Xia Lei’s home.

“You say that the person who tried to kidnap your sister and stabbed your bodyguard is named Danny?” Long Bing gave Xia Lei an odd look. “How do you know this?”

“I stole Gu Ke-Wu’s phone at the banquet and used it to call Danny to confirm his identity,” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing then said to Ke Jie, who was standing in the doorway, “Go. Investigate this person - I want all the information on him.”

Ke Jie nodded and went out the door.

“That guy’s no simple man; he escaped capture in under five minutes. He’s very dangerous and he has to die,” said Long Bing.

“I might have killed him off if you’d let me have the sniper rifle. When am I getting a gun?” said Xia Lei.

“Join Bureau 101 officially and you’ll get one; any one you like.”

Xia Lei smiled wryly and didn’t ask for a gun again.

“Right, when did you discover that sniper? That Danny you’re talking about.” Long Bing looked quietly at Xia Lei.

“Just my intuition, and... my eyesight’s pretty good. I can make out a lot of things in the dark and I can see further than normal. We met in Macau because of this,” said Xia Lei.

Xia Lei knew Long Bing was no fool. She could guess that he could see further than normal even without him saying it, otherwise there was no way he’d have been able to see the sniper. It was better to tell her some hazy truth than other bits of logic in this situation.

“How far can you see?”

Xia Lei thought for a bit. “About a few hundred metres. I can see very far if there’s something reflective; something like a sniper’s scope lens.”

An explanation like this made sense. There was no lack of light in an urban environment and there was a possibility that light would reflect off a scope lens and that he would see it by coincidence.

Long Bing was quiet for a bit before saying, “Being able to process high-precision parts already proves that your eyesight is better than the norm. Maybe you should test your eyesight and see its limits.”

Xia Lei shrugged. “I don’t want to become a lab rat. Let’s not talk about my vision. How about that other matter?”

He could not avoid the speculation of others but he could prevent them from understanding his power. It was simple - no one could force him to do anything he didn’t want. He could actually see over four thousand metres away but he could just tell Long Bing that he could not see at around fifty metres and there was no way she could prove him wrong.

“I spoke with Boss Shi about your proposal and he discussed it with the higher-ups. The higher-ups are willing to give you 500 million, no returns needed. But they want a 50% share.” Long Bing turned the conversation to business.

“And land?” asked Xia Lei.

“6.67 hectares, in a suburban area. They can give it to you too but if you don’t have the money, they want 20% more shares. That means a total of 70% in shares,” said Long Bing.

Xia Lei chuckled. “They sure know how to calculate stuff. If they hold 70% of the shares they’re sure to send a supervisor. And that supervisor will have greater authority than me. I’d have to report to him and if something goes wrong I’ll have to take the blame for it, right?”

“I don’t know the details. I’m not a businessman and I’m not familiar with this. I only know that you’ll get 30% without having to come up with a single cent - that’s a win. Be content. Boss Shi says that if you agree, we’ll go to Jing-Du tomorrow to sign the contract,” said Long Bing.

“Tell Boss Shi I don’t want a loan and I don’t want anyone’s money. I have money. The land doesn’t have to be free either - I’ll pay for it. It’s my company and I don’t want anyone else having a hand in my business,” said Xia Lei.

“Setting up a company like that and the purchase of land and other expenses are impossible to even think about if you don’t have at least 700 to 800 million. Where did you get this money from?” said Long Bing in surprise.

Xia Lei grinned. “Got it in a gambling game against Gu Ding-Shan.”

Long BIng glared at Xia Lei. “Wasn’t that fake money? And it’s been confiscated by the police too.”

“The real money was moved somewhere else,” said Xia Lei.

“I wouldn’t have stepped in to save you if I knew. I should’ve let the police arrest you,” said Long Bing with distaste.

“Gu Ding-Shan colluded with Macau’s Gambling King, He Jia-Ying, to set me up. Why shouldn’t I eat the meat offered up to me? I won their money and they reported it to the police. Who’s going to bother about me if I’d lost?” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing was quiet for a bit before she said, “I’ll pretend not to know about this. How are you going to explain this if Boss Shi or someone else asks you about it?”

Xia Lei laughed. “I borrowed it from Shentu Tian-Yin. What, I can’t do that?”

“Fine. I’ll contact Boss Shi now. Get ready. We’re going to Jing-Du tomorrow. You’ll have to talk to him face-to-face about this sooner or later.” Long Bing stood and walked to the exit.

“It’s late. You can stay here, in Xia Xue’s room,” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing paused mid-walk, then opened the door and walked out.

As soon as Long Bing left, Annina stuck her head out of his room. “Lukas, we should talk about the plans.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

A faint fragrance hung in the air in the room. The lights seemed dim and they illuminated a tall German beauty. As for the plans, they sat on the bedside table but their existence paled in comparison.

Annina had a sweet smile on her face. She lay on the bed, looking soft and supple. She said nothing but her silence was a very loud hint - he should come over and have a deep talk about those plans.

Xia Lei went over and sat next to her. He took a breath and said softly, “Annina, there are some things I don’t know if I should say, but... I don’t know if I can give you the love or the happy ending you want. Us doing this may be a mistake. We...”

Annina lifted her arm and pressed her index finger to Xia Lei’s lips. “You changed my life when you appeared. I am without a home now and I cannot tell what my future will be; I don’t want to think about it. I go by intuition-ism and I trust it. You are my angel. I can attain the happiness I need if I am with you. Like now. I’m very happy with you, very blissful. To me, this is enough.”

Intuition-ism? What the hell’s that? Xia Lei had no time to think more about it because he was being pulled down by Annina, down to drown in the deliciousness between her lips.

Annina had actually already used her body to explain what ‘intuition-ism’ was. What status? What future? These were all things which would mean nothing in the end and she didn’t care. She only cared for the now. She was happy when she was with Xia Lei, and comfortable. She had him to herself for now and this was enough.

Intuition-ism - this seemed to be the only standard to measure the quality of a lover.

Annina’s vigorous movements opened a rip in her pyjamas, exposing a large area of flesh.

“What the heck, I bought these just yesterday!” said Annina in annoyance.

Xia Lei held back his laughter. “Where did you get it from?”

“Taobao*. It was 20 yuan.” Annina frowned. “I’ve only worn it once - can I exchange it?”

“Exchange? When it’s just 20 yuan? I’ll buy you a new set next time. You don’t have experience buying on Taobao so you’ll easily end up buying products like this.” Xia Lei lectured her but felt rather gloomy inside. Why was she talking about 20-yuan pyjamas at a time like this?

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Annina, on the other hand, seemed happy and excited. “Then buy me those student uniforms, police uniforms... Oh, and the nurse outfits and warrior garb!”

Xia Lei felt more and more at a loss for words.

The 20-yuan pyjamas fell soundlessly to the floor, where it belonged.

Xia Lei felt like he had become something of an intuition-ist too under Annina’s influence.

---

Outside the gates of the neighbourhood, in a Hongqi car by the road.

“Chief Long.” Ke Jie delivered a military portable computer to Long Bing’s hands. “This is the information I’ve found on Danny.”

Long Bing looked at the display and a strange expression appeared on her face. “This...”

The screen displayed the case file of an eight-year-old, and this child was dead. The ‘Deceased’ label on the right corner of the file was particularly striking.

“This child was an orphan whom Gu Ding-Shan adopted twenty years ago. The child was four when he was adopted. Gu Ding-Shan rose quickly in the world afterwards and this child died mysteriously. The corpse was cremated in a local place. I called to inquire and there is a tombstone in the cemetery.”

Long Bing frowned, deep in thought.

“Chief Long, Xia Lei said the killer was Danny. How can a child who’s been dead for 16 years be the killer?” said Ke Jie, “He must be mistaken.”

“Gu Ke-Wu had Danny’s name on his phone. How can that be explained?” said Long Bing.

Ke Jie thought for a bit. “Maybe it’s a foreigner with the same name.”

Long Bing shook her head. “Gu Ding-Shan rose from the underworld and his hands are stained with blood. He’s never done the dirty work himself - he needs someone to do it for him. If a dead killer is doing it for him, then who can trace it back to him?”

“You mean...” Ke Jie said in surprise, “Gu Ding-Shan let the child ‘die’ on purpose while training him to be a cold-blooded killer in secret?”

“It’s just my guess.” Long Bing closed the portable computer. “Take two people to the cemetery. Dig up that child’s grave for a look.”

“And if there are bones?”

“Then take samples and do a DNA test.” Long Bing’s eyes were cold.

How dare this person try to kill Xia Lei right in front of her! He must die, no matter who he was!

*Taobao - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taobao