Hidden Assassin 279

Lingjing took out a new notebook and used a ruler to draw a line on it. Then, she wrote a list of detailed accounts. Her classmate finished her homework, stretched, and leaned over: “Writing your account book again?”

“Yeah,” Lingjing smiled, “I used up the last one.”

“Your household income and expenditure book, huh?” Her classmate rested her chin on her hand, looking at Lingjing with admiration, “I’ve seen you doing this since high school started. You’ve been doing it consistently for two years. If I didn’t know you were a student, I’d think you were already married.”

At first, everyone thought she was keeping track of expenses for her family. Later, the rumors spread that she and two friends were living together outside of school, one of them even a boy. This was considered shocking at the time.

Lingjing was one of the most outstanding girls in the class. Although her appearance might not be the most beautiful, she had been with Jia Ming for so long that she naturally developed a unique aura of innocence mixed with maturity. Compared to other girls her age who were carefree and oblivious to the world, this aura undoubtedly made her the most attractive presence in the class, attracting the attention of many boys.

Under these circumstances, her cohabitation became the hottest topic of discussion. However, Lingjing was always frank and open about this lifestyle. Everyone knew that she, Jia Ming, and Sha Sha were close friends who had known each other since childhood. So, they subconsciously thought the best of it. After all, in everyone’s eyes, Jia Ming, with his nasty and reclusive personality, was definitely not worthy of a girl like Lingjing. Later, the impact of the matter was minimized, even though there were various rumors circulating, they naturally couldn’t affect Lingjing.

“Heheh,” Lingjing smiled and smoothed the hair by her ear, “It’s better to have a plan when we live together. Actually, I often helped my mom with this in middle school.”

“I know you’re a good wife material,” her classmate smiled at her, dreaming aloud, “I wonder who will marry you in the future… Oh right, what’s it like living with a boy? I think Gu Jia Ming is so lazy. He always copies homework and just sleeps in class.”

Hearing people talk about Jia Ming’s bad behavior, Lingjing couldn’t help but laugh. “Hehehe… Living with a boy, he’s more reliable in crucial moments. He does the heavy lifting, and if something unexpected happens, he has a better head for it. It’s a division of labor, you know. Why else would we live together?” She tapped her notebook and turned the page.

“So how do you guys divide things? Do you take turns cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes?” Driven by her gossipy spirit, her classmate continued to lean over. Lingjing pushed her back a bit, drawing in her notebook while casually answering, “Whoever has time does it. But Sha Sha doesn’t know how to cook. She does more cleaning and washing clothes… What’s wrong, Xiao Li? Are you a paparazzi?”

“Just curious,” the classmate with freckles and plain features smiled, then narrowed her eyes mysteriously, “You guys take turns washing clothes, right? Do you wash each other’s underwear?”

“There’s nothing to…” Lingjing bit her pen, answering casually, then pushed the other girl away laughing after a while, “Alright, I’m not talking to you anymore. If you’re so curious, why don’t you find a man to live with? You’ll have to wash all your underwear then. Unless you get sick, I don’t see any man helping you wash your underwear…” Not wanting to deal with this gossipy girl, Lingjing started recording yesterday’s purchases: one carp, one can of peanuts…

“So if Gu Jia Ming doesn’t help you with washing, it means he’s a pervert. You and Liu Huai Sha need to be careful…” the gossipy girl continued.

Lingjing didn’t mind: “We’ve been playing together since we were kids. I know better than him if he’s a pervert.” Besides, even if he were a pervert, Jia Ming would do it directly to her and Sha Sha. Sha Sha loved to come up with all sorts of messy “new tricks,” and she always wanted to drag her in too… Of course, she couldn’t say this out loud. Thinking about it, her face involuntarily flushed, and her pen mechanically recorded yesterday’s expenses.

Xiao Li felt extremely unhappy about a beautiful girl like this falling into the hands of someone like Gu Jia Ming: “At this rate, I think Gu Jia Ming will become your husband.”

“That would be good too,” the carefree beauty answered casually, infuriating the gossipy girl who was worried about her. In her heart, she thought Lingjing was joking: They were still high school students. Who could talk about marriage so lightly? She was about to say something when she saw a figure flash by the door. Zhang, the school discipline witch, walked in.

Her mature and beautiful features were frozen into a serious expression. Her professional dress, stockings, high heels, dull rimless glasses, and long hair tied up in a bun—if you were a fan of many H-games, such a woman would be a supremely attractive object for discipline and punishment. But that’s only during discipline and punishment. If this image is just a malicious presence that could make you sweep the playground for 100 days at any time, then every time you see her, you probably only feel fear and trepidation.

Sitting up straight, Xiao Li frantically flipped open her notebook, praying that the other woman didn’t notice her previous chat with Lingjing. However, as the sound of “tap-tap-tap-tap” from the high heels got closer, Xiao Li lifted her eyelids and realized that Teacher Zhang was walking towards them.

Oh, no! Talking in class… Deduction of conduct points… Cleaning the classroom… Writing a self-criticism…

Several types of punishments swirled in her mind. Just talking, these punishments wouldn’t all be imposed, but one of them would. While thinking, Teacher Zhang’s steps stopped at her desk: “Ye Lingjing.”

“Yes…” she stood up timidly. After a moment, Xiao Li realized that Teacher Zhang wasn’t talking to her. She sat down with a bang, “Sorry…” She felt a bit ashamed at that moment. Ya Han and a few others looked at her strangely. When Lingjing stood up with a smile, Ya Han nodded, “Come with me.”

Throwing her account book into her desk, Lingjing pinched Xiao Li’s shoulder with a smile, then followed Ya Han out of the classroom. When they reached the hallway where no one could see them, Ya Han smiled, “What’s wrong with your classmate?”

“She’s been a bit off lately. Maybe she has a boyfriend…” Lingjing casually brushed it off, “Is there something you need, Ya Han Jie?”

“Oh, my stepmom’s birthday is in a few days. There’s a birthday banquet. Ye Ba and Ye Ma, if they’re free, come over for dinner. Also, Sha Sha, Liu Lao Da also wants to invite you, here are the invitations.” Opening her handbag, Ya Han took out six invitations and handed them to Lingjing, “Sunday, Guoyuan Grand Hotel, you, Sha Sha, and Jia Ming must come.”

“We will,” Lingjing smiled and nodded, “Will there be a lot of people? Should we wear formal attire, Jia Ming and I?”

“There will be quite a few people, but don’t be too formal. It’s not a Western meal. We’ll just eat together.” Ya Han smiled, reached out, and loosened the slightly messy hair at the back of Lingjing’s head. After straightening it, she tied it up again with a pink rubber band. “By the way, the incident with the Thai people, is it alright now?”

“Yeah. Jia Ming said there were people from the State Security Bureau involved. Basically, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

They both knew Jia Ming’s background, so they didn’t need to hide anything when talking about this. Regarding the Thai boxing incident a few days ago, after Jia Ming and the others left the police station, there was basically no further news about them. Under the force of Jia Ming’s slap, a Vietnamese teenager named Amlei suffered a concussion and a ruptured eardrum. He’d been in the hospital and hadn’t come out. Thailand and Vietnam had been protesting and negotiating through diplomatic channels. But China’s stance was also very firm. They brought out the surveillance footage from the police station. No matter what reason the other side protested with, China pushed back: “You dare to attack people in law enforcement? You’re the ones who are wrong. You deserve to be beaten to death.”

Amlei’s severe injuries were deemed an accident. As for Xi Liwang, he was detained for 48 hours before being released. Xiao Meng’s men spat on him. Afterward, the two men were almost beaten to death. They didn’t make any legal fuss. They just spread the word outside that they would chop these Thais to death. The impact of gangsters killing foreign friends was too bad. Yan Huang Jue Xing intervened through the Public Security Bureau, indirectly warning the Sha Zhu Gang not to act rashly. At the same time, in recent days, the Thai team had been staying at their hotel, with no one daring to go out alone.

This team of Vietnamese and Thai people included many hot-tempered individuals. They came from relatively chaotic countries. Fighting and killing were common. On the other hand, when they arrived in a larger neighboring country, they were also very conscious of their personal dignity. Amlei and Xi Liwang dared to attack in the police station, perhaps because of this feeling. The Thai boxing team that came this time had a group of mercenaries who had been through war. If it was just the Sha Zhu Gang, perhaps the two sides would have fought with guns blazing. But with Yan Huang Jue Xing watching, whatever they wanted to do, it would be impossible.

That’s why Jia Ming didn’t transform into Jian Suyan and kill everyone afterward. Although this would have solved everything once and for all, eliminating a lot of trouble, since Yan Huang Jue Xing was already controlling the situation in Jiang Hai, he had to consider their feelings after all.

The protests didn’t have much effect. It is said that Vietnam was preparing to bring Amlei back for treatment. Initially, it was assumed that Xi Liwang would also stop his martial arts trip and return home soon. Who knew that after being locked up in the police station for two days, it had ignited his anger, and he insisted on continuing his martial arts exchange with the Chinese side. It is said that in just a few days, several famous martial arts masters had been beaten into fractures and sent to the hospital. If this series of incidents had happened in America, it would have been sensationalized by the news. Unfortunately, this was in Jiang Hai. Besides some people in the circle who knew the situation, there was no news in the newspapers. It’s unknown what Xi Liwang’s expression would be if he knew this. In short, living incognito was undoubtedly frustrating.

While talking about the Thai boxing incident in the hallway, Sha Sha, wearing tight volleyball uniforms, was training with others in the sports hall room. With three steps of sprinting and jumping, her energetic ponytail whipped up, and with a bang, a powerful spike landed on the opposite court. Sparse applause and cheers rose. Sha Sha hugged her teammates and jumped in celebration.

This was purely an internal training session for the volleyball club. It was also class time, so naturally there weren’t many people watching. After the game, everyone wiped the sweat from their faces and exchanged experiences from the game. It was 4 pm. Soft clouds floated past the sky outside the sports hall.

“Sha Sha, Wang Chunhua from the baseball club asked me to ask if you’re interested in joining the baseball club,” a teammate sat down beside her on the bench, drinking water.

“The baseball club? When did I ever play baseball?”

“Didn’t you always bring a baseball bat to school in your first year? You’re good at all sports, so everyone guessed baseball was your strongest point.”

“Oh,” Sha Sha blinked. “That’s for fighting.” Later, she found out that Jia Ming was very good at it, so she stopped bringing the bat. However, before that, she considered herself a protector for Lingjing and Jia Ming. Later, she realized that Jia Ming didn’t need her protection at all. That period of her journey was truly heartbreaking to think back on. Jia Ming was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so annoying…

Lost in memories of that time, she didn’t notice the fearful yet admiring gazes of the girls around her. When she finally realized, someone patted her shoulder, “Sha Sha, someone’s looking for you… It’s Huang Haobing from Class 6.”

“Uh…” Hearing that Huang Haobing came to find her during class, Sha Sha couldn’t help but feel puzzled. They were considered childhood friends, after all. Although she used to beat up Huang Haobing back then, when everyone got a little older, Lingjing, Sha Sha, and Jia Ming became a small group. Huang Haobing, who used to bully Jia Ming, gradually became sensible. Everyone just… drifted apart. Over the years, they had known each other, but had never interacted. Seeing Huang Haobing, who looked completely deflated, waiting in the hallway outside, she stood up and walked over.

Since Huang Bingxiang was arrested, Huang Haobing’s spirits have been declining day by day. The once lively basketball boy now acted like he was dead in school every day. However, as she approached him, she realized that Huang Haobing’s eyes not only had dark circles, but one was also red, and his mouth had a split. It was obvious that he had been beaten. She tentatively called out: “Huang Haobing? What happened? Who beat you up?”

Having an excess of righteousness was always one of Sha Sha’s flaws. Even though she had no connection with Huang Haobing for years, they had known each other since childhood. Besides, Huang Haobing was Jia Ming’s cousin. In an instant, she was ready to stand up for him. But Huang Haobing just shrunk his head slightly and touched his mouth and face wounds, “Nothing… I actually came to see you… I have something to ask you…”

“Don’t talk, come with me.” Huang Haobing was much taller than Sha Sha, but at that moment, Sha Sha patted his shoulder, as if he was a buddy, and took him to the club room not far away. It was the room for her five-member club that she had requested on a whim, but no activities had ever been held there. Now that Xu Yiting and Dongfang Wan hung out together, the club was essentially nonexistent. It was only used to store some things and serve as a temporary rest room for Sha Sha and the others at school.

Letting Huang Haobing sit in the room, Sha Sha took a towel, filled a basin with water and placed it beside him: “Wipe the injured area. I’ll get the medicine cabinet.”

They didn’t have much contact in their daily lives, but Sha Sha’s familiar attitude at this moment made Huang Haobing feel a bit uneasy. After wiping the wounds on his face, Sha Sha had already brought out the medicine cabinet, placing iodine, cotton balls, and ointment in front of him. But Huang Haobing used to be the son of the provincial party secretary. Although he wasn’t a spoiled brat, he wasn’t familiar with these things. After a flurry of activity, Sha Sha stopped him from spilling iodine everywhere and carefully helped him apply it to the wound, then put on the ointment. While packing things, she asked, “What is it?”

“I… actually… I…” He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “I wanted to ask if you knew… knew Guang Ge from Su Hua District?”

“Guang Ge?” Sha Sha looked at him with a puzzled expression, “Who is that?”

“Uh, he’s… he’s also from the Sha Zhu Gang, right? Oh, some people call him Shen Shou Guang…”

“Sha Zhu Gang…” Sha Sha looked at him, “I don’t know much about Dad’s business. Guang Ge… I don’t have any impression. You… what’s going on? Did he beat you up?”

“No…” Huang Haobing lowered his head and hesitated for a long time, “Actually… I owe him some money. I wanted to… I’m not trying to default. I just… temporarily… maybe in a while…”

Sha Sha looked at him for a while and nodded slightly. She didn’t dare ask much about why Huang Haobing owed money. If Huang Bingxiang hadn’t been arrested, Huang Haobing wouldn’t have lacked money, no matter what. He would have had allowance every month even if the Huang family hadn’t fallen. However, his father was still under investigation, so he must be looking for ways to help. Huang Haobing didn’t have much concept of money before, but he wasn’t a very extravagant person either… Thinking about it, she nodded and stood up, “I understand. I’ll find a phone and ask for you.”

“I have one here,” Huang Haobing said quickly. Then, he took out a brick-like mobile phone from his pocket. In fact, there were already new models of mobile phones on the market. She had seen Huang Haobing’s previous phone before, but it wasn’t this one. He must have lost his phone already. He must have borrowed this one from someone before coming to ask Sha Sha for help.

“Su Hua District…” She murmured as she dialed a number. “Hello, Meng Shu, it’s Sha Sha… Hehehe, okay, Xiao Meng Ge, Xiao Meng Ge… Hmm, Jia Ming is fine. There’s something I want to ask you. Is there a Guang Ge in Su Hua District who’s in the gang? Someone called him Shen Shou Guang… Oh, he’s under Yang Shu… Okay, no need to bother, I’ll call him myself… Of course, I remember Yang Shu’s number…”

After hanging up the phone, she dialed another number, “Hello, Yang Shu… It’s Sha Sha… Hmm… It’s not about Dad’s business, hehehe, I’ll definitely go play when I have time… It’s like this, one of your subordinates, Guang Ge… No, he didn’t offend me, don’t scold him… It’s like this, I have a classmate, named Huang Haobing… Hmm, it’s him… We’ve been friends since we were kids, he’s Jia Ming’s cousin… You know about recent events, so that makes him Jia Ming’s family, right? He owes Guang Ge some money, but… Oh, oh, okay, okay… That’s all, thank you, Yang Shu, goodbye… I’ll definitely go see you, hehehe…”

Smiling and hanging up the phone, Sha Sha smiled and returned the phone to Huang Haobing, “Okay, it’s settled.”

“Th-thank you…” Huang Haobing nodded, feeling a bit awkward and touched. He was a proud person, so asking Sha Sha for help must have been difficult. After thanking her, he didn’t say much more before leaving with his phone. Sha Sha shouted behind him, “Don’t forget to change the dressing!”

Looking at Huang Haobing’s departing back, Sha Sha sat there and sighed softly. No matter what, the Huang family’s downfall saddened her. It was inappropriate to ask about Huang Haobing’s reason for borrowing money while he was there. Now that he left and took the phone with him, she remembered that she should have made another call to ask.

Call him after school…

She was too lazy to borrow someone else’s phone. Thinking this way, she had already forgotten about it after school. She immersed herself in the chaotic yet cozy world of the three of them. A few days passed, and she had completely forgotten about it…

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