But for lime, it holds extraordinary significance.

This necklace was the only source of emotional support for Qing Ning after she chose to join the Assassin's Lair and endured hellish training.

Without it, Qing Ning doesn't believe she had the perseverance to get through it, and then gradually rise to the top of the Assassin's Hall to become a Moon Assassin.

"So, you annoying guy... have you even remembered the promise we made when we were kids?"

Qing Ning clutched the necklace in her hand, her originally joyful expression now turning into one of indignation.

If such an important agreement were to be forgotten, Qingning felt she would be very angry.

Let's just assume that Xia Che was somewhat uneasy because he was threatened by an assassin, and we won't think about it in that direction.

Lime can understand.

But if the other party doesn't bring it up, Qingning will really get angry.

I'm so angry!

...

Night fell.

A narrow, winding path leads to a small villa in front of us.

"Gagaga—"

Several black crows stood on the wall, whispering to each other, and then let out an ominous cry.

Crows have always been a symbol of bad luck.

Their cries were loud, hoarse, and carried a terrifying, piercing quality.

"Tap tap tap—"

A series of light footsteps sounded from one side of the narrow path, growing louder as they approached.

The footsteps were initially steady, but upon seeing the flock of crows on the wall, they suddenly became flustered, and the footsteps became chaotic.

He seemed startled.

"quack--"

The crows by the wall mocked the visitor's nervousness, making him even more annoyed.

"What kind of crappy place is this... They suddenly called me to a meeting. Wasn't the plan to kill Xia Che a solo operation? And they even said they'd provide me with more help... What kind of place is this?"

The bright moonlight illuminated the beautiful profile of the person who had just arrived.

It was Xie Linlin who fell for Xia Che during their date.

"Tch... If you keep yelling, I'll rip your tongues out."

Xie Linlin let out a deep breath, glared fiercely, and then nervously looked around. She wanted to go around to a path without crows, but found that this was the only path nearby.

The small villa in front of us is only three stories high. If you ignore the crows, it looks quite exquisite from the outside and the surrounding environment.

As the eldest daughter of the Xie family, Xie Linlin knew that people who could live in such a place must be either rich or noble.

But why would someone like to keep crows as pets?

Logically speaking, wild crows don't gather in inhabited areas, so there's only one possibility for them to appear here: they're kept by the villa's owner.

"That's...a really disgusting fetish."

When no one is around, Xie Linlin is actually quite domineering. She has quite a temper, otherwise she wouldn't be able to keep her various business partners in check because of her father's serious illness.

"Forget it... let's take it one step at a time. The fact that the woman called Gemini summoned me means the probing is over and it's time to really make a move against Xia Che?"

Xie Linlin pursed her lips, a strange feeling welling up inside her.

This strange feeling has persisted ever since her date with Xia Che ended.

Xie Linlin felt that she was no longer willing to harm Xia Che.

The other person's gentle smile and the perfect date he gave her brought Xie Linlin a different feeling.

It's like...

If the date wasn't fake, but real... then Xie Linlin would be willing to agree to be with Xia Che.

He shook his head, trying to banish these strange thoughts from his mind.

Xie Linlin doesn't have time to think about these romantic relationships right now.

Even if she really falls for Xia Che, so what?

She had little choice; more than romantic love, she wanted to save her father.

The person I like...

It could also be a dead person.

Upon arriving at the villa's door, Xie Linlin gently knocked, and the door was immediately opened, revealing a figure in a blue suit standing before her.

The other person was very tall, seemingly taller than the door frame, which was about two meters in front of them.

Standing there, he completely blocked Xie Linlin's view.

She was startled and took a few steps back before she could see the person's face clearly.

He was a very old man, Xie Linlin estimated that he was at least sixty years old, but his height was unusually tall, even if he was less than two meters tall, he was definitely over 1.9 meters.

The old man was dressed in a very proper blue suit, which showed that he paid great attention to his appearance and was not like other old men with stubble on their chins.

The sharp, chiseled profile of the elderly man made his cheekbones appear very angular, and his deep-set eyes, under the deliberately dim lighting, looked somewhat gloomy, yet full of a sense of oppression.

"Miss Xie Linlin from the Xie family in Jiang City?"

The old man held a roster in one hand, confirmed Xie Linlin's name, and then slightly turned to the side, gesturing for Xie Linlin to come in and speak: "Welcome. I am Miss's housekeeper. Just call me Bai Yuan."

"Yes... okay."

Xie Linlin blinked, carefully turned sideways and brushed past the butler, entering the villa. She then heard the door behind her close softly. Bai Yuan stepped past her half a body length away, politely extended his hand again, and then stopped talking, focusing on leading Xie Linlin the way.

The old man was very polite. As the butler, he always led the guests by only half a step, without overstepping his bounds in the slightest. Even when Xie Linlin deliberately stopped to test him, he would immediately stand still, without the slightest flaw in his manners.

"Miss... are you talking about that woman?"

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of him, Xie Linlin had no choice but to give up for the time being. Moreover, she always felt that the oppressive aura emanating from Bai Yuan was a bit too strong.

She even had a very strange idea.

It seemed like the other party could easily kill him with one hand.

The other person was clearly an elderly man. Logically speaking, given his height and age, it would be difficult for him to walk normally without hunching over.

"As expected, everyone connected to that woman is strange...not like a normal human being."

Xie Linlin put aside her thoughts and followed the butler's directions into the depths of the villa.

Anyway, she's already on Gemini's ship, and it's impossible for her to jump ship now.

In that case, the stronger the people around Gemini, the better.

Since they were on the same side, Xie Linlin felt more at ease the stronger her ally was.

"Um...can I ask you a question, Butler Shirahara?"

It was just a three-story villa, but as Xie Linlin walked down the corridor, the road in front of her seemed so long, as if it would never end.

Unable to bear the dull atmosphere, she mustered her courage and asked when she saw Bai Yuan stop and look at her with a puzzled expression, "Why would you people, who are clearly not ordinary, want to kill Xia Che?"

"He's just an ordinary high school student, isn't he?"