Chapter 129: Thought

“Naoko, you seem a bit off today. Are you feeling unwell?” Kawai Mari, wearing frameless glasses and sporting short hair, reached out to touch Naoko’s forehead.

“I’m fine. Maybe I just didn’t sleep well last night. Here’s the translation draft you asked for this week.” Naoko handed her a file.

After receiving the file, Mari looked at her with a hint of concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Seeing the worry in her eyes, Naoko smiled and replied, “I’m really fine. Also, can you give me a few more drafts to take with me?”

“Are you in need of money lately? This is the third time this week you’ve come to ask for drafts.” Mari raised her head to look at her.

“No, it’s just that I’ve had some free time recently and wanted to find something to do. Whether or not I get paid for the drafts doesn’t really matter.”

“Did your boyfriend not come to keep you company?” Mari asked after a moment of thought.

“He had some things to take care of, so he went out of town.”

Mari examined her face carefully and suddenly asked, “Naoko, tell me the truth. Did that guy break up with you? If so, you don’t need to be upset over someone like that.”

Naoko gently shook her head. “It’s not like that. He really had some important matters to attend to, so he had to leave for a while. He promised me he would come back.” She instinctively clenched her fists as she spoke.

Seeing her determined expression, Mari didn’t say anything more.

“There are still a lot of drafts that need translating, so I’ll grab a few more for you later. By the way, the essays you wrote last time were really popular with readers. The editor-in-chief wants you to continue with them, and I was just about to let you know. Would you be interested?” Mari suddenly remembered something and brought it up.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” Naoko agreed with a nod.

Looking at the time, Mari said, “You haven’t had dinner yet, right? Wait for me, I’ll finish up and then we can go out to eat.”

Naoko nodded in agreement.

Just as Mari walked away, two men approached.

“Hello, I’m Watanabe Koichi, Mari’s colleague,” said a man wearing glasses as he introduced himself.

“Hello, I’m Hasegawa Naoko, Mari’s college classmate.”

“Hello, Ms. Hasegawa. I’m Hirose Sekiaki, also a colleague of Mari’s,” said the younger man with a smile.

“Hello,” Naoko nodded at him.

The two men had already been eyeing her when Naoko first entered the editorial office, and now that Mari had walked away, they quickly seized the opportunity to talk to the beautiful woman.

As the two men spoke enthusiastically, Mari’s cold laugh suddenly echoed from behind, “I knew you two perverts would be looking for an opportunity to flirt.”

“Mari, you’re back so soon,” Hirose said with a forced smile.

“Of course, you two didn’t want me to come back so soon,” Mari replied sarcastically. “Naoko, let’s go.” She took Naoko’s hand and started to walk away.

“Ms. Hasegawa, Mari, how about letting us treat you to dinner tonight?” Watanabe quickly caught up and suggested.

“Yes, yes, it’s rare for Ms. Hasegawa to be here. Let us treat you to dinner,” Hirose quickly chimed in.

“Well, since you’ve offered,” Mari said with a sly smile.

Seeing the smile on Mari’s face, the two men instantly felt a chill run down their spines. They had forgotten about the witch in their midst.

“Since they’re so eager to treat us, let’s give them some face, right Naoko?” Mari said.

“But…” Naoko hesitated slightly.

“Yes, since even Mari is saying so, Ms. Hasegawa should go,” Watanabe Koichi, eager to invite the beautiful woman, decided to drop all pretense.

After some persuasion from Mari and the two men, Naoko finally agreed. The two men were so excited that they almost howled with joy.

Mari agreed to join them because she could tell that Naoko was feeling down. She still believed that it was that man, Gennai Masashi, who had abandoned her, which had caused her current state. Having worked with the two men for a while, Mari knew they were only talk and no action. She allowed them to join just to lighten the atmosphere.

At the restaurant, the two men kept looking for chances to talk to Naoko, while Mari unusually didn’t interrupt, quietly eating her food.

“Ms. Hasegawa, your ring is beautiful. Was it a gift from your boyfriend?” Hirose casually asked after noticing the ring on Naoko’s hand.

“Yes, it’s a couple’s ring. He has one too,” Naoko said, lovingly caressing the ring.

Hearing her answer, the two men’s expressions suddenly turned awkward. It only just occurred to them that they hadn’t even asked if she had a boyfriend.

Seeing their expressions, Mari couldn’t help but laugh. She turned to look at Naoko and noticed that her face seemed strange. She couldn’t help but ask, “Naoko, what’s wrong?”

“Sorry, I need to go to the restroom,” Naoko stood up and walked toward the restroom.

Watching her hurried steps, Mari’s expression became thoughtful.

It had been over a month, and he still hadn’t returned, not even a phone call. Could it be…

Naoko shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the unlucky thought.

Lei, please be okay, please don’t be in trouble…

A moment later, Naoko wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with a tissue and slowly walked out of the restroom.

※※※

Facing the two ordinary-looking men in front of him, Chang’an set his teacup down.

“Is this the deal you’re offering?”

“Yes, as long as you return all the data, we guarantee we won’t cause you any more trouble,” one of the men said.

Chang’an sneered. “Guarantee? Do you really think your so-called guarantee is believable? We already have nearly two hundred dead at your hands. And now you come to me with conditions?”

“Mr. Shen, don’t go too far. The people who’ve died at your hands are no fewer than ours. Do you really want to continue this unwinnable war?” the other man couldn’t help but speak out.

“Indeed, no gang could ever fight a country, let alone a strong nation like yours. But don’t forget, this started because you provoked us. We were just defending ourselves. Honestly, I don’t care about anything anymore. I’m actually curious—if I make the data I have public, how much of a stir it would cause. You’re always claiming to be the most human rights-conscious country, right?”

At his words, the two men’s faces immediately changed.

“Mr. Shen, I apologize for my colleague’s attitude. Our superior truly wants to reconcile with you. We hope you’ll seriously consider our proposal,” the first man immediately apologized to Chang’an.

“There’s nothing to consider. My request is simple: as long as the two sides don’t interfere with each other, that’s enough. People around the world rely on our company to make a living every day. Unless absolutely necessary, we don’t want any direct conflict with you. I will return the data to you, but how and when we do so, we can discuss it at another time. I can assure you that, as long as you don’t come harassing us again, the data will not be leaked. Sorry, I’m a bit tired, so you two should head back first,” Chang’an said coldly.

“In that case, we’ll take our leave,” the two men exchanged glances before standing up.

“No need to see you off.” With that, Chang’an turned and left the room, leaving the two awkwardly standing there.

As they walked to the car, one of the men angrily kicked the side of the white car. “Damn it, I really want to kill that arrogant bastard.”

“Shut up. You almost screwed things up just now. If this doesn’t go well, none of us will get away with it,” the other man shot him a glare before opening the car door.

The angry man sulked and got in the car.

“I really don’t understand why the higher-ups want to compromise with this guy. He’s just a gang leader, why lower ourselves to him?” After getting into the car, the man muttered in frustration.

“You haven’t seen their data, so there’s a lot you don’t know. They’re not as simple as you think. You think those hundreds of people who died at their hands were just small-time criminals? Wrong. They were all part of the crazy bunch we saw in District C. Especially now that they have that data, if it leaks, the consequences are unimaginable. So next time, use your brain when you do things.”

Chang’an, watching the car drive away from the window, turned around and asked the men in suits standing behind him, “Where is your boss?”

“He’s at the bar,” one of the men replied.

Chang’an sighed inwardly. “Take me to him now.”

“Yes, Mr. Shen.”

※※※

In the noisy bar, a blonde man in his thirties, slightly drunk, stared at the striptease performance on stage. Compared to the young girl performing on stage, the woman sitting beside him as his drinking companion was unappetizing. Aside from her large breasts, her thighs were thicker than his waist, and there was a strange body odor emanating from her.

After his fifth drink, he finally couldn’t hold back. He shoved the woman aside and walked to the bar, shouting loudly, “Have all the beautiful women here disappeared? Why is there not a single decent-looking one? They’re all pigs.”

The bartender, dressed in a suit, glanced at him before responding, “Sorry, sir, tonight all the pretty girls have been taken by one guest. Even the one performing on stage—once she’s done, she’ll be going to that guest.”

“What? Who’s the freak?” the man snapped.

“Sorry, I don’t know. If you don’t need anything else, I’ll get back to work.” The bartender, uninterested, lowered his head to polish a glass.

“Damn it, what’s your attitude? Do you think I can’t pay the bill? Where’s your boss? I’ll have him fire you immediately,” the man fumed, feeling disrespected.

Having seen enough drunkards who act out when they’re only a bit tipsy, the bartender didn’t even lift his head as he continued polishing a glass.

Though furious, the man didn’t dare take a swing at the bartender. It wasn’t his first time out, and he knew that starting a fight in places like this would only end badly for him.

As he cursed under his breath while backing away, he suddenly bumped into someone. Turning around, ready to lash out at the person, he froze when he saw several large, bodyguard-like men standing next to him. Immediately, he swallowed his anger and held his tongue.

The middle-aged man who had bumped into him didn’t even look his way, walking past him with his own group of men following closely behind.

“Good evening, Mr. Shen,” a few men at the door of a large private room greeted, bowing as they saw Chang’an.

“Open the door.”

“But, sir, the boss is—”

“I told you to open the door,” Chang’an said in a low voice.

The bodyguard didn’t dare say more and immediately opened the door.

As Chang’an entered, the dim room revealed a lineup of women dressed in revealing outfits. In the center of the room, two naked women were embracing each other, touching and moaning. Behind them, on a large sofa, a young man was sitting, sipping his drink, lazily watching the women’s performance.

Without saying a word, Chang’an turned on the light by the wall. The blinding light immediately caused the two women on the floor to scream and scramble to their feet.

“Everyone, get out,” Chang’an said coldly.

The women, recognizing the presence of these men and realizing that tonight’s guest was no ordinary person, wasted no time leaving the room. Within two minutes, the large room was empty, except for the two men.

After the door was shut, Chang’an sat down beside Lei Li.

“Where is everyone? Damn it, where did they all go?” Lei Li, already half-drunk, shouted, confused by the absence of any women around him.

“Little Lei, stop drinking, your injury isn’t healed yet,” Chang’an said, taking the bottle of liquor from his hands.

“Ah, it’s you… Chang’an, why are you here?” Lei Li looked up and recognized the man before him.

“Let’s go, we’re going back.” Chang’an pulled him up.

“No, I… I still want to drink. Give me the bottle…” Lei Li reached out to snatch the liquor bottle from Chang’an.

“If master saw you like this, he’d be very angry.” After a brief pause, Chang’an said quietly.

At those words, Lei Li’s body stiffened. After a moment, he shrugged off Chang’an’s hand and slowly sat back down on the sofa, head lowered.

“Little Lei, you need to pull yourself together,” Chang’an said sternly.

“Chang’an, it’s my fault that master died. If it wasn’t to save me, he wouldn’t have…,” Lei Li finally spoke after a long silence, his voice filled with guilt.

“Did you forget? Master is immortal. I believe it won’t be long before he is reborn to see us again.” Chang’an gently patted his shoulder.

“How long is that? Ten years? Twenty years? Or until we’ve all died?” Lei Li said bitterly, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.

“Little Lei!” Chang’an called out sharply, his tone firm.

“Chang’an… I want to see master…” Lei Li covered his face and began to cry.