Hidden Assassin 268

The incident of those recent deals mysteriously falling through seemed to have a lead… Inside a select cosmetics store, Dongfang Wan’s face darkened as she found Xu Yiting shopping.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Yiting put down the expensive lipstick she was holding. The saleswoman beside her hurriedly shut her mouth, likely intimidated by Dongfang Wan’s aura of killing intent.

“Up there, Wang Qiming was hesitant to sign a contract with me. Just then, I saw Lei Qing leaving his office… Whatever, it’s just a few tens of thousands, or a hundred thousand or so per deal. Now that we’ve opened up the market, I’ve got all these guys on my radar. Hmph… How much is this lipstick?”

“Um… this lipstick is from Europe…”

“I know English. What’s the price?” Picking up the lipstick the saleswoman had just recommended to Xu Yiting, Dongfang Wan interrupted her without looking up. The saleswoman smiled, “Two thousand three hundred and eight. It’s the most expensive one we have.”

“Two thousand for one lipstick? You guys are trying to rob people blind.” Frowning, she handed the lipstick back when the saleswoman was about to bring out a stack of brand introductions. She took out a credit card, “I’ll take two. Wrap them up, thank you.”

The saleswoman was taken aback for a moment, then took the credit card and whispered to the other saleswoman beside her. They were clearly amazed by Dongfang Wan’s generosity. For a young girl, her attire wasn’t particularly fashionable, her makeup was simple, and she only gave off a sense of propriety. She clearly wasn’t interested in this lipstick, even commenting on its high price, yet she turned around and bought two without hesitation. Rich people were truly different.

Ignoring the lipstick issue, Dongfang Wan continued talking to Xu Yiting. Xu Yiting, however, hesitated, “Xiao Wan, this lipstick… it’s too expensive. You…”

“Oh, she said it’s the most expensive, right? My cousins aren’t really into dressing up, but they definitely use the most expensive stuff. I can stick a price tag of two thousand three hundred and eight on it when I give it to them, guaranteed they’ll feel fancy… It’s not important. Anyway…” She rolled her eyes, “Gu Jia Ming, Teacher Zhang, and Lei Qing left separately after meeting. I didn’t dare stay, so I came to find you. I have no idea how Teacher Zhang knows Lei Qing. I thought there was going to be a good show between Gu Jia Ming and Lei Qing.”

“Lei Qing always thought your cousin was your boyfriend. He used to have some manners, but now he dares to mess with your business. Your cousin is going to be doomed because of you.”

“Serves him right.” Dongfang Wan laughed. “Why? You feel sorry for him? Actually, I think Lei Qing is the one who’s going to be doomed. It’s a pity I didn’t see it today… Well, don’t look at me like that. Even though I don’t like your cousin, I think he’s kind of a闷骚(闷骚, men sao: someone who is seemingly quiet and reserved but actually has strong inner desires and emotions) person. He doesn’t like showing a lot of things, but the people who look down on him are all eating humble pie now. Isn’t that right? If not for this, I wouldn’t have cooperated with him – even though he didn’t really do much…”

While talking about Jia Ming’s gossip, she took the packaged lipsticks and got into her red sports car. Dongfang Wan handed one to Xu Yiting, “Here. New Year’s bonus. Now you can’t complain about me dragging you out to work during the New Year.”

“But, this…” Xu Yiting was stunned and her eyes widened.

“It’s expensive, but it’s the same thing to use, right? I know it’s not very practical, but just take it. Hey, I’m the boss, don’t reach so far. Take it!”

Without giving Xu Yiting a chance to refuse, she shoved the lipstick into her hand. Xu Yiting held it hesitantly, “But… actually, I didn’t do much during the New Year. I just organized a few files, it didn’t take half an hour. This thing is too…” She blushed and laughed, “I’ll probably just keep it and never use it…”

Dongfang Wan laughed and shrugged nonchalantly. The sports car smoothly started and drove out of the parking lot. They reached a crowded intersection, and as the red light turned on, a throng of people crossed from one side of the road to the other. After turning a corner, the sports car suddenly stopped by the side of the road and slowly backed up a few meters. The two girls looked curiously at the commotion in the small square nearby.

It was the square behind the supermarket building they had just left. There was a large movie theater on one side, and the rest were beautifully decorated cafes and restaurants. A large crowd had gathered at one corner of the square. Lei Qing’s Cadillac was parked there, its alarm blaring constantly. Lei Qing and his four bodyguards were confronting the square guards, and the arguing voices faintly reached them.

“What’s going on? What is Lei Qing up to?”

Curious, Xu Yiting got out of the car and followed Dongfang Wan. The two walked towards the crowd. Before they got close, they heard the noisy chatter.

“Are you kidding me? Of course it’s my car. How could it not be mine? What are you trying to do? I just like kicking my own car… Get your supervisor over here…”

“If it’s yours, why can’t you open the door? Everyone saw it. Your key doesn’t work on the car…”

“Yeah, yeah. I saw him fiddling with the car for a long time before the alarm suddenly went off. This guy must be a car thief…”

“I heard some people use those universal electronic keys to steal cars these days, but this is a top-of-the-line car… how could those little things possibly open it…”

“These car thieves are getting bold these days. They actually bring four or five people with them to steal…”

“Little punk, you think I’m scared of you? Don’t go around spreading rumors. My nickname is Old Bull, and…”

“There’s no nickname that long…”

“The Mighty Bull! That won’t do. We can’t let him go. He even kicked the car door. Even though it’s a good car, it’s not damaged, but we need compensation. This is an international brand car…”

Amid the commotion, the four bodyguards protected Lei Qing, while the dozen or so square security guards didn’t dare to intervene. But with so many people, all talking at once, Lei Qing was clearly at a loss for words. After listening for a while, Dongfang Wan understood what was going on.

The sports car was indeed Lei Qing’s. But something must have happened earlier, his electronic key didn’t open the door, and the alarm went off. He had four burly bodyguards with him, and ordinary people wouldn’t dare to say anything because of their intimidating presence. But then a man who used to be involved in the黑社会 (黑社会, hei she hui: Black Society/Underworld) and loved cars happened to pass by. He saw Lei Qing triggering the alarm twice and then angrily kicked the car door. So he called the security guards, and as more people gathered, the crowd started to stir up trouble, making it seem like Lei Qing was a car thief.

Lei Qing’s driver’s license was in the car, but he couldn’t open the door, so he couldn’t prove the car belonged to him. He had been pampered since he was a child and had never experienced such public humiliation. As he was being blamed by so many people, his face turned red, and he must have felt extremely wronged. When one of his bodyguards called someone who had connections in Jiang Hai City, it caused even more commotion among the crowd.

—

“Calling… calling people… these days, even car thieves who get caught can call for backup to fight? We’ve already called the police, they’ll figure out who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy. What are you calling for…”

“Hey, Xiaoqiang, I’m at Lanshi Square, get some people over here. **! These car thieves are getting so brazen. I’ll tell you…”

“Black Society? We, the members of the Communist Party, aren’t afraid of you Black Society…”

With so many people around, in the most bustling part of the city, with so many security guards, and the police coming soon, seeing that this drowning dog still wanted to fight back, the crowd was excited. Lei Qing had connections, but they couldn’t influence things here for now. His whole face was as red as a beet, and suddenly, he shouted, startling everyone. Dongfang Wan and Xu Yiting thought he was going to have a stroke. Lei Qing ran two steps towards his car, picked up a large rock from the ground, and his four bodyguards formed a tight circle around him.

These bodyguards had received professional agent training and carried guns. Their stance was different from ordinary people. The dozen or so security guards didn’t dare to approach. Seeing that Lei Qing was picking up a stone and about to attack, everyone backed away in fear. But then Lei Qing, with a red face, shouted and smashed the stone against the car window.

A loud bang resonated. The car alarm blared again, but the quality of the window glass was indeed good, and there was barely a scratch. The stone bounced back to the ground, rolled twice, and hit Lei Qing’s right foot.

“Ow!”

A heart-wrenching cry of pain came from the crowd. Lei Qing clutched his right foot and hopped around. Then he sat down on the ground in pain. The double blow to his mind and body finally elicited a painful and wronged cry from the crowd.

“This is my car!”

“He’s crying…”

“Poor child…”

Outside the crowd, the two girls looked at each other, then hugged each other and burst into laughter…

*****************************************

“Why did you leave me behind? I don’t care, you owe me an explanation…” An old car slowly drove down the road. Ya Han, dressed in a white leisure outfit, sat in the driver’s seat, a carefree smile on her lips. She was driving and talking on the phone.

“I saw Dongfang Wan.”

“Huh?”

“She was hiding behind a flower bed at the cafe, spying on us. That woman… last time she saw Lingjing and Sha Sha being too close on the street, she spread rumors everywhere about them being lesbians…”

“I thought so too.”

“Haha, they’re bisexual… anyway, it’s safer to be separated. But you knew to drive off yourself without me reminding you, your reflexes are pretty good.”

“We’re in sync! What do you mean, in sync… Never mind, there’s a lot of traffic here. Where are you now?”

“Bei Dao Coffee, heading towards Renmin Road intersection.”

“Ok, I’m just turning towards your direction. We’ll meet at the intersection.”

She hung up the phone. A moment later, Jia Ming reached the intersection. The familiar car turned a corner and stopped next to him. Ya Han opened the door and gave him a bright smile, “Get in.”

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