In the dining room.

  Xu Youning pulled up a chair and sat at the dining table; A Hong served her a bowl of aromatic noodles not long after.

  She picked up her chopsticks and smiled at A Hong. “Thank you.”


  A Hong went blank and then hastened to wave her hands. “You’re welcome! I appreciate it.”


  That surprised Xu Youning. She bit her chopsticks and asked in bewilderment, “I was just saying thank you. Did that make you nervous? Why?”


  A Hong’s voice faltered. “.…… Because you’re different from what I thought.”


  “.…… What do you think of me?” Xu Youning felt curious. It made her wonder why A Hong said that, since they had never met before.

  A Hong thought for a while before answering, “Usually, Ah Sen tells us what to do when Mr. Kang wants something. But just now, Mr. Kang himself came and asked me to cook a bowl of noodles for you. He said you like it. So I thought that you were as noble as him, and that you wouldn’t say much to us, let alone say thanks……”


  With that, A Hong looked at Xu Youning with uneasiness. To her surprise, she saw Xu Youning’s smiling eyes. Then she breathed a sigh of relief.

  Xu Youning waved her chopsticks in the air. “Actually, I like to get along with others in a way that both feel easy. I dislike behaving in front of the so-called upper-class or things like that.”


  A Hong was clever enough to figure out what Xu Youning meant, and at the same time, it left a favorable impression of Xu Youning.

  Compared to the others in that house, the easygoing Xu Youning was like an angel.

  A Hong nodded with a smile. “Please enjoy your meal. I’ll clear the table later.”


  “All right.”


  Xu Youning watched A Hong’s back as she left. From her gait and movements, she could tell that she was an ordinary maid.

  She thought that there would be no need for her to be wary of A Hong, like she did when dealing with Xue Zhaoqing.

  With that, Xu Youning looked relieved. She handled the chopsticks to have her first taste of the noodles, but paused when she saw Kang Ruicheng walking downstairs.

  Kang Ruicheng walked up behind Xu Youning. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders and said, “Are the noodles to your taste? I had them cooked just for you.”


  “It’s delicious.” With that, Xu Youning took a big mouthful of noodles and grinned. “Thank you.”


  “You little fool.” Kang Ruicheng brushed a lock of hair from Xu Youning’s cheek and tucked it behind her ear, with his fingers touching her face faintly.

  Xu Youning didn’t show her antagonism to him at all, and her cheeks even became hotter.

  Noticing that, Kang Ruicheng bent down with satisfaction to approach Xu Youning. “Remember this. Never say thank you to me in the future.”


  Xu Youning turned her head with a blushing face and gave Kang Ruicheng a gentle look. “Mm.”


  “Take your time.” Kang Ruicheng blew his warm breath to Xu Youning’s neck. “Go to bed early after your meal. Tomorrow, our fight against Mu Sijue will start.”


  “Okay. I’ll do as you wish!”


  With that, Xu Youning took another big mouthful of noodles and gulped them.

  Only by doing that could she keep herself from thinking how close Kang Ruicheng was to her, and calm down her quailing and nearly stiff body.

  Within minutes, Xu Youning finished the bowl of noodles. She stood up to naturally get rid of Kang Ruicheng’s hands, then she turned around and faced him with a relaxed look. “I’m going back to my room.”


  Kang Ruicheng gazed at Xu Youning with obsession in his eyes, instead of the ever-present cold and bloodthirsty look.

  Xu Youning had a good-looking oval face with nearly perfect facial proportions, although her features were not as stunning as Su Jianan’s. In his eyes, she was like the pretty girl next door.

  Most of the time, her appearance had helped a lot with her missions.

  Kang Ruicheng noticed her advantage when he first took Xu Youning under his command. Back then, he decided to mold her into a lethal weapon that was ready at his disposal, and he had succeeded.

  After all those years of training, besides a pretty face, Xu Youning also developed a unique female personality, even learning how to show her different kinds of charm in the face of different people.

  Although she was aware of everything, people would think that she had scant experience in life by appearing to be innocent, just as she was looking at him with naive eyes at that moment. That would provoke a sudden impulse to protect her.

  However, Kang Ruicheng preferred seeing Xu Youning glow in front of him, instead of wanting to protecting her.

  “A Ning……” Kang Ruicheng’s voice sounded hoarse, as if it had been mangled, while he was looking right into Xu Youning’s eyes with deep feelings.

  Unexpectedly, Mu Sijue’s face came to Xu Youning’s mind.

  At that moment, she was looking at a man who was obsessed with her. However, another man was in her mind, whose eyes looked deeper than the starless night sky and could even melt her down whenever he was enamored of her.

  She missed Mu Sijue.

  Kang Ruicheng could no longer control himself. He reached out to hold Xu Youning in his arms, then he bowed his head and kissed her neck.

  He kissed passionately without scruples. He blew his hot breath to Xu Youning’s skin while hugging her harder……

  She instantly knew what he wanted.

  Xu Youning clenched her fists silently, but she didn’t resist.

  She repeatedly thought to herself, “Don’t shiver. You can’t tremble. Never give yourself away in front of Kang Ruicheng.”


  Kang Ruicheng was immersed in his plundering kisses. He thought that Xu Youning was willing to be kissed since she didn’t refuse it, then he released her and carried her in his arms. “Let’s go to your room.”


  Xu Youning turned her head to bury her face in Kang Ruicheng’s chest, appearing to be shy.

  She recalled the moment when Mu Sijue had carried her in his arms for the first time.

  Back then, she was deeply in love with Mu Sijue, and she couldn’t wait to stay in his arms to feel his unique scent.

  However, she wanted to keep herself thousands of miles away from Kang Ruicheng, although he was carrying her right then, in the same way as Mu Sijue had done. Except for the odor of cigarette smoke, she couldn’t feel any unique smell from Kang Ruicheng.

  “Perhaps it’s true that you can smell his unique scent when you fall in love with someone.”


  Xu Youning could only repeatedly think to herself, “I will be fine if we’re in the room. It will be all right……”


  Kang Ruicheng strode in a hurry with Xu Youning in his arms. Before long, he reached the room. As soon as he closed the door, he couldn’t wait to press her against it. He gazed at her with his burning eyes and whispered, “A Ning……”


  Without waiting for Xu Youning to reply, he kissed her neck again.

  Xu Youning closed her eyes and counted down from ten to one, then she suddenly placed her palms against Kang Ruicheng’s chest and shook her head.

  Kang Ruicheng was first stunned and then confused. He looked up at Xu Youning and asked, “What’s wrong?”


  “I…… I miss my grandma.” With that, Xu Youning got rid of Kang Ruicheng’s arms and bowed her head. “I’m sorry…… but I can’t…… can’t…… do other things…… before avenging her.”


  “Shh—” Kang Ruicheng gently touched Xu Youning’s lips with his forefinger to shush her. “It’s my fault. I almost forgot that. I promise you I’ll wait. I won’t force you.”


  Xu Youning gave Kang Ruicheng a hug. “You told me never to say thank you. That’s all I can do.”


  Kang Ruicheng patted Xu Youning’s back with a smile. “Go to bed. I’ll stay here with you. I’m not leaving until you fall asleep.”


  “Don’t bother,” Xu Youning said, “I’ll be fine. Just get back to your business.”


  Kang Ruicheng still wanted to stay there, without expecting that Ah Sen would call him at that moment. Ah Sen told him on the phone that there was something urgent for him to deal with.

  After hanging up, Kang Ruicheng looked at Xu Youning helplessly to show his apology. “I have to leave now.”


  “Mm.” Xu Youning smiled gracefully. “Take care of yourself. Good night.”


  “Good night.” Kang Ruicheng kissed Xu Youning’s forehead and turned to leave.

  Xu Youning leaned against the door frame like a gecko, smiling faintly as she watched Kang Ruicheng leave. She didn’t go back into the room until he was out of her sight.

  After closing the door, she let out a long sigh of relief.

  During the day, she could pretend to hate Mu Sijue and adore Kang Ruicheng, or things like that. She could treat it all as a play and do well in acting without striking a blow.

  However, she wasn’t sure if she would reveal herself when she was asleep…… If she dreamed of Mu Sijue as she had done in the day and called his name, all her efforts would have been in vain.

  To her relief, Kang Ruicheng left after receiving Ah Sen’s call.

  Xu Youning didn’t want to sleep. She seated herself on the sofa in the room, looking out the window. Suddenly, she recalled the night view of City G.

  She had always been rushing around in the small hours ever since she had worked undercover. As a result, the night view of City G had been engraved in her mind. She clearly remembered the moments when she had been in the same car with Mu Sijue passing by the river. Back then, the night view along the riverside was the brightest scenery she had ever seen in her life.

  Xu Youning had a sudden urge to go back to City G, but she couldn’t. Then she took out a phone that couldn’t be tracked and called Ah Guang.

  Ah Guang answered the phone after two rings, but he didn’t utter a word. Xu Youning was also silent for a long time.

  After a while, Ah Guang said softly, “Sister Youning.”


  Xu Youning laughed. “How do you know it’s me?”


  Ah Guang chuckled and pretended to be relaxed. “I knew it the moment my phone rang!” After a long pause, he asked with caution, “Did you…… go back?”


  “Yes.” Xu Youning grabbed her phone. “I’m back.”


  “So…… are you happy now?” Ah Guang hesitated to ask, as if he wasn’t looking forward to her answer.

  Xu Youning laughed even louder. “I finally got rid of Mu Sijue. Of course I’m happy!”


  “.…… That’s good.”


  Ah Guang didn’t say anything else. After all, Mu Sijue had wanted her to spend those days happily when he decided to let go of her.

  Xu Youning didn’t realize that there was hidden meaning in Ah Guang’s words. She simply asked, “Mu Sijue asked you to catch me, didn’t he?”


  “.……” It was a play directed by Mu Sijue.

  Mu Sijue knew that Xu Youning would escape. He asked his men to catch her because he wanted her to know that she couldn’t have easily escaped.

  However, Ah Guang couldn’t tell her the truth. He only said, “He did ask us to catch you. But all those guys had a good relationship with you, so they didn’t try their best. Seventh Brother is not aware of this.”


  “Seventh……” Realizing that “Seventh Brother” might sound too affectionate, Xu Youning immediately corrected herself. “How is Mu Sijue?”


  Xu Youning knew that she shouldn’t have asked that question.

  However, she couldn’t help herself.

  She couldn’t help asking about Mu Sijue to know whether he was doing fine, whether he had been affected by her departure……

  She still had expectations of him.