“Yes, I’m very sleepy.”
“Yes, you’re sleepy and you want to fall asleep. Go ahead and doze off. Once you’re asleep, you won’t be troubled anymore.”
Fan Shixin felt much more relieved after seeing the man closing his eyes and remaining still.
“I’m going to ask you some questions now. You mustn’t keep anything from me. Can you do it?”
“Yes.”
“Very good. What’s your name and where do you come from?”
“My name is Alexandra, and I’m an orphan from S Nation who was adopted by the Donggong family.”
No wonder he looks so much like a local.
An Xiaoning asked, “What mission were you tasked with when you were sent to S Nation?”
“I was in charge of gathering information and sending it to Master. Someone took over my duties, and we were then tasked with planning a strategy to lure Ms. An to R Nation or get a sample of her hair. That’s the only way we’ll get to return to R Nation.”
“What was the strategy that you had come up with?”
“We first tried to select a suitable candidate to get close to An Xiaoning. However, it was hard to single out a suitable one. At that juncture, He Yi happened to trespass on our master’s ancestral ground and was discovered by one of us. When Master was about to execute him, He Yi actually dragged Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning into this and claimed to be a friend of theirs. He said that we can’t send him to the police station. Hence, Master decided to make use of him to get this matter settled with our guidance.”
“Does that tomb belong to a member of the Pei family? Does that mural really exist too?”
“No, the owner doesn’t belong to the Pei family, but the mural really does exist. Master said that An Xiaoning has a feud with Pei Yi from the DK Organization and that Pei Yi could become the scapegoat even if our plan falls through.”
An Xiaoning realized that the Donggong family was trying to kill two birds with one stone.
It would be best for them if they succeeded. However, if they were to fail, she would pin Pei Yi as a suspect. Pei Yi was a representative of the DK Organization and, thus, the R Nation would definitely be after his life. In fact, the entire world wanted to annihilate the DK Organization. Unfortunately, there was nothing much they could do. Thus, the Donggong family was probably trying to make use of her and Jin Qingyan to deal with the DK Organization.
“What is the name of your master?”
“Donggong Lianzhi.”
I really haven’t heard of… this name.
Although she was aware of the existence of the Donggong family, she had never researched the members in detail.
Lastly, she asked him about the motive of the mastermind. However, he was clueless since he was just a subordinate.
At the end of the hypnosis session, Alexandra regained his consciousness slowly and shook his head a few times. He had no idea about what had happened at all. How did I end up falling asleep? When did An Xiaoning leave? he wondered.
The next thing he knew, he was being taken away before he had even sobered up.
….
On the way home, An Xiaoning asked Fan Shixin, “Do you know anything about the Donggong family from R Nation?”
“I don’t exactly know the details, but I do know quite a bit about them. The Donggong family is an established elite and wealthy family. They’ve never once suffered a downfall throughout the many years of their existence. I heard that the daughters of the Donggong family are all betrothed to the royal family of R Nation. I don’t know much about the rest. I’ll go back and look into it to find out more.”
Upon hearing Fan Shixin’s ringtone, An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, “Aren’t you going to answer the call?”
“We can’t pull over right now. Young Madam, please help me grab my mobile phone,” said Fan Shixin. There were cars everywhere on the road, and he could not slow down or cause a traffic holdup.
An Xiaoning took out his mobile phone from the pocket of his suit and said, “Your girlfriend is calling you.”
She answered the call and held it beside his ear.
“Hello.”
“…”
“You’re at the door? I’m not home yet.”
“…”
“I’m on the way home, is there something urgent?”
“…”
“Alright.”
An Xiaoning helped him end the call and asked, “Did your girlfriend go to your place to look for you?”
“Yeah, it’s already so late. I don’t know if she’s looking me up because of something urgent.”
“Are you silly? What else could her reason be? She probably just wants to see you. Shixin, you can let her stay overnight,” An Xiaoning said teasingly.
Blushing red with shyness, Fan Shixin spluttered, “Young Madam… we’ve only been dating for a while.”
“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been dating her for, it all depends on whether you want to do it or not.”
Keeping his eyes fixed on the road, Fan Shixin said, “I doubt she’ll agree to it. When I tried to kiss her previously, she turned me down and said that she’s not a loose woman. For now, she only lets me… hold her hand.”
An Xiaoning was speechless. After a moment of silence, she said, “In that case, her parents must be very strict with her.”
“I think so. She said that her parents had been teaching her since she was young that she could only get a boyfriend after she graduates from university. She had never dared to confess to her crushes in the past either.”
“You two are very similar, then.”
“Young Madam, I have no idea why, but whenever I’m with her, we don’t behave like you and Young Sir at all. We’ve been prim and proper, in fact, a little awkward and formal too. I don’t find there to be any major changes in my life either, although she’s my girlfriend now,” Fan Shixin said truthfully.
“You guys met through a blind date, after all. You haven’t grown to love each other yet. Do spend more time together.”
“Okay.”
Once they pulled over in Wei Ni Estate, they caught sight of Wu Pingyang loitering around the entrance. Upon the sight of their car, she stood by the roadside and looked in their direction.
Fan Shixin drove An Xiaoning to the doorstep and parked the car inside the garage before alighting.
An Xiaoning headed straight to the main mansion while he proceeded to look for Wu Pingyang.
“Why are you here at such a late hour?”
“I missed you, so I decided to come and look you up. I couldn’t help myself,” said the doe-eyed Wu Pingyang, staring at him meekly.
Fan Shixin smiled and held her hand. “But it’s already so late. Do you want to stay at my place for a while before I send you home?”
“Okay,” she answered coyly.
Fan Shixin brought her to his dormitory. Upon the sight of the one-bedroom apartment, Wu Pingyang asked, “Do you usually live here?”
“Yes, I’ve always stayed here.”
“It’s a little small,” she said, scanning her surroundings.
“I live alone. It’s just perfect for me. Besides, it’s about a hundred square meters even though it’s only a one-bedder. Strictly speaking, it’s not that small.”
“If we get married in the future, will you make this our nuptial home?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Of course not. Young Sir has given me an apartment meant for my nuptial home.”
“Where is it, then?”
“In this estate.”
“Could you bring me there to take a look?”
“It’s not very convenient right now. It’s a three-bedroom apartment,” he said frankly.
