Hidden Assassin 228

## Volume 3, The Cohabitation Era, Chapter 228

**2013-02-08**

To reach Joseph’s current position in the Mafia, he must have experienced countless things, big and small. But when Jia Ming and Heidi sat down at the table, the high-ranking Mafia figure seemed somewhat embarrassed. He smiled, raised his hand, but seemed to find no words to say and lowered it again. Heidi looked at him with an unfriendly expression. Jia Ming smiled and turned his gaze to the side. Not far away, on the balcony of the villa, Marilyn leaned out to look at them, then her eyes turned cold, and she shrank back in anger. She would probably storm out soon.

As Jia Ming, he could probably understand Joseph’s predicament. He wanted to talk about Marilyn as an adult, but Jia Ming was not an adult. If he didn’t handle this matter carefully, he would be disliked by everyone. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a sip of coffee and finally spoke.

“Uh, actually… can I call you Jia Ming? He… You understand, I mean, can I talk to you about this as an equal friend? I hope to see the person related to Marilyn. Of course, this is not just my hope.” Seeing Heidi was about to speak, he waved his hand, “I know this is presumptuous. Marilyn doesn’t belong to anyone, and we have no right to interfere with any of her decisions. But… You understand, there are always a lot of people who care about her. I… maybe I’m not qualified, but Marilyn at least has her father, she has this family you see now, I mean… if you understand all of this, uh, do you understand?”

“Mmm.” Jia Ming nodded earnestly with his hands in his pockets. He certainly understood all this. Whether Marilyn liked Joseph or not was secondary; what mattered was that the Mafia’s involvement was too broad. For now, in the eyes of Joseph, Victor, and others, the man behind Marilyn was practically a illusion, with no one having a clear picture. What if this man was like Tang Jingyao and planned to harm the Salieri family? No one wanted to bear that loss.

Seeing Jia Ming nod, Joseph seemed relieved and let out a sigh. “Then, I wonder when we can…”

“I’ll tell her what you said. I don’t know the outcome.”

“She? You mean she?” Joseph was puzzled by the gender implied in Jia Ming’s words. He looked at Jia Ming with a confused expression. Heidi glanced at Jia Ming and then looked at Joseph with sparkling eyes, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Jia Ming nodded frankly, “She has a bad temper. I’m just responsible for telling her.”

“Uh…” Recalling the experience in Jiang Hai, he had fought with the Japanese girl and was knocked unconscious in the forest for a day. He vaguely remembered it was a woman, but a woman who could be that fierce… Looking at the boy’s matter-of-fact expression, he couldn’t help but imagine Marilyn entwined with a muscular woman in bed. He shivered, shook his head, and said, “I mean…”

Before he could finish, Marilyn’s cold voice interrupted, “I don’t care what you say, Heidi. Jia Ming, we’re leaving.” When she addressed Jia Ming, her voice softened.

Standing outside the railing, Marilyn was wearing a lavender blue dress. A blue wide belt cinched her slender waist, and her golden hair was carefully styled. Although she had a teenage daughter, Marilyn, just over thirty years old, was at the peak of a woman’s beauty. She was tall and had a mature and independent aura, but she also radiated a natural softness. This gentleness poured out when she looked at Heidi or Jia Ming.

“Marilyn, I didn’t…”

“I don’t care what you want to do.” Her gaze turned cold as she stared at Joseph. “I don’t want you to disturb my friend for any reason.”

When a woman has made up her mind, explanations rarely help. Joseph could only shrug helplessly. Then his gaze turned cold as well, looking towards the other side.

Three men and one woman were walking towards them, each with their own distinct style of dress.

The leader was a white man in a black suit. He was handsome, proud, and had a false and bright smile. Beside him was a similarly stylish woman, her hair fiery red. She wore tight-fitting leather clothes and black high-heeled boots. Behind them were two men, one black and one white. The black man wore a flashy outfit, nodding every three steps, looking like a street dancer. The white man beside him was almost two meters tall, muscular and serious. Before they got closer, the leading white man smiled and spread his arms.

“Yo, yo, handling business? Joseph, long time no see, how are you? Or did you confess your love to Miss Marilyn and fail again? No offense, but you really are a loser, hahaha… But it’s okay, I still admire you.”

“Well, I’m sorry. Except for kicking it, I’m not interested in your ass, Smith… You’ve come here. I daresay you must have eaten something bad last night and thought you wouldn’t die? ” Joseph stood up and smiled.

“No, no, no… My dear Joseph, I think you’ve got it all wrong. We’ve come with good intentions. You see, little Goody has retired. Now John is the one who can talk. You know he’s friendly, against violence… Hi, Miss Marilyn, are you free for dinner tonight? And Miss Heidi, well, you’re getting prettier and prettier…”

As these people approached, the few men who followed Joseph in the villa formed a protective circle, ready for anything. Jia Ming took Heidi’s hand and said, “…” But before they could leave their seats, the man in the suit had already smiled and stepped forward. He seemed to want to give Heidi a friendly hug. Jia Ming sighed and stepped in front of him.

“Oh?” The man spread his arms and paused. “Heidi? Is this your new friend? An Oriental?”

“Can I hit him with the coffee pot?” Heidi edged up behind Jia Ming, holding his hand and speaking softly. Because of Jia Ming’s presence, the little girl was obviously fearless now. “Uh…” Smith seemed to have heard some of Heidi’s words and was taken aback.

Smiling internally, Jia Ming shook his head and pulled her past Smith. At the same time, the red-haired woman in the black leather jacket shifted her position. “Hey, are all Orientals so rude?”

“Chinese.” After a moment of silence, Jia Ming looked up and said, “To be precise, Chinese. My mother told me not to talk to women who spray insecticide on themselves… Do you live in the forest? Why do you have to spray insecticide all over yourself?”

His English was a little awkward, but understandable. For a moment, Joseph and the others laughed. Marilyn knew Jia Ming’s background, so she naturally enjoyed watching the scene. Smith and the others nodded at each other. “Oh, Chinese… That’s cool. Does he know Chinese kung fu? Joseph, is this kid yours? I think he needs a little lesson.”

“Sorry, I think you’re blocking his way.”

“Oh, is that so?” Smith smiled and patted the red-haired woman on the shoulder. She also nodded with a smile, taking a step back. As Jia Ming and Heidi passed by, she suddenly reached out. A golden, miniature pistol pointed at Jia Ming’s forehead with lightning speed. At the same time, the sound of guns being drawn rang out around them. Smith’s black and white companions each pulled out two pistols. In the surrounding area, Joseph’s men were even drawing submachine guns, with a circle of more than ten gun barrels pointed at them.

The atmosphere froze in an instant. The wind was bitter, and the snow was chilling.

Both Joseph and Smith were momentarily stiff. Marilyn, standing on the outside, felt a jolt of energy, her entire body tensing.

Under the black muzzle of the gun, Jia Ming pulled Heidi and walked past, not even glancing at the pistol pointed at him. However, no one would have noticed this small detail at that moment. For a moment, Smith smiled and waved his hand. “Hehe, misunderstanding, misunderstanding. Put away your guns. Jen just has a hot temper. Joseph, you understand. We’re not here for a shootout. Put them away.”

As he spoke, the two behind him put away their pistols. The red-haired woman named Jen smiled and spun the gun on her finger. “Accident, I just can’t control my emotions, you know… It’s that time of the month. And hey…”

She called out to Jia Ming, and when he turned his head, she made a shooting gesture, her red lips pouting in a seductive pose. “I remember you, baby.”

“Approved.”

Jia Ming shrugged nonchalantly.

…

…

“Boss, new clues.”

With these words, a file was thrown on Cui Guohua’s desk. “From where?”

“From Salieri’s side.” Fang Guolin was sorting through the things on her computer desk. She flipped through the file and tapped it. “Because I found it strange, I specially informed domestic cooperation. The investigation results are… Gu Jia Ming has disappeared…”

“Gu Jia Ming has disappeared?” Cui Guohua narrowed his eyes at the file. “Did he also come to America?”

Fang Guolin nodded. “There’s no record of him at the immigration office. He entered the country illegally. Also, the name Jian Suyan cannot be found in immigration records either. The computer data has been modified, but we can be sure that Jian Suyan did arrive from the civil aviation department. We haven’t found her residence yet.”

“I guess she wouldn’t like people investigating her.” He mumbled to himself. “This time, the two siblings came together… Is it a trip or an exam?”

“Hehe, Boss, didn’t Gu Jia Ming say that Jian Suyan is his adopted daughter-in-law? They’re not siblings, they’re husband and wife?”

“You believe that? You’ve been reading too much gossip news…” Cui Guohua chuckled as he flipped through the file. “Jian Suyan acted at dawn. Gu Jia Ming disappeared from Jiang Hai. He arrived at Salieri’s estate yesterday evening. Hmm, put all these data together, it gives me a strange feeling…”

“Hehe, I think it’s strange too. Boss, when I got the news that Gu Jia Ming disappeared from Jiang Hai, I suddenly thought, Gu Jia Ming disappeared, and Yujinxiang appeared. Could it be that Gu Jia Ming is Jian Suyan?” Fang Guolin shook her head with a smile. “Impossible. A man pretending to be a woman, and making the whole world fall for it, that’s too absurd. Besides, a little kid can defeat Yuan Lai Chao Chuang? Unless he’s really one of those… natural evolutionists…”

Cui Guohua thought for a moment and shook his head. “Hehe, it’s a plausible theory, although the probability is almost zero. But… should I submit this analysis to the higher-ups?”

“Forget it.” Fang Guolin shook her head decisively, rolling her eyes. “I don’t want to be seen as an idiot…”

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