Chapter 28
They thought this would allow Qin Sen to escape, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. Qin Sen's son, Qin Bao, needed to undergo surgery at a private hospital due to a heart problem. According to the doctor's assessment, Bao's condition was good, and he only needed to have a minimally invasive surgery on the scheduled date. However, on the very day that Qin Sen and his two brothers, Xiang Yang and A Chang, were preparing to flee, Bao's condition suddenly became critical, requiring immediate surgery.
Upon receiving the news, Qin Sen immediately decided to go to the hospital to visit his son, even at the cost of pointing a gun at his brother. The three had a long-standing friendship, and although Xiang Yang was the one who most disagreed with Qin Sen's decision, he ultimately gave in, taking him and A-Chang to the hospital while he stayed in the car as a lookout. Nothing seemed amiss downstairs at the hospital, but unbeknownst to them, a group of people were already waiting for them not far from their car. The news from the hospital was relayed to Qin Sen and also to the police.
When the news broke, Iris was at school discussing research directions for a new project with Dr. Pun and others. Seeing that Iris, who had been diligently taking notes, became restless after glancing at her phone, the perceptive and intelligent Pandora immediately guessed that Zhuang Zhuoyuan had given her another assignment. She waited for Zhang Zhanchao to finish speaking, gave brief comments, and outlined the next steps before pausing the discussion. She quietly pulled Iris outside and bluntly asked, "Do you need a break?"
“No need, I’d just be waiting around if I went back, and besides, I can’t go back every time, can I? Thank you.” Iris winked at Pandora, who felt she looked exactly like Zhuang Zhuoyuan at that moment; perhaps spending so much time together really does make two people resemble each other. But she still wanted to ask, “Why are you so worried again this time?”
Iris pursed her lips and sighed: "Zhuo Yuan was injured during training a few days ago and just returned to the team today. I'm a little worried about his injury and whether it will affect his ability to carry out missions. Also, his sister injured her arm while chasing this criminal, and she's probably at the scene now."
Pandora could only pat her on the shoulder to comfort her.
Behind them, a drone silently landed and then quietly flew away. Following its flight path, the drone's owner was eventually found in a private car outside the campus wall. Alan King turned off the screen and the radio news broadcast. Once the car was quiet again, he smiled and asked the person next to him, "Little Iris is so worried. How about I send someone to protect Zhuang Zhuoyuan?"
The pointless suggestion only earned her a roll of her eyes from Gloria. She always couldn't help but retort to AK's half-show-off jokes: "If you really have this idea, why don't you just bring Kenny over to protect him? Sniper against sniper, a perfect match."
"Good idea!" AK clicked his tongue twice, as if he could immediately poach someone from the Middle East. However, seeing that Gloria ignored him, he lost interest in joking around and simply held his hand up in front of her, turning it over and saying, "Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. If I really do this, aren't you worried that we'll both get hurt?"
Gloria chuckled. "If that were really the case, you'd be the one worried. But I don't think you'd be that stupid."
AK burst into laughter: "No one understands me better than Gloria!"
"Alright, alright." Gloria was afraid he would say something cheesy like "You're the one who loves me too." Just then, her assistant Vanessa sent her a message about restaurant reservations. Gloria chose one and casually asked, "How about we invite the two of them to dinner tonight? Last time I came to the jewelry exhibition, I didn't get to meet A-Yuan before you rushed off to pick me up. Let's make up for it this time."
AK immediately wanted to tease Gloria about her usual attitude towards Zhuang Zhuoyuan, but then he changed his mind and asked another question: "If Zhuoyuan and Kenny were both caught in a gunfight, who would you ask me to save?"
Gloria glanced at him again, raised an eyebrow, and deliberately replied, "I want both."
“Ah,” AK said casually, as if her answer was expected, “So, do you want me and Zhuo Yuan, or me and Kenny?”
Gloria was taken aback. "Can't I have a third option?"
AK just smiled and looked at her. After a while, she said again, "If there has to be a sacrifice, I always feel that you would choose Kenny. In comparison, you actually prefer Zhuang Zhuoyuan, don't you?"
Perhaps she didn't know, or perhaps she didn't want to answer. Gloria remained silent for a while before speaking: "I said a long time ago that although Iris's abilities are not as good as Ella's, there is one thing that her older sister can never catch up with."
“A good eye,” AK said confidently.
Gloria did not refute.
"Just like my brother said, Zhuang Zhuoyuan may have many weaknesses, but at least he won't put Iris in danger. Ordinary happiness is the most precious thing."
“Hmm.” AK nodded a few times, then, looking at Gloria who seemed quite moved, he made a promise that was both joking and serious: “I will try my best to help you achieve this kind of ordinary happiness.”
Gloria stared at him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow as she looked away, saying with equal certainty, "Your heart tells me you prefer Kenny."
AK shook his index finger: "You can't expect him to be the next me. Even if he's willing to be my successor, I can't guarantee that I can train him to be as perfect as I am, with both ruthlessness and compassion."
"All I need to know is that he can become a cunning old fox like you, capable of escaping death by a hair's breadth. That's enough." Gloria ignored AK's narcissism, quickly typed out a text message, and tried to arrange a meeting with Iris. However, before she could press send, AK grabbed her hand: "Let me make it clear beforehand, I'm not trying to take advantage of you."
She automatically filtered out that sentence.
AK chuckled, then handed the tablet to Gloria. Although he hadn't sent anyone to protect Zhuang Zhuoyuan, there were always informants nearby—according to the latest news, Qin Sen, who committed the crime for his son, had been killed. With that, all three robbers were eliminated. "I think these guys probably won't be in the mood for dinner tonight, so how about just the two of us, okay?"
After work, Zhuang Zhuoyuan once again fully appreciated the benefits of having someone at home to listen to him. Qin Sen, though a criminal, also had his pitiful and helpless circumstances. If it weren't for his son suffering from heart failure, he probably wouldn't have chosen this path of no return. In fact, if possible, sparing his life to face legal punishment would have been the best outcome. However, since he intended to shoot the hostage, the Flying Tigers members had no choice but to execute the "shoot to kill" order. The tragic separation of a father and son was undeniably heartbreaking.
After listening to his account, Iris sighed as well; the criminal's story was indeed heartbreaking. However, she still felt that people need to take responsibility for their actions. Having made this decision, he should have been prepared to bear the consequences. Yet, she didn't voice these thoughts to Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Iris keenly noticed a hint of inner conflict in her boyfriend's eyes. Compared to the other team members, the sniper's composure made him much more rational in his approach to the matter, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan's silence revealed a hidden crisis in his career to Iris. After a moment's thought, she asked, "BB, if you were ordered to shoot someone you knew instead of Qin Sen, would you still obey the order to shoot?"
"If he committed a heinous crime, then of course he would." Zhuang Zhuoyuan wanted to answer immediately. But Iris placed her fingertip on his lips, asking him to think about it for a few more days before telling her his answer. As it turned out, in just a few days, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was at a loss for what to do. The deeper he thought about it, the more possibilities he found in reality. Even after pulling over the blackboard that Iris used when she was writing and arranging the possibilities, he still found that this problem seemed unsolvable.
"Looks like the kid you picked is about to evolve." AK, who had come to invite the two of them to dinner, glanced at the question marks marked on the whiteboard in Iris's living room and quietly sent a text message to Gloria. Gloria, unlike him, wasn't so secretive and spoke frankly: "Yuan, it seems like you have a good chance of getting promoted." After all, most of the time, climbing the ladder depends not only on ability but also on EQ.
Like Zhuang Zhuoyuan, Zhan Hantao, another good friend, also has a good reputation, but his emotional intelligence is unevenly developed. Despite Iris and her husband's repeated hints and suggestions that he should open up to Ding Huihui, after the Qin Sen incident, Ding Huihui still called Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Fortunately, under Iris's "tutelage," Zhuang Zhuoyuan has learned to avoid suspicion and handed the phone to his girlfriend without hesitation. Regardless of Ding Huihui's reasons for bypassing Iris to ask him, it's most appropriate for Iris, knowing the whole story, to explain to Ding Huihui herself.
After hanging up the phone, Iris naturally pressed for an answer: "What if I don't know what happened either?"
Zhuang Sheng replied fluently, "Then I will tell you about this first, and then you can go see Huihui."
"What if I'm too lazy to even speak?"
"Then I'll take you to meet Huihui, and I'll explain the situation."
"What if, like Tao, you don't want me to know about this either?" Iris continued to dig a hole.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan feigned surprise: "Is there anything between us that we can't let each other know?"
Iris finally seized the opportunity and started counting on her fingers. Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly grabbed her hand; he was genuinely afraid she'd start dwelling on past relationships like other women. It wasn't that she had any secrets, he was just afraid she'd find another excuse to kick him out of bed. After living together for a while, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt he couldn't sleep peacefully at night without holding Iris.
"BB, BB, BB," Zhuang Zhuoyuan's survival instinct kicked in, and his mind became sharp. He came up with the best solution to Ding Huihui's problem: "I think we should bring A Tao along too."
The gathering of three has turned into a dinner for four, which means both couples can now enjoy their own romantic moments!
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