Bab 33: I care about you
"Officer Liu Xian, I think I need to go now. Thank you for this, by the way. I'll give it back to you next day," she said after their long conversation.
"No, it's okay even if you don't," he said with a smile.
"Goodbye!" She exclaimed, bidding him farewell, and got into the driver's seat of her car.
Liu Xian waved as she started the engine and drove off.
Inside her car, Lian Qiang was taken aback by what Liu Xian had done. However, a part of her felt something was off.
'He was just concerned about me, of course. We're friends,' her mind debated. 'He's just a friend.' She tried to reassure herself, her thoughts racing.
She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself after her mission. When she arrived at the mansion, she parked in the garage and stepped out. She sighed again, trying to settle her emotions. As she made her way to the hallway, she noticed a familiar figure waiting for her.
His gaze was intense, but when he saw her appearance, his eyes darted away in confusion, clearly taken aback by her transformation. Feeling another gust of cold air, Lian Qiang tightened the blazer Liu Xian had given her around herself. "What are you doing there?" she asked Zhang Jin, who sat on the stairs and now stood up when he saw her. "Where's Ling Xue?"
Zhang Jin hesitated, not making direct eye contact. He seemed taken aback by her outfit, the dress stained with blood. He looked worried. "She left after she told me you were coming home," he said, his arms folded.
"Then why are you still here?" she asked, out of confusion. It's already late, and yet he's still awake.
"I was waiting for you. Why are you so late?" he responded, a hint of frustration evident in his voice.
She was taken aback by his concern.
Amidst the dim lighting of the mansion's entrance, Lian Qiang felt a flood of emotions. An internal tempest of confusion and exasperation raged within her. She couldn't understand. Why was Zhang Jin so angry about her being late?
"Why are you asking me like this?" she asked, her voice echoing slightly in the vast hallway.
Zhang Jin seemed to be locked in a world of his own thoughts, not acknowledging her query.
"Why were you late?" There was a dangerous spark in his eyes, a fire of anger and concern, but his voice bore an eerie calmness.
Zhang Jin clearly noticed the bloodstain on Lian Qiang's dress, prompting her to quickly cover it with her hand.
"My reasons are my own, Zhang Jin. You know I can't discuss the details of my assignments." As she spoke, she moved to sidestep him, aiming to find refuge inside the mansion.
But he wasn't done. "Answer me!" His voice boomed, causing a nearby vase to tremble. In a sudden, impulsive move, he reached out and grasped her wrist, stopping her just as she was about to step through the ornate double doors into the hallway.
She flinched, caught off guard by the sudden intensity. "What's gotten into you?" she retorted, trying to mask her own rising panic.
Lian Qiang looked around the large entryway of the mansion, a bit nervous. Zhang Jin seemed upset, and she wasn't sure why. He took a deep breath. "I don't care about your secret job right now. I just want to know what happened."
Lian Qiang felt her heart beating fast. "What do you mean?" she asked, sounding a bit upset.
Zhang Jin pointed at her from her head to her toes. "Why are you dressed like this?"
She looked down, seeing her nice dress and the shoes she was wearing. She also remembered the makeup she had put on earlier. "Is there something wrong with my dress?"
He laughed a bit, but it wasn't a happy laugh. "Do you always wear things like this for work? I've never seen it."
She put her hands on her hips. "Is there a rule about what I should wear? What's your problem?"
He looked like he was searching for words. "It's not about the dress, Qiang."
She was getting more confused. "Then tell me! Why are you acting like this-"
He looked really serious now. "Because I care about you!"
This made Lian Qiang stop. Lian Qiang's mind raced, processing the implications of Zhang Jin's confession. She had always sensed a deeper connection between them, but hearing it spoken aloud added a layer of gravity she hadn't prepared for.
Zhang Jin looked like he wished he hadn't spoken. He turned his face away. Even him couldn't form a single word to take away what he just said to her.
Lian Qiang doesn't know what to do. Does she have to answer that?
A heavy silence weighed them down. Zhang Jin, seeming to snap out of a daze, had a look of regret following his abrupt outburst.
"That... wasn't what I meant," he said, his voice tense and eyes evading hers. "Just... forget I said anything."
He quickly entered the mansion, leaving a stunned Lian Qiang standing outside. She was scared about what just happened and what he said. For her, this job is serious and it shouldn't have any connection involved. She was afraid that their newly revealed feelings would complicate matters. Personal relationships in her line of work often spelled danger, and she wasn't willing to risk either of their lives due to a momentary lapse in judgment.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to put some distance between them for a while. She needed space to think, to evaluate her own feelings, and to determine if she could continue working without their emotions getting in the way. She should start planning to end this. She needed to refocus on her mission. Decide to gather more information about the bad guys she was tracking. She didn't want their connection to deepen any further and needed to end it as soon as possible.
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone