The Dragon Syndicate
Shao Lin's eyes widened. "Long Xiatian is part of the Dragon Syndicate?"
"Yes," Zhong Bai answered and explained. "All members of the syndicate get their tattoos shortly after their initiation. I'm convinced she is not the only one in her family that is inked." Zhong Bai then showed her more photos of a woman with black hair and soft brown eyes. "This is Mrs. Long. Before she married into the Long family, her name was Song Luli. Shortly after wedding her husband, she started to cover up her arms. She wore sleeves in public, and whenever she wore dresses in outings, she'd compliment them with white elbowed-sleeves. It's not an uncommon style for women of her status, but I'd never seen her without them. As for the men in the family, I am unsure. But it is no coincidence that Long Xiatian bears the marks of the Dragon, and Long Yat-sen happened to be connected to several murders."
Shao Lin weighted his discovery. "That does not prove that Yat-sen did it," she said, not understanding why she was defending him, but she could not deny his sister being part of the same Underworld organization her father was in. That information caught her off guard.
The teakettle began to whistle loudly and persistently. She moved to turn off her stove when Zhong Bai said behind her, "I also have a recording—"
"That's not necessary," a man with a deep and smoky voice interrupted. Shao Lin froze.
Her fingers began to tremble slightly as she carefully turned off the stove. She then turned around, eyes wide, watching Long Yat-sen with a gun to Zhong Bai's temple.
Xia on the other side of him.
Shao Lin did not even hear anyone come in. Nor did she get a notification on her phone from the sensors of her home.
Her heart pounded violently. Long Yat-sen was looking at her, eyes dark, features hard.
"Yat-sen..." her voice shook. "Do not do this. Whatever you want, I'll do it. I promise I'll do it."
He looked at her coldly and distantly, as if he wasn't there. This was the other side of Long Yat-sen—a version that she knew existed but ignored.
"I've warned you," he informed her.
"Don't kill us, please," Shao Lin begged.
Hurt flashed his face. "I won't hurt you," he assured her. "I'm here for the detective."
Shao Lin's body shook, thinking how she was afraid to lose someone else. She refused to.
Zhong Bai looked at her, his expression was hard, refusing to look afraid. But he spoke to Long Yat-sen. "I knew it, and you are in the Dragon Syndicate."
"I am the Dragon Syndicate," Long Yat-sen corrected him. "And I will do what is necessary to keep those that threaten me silent."
Shao Lin felt sick. God, to think she had been flirting with the devil this entire time.
Shao Lin glanced at Xia, who did not return her gaze. She then stared at Long Yat-sen, meeting his deep-ocean eyes. She pleaded with her expression not to kill Zhong Bai. She begged him with her eyes. "I won't tell anyone," Shao Lin said. "He won't either. I'll make sure of it."
Long Yat-sen had an indifferent, bored expression, but his eyes held an unexplainable pained sadness Shao Lin could not tell what it was for.
"I need you not to pry in things that don't concern you," Long Yat-sen said to Zhong Bai. His voice then lowered, "you crossed the line when you came for my family...so there will be no next time, I will make sure the bullet enters through your skull. Be thankful for the flower girl that saved your life."
Shao Lin exhaled a long breath she'd been holding. She glanced at Xia, who kept silent.
Long Yat-sen then lowered his gun and turned to leave, Xia following shortly behind him. When they left, Shao Lin approached Zhong Bai, shaking. She held his face in her hands, checking his body. "Are you all right?"
Zhong Bai nodded, and he smiled at her slightly. "Yes. I am, thanks to you." He then leaned forward to wound his arms around her, and Shao Lin fell into his embrace, his warmth, his body. She held onto him. "I'm so sorry," Shao Lin said. "I let this happen."
"No," Zhong Bai replied. "It's not your fault."
"I won't let Long Yat-sen hurt you," Shao Lin said, soaking in the sight of him. Her eyebrows then creased. "But how did he find out you've been investigating them?"
Zhong Bai placed a hand over hers. "They've must have figured out that I've been watching them closely. Don't worry, Lin. I've known the dangers when I signed up for the job, but they can't silence us forever."
Shao Lin shook her head. "No. We should stop. It's dangerous. We need to forget about it."
"I don't know if I can," Zhong Bai said, his expression tight.
Shao Lin looked at him. "What do you have against him that you need to prove so badly?" She had already seen Long Yat-sen as the villain. What more does Zhong Bai need to prove?
His mouth curved into a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Nothing," he said calmly. "I just want justice for your father."
Shao Lin nodded slowly. "And I appreciate you for it. But it's not worth risking our lives like this."
Zhong Bai then took her hand and placed it over his heart that pounded furiously. "Lin. Do you care about me the way I care about you?" he asked.
Shao Lin was stunned by his question. She did not think about it much lately. He'd always been her friend. He was her first love. But now…she doesn't know how to feel.
"I care about you, Bai…but not in the way you'd want. I mean, I used to…."
At that, Zhong Bai reached out and kissed her lips gently. Shao Lin's eyes widened before he let go after a moment, letting the silence fall between them. He pressed his head against hers. "I will wait, Shao Lin. You don't have to answer me now. You loved me once. I know you did. You can do it again."
Shao Lin wasn't sure about it. In fact, she must have thought herself insane that even while Zhong Bai had kissed her gently, she was still thinking of another man's voice, his clove and pine scent that still lingered long after he left.
The way Long Yat-sen's expression was pained when he looked at her...
But as much as she thought about him, she still hated him. The man that kept secrets. The man that antagonized her. The man that nearly killed her friend.
"All right," she replied to Zhong Bai.
Zhong Bai was the safer option. Perhaps she needed to give him another chance. She wanted to try being happy.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone