Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

It seemed he had been young and reckless back then, acting without considering the consequences. He had drawn not only the assassins but also the people from the mysterious investigation bureau—all because he had been bored with nothing to do and used his ability.

"It was because of that?" Yang Mo was somewhat incredulous.

"Yes, just because of that. Later, when I learned about it, out of consideration for your relationship with Zhao Ying, I told them not to come after you anymore," Wang Yanqiu explained.

Yang Xu was caught between laughter and tears. He had thought some formidable force was targeting him, never imagining it was all because of a little misunderstanding.

"All right, I've told you everything about me." Wang Yanqiu gritted her teeth and said, "I have one more request. As long as you agree, I'll be your lover from now on. You can do whatever you want with me."

Whatever he wanted? Yang Ce's thoughts immediately began to wander. Ever since Lan Ling left, Yang Ce hadn't played any games for a long time. Lin Yanhe was the conservative type, Chen Shutang the shy type. Xiao Qing was mature but also very traditional. Sun Jie was a sly little fox, but that girl was too hard to conquer—forget training her, she might not even give her heart fully to him. As for Huang Yan, she was bold but silly and pure, and Yang Shuoxuan couldn't bring himself to make her too wanton. But Wang Yanqiu, this fierce little thing—she could be cultivated with special attention.

So when Wang Yanqiu threw out that tempting request, Yang Ce's heart was moved—truly moved, and moved deeply at that. Still, Yang Shuoxuan wasn't so hot-headed as to agree on the spot.

This girl was no fool; she had her precondition sitting right there. Yang Ce decided to hear her terms first. "What request? Let's hear it. But—really, anything goes?"

"If you agree, then it's all up to you." Wang Yanqiu's face flushed slightly, her pearly teeth clenched. "I want you to join my assassin organization and be my partner."

"Join your assassin organization?" Yang Ce hadn't expected this to be Wang Yanqiu's request. Before this, Yang Shuoxuan had wanted to join the organization, in order to figure out why someone had been targeting him.

Because Yang Ce suspected someone had hired the Black Widow assassin organization to deal with him. He wanted to find the person behind it, but never expected things to be so complicated—the reason the Black Widow had come after him was merely an unintentional little friction.

Now that he knew the whole story, there was no need for Yang Shuoxuan to join the Black Widow assassin organization anymore. But at this moment Wang Yanqiu's proposal was indeed very tempting, and besides, the two of them were kindred spirits—they should have plenty of common topics.

Yang Mo sometimes felt very lonely too. As an assassin, apart from Fang Tian, he couldn't share this identity with anyone—even Su Ya only half-understood it and didn't know the whole picture.

He couldn't share this secret even with his own women, which made Yang Ce very uncomfortable. But Wang Yanqiu's appearance solved this problem nicely—the things he couldn't say to Chen Shutang, Lin Yanhe, and the others, he could talk about with Wang Yanqiu.

It just so happened that he lacked experience too; joining the Black Widow assassin ring for some training wouldn't be bad. Yang Ce hesitated for a moment, then made his decision. "Joining your organization is possible, but I have principles. Although I've killed many people, these people were basically all deserving of death. So when taking on missions, I have the right to choose whether to go or not."

"OK, deal." After hearing this, Wang Yanqiu agreed without even thinking, then smiled and extended her hand to Yang Ce. "Welcome aboard."

Yang Ce reached out in astonishment and shook hands with Wang Yanqiu. Holding her soft, boneless little hand, he felt a little itch in his heart. But at this moment, Yang Ce didn't quite understand Wang Yanqiu's readiness. "Deal just like that? Aren't you going to consider the terms I mentioned?"

"Your principles are about the same as mine, so there's no need for me to consider them." Wang Yanqiu laughed. "Besides, we're partners now—if you don't want to take a mission, could I force you?"

"Is that so?" Yang Xu then smiled with relief. "Maybe from these few encounters, you've more or less gotten a sense of my character. I'm never soft on villains, but toward innocent people, I really can't bring myself to do it."

Wang Yanqiu nodded, recalling Yang Ce's behavior in Macau—it really did match those words. The Yang Ce who had been fighting her just now—how was he anything like that ruthlessly murderous fellow from Macau?

Wang Yanqiu asked herself whether she could shoot someone dead and then, without a change in expression, calmly and methodically go about other arrangements. Yang Ji was like that, yet toward her he was somewhat different. She had provoked Yang Ce several times, and apart from taking her to bed, Yang Ce hadn't done anything else to her. And to say Yang Ce had taken her to bed—it was more like the two of them had half-yielded, half-consented.

"Here's to a happy collaboration." Wang Yanqiu said with a smile. The gloom from before was swept away, and her resentment toward Yang Juehuan vanished without a trace. Wang Yanqiu suddenly felt full of hope for her future life—if Yang Ce could help her build the Black Widow assassin ring into something strong and great, that wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

"Let's practice a few more rounds in bed first. Partners need great chemistry, and I think we can cultivate our chemistry very well in bed." Yang Ce chuckled.

"You—why are you so incorrigible?" Wang Yanqiu's face flushed slightly, though she couldn't deny that this was the best way to deepen their relationship.

"Hungry? Let's find a place to eat something." After a whole night of tossing about, it was time for breakfast.

To be continued

954. A Bowl of Noodles

"Now that you mention it, I really am a bit hungry." Wang Yanqiu nodded.

"I'll take you to eat something good." Yang Heng smiled and said mysteriously.

"What is it?" Wang Yanqiu asked. "It's not something disgusting like stinky tofu, is it? If it is, I'll kill you."

"Of course not." Yang Ce was taken aback. "I don't eat that stuff either. I'm taking you to a place that serves Anhui beef board noodles."

"Ah?" Wang Yanqiu immediately said, "Is it that place you went to with Sister Zhao Ying?"

"How do you know?" Yang Mo was a little surprised.

"Sister Zhao Ying told me. She said the noodles there are delicious. I wanted to go, but never had the chance, so it got put off," Wang Yanqiu said.

Yang Xu nodded. "Their noodles really are authentic. I haven't eaten there since."

"Great, then let's hurry." Wang Yanqiu touched her belly. "I'm starving."

Now that the truth of their identities had come out, much of the distance between them had melted away, and they had become partners. Wang Yanqiu no longer bothered to glare and bristle at Yan; without realizing it, she had slipped back into her cute, domineering self.

Still, Wang Yanqiu did not think she would ever fall in love with Yang Ce. A lover did not necessarily require love. Yang Ce needed her as his lover, and she needed Yang Ce's help to revive the assassin group.

All in all, the deal seemed fairly even—at the very least, she was not losing out. As for what came after, she would simply have to take it one step at a time.

It had been a long time since Yang Yongjin had come to the snack street behind the school, and the place brought high school memories flooding back. Li Dagang was doing rather well for himself these days; from what he said, he had learned just about everything there was to learn and was simply waiting for Hou Lin's company to launch before jumping ship.