Hidden Assassin 256

There was heat but no light. Outside, snowflakes danced. He sat quietly, his fingers tapping silently against the soft cushion beside him. A shift next to him – Ya Han’s soft body pressed closer.

His tapping stopped. Ya Han had already taken his right hand as a pillow, her body instinctively leaning towards him. For Jia Ming, such weather was nothing, but it was different for Ya Han. She had just recovered from a serious illness and had spent a long time hiding in the snow, her hands and feet already frozen. After getting into the car, she had warmed up slightly, but as time passed, the temperature inside the car continued to drop. She, already asleep, felt the cold and naturally leaned towards Jia Ming.

For the two of them, who had been close before, this level of physical contact was nothing. When they were playing around, neither of them thought much of it. This was probably related to the age gap between them and their mutual understanding. However, after certain things were broken, Jia Ming felt a little awkward now. Of course, it was only a small discomfort. The headlights of a truck lit up from behind, sweeping past the stalled sports car. The driver clearly glanced over but didn’t stop. The lights disappeared into the wind and snow.

“Mmm…”

In the darkened car, Ya Han groaned softly. Then, her body curled up even tighter in the cold. She had already taken off her shoes, her slender legs tucked up on the seat opposite. Her feet, clad in woolen socks, rubbed together, seeking a warm corner to shove them into, but they couldn’t find a comfortable spot after several tries. She could only curl up again.

Seeing her move restlessly several times, Jia Ming sighed helplessly, gently breaking free from Ya Han’s grasp. Then, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her legs. Her feet were finally settled, but the warm pillow she had been holding was gone. Ya Han, in a daze, embraced it again, mumbling in her sleep.

“Mmm… cold… Jia Ming, don’t move…”

“It won’t be cold if it’s tied up…” He muttered, pulling the sleeves of his coat together. He tied a knot to ensure she wouldn’t kick it off. He heard Ya Han’s intermittent sleep talk: “Cold… Jia Ming… Don’t… take off all your… clothes… I’m cold…”

Jia Ming, who was pulling his coat up around her, was slightly taken aback. Then, he couldn’t help but laugh and patted her back. In the darkness, Ya Han seemed to open her eyes, dazed. In the pitch black, a hand gently stroked her back: “Hey, sleep… sleep…” Groping for the warm body beside her, she seemed to be content and fell asleep again.

“Sleep…”

After a long time, Jia Ming’s voice sounded again, his right hand resting on her back. It was as if he was embracing her whole body. After a while, he smiled and fell fast asleep.

…

…

When he woke up, the sky was already gray and cloudy. Snow continued to fall. The roar of a car passing by made him open his eyes. No one had stopped here that night. The state of the sports car was certainly quite frightening.

He gently moved Ya Han’s hands away, propped up her limp upper body, and then helped her lay down on his side of the seat. The car was cold. He took off another sweater and covered her with it.

He opened the door and stepped out. He stretched in the frigid wind and snow. There was already some snow on the road, with the tracks of a few vehicles showing. He was only wearing a thin coat and walked around the pitiful sports car a few times. Then, he did some simple exercises on the side of the road. Soon, a “bang” came from inside the car. Then, some confusion appeared in the sports car’s passenger compartment. He approached and saw Ya Han rolling around in the car in a flustered state. After figuring out what had happened, she looked at Jia Ming, who had appeared by the window, with anger and gratitude. She reached out to unwrap the coat around her legs and then hurriedly put on her shoes, climbing out of the car.

“You want to die?! You ran out wearing just one layer!” She angrily stuffed the sweater into Jia Ming’s hands. Because of her sudden movement, she had kicked off one of her sneakers, which she hadn’t fastened. It jumped along the road. By the time Jia Ming put on the sweater, she had already put on his coat and then jumped to retrieve her sneaker.

With a bang, she fell into the snow on the side of the road.

“He he…” His laughter rang out in the snow. Ya Han got up, fuming, and angrily put on her shoe. She glared at Jia Ming, but then couldn’t help but turn her head and laugh.

“What do you mean? I wouldn’t have fallen if it wasn’t for you! You laugh at me again and I’ll turn on you!”

She spoke threateningly, but her smiling face had no real malice. Jia Ming waved his hands: “No, I just think beauties are truly beautiful, even when they fall down, they fall so gracefully. He he… Hey, don’t kick, I’m not laughing anymore, I’m not laughing anymore, be careful you don’t slip again…”

The sky was still gray and cloudy. It was unclear whether the sun had risen yet. After chasing each other around the sports car, Ya Han reached up to tidy her messy hair by her ears. She was wearing a black thermal sports outfit, white women’s sports shoes, and a simple ponytail. Because of the chaos last night and having to make do in the car overnight, her clothes were a little wrinkled, but even so, her height of over 5’5″ still exuded a unique charm, giving people a sense of health, independence, beauty, and an elegant Eastern beauty. Her plain face, though not made up, radiated a vitality and flush she hadn’t seen in six months.

“Wow, how did the car become like this? It’s so desolate…”

Last night, she hadn’t had the time to pay attention to anything else. Now, with the faint light of dawn, she could truly see the scars on the sports car. Although the bulletproof system ensured that the people inside were unharmed, the entire car body was riddled with bullet holes and bullet marks. Many bullets were still embedded in the body. The headlights, license plate, and rear stabilizer were all either broken or shattered, desolate and pitiful. While marvelling at the miracle that this car had managed to hold together until this point, Ya Han turned her head back: “So what are we going to do now?”

“Of course we aren’t going to stand here. People weren’t paying much attention at night. If they see a car like this in the daytime, it’s a sure thing.” Jia Ming laughed. “Let’s find a place to have breakfast.”

“Where are there any?”

“Two directions, let’s just pick one. As long as we leave this car, we can say we are Chinese tourists, and we’ll definitely find some locals willing to give us a ride.”

…

…

“So, this Pei Luo Jia is the most powerful black society in the world?”

“To be accurate, he’s a killer.”

“That’s so troublesome, and he’s Japanese too…”

In the early morning, they walked along a snow-covered road, with snow fields spreading out on both sides. In the distance, there was a sparse, low forest. The two of them walked leisurely, chatting about things that were far from mundane. Only after Jia Ming’s brief explanation did Ya Han vaguely understand what kind of enemy Jia Ming was facing and why he had come to her.

—

Originally, it was just a casual question. She didn’t expect Jia Ming to tell her these things truthfully. She was also a child of a big family, understanding that men kept many things secret from others. Now that she liked Jia Ming, even if he withheld some information, she would mostly, because of her love for him, think that this was him being considerate. Therefore, when the young man beside her, now as tall as herself, casually talked about the underworld, she was shocked and then looked at him with confusion.

“Um, these things… why are you telling me so frankly…”

She was confused in her heart. Jia Ming, on the other hand, smiled calmly, turning his head: “Because you want to know. It’s not a big deal. It’s alright if you know.”

“Do Ling Jing and Sha Sha know too?”

“Hmm…” He shook his head. “They don’t know. But when I came to America this time, I told them it was related to the school incident last time, that someone was going to attack you. Ling Jing told me to come quickly. Sha Sha told me to kill all those guys. How could I delay your treatment, he he…”

Hearing Jia Ming talk about Ling Jing and Sha Sha’s concern for her, Ya Han smiled shyly, and then a happy look appeared on her face: “So, I’m the only one who knows your identity?”

“They didn’t want to know, so I didn’t tell them. But Xun knows.”

“I mean, among Ling Jing, Sha Sha, and the three of us.” She didn’t feel much resentment towards the two girls who were both friends and rivals. She even felt closer to them now. But she knew things that Ling Jing and Sha Sha didn’t. The feeling that the secret belonged to her alone made her very satisfied. She kicked a snowball on the ground and laughed: “So, Xun is actually your disciple. No wonder she only talks to you at school and only listens to you… I originally thought it was because she was close to Ling Jing…”

Then, she rolled her eyes at Jia Ming: “But you’re really heartless, you know? That kind of ice queen, so many boys at school wanted to chase after her, but she didn’t even bother with them, she only listened to you. That time, because the guys from the martial arts club said bad things about you, she went and beat up dozens of them by herself, and she even got hurt. You didn’t say a single good word to her. You made the injured girl run a marathon on the field, and she even got rained on… No humanity…”

Not minding Ya Han’s symbolic reproach in her smile, Jia Ming shook his head: “But that kind of personality won’t do. Getting angry over something unimportant, getting into a big fight in front of everyone – that’s what kids do. If I was really angry, I might just blow everyone up with a bomb…”

“Violent man…” Ya Han rolled her eyes at him. “I know your personality, you never care what other people say. But the people around you will be unhappy. That time when someone said bad things about you, Ling Jing was also there, she almost got into a fight with that person. You think it’s nothing, but the people around you will feel insulted. They’re only doing that because they care about you.”

“I know. So, when someone pursued Ling Jing, I went to sing. When someone wanted to pick up Sha Sha, I went to play basketball… But Xun can’t have that kind of emotion. I don’t care what she thinks, but she shouldn’t do things she shouldn’t. There are no reasons or excuses in these things. Because what she’s going to do in the future, one mistake and she’s dead.”

Affected by Jia Ming’s words, Ya Han fell silent. As they passed by a tree, Jia Ming gently gave it a push. Ya Han screamed and ran, but she wasn’t fast enough, and snowflakes landed all over her head. After scolding him jokingly, she said: “Are you really going to make Xun do that kind of thing? I really like this girl. I mean… I think it’s because of you. She’s very nice to me. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we say hello. For other people, that would be pretty rare. And didn’t you say that those Japanese people just wanted to use Xun as a beauty trick? She doesn’t have to participate in those things?”

“But it’s her own chosen path. Everyone has the desire to show off and prove themselves.” Walking ahead, Jia Ming turned back, smiling and spreading his hands. “But maybe there won’t be too much danger. Pei Luo Jia’s situation isn’t good right now. There’s an organization called the Dark Lyre in Europe that has joined forces with China. Japan also has their enemies. Plus, they didn’t succeed in America this time. The relationship between the two sides is likely to break down… Amitabha Buddha, may the world be at peace forever, amen.”

Jia Ming clasped his hands together in prayer by the side of the road. Ya Han laughed and followed him, taking two steps closer: “Then why are you still in America? Let’s go back quickly.”

“There’s something small. I have two friends in America. Their families are having some trouble now. I have to help them out before I can leave.”

“I’ve never heard you say you have any close American friends…” Ya Han furrowed her brows. “Male or female?”

“He he, female…”

“Uh…” Ya Han was taken aback. Her heart felt a pang of sensitivity, wondering if this guy might have two wives in America. Though she knew this was unlikely, she couldn’t help but ask, and was still choosing her words carefully when Jia Ming reached out by the side of the road. A small car drove up from the wind and snow, and then stopped there.

A black man, about forty years old with an unremarkable appearance, leaned out the window: “Hey, trouble?”

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