Chapter 149

With that familiar, pleasant scent, he immediately understood and his mood brightened. He deliberately acted puzzled and said, “The voice sounds very familiar; I seem to have heard it somewhere, but I can’t recall right now.” After a pause, he added, “Think harder! How could you forget?!” Xie Wendong closed his eyes and guessed that the little girl must be pouting now! Shaking his head, he said, “Sigh! It seems I’ve really gotten old—my memory is terrible.” “Hmph, if you don’t tell me soon, I won’t talk to you anymore!”
“Who else but little Jin Rong would act so childish?!” Xie Wendong removed the hand from his eyes and laughed. The little girl before him brightened his day. It had been months since they last met, and Jin Rong had grown quite a bit. Remembering the little girl from before, she was now a graceful young woman, exuding a charming youthful aura. Even Xie Wendong couldn’t help but sigh—time passed swiftly like flowing water, never to return. Though he was only in his early twenties now.
Jin Rong sniffled and said, “Big brother is the worst!”
“Big brother!” That term reached the deepest part of Xie Wendong’s heart. Ever since he rescued Jin Rong from Ma Wu’s hands, she had always called him big brother—she was the only one in the world who did so. Back then, he was worlds apart from who he is now. Over these four or five years, he had gained some things but also lost others. He imagined holding Jin Rong in his arms as before, but the girl before him was no longer a child. Her well-developed figure stopped his impulse. He simply pinched her cheek lightly and sighed, “Good heavens, the little girl has grown even taller. Before long, she’ll be as tall as me!”
Jin Rong felt the warmth of Xie Wendong’s fingers and blushed. She lowered her head and said, “That’s not true!”
Xie Wendong’s gaze shifted. Seeing the old man smiling at him, he stepped forward immediately and said, “Old man, I’m back.”
Jin Peng slapped his forehead and exclaimed exaggeratedly, “Wendong, you’ve finally noticed me, this old man!” Then he spoke seriously, “Is there anything important at the Hongmen summit?”
Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “Nothing important. Even if there were, I don’t think they could reach any agreement with all these people gathered together. Everyone has their own ulterior motives. Any so-called brotherhood is just superficial.” Jin Peng laughed and patted Xie Wendong’s shoulder, saying, “You’ve hit the nail on the head. All the bonds within the Hongmen are tied to interests. Otherwise, if the Hongmen groups from various places truly united, their strength would be unmatched in the world.”

“Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “By the way, I met Nanhongmen’s leader Xiang Tiansiao. I don’t think he’s the assassin…” He stopped speaking and glanced at Jin Rong, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Jin Rong, experienced as she was, said, “I know. Can’t I listen anymore?” Jin Peng and Xie Wendong nodded at the same time. Jin Rong huffed and left the ward. Xie Wendong gave Dongxinlei a look, who nodded understandingly and followed her out. Only then did Xie Wendong lower his voice and say, “I don’t think Xiang Tiansiao is involved in this.”
Jin Peng asked in confusion, “How do you know?” Xie Wendong replied, “From my interactions with him, he’s an honest person. My intuition rarely fails.” He sighed again and said, “If an assassin could get past layers of Hongmen bodyguards and escape unscathed, it means he’s a top-tier assassin. But the doctor said the bullets that hit you weren’t aimed at vital spots. There are only two possibilities: either the assassin showed mercy, but that’s highly unlikely—taking such a risk just to injure one person seems improbable. The other possibility is…” Xie Wendong paused and didn’t continue. The old man urged, “Stop teasing me! Finish what you were saying!”
Xie Wendong said, “The other possibility is that the assassin is just an ordinary first-rate killer. He was able to come and go freely because there’s a traitor inside working against us!”
“A traitor!” Jin Peng narrowed his eyes and stared out the window, speechless for a long time. Xie Wendong sighed, “This is just my guess. Maybe there’s no traitor—it’s also possible the assassin was nervous and missed the vital spots.” Jin Peng shook his head and said, “Wendong, you don’t need to comfort me. Would a top-tier assassin miss both shots?”
Xie Wendong sighed inwardly, unable to respond. Jin Peng couldn’t help but feel sad and said, “I’ve never dared to imagine there could be a traitor in our gang. If you hadn’t brought it up today, I wouldn’t have even thought of it. Sigh! I treat everyone equally, so why do some people still harbor resentment toward me?”
Xie Wendong sighed and said, “People’s desires are endless. There’s never enough for them. Some people—today you might give them great power, and tomorrow they’ll demand even more. If you refuse or can’t give it, they’ll see you as an obstacle to be gotten rid of.”

Jin Peng took Xie Wendong’s hand and narrowed his eyes, saying, “Wendong, you must find this person for me. I want to know who he really is!” Xie Wendong felt the old man’s hand trembling slightly; it seemed he had aged several years in an instant. Heart aching, he nodded and said, “Don’t worry, old man. I’ll definitely bring him to you.”

Jin Peng nodded and said, “I’m tired. You should go back and rest too. You came right after getting off the plane—you need to take care of yourself.” Xie Wendong felt warmth in his heart. He covered Jin Peng with the blanket and quietly left the ward. Jin Rong paced restlessly in the corridor. Xie Wendong smiled and asked, “Grandpa is tired and already resting. By the way, when did you arrive? Who brought you here?”

“I just got here today. I came on my own, secretly!” Jin Rong said proudly. “Came secretly?” Xie Wendong didn’t believe it. With the old man and the secret bodyguards he had arranged around her—no fewer than a dozen, all experts—it was impossible for her to slip away. Surprised, Xie Wendong said, “You know, minors aren’t allowed to fly alone.”

“What?!” Jin Rong’s face turned red as she hurriedly replied, “I’m already eighteen. I’m fully grown.”

“Hehe!” Xie Wendong patted Jin Rong’s head and sighed, “So fast. To me, you still seem like a child.” In fact, Xie Wendong had always treated her like a sister. No matter how older she became, in his eyes, she was still a child. Jin Rong shook off his hand angrily and shouted, “I’m not a child anymore!”

“That’s right!” Xie Wendong laughed heartily. Jin Rong had this magic—she could easily dispel the gloom in his heart. He couldn’t help singing, “An eighteen-year-old girl is like a flower, a flower—every man wants her, wants her…”

Back at the villa, Xie Wendong felt tired. He wanted to rest for a while, but remembering the old man’s words, he had no mood to sleep. He ordered Dong Xinlei to find all the records of the Hongmen’s officials. He planned to go through them one by one. To find a spy, he needed to understand each person’s background and history. Looking at the mountain-like pile of Hongmen archives, Xie Wendong sighed and began to examine them carefully. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Xie Wendong believed that nothing was impossible in the world—only things you were too lazy to do.

I don’t know how much time passed before Jin Rong quietly pushed the door open. She saw Xie Wendong’s head buried under stacks of documents, so absorbed that he didn’t even notice her. Jin Rong walked over to the desk, rested her arms on it, propped her chin in her hands, and stared at Xie Wendong without blinking. His dark hair was a bit messy, his bangs almost covering his eyebrows. His eyes were long and thin, occasionally flashing with brightness. His lips were tightly pressed together, and there were faint stubble on his cheeks. Jin Rong had heard some rumors about the gang—everyone said Xie Wendong was terrifying, a bloodthirsty demon king who hid knives behind smiles and so on. But in her eyes, the big brother who had once saved and protected her hadn’t changed. Perhaps there was one change: the big brother who had been her hero had now become the standard by which she chose friends. Unfortunately, in her school, she couldn’t find a single boy who resembled Xie Wendong, let alone someone with a similar personality. It was already troublesome enough for the world to have one Xie Wendong; if there were another, the world would likely be in chaos.

“Did flowers grow on my face? If so, they must be beautiful,” Xie Wendong said without even lifting his head.

“Huh?” Jin Rong was startled. She quickly dismissed her random thoughts, blushed, and said in a sweet voice, “How did you know I came? You pretended not to know.”

Xie Wendong exhaled, rubbed his sore eyes, and smiled. “There are elves in the air. They secretly told me the little girl has arrived!”

“Lie!” Jin Rong still glanced around nervously and muttered, “Where in the world could there be elves?!”

“Haha! How could there not be?” Xie Wendong gently stroked her long, smooth black hair and sighed. “You’re the most adorable elf in my eyes.”

Jin Rong felt overjoyed, as if she truly had wings and was flying in the sky, turned into a happy little elf. She took Xie Wendong’s hand and said, “Don’t stay cooped up in the room all day. Let’s go out and play!” Xie Wendong looked helplessly at the documents on the desk and sighed. “I still have a lot of work to finish. I’ll ask Lao Lei to accompany you.”

Jin Rong pouted. “Who would want to go out with a big lump of wood? If you stay in the room any longer, you’ll turn into an old man. Come on!”

“A lump of wood? An old man?” Xie Wendong was pulled to his feet and had no choice but to give in. “Alright, alright. I’ll go out with you. If you pull my arm any more, it’ll fall off.”

City T, a bustling street. Jin Rong pointed at a large sign by the road and said happily, “Let’s go have fun there!” Xie Wendong looked up and saw it was an electronic entertainment center. Good heavens! He slapped his head and sighed, “I’m not a child anymore. How can I play such games?” “What? There are many people there who are older than you!” “Oh!”
The electronic entertainment center was a replica of the video game arcades in City J, only on a much larger scale. It covered almost two thousand square meters, with machines lined up one after another, offering a wide variety of simulators. Most of the people there were young, with colorful hair and rebellious outfits; some who looked to be in their teens were already smoking, acting like adults. Xie Wendong lost all enthusiasm as soon as he entered, and Dong Xinlei, who followed behind, was even more so. Only Jin Rong was excited, buying coins and pulling Xie Wendong to play games. Xie Wendong took the chance to say to Dong Xinlei, “See? This is the generation gap!” Dong Xinlei nodded in agreement.
“Big brother, let’s go ride motorcycles!” Jin Rong insisted without hesitation, pulling Xie Wendong, who had just rested for a while, inside. The simulated motorcycles looked just like real ones. Xie Wendong rode one and said with a smile, “I only rode for a while in middle school. I haven’t ridden in so long that I’m probably rusty.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not real anyway.” With that, Jin Rong jumped onto the back seat of Xie Wendong’s motorcycle and wrapped her arms around his waist. Xie Wendong chuckled, snapped his fingers, and said, “Then let’s go!” Xie Wendong’s skills were truly impressive—less than a kilometer in, he had already collided with walls five times and crashed three times, causing Jin Rong behind him to laugh heartily. After getting used to it, he collided with walls fewer and fewer times and grew faster. Watching him overtake others time and time again, Jin Rong waved and cheered loudly. Her voice attracted the attention of people around them, who gathered to watch, most of them with disdainful expressions. Jin Rong curled her lips and snapped, “If anyone disagrees, come and race me!” Xie Wendong stopped the motorcycle and shook his head secretly—this little girl really liked to stir up trouble.
A tall, thin young man jumped onto the motorcycle next to them and turned to smile at Jin Rong, “What if you lose?”