“Brother Cheng,” He Du spoke through the noise of mahjong tiles being shuffled in the distance. “The Shadow League has accepted our latest order. This time, they’re going for the market price.”


  Cheng Yan was surprised by this unexpected development. He hadn’t even figured out why they had charged them so outrageously just a while ago, and now this. “All right, got it,” he said wryly.

  On the other end of the line, He Duclicked his tongue and sighed. “What do you think is going on? Are the people over atShadow Leaguejust making decisions based on their mood or something?”


  At that moment, the waiter came over to bring the dessert they had ordered.

  “I’m hanging up,” Cheng Yansaid and immediately ended the call.

  Yao Tang was already eating, her eyes dazed as she lazily twirled her spoon in the air.

  She seemed to like the food.

  Cheng Yan’s eyes twinkled with pleasure. He watched her enjoy the sweets before saying, “Your teacher sent me another report card. I got full marks in Chinese this time.”


  Meaning that his handwriting was better than hers.

  Yao Tang just hummed and scooped another blob of matcha cream from her pastry.

  She contemplated his words, then perched her chin on the back of her hand and asked, “Is it immaculate?”


  There was a hint of challenge in her eyes, and the shadow of a smirk lurked in the corners of her lips.

  Cheng Yan blinked at her.

  He had just told her that he’d received full marks. Why was she still questioning him?

  Was she suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, by any chance?

  In any case, the point was that he had passed with flying colors.

  Cheng Yan pushed another plate of dessert toward her. “From now on, come toImperial Parkevery weekend. I’ll tutor you.” “You? Tutor me?” Yao Tangrepeated, her eyebrows raised, her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re not up to something else? For all I know, you might only be trying to serve some of your personal interests.”


  His eyes flickered, and he shot her a knowing look. “Why don’t you take a guess?” he said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

  Yao Tang sighed inwardly. Was he yet another piece of scum she had to keep an eye on?

  She stopped talking altogether and focused on her desserts.

  Cheng Yan let out a low chuckle, the glint of mischief never leaving his eyes.

  As promised, Cheng Yandrove her to the airport after finishing their so-called meal.

  “Try staying here for a night.” He whipped out a black card with gold prints on it. It was for a unit at the Imperial Park.

  Yao Tang glanced at him with a deadpan expression.

  When she didn’t take the card, Cheng Yantook her hand and pressed it against her palm. “Sleep in the master bedroom.Qin Haoand He Dustay there occasionally, but they’re only allowed in the guest room.”


  Yao Tang looked at the piece of plastic between her fingers, her face still blank.

  After a while, she looked up at him and said, “Thank you.”


  Cheng Yan smiled, then waited for her to get off the car before speeding away

  Yao Tang was left standing outside the airport, still staring at the card he had left. At last, she took a deep breath, put it in her pocket, then headed toward the airport lobby.

  The faint ringing of a phone came from inside her backpack.

  She unzipped it without breaking her stride, then took out a bulky flip phone.

  Yao Tang plugged in her earphones and answered the call.

  “Master,” came Yun Tian’s voice. “Is the legendary Chinese doctor a friend of yours?”


  She frowned and lowered her voice before responding with a tentative, “Yes?”


  “Don’t worry, we didn’t take the anonymous request. The party who was searching for him has managed to reach an agreement with another organization. I’m afraid they have the resources and connections to track the target down. If this doctor really is your friend, then you must tell him to keep a low profile for a while.”


  “Got it,” Yao Tangsaid, her eyes narrowed.

  Two years ago, a new type of disease had broken out in the Middle East. It spread rapidly before experts could even study it thoroughly, and she had to stay there for a while to help with the research efforts. Yao Tangknew that she had left some traces of her presence back there, and the fact that if an intelligence organization were to come and investigate, they would probably be able to find her trail. As it was, when Western medicine failed, people often looked to traditional Chinese methods for a solution.

  Though still widely unrecognized in the field of medicine, even the experts turn to Chinese medicine when they were out of options. In any case, Yao Tangsaw no need to worry for now. Whether the investigators found her or not would depend on their skills. She would deal with the aftermath later.

  She made her way to the VIP lounge.

  Nobody else was there, so it was very quiet inside.

  Yao Tang sat in a corner and proceeded to type furiously on the flip phone. Almost instantly, a series of complicated codes appeared on the tiny screen.

  Soon, the image of a map appeared. Several red dots were blinking at various points. Someone had beaten her to the punch, erasing her trail and diverting it to numerous false locations.

  Yao Tang lay back against the sofa and grinned.

  As if on cue, Lin Shuangcalled her there and then.

  “Little Sister Yao. Are you happy? As soon as the news came out, Yao Siimmediately took matters into his own hands and dealt with the issue. We couldn’t get through to your phone at the time, so we decided to act without telling you first.”


  That kid’s skills had definitely gotten even better. In just a matter of minutes, he had managed to hack their opponent’s intelligence network. They wouldn’t be able to recover from this any time soon. The best part of all was that every piece of information Yao Tanghad left behind in the Middle East had all been destroyed by that little monster, Yao Si.

  Yao Si is her younger brother, a boy she had picked up five years ago. He had an impressive IQ that was comparable to hers.

  “All right. I was at the Cheng Residence to check on the old lady.” She recalled hearing her phone ring while attending to the Old Madam, but she had ignored it at the time. Just then, the boarding call was announced over the PA System. “I’ll be boarding now,” Yao Tangsaid.

  Lin Shuang had also heard the announcement over the phone. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”


  Yao Tang tossed hung up and tossed her phone back inside her backpack, threw it over her shoulder, and walked to the boarding gate with her hands in her pockets.