Tranxending Vision - Chapter 353

Chapter 353: 353

Someone brought Xia Lei to the door of Shentu Tian-Yin’s office . Fu Ming-Mei was standing there and she rolled her eyes at Xia Lei as soon as she saw him .  

Xia Lei knew what she meant by that and he shrugged helplessly .  

“Sigh, you . Not even a phone call,” Fu Ming-Mei chided quietly . “And I kindly reminded you too . ”

Xia Lei smiled . “Aren’t I here now? Being here in the flesh is surely more sincere than a phone call . ”

Fu Ming-Mei glared . “Hurry up and get in . Make sure to make her happy . ” She opened the door .  

Xia Lei walked in .  

It was a fairly impressive and luxurious office, all in cool colours, of course . The place exuded cold and seriousness . Shentu Tian-Yin was at her desk looking at a white Apple monitor . She looked up to glance at Xia Lei when he walked in, then smiled and waved at him to tell him to come over .

Xia Lei was worried that she would be upset at him and give him a bad attitude or something but she was calm, and even smiling . He did not know why but he relaxed a little . He walked over and said, “I really am sorry, Tian-Yin . Recently, I…”

“Sh . ” Shentu Tian-Yin put a finger on Xia Lei’s lips .  

Xia Lei thought she did that because she was having a video conference but soon found out that she was watching the footage of him hitting Ahn Suhyeong and stepping on him .

Shentu Tian-Yin smiled . “I’ve watched it three times . ”

Xia Lei paused . This was Angel Wings Building, the headquarters for Vientaine Group in Jingdu, so of course Shentu Tian-Yin would have received a report of what had happened in the lobby, and watched it all on the surveillance system . It would have been easy enough for her to stop it but she had not and just watched - three times . He could not fathom her thoughts .  

“Have a seat . I’ll get you something to drink . ” Shentu Tian-Yin stood and went to the wine cabinet .  

Xia Lei sat on the sofa and watched as Shentu Tian-Yin poured him wine . He was confused by her attitude today but did not ask about it .  

Shentu Tian-Yin came over with two glasses of wine and handed one to Xia Lei . She clinked glasses with him and smiled and she said, “To our reunion . ”

“Reunion?” Xia Lei laughed . “Why say that?”

Shentu Tian-Yin sat opposite Xia Lei . She drained her glass, then looked straight at Xia Lei .  

“Okay, to our reunion . ” Xia Lei drained his glass too .  

Shentu Tian-Yin then said, “You know why I didn’t stop what was happening in the lobby?”

Xia Lei shook his head . He could guess the thoughts of many people but Shentu Tian-Yin was difficult .  

“He was constantly making trouble for you in South Korea and he even disrespected me in the hotel cafe . Only you can teach a lesson to a person as self-important and arrogant as him . ” A faint smile appeared on Shentu Tian Yin’s lips . “It was really satisfying . So much that I watched it three times . ”

“You dislike him? Then why are you collaborating with him and doing a mobile phone project?”

“Business is business . Besides, it wasn’t me who hit him . ” Shentu Tian-Yin was a smart woman indeed and there was no finding fault with what she said or did .  

Xia Lei smiled wryly . “I was worried about your collaboration with Shinyeok Group but it seems my worry was misplaced . ”

“Why say that?”

“You’re better than me at doing business . I was afraid that you would be duped by Shinyeok Group but I’ve only just discovered that the one who should be worried is Ahn Suhyeong,” said Xia Lei .  

She, as a single woman, had risen up in Vientaine Group despite the terrible internal strife . Today, all her opponents had fallen and she was advancing Vientaine Group further; it had expanded by a third compared to the previous year . Would a woman like her need him to worry about her getting duped? 

“You could tell?”

“You have a project you’re collaborating with Shinyeok Group on in South Korea, but you cannot control it . So you came up with a mobile phone project that’s in China so you can control it and Shinyeok Group can’t . Ahn Suhyeong is far behind his father in terms of caution and smarts so the one to benefit the most from this project is, of course, Vientaine Group . Is this right?”

Shentu Tian-Yin smiled . “You understand me best after all . ”

Xia Lei suddenly felt like all the business acumen he had accumulated till now was like a blank sheet of paper . His capabilities in the field of business was far behind his combat capabilities .  

Just then, Shentu Tian-Yin let out a soft sigh . “Lei, I don’t care what others think of me - I only care about what you think of me . I hold no reservations towards you but you don’t understand me . I want to get to know you very much but you keep avoiding me . You have too many secrets . They’re like the smog hanging over Jingdu; I can’t see you clearly . ”

Did she know something? Xia Lei was struck by a thought but he showed no reaction . “What are you trying to say?”

“You were asking why I said this was a reunion, right? I’m getting back to your question now,” said Shentu Tian-Yin .  

Xia Lei smiled and waited for her answer .  

Shentu Tian-Yin dipped her finger in the wine in her hand and wrote three numbers on the coffee table: 101 .  

Xia Lei stared blankly . He then thought of Gu Ke-Wen . If he was right, Shentu Tian-Yin probably knew about the existence of Bureau 101 because of Gu Ke-Wen .  

“I’d never have expected you to be an agent for the nation,” said Shentu Tian-Yin, “I now know what a special status you have and this explains so much of what confused me . You must have gone on some secret mission when you suddenly disappeared for a period of time after coming back from Korea, right?”

Xia Lei nodded . She already knew of the existence of Bureau 101 and about his other identity so it was needless to hide it anymore .  

“That’s why I said our meeting today is a reunion . I think I’ve only truly understood you now . This is the same feeling as when I first met you . ”

Xia Lei laughed dryly . “It was Gu Ke-Wen who told you, huh?”

Shentu Tian-Yin neither confirmed nor denied it .  

“There were some things I kept from you, but not because I was hiding it deliberately  - it’s better if you don’t know anything about it,” said Xia Lei .  

Shentu Tian-Yin smiled . “I know . I’ve heard a lot of these sort of lines in Hollywood spy films . Let me tell you a secret - when I was a young girl my dream was to be a secret agent, not a businesswoman . I wanted to be a female agent, one who’s strong like the agent Angelina Jolie played in ‘Salt’ . ”

Xia Lei recalled the Bureau 101 agents who had died in Afghanistan . “Trust me, you won’t like that sort of lifestyle . Really . ”

Shentu Tian-Yin pursed her lips . “I knew you’d say that . ”

It was a small, playful movement but it showcased her warm and adorable side as a woman . She sat at ease opposite him with her beautiful face and slender figure . Her quiet gaze and her sexiness seemed to speak to him . Xia Lei suddenly felt the feeling he had when he had first seen her - she was like a celestial out of a painting, otherworldly, out of reach but tempting one to get closer, to fantasise .  

The two of them grew quiet . Their eyes met and their gazes were loaded with meaning . Past misunderstandings, the many guesses all melted away .  

Looking at Shentu Tian-Yin’s tender, painted lips made Xia Lei have an sudden impulse to kiss her . She was a goddess he had fantasised about for a long time after all and he had even dreamed about making a family with her . The desire to get her had been buried deep in his heart all along and was only just re-awakened, hence the impulse .  

Two minutes passed with them just looking at each other .  

“I… I’ll pour some wine for you . ” Shentu Tian-Yin was a woman not as bold as Xia Lei . She avoided his gaze and went to take the wineglass .  

“I’ll do it . ” Xia Lei stood too to take the glass .  

Their hands grabbed the wine bottle at the same time and touched . Both of them felt a jolt of electricity go through them in that instant; it was subtle . More interestingly, neither of them let go . Their gazes met again, heavy with meaning .  

Then their heads drew slowly closer to each other… Closer… Closer…

The door to the office opened all of a sudden and Fu Ming-Mei appeared in the doorway .  

Shentu Tian-Yin and Xia Lei’s lips nearly met - they were just two to three millimetres apart . Shentu Tian-Yin was the first to draw back, her face red . “What is it?”

Xia Lei was embarrassed too and he pretended to be pouring wine .  

“Oho?” A smirk appeared on Fu Ming-Mei’s face . “Sorry, did I interrupt you two?”

Shentu Tian-Yin glared at her .  

Fu Ming-Mei sobered . “The security department chief says the police have come to investigate the situation . Nn, and there seems to be people from the Korean embassy too . ”

Shentu Tian-Yin wrinkled her brows . “Ahn Suhyeong made a fuss and escalated it to an international dispute?”

Fu Ming-Mei spread her hands . “That I don’t know . ”

“What do they take my place for? Hold them off,” said Shentu Tian-Yin .  

“Yes, right away . ” Fu Ming-Mei turned to leave .  

Before she got out the door, however, Gu Ke-Wen appeared in the doorway and coincidentally blocked her way . She went straight to the point . “You can’t settle it like that . ”

Xia Lei was not surprised that Gu Ke-Wen had turned up at this time . He watched her and tried to guess her role in Vientaine Group .  

Fu Ming-Mei spoke a little discontentedly, “You mean you have some brilliant idea, Assistant Gu?”

So Gu Ke-Wen was now Shentu Tian-Yin’s assistant . This surprised Xia Lei .  

“Speak, Ke-Wen,” said Shentu Tian-Yin .  

“Mr Xia did injure someone, and not just one . Ahn Suhyeong’s father is an old hand in the world of South Korean politics and uses strong-handed methods . Since people from the Korean embassy are coming it’s a sure sign that they want to take Mr Xia in for questioning . If we stop them we will become the party responsible, and possibly draw the ire of Ahn Geungan . This is not a wise move,” said Gu Ke-Wen .  

Shentu Tian-Yin looked at Xia Lei . She was troubled .  

“I’ll just go with them . Don’t worry, they can’t do anything to me . ”

“Then I’ll accompany you to the police station,” said Shentu Tian-Yin .  

“No, you can’t handle it like that,” said Gu Ke-Wen .  

Xia Lei and Shentu Tian-Yin looked at Gu Ke-Wen .  

“With the Korean embassy in play, it is sure to be escalated to higher levels . The smartest thing to do now is to have Mr Xia leave unnoticed . Go back to your military factory, where there’s military secrets and strict martial law . The military will be the first to disagree to the presence of Koreans there,” said Gu Ke-Wen .  

Xia Lei suddenly laughed . He felt that Gu Ke-Wen had matured and become smarter without the protection of her father and brother .  

He was laughing, but his heart was heavy .