Chapter 198 The Taste of Love

That was the taste of her and her childhood sweetheart's love.

It was also the last bit of "beautiful" memory she had in her life before hatred and madness consumed her.

How did this smell end up here? In the secret core beneath the deep sea, in this room filled with deadly weapons?

Just as Madam Bai was momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden scent that struck the softest spot in her heart—

"Squeak—"

On the side of the room, a hidden door that blends perfectly into the wall and is almost invisible is gently pushed open.

A petite figure, carrying a steaming white porcelain bowl, cautiously poked her head in.

She had a baby face, big eyes, and slightly messy, naturally curly hair, with a bit of kitchen grease on her face.

She was wearing an ill-fitting dark blue overall, as if she had borrowed it from some staff member, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her slender yet shapely forearms.

It's Su Xiaonuan.

She blinked her big, innocent-looking eyes and scanned the room—glancing over the floating, red-glowing killing weapons, over Fu Lilian, who was holding a gun and had a pale face, over Han Ming, whose expression was complicated and stiff, and finally, her gaze settled on Madam Bai, who was holding an empty wine glass and looked dazed.

Then, she gave a shy yet slightly nervous smile, her voice soft and sweet, like the trembling skin of the braised pork in her hand:

"Excuse me...?"

"I think I'm lost. I smelled a kitchen over here, so I just made something to eat... Auntie? Would you like something to eat first?"

As she spoke, she handed the bowl of bright red and fragrant Suzhou-style braised pork forward.

Steam rises, and the aroma of soy sauce fills the air.

Time seemed to pause at that moment, thanks to the unexpected appearance of this bowl of braised pork.

Madam Bai stared blankly at the bowl of braised pork.

Under the dim red light, the steam rising from the edge of the white porcelain bowl looked somewhat unreal.

The rich aroma, a blend of caramelized rock sugar and mellow soy sauce, mixed with the unique fatty fragrance of pork belly, seeped into her nostrils, forcefully awakening memories she had deliberately sealed away for decades.

That year, she wasn't yet "Madam Bai," but just a wealthy young lady from a water town in Jiangnan, whose surname was Bai. Everyone called her Aying.

Her childhood sweetheart was Han Che, the only son of the neighboring family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.

He was gentle and kind, with eyes that crinkled when he smiled. He could play the guqin beautifully and would clumsily learn to cook from the family cook, all because she casually mentioned wanting to eat authentic Suzhou-style braised pork.

Later, he handed her a bowl of braised pork that he had painstakingly made over a long period of time, his ears turning red, and his eyes sparkling as he said, "Aying, try it. I made it, and I'm sure it will suit your taste."

That was the best braised pork she had ever tasted.

The meat chunks are tender and melt in your mouth, the sauce is perfectly balanced between sweet and salty, and thickly coats every fiber of the meat.

Later, she ate countless delicacies and even hired a chef specializing in state banquets, but she could never find that taste again.

I've never seen that person's clean and pure smile again.

Everything was ruined on that stormy night, ruined by that drunken thug surnamed Fu, ruined by her parents who only cared about saving face, ruined by... her own accumulated hatred that eventually devoured everything.

Mechanically, almost instinctively, she reached out her hand towards the bowl of braised pork that emitted a familiar aroma.

Her fingertips even trembled slightly, as if it wasn't a bowl of meat, but a burning heart from that gentle young man she had long lost in the torrent of time.

Just as her fingertips were about to touch the warm rim of the bowl—

The little hand holding the bowl suddenly moved!

Instead of delivering it, it suddenly sank downwards and then flicked upwards at a tricky angle!

The target wasn't the bowl, but Madam Bai's right hand, which seemed to be casually placed at her side but was actually only centimeters away from the remote control of the floating gun platform!

Su Xiaonuan's baby face, which always carried a soft, smiling expression, was now taut. Her big eyes showed no sign of confusion or fear, only the sharpness and decisiveness of a cheetah locking onto its prey.

Her movements were as fast as lightning, completely different from her previous "lost little cook" appearance!

Madam Bai was, after all, a woman who had weathered many storms and was ruthless. Although her mind was momentarily distracted by the braised pork, her sense of crisis still prompted her to react at the last moment.

She twisted her wrist, trying to pry Su Xiaonuan's hand away, while her other hand reached without hesitation for the alarm hidden at her waist—

But while she was fast, someone was even faster!

"Bang!"

A gunshot, not loud, but exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

It wasn't Fu Lilian's silenced pistol with a silencer, but a clearer, more resolute gunshot.

The bullet struck Mrs. White precisely in the left knee.

"Ugh—!" Madam Bai let out a short cry of pain, her body swayed, and all her movements instantly became distorted.

That's the flaw that slipped through our fingers in the blink of an eye!

Su Xiaonuan's fingers were like iron clamps, firmly gripping Madam Bai's right wrist and twisting it forcefully!

With a soft "crack" sound, accompanied by another muffled groan from Madam Bai, she felt pain in her wrist and her fingers involuntarily loosened.

A palm-sized, black remote control covered in buttons slipped from my hand and fell to the ground!

Without even glancing at him, Su Xiaonuan handed the bowl of braised pork she was holding in her left hand to the side—just in time to Lu Zheng, who had silently approached her at some point, also dressed in dark blue overalls and with a cold expression.

Lu Zheng caught the bowl steadily, without spilling a single drop of soup.

With her free left hand, Su Xiaonuan magically produced a pair of gleaming silver handcuffs from nowhere. Just as the remote control was about to fall, she flicked it with her toe, and the handcuffs' buckle precisely caught on the remote control's handle. Then, with a flick of her wrist—

"Clang! Clang!"

Two crisp metallic clanging sounds rang out sharply in the dark red room.

A pair of handcuffs, one end of which was cuffed to the dropped remote control, and the other end was firmly cuffed to Madam Bai's right wrist, which had just been restrained by Su Xiaonuan!

Everything happened in less than three seconds.

Flowing smoothly and decisively.

Before Madam Bai could even fully process what was happening, she felt a sharp pain in her knee, and then a cold, heavy metallic grip tightened around her wrist.

She staggered, barely managing to support herself with her uninjured right leg. Looking down, she stared in disbelief at the gleaming silver handcuffs on her right wrist, and the remote control—her ultimate weapon—dangling from the other end of the handcuffs.

She looked up, her face showing, for the first time, a clear and undisguised look of astonishment and anger.

"You..." Her voice was distorted by pain and extreme shock.