There was no fear on Tang Xiuâs face after Liu Changxi said that. He looked rather unperturbed and calm, and replied without being salty nor limpid, âI really donât know what youâre talking about, Secretary Liu. But what Iâm sure of is that you are threatening me.â
âYou can think of it as me threatening you,â said Liu Changxi seriously.
After being silent for a short while, Tang Xiu suddenly let out a smile and said, âYou know, I am someone who is very timid, and the thing I fear the most is coming across trouble; however, my strongest point is that Iâm never afraid of facing threats. You may be someone from the Ministry of State Security, but Iâm afraid youâll have to think about the consequences of making trouble for me without any ground. Hehehe⊠the House of Tang may be weaker than we were in the past, yet a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. You should also understand this fact.â
âYouâŠâ Liu Changxiâs expression changed, and there was an indignant look in his eyes. He was always the one threatening others in the past, but it was Tang Xiu who threatened him now.
The most important fact was that Tang Xiuâs threat was pretty much undeniable, and very effective. Though he was someone from the Ministry of State Security, he could see much clearer than anyone else about the political aspects. Once the Tang Family were to exert their forces, the trouble he could get into would probably be big, even his position and job would be on the stake.
He stayed silent for two minutes before finally letting out a bitter smile, âI just found that I canât see through you, Tang Xiu. If I didnât know that you are only in your 20s, I would have thought that you were an experienced old fox. Anyhow, I apologize. I hope that you can see the difficulties Iâm facing. I simply canât sleep and eat peacefully if I canât investigate this matter thoroughly.â
âWhat I can tell you is that there is not even the slightest relationship between me and those mysterious people,â said Tang Xiu calmly. âAs for the extremists, their bodies have vanished. Shortly put, the issues with those extremists have come to an end.â
Liu Changxi abruptly got up, a look of disbelief in his eyes. He was able to reach his position due to his intelligence and astuteness. From what Tang Xiu said, he could tell what had happened to the remaining extremists.
âSecretary Liu, I already told you what I must say and the things I shouldnât say. If you still feel indebted to me due to the matter that happened tonight, I hope the matter with the extremists will end here and now. I, Tang Xiu, always play fair and square, and you have my guarantee that I will not do anything harmful to my own country. Hence, itâs best not to bother me later, so I wonât have to bother you too,â said Tang Xiu.
Liu Changxiâs mouth twitched, causing him want to open Tang Xiuâs mind to find out the bottom of the matter, as well as wanting to clearly figure out the origins of those mysterious people.
However, he dared not do so!
Suddenly, he said, âThen, I donât have anything else to say. However, I do want you to reconsider joining our security department. I sincerely hope that you can join us earlier if possible, and do something for the country.â
âI told you very clearly before that I wouldnât consider joining any department before I graduated from college, didnât I?â Tang Xiu waved his hand and answered.
With a forced smile, Liu Changxi replied, âDonât tell me that you donât know that the greater the ability, the bigger the responsibility one must shoulder, Tang Xiu? Your special ability is exactly what we need!â
âSecretary Liu, I believe that the world has infinite marvels and wonders in it. There are many people with strange abilities in China as long as your security department is seriously looking for them. There are many like me, and itâs not a few in number. Besides, I want to have a peaceful and serene life while studying. We can discuss it again in the future,â answered Tang Xiu.
Looking at Tang Xiu with a deep gaze, Liu Changxi then got up from the sofa and said, âSince you have already expressed your point, I wonât force you anymore. Anyhow, our security department will continue to search for the rest of the extremists. I hope you can tell me all you know one day.â
âAll right!â Tang Xiu followed up and replied.
Afterward, Tang Xiu sent them off. When he returned to the living room, he found that Li Laoshan also had left with his people. He left a message for Tang Xiu saying that he would have lunch with him tomorrow.
âTang Xiu, letâs have a chat,â said Zhang Xinya softly, under the gaze of everyoneâs eyes.
Tang Xiu nodded, and looked at the five children, Tang Xiaojin and the rest, who were with Zhang Xinya, saying, âAll of you go sleep; itâs late. I will wake you up at four oâclock tomorrow morning.â
The five children obediently complied. Though they only met Zhang Xinya through half of the dinner time and liked her gentle and kind manner, they still listened to Tang Xiuâs order and returned to their rooms to sleep.
âTang Eldest Bro, what about usâŠâ said Yue Kai.
While pointing at the direction of the rooms occupied by Tang Xiaojin and the rest, Tang Xiu shook his head and said, âYou canât stay here, buddy.â
âAlright. Weâll spend the night at the hotel,â Yue Kai forced a smile. âBesides, the reason we came here tonight was to see you whether something had happened to you, to begin with.â
âIf anything, Iâm going to the campus tomorrow,â said Tang Xiu with a calm smile.
âAll right, then weâll go first. See you tomorrow, buddy,â Yue Kai nodded.
Suddenly, Mu Wanying stepped forward. She looked at Tang Xiu and shot a glance at Zhang Xinya. There was a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes, as she said, âTang Xiu, itâs not quite convenient for us girls to stay in a hotel. There are many other rooms in your place, it wouldnât be a problem for us to stay here, would it?â
âYou girls can stay in the other two rooms. Itâs not your first time staying here, so you can pick whichever room you like. Xinya and I will go to the study room to talk about some matters first,â said Tang Xiu.
A minute later, Tang Xiu and Zhang Xinya came to the study room. Tang Xiuâs behaviour was completely different after he sat. While looking at the awkward and dazed expression on Zhang Xinyaâs face, Tang Xiu took out a cigarette, lit it up and took a puff. Then, he said with a smile, âSay, big star, you told me that you wanted to have a chat with me. That should be an excuse, right? Looking at your dazed expression, it doesnât feel like you want to chat with me. Itâs clear that you just made an excuse because you wanted to be alone with me. Say⊠you didnât fall in love with me or something, right?â
Zhang Xinya came back to her senses. Upon hearing that, she replied between laughter and tears, âThat was quite narcissistic of you, Tang Xiu. Though I do admire you a bit, itâs still a bit early to fall in love, you know! Itâs just that I was thinking about some issues.â
âWhat?â Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.
A smile appeared on the corner of Zhang Xinyaâs mouth, as she asked, âDo you think Iâm beautiful, or is it Mu Wanying more beautiful?â
âSince you ask, I will definitely say that you are beautiful. If the person asking me was Mu Wanying, I will definitely say that sheâs beautiful as well. If both of you are present together, I will, of course, say that you all are beautiful women!â
Zhang Xinya shot coquettish, charming white eyes at Tang Xiu, and snappily said, âYou guys are all the same, indeed. Hypocrites, and never have any truth whatsoever in your words.â
âMy, my⊠itâs not like I donât want to have a pleasant chat, no?â Tang Xiu couldnât help but chuckle to himself. âWomen are quite petty. Itâs unlikely for me to offend a beauty, either.â
Having said that, Tang Xiu was suddenly stunned. He touched his own mouth without him realizing, and looked a bit surprised. He just realized that his empathy and emotional quotient seemed to be getting higher, or better. It was because that idea of saying those words just now wouldnât have crossed his mind, definitely.
âŠWas it because he got influenced by Yue Kai and Hu Qingsong due to spending so much time together?
As for Zhang Xinya, she no longer mentioned about this topic, and instead asked, âWhat exactly did you tonight, Tang Xiu? Secretary Liu were always very secretive and only replied with few words every time I asked him questions. Those extremists are way too frightening, did they all get punished or something?â
âYeah, all of them have been properly punished,â answered Tang Xiu.
With a complex expression on her face, Zhang Xinya hesitated for a moment before asking, âTang Xiu, can you comply with my request?â
âSay it!â Tang Xiu shrugged his shoulder and said with a smile.
âThe present eraâs society is governed under the law. I may not know the differences between your world and the world I live in are, but I want to persuade you to not arbitrarily kill anyone. Youâre a very strong individual yourself, and there are also some men of yours who are similarly very good, too. Yet, you are much inferior compared to the big machines possessed by this country. Iâm afraid⊠Iâm afraid that one day, you would beâŠâ
âI understand what you mean. I do,â Tang Xiu lightly smiled. âBut I can honestly tell you that those who I have killed were all people who deserved to die. For example, the incident this time. There were quite a lot of people who died by my menâs hands, but the both sides were executioners, and had their hands stained by blood. If it werenât for my men, perhaps your concert would have become a hell on Earth; at least tens of thousands of people would have been killed. Tons of tourists would also have been killed at the airport. Anyways, letâs go back to those people I killed when I was in Hong Kong. The reason I killed them was because most of them had taken human lives, and tons of people had been harmed by them. I would kill an evil person if I can save many good people. Now tell me, do you think I should kill them or not?â
âBut⊠isnât there the police?â Asked Zhang Xinya.
âYes, thereâs indeed the police. However, why were those people still living so well before I killed them? They had done all kinds of evil, shouldnât they deserve to get punished?â Probed Tang Xiu.
"ThisâŠ" Zhang Xinya was speechless.
Tang Xiu smoked his cigarette and smilingly said, âXinya, relax! Your good intentions and kindness, I can feel them. I know by heart and I live with a code of never harming good people. Not only that, I will also do my best to help them. But for evil people who are not disclosed by any news whatsoever, I will kill them. But once thereâs a possibility of disclosing news about them, I will naturally think of other methods, such as adding fuel to the flame so that the law can sanction justice on them!â
Zhang Xinya breathed a sigh of relief. A smile appeared on her flawless face, as she nodded and said, âYou know very well whatâs inside your heart. I also realize that you have helped me many times, and you are also an important person just like Lulu in my heart. Hence, I really treasure you.â
Tang Xiu nodded with a smile, and then suddenly asked, âWhy is Ouyang Lulu so quiet tonight? Given her disposition, she should be here, right?â