The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 483 Internet Disconnection (XI) Three-Line Assassination
"Guan Gu-kun, is this your painting? Why does it feel different in style from the other works here?"

Inside the rented Guan Gu Miracle Mansion, Tang Xiaoyou looked at the cat on the drawing board that looked like a cat but was also silly... and asked curiously.

The artist, Guan Gu Qi Ji, said with a smile: "That's how comics are. Actually, I dreamed of becoming a comic artist when I was in Japan. That's why I left my family's cooking business and came all the way here for my dream."

As for fraud and the like, that's just a side job.

After all, the comic book industry was in a slump during the Republic of China era, so people had to find a side job to make ends meet, right?
Seeing that Tang Xiaoyou was seriously admiring the painting, Guan Gu Qi Ji said, "This is my newly designed comic protagonist. What do you think?"

"Um……"

Tang Xiaoyou thought for a moment and said, "It would be better if it didn't have ears."

Upon hearing this, Guan Gu Qi Ji looked at it carefully and nodded in agreement: "That makes sense!"

"Guan Gu-kun, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you these past two days. You're a good person."

At this moment, Tang Xiaoyou suddenly spoke sincerely and bowed to him.

Seeing this, Guan Gu Qi Ji scratched his head sheepishly and smiled, "It's okay. I know my identity is easily misunderstood, and I'm used to it."

He paused, then added, "But time will prove that I really am a good person!"

Meanwhile, in the villa's underground prison, an unfortunate fellow, who had attempted to send a distress message in a fraudulent letter but was discovered by the translator, was groaning in agony under the whip.

"I know you're a good person, Guan Gu, but... can I ask you something?" Tang Youyou hesitated for a moment.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"It's about Britney Spears."

“Sweetie? You mean…” Guan Gu looked at the parrot in the cage beside him, “that bird?”

Tang Xiaoyou nodded, considered her words carefully, and said, "All the other birds are singing, but it has never chirped. I'm worried it might have depression. Shall we release it?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Gu Qi Ji seemed to understand what the other person meant.

To be honest, he also felt a little uncomfortable with the sudden presence of another woman in his home, but since she was sent over by his business partner, Mr. Yi, and was also his aunt, he couldn't just let her go on his own.

So after thinking for a moment, Guan Gu Qi Ji said, "Well... it got swine flu a few days ago, I don't think it's appropriate to let it out, right?"

"Although it eats and lives well here, it has no freedom!"

"Then I'll buy a bigger cage someday."

"What it needs is not a cage, but to go where it wants to go."

"It's too chaotic outside, and it can be best protected here."

"This is imprisoning it; you need to consider its feelings!"

Seeing that the topic was getting more and more heated, Guan Gu Qi Ji simply stopped hiding anything.

"Whom do you expect me to consider? The bird or you?"

Tang Xiaoyou stopped pretending: "Birds need freedom, and so do I!"

"free?"

Guan Gu Qi Ji chuckled and said, "I didn't stop you from going out, did I?"

"Then you should remove those spies outside."

“That’s your nephew’s man, not mine.”

Tang Xiaoyou paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Mr. Yi is a notorious spy chief, and you are just a painter. How can you two be friends?"

"..."

That's a great question. Is it strange that a fraud leader and the top local intelligence chief are friends?

Without the other party as a protector, how could he dare to do this side job?
As Tang Xiaoyou's aunt, he should have told her about it, but since she hadn't informed him beforehand, he shouldn't say it now.

After thinking for a moment, he made an excuse: "I met him when I was in Japan. He came to my family's restaurant and praised my grilled cod. That's when we started our friendship. It has nothing to do with politics."

After a pause, Guan Gu Qi Ji laughed again: "When I first met him, he wasn't called Mr. Yi yet. I think his name was... Zhang Xiaowei."

……

The dark clouds that had been gathering over Shanghai for several days finally gave way today, with a light drizzle falling, making the already chilly city even colder.

On the rooftop opposite Mr. Guan Gu's villa in the concession, Zhang Xiaowei, a handsome one-eyed man in a Zhongshan suit, walked slowly with an umbrella in his hand and an oak guitar case in his hand.

There were many guards and informants around the villa, but he managed to avoid them all.

Although I know that Mr. Yi and Guan Gu Qi Ji are friends, since Mr. Yi sent him to assassinate, I can't let others know.

After Mr. Yi issued the mission yesterday morning, he had already scouted the location, bypassing the guards and heading straight to the most suitable sniping spot.

And the guitar case in his hand didn't contain a guitar.

After glancing at the target's window, Zhang Xiaowei put away his umbrella, opened the guitar case, and inside was a disassembled sniper rifle.

After skillfully assembling the gun, Zhang Xiaowei set it up and aimed it at the window.

"Huh? Why can't I see it?"

After frowning and muttering to himself, Zhang Xiaowei moved the blindfold covering his left eye to his right eye, while his right eye was actually completely unharmed.

This was a secret that even Mr. Yi didn't know. Within their intelligence group, including Mr. Yi, everyone had always believed that Zhang Xiaowei had lost sight in his left eye during an operation.

But for Zhang Xiaowei, there was an even bigger secret than this one.

Through the scope, the figures of Guan Gu Qi Ji and Tang Xiao You were faintly visible.

Zhang Xiaowei relaxed his breathing and began to wait for the best moment to fire.

……

"It's raining."

Wearing a sky-blue embroidered cheongsam and a black furry fisherman's hat, Qin Xiaomo stood under the eaves of the Western-style house and spoke softly.

"It's cold, wear this before you go buy a ring."

Wen Richeng came out carrying an umbrella, with a light gray trench coat draped over his other arm.

“You didn’t bring many clothes. Before you woke up this morning, I asked Aunt Wu to buy a piece of clothing according to your size. I don’t know if I measured it correctly.”

"..."

Qin Xiaomo blushed upon hearing this. Last night, she had been measured from head to toe, and even after waking up in the morning, she had been measured again.

However, after the initial shyness, Qin Xiaomo felt a surge of emotion.

Knowing that they were going to buy a ring today, the other person had already considered the weather before she even woke up this morning.

I was worried he might postpone our meal because of the weather!

Just as Qin Xiaomo was staring blankly at the trench coat, Wen Richeng handed it to her.

"Give it a try. After we buy the diamond ring, I'll go shopping for clothes with you." Wen Richeng smiled gently. "Just buy whatever you like."

Qin Xiaomo shifted her gaze to the man's face. At this moment, he no longer seemed like a traitor who had betrayed his country and nation, but rather a refined and successful husband.

At that moment, Qin Xiaomo's heart began to waver, and she couldn't help but ask, almost as if possessed, "The weather is bad, do we really have to go shopping today?"

During the Republican era, a talented woman from Shanghai, who would later become famous, would utter the famous line in her novel "Lust, Caution" decades later: "The stomach is the passage to a man's heart, and the vagina is the passage to a woman's heart."

For Qin Xiaomo, who knew what was going to happen next, this sentence couldn't be more apt.

But as soon as she said it, she regretted it.

What if the other party really agrees not to buy the diamond ring today...? Underneath the hidden compartment of her bag, lay a ship ticket to America for two days later.

Wen Richeng noticed the hesitation in her eyes and said with a smile, "We agreed last night that I would go buy you a diamond ring today, so even if it's raining knives from the sky, I will still go buy it for you."

"..."

"Let's go, the driver is waiting outside."

After helping Qin Xiaomo put on her trench coat, Wen Richeng opened the large black umbrella and stepped into the rain, smiling at her.

Qin Xiaomo pursed her lips and stepped under his umbrella.

Hearing that the man was still going to buy a diamond ring, she breathed a sigh of relief, but just like before, that feeling of unease resurfaced.

You don't actually have to buy a diamond ring...

The large, dark umbrella moved slowly in the drizzle, and from a distance, it looked like a black lotus flower swaying in the wind and rain.

Qin Xiaomo took his arm and whispered in his ear, "The clothes fit perfectly, I like them very much."

"That's good." ……

After leaving the Wen family mansion, the car drove straight to the jewelry store.

Wen Richeng refused the driver's offer to get out of the car and open the umbrella. He got out of the car himself, opened the door on the other side, and smiled at Qin Xiaomo who was sitting inside:
"We've arrived at the jewelry store."

Qin Xiaomo, who had been lost in thought, finally snapped out of it. She turned to look at the man in front of her and the jewelry store behind him before giving a soft reply and taking the hand he offered to get out of the car.

She wrapped her arms around his again and gently rested her head on his shoulder, as if she wanted to savor the touch.

"what happened?"

Moon Il-sung asked with a smile, "You're about to buy a diamond ring, aren't you in a good mood?"

"No," Qin Xiaomo shook her head, "I just... think you're a good person."

In the short distance of less than ten meters from the car into the jewelry store, she had already spotted several "suspicious" people.

She didn't know if he was the man's bodyguard or... a hitman from the Green Gang.

"Whether you're a good person or a bad person, I'm just your man now, nothing more."

"..."

Qin Xiaomo silently followed him into the shop. After he closed the umbrella, she couldn't help but take his arm and boldly gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

But what Qin Xiaomo was thinking about was the details of yesterday's transaction.

“Miss Qin, to show our sincerity, we can give you this ticket first. All you need to do is bring Wen Richeng to the jewelry store tomorrow.”

"Miss Qin, you must also yearn for freedom, but it is these big traitors and spies who are imprisoning your freedom."

"Although our Green Gang is seen by everyone as a gang that does all kinds of evil, we also have a sense of national and ethnic righteousness."

“I, Du, usually pretend to be friendly with the people from No. 76, but in reality, I want to get rid of them as soon as possible. During the years they occupied Shanghai Beach, our Green Gang has assassinated several traitors and lackeys, and even Japanese officers.”

“I believe that you, Miss Qin, are also a woman with a strong sense of national righteousness. Before you embark on the road to freedom, why not put this national ideal into practice?”

"This Wen Richeng, the director of the 76th Intelligence Division, is not truly under the orders of Mr. Yu Yi. He is not just a simple spy. We have investigated and found that the person behind him is actually a high-ranking Japanese officer. If such a major traitor can be eliminated, it will undoubtedly be a blessing for the nation!"

"..."

"Xiao Mo, what are you thinking about? Come and choose a diamond ring."

Just as Qin Xiaomo was lost in thought, Wen Richeng's voice came to her ears and brought her back to reality.

"it is good."

Qin Xiaomo smiled and nodded, her eyes beginning to search the store.

But what she's looking for isn't jewelry and diamonds, but the hidden assassin.

She didn't know why she was looking for it; it seemed she was just trying to confirm that yesterday's transaction was real.

But the people in the shop seemed to be none of them, yet they all seemed to be.

A look of confusion crossed Qin Xiaomo's eyes, and her mind drifted away again, this time recalling the intimate scene between the two of them from the previous night.

The man's gentle words and tender caresses completely overturned the image she had of him just two days ago.

That traitor, who should have been a heinous and vicious villain, transformed into the words he had just spoken in that soul-deep communion.

Whether he was a good person or a bad person, at this moment, he was simply her husband, nothing more.

"Xiao Mo, what do you think of this?"

Wen Richeng's voice brought her back to reality, and only then did she realize that she had unknowingly gone up to the second floor with him.

"Since you weren't saying anything earlier, you probably didn't find anything suitable." Wen Richeng gestured to the side, "Do you like this one?"

Qin Xiaomo stared at the man's face for a long time without moving, and only looked to the side after being urged by him.

The jewelry store owner behind the counter slowly opened the ring box.

Inside, there was a striking oval pink diamond the size of a pigeon's egg, surrounded by a ring of white diamonds.

The sunlight was dim on this rainy day, so the shop lights were turned on. Under the overhead lights, the diamond looked like something out of a dream.

When Qin Xiaomo saw the diamond ring, the look in her eyes went from dazed to shocked, and then back to dazed again...

"Try it?"

Whispering in the ear of the man beside her, she couldn't help but reach out and take the diamond ring, the size of a pigeon's egg, and slowly put it on the finger of her right hand.

Congratulations, miss!

The shop owner's congratulations should have made Qin Xiaomo happy with such a diamond ring, but at this moment she felt no joy.

Moon Il-sung took her hand, and the pink diamond made her hand look incredibly beautiful.

“I’m actually not interested in diamond rings.” Moon Il-sung’s gaze moved from her hand to her eyes. “I just like seeing it on your hand.”

Qin Xiaomo felt as if her heart was being held tightly by this man. The warmth of his hand traveled from her fingertips to her heart. The two events that happened yesterday, day and night, kept intertwining in her mind, making her breathing gradually quicken and her expression fluctuate.

"It's about two million dollars, cash or credit card?"

Qin Xiaomo paid no attention to what the shop owner said; she simply stared intently at Wen Richeng with eyes full of emotion.

In a daze, she seemed to see passersby outside the window, customers admiring jewelry on the second floor, and shop assistants serving customers, all of whom would draw their guns and point them at her in the next second.

She opened her mouth, and all the suppressed emotions seemed to find an outlet and surged out.

Moon Il-sung raised an eyebrow slightly, took her hand, and moved a little closer.

"Come on."

……

"Snapped!"

A crisp gunshot rang out.

Guan Gu Miracle fell to the ground with a thud.

Tang Youyou, who had just been arguing, suddenly widened her eyes: "Guan Gu Jun! Guan Gu Jun!"

Shot and struggling to move to the side, Guan Gu Qi Ji leaned against the cabinet door against the wall, panting heavily.

Seeing the blood staining his white shirt, Tang Xiaoyou supported him and said in a panic, "Guan Gu, you've been shot! Don't move, I'll go get a doctor!"

"It's no use. The nearest hospital is too far from here. I won't make it that far."

Hearing Guan Gu Qi Ji's words, Tang Xiao You, who had just been thinking about wanting freedom, no longer wanted it. She cried and said, "I'm sorry, Guan Gu-kun, I've dragged you into this."

"No, it's my fault for dragging you into this. I knew this day would come sooner or later since I started this business, but I didn't expect it to come so soon!"

"No, it's my fault for dragging you into this. I'm an underground member!"

"..."

Guan Gu Qi Ji looked at Tang Xiao You in shock, and before he could say anything, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Guan Gu-kun, stop talking, I'll go get someone," Tang Xiaoyou cried, her mind in turmoil.

"Xiaoyou, you should leave quickly. It's dangerous here. Don't come back."

"No, I can't give you up."

Guan Gu Miracle struggled to break free from Tang Xiaoyou's embrace and said weakly, "Then go and call the doctor. I'll try my best to hold on until you get here."

Hearing this, Tang Xiaoyou wiped away her tears and nodded emphatically: "Okay, you must hold on. You can't die before I come back!"

"..."

After Tang Xiaoyou left, Guan Gu Qi Ji, enduring the pain of being shot, slowly got up and walked to the telephone on the table, trembling as he dialed a number.

"I've been shot, I need blood from the blood bank."

……

Meanwhile, Zeng Xian'er, who was also carrying out an assassination plot, was struggling to turn her head back, trying to see the prison design drawings tattooed on her back.

"That's strange. I've been away from here for so many years, and I still remember the prison structure wrong."

Zeng Xian'er, the leader of the Jellyfish Assassination Squad, looked disheveled and full of worry as she crawled back into her old cell through the hole.

Where did I just dig?

(End of this chapter)