Chapitre 56: The Fox and The Badger
After Qing Chen left, Feng Xuan knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. She tried nevertheless. She laid there on the bed and forced herself to clear her mind so she could finally drift to dreamland. However, after an hour of tossing and turning on top of the sheets, she finally gave up and head downstairs.
It was just a little past three in the morning and she was already in the kitchen. Over the past few days, she was going over some of the recipes, altering and making them her own. Days and days Qing Chen would come home to the smell of sugar in the oven. She was trying to narrow down what to put on the menu for their opening.
Her heart always pounded in her ribcage whenever Qing Chen would take a bite out of the new recipe. He had promised to be honest and he really was. He told her whenever the flavor was too strong. Or too sweet. Or that the frosting didn't match the cake. Or too bland. Or the taste was too boring. Only then, she would take a bite and realize that he was right. Then there were days that he would grin at her and her heart would melt a little because she knew he liked that one.
Feng Xuan decided to create candies for today. She remembered in one of her visits in Qing Chen's office, there was a little bowl of candies he kept on top of his table. Feng Xuan noticed it was all watermelon.
So Feng Xuan heated up water and sugar, dropped a few watermelon flavoring and mint. Cooking had always been a way for Feng Xuan to escape her own thoughts. For a certain time, she was just thinking about the food she was going to put on the table and nothing else.
But for tonight, her mind couldn't help but wonder. She hadn't known Qing Chen for a long time, but she was certain his life wasn't this messy before they got together. She knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but think that maybe their marriage wasn't the best idea their parents had.
All the while Feng Xuan was kneading the sugar on a tray, a couple of men were up on a hill who had just gotten out of the car and into the cold morning.
"Wow," one of them said. "That's a beautiful house."
"I know right?" said the other, pulling out a huge case from the trunk of the car. He closed it with a soft thud. "All perfection, isn't it?"
"Yeah," the first man said. "I'd love to live in a house like that."
"And have little men like us after you? No, thank you," replied the second man.
"Yeah, but dying in a house like that? That would be awesome. I'd love to be shot and fall into the pool. Like in the movies, you know?"
The second man gave a scoff. "Falling from the rooftop then to the pool. Now, that would be epic."
"All these rich people… I honestly can't with them sometimes."
The second man sighed, patted down his coat, and pulled down the knitted bonet from the top of his head. He started assembling the gun and propped it down on the grass. He spread himself on his stomach adjusting the scope so he could have a clear view of the bedroom. "She's not in the room."
"At least we know that the husband is not here and that she's alone," said the first man who had also gotten down with him, propped on his elbows.
"Poor woman," the second man said. "I heard what happened to her mother. Terrible stuff."
The first man turned his head, a pang of jealousy overwhelming him like the cold air. "Did boss tell you that?"
"I heard from the man himself. You know, he set that up."
"I know he had something to do with it. But he never got into the details."
"Well, I don't know if you would want to hear it. It's gruesome."
The first man sighed. Yeah, the second man was right. He didn't want to hear anything that would involve killings and blood. Sure, with his line of work it couldn't be avoided but he avoided it as much as possible. Still, he had put men to their graves and taken his time. "It's that bad?"
The second man grinned before positioning his eye behind the scope. "If it were really that bad, we wouldn't be here."
"What do you mean?"
The second man rolled his eyes and turned to his partner. "Why on earth do you think we're here?"
"To spy? To watch? To kill? You're the one with the gun so you're the one who's going to do the killing part."
The second man chuckled under his breath. "We're here because it didn't get that bad. Our boss wants revenge!"
"Upon this girl?"
"Yes," he answered adjusting the gun and checking the other rooms. There was nothing. The only light was coming from the kitchen, which unfortunately was hidden from his view. He could suggest that they should move to the next hill, but there was no next hill. The house was on the edge of a hill, like a cliff. There was just pure blue water on its other side.
"But why? Because she survived?"
"Revenge for his brother."
The first man's face squished together as he frowned. "Our boss is not like that! He wouldn't take it out on the girl. He's a firm believer that the parents' faults should not be passed on to their children."
The second man smiled. "Is it the parent's fault though?"
"You mean to say," said the first man. "That this girl—she's basically a girl, right? Twenty-something?"
"Twenty-two."
"Yes, twenty-two—this girl, is responsible for the death of our boss' brother?"
"Yep," the second man said, popping the p. "She is."
"But h-how?!" he asked, couldn't really find the words. He had been in the service of their boss for more than half of his life (he started out young) and not once had he known how the boss' brother died. Not a damn clue. Everyone just knew he died on a failed operation.
The first man had seen a picture of Feng Xuan before they left their lair. She was… thin and looked like she would snap like a twig. He knew the event occurred seven years ago. She would've only been fifteen or sixteen that time. Probably smaller as she had not yet grown to the body she had today. Then how?
"Simple," the second man said, "she's magic."
"Magic?"
The second man started chuckling under his breath. "You're too gullible, Mr. Badger."
Mr. Badger grumbled something under his breath. Mr. Badger's codename suited him well. He was stocky with a broad chest and most people towered over him. Nevertheless, it didn't hinder him from what he was best at doing. If he had a gun in his hands, there would be no place his bullets wouldn't reach you for he was a very good shot.
Now, Mr. Badger was recently assigned a new partner. His last partner The Mantis (may the gods rest his soul), who had been very skilled with knives and daggers, was ironically killed with his own weapons. They found him with numerous knives protruding from his body in his own home.
It had been a pain for him when he received the news and it had been a great pain to have found out that The Mantis' body had not yet been buried under the soil, the boss had already assigned him a new partner—this youthful, handsome man.
He had been wanting to ask this young man who looked like he was in his mid-twenties, what was he doing here? But then, in this line of business they were not allowed to ask personal questions and details about one another. Only the boss knew them. It was for their own protection. This young man should be chasing girls, building his dreams, and earning money for his future family.
True, this job paid well. It was hard to get in, but it would be harder to get out. Once you are here, you wouldn't really be able to step out alive.
"You're wasting your life here, Fox," he said. "If I were you, I would leave this all behind. If I would've been given a chance, I wouldn't have gotten tangled with all this."
Fox sighed. Mr. Badger was old, probably in his early forties. He was nearing his time out in this work. But as long as he served a purpose to the boss, he would live. "I know that, Mr. Badger. And thank you for the advice. But there are just things I have to do."
Just then, Fox saw movement from his scope. A shadow. Mr. Badger who was now looking through binoculars also saw.
"Should we go in?"
The two just shared a grin.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
sugarcoatqueenx
sugarcoatqueenx Hello! I could only make do with one chapter tonight. I had not been feeling my best since this morning! I hope you are all staying safe. I'll try to make up for the remaining one chapter I have in credit by tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for the patience and the support.
xoxo
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone