To Love You Again

Three hundred yards away from the venue, a tinted black van was parked quietly in an alley.

Inside, there were monitors and apparatus set up. They lit up the interior of the car. 

Suddenly, the monitor made a beep sound.

Gu Zhen, who was munching on his snacks inside the van, stopped. He put his food away, sat up, and checked the signals.

"Oh, Tang Yin finally sent a signal." 

Multiple windows appeared on his monitor, matching the numbers with various information and graphical images. 

Gu Zhen scanned them carefully. A smile formed on his lips when he found the target's phone.

"The clearest signal is the target's phone. Good job." 

Gu Zhen immediately began cracking the phone's security walls.

The furious sound of keyboard tapping filled the car.

****

Back at the venue, where music and soft murmurs filled the hall, Xiong Zhi walked through the crowd with a ċȯċktail on hand while attracting various greetings and stares.

She was closely tailed by Linfeng's five brothers behind.

The loudest among them was, of course, the uncle whom she had not met for a while.

"Zhi Zhi, come on, just one dance. After using me, you can't even give me one dance?"

"Brother William, stop messing with our sister-in-law. If the youngest sees you acting like this, he will surely come here and pulverize you," Caleb said and waved a hand.

"I am not messing around. I also want to dance with other girls, but the youngest suddenly asked us to look out for Zhi Zhi. Even though I want to flaunt my dancing skills for the ladies, how can I do that while guarding her?" William complained with a shrug. "I can at least dance and at the same time protect her, if she is willing to dance with me."

Xiong Zhi finally shot a blank look at the whining man behind her.

"You can leave, you know. Linfeng will understand." 

Linfeng was called away by Mr. Finch earlier. The man did not want to leave Xiong Zhi at all, but Xiong Zhi persuaded him to go to the private room where Mr. Finch was waiting in. 

It was because approaching Mr. Finch was one of their aims for today.

Thus, Linfeng and Xiong Zhi regretfully separated, but not after Linfeng entrusted Xiong Zhi to his five trusted brothers.

William ran his hand through his hair, making his neat hair look slightly messy, but still handsome. 

"I can't leave and you know that. Even though I am the most handsome man here who can even compare to the prettiest flower, I am still the strongest among us brothers. Who told me to be a former champion of Jiang Hu."

The other four rolled their eyes.

Xiong Zhi: "..." She could not rebut. 

What he said was the truth.

She just sighed and gave up. "Whatever, do as you wish. I can't thank you enough for taking care of me. However, will it be fine if you guys put a little distance? You can mingle with people at the same time with that space. Right now, we are getting a lot of attention." 

Many guests kept glancing at their direction. 

Who would not be, when the eccentric Xiong Heiress was being followed by the five kings?

Erich, the most rational among them, nodded. "We should give her space, brother. We are really getting a lot of unwanted attention."

Seeing that they were getting many glances, the five men finally relented and decided to give her space.

But only after William successfully pestered Xiong Zhi for a dance.

Since the uncle was not willing to let her go, Xiong Zhi finally gave in.

"Fine. Just one quick dance."

William's blue eyes were bright. He bowed like a gentleman and offered his hand.

Xiong Zhi laid her hand gently on it. They went to the dance floor.

As they both began to move to the rhythm of the music, William spoke. 

"How are you these days?"

"Although busy, I am doing quite well. You?"

William was surprised that Xiong Zhi was willing to continue a conversation with him. 

"You accepted my invitation for a dance and you are even talking to me like normal. Did the sun rise from the west today?"

"Then do you rather not want me to talk to you?"

William: "...Haha, you're ruthless as ever, Zhi Zhi."

While twirling, Xiong Zhi's eyes calmly looked at the surroundings.

"Thank you for your help last time, Uncle. This time as well. You guys did not ask us 'why' even once and simply gave your sincere help. For this kind of reason, I can at least pretend that I am willing to tolerate your existence for a while." There was a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

William also smiled. His handsome face had a helpless smirk on as he chuckled. "I don't know if I should be glad or not."

Then his face turned solemn. He supported the woman's waist and turned gracefully in an arc.

At this turn, his blue eyes glanced in a certain direction. 

At a certain man that was leading a group to the private room areas. 

He whispered. "Anyway, you guys sure attracted a dangerous person. My brothers and I are willing to help, but we can only let out our identity if we are sure that your side is going to win. If not, then we can only help you secretly."

This was one of the rules of the brotherhood when providing third party help.

Xiong Zhi nodded briefly. "We understand. We are grateful already."

William's face returned to being playful. "Then, since you are grateful, can you call me elder brother now?"

"No, Uncle."

This brat.

After a short silence, William suddenly asked. "How is she?"

"Who?"

"The Tang lady."

"Tang Yin?" Xiong Zhi distractedly recalled Tang Yin's mission. 

Come to think of it, where is that girl now?

"...Tang Xinyang."

"Oh, Xinyang? She is doing fine as always." Then Xiong Zhi narrowed her eyes and stared up at William's face. "Hmm. Why are you asking?"

William looked away from Xiong Zhi's scrutinizing gaze. "Nothing. Just tell her that I miss her."

Xiong Zhi's blank stare was boring a hole on William's face.

However, the man had a very thick face.

He whispered again. "Also, can you tell those words to her when the dumb man is around?"

"Are you perhaps referring to Jang Shin?"

"Yeah. Those two have not made up their relationship yet?"

"Not yet. But do not raise your hope, Uncle. Xinyang is very dedicated to this romance."

"Haha, I know." William just laughed.

Staaaaare.

Xiong Zhi stared at the handsome face of the man seriously. 

But seeing that she could not find any awkwardness in his laugh, she thought that perhaps, he really moved on?

....

Their dance ended. 

With a graceful smile, William bowed to her smoothly.

"As I promised, I shall keep my distance. But if anyone suspicious approaches you, you can gesture to us. I will come running." 

He gave a wink to Xiong Zhi and left.

Xiong Zhi nodded seriously at the man's retreating back. She then walked around while observing the surroundings.

She did not reject these men's protection because it was Linfeng who personally asked them.

She could not blame Linfeng's worries. 

Ming Zhi Yi was a ruthless man. He had been careful for more than twenty years. But now, he was starting to show his true colors to the legendary families. 

There was a possibility that Ming Zhi Yi would vent out his anger on her and let her be the first example to show off his power. He could also take this chance to formally have a declaration of war with the legendary families.

Xiong Zhi promised to herself that she would not die so tragically without getting back to that man at all. The man that caused the four families to fall apart in her past life...

It would never happen again in this life.

As Xiong Zhi turned around to get a drink from the waiter, a man suddenly bumped behind her. 

His deep and emotionless voice sounded in her ears, wrapped with qi so only she could hear it. 

"His eyes are set on you. Tomorrow, add more men to your security."

Xiong Zhi instantly recognized the voice. 

After a pause, she turned around. 

There was no one standing behind her, just a bunch of people talking to each other and inviting one another to either the private rooms or the dance floor.

Xiong Zhi stood still.

"Zhi!" William quickly came to her side. "Are you alright? I saw someone approach you just now. He is hella quick. I did not manage to see his face."

Xiong Zhi shook her head. 

"There is nothing to worry about. I know him. He did not hurt me." 

While saying, she looked at the direction where the man must have left to.

****

"...."

"...."

In one of the private rooms, two men were seated opposite each other.

Their overwhelming silence could suffocate a person, but these two people who had great age differences were both veterans when it comes to this kind of pressure.

After a long silence due to the older man's earlier question, the handsome young man across from him moved.

"Alright. I will accept your offer. I will be the regent leader until your son is willing to govern your turf. However, only under one condition." 

Mr. Finch leaned back on the backrest of the cushioned armchair. The tension finally left his old body. 

The young man finally considered his offer. 

But there was also a condition?