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𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Xia Lei felt rather awkward when he saw Tang Yuyan and didn’t know what to say.

Tang Yuyan, on the other hand, seemed fairly open-minded about it and smiled as she said, “Congratulations. Shentu Tianyin is a great woman. You’ll find happiness if you’re with her.”

She said all that but hurt lingered behind her veneer of acceptance.

“Thank you.” Xia Lei was not too willing to discuss the matter of his engagement with Shentu Tianyin. He moved on to another topic after greeting Tang Yuyan and showed her to a seat. “Right, Boss Shi said that you’re bringing something. Let me see it.”

Tang Yuyan handed a document envelope to Xia Lei.

Xia Lei took out the contents of the envelope - some photographs and a document.

The photographs were of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the world-famous Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was the site of the tomb of Jesus and a sacred place to Christians.

Jerusalem was a place of worship for three major religions; Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Jerusalem also had the Jewish Wailing Wall and the Islamic Dome of the Rock, both representatives of holy sites of the religions. However, the photographs in the document envelope did not have pictures of the Wailing Wall or the Dome of the Rock.

‘Is the third treasure location in Jerusalem?’ this thought popped up in Xia Lei’s mind.

It was. He read the document and it said: The compass pointed to the depths of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There is no passage in. The holy site cannot be desecrated and there is no way to excavate. We have gone through all our available solutions and tried all we could but nothing worked. The mission is in stagnation. Support requested.

The document also described the solutions they had come up with and the methods they had used, as well as some of the situation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The contents of this document served to tell the higher-ups that they had tried their very best but were unable to progress.

True - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was sacred ground for Christians, the place where Jesus was buried - how could they allow excavation to take place there?

This was not a problem which could be solved with money or a country’s power. It was a problem of faith, and the power of money paled in comparison.

Tang Yuyan stared quietly at Xia Lei as he looked through the contents of the envelope, thinking about something.

Xia Lei finished reading the document and put it and the photographs back in the envelope, then handed it to Tang Yuyan.

“Done?” Tang Yuyan broke the silence between them.

Xia Lei nodded. “Done. It is quite troublesome.”

“Why did you suddenly propose to Shentu Tianyin?” This was Tang Yuyan’s second question. Her train of thought sure changed tracks quickly.

Xia Lei laughed sheepishly. “I thought you were going to ask my opinion on the expedition - why ask about this?”

“Just asking. You can not tell me if you want,” said Tang Yuyan.

Xia Lei smiled wryly. “When Ahn Suhyeong proposed to Shentu Tianyin all of a sudden, I didn’t know what happened either... I just... proposed.”

“Shentu Tianyin probably said that she would accept Ahn Suhyeong’s proposal if you didn’t propose to her, huh?” said Tang Yuyan.

Xia Lei was flabbergasted. She could actually guess something like this! He did not talk about it because he did not want Tang Yuyan to think that Shentu Tianyin schemed this but she’d unexpectedly guessed it all.

“Looks like she did say that.” Tang Yuyan lifted a corner of her mouth in a tiny smile. “She’s a smart woman indeed, using Ahn Suhyeong as leverage to get to you. You’re such a good boy too - you complied just like that?”

Xia Lei laughed dryly. “Don’t say it like that. I proposed to her because I do like her. I wouldn’t have proposed otherwise.”

Xia Lei didn’t care if Shentu Tianyin used people and if she schemed - he only cared that he did like her.

Honestly, if a reason had to be found, then it was Shentu Tianyin’s tears. Her tears had melted his steely exterior and awakened his feelings for her. This also made him realise that he had her in his heart all along and the seeds of love had been planted long ago.

Tang Yuyan shrugged. “Then I’m saying too much. Whatever it is, the two of you are already together. I give you two my blessings.”

Xia Lei smiled. “Thank you.”

“All right, let’s get down to business.” Tang Yuyan changed the topic. “You’ve seen the report and the photographs. What do you think?”

Xia Lei shook his head. “It’s a no-go. If it’s really buried below the church then there’s no way we can excavate. That place is sacred ground for Christians and Christians all around the globe would be hopping mad if anyone disturbed that place. Don’t even talk about the Christians - international public opinion will be so great that you’d drown in it.”

“You have no solution either?”

“None.” After a pause, Xia Lei added, “But just looking at these photographs and this report is not enough for me to make an analysis. I might be able to see something different if I go.”

“You want to go to Jerusalem?” Tang Yuyan looked at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei was quiet for a bit before saying, “The higher-ups handed the alloy and bronze book research project to me. Progress has been dismal. I need more leads. If there really isn’t a way to excavate the third treasure location then I’ll probably not have any result for my research either. This is why I want to go take a look, even if it’s very dangerous.”

“Good, then I’ll notify the high-ups. We’ll go to Jerusalem if they agree,” said Tang Yuyan.

“You’re leaving? So soon?” said Xia Lei.

Tang Yuyan quirked her lips in a smile. “I’m meeting with an engaged man now. I don’t want Shentu Tianyin to be mistaken. That’s it, then. I’m going back to HQ.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

Xia Lei sent Tang Yuyan off and he went out of the office building and to the area where the new factory was being built. It was a little awkward when meeting Tang Yuyan face-to-face and talking about his engagement to Shentu Tianyin. And Annina... it was beyond awkward. He did not know how he was going to bring this up with her, and even less about how he should interact with her.

She had followed him wholeheartedly, doing things for him and sleeping with him - and now he was engaged to another woman. There was no way a woman was going to accept something like this, no matter what the reason.

Xia Lei found Annina in the new workshop. She was fixing an XL2500 sniper rifle with reported problems. Annina was engrossed in her work and did not sense Xia Lei’s arrival. The work ethic of Germans was known worldwide and she was no exception; everything else took a backseat in her mind when she entered work mode.

Annina’s assistant spotted Xia Lei and informed her.

Annina then looked up at Xia Lei with a dazzling smile.

This smile, this lack of negativity, was sincere. Xia Lei was bewildered. Did this mean that she didn’t know?

“Busy?” Xia Lei said in awkward greeting.

Annina’s assistant was a quick thinker and ran off after greeting Xia Lei.

“This shipment of 100 guns is to be sent to Argentina. This one here has a problem so I’m fixing it,” said Annina.

“Mm, good work.” Xia Lei abruptly felt like his mouth was saying stupid things and didn’t know what to say next.

Some things were embarrassing just thinking about them. To talk about it and face it required courage and technique.

Annina laughed and said, “You’re being weird today. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Uh...” Xia Lei still couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Let’s go out for a stroll,” said Annina. “I’ve been in here for hours and my waist hurts.”

Xia Lei nodded and went out of the new workshop with Annina.

The sun was shining brightly and the green hillside behind the factory was painted in gold. The gold-tinted scenery was like a painting and fairly pleasant to look at.

The two of them followed a leaf-covered path to the hill. Neither of them spoke as they walked.

Just walking like this let Xia Lei realise that Annina must know about him and Shentu Tianyin getting engaged, otherwise she would be chattering on like her usual bubbly self.

Xia Lei stopped in his tracks under a tree. “Annina, I...”

Annina abruptly let out a laugh. “I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up but you haven’t. All right, I’ll say it. Someone told me about you and Shentu Tianyin yesterday. You two are engaged. I saw the news on television last night too. Honestly, I was quite hurt in the beginning but I’ve thought it through now.”

Xia Lei could not speak up after that and he silently wondered how she was feeling. He could not tell if Annina was happy or hurt - the smile on her face seemed real, yet a great cover for her pain at the same time.

Annina punched him lightly. “I know you’ve never truly loved me from the time we met in Germany to now. You’re just pitying me when you’re with me. But I really like you and I want to be with you even though I know you’ll never truly love me. I told you that I am am ’intuitionist’, right? I don’t care about anything else other than how I feel. You’re engaged to Shentu Tianyin now, so it’s time for me to wake up too. Don’t worry about me - I’ll adjust soon. I still have my dream even though I don’t have you. It’s now time for me to focus all of my attentions on my dream.”

This was ‘intuitionism’. This was Annina. Women from different cultures were different indeed. Women of the West were more free and easy with their feelings than women of the East, and were able to let go when needed; they would not be hung up about it. They also didn’t see love and marriage as the most important thing in their lives.

“Thank you.” The thousands of words he wanted to say were condensed into these two words. Two sincere words.

Annina pouted and smiled, then turned towards the hill.

“Where are you going?” asked Xia Lei curiously.

“You’re going to be someone else’s husband soon. You should have a bachelor’s party before that, right? I want to give you a special bachelor’s party,” said Annina.

Xia Lei was speechless.

“Plus, you promised to help me realise my dream. Before that though, you have to fulfil my needs. Other men don’t appeal to me.” Annina seemed earnest.

Small beads of perspiration appeared on Xia Lei’s forehead. What sort of breakup was this?

Before he could speak, Annina grabbed him by the hand and started running towards the hill.

“I know a place where the grass is particularly soft, just like carpet.”

Xia Lei was speechless.