Xia Lei brushed past the plants as he walked out of the study. His right hand touched the leaves, as if he was just patting them, but the devices he had thrown in there earlier were in his hand again when he retracted it. This was also why he had excused himself earlier. He had to retrieve the things from the plant.

Cold-faced bodyguards stood in the living room and their gazes all went to Xia Lei when he appeared. Xia Lei smiled and greeted them. “Hello guys.”

No one responded. The bodyguards just looked at him dispassionately.

Xia Lei didn’t think much of it and walked out of Ahn Retreat.

As soon as he stepped out, one of the bodyguards in the living room said, “Who’s that idiot?”

“Seems to be an underling of that Chinese female chairman. I hear the Young Master hates him,” said another bodyguard.

“He’s just an idiot. I can beat him up for Young Master anytime,” said someone.

Xia Lei’s buffoon act had made even the bodyguards look down on him.

He spoke into the button as he walked. “I’ve confirmed the location of the item. Access is not difficult, just that getting that punk’s fingerprints may be a little troublesome.”

Tang Bo-Chuan’s voice came from over the receiver, “Ahn Geungan will be holding a banquet and he’s going to discuss the groundbreaking ceremony with Shentu Tian-Yin. We’re guessing that Shentu Tian-Yin will leave Korea after the ceremony, so we have to act tonight. Find some way to get close to Ahn Suhyeong and get his fingerprints.”

“He used all five of his fingers on the right hand, not just one,” said Xia Lei in reminder.

“Then get the fingerprints from all five digits,” came Tang Bo-Chuan’s voice, “You think of a way to get out. I’ll get you the things you need.”

Xia Lei smiled wryly. “Okay, I’ll come out now.”

He came to the main door a few minutes later. The gate-guard did not stop him but he went over to chat. “Excuse me, is there a supermarket close by? I’d like to buy some chewing gum.”

The gate guard shook his head to show that he did not understand.

Xia Lei shrugged and walked out himself.

The gate guard scolded him behind his back. “Idiot from China. Chinese evolved from Korean but he doesn’t know Korean*. An idiot’s an idiot.”

Xia Lei heard him and he felt the skin on his back crawl but he did not show any outward reaction and kept walking.

A motorcycle approached at a moderate speed. The rider had a helmet on which covered the head completely but Xia Lei still saw the face hidden within - it was Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang had a black plastic bag in his hand and he followed the pedestrian walkway, heading towards Xia Lei. They passed each other in the blink of an eye, and the black plastic bag was transferred to Xia Lei’s hand.

Both of them were expert thieves and had quick hands. There was no way to see their movements clearly even if one stood next to them and watched.

The motorcycle brushed past and went on its way. Xia Lei put the plastic bag in his clothing and walked for a few steps more before turning back.

“Forget it, I’m not going to buy chewing gum anymore. There aren’t any supermarkets close by.” Xia Lei chattered to the gate guard. “Isn’t Korea very advanced? How can there be no supermarket in this place? Is this some sort of countryside?”

The gate guard shook his head to indicate that he did not understand. After Xia Lei entered, he uttered one more line of ‘idiot’.

Back in his room, Xia Lei opened up the black plastic bag. Inside were two bottles of special glue - one red, one blue. There was also a note which read: The red can be used to collect the target’s fingerprints. The blue stabilises the collected fingerprints. Remember - the red glue can only hold for ten minutes. You need to stabillise it within nine minutes of getting the fingerprints, and you’ll have an hour to make your move.

Xia Lei read the note and burnt it after reading. He sprayed his right palm with the red glue. It felt like he had just washed his hand and not sticky like glue at all. There was no visible difference either.

‘Is this glue really useable? I have to try it on someone, or we’ll be in trouble when mistakes are made’ thought Xia Lei. He was not actually worried about the effectiveness of this liquid-based fingerprint collection method, but worried that it would be discovered by Ahn Suhyeong.

Xia Lei opened the door, went to the door of Fu Ming-Mei’s room and knocked with his left hand.

“Who is it?” came Fu Ming-Mei’s voice from the room. She did not seem to be in a rush to open the door.

Xia Lei’s left eye twitched and the door disappeared. Fu Ming-Mei was in the room, putting on a set of red underwear next to the bed. She had not one stitch of clothing on her yet and her bent waist and leg posture bared all about her body. Her hair was still wet; evidence that she had just finished showering.

Xia Lei stopped using his X-ray vision and a small sheepish smile appeared on his lips though he gave himself an excuse. ‘She sure took a long time to shower.’

Fu Ming-Mei got dressed quickly and she was done in under five minutes. She opened the door and saw Xia Lei standing outside. “What is it? Eh, and why is your face so red?”

“Nothing. I just want to test your reaction,” said Xia Lei.

“What are you talking about?” Fu Ming-Mei looked quizzically at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei suddenly threw a slap at her face.

Fu Ming-Mei’s automatic reaction was to block his hand but he did not hit her face. His hand suddenly changed directions and grabbed hold of her hand.

Xia Lei grasped her hand firmly, then released it as he said with a laugh, “You react very quickly. Ok, there’s nothing else. You go do what you need to do.” He turned and walked off after he was done talking.

Fu Ming-Mei paused, still in a daze till Xia Lei returned to his room. She then said, “Pervert! Using this method to touch my hand. I’ll smash your hand next time!”

In his room, Xia Lei sprayed the blue glue on his right hand. The two liquids had a chemical reaction when put together and he could clearly see the fingerprints on his right hand change rapidly, including the lines on his palm. It was amazing. This was not the glue changing his fingerprints but the solidifying of Fu Ming-Mei’s fingerprints.

‘Fu Ming-Mei is an experienced, professional bodyguard and should be much more alert than Ahn Suhyeong. If she didn’t detect me taking her fingerprints then Ahn Suhyeong wouldn’t either.’ The results of the test were satisfying and it made Xia Lei feel more assured.

He used the rest of the time to prepare for the mission at night.

Xia Lei did not receive any invitation to the banquet that night; he had been labelled as a non-important subordinate. This didn’t faze him, however. He found the special accommodations Ahn Suhyeong had given Shentu Tian-Yin before the banquet begun. He didn’t care about banquets or things like that but he knew that he just had to hang around Shentu Tian-Yin and Ahn Suhyeong would appear.

Shentu Tian-Yin had already put on her makeup when Xia Lei arrived, and she had changed into a black evening dress too. This was matched with a pair of silver high heels in her unchanging cool style.

“What’s wrong with you today, Lei?” Shentu Tian-Yin looked at Xia Lei, a touch of dissatisfaction between her brows.

“What do you mean?” Xia Lei didn’t know what she was referring to.

The corners of Shentu Tian-Yin’s lips turned downwards. “You were speaking humbly in front of Ahn Suhyeong and didn’t get angry at him for all those slights. I don’t understand why you’re doing this. You should be a proud man. You’re not any less than Ahn Suhyeong, so why are you debasing yourself? You make me...”

Xia Lei understood what she meant immediately, and he felt uncomfortable. “You mean me acting lower than him is making you look bad?”

Shentu Tian-Yin seemed to sense Xia Lei’s displeasure and followed up with an explanation, “No, I don’t mean that. I mean...”

Xia Lei cut her off. “Never mind, no need to explain. I believe you don’t mean it either. Maybe I’m being too respectful.”

Things like these didn’t need explanations and became more awkward with explanations.

Shentu Tian-Yin looked at Xia Lei and made to say something, but didn’t. The atmosphere in the room became rather awkward.

She liked Xia Lei, she knew this well, but people change, especially when faced with too many options. In the darkest times in her life, Xia Lei had appeared like a dark knight on a tall brilliant steed, going through danger for her and keeping her safe. He was her hero, her knight on a white horse. But now, this feeling was fading away, and Xia Lei had presented himself so poorly today...

People were like this. When left with no choice and hunger, even tree bark could be eaten but when presented with a buffet day in and day out, and even better dishes, would one still want to gnaw on tree bark anymore?

There was also some psychological activity going on in Xia Lei’s head and he laughed wryly to himself. ‘Fu Ming-Mei said she gives her suitors points. She must have given me a very low score today because of how I behaved, huh?’

He didn’t mind. He was not going to put his feelings easily into any relationship after experiencing Liang Si-Yao’s betrayal. Furthermore, he didn’t have very much choice either.

They were both outstanding people with strong personalities. Would it be easy for them to be together and grow old together?

Knock-knock-knock, knocking came from the door, followed by Ahn Suhyeong’s voice. “Are you ready, Tian-Yin? Can I come in?”

Xia Lei smiled. “Mr Ahn sure is polite and elegant.”

Shentu Tian-Yin spoke evenly, “Could you get the door for me?”

“Nn.” Xia Lei seemed to return to his debased attitude and turned to open the door for Ahn Suhyeong.

Shentu Tian-Yin’s brows wrinkled and doubt surfaced in her. ‘Is he doing it on purpose?’

Xia Lei went to the door and swiftly took out the red bottle and sprayed his right hand with his back to Shentu Tian-Yin. He went to the door and opened it with his left hand.

The suited-up Ahn Suhyeong saw that the person opening the door was Xia Lei and the smile on his face vanished. This punk was hanging on like the spirit of the deceased!

“Hello, Mr Ahn.” Xia Lei stretched his hand out to Ahn Suhyeong, intending to hold his hand.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“What are you doing here?” said Ahn Suhyeong in displeasure. He had no intention of shaking hands with Xia Lei.

Xia Lei retracted his hand awkwardly. “I came over because I was bored. I hear there’s a banquet tonight?”

Ahn Suhyeong scoffed. “What, you didn’t get an invitation?”