“Can you go by yourself… to the cocktail party tonight?”
When Jiang Chen heard Natasha’s words, he took a second to process before examining her from head-to-toe.
Natasha was starting to feel uncomfortable as she rebutted, “Why are you looking at me like that? Can you just give me an answer? Hurry.”
As a security consultant for Jiang Chen, she had to follow where he went, including this private reception.
“I used to think about it—the leader of a frontline intelligence team in her twenties, and a woman too.” Jiang Chen touched his chin and looked with intrigue. “Do you think this is normal?”
“You’re sexist,” Natasha protested.
“Well, let’s throw away the gender problem. You just graduated from university a couple of years ago, right? Don’t mind me, I’m just saying. Back home, if an official is in their twenties, there are two situations: either they’re the second generation of a politician
or—”
“Is this related to you?” Natasha said.
Normally, Natasha wouldn’t be so passive, at least not in her language; she might’ve even teased Jiang Chen instead. Now, she was obviously troubled by something on her mind.
“Of course it’s not related to me. If you say you’re already in your forties, I’m sure I will believe it… Wait, let’s keep it civil. No use of force!” Jiang Chen didn’t finish his words yet before a strong gust of wind was directed at him. He quickly put his arms up and grabbed Natasha’s foot in midair.
This chick was indeed fierce. Although they were in a limousine, it wasn’t spacious at all, and she could still kick her leg. However, while fierce, Jiang Chen could handle a few moves from Batman with his strength and reflex, let alone Natasha.
The movements in the limousine disturbed the bodyguard sitting in front. The bald man turned his head sideways slightly. Jiang Chen only saw his narrowed triangular eye and the hand reaching into his pocket. His murderous vibe was like a monster; he had only seen this in Carmen’s bodyguard before. Of course, it wasn’t directed at Jiang Chen but Natasha who sat across for him…
“Worry about your own business. Turn around; we’re just having fun,” Jiang Chen pushed away Natasha’s foot and waved at the bald guy.
This murderousness made Natasha turn pale, but it was useless to him. He fought the Mother of Death Claws head-on before. Not to brag, but a creature on this Earth without radiation exposure that could scare him hadn’t been born yet.
The bald-headed guy didn’t speak. After hearing Jiang Chen’s words, he nodded and took his hand out of his pocket then continued to look straight ahead. The driver sitting next to him was even more spectacular. Like a robot, the speed of the car didn’t change at all during the entire incident as if nothing happened.
“What’s with you today?” Looking at the pale Natasha, Jiang Chen was worried.
She didn’t use force. Although it seemed fierce, she reduced her strength in the end.
The pressure from behind slowly disappeared and Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. She sank into her seat, buried her face between her hands, and took a deep breath.
“Sorry… I am a little emotional today.”
“Apologizing isn’t necessary; I was trying to irritate you and I apologize too. If you aren’t feeling well, you can go back and wait for me.” Jiang Chen sighed and wasn’t in the mood to guess her issues so he comforted her.
Jiang Chen certainly wouldn’t have so much patience if it was someone else, but they had known each other for so long now.
On the way, neither of them said anything.
When Jiang Chen was bored, he focused on the person driving the car and the back of the bald guy sitting in the front. He felt that the two were indeed powerful and he wondered which system they belonged to.
Intelligence Agency? Alpha Special Forces?
While his mind was running wild, the limousine had already returned to the hotel. Natasha requested an absence. She didn’t even return to the hotel and disappeared right after getting out of the car. Jiang Chen wasn’t too bothered; everyone had their own private affairs. If she needed his help, would certainly not be polite with him.
If she didn’t say anything, it only meant one thing.
This wasn’t something he could help with.
In the afternoon, there was an investor meeting. It was jointly organized by the Russian Space Agency and two national space giants to attract investments. One way to describe this was “making money together,” while the other, uglier way to describe this was “lowering the risk.” After all, the Russian economy was now in a slump, and even the banks tightened their belts. Even these giants had to be treated with caution.
Like what happened in the morning, Jiang Chen showed his face on the stage, gave a speech in front of a group of Russians interested in investing in outer space, discussed the broad prospects of outer space then handed the rest to the organizer…
If nothing else, the script should be like this.
However, Jiang Chen apparently underestimated the enthusiasm of these investors and journalists. If it wasn’t for the giant bodyguards helping him clear the way, he would’ve almost been drowned by the crowd.
“I’m just making a suggestion. You should decrease your attendance to events with a high amount of people. This puts a lot of pressure on our security work and it’s also a risk to your safety.” After leaving the venue, the silent bald guy who had been silent this entire trip finally spoke, and his Russian English sounded a bit low and hoarse. Jiang Chen finally understood why he rarely spoke. With this voice, no matter how politely worded, the tone would sound bloody.
“I will be careful in the future.” Jiang Chen nodded then curiously added, “Just wondering; which system are you in? I don’t know if this problem is presumptuous. I’m very curious—are you from the fabled Alpha?”
At that moment, Jiang Chen finally saw a hint of a smile, but it wasn’t better than not smiling.
“We aren’t the little guys from the National Security Agency. We are Gruu…” the driver sitting in the driver’s seat said.
Jiang Chen finally made sense of the relationship.
The Alpha Special Force was affiliated with the National Security Agency and was mainly responsible for counter-terrorism missions. The scope of activities was also mainly within the country. The two men sitting in front of Jiang Chen were tasked around Syria and Kane year-round, usually performing military missions in the truer sense. If they died, the country would deny their existence unless it was hard facts.
It was hard to say which force was stronger, but from the expression of the bald-headed guy, he seemed quite disdainful of the name Alpha.
After returning to the hotel, Jiang Chen went straight back to his room. After eight o’clock in the evening, he still needed to attend a private cocktail party. Before that, he must prepare himself. Even if it was a suit, it was divided into business and casual.
He opened the tap and went into the room. Just as he was about to take off his clothes, a softness hugged him from behind.
Jiang Chen froze for a second before he realized and picked up Ayesha, who was wearing a carbon nano battle suit. He brought her into the bathroom. In her shock, Jiang Chen threw her into the bathtub that was as wide as a small pool with a smirk.
With a “splash”, Jiang Chen easily held Ayesha’s hands. He rubbed his nose against hers with a smirk. “I just caught a little spy. How should I punish her?”
Her sapphire eyes were burning with thoughts. Ayesha didn’t speak. She lifted her chin emotionally and offered her sweet lips.
The burning fire he hadn’t vented was rekindled by a gentle touch.
At that moment, Jiang Chen didn’t care about being late. Since there were still a few hours, he could eat at the cocktail party if need be.
He slapped her perky butt then turned Ayesha around while still holding her hands. He watched her “trying” to struggle and whispered in her ear, “You dare to seduce the popo during interrogation? Looks like you need to be punished. Don’t move. Let me see if you’re hiding a weapon here…”
