Hidden Assassin 188

As Dongfang Wan had said, this gathering was purely for young people, a very relaxed and free event. The courtyard overlooking the sea had a buffet, barbecue, a dance floor in the living room, a pool table in the nearby courtyard, and the villa’s entertainment room had computers, video games, poker, and even a bunch of toys for minors. Most of the attendees were young people with certain family backgrounds. Some were still in school, while others had already started working in big companies. Among them were talented individuals, spoiled brats,宅男 (otaku), and腐女 (fudou). Those who knew each other greeted each other, and those who didn’t were introduced or struck up conversations themselves. Besides finding suitable partners, the theme of the gathering was probably to build relationships and pave the way for their future.

After greeting the hosts and introducing themselves, Jia Ming had a polite conversation with Lei Qing, basically completing his task. It was clear that Lei Qing’s gaze towards Jia Ming was filled with intense hatred… After all, Jia Ming’s casual prank at the cafe yesterday had made Lei Qing look quite foolish. He had been hit on the head by the tabletop, with coffee, sugar, ice cream, and other things smeared all over his head and face. However, he had initially wanted to make Jia Ming look bad, and he felt a little guilty—perhaps this was also why Dongfang Wan had brought him along as a shield. In her eyes, Jia Ming had always been incredibly obtuse, never deliberately currying favor or showing deference to anyone. If it had been anyone else, they would have already crumbled under the pressure of Lei Qing’s gaze. After all, Lei Qing wasn’t just a useless second-generation rich kid; he had the backing of a powerful family.

After supposedly dealing with Lei Qing, Dongfang Wan parted ways with Jia Ming, looking around the crowd for people who might be helpful for her toy factory, and then asking others to introduce them. Jia Ming wandered around, and a couple of Huang family cousins he knew greeted him. However, they didn’t seem to have much interest in interacting with this somewhat introverted cousin.

He made his way back to the courtyard by the sea. The sun had already set, leaving only a final hint of red in the western sky. The lights in the entire villa were turned on, illuminating the lawn where the buffet table and barbecue grill were set up. The slightly salty sea breeze brought a refreshing atmosphere. Ya Han was standing next to a barbecue grill, sprinkling pepper on a chicken wing. The man who came with her stood beside her, chatting and attempting to barbecue in a rather disastrous manner. Ya Han was absentmindedly scanning the surroundings. When she saw Jia Ming, she turned her head and focused on the half-charred chicken wing, continuing to talk to the man beside her.

He stood by the courtyard corridor, catching a breeze and listening to the music coming from the room. Jia Ming grabbed two skewers of fish and meat slices. He lit a fire in a nearby empty barbecue grill and started grilling skillfully. He had been familiar with outdoor survival, and these things were second nature to him. After renting a house with Ling Jing and Sha Sha, they often grilled and had fun on the rooftop. Soon, a tempting aroma spread through the air.

Since realizing Ya Han’s feelings, their friendship had come to an end. It was undoubtedly a childish idea to become friends if they couldn’t be lovers. Seeing that she had her own life, Jia Ming didn’t want to intrude too much. However, whenever his gaze swept over Ya Han, who had finished grilling and was huddled in a corner struggling to gnaw on a chicken wing, he couldn’t help but find it a bit funny. From time to time, people came over to greet her or the man beside her, both men and women, laughing and chatting. When his gaze swept over the living room, he saw Dongfang Wan chatting and laughing with others. Dongfang Lu had arrived and was chatting with Yi Huaying, the host, and others.

The barbecue was done. Dongfang Wan, holding a glass of water, came over and gave him an excited thumbs-up. “Great, I met a few more people. Uh, one of them has a chain supermarket across the country. I mentioned our toy factory to him, and he said he’d be happy to come take a look in a couple of days. Haha… You grilled these, so fragrant, I’m starving…” she said, unceremoniously snatching half of Jia Ming’s food and munching on it. Then, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Huh, how did you grill this so well? This guy gave me a skewer of beef earlier… I wanted to die…”

“Everyone wants to achieve great things. I’m not interested in doing great things, I just like these little things.”

“If you can’t achieve great things in the future, I’ll hire you as a chef at my house!” Dongfang Wan said generously. Jia Ming smiled and picked up a skewer of fish, two skewers of mutton, and a corn cob, tossing them back onto the barbecue grill. When Dongfang Wan mumbled, “I want a corn cob too,” he added another one.

They ate while waiting for the corn to cook. Dongfang Wan casually asked, “Hey, did you and Ya Han teacher have a falling out?”

“Huh?”

“I saw you didn’t greet each other today… Uh, actually, there were problems before the holidays too. She never used to punish you, but then she rescinded your punishment. I thought you guys had made up.”

“Because I did poorly on the final exam this semester, so she decided not to favor or protect me for a whole semester.”

Dongfang Wan was stunned for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Cut it out… You’re not a kid anymore…”

Jia Ming shrugged with a smile. Dongfang Wan moved her chair closer. “Hey, did you see the guy with Ya Han teacher? I heard he might be able to win Ya Han teacher over. Although nothing concrete has happened yet, Xu Mo teacher has never been able to get Ya Han teacher to go on dates with him. At least this guy succeeded… Poor Xu Mo teacher, so infatuated…”

“Oh?” Jia Ming responded casually, flipping the food on the grill with methodical efficiency.

“Yeah, his name is Ma Tuo… What a disgusting name… I hear his family are black-society暴发户 (nouveau riche) who aren’t exactly powerful. But it is said that when Ya Han teacher was studying at Cambridge, this guy was also at Cambridge, they were all Chinese students, so they knew each other. I hear he’s also a master’s now, working as a manager in some foreign-funded company. He recently came back to Jiang Hai, and they got together.”

“Cut it out…” Jia Ming chuckled and passed her the grilled corn. “Don’t use such a vulgar word, ‘got together’. How come you’re so八卦 (gossipy)?”

Of course, Dongfang Wan wasn’t gossipy. If it weren’t for Jia Ming and Ya Han’s relationship, she wouldn’t have bothered to find out about these things. She was stunned for a moment, then stared at him with a righteous expression. “Gossip is a woman’s nature, you know?” she said. Then, she reached out and grabbed everything on the barbecue grill. “Right, take these to give to people. I’ll say I grilled them, I guarantee they’ll be impressed. Maybe we’ll be one step closer to our next order. Haha… Bye-bye…”

Feeling like she had taken advantage of Jia Ming again, Dongfang Wan waved her hand and ran away, her tone exceptionally excited. Jia Ming shrugged, feeling like he was really a part-time chef. But whatever, it was fine to kill time by barbecuing. He grabbed a bunch of things and started grilling again. When they were done, he turned his head to find Ya Han had disappeared. Dongfang Wan was in the living room, munching on half a corn cob, chatting and laughing with others, probably bragging about her exceptional barbecue skills. Dongfang Lu nodded at him with a smile.

He sat on the railing of a small garden path nearby, eating while catching the sea breeze and listening to the music and laughter from the living room. With few familiar faces around, Jia Ming couldn’t help but recall things from the past, such as the countless times he had killed people in situations like this. Near or far, with a knife or a gun, or with these seemingly fragile bamboo skewers in his hand, piercing mouths, throats, and even stabbing people in the chest in the summer wasn’t impossible. However, that required an extremely precise touch, hitting the heart without deviation. After all, the muscles in the chest are thick, and if the aim was slightly off, the bamboo skewers would break. Of course, if the target was an ordinary person, he could also deliver a fatal punch at close range, directly to the chest, using immense force to stop the person’s heart from beating.

As he was thinking about these things, a figure in a dusky purple shade walked around the corner of the opposite corridor. When she saw him, she stopped abruptly. It was Ya Han, naturally.

If she wanted to pretend not to recognize him, she could have just walked past from the beginning. But now she stopped, as if she couldn’t help but greet him. After a moment, Jia Ming smiled and handed her something in his hand. “Chicken wing?”

“Uh… I don’t like chicken wings. And…” Ya Han’s eyes darted around for a moment, then she took a deep breath and shook her hands, which were still dripping with water. “And… I’ve already washed my hands.”

“Oh.” Jia Ming nodded. He was thinking about what to say, but Ya Han continued, “That… grilled fish, I’m still a little hungry… I was going to get something else…”

Taking the grilled fish from Jia Ming, Ya Han sat down on the railing next to him. She took a bite, then wiped the grease from her mouth and smiled. “Mm, it’s so good, it’s not even in the same league as what I grilled.”

“That’s why I said you should try my chicken wing.”

“Heh…” Ya Han smiled, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Uh, how did you end up here with Dongfang Wan, holding hands… Where are Ling Jing and Sha Sha…” She had once scolded Jia Ming for being a playboy when he was incoherent, and her words now obviously had a similar implication. Jia Ming smiled and told her about Lei Qing, how Dongfang Wan had found him at the hotel today, and how Ling Jing and Sha Sha had pushed him out. By the time he finished talking about all this, Ya Han’s expression finally calmed down.

“Heh, I see. Lei Qing… he really doesn’t have much ability. No wonder Dongfang Wan doesn’t fancy him. But if his family’s power is involved, Dongfang Wan probably can’t refuse him much. These things…”

“Yeah, I think the reason why Dongfang Wan wants to set up that toy factory is that she wants to prove her own abilities and not be treated like a pawn, thrown around at will.”

“Dongfang Wan is very capable and strong-willed. Maybe I’ll be forced into an arranged marriage someday too.” She looked at Jia Ming’s reaction, then gave an unnatural smile. She shrugged. “Well, it shouldn’t be an issue for now. After the Liu Wenli incident, my family rarely brought up this topic. After all, I’m still sick.”

“I remember last year your family had plans to send you to the US for treatment. Why haven’t you heard anything yet?”

“They really want me to leave Jiang Hai, to be out of sight and out of mind. No one will accuse you of being immoral anymore, will they?” She glanced at Jia Ming and laughed. “Uh… Just kidding. But if you’re with Ling Jing and Sha Sha, I’ll definitely object. Because that’s wrong, anyway… it’s wrong…”

Jia Ming was speechless. Ya Han seemed to realize that her words were too depressing and fell silent for a moment, then said, “They said they had some progress in the US last year, but it was because our family invested a lot of money in that hospital, so they said it nicely. Then at the end of the year, they said the progress probably wouldn’t be much use, they needed to wait a while. I called them recently, and they said there might be a breakthrough by the end of November this year. I don’t believe them, anyway, I’m too lazy to think about it… Besides, it’s under control for now. I’ll worry about it when it comes to the point where I need a kidney transplant…”

After saying those pathetic and vulnerable words, Ya Han regretted it. Was she hoping for his sympathy or pity? Jia Ming didn’t know what to say. Finally, Ya Han finished the grilled fish in her hand and reached out with a smile. “Wing.” Jia Ming handed her one, and she carefully tore it apart.

“Ugh, it’s definitely better than what I grilled. Mine was hard as a rock. I don’t know what went wrong… Right, do you remember a fat guy named Ma An?”

Jia Ming thought for a moment, then nodded. “The fat guy from Xinghui High School, the one who used to bother me and Sha Sha. Then he went to Sacred Heart through your connection… Heh, I still remember one time he actually tried to stop Sha Sha to take nude photos of her…”

Ya Han burst out laughing too. “I can’t believe you still remember him. Did you see the guy who came with me today?”

“No… You’re trying to tell me that the creepy fat guy from back then has turned into a handsome guy?”

“No, heh… He’s called Ma Tuo, he’s Ma An’s older brother. I knew him back at Cambridge. I was younger then, and I got a lot of help from those Chinese students, including him. That time I got his brother into Sacred Heart, he heard my name when he came back, so he came here specifically. Then I thought, wow… the world is really small…”

“Yeah… According to Dongfang Wan’s gossip, I hear he’s chasing you, and he seems to have a good chance. Poor Xu Mo…”

Ya Han’s expression froze, and she looked at Jia Ming, unsure whether to tell the truth to avoid misunderstanding or to lie to make him jealous. But in the end, she laughed. “No, he’s just a regular friend. I came out this time because I’ve been cooped up at home for too long, my stepmother kicked me out. Didn’t you always say I’m lazy? I took my old car for maintenance today, so I had to ride in his car… Uh… heh… uh…”

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She couldn’t help but lower her head. Fortunately, the lighting here was dim, and she didn’t think Jia Ming could see. At that moment, a voice came from a distance. “Hey, Ya Han, come over here. Wan Zhen and the others are here. I heard you came, so I asked you to come play pool. Hey…” He turned his head and saw Ma Tuo waving excitedly.

“Uh… he’s also a classmate I knew at Cambridge.” Ya Han smiled at Jia Ming. “Do you want to come play too? I’ll introduce you to them.”

This was naturally a polite gesture. Jia Ming waved his hand. “Never mind, I’m not very good at pool. Besides, what would a little kid be doing in a group of adults? There’s a generational gap.”

“Heh, actually, I’m younger than them by quite a few years. There’s a generational gap too, but… I know you don’t like interacting with strangers, so I’ll go first.” She stood up, holding the half-eaten chicken wing, and waved with a smile. “Bye-bye.”

“Bye.”

With a smile, Ya Han ran a few steps, then turned her head back, but eventually turned and left, disappearing behind the white wall at the corner of the corridor. Jia Ming ate, thinking about the meaning of this conversation. It seemed like they were friends again, but there was still an inescapable gloom between them, and after this, she would still ignore him. This kind of thing was always a little sad, no matter what.

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