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Hearing Yurong's usual guess, Li Yan couldn't help but laugh, "Wrong, there was no hero saving the beauty! No one was blackmailing the sports car-driving Yu Xiaodi. On the contrary, Yu Xiaodi was the one trying to blackmail me!"

These words surprised Zhang Yurong a bit, but she didn't ask and just waited for Li Yan's own explanation.

"That day..." Li Yan recalled, "I don't know if you remember, but when I was going downstairs with you in the elevator, the elevator malfunctioned. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, and we eventually climbed out."

Days when the elevator malfunctions are rare in a year, and it happened just when Li Yan was with her, only a few months ago. Hearing his reminder, Zhang Yurong could certainly remember, though she couldn't recall the exact date.

"Later, Huang Ying from the same department missed the bus, and she was in a hurry to get to the hospital, so I drove her there. When I was coming back, it was already dark. Near here, a sports car approached from afar. I gave way, but it intentionally crashed into me. It wasn't that serious, but the driver was clearly looking for trouble. After getting out of the car, they started cursing at me, and soon a group of young sports car drivers joined them, surrounding me and hurling insults."

"Was Yu Xiaodi among them?" Hearing Li Yan's narrative, Zhang Yurong found it hard to believe Yu Xiaodi would be such a person. Although she didn't like Yu Xiaodi, through a few interactions, she knew that Yu Xiaodi was quite well-behaved.

"Haha, not just among them, she was the one who crashed into me. You wouldn't recognize her then: her hair was styled like a hedgehog and fluffed up, and the color was as vibrant as a parrot's, which was later proven to be a wig. Her eyes had heavy smoky makeup, and her lips were painted with thick blue lipstick. Here, in the dim evening light, she looked like a ghost!"

Zhang Yurong widened her mouth in surprise; this was too exaggerated, wasn't it? It sounded like Li Yan was deliberately vilifying Yu Xiaodi to please her…

"Actually, they are all kids from wealthy families, normally quite proper, but sometimes they deliberately go out looking for excitement, and I just happened to be the one they hit. They deliberately caused trouble, looking for excuses to bully people, beat someone up, smash a car. Anyway, as long as no one died, it's just about losing a few thousand bucks to them. But when a bunch of spoiled kids caused trouble with me, I wasn't in the mood to just stand there and take a beating, so I fought back. And because it was one against many, I went a bit harder, and they weren't able to take it, so I intimidated them."

"What happened then?" Originally thinking it was a romantic hero saving the beauty which made Yu Xiaodi so fascinated, Zhang Yurong hadn't expected this was how Li Yan and Yu Xiaodi had met.

"Afterward, they ended up compensating me and I gave them a good scolding, then went home. But I didn't expect Yu Xiaodi to be so unconvinced. Not knowing where I lived, she actually had people wait here. The next day was the weekend, I think; my car had been scratched. Out of boredom, I drove it to be repaired. Passing through here, they recognized and followed me, then informed her. While the car was in repair, I went to a newly opened cinema to catch a movie and kill time.

During entry, on the elevator, I ran into a student-looking girl with thick glasses, like she was severely nearsighted. She accidentally bumped into me, dropping her things all over. I helped her pick them up. Later when seated in the theater, she coincidentally sat beside me. During the movie, she snacked nearby, then offered me a Coke. I didn't want it, but she insisted by offering me her milk instead. Out of courtesy, I chose the Coke, never expecting to be knocked out by it before the movie ended." Recalling those details, Li Yan also found it quite amusing as their acquaintance was utterly unconventional.

Zhang Yurong was again surprised, not expecting Yu Xiaodi to be so scheming, even managing to drug Li Yan!

"When I woke up, I was already… tied up in a hotel room." To avoid revealing too many secrets, Li Yan didn't mention the handcuffs. "You can imagine what happened next. The bizarre outfits and makeup weren't Yu Xiaodi's true appearance; the student girl with thick glasses wasn't her real appearance either. Those were disguises she used to get close to me, with the goal of capturing me.

Because she wanted to do it herself, after having me brought over, I was the only one there. Of course, I wasn't going to let her have her way, so I turned the tables on her. Oh right, back then she assumed I lived around here seeing my car, and thought I was some gigolo being kept by someone. Of course, after we grew familiar, she knew I wasn't, but then guessed I was just passing by. But at that time, she even took my phone and called you, said some suggestive things, and wanted to upset my boss."

Turns out it wasn't; Yu Xiaodi did it on purpose.

Li Yan's cigarette had long finished, "Haha, that's how I got to know her. Why she changed her attitude towards me was because just as I was leaving the hotel that day, a taxi's brakes failed and it came crashing directly. She was right behind me at that time, so as I dodged, I pulled her aside as well, basically saving her once. Later, she encountered more troubles, and I helped her again."

Zhang Yurong snorted lightly, "Hmph, honestly, it's still a hero saving the beauty! I wondered how you could attract her with just your looks or charm."

"..." Li Yan shrugged, "Actually, from the beginning I was upfront that I had a wife; perhaps she, like you, thought with my dumb looks and charm, plus having no money, I couldn't possibly have a wife, so she never really believed I was married. After getting involved more, she got caught up…"

After finishing, the two fell into silence. This was their first time discussing Yu Xiaodi. Previously, it had always been a topic avoided by both. But now that it was talked about, it didn't seem as hard to face as imagined. Instead, it felt like they both relaxed a bit.

"Let's go back!" Zhang Yurong said softly, "Your relationship with her, whatever it is, is none of my business. I'm just… just passing by and asked casually."

Really just casually? Li Yan didn't say it out loud and drove home.

...

Even on weekends, Yurong always has many things to deal with. She initially planned to go back after dinner yesterday but only returned today, causing some delays with her tasks. So, upon arriving home, she immediately headed to her home office to get busy.

Because Li Yan was recounting Yu Xiaodi's story, this time he didn't forget his promise to accompany Yu Xiaodi for a medical checkup. However, before he left, Yue Yao had already quietly entered his room.

Yue Yao wouldn't seek him out alone unless there was something special going on — she typically hints at things discreetly when she finds spare moments. Although Zhang Yurong was in the office at that time, Yue Yao went directly to him.

"Queen, has something happened?" Li Yan gestured for her to sit down.

Yue Yao came holding a laptop, so even if Zhang Yurong noticed, she could use the excuse of needing him to fix the computer or something similar, but she also had a purpose for having it.

"There's a business deal that might require your intervention." Yue Yao opened the laptop, displaying a page she had already prepared.

Li Yan moved next to her, "No problem, tell me the details."

Their business is mainly handled by Yue Yao under the alias Queen, responsible for contacting and arranging assignments. Even Li Yan's tasks, under his alias King, are also audited and arranged by her. Generally, only the most challenging S-level tasks require the direct involvement of King. The assassins within 'their' ranks classified as Gun, Blade, and Fist Level can easily handle C, B, and A-Class tasks.

S-level tasks are naturally incredibly difficult and come with hefty paychecks. Though such assignments don't appear every day, sometimes they are so scarce that it's normal to have one every few months. But S-level tasks are rarely privately arranged; they are usually posted through agency platforms where the highest permission is required, unreachable to ordinary assassins or organizations. Just like 'them', if it weren't for King's achievements and reputation, others wouldn't qualify to accept S-level tasks. Li Yan initially gained access to S-level tasks only after completing a series of A-Class tasks under the name of King.

Of course, because of having King, 'their' organization now qualifies. Queen is the representative of 'them'.

"There's a person seeking refuge as many want to kill him, and now, many people are pooling money for an S-level task to protect his life!"

Listening to Yue Yao's words, Li Yan knew there must be more to the story. They are assassins, not bodyguards. If someone is seeking high-priced protection, they should be looking for top bodyguards, not hiring for assassination tasks.

Assassins and bodyguards — one is the spear, the other is the shield.

When someone needs a shield for protection but goes to find a spear, there must be a reason.

"They surely hired bodyguards separately but posted a task for assassins to kill those who aim to take him down!" Yue Yao continued.

Li Yan frowned slightly: "Hiring assassins to counter assassins?"

Using assassins against assassins resembles a strategy of using poison to fight poison, but it's not a healthy approach, and many assassins reject such tasks. From some perspectives, it's like spending money to have assassins fight each other.

"No, the ones attempting to kill the target this time come from a group. This group isn't an assassin organization, and now they hired assassins to eliminate these people…"

Without waiting for her to finish, Li Yan had a realization and directly asked, "International agents?"

Capabilities to issue a high-value S-level task for the most elite assassins to clear a target, reducing threat.

"Exactly."

"Hehe, I'm now kind of interested in knowing who this person is."

Li Yan joked, looking at the page Yue Yao opened.

(Today is the fourth chapter, striving for the fifth chapter! Seeking monthly pass support!) (To be continued — to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)

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