The Villain And His Sweet Wife

Long Mei released a breath. "I know. Sorry for taking it out on you." 

Long Xia chuckled as she shook her head. She approached her sister, kneeling on the floor next to her as she packed her things. "I deserved it," she began. "Don't feel like you can't be honest about expressing your feelings. I was a shitty sister. It's the truth. I want things to be different now, and I am sorry too." 

Her sister nodded. "I need you to trust me, Xia. I will be fine with Jin Qing, and this is what I want.." 

"Really?"

She nodded. 

Long Xia smiled. "Do you like him?" she asked in a low, teasing voice. 

Long Mei rolled her eyes. "It's as you said. I don't know him that well. But to make our relationship look more believable, I have to move in with him. And he offered me comfort and said that he will not do anything to get in my way." 

Long Xia's lips parted. "Wow. That sounds like a dream." 

Her younger sister chuckled. "I mean, you were going to marry him at some point, and I'm certain the only reason you said yes to the arrangement was knowing he was not going to force you to do things you did not want to do." 

Long Xia nodded. "It's true. If anything, he was the ideal husband. But we weren't in love. So, to me, it wasn't enough. But even if this is pretend for you two, I don't want you to get hurt." 

"How would I get hurt?" she questioned. 

"What if you end up thinking your relationship is real? Jin Qing is not one to commit. He made it clear." 

Long Mei smiled grimly. "If you're thinking about my failed relationship with Jin Hu—whom I have no memory of—I know it ended badly. I've been through the love thing once, and I think I don't want to do it again. Certainly not with his older half-brother. Jin Qing does not want something more, I know that. Neither do I. We have a mutual understanding."

Long Xia reached out to caress her hand. "Jin Hu was not the good man he pretended to be. I don't want the same with Jin Qing." 

"But that's the thing," Long Mei responded. "Jin Qing does not pretend to be anything. When he's an asshole, he's an asshole. When he's kind, he's kind. I can see your worries but believe in my judgement. He won't hurt me. I can't be wrong twice." 

Long Xia had to believe in her judgement too. Never did she feel anything off about Jin Qing since she met him. He was dark and secretive, yes, but so was she. He was also her friend.

But she could not help but still feel protective over her sister. And yet, she did not want to judge Jin Qing over the offences of his brother wrongly. 

"All right. I believe that you can take yourself and stand your ground, and I have to believe he won't have bad intentions. But he knows about our secrets, and yet we know none of his." 

Long Mei smiled. "We know he's a dirty cop, so he can't sell us out, or we'd sell him out. But I think we can get him to be on our side. You need him, don't you? Which is why you agreed to marry him in the first place." 

Long Xia nodded. "He has connections that are useful to us—to everyone. It's frightening how powerful Jin Qing is for someone that works solo. He has no loyalty to any organization. He works by himself and agrees to help people for his benefit. He could work against me for the right price, and I can't blame him. He gambles and sides with winners. It's why he betted me to win. He weighed the odds, calculated the numbers, and he knew I'd fight like hell. He didn't put money on me because of his bias toward us, but because he knew who'd win." 

Long Mei's eyes widened when she let the information settle in. "I didn't know he was so…"

"Clever? Smart? Astute?" she answered for her. 

Long Mei nodded. 

"Which is why you need to play it safe. I don't want you to seduce him to join us. I want you to be persuasive. That way, he does not think you are trying to play or fool him for your advantage. I want him to know you are honest." 

Long Mei nodded her head. "I will."

"And you do not necessarily need to persuade him to do anything at all. If he does not want to be loyal to anyone, then I don't need to put that pressure on you to make him. In the end, Bojing and I will always figure things out." 

"That's good to know," her sister replied. "I will keep it in mind. I don't want him to think this is the reason I agreed to this arrangement. I have my reasons. It's convenient for me." 

Long Xia smiled. "Then I will help you pack some of your things before we head to your shoot." 

Long Mei used to model, but she quit when she met Jin Hu. Jin Hu said he did not want her to work with male photographers or wear any revealing clothes. Eventually, the agency said she was too difficult to work with because she started making too many inflexible demands. Long Mei then received fewer offers and decided to quit. But she had always loved it, and she was happy when Long Xia made the arrangements for her to get a shoot. 

...

After attending her sister's photoshoot, Long Xia met with Shi Yen at a discreet location just after the sun had set. Yuan Shun and Yuan Bojing were with her and other people she had seen always accompany the Empress and Emperor. 

"What's the urgency?" Long Xia questioned by way of greeting. 

Shi Yen turned around, and people began to follow. Long Xia stepped to her side. 

"There is no urgency," she began, "but we received word that our organizations are becoming more violent because of rival gangs. Typically, we invite those gangs to join us so that we have more control since our goal is to minimize violence and chaos and maximize profit. However, disorder comes from greed and manipulation. So we have reason to believe foreigners are now interfering with our order, and we want to put a stop to it."

"Foreigners from where?"

"Everywhere," Shi Yen stated. "United States. Germany. Russia. The list goes on." She kept on walking until they approached a secluded area. "But we need to put it under wraps before it escalates." The Empress then paused, turning to face Long Xia. "Word is that Jin Hu may have some involvement in these affairs. It may also be the reason for his death." 

Long Xia's eyes widened. Then Mei…

She wondered if her sister knew anything about it. 

"I will look into it." 

The Empress gave her a serious but approving look. "Good. Because it will be you that will have the future of the Empire in your hands." 

"I understand," Long Xia was quick to respond. 

The Empress then continued to walk on with Long Xia following. Shi Yen then introduced her to some people, showed the ropes, the areas on the map, and how things went down.