Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

The instinct and passion within her body had been teased out by Yang Ce. Though Zhao Ying felt it wasn't quite right to do this, she was in a daze and could not bring herself to refuse. That accidental kiss at the temple fair had left her with an endless aftertaste, and she had missed it dearly. So now that this long-absent sensation had returned, Zhao Ying was reluctant to let it go for anything.

In an instant all the world's conventions and morals were tossed from Zhao Ying's mind. At that moment she could only respond to Yang Ce by instinct.

On this cold winter night, the feelings the two lovers had kept bottled up finally burst forth, and the passion that spilled out was enough to melt the snow along the roadside. It was a long while before Zhao Ying came back to her senses. With a startled cry she pushed Yang Ce away and ran off at a great pace toward the compound, vanishing in an instant into the vastness of the night.

Watching Zhao Ying's receding figure, Yang Shuoxuan did not know whether what he had just done was right or wrong. But done was done, and Yang Ce did not regret it in the least.

He used his ability to watch Zhao Ying all the way home before he set his mind at ease and headed toward his own villa. Halfway there, he remembered that his car was still parked downstairs from Zhao Ying's building. Well, he would just leave it there for now.

When he stepped into the villa, Chen Shutang was in the living room watching TV. Seeing Yang Ce come in, her face lit up with delight—but it vanished in an instant, and she put on a stern expression. "Why are you back so late?"

Yang Shuyu knew Chen Shutang must be feeling some resentment, and he couldn't blame her. They had finally gotten a chance to be alone together, and he had gone out for an afternoon and not come back until night. Anyone would be resentful.

"Heh heh, Xiaoyan, you know how much work moving is," Yang Ce said as he sat down beside Chen Shutang and drew her into his arms, a cautious, placating smile on his face. "Didn't I rush straight back the moment I could?"

Yang Ce had just done something he knew was wrong, so guilt filled him, and his manner was accordingly gentle.

"As if anyone would believe you." Chen Shutang shot Yang Puqi a look. "Your mouth reeks of chili. 'Rushed straight back,' my foot—you went off to eat something good, and you didn't even take me."

"So you want a taste too?" Yang Lanxu laughed to himself. You'll get exactly what you wish for, and soon.

"And what if I do?" Chen Shutang gave a little huff.

"Then I'll let you have a taste." As he spoke, Yang Yanzhou kissed Chen Shutang on her small mouth, thinking, haha, this way I've sort of eaten it indirectly too.

"Mmph." Chen Shutang's eyes flew wide, but she was helpless; this Yang Ce was always doing something utterly unexpected. Only after Yang Ce had kissed his fill did Chen Shutang struggle free from Yang Juehuan's arms. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey—it's so spicy I could die."

"Heh heh, see? Now you've had a taste," Yang Jiyan said shamelessly.

"You—you're absolutely insufferable." Chen Shutang rolled her eyes at Yang Puqi, though her anger had cooled considerably.

With Lin Yanhe and Zhou Yanning no longer present, Chen Shutang let down the prim, proper airs she had kept up before and became coquettish with Yan. Yang Lanxu found it rather amusing—who told you to fight to be the boss's boss? What's so good about being the boss anyway?

Since no one else was around, Chen Shutang was completely at ease, and the two of them fooled around until the small hours of the night before collapsing into an exhausted sleep.

The night passed without a word. Holding Chen Shutang's soft body, Yang Ce had never slept better.

Yang Cenbin slept soundly, but someone else was destined for a sleepless night. Zhao Ying sat blankly on the sofa in her new home, staring into space. Thinking of what had happened tonight, she felt both shy and delighted.

Yang Juehuan's nerve was growing bolder and bolder—he had actually dared to kiss her just like that. And yet, toward Heng's boldness and domineering ways, Zhao Ying felt a certain joy.

If Yang Ce had been as hesitant as before, she might well have turned him down again. But the way he was now gave her no chance to think at all. So what did Yang Ce's behavior today mean? Had he confessed his feelings to her? Zhao Ying giggled foolishly one moment and frowned the next, her heart twisting this way and that, and yet she grew uncertain again.

Zhao Ying turned on the computer, wanting to go online and talk to "Where in the World Is True Feeling" about what had happened today, to ask for advice, only to discover that since she had just moved in, broadband had not yet been installed in the place.

Helpless, Zhao Ying shut the computer off again. Suddenly her gaze came to rest on that Christmas-tree-like thing Yang Ce had given her yesterday.

Yang Ce had even asked about it again today—had she looked at what he gave her yesterday? Could there be some secret inside?

Zhao Ying picked up the Christmas-tree-like object and began examining it from every angle.

Tonight, besides Zhao Ying, someone else could not sleep. That person was Xia Yan.

Chen Afu's phone rang. Xia Yan glanced at him and asked lightly, "Who is it?"

"It's the Right Elder." Chen Afu did not dare conceal anything. His fear of Yang Juehuan came from the bottom of his heart—that fellow beat him like he was trying to kill him. Ever since high school he had been left with a psychological scar, and every time he tried to do Yang Ce harm, it never worked out; instead he just got beaten even worse.

So Chen Afu had completely given up on taking revenge against Yang Ce. Now he only feared that Yang Ce would take revenge on him.

"Answer it. Don't try any tricks, or I'll call Yang Ce." Xia Yan had noticed this too—Chen Afu seemed to be utterly terrified of Yang Yongjin. He had no idea how Yang Ce had managed it, but he had actually made this formidable, monstrous killer afraid of him. Xia Yan had to admit he admired Yang Ce.

This man truly had something extraordinary about him.

Chen Afu shuddered all over, then took two deep breaths and slowly picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Chen Afu, what on earth is going on with you?" The Right Elder's scolding came over the line. "It's been days—why haven't you delivered me any fresh corpses?"

To be continued

1018. The Lure Fails

Having confirmed that the call was from the Right Elder, Xia Yan nodded to his assistant. The assistant immediately connected the computer to the network and began tracing where the call was coming from.

After Xia Yan had consulted his superiors, they held a meeting, studied the matter, and decided to assign him a technical expert—this very assistant. As for the rest of the personnel, the local police could be called upon to cooperate in capturing the Right Elder.

"I—I've been a bit under the weather these past few days, so I haven't taken any action. Tonight—tonight I'll definitely complete the mission," Chen Afu said, trembling.

Although Chen Afu's tone was a little off, the Right Elder paid it no mind, assuming Chen Afu was simply afraid of him. He gave a cold laugh. "Fine. You said it. If you still can't get me a fresh corpse tonight, then I'll use you to practice my dark sorcery."

With that, he hung up.

"Where did the call come from?" Xia Yan asked his assistant.

"Can't trace it. The other side is clever—they're not using a landline or a cell phone, but something like a Skype internet call," the assistant said with a shake of his head.

"Can't you trace the user's IP address?" Xia Yan was reluctant to give up.

"I did trace it, but it's a foreign IP address. They must be using a proxy—probably several layers of them by now," the assistant said helplessly.