The man inclined his head questioningly. “Why are you staring at me instead of eating?”
“Who would want to stare at you? I’m just wondering what’s wrong with your eyes.
Qin Shu looked down at her breakfast. It was a bountiful spread featuring all her favourite dishes.
She did not expect the man to have the same taste in food as she did.
Lifting her chopsticks, Qin Shu helped herself to a dumpling from the plate closest to her and ate it. The dumpling tasted quite good.
The man held a pair of chopsticks in his hand and said with nonchalance, “I sustained this injury when I was young. Consequently, I have had to apply medicine to it every month since.”
Qin Shu stopped chewing and looked up at the man opposite her.
The man continued, “You must be wondering how I’m able to walk so freely with my eyes covered?”
Qin Shu frowned having had her intentions read so easily. Nonetheless, curiosity got the better of her. “En.”
“I’m just used to it,” he shrugged.
It sounded a little sad to Qin Shu’s ears.
Yin Xie walked to the dining table and sat down on an empty chair. He glanced at the woman seated beside him. “Master, who is she?”
“A guest,” the man answered succinctly.
“A guest?” A trace of doubt flashed across Yin Xie’s eyes. Why was not he informed that they were receiving a guest?
Qin Shu ignored Yin Xie’s provocative eye and continued eating as if he did not exist.
Yin Xie tilted his head and asked, “Master, when did she arrive? Why didn’t I hear about it?”
“She arrived last night. You didn’t see her come in, that’s all.” The man answered, pausing for but a moment before resuming his meal; an elegant air of genteel nobility surrounding him.
Last night?
Yin Xie’s eyes were filled with doubt. How did the woman next to him escape his notice the previous night?
Qin Shu savoured the delicious food happily. While doing so, her mind wandered idly. It settled on the man opposite her. He was more than a little strange.
Yin Xie eyed Qin Shu covertly. He would not deny the obvious. The woman seated beside him was a ravishing beauty. Yet, beneath her mesmerizing exterior was a sharp undercurrent of hostility that did not escape his trained instincts as an assassin.
The woman probably had some ulterior motive in mind.
Qin Shu devoured the dumplings with gusto. As she did so, she regarded Yin Xie cooly. He had not concealed his murderous intent well and it showed in the way he snuck surreptitious glares in her direction. Unperturbed, she enjoyed her meal as if she could not feel his eyes on her.
Abruptly, the man laid down his chopsticks and ordered, “Yin Xie, go and weed the withered grass around the greenhouse.”
“Didn’t a servant weed it yesterday?” Yin Xie responded with a confused look.
The man raised a brow. “I know. I want you to weed it again.”
The man spoke in a quiet monotone. When Yin Xie heard it, he knew he had displeased his master.
“I’ll go now.”
Yin Xie sent Qin Shu a sharp look before he got up and left. To be dismissed by his master in such an embarrassing manner…
Naturally, Yin Xie was unwilling to weed the back garden where the greenhouse stood.
Qin Shu watched Yin Xie’s departure expressionlessly. Once he was out of sight, she turned her attention to the man opposite her.
Having eaten her fill, she set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a paper napkin.
The man mirrored her actions and asked, “Are you full?”
“Yes, I am.” Qin Shu nodded.
The man put down his napkin and said, “Let’s go sunbathing together.”
“Yes,” Qin Shu replied. She stood up, waiting for the man to stand up. She followed the man to the living room.
The man walked with a measured gait with an uncharacteristic steadiness to his steps. It was impossible to tell that he was walking blindfolded from his footfalls alone.
The living room was brightly lit with light streaming in from the verandah. A glass window blocked the cold wind while a retractable sunshade hung above. Two beach chairs made of solid wood sat in the shade. Between the two chairs was a tea set.
The man strolled to a beach chair and sat down. He leaned against the backrest, allowing only the lower half of his body to tan in the sun.
Qin Shu took the vacant chair beside him, following his example. The gentle warmth of the sun was a balm against her skin. It was neither too hot nor too cold. It was just right.
She could not help but wonder what the man was up to.
Were his intentions as benign as enjoying a meal and sunbathing with her?
Angling her head in his direction, Qin Shu recalled the events that had transpired the previous night and mulled over the mistakes she had made – the most obvious being her failure to wear a wig or using a voice changer to mask her identity.
The man had actually known that she was a woman even before she picked out clothes to wear from the wardrobe.
She had neglected this tidbit in favour of the man’s strange behaviour.
It was only after the fact that she realized her oversight.
“How did you know I was a woman? I thought I had masked my identity well enough by speaking hoarsely…”
“A woman’s hand is different from a man’s hand.” The man murmured.
She had only touched him once the previous night when she tied him up. How could he tell from such a short encounter?
“There were many other details you neglected which led me to my conclusion.”
“What details?” Qin Shu asked, a curious lilt colouring her voice.
“You possess a very special aura.”
“…”
Qin Shu stared at the man with her eyes drawn into slits. Was he really the head of the Crimson Sand Organization?
Eating, sunbathing and sleeping?
He was very different from what she had imagined…
The man interrupted her thoughts with a question. “Am I so very different from how you imagined me to be?”
He even knew what she was thinking!
Seeing little merit in denying him, she affirmed. “You are a little different from how I’d imagined you to be.”
“What kind of person did you expect me to be?” The man asked faintly.
“Ruthless, cold-hearted, unscrupulous, despicable and shameless!” Qin Shu spoke her mind without scruples.
“I see.” The man chuckled. “Then what about now?”
“You’re not a good person.” Qin Shu pronounced.
The man smiled but remained silent thereafter.
A heavy silence ensued.
Qin Shu peered at the man reclining in his chair. With his eyes covered in gauze, she could not tell whether he was awake or asleep.
Not having slept the whole night, Qin Shu soon felt drowsy basking in the warm morning light. It was not long before she was sound asleep. Her breathing lightened and the worry etched on her face smoothened. Her cheeks took on a rosy hue in the tepid light of morning, framing her delicate features in a motley of pinks and reds.
The man turned over to look at her. From the sound of her breathing, he knew that she had fallen asleep. She had not slept the whole night so it was not strange that she was so tired.
Just then, Yin Shi walked over and was about to speak.
The man raised his hand to stop him.
Yin Shi nodded in understanding and refrained from speaking. He stole a glance at the person in the other chair. Seeing a woman sleeping in the other chair, he was taken aback.
When did she arrive?
No wonder his master would not let him speak. It turned out that he did not want to wake her up.
The man got up slowly and padded into the living room.
Yin Shi followed his master in.
Once inside, Yin Shi said, “Master, I’ll get Gu Yan to check your pulse.”
The man returned to the third floor without saying so much as a word. It was his way of showing tacit acquiescence.
Yin Shi bowed and headed towards the basement. When he reached the door, he pressed his hand on the screen and the door swung open automatically.
