Hidden Assassin 220

## Volume Three: Cohabitation Era, Chapter 220: Winter

2013-02-08

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

Late at night, the rhythmic beeping of medical equipment filled the room. The doctor had left the ward, leaving only the woman in a nightgown, diligently tucking in the blankets around her. A nurse walked by outside the window.

“The doctor said you’d wake up tonight, and you did.”

“Ugh… Mom…?”

“Your dad has been contacting hospitals in the UK and the US. He was just called away for a phone call, and he should be here soon.” She sat down by the bed, the woman who was nominally her stepmother but was more like an older sister. “How do you feel now? Are you hungry? Thirsty? You seem to have suddenly gained weight.” She poked at her swollen cheeks, her fingertip leaving a small dent that slowly filled back in. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” She shook her head weakly in the bed, managing a weak smile. “It’s pretty much the same as usual, just weak and a little bloated…”

“But you look ugly now, though.”

“Whatever, no one’s coming to see me anyway…” Ya Han said weakly, laughing.

“Hmm.” Her mother shrugged, then remembered something. “Who says no one’s coming to see you? Your student came to see you this afternoon.”

“Huh?”

“That Gu Jia Ming, you know, your student and your junior. You were still asleep at that time, and your dad didn’t want him to come in, but I remember he’s good friends with you, so I let him come up. He brought you a bunch of carnations. I had someone put them in the living room.”

“…” She smiled, her face turning a bit complicated. She opened her mouth, seeming to be at a loss for words. “He… left?”

“Of course, he left.” Her mom nodded. “I chatted with him for a bit. He’s a good kid. You know, what I found impressive was that, although he didn’t seem like much, he wasn’t the least bit awkward when talking to me like ordinary students are. Maybe that’s why you guys get along so well?”

“Hmm…” Ya Han smiled and said softly, “He’s just… likes to pretend to be mature. He’s just a kid, always trying to act like a grown-up… Did he say anything?”

“Uh… Nothing much, just asking how you were doing, when you’d recover, and things like that. He said he’d come see you again when you get better.”

“When I get better…”

“Heh, I even asked him about your boyfriend, but he didn’t know anything. He thought you two were so close, that he’d at least know some details. Maybe this kid’s deliberately keeping quiet?”

Ya Han naturally rolled her eyes in response, but she couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions in her heart. After a moment, she said softly, “Mom, can you get me a mirror? I want to see what I look like now…”

“Oh.” Her mom nodded, taking out the vanity case from her handbag and opening it. She handed the built-in mirror to Ya Han. “Actually, you just look weak, your face is a bit swollen, but you’ve gotten cuter, though.”

“…So ugly.” After looking at herself for a while, Ya Han concluded.

Such an ugly appearance, he’s seen it too… A wave of faint disappointment and melancholy washed over her. In fact, when she was trying to escape her marriage, she was completely naked after taking a shower in front of Jia Ming. Later, she was even squeezed and bumped against him in the blanket. But at that time, she was confident in her appearance and was showing him the side of herself that she was quite satisfied with. Later on, she didn’t mind as much. Now that he’d seen her in such an ugly state, her mood couldn’t help but sink.

He’ll come again when I’m better… I hope I can recover quickly…

With such thoughts in mind, she forced herself to chat with her mother for a while, and when she was about to fall asleep again, Zhang Jing An came in from the doorway, a hint of joy on his face. As his mother got up to greet him, his first words were: “Good news, there’s finally been progress in New York…”

…

…

He had originally planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ya Han during this time. It would be better to clarify things and understand each other, but even though he understood this in his mind, he hadn’t actually come up with any solutions. In fact, perhaps his plan was even more unnecessary.

Matters of the heart couldn’t be solved with guns or knives. It was always a bit of a hassle for him. Going to the Zhang family, Ya Han’s sleep had given him a chance to catch his breath. He felt even more deeply the cowardice of Yuan Lai Chao Chuang at that time.

After leaving the Zhang family, he spent most of his time in the hospital, delivering meals to Sha Sha and visiting Xun every day. Despite his strong physique, Xun, who had been shot three times and was severely injured, would still need some time to recover.

Lingjing came to visit more often than Jia Ming. Due to the recent events, Sacred Heart Academy was on vacation for the time being. Lingjing stayed at the hospital every day, running back and forth between Sha Sha and Xun’s wards. The usually silent and cold Xun had a lot to say when she was with Lingjing – she was always pestering Lingjing to teach her English. However, when she was alone with Jia Ming, she became a different person, often sitting by the bed as Jia Ming quickly peeled an apple, occasionally saying a word or two, mostly about the dark world that came to mind, the topic naturally bloody. However, when the bright sunlight shone in, and the bright red Fuji apple was skillfully peeled into a long strip by Jia Ming, who then chopped it into four pieces, it was hard to imagine that the two of them were actually talking about such taboo words.

Actually, to be honest, Jia Ming was only interested in peeling apples a minority of the time. More often than not, Lingjing peeled half an apple and handed it to him. Most of the time, if they were alone, they would just exchange a simple greeting and then fall silent. They would sit together, each looking at the sky, sometimes gloomy, sometimes bright. They looked at the bare branches of the old trees, the swaying grey-green pine trees in the wind. Winter was deepening, the private ward was bright and clean, the air conditioner maintained a constant warmth. But the view outside seemed rather desolate.

It wasn’t that Jia Ming didn’t want to talk to Xun or was disdainful of talking to her. It was just that they both had a dark background, and small talk felt meaningless to him. This was a habit he had developed over many years. Speaking of which, the dark side of Jia Ming had existed for longer and was more pure than the slightly brighter side. Sometimes, from an ordinary person’s point of view, he might be considered quite wooden and hard to get along with. Of course, no one dared to have this opinion, but they probably thought so in their hearts – thinking about this, he couldn’t help but laugh. Lingjing and Sha Sha were gradually making him more and more like a normal person.

However, many years later, when he thought back on this period, it was these simple moments that were etched deepest in his heart. At that time, she had approached Jia Ming for some dark reasons, and what she touched was often the dark, cold side of Jia Ming. Later, she hoped for something ordinary, but because Jia Ming had divided himself so clearly into good and evil, she didn’t dare to show anything unnecessary, anything that would be considered immature in the dark world. She tried to follow in his footsteps. Only in these moments could she faintly sense Jia Ming’s ordinary side.

It’s just that many years later, looking back, their relationship gradually shifted from pure darkness to normalcy, becoming able to chat and interact like ordinary people. They really went through too much time and upheaval, experienced too many things. Blood and fire, joy and tears… But that’s a story for another time.

Apart from these ordinary aspects of life, in secret, Jia Ming had begun preparations for his upcoming trip to Tokyo. He recalled the information he had about Pei Luo Jia, analyzing, summarizing, and speculating on possible changes. He also sent a lot of information to Tian Yu Zheng Ze, asking him to verify and correct it. His gunshot wounds were gradually healing during this time.

However, from Tian Yu Zheng Ze’s side, he wasn’t in favor of Jia Ming going to Tokyo for revenge. Pei Luo Jia’s power was formidable, especially now that they were prepared for defense. Even if Yu Jin Xiang’s reputation and strength were higher than Yuan Lai Chao Chuang, it was impossible for him to single-handedly take down Pei Luo Jia’s headquarters and escape. For Tian Yu Zheng Ze, Jia Ming’s retreat from Yuan Lai Chao Chuang, his beheading of the Da Nei Chang Du, and his defeat of the Gods Without Thoughts, had already shown his formidable strength, especially the information he provided this time about Pei Luo Jia, making him realize Jia Ming’s immense value. Whether out of kindness or out of self-interest, he hoped that Jia Ming could stay safe for now.

After more than ten days of recuperation, his body, which was naturally strong, began to recover from the gunshot wounds. Because he had decided to go to Japan, he visited the Zhang family again, but Ya Han was still asleep. Her mother entertained him for a while, saying that Ya Han’s condition had improved and that she would be sent to the United States for more effective treatment soon. Jia Ming thought for a while and decided to postpone their reunion until they were both completely recovered.

No matter what, only things like knives and guns, which are straightforward, were his forte.

However, a phone call from Tian Yu Zheng Ze a few days later finally disrupted his plan.

“About the incident with the Gods Without Thoughts, Pei Luo Jia has a preliminary solution. They originally didn’t plan to do this, but… it seems like your teacher, Zhang Ya Han, is going to America soon?”

“Ugh, what’s that got to do with her?”

“In recent years, the Pei Luo Jia headquarters and other branches have always had some friction, but they’ve always maintained relatively good relations with the North American branch because there’s not much conflict of interest with the United States. You know, most of the Pei Luo Jia power in North America is in America. They analyzed the actions of the Gods Without Thoughts and initially determined that you would definitely see them as an enemy. There’s no way to ease the tension, and just in time, this information reached them. So they decided… uh, my people only got the news today, and they immediately investigated. It seems like Ms. Ya Han left yesterday on a private plane?”

Bang! Jia Ming hung up the phone. In his room in Tokyo, Tian Yu Zheng Ze listened to the continuous single tone coming from the other end of the phone and couldn’t help but smile. No matter what, even if the Americans did make a move, they wouldn’t be able to deploy the entire organization’s forces. Dealing with them would be much safer than directly charging into their headquarters.

“Good luck, Gu Jun, I’ll coordinate with you on this.”

He finished this sentence to himself and started dialing another number, picking up the files he’d been organizing for the past ten days. “Hello… Tian Yu Zheng Ze… Get all the bosses together, I have something interesting to show you. Yeah, heh… It’s an early Christmas present, you guys will love it.”

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