Jealousy
Milo's heart skipped a beat.
Blaise suddenly stopped, and Milo stopped as well.
The wind picked up, and it looked like it was going to rain again.
On the riverbank not far away, Hersey paced back and forth impatiently: "Blaze finally got a vacation, and she's wasting her time on this! That man is just good-looking, but his personality is awful. Blaze shouldn't even care about him!"
Nonai laughed: "Idiot, haven't you heard that what you can't have is always the best? I think he's very smart."
Hersey disagreed: "Do you think the same way the old man thinks that this person can abduct Blaise? That's ridiculous. He definitely doesn't have that kind of ability."
Chatchai, who was watching their movements, stopped the two of them: "Stop arguing."
Nona muttered half-complainingly, "To be honest, the old man is sometimes a bit confused. For this mission, choosing me would have been much more suitable than choosing Blaise. What do I lack compared to him? At least, I won't let these love-hate relationships hold me back."
Chatchai turned to look at Nonae and said, "Last time on the mission, he was shot three times, and there are still bullet fragments stuck in his body that can't be removed. You think he survived and came out of Aplin by luck? Don't think he's still the same kid who went into the rainforest with you for training. Don't take everything for granted."
Nona raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Of course, he's very strong, but who can blame him for having such a fatal weakness? This weakness is just held in Mr. Dale's hands, and no one would feel at ease in that situation. It's just a pity that Blaise still can't see it clearly."
Chachai remained silent.
Cold raindrops fell and hit his face. Milo waited for Blaise to continue.
Blaise stretched his right index finger across his throat, then pointed his left index finger straight up to the sky: You are not him.
Looking at the sign language, Milo couldn't help but feel a sense of mockery. This sarcastic smile, when it appeared on his face, became the bright face that Blaze saw most often.
Blaise continued to bend his fingers: But just now, I actually wished you were him.
Milo pursed her lips: "I'm so sorry to have disappointed you."
Blaise laughed it off, seemingly finding the words rather pointless, and gestured: Let's go, I'll take you home.
Milo hesitated and stopped in place until he saw Blaise actually walk forward, and then he realized that he hadn't done anything at all.
Tonight, is it all just to bring him to see a wedding?
Milo's gaze fell on Blaise's muddy shoes, and thinking of the journey they had shared, he suddenly felt that tonight's rain was particularly heavy.
*
At daybreak, a scream like a pig being slaughtered broke the silence.
Milo pushed open the bamboo window and, unsurprisingly, saw Chatchai whipping Apa's bottom with a long bamboo stick, scolding him for being disobedient and sneaking out. The child was harder to control than a piglet, wriggling and struggling, but stubbornly insisting that he absolutely hadn't been playing.
He barely glanced at the dramas of others before he saw his own grand spectacle unfolding.
In front of the row of teak houses that Xigong had arranged for them, a bamboo awning had been specially set up so they could have tea and enjoy the scenery. This time, before dawn, Miles was already dressed and sitting under the awning, resting. Next to him stood a tall and strong middle-aged man in an earthy brown shirt, who was bowing and talking.
Milo wondered if he was seeing things, and hesitantly asked as he approached, "Harold?"
The two men in the distance turned around simultaneously. Harold, the square-faced driver, quickly turned away after seeing Milo. Milo was certain he hadn't been mistaken last night and was thankful he hadn't been careless. Miles waved, and Harold took the documents Miles handed him and left.
Miles turned the lid upside down and poured himself a cup of hot tea: "Did you sleep well last night?"
Milo sat down and didn't deny it: "It's alright."
Miles asked slowly, "Was the wedding fun?"
"I took a quick look around and came back; I didn't stay long."
"It's past midnight, isn't that long enough? You should be itching to have some fun."
Milo remained silent, glancing repeatedly in the direction Harold had left: "He really is a master of disguise." A taciturn driver, yet he could move freely in a place like Gan Valley, his movements of tucking a gun into his waistband almost as practiced as those of the locals.
"You always have to be careful when dealing with this group of people."
"Is Harold his real name? Is he originally from Gan Valley?" Milo pondered. Just as Old Ruan's real name wasn't Old Ruan, Chachai's real name might not be Chachai either. In places like this, the most mysterious people are often these mercenaries who brave the wind and rain.
Miles seemed to be in a good mood and took the initiative to say something to Mildo: "Have you heard of the Green Amber case?"
Milo's eyes widened in surprise.
Miles continued, “Twenty years ago, in the Luanshan mining area of Tengbang, three men smuggled jade across the border. Unexpectedly, one of the rough stones was a top-grade imperial green. They crossed the border with this hot potato, which unexpectedly triggered an armed conflict between the government army and the independence army. The group was put on an international wanted list and only managed to escape with their lives by entering the remote and unsafe Gan Gu Apulin area. After that, the three men disappeared without a trace.”
"Was it Xigong who saved them?"
“It’s someone from the Natawa family, but not Sigon.” Miles shook his head slightly. “It’s Suma.”
Milo was taken aback. This was the third time he had heard the name Suma Natawa since he set foot in the Gan Valley. This deceased woman, Blaise's mother, seemed to have a very mysterious past in the Gan Valley.
"Of these three, one stayed in Gangu, which is where you see Chatchai. Another is Harold, who was assigned to Tate Dale. As for the last one, he should have been assigned to Richard Green, but after the Green family died, he disappeared without a trace."
Upon hearing this, Milo realized that the situation had quietly reversed in ways he was unaware of.
“The so-called termination of the bio-based drug contract isn’t entirely true, is it?” Milo said slowly. “I saw that factory. Although the equipment outside is severely rusted, there are new pipes and cables running on the beams, and even a dehumidifier. The doors and windows are sealed, I guess to prevent leakage. Most importantly, there are oil stains under the machine tools, which are probably residue from acetone cleaning the equipment. The men in Gan Valley must have all been transferred to work in that factory. They smell of cleaning agents on them, but the people working in the fields wouldn’t have come into contact with them. If I’m not mistaken, that factory is operating in secret, either manufacturing drugs or making pharmaceuticals.”
"Only two or three days, and he's already showing you everything." Miles paused for a while before saying, "He figured it out too?"
“Of course he couldn’t see it. Who would have thought a factory could be built on his mother’s grave? In Gan Valley, the only person who would dare to do that is that old Mr. Natawa.” Milo’s hands were pressed against the cup, his palms already sweating. “I was wondering before why Xigong would ask us to come to Maka Town and take you around. It couldn’t really be just to see the mountains and rivers, could it? Have you reached a new cooperation agreement?”
Seeing that Miles remained silent, Milo asked in a hoarse voice, "So, will you change your mind?"
Miles calmly countered, "Change your mind about what?"
"It's the condition that Xigong gave yesterday."
Miles pursed his lips slightly: "Now you know fear?"
Milo looked at Miles, the words that were about to come out of his mouth suddenly swallowed back, and he asked another question instead: "Can you?"
Miles suddenly looked at Milo, a faint smile appearing on his usually serious face: "Do you think I would?"
Milo clenched his teeth to keep his composure. He had known all along that stepping onto the Gan Valley was a dangerous path, but he hadn't expected that the greatest danger wouldn't be to Blaise.
"Could you... not leave me here alone?" Saying this was no less agonizing than asking Miles for a job. Milo remembered that the last time he asked, he vomited all morning. But this time, he was much more skilled, able to speak calmly and even strike the perfect balance in his fawning manner.
Miles' gaze was deep, his fingertips tracing the glass, when he suddenly said something unrelated: "Milo, if I asked you to kiss me now, would you?"
Milo frowned, immediately realizing that everything from last night had reached Miles' ears in detail.
As dawn broke, people gradually began to get back to normal, with local men walking by, still half-asleep.
Milo leaned forward, barely straightening his back, and placed a very light kiss on Miles's face.
Just as he was about to leave, Milo noticed that Miles reached out and put his arm around the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair and pulling him into his embrace.
Milo didn't move. Miles didn't smoke or wear perfume; he only smelled of soap after showering, a scent that could only be detected at very close proximity, skin to skin.
“How could I leave you here alone?” Miles’s voice came from above. “That’s why I specifically asked Harold to protect you.”
Milo slowly closed his eyes.
"Okay, I'll be coming to pick you up soon. Don't make a fuss about this, okay?"
Miles released his restraints, and Milo remained in a daze for a long time until he was invited into the house by Chatchai.
He was sold to Sigon by Miles.
I don't know what was changed, but in short, I was sold.
How long exactly does Miles mean by "not long"? Clearly, Sigon is already making moves, and in the near future, this place will likely be engulfed in war. How could he possibly be trapped and die in such a place?
Should we try to send a message to Lao Ruan by any means possible? Or should we use other methods?
Milo was completely bewildered. He turned around and met a pair of eyes, which sent a chill down his spine.
Blaise, who had appeared out of nowhere, was now standing still in the distance. He was wearing an open shirt and looked very neat. He was also holding a bouquet of flowers, but soon, the bouquet was trampled underfoot.
Milo wanted to run, but his feet wouldn't move for a moment.
Blaze strode forward, grabbed Milo's wrist, and squeezed his cheek. He looked at him with a cold smile, veins bulging on his forehead. His expression was even more sinister and terrifying than when he had grabbed him in the pigeon coop.
Milo instantly realized that Blaze had seen him kissing Miles.
Was it a coincidence? Or did Miles deliberately let Blaise see it?
Hessai, yawning and sporting a messy head, walked by and was startled. He was about to speak when he saw Blaise's eyes turn red. He had never seen Blaise so furious before, so he immediately shrank back and ran away.
Faced with this death threat right under his nose, Milo couldn't help but tremble.
A dizzying sensation spun around Milo, and before he could even feel a sharp pain in his wrist, Blaze hoisted him onto his shoulder.
Blaze strode up the steps and kicked open the door of a teak house with a bang. The cleaning staff inside were startled and ran away in a panic when they saw Blaze's ashen face.
With a "bang," Milo was thrown onto the hard, low bed.
Blaze grabbed Milo's ankle and pulled him from the other side of the bed to her side.
Milo instinctively grabbed at the mat, even rolling up the edges, but he couldn't stop Blaze's strength. Blaze held him tightly in his arms, pressing his body against him, and he turned his head away uncomfortably.
But after noticing the violent throbbing in the other person's chest, Milo suddenly grasped a sliver of reason from his extreme fear. He suddenly realized that he didn't need to go to great lengths to leave this place; the best way was right in front of him.
The reason Sigon wanted to use him as a bargaining chip was simply because he could be a plaything to keep Blaise's heart. But if Blaise himself wanted to get rid of him, was there any point in Sigon keeping him around?
Milo gasped, forcing himself to calm down: "Why are you angry? You knew all along, you knew all along that I was his plaything, you knew all along that I approached you with an ulterior motive to deceive you."
Blaze hooked his right finger, pressed down with both hands, and asked resentfully: "Now? Can't keep up the lie anymore?"
Milo opened his mouth: "Yes, I can't keep lying anymore. Between us, from beginning to end, wasn't it all a lie?"
Blaise slowly closed his eyes, trying to calm the surging anger in his heart, but Milo easily broke his vow again.
"Let me go, I don't want to be with you."
Blaise pointed his index finger at his temple, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and his eyes instantly turned icy: Who do you want to be with?
Milo stared straight at Blaise and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I dare to say it, but do you dare to listen?"
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