Although Yu Chaoxian still kept his eyes closed at the banquet, a smile played on his lips...
Yu Tang wasn't completely clueless at first; she could now understand the deeper meaning in his words, but this level of understanding clearly exceeded the extent of her shame: "It's clearly you who, time and time again, insisted on..."
"What do you really need?" Yu Chaoxian picked up the bath towel from the ground without any hesitation.
"You still say that if it weren't for you insisting... I clearly said no, but you insisted on doing it!" Yu Tang suddenly remembered last night, and her face flushed red, starting from the tips of her ears, running down her neck to her collarbone. That bath towel... Yu Chaoxian insisted on helping her...
She couldn't win an argument with Yu Chaoxian, nor could she win a fight, so she simply grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom, saying, "Don't call me auntie, it's all your fault!"
“It’s me, it’s me,” Yu Chaoxian followed over to coax her, “I insist on helping my aunt wipe it.”
The two entered the bathroom one after the other, the sound of water suddenly stopped, and then they came out one after the other.
Yu Tang, who had gone out first, angrily went to the wardrobe to find clothes.
The man emerged wrapped in a bath towel, water still dripping from his hair. His eyes darkened when he saw the bite marks on her leg. He casually tossed the towel onto the back of the chair and helped the flustered Yu Tang find her clothes.
Yu Tang got angry just looking at him. Yu Chaoxian picked out this outfit for her, but she insisted on wearing the other one. Yu Chaoxian gave her the other one, but Yu Tang stubbornly put on the original one again.
"Are you angry?" Yu Chaoxian followed her over, but could only see the back of her head, which was swollen with anger. He chuckled, put on a sweatshirt, and casually picked up his car keys and grabbed her backpack.
Yu Tang stormed out, leaving Yu Chaoxian with only the back of her head: "I don't need you to see me off."
That stubborn streak is back again, but it's good to have a temper.
Yu Chaoxian followed behind her at a leisurely pace, carrying her schoolbag, water bottle, and sandwich. Seeing her looking around for someone, he finally spoke up: "I've given Ajin a holiday."
As she turned around, Yu Chaoxian, who was already waiting behind her, put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the crown of her head. He said sweetly, "I'll pick you up for lunch, don't dawdle."
"I have classes this afternoon, and I only have two hours for lunch break." The implication was that she didn't have time to spend with him.
"Two hours isn't enough time for you to eat?" He bent down to fasten her seatbelt. Looking closer, he saw that her eyes were still a little red; she had cried a lot last night, her skin was as red as water. He couldn't help but kiss her rosy lips. "Come over quickly after school this afternoon, and I'll take you out to play tonight."
Yu Tang stared at him, thinking that after seeing her off, he would leave, just like he had for the past six months.
The hotel wasn't far from the school, only a fifteen-minute drive. Yu Chao drove very steadily, while Yu Tang ate her sandwich slowly, but she didn't have much of an appetite. She only ate half of it before giving up, and she drank two sips of milk before refusing to drink any more.
Yu Chaoxian recalled the time when he took her to school in Taicheng. She was eating a sandwich with great relish in the passenger seat, and only remembered to ask him if he wanted some when she was almost finished.
Yu Tang noticed he kept staring at her, and she was still fuming. "What? Do you want some?"
The car slowly pulled up at the school gate. Yu Chaoxian naturally took the half-eaten sandwich from her hand. "Let me try it."
Yu Tang's hands were suddenly empty. Seeing him eat what she had left, she didn't even have time to stop him: "I've already eaten!"
"What's wrong? Is there your drool?" Yu Chaoxian saw her making a fuss. "I've eaten everything else you've had, so what's wrong with a sandwich?"
The tone was taken for granted.
Memories from last night suddenly flooded back, her ears burned, she remembered something, pushed his face away, and hurriedly got out of the car.
Yu Chaoxian watched as the person in the rearview mirror entered the school, and then Chen Diao called.
"Boss, Mingming and Ivan have already delivered the laser-guided missile-equipped drones to Assassin, just as you instructed," Chen Diao said worriedly. "Will we be able to make it in time for tonight's drone bidding?"
At this time, the conflict between Assad and Niger was raging, and the most effective way to sell weapons was always through actual combat results.
Yu Chaoxian lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said, "This conflict won't last long. If things go smoothly, we'll have a result tonight. Send me the other party's representative's information first."
"Understood." Chen Diao hung up the phone, compiled the information on the agents competing with the Yu family, and sent it to Yu Chaoxian.
Yu Chaoxian glanced at the information on the screen, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Duke of Marlborough, Gideon Warrington.
It turns out they have the Churchill family backing; no wonder their connections are so strong. When it comes to drone orders, domestic companies are clearly more readily accepted by consulates of various countries than foreign arms dealers.
While sending out documents, Chen Diao was still thinking about the sudden falling out between Yu Chaoxian and McCarthy. Although Gideon Warrington was a duke and had the backing of a former prime minister, McCarthy represented the White House of America. England was not what it used to be; the cabinet had to listen to the White House, so McCarthy's role was crucial.
It's fair to say that with McCarthy acting as a go-between, Yu's drones could easily secure orders from various countries. The multi-billion dollar orders would just be the beginning, with even more to come. Why bother with all this hustle on the battlefield, price-cutting, and even sending Mickey to instruct the nation on drone warfare?
Although he didn't know exactly what happened at the McCarthy family lunch, Chen Diao was certain that it had something to do with Yu Tang.
The eldest brother didn't want any misunderstandings to affect his already complicated relationship with Yu Tang, so he didn't hesitate to bring her along. And his break with McCarthy was obviously for Yu Tang's sake.
Chen Diao couldn't help but think of Yu Yanting and Shen Wangshu back then. Yu Yanting's arms business once spanned most of the world, but after he got together with Shen Wangshu, Yu's cargo ships no longer transported weapons, and were instead fully loaded with humanitarian aid supplies.
Chen Diao thought to himself, it seems that Yu Tang has also inherited her mother's seductive potential. It is no exaggeration to say that one-third of the guns in the hands of soldiers on the world's battlefields today have been handled by Yu Chaoxian.
Many places lack the weapons of their leaders and cannot even afford to fight a decent battle. Now is the most important time for business expansion, so we must not let Yu Tang ruin things.
Chen Diao still remembers the day Yu Chaoxian returned, saying he wanted to take over the Yu family's business.
Yu Chaoxian sat in the main seat, his fingers interlaced on his knees, looking down on everyone, as if he were the owner of this company, or even the master of this world.
Chen asked him what he wanted to do.
Yu Chaoxian smiled and said, “This world is divided into two kinds of people—those who make the rules and those who abide by the rules. The former will never lack weapons, while the latter…” He smiled meaningfully, “will always need to buy weapons to protect themselves from being eliminated by the former.”
"What I want to do is, of course, the former."
At that moment, Chen Diao, who was feeling lost, suddenly found his direction and followed Yu Chaoxian's footsteps without hesitation.
He only hoped that in the end, the boss whom Yu Tang had bewitched wouldn't also wash his hands of his ways and go straight to charity.
Chen Diao seemed to be deep in thought. If given the chance, he would like to let Yu Tang leave the boss.
But it seems impossible now. Originally, Yu Chaoxian planned to compress the business until last night and fly to Wuzhou this morning, but he ended up staying with Yu Tang for half a day, and even the batch of guns was handed over to Ivan for delivery.
Aside from Yu Tang, Chen Diao had never seen anyone else who could make the boss change his schedule. What magic did Yu Tang possess? What kind of pillow talk did she use? Wasn't she just black hair, fair skin, big eyes, and red lips? Thinking this, Chen Diao suddenly remembered the slender, fair-skinned, black-haired girl in his shop. Could it be that such a girl had a different kind of charm?
Yu Tang arrived at the classroom three minutes before class started. She had just sat down when she received a message from Vivian.
Vivian apologized for her rudeness at the luncheon that day and invited her to dinner. Yu Tang was about to reply that she shouldn't take it to heart when the other woman's next message popped up.
Could you invite Brother Yu to come along? When is he available? Is Brother Yu still in Chongqing? Is he very busy? If not, when will he be back? I'm also open to going to America.
Yu Tang was speechless for a moment. Did they want to invite her or Yu Chaoxian?
Speaking of which, Vivian once mentioned that she and her father were kidnapped in the past, and a large number of terrorists were guarding the building. Yu Chaoxian, who was wearing a combat uniform, rescued them.
Thinking back carefully, it must have happened during the five years Yu Chaoxian was away from home. His brother told him that Yu Chaoxian had joined a secret special forces unit and was carrying out extremely dangerous missions; he had just come of age that year. Rescuing Vivian was probably one of his missions at the time.
With all those scars, who knows how many missions like this he has completed.
No wonder her brother was so happy when he learned that Yu Chaoxian was coming back, and sincerely hoped that she could accept Yu Chaoxian as she would her brother, and treat Yu Chaoxian as family.
All they wanted was for Yu Chaoxian to feel the warmth of family, stay and live a peaceful life, and stop going out to take risks.
Despite Vivian's eagerness, Yu Chaoxian's whereabouts were never to be revealed. Even Yu Tang often didn't know his exact schedule. Moreover, whether she knew or not, she couldn't possibly disclose it to outsiders.
Besides, she didn't have the ability to arrange Yu Chaoxian's time and schedule.
So she replied: "Sorry, Vivian, I don't know."
Vivian did not reply after sending the message.
Just then, the classroom bell rang.
The professor giving the lecture was an elderly man who spoke with a pure Chongqing accent, his tone elegant and composed. Yu Tang found listening to his lectures a pleasure in itself. Come to think of it, Yu Chaoxian also spoke with a similar accent when communicating in English, and she always felt that Yu Chaoxian had lived in Chongqing. This morning, Yu Chaoxian drove her to class, taking a route she had never taken before to save time—a route even A-Jin didn't know about.
The professor was explaining the topic of "cardiac injection," and Yu Tang remembered that her teacher had briefly mentioned this term in an extracurricular class during her senior year of high school. At the time, she didn't quite understand it, so she quickly focused her attention on the lesson.
The class passed quickly. Yu Tang remembered Yu Chao's instructions before she got off the bus, telling her not to dawdle. So she smiled politely at the classmates who greeted her, packed her schoolbag, and walked towards the school gate.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw the familiar Bentley, parked under the same tree as when he dropped her off that morning. Had he been waiting for her here all this time? It seemed unlikely; he didn't seem like the type to have so much free time. Several times before, when she woke up, he had already vanished somewhere.
The car window was half-rolled down, and the man's long, slender hand rested casually on the window frame, a cigarette between his fingers, the smoke curling upwards. Beneath his sleeve, a section of pale wrist bone was visible, bearing the faint bite mark she had left in the heat of the previous day.
The sunlight softened the contours of his profile.
Yu Tang opened the car door and quietly sat in the passenger seat; he was on the phone.
The phone call showed no sign of ending. Yu Chao stubbed out his cigarette and closed the car window. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Yu Tang's hand, which was idly playing with its fingers.
Yu Tang turned to look at him. The swelling on her lips had subsided somewhat, but there were still bite marks on the corners of her mouth. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, she subconsciously pursed her lips.
Yu Chaoxian turned to the side and handed her the thermos, carefully observing her every move. Yu Tang sat there obediently drinking the water from the thermos.
Feeling uncomfortable under his constant gaze, Yu Tang even struggled to drink water. Holding the thermos, she suddenly realized its size in her hand seemed familiar. She quickly put it aside.
She lowered her head to play on her phone, when he gently hooked her chin. The man's handsome face suddenly loomed large before her eyes, and Yu Tang couldn't help but widen her eyes—the call hadn't even ended, and he was already leaning in to kiss her.
He cupped her face and kissed her tenderly.
This person always likes to do these things while on the phone; I don't know what kind of quirk it is.
Yu Tang instinctively tried to push him away. Couldn't you just make a phone call properly?!
The man was holding his phone in one hand while cupping her face with the other, and she actually pushed him away for a moment. Her sweet, soft lips parted, and the man frowned immediately. He quickly turned on the speakerphone and tossed the phone aside, then pulled Yu Tang from the passenger seat onto his lap.
Yu Tang's nape fell into his palm again, the familiar warmth and strength pressing down on her as he kissed her. Before she could even gasp, she was enveloped in Yu Chaoxian's kiss.
Yu Tang's lips were forcefully pried open by him, and his tongue was boldly hooked and entangled with hers.
Chen Diao's voice came through the speakerphone, sounding worried and depressed.
"...Boss, the bidding hasn't even started yet. I contacted several officers in charge at the embassy, wanting to meet them for a meal, but they all refused. They've already decided to sign contracts with the local Tauk UAV company. Even the general I used to work with isn't answering my calls anymore. I went to the hotel to pick him up in person, only to see him coming down the elevator with that damned duke. Looks like they've already made a deal. They were begging for the Yu family's order before, and now they're turning their backs on us. Their faces...tsk tsk tsk, I think they deserve to be taught a lesson!"
"Given the current situation, the Yu family is in grave danger. Can we really catch up? If they seize the market, then the Yu family will be in serious trouble..."
Chen Diao talked a lot of nonsense on the phone. One minute he was talking about having a smoke, and the next he was cursing the duke for looking like a weasel, with shifty eyes.
Yu Tang's attention began to wander, drawn to the conversation on the phone. Judging from Chen Diao's tone, Yu Chaoxian seemed to be facing some kind of problem. Was it because he had fallen out with Vivian's father that he found himself in this passive situation?
She had heard Yu Chaoxian preparing for drones while she was in Hong Kong. Was all that hard work over the years just going to go to waste? A sudden pain on her tongue brought Yu Tang's scattered thoughts back to her senses.
She opened her eyes and saw something was wrong; Yu Chaoxian was staring at her with a frown.
He pinched her cheek and said, "Skimming around?"
Yu Chaoxian thought he had kissed her so much that she fell asleep and didn't react at all, but when he looked down, he saw that the tip of her ear moved towards the phone.
Chen Diao, on the other end of the phone, thought Yu Chaoxian was talking to him: "No, I just lit a cigarette, I got so angry at that weasel! Boss, let me tell you something..."
"Okay, I understand. We'll talk about it tonight." Yu Chaoxian hung up the phone immediately.
Without Chen Diao's voice, the whole world seemed to fall silent.
Yu Chaoxian tasted a bittersweet flavor in the kiss: "You ate chocolate?"
"I ate half of it." Yu Tang often carries these snacks with her.
Yu Chaoxian wasn't particularly interested in chocolate, but now he thought it tasted pretty good: "There's half a piece left."
Yu Tang watched him casually put the half-chocolate in his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then brought it up: "Vivian asked me if you had time to have dinner together... She texted me. Has your business been affected? Should we take this opportunity to reconnect with her father?"
After listening to her, Yu Chaoxian glanced at her and saw his own half-smile reflected in her clear eyes.
If he pressed her a little harder, the little aunt wouldn't be able to handle it.
For example, right now.
"Tangtang, have you realized that you care about me quite a bit?" Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the temperature on her face rose rapidly in his hand.
She looked at him, her eyes instinctively avoiding his gaze, her pupils darting around in panic, but her words remained stubborn: "Aren't you the one worried about business? I'm concerned about the Yu family."
As if eager to prove she had no ulterior motives, she hastily added, "How about I ask Vivian now if she's free at noon? It's a bit sudden, but she should be..."
Yu Chaoxian was unhappy that she was always dragging others into the conversation, so he simply snatched her phone away, saying, "You're starting to act all clever again."
His phone screen happened to be showing his chat with Vivian. He glanced at it briefly, and a smile crept onto his lips.
He suddenly moved closer, his voice low and suggestive: "I have a question for you."
Yu Tang looked up at him.
"Why did you tell Vivian you didn't know my schedule? You clearly knew I was free at noon."
"Isn't your schedule supposed to be kept secret?" Yu Tang replied without thinking. "If I tell you, what if the information leaks and it gets you into danger? Besides... if you really want to see him, we'll arrange it. If not, it's just not in the plan."
She only realized it belatedly after she finished speaking. Yu Chaoxian would tell her wherever he went. He never hid anything from her, such as what time his flight was or when he would return.
Although he always thought she was being presumptuous, this time, her actions pleased him greatly. His aunt also had a possessive streak towards him, though she herself was unaware of it.
Yu Tang was currently straddling his lap, her lower back firmly held by his arms, leaving her nowhere to retreat. Trying to close her legs felt like trying to encircle his waist between her thighs; the gesture was practically a direct invitation, and she dared not move.
Yu Chaoxian didn't spell it out, just waited for her to figure it out slowly. There was no point in bringing it up, and given her personality, she wouldn't accept it anyway. Instead, it would only force her to back down.
Seeing that his expression was alright and he didn't seem angry, Yu Tang asked again, "So, do you want to see Vivian or not?"
Yu Chao clicked his tongue. Yu Tang understood that he was getting impatient. But what was there to click? Anyone can click their tongue, so she leaned close to his ear and deliberately clicked her tongue.
"All you can do is bully your own family?" Yu Chaoxian pulled the man into his arms, his tone indulgent. "You are one of only two bosses in the Yu Group. What are you afraid of? No matter who says something that makes you unhappy, whether intentionally or unintentionally, if you are uncomfortable, you can deal with them however you want. I will cover for you. Even if you want to do something bad, it's not a big deal."
"Are you scared of me? Then go and deal with yourself!" Yu Tang didn't connect the incident to the harassment she suffered at McCarthy's house that day; she just felt that this man's thinking was inherently flawed. Even if she had a bad personality, she wouldn't actually "do evil," would she? Besides, it was true that she was afraid of him. Yu Chaoxian's method of revenge was always an eye for an eye, and a double payback; how could she not be afraid?
Yu Chaoxian was never serious when they were alone together. Yu Tang heard him shamelessly reply, "Go to bed and get ready?"
"Can we please stop talking about this in broad daylight, especially since we're out here?"
"Okay," Yu Chaoxian said, not wanting to make things difficult for her. "We'll talk in bed tonight."
Yu Tang looked up and glared at him. As soon as she looked up, she saw his jawline and, out of the corner of her eye, his Adam's apple with a red scratch mark on it. She placed her finger on it, and the nail mark matched perfectly.
Yu Tang quickly put away the evidence and awkwardly started the conversation: "Have you ever lived in England before?"
Although Yu Chaoxian still had his eyes closed, a smile played on his lips. This was the first time Yu Tang had ever been curious about him. The man's voice was lazy: "Just say what you want to ask."
Yu Tang felt uncomfortable seeing him smile: "I don't want to ask anymore."
"You've already learned your lesson, haven't you?" Yu Chaoxian threatened Yu Tang with his knee, causing Yu Tang's breath to tremble.
Seeing that Yu Chaoxian was about to push her clothes up again, Yu Tang really couldn't take it anymore. She pressed his hand down tightly and quickly said, "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Yu Chaoxian raised an eyebrow in satisfaction, lazily opened his eyes and gazed at her affectionately, waiting for her to speak.
"My brother said... that you joined a secret special forces unit during those five years, and that unit was in England?" Otherwise, how could he know so much about the road conditions in England?
“Yes, the SAS special forces in England.” Yu Chaoxian didn’t hide it from her.
"So rescuing Vivian and her father is also part of the mission?"
"It was incidental during the rescue of McCarthy." All the rescue operations were his mission at the time; otherwise, he would have preferred to perform other tasks rather than save people.
Yu Chaoxian tightened his arms, pulling her closer. The necklace around Yu Tang's neck pressed against their skin, leaving faint marks. He gazed out the car window as if lost in thought.
“The siege of the Illinois embassy, the rescue of the American president, the assassination of the leader of the Racist state,” he said, glancing down at the person in his arms. “You should have learned about these in your textbooks.”
She not only studied it, she memorized it. She even got a high score in this course.
Yu Tang had never imagined that the political and historical events she had memorized were so closely related to the man before her. Her clear, bright eyes stared at him intently; had he so casually revealed these secrets to her?
"What are you thinking about now?" In fact, Yu Chaoxian quite enjoyed her gaze that was clinging to him.
"I remember when I was memorizing current affairs."
Yu Chaoxian chuckled and ruffled her hair. "How did you memorize it? Recite it for me."
"The embassy siege led to a change of government in Illinois, the return of the American president marked the beginning of the Cold War with the Suez Alliance, and the assassination of the leader of Lac was characterized as a retaliatory attack, emphasizing the cruelty and cold-bloodedness of the terrorists..." Yu Tang still had memories of her senior year of high school and blurted it out, but she quickly stopped halfway through. Yu Chaoxian's body was warm; biologically speaking, he was not cold-blooded.
In other words, if the president stands in the sunlight, revered by all, then Yu Chaoxian is the shadow hidden behind the president's brilliance, destined to bear condemnation. And these actions, defined as those of a "terrorist," are merely the embodiment of the will of the nation's highest leader.
"Why don't you continue?" Yu Chaoxian was completely unaware that something was wrong.
"I... forgot." Yu Tang looked away and changed the subject. "I'm a little hungry, let's go eat."
Yu Chaoxian had booked the Chinese restaurant in advance; it was located near the school. Since Yu Tang only had a two-hour lunch break, he drove her back to school after lunch.
Yu Tang had two more classes in the afternoon, and by the time school ended it was almost six o'clock.
Yu Chaoxian said he would take her out to play that night, but when Yu Tang saw the dress on the bed, she knew that it was definitely not a trip to play, but a banquet.
A white, fluffy shawl and a black evening gown—both warm and appropriate for the banquet venue.
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