In Dong Lai Shun Restaurant’s private room—
Other than Yogurt, 1810 and the rest of his team were all there, sitting at the table together. However, worry and exhaustion filled everyone’s faces, with 1810 having bloodshot eyes as well.
Dishes of all manner were served on the table. Whether it was mutton, fish balls, shrimp, or beef tripe, none, however, could arouse the appetites of those present. 1810 had been staring at the copper pot in the center as if waiting for a flower to bloom.
On the other hand, Black Swan was distraught as well. She subconsciously took out the cigarettes from her pocket. Just when she took out a lighter and wanted to light the cigarette. 1810 stretched out his hand and snatched it before pinching the cigarette with his thumb and index finger and then returning it to Black Swan.
The latter rolled her eyes, took back the crushed stick, and threw it into the trash can.
“It’s seven. Is he even coming?”
“Wonder Woman promised to come over and meet us,” 1810 said.
“Didn’t the hospital say anything? You haven’t been to work for so long,” Black Swan said. “The director from the theater has been calling nonstop. I don’t really care about the old drama, but the new one premieres tomorrow night.”
“I took funeral leave from the hospital,” 1810 said coldly.
“Who passed away?”
“My mother.”
“Isn’t your mother still alive?”
“Let’s hang on until this tough period is over. We have to focus on rescuing Yogurt.”
“Don’t blame me for not reminding you that she has been missing for more than a week,” Black Swan said. “We don’t even know if she is still alive. Is it worth the effort to look for a corpse? This also means that all the hard work for the past six months has gone down the drain.”
1810 moved his gaze away from the copper pot and looked at Black Swan.
“If someone kidnaps you, we will do the same.”
“That’s sweet. However, if I’m dead, it doesn’t matter what you do for me.” Black Swan opened the cigarette box again while he was talking. This time. 1810 grabbed her wrist.
“I said, don’t smoke tonight.”
Black Swan looked into 1810’s eyes and smiled, “Of course, you are the boss. You have the final say.” After that, she put the box of cigarettes away.
1810 frowned. “I thought we had all reached a consensus on this matter. Everyone voted to save Yogurt at all costs. I remember you voted for it too at that time.”
“Voting is meaningless. You are the boss. And you have already stated that you will not give up any one of us. That’s why we all voted according to your wishes,” Black Swan said.
“If you are not happy with my leadership, you can withdraw from the team any time you want,” 1810 growled in a deep voice. “And you don’t have to pay your share of game points to rescue Yogurt.”
“Look, that’s why everyone voted yes,” Black Swan sneered.
Seeing that the atmosphere had gotten a little tense, Little Yellow Duck hurriedly attempted to calm them down by pouring a glass of orange juice for the two. “Sister Swan, you are not quite right. The fact that our captain can adhere to his principles is the reason why we all follow him. We can always earn back game points, but Yogurt is one of us, and she was taken by our enemy right in front of us. We can’t just leave her alone. The captain has also mentioned that he would do the same for all of us.”
Black Swan smiled, “Little Yellow Duck, I know what you are thinking. You must be thinking that I’m a cold-hearted bitch, and that I’m incomparable to the righteous captain. You know what. You are right about me.”
“No, no, no,” Little Yellow Duck waved her hand quickly and explained, “Black Swan, you will always be my sister.”
“Okay, let me give you a piece of advice. When you start working in society, you will discover that what you see and hear may not necessarily be true. There are only two kinds of people in this world. The first kind is the successful individual, and the second person is the one who helps the first to succeed. The former will always use some righteous motivational speech to inspire the latter. People like them would turn their idealistic idea into everyone’s dream. After that, they would work hard to help him make his goal come true. And you would be branded as a stepping stone for him to achieve his goal. Despite that, the second type of person will still be dumb enough to suck up to the first type.”
“If you have something that you wish to say, say it in my face. Don’t have to beat around the bush,” snapped a dispassionate 1810.
“Do you really think that we are the second type?” Black Swan turned her head and asked, “Yogurt was the last to join the team, and she had the least strength among us. I’m more than happy to say that she is suspicious. Two months ago, you said you need someone meticulous to take care of the team’s logistical issues. But the truth was what we lacked at the time was a good attacker.”
“Oh, I see. You’re angry because I rejected the person that you recommended to join the team.”
“Actually…not really.” Black Swan said, “You have been trying to convince everyone that you are a fair, responsible, and righteous team leader, but when you are with Wonder Woman, both of becoming completely different people,” Black Swan paused. “Are you going, to tell the truth, or are you going to let me reveal your little secret?”
“Since you like Wonder Woman so much, why don’t you go join her team?” 1810 asked rhetorically.
“I appreciate people with a sense of justice because they are rarer than diamonds amid our society. Humans are inherently selfish by nature. I don’t want to go the extra mile for the sake of some pointless justice,” Black Swan went on, “I accepted your invitation because we are the same. Admit it, the reason why you want to rescue Yogurt is not that she is your team member.”
“What’s the reason then? I’m old enough to become her father,” 1810 smirked.
“Yes, she is your daughter.” Black Swan took a sip of orange juice and said casually, “She was born into this world with your first love. However, you married the former dean’s daughter for the sake of your future. Deep down in your heart, you are filled with the guilt of abandoning them. Out of coincidence, after you discovered that your illegitimate daughter is also a player, you recruited her into your team.”
“You dug my background without my consent?” 1810’s face had literally become black, his lips turning downward, his jaw clenched and quivering.
“As I said, your team is not only made up of the second type of people,” Black Swan said.
Just when everyone was feeling extremely tense, the private room’s door was pushed open.
Zhang Heng and Shen Xixi walked in.
“Sorry, I had to attend a class in the afternoon. It just ended.” Zhang Heng said as he quickly looked around the room, observing the expressions on everyone’s face, “…should I go out first to give you some time to prepare for the meeting?”
