CHAPTER 149: LOVE? HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

She hesitated.

Perhaps it was the strange essence in the alcohol here, stirring one’s heart.

Indeed, how could someone like her truly love anyone?

Pei Zhen suddenly opened his eyes, just in time to catch the ethereal glow in Xu Si’s eyes, and through that gleam, he saw Xu Si’s evasion and doubt.

His enchanting eyes drooped, his voice cool. "What are you thinking about?"

Xu Si glanced at him and silently shielded her eyes with her fingers, to keep her thoughts from being peered into.

Pei Zhen’s bewitching grey pupils stared straight at her. He had an inscrutable expression, one that made him seem to ponder deeply. Looking at her lips, he suddenly yearned to taste her insincerity.

"Ah~" He narrowed his eyes, took her hand to his face, and laughed, his voice seductive. "If you keep this up, I’ll go crazy."

Xu Si’s fingers curled. Besides the dangling pearl necklace, they also brushed against his face. She asked in confusion, "What did I do?"

"You said you love me." His eyes gleamed. He tilted his head slightly, a lingering smile on his lips. His voice, laced with ambiguity and satisfaction, suppressed a tone of ecstatic madness. "I love you too, Xu Si. I love you to death."

He pressed his handsome face against her fingertips, enticing her. This is too much, Xu Si thought hazily. A tingling sensation instantly spread from her finger to her scalp. Her brain couldn’t process it, but her hand instinctively pulled back.

She was certain she hadn’t said anything just now.

And certain she couldn’t deny it with confidence.

The thought in her heart hadn’t even solidified before he voiced it.

At midnight, twelve o’clock, the light on this street was dim. The melancholic sound of a saxophone from the Whisky Bar mingled with the drums from another bar.

Her breathing suddenly grew rapid.

The air turned cloyingly thick.

Pei Zhen was that kind of person.

His madness was not just on the surface.

He had received the finest education, yet he was still willing to lower himself. He grasped her face while she was distracted, tempting her to fall with him, kissing her passionately on the deserted street.

His long fingers caressed her radiant face, compelling her to remain still as he overwhelmed her senses.

Once again, she was struck by how handsome he was.

Xu Si had admitted from the start that his face alone made her weak in the knees. Now, it seemed there was more to his lethal attraction than just his looks.

Pei Zhen’s silver hair brushed her face. In the depths of her enchantment, he whispered into her ear, his voice ethereal and illusory, "What am I to do? Even if you’re unwilling to say anything, unable to speak a single word... but at least, in that second, your eyes told me you’re not as indifferent as you seem. Though you resist, you’re also slowly falling in love with me."

They kissed intimately, lips and teeth melding.

Xu Si couldn’t utter a sound. Her fingers clenched the large, pale pink-hued pearl necklace, her knuckles brushing against each other with a faint sound.

The sound of the saxophone didn’t stop.

From somewhere far off, an ancient, unchanging foreign ballad began to play.

[If someone falls in love amidst sin.]

[May they love down to the marrow of their bones.]

[Love until even the bones creak and groan.]

...

「Meanwhile, on the other side.」

In a dark, deep alleyway, the Leather Jacket Man was prostrate, kneeling as he looked up at a man with a buzz cut wearing sunglasses. His voice was hoarse and trembling, "Boss, this won’t work. You’re sending me to my death!"

The buzz-cut man, Brother Pingtou, averted his gaze. His eyes were dark yet glinted with interest, his refined appearance a stark contrast to his ruthless words, "Heh, smart guy. You’re right, I am sending you to your death. No, wait, you’re looking for it yourself! Who told you to get so cocky and jealous? You heard some fake news about the Triad Society collapsing and started spreading rumors everywhere. Now, someone’s heard, huh? Perfect for me! Be a good boy and go kill that woman."

"And then... what next?"

Brother Pingtou raised an eyebrow in surprise, his tone calm. "Then you can go to your grave in peace! That way, when the Triad Society investigates, it’ll have nothing to do with our Sixteen Gang. We haven’t done a thing; we didn’t even see you today. You got enraged by that woman and decided to seek revenge. You deserve to die."

The Leather Jacket Man’s face paled. "Boss, did you sneak me out of Gambling City just for this? Can’t you get someone else?"

"Switch people? HAHAHA! I’ve arranged for plenty of guys; you’re just one of them. I know you don’t want to die now. You weren’t afraid before, but recently you knocked up some prostitute, right? You enforcers are all expendable anyway—traitors to your own gangs who could only survive by shamefully resorting to boxing. Look, I’m not forcing you. If you want your kid to come out of that woman’s belly safely, go kill that woman today. Got it?"

The Leather Jacket Man blurted out, "Then you kill them. I won’t." What’s so important about a woman and child anyway? If I’d known they’d be used to manipulate me like this, I would have ended their lives long ago.

"Bullshit," Brother Pingtou scoffed. "A man can be despicable, but I’ve never seen anyone stoop this low. I actually thought you weren’t so scared of dying. You impress me even more now. Alright, let me try threatening you differently. If you go, there’s a chance you’ll live. I might even help you escape. If you don’t go, I’ll kill you right now, then kill your brat and your woman, and I’ll dump your corpse in the sea to feed the fish."

"..."

Brother Pingtou chambered a round and pressed the gun to the Leather Jacket Man’s head. "You can’t escape; you’re too stupid. In your next life, remember this: don’t be too quick to trust information that only you seem to know. It’s not some special privilege; it’s the poison I use to bait rats!"

The Leather Jacket Man gritted his teeth and nodded.

He had already begun planning how to get revenge on that crazy woman. Since there was such a high chance he’d lose his life, he’d make damn sure that meddling bitch died a far more miserable death!

"Good, good, good," Brother Pingtou patted his shoulder. "If you survive, come find me. I’ll help you escape to Southeast Asia. If you don’t make it, I’ll raise your son for you. As for your woman... well, I won’t sleep with her for you."

With that, he laughed, stepping on the Leather Jacket Man’s back to climb into a high-chassis armored vehicle. Closing the door, he took a cigarette from his subordinate, took a drag, slowly exhaled, and said impatiently, "Love? What’s so great about it? I don’t believe that after that woman dies, he won’t want someone else. That’s when the beauties we send will be useful. Hey, did you check for me? Do they look like that ’trophy wife’ of his?"

The henchman nodded. "Checked. A few of them are remarkably similar. With makeup, they could pass for the real thing."

Brother Pingtou bent over laughing, adjusted his tie, and guffawed without restraint, "That’s great. I’m very patient. You bunch of unlucky bastards, treat those girls well. Make them learn more Hong Kong Island dialect. This is their one shot to make it big."

The henchman pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice, "Yes."