right leg slightly.

No one noticed.

The next moment, Jia Ming was tripped and fell forward towards a round table.

The little trick was successful, Lei Qing felt a surge of joy in his heart. However, before that smile could appear on his face, with a bang, Jia Ming’s upper body slammed into the small round table, falling hard to the ground. Amidst the exclamations of the man and woman at the table, two cups of coffee, sugar, napkins, the table, and a huge banana boat sundae flew towards Lei Qing. …

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