Xia Lei spent the whole day sorting through the information he got from Jack and Lockheed Martin. With all the hours placed into it, he was barely a quarter done. This was already a relatively decent speed. If it were to be someone else, their progress would be less than one per cent.

Sadly, there was no specialized printer catered to replicating brainwaves. If that had existed, things would be easier.

“This is not it. I’m too slow. I need to sieve through it and only keep valuable information. The others need to be discarded.” Xia Lei thought to himself.

His initial plan was to sort everything and leave his knowledge to the use of Thunder Horse’s research team and technicians. But the time it took was enough for him to discard the thought. At this rate, he would’ve needed a few months to record everything in his brain physically and the Thunder Horse personnel would need a longer time to study its contents. Xia Lei was running out of time and he was not keen on waiting.

“Maybe I should just research this myself and produce Thunder Horse’s first drone. After I’m done with the framework, all they need to do is assemble it according to my instructions. They’ll probably be able to learn relevant information and techniques in the process.” An idea manifested itself in Xia Lei’s mind.

What Thunder Horse Organization needed now was not an elite team but a hero that could dictate the direction of the era!

Perhaps the idea of working on the drone himself and the word ‘hero’ had triggered something in the depths of his mind. The strong urge to take the drone project into his own hands and prompted his brain to switch into a whole new mode.

It was something unprecedented.

The Predator B, Global Eagle, F35 and all the technologies he had seen in Lockheed Martin during his time in America along with the spare part production lines and design plans from Jack’s computer flooded out like a tsunami. His brain went into work, separating the image into its components with numbers and detailed diagrams.

It was as if his brain was bustling with multiple researchers, each of them the sweet combination of a scientist and an engineer. Not only were they knowledgeable in their expertise, but they also worked in perfect unison. They calculated everything and deduced everything, they were putting together an unmanned aircraft like never before!

It was mysterious but crazily amazing, it was unbelievable.

Xia Lei’s intention was merely a thought. All of these had happened in his brain without his control. It all happened naturally.

He felt as if his brain had gotten an upgrade!

Ring... Ring...

In all of a sudden, Xia Lei’s thoughts were interrupted by his ringtone. The sudden interjection was met with an excited smile. Within that short time of experimentation, he was confident that he had found another use for his super brain. He no longer needed to instruct his brain to execute tasks specifically. All he needed to do was feed it the information and let it run on its own. With that, his brain was able to complete tasks faster and with terrifying precision!

With this new feature, Xia Lei was certain that Thunder Horse Organization would be having its first drone very soon!

How terrifying would the combination of a handful of ‘researchers and engineers’ with uniform standards and incredible productivity be? This was a question that couldn’t be answered by anyone, Xia Lei included. Though Xia Lei was sure that the ‘researchers’ he had meant were his brain cells. That point alone was enough to cement his belief that his brain had gotten stronger than it was before.

Ring... Ring...

His phone rang again, finally snapping Xia Lei out of his trance. But before he could answer it, the device had already gone silent.

Abruptly, Liang Siyao’s voice roared from downstairs. “Old Xia! It’s time for dinner!”

Xia Lei exited his office and leaned against the railing. He lowered his chin and immediately found Liang Siyao.

The winter skies had darkened prematurely. Under the weak illumination of the streetlamps, Liang Siyao’s body still looked plump and gorgeous as ever. Her black suit and pants set had highlighted her wonderful curves. The woman had come to urge Xia Lei home for dinner with her apron on!

“Come on, everyone is waiting for you.” Liang Siyao’s voice boomed. It was only natural because she was screaming for him from the ground.

But her volume had not only summoned Xia Lei but also the entirety of the employees working in the office building. Everyone’s attention was on the sister disciple. Some people were envious, some people ogled her long legs and some stared at her proud-standing chest.

“Did you hear that? CEO Liang is already calling Director Xia Old Xia. When is the wedding banquet happening?”

“We’re not deaf. Of course, we heard that. Why are you so confident that Director Xia would invite you to his wedding? He doesn’t need your money. He’s the one paying your salary.”

[Note: It’s common practice in Chinese society, especially among working adults, to chip in a certain amount for a wedding you’re invited to.]

“Hehehehe, this is great news! It’s a happy occasion! This is...”

“Bro, are you out of your mind?”

“Isn’t Director Xia’s fiancee that Officer Fan? Would CEO Liang get into trouble with such a display? I can’t believe this but I’m actually worried about her.”

“There is nothing to worry about. Look at Director Xia. He is in a league of his own. If he can’t handle that, is he even worthy of being our idol? Yesterday, when I went to drop off some files to Director Xia, I caught sight of CEO Liang and Officer Fan sitting on top of his thigh through the gaps of his window. And his hands were...”

“What the fuck?! Why are you grabbing my ass?! Are you insane?!”

“Hahaha...”

Under much noise and laughter, Xia Lei exited the office building and studied his surroundings. He yelled, “You all seem free. Do you want to work overtime?”

Whoosh!

All the busybodies and curious spectators disappeared into the depths of the office.

“Jeez, I think I need to stop going easy on them,” grumbled Xia Lei to himself. He walked towards Liang Siyao and pulled her hand towards the gate.

Liang Siyao was ultimately unfazed by the extra attention. She said, “Ruyi says she’s not coming tonight.”

“That’s alright. When she visits next time, try to advise her to resign and consider working for Thunder Horse instead,” commented Xia Lei.

“Sure, I’ll do that when she visits.” Liang Siyao said, “She’s pregnant too. I’m sure she’ll consider your words when her baby begins to develop. I’ll continue to convince her.”

Jiang Ruyi had gotten pregnant before she was married. Working at the police station with a pregnant belly was bound to garner her some unwanted gossip. It was completely possible for her to give up on the job and come live with them in Jingdu. Her situation was different from that of Long Bing’s. Long Bing had treated her job like her lifeline while Jiang Ruyi was not as headstrong about it.

Long Bing had arrived as promised. She was dressed differently, opting to wear a red skirt with some winter stockings underneath and a white blazer coat to top it all off. The woman looked positively feminine and chic.

Xia Lei flashed her a smile. “Ah Bing, it’s a surprise to see you dressed like this today.”

Long Bing replied, “Do I look bad?”

“No, not at all. You look great like this,” commented Xia Lei.

Long Bing giggled bashfully. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere. Sister Fan Fan and Siyao look better than me in skirts.”

Fan Fan retorted, “I think you and Siyao look better than me in skirts.”

Liang Siyao argued, “You both are the ones that look better with skirts.”

The three women continued to push compliments back and forth. However, Xia Lei decided that he had enough of their banter. “None of you look good in skirts. I’m the one that looks best in it.”

The three women spluttered and burst into laughter.

“Let’s dig in,” said Fan Fan.

The four of them sat around the dining table with delicious food and fragrant wine present. His eyes had them and their eyes had reflections of him. Their eyes hooked onto one another, forming a net out of intertwining red strings of fate that trapped the hearts of the man and his women.

This was what home was like.

And this was love. Love was simple.

“Ah Bing, what were Boss Shi and Tang Yuyan’s decision?” Xia Lei brought up the question as they dined.

“They...” Long Bing hesitated, but relented anyway, “After some careful consideration, they decided to let me on the mission.”

A frown immediately formed between Xia Lei’s brows. “I already made it clear to Boss Shi that I don’t want you to get involved in such a dangerous mission. Is he not planning to leave me any face?”

Xia Lei’s discomfort was strong after what happened to Long Bing earlier. That incident was like a thorn in his heart. His fondness towards Shi Boren was slowly fading away.

Long Bing replied, “Please don’t do that. I understand you’re just thinking on my behalf but I love this job. I’m willing to sacrifice my all for this country. That’s something you can’t change about me. Now that Siyao has left Bureau 101 and with Tang Yuyan as the leader, there is no suitable candidate left in the bureau to attend the mission. If I don’t go, who’s going to?”

Xia Lei retorted, “Isn’t there Tang Bochuan? He’s also a department head in Bureau 101. I think he’s more than capable of handling something like this.”

Long Bing fell silent, not wanting to continue their argument. She knew he was right. Bureau 101 had resources and she was not the only one capable of taking the job. Tang Bochuan had the credentials for the mission as well. Even if they did not select Tang Bochuan, there were still others that could fulfil the position.

“Hubby, how about we stop talking about that? You’re upsetting Long Bing,” interjected Liang Siyao with a smile.

“Let’s have some wine. Let’s do a toast for our family.” Fan Fan aided to shift the tension.

The four of them clinked their glasses.

Liang Siyao borrowed the proximity as she refilled Xia Lei’s glass. She whispered, “You know her temper. But I’m sure you can have the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team to protect her in the shadows.”

The man had been so preoccupied with everything that he had forgotten that the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team had nothing to do at the moment. Long Bing’s mission would be a great opportunity for them to exercise their muscles. Tsukino Kyoko was Japanese and she would be familiar with the environment. Having her aid Long Bing secretly wouldn’t be an issue.

Liang Siyao’s suggestion immediately eased Xia Lei’s anxiety. His mood visibly lightened up.

“Let’s have another glass. After that, let’s head to bed.”

The three of them looked at each other in silence

Fan Fan sheepishly uttered, “Hubby, we’re all pregnant. You need to control yourself.”

Liang Siyao added, “Yeah, please just put up with it.”

Long Bing replied, “Even though I just found out, I still need to be careful. So it’s a hard pass from me.”

Xia Lei had nothing to say.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Had they all formed a pact before this?