chapter five

“So, who was that, Yingie?” Tao whispered into her ear. Tangying shivered.

“Yixing gege and Wufan gege,” she answered.

Tao’s muscles tensed and he let out a sigh, slowly releasing Tangying from his grasp. Silently, he walked over to the couch, and sat down; burying his face in his hands. Tangying turned off the stove just as the meal finished cooking, and went to sit down next to Tao.

“Tao,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

Tao sighed, and turned to look at her straight in the eyes. His eyes told her he was worried, but his lips told her he was fine. Tangying snuggled into Tao’s chest, and he put his arm around her. He knew she wanted an explanation, but she wouldn’t be getting it so easily. Tao ran his fingers through her auburn hair, and then ran a hand through his own ebony hair.

He began to think. With the pretty girl in his arms, he felt content, but at the same time, they felt distant. Like something was holding Tangying back from accepting him as her boyfriend. He had asked her out, and he was ever-so-bluntly rejected. She was hiding something…

“Gege…” she pouted, looking up cutely at Tao. He was courting her, so the behavior between them wasn’t odd.

“Hmm?” Tao questioned.

“Why did you tense up when I said Yixing gege, and Wufan gege’s names?” she responded. Tangying was smart; she knew if she had waited any longer, Tao would have asked her an unavoidable question; which would lead to her secret being spilled. It was simple logic and common sense that you could never let your target know of your plans, whether you’re an assassin or not.

Tao gave the girl an innocent smile, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, as she snuggled up closer to his body.

“I’m going to tell you a story, okay?” he stated.

Tangying nodded into the crook of his neck. The elder shivered at the contact, and tried to keep focus, on something other than the girl latched to his body.

“As you already know, my name is Huang Zitao. But, I also used to go by Edison Huang.” Tao stated. Tangying recognized the name. Edison Huang was a big name in the mafia world, and obviously, Tangying knew about him; just not that the man embracing her was him.

“Gege,” she whispered. Tao shushed her.

“I’m telling a story, don’t interrupt, Yingie,” Tao chuckled.

He continued his story; “If you know anything about Edison Huang, you would know that he was a member of the White Tigers. I was a valuable member to them, because I knew a lot, I was both their trump card, and the most destructive weapon against them.”

Tangying knew most of this, but the girl stayed quiet. She wanted to hear his side of the story. He might tell her the reason why the White Tigers wanted him dead. A playful thought crossed her mind. I am your best friend, almost close enough to be your lover, and I am also the girl who will bring you to your demise.

“I worked for them for years; ever since I was fifteen,” Tao smiled. “Actually, I only worked with them for a year,”

Tangying giggled, and the action sent a wave of shivers down Tao’s spine. Her breath on his neck was driving him insane, but he needed to control himself; for her sake.

“After that, I was guarding the second head of the White Tigers. That was my job, and I certainly excelled at it. After all, learning wushu ever since you were six does come in handy,” Tao took a breath. “I found out about an assassination that was going to take place. The leader of the White Tigers, Zhou Qingshan, was hiring people to kill his worst enemy. The Black Scorpions’ Jiang Jiaolong. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch this. I told Wufan gege, a former Black Scorpion member, to tell Jiaolong,”

Tangying violently choked. ‘Wufan gege? A former member? Please, he leads the Dragon Clan. Clearly still a member,’

Tao glanced at the girl. “You okay?”

Tangying nodded, and motioned for Tao to continue his story.

“I betrayed them and switched sides. I became a Black Scorpion to protect Wufan gege and his leader. We were close friends in the past, and Wufan gege was a serious man. He told me to leave, and I said I couldn’t leave him alone. They were in danger, and I couldn’t do anything about it. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t help a friend in need?”

‘What kind of person would I be if I murdered the person who actually thought I cared?’

Tao sighed. “He probably doesn’t remember me. After the mafia found out I betrayed them, the attack was cancelled. I was labelled as a traitor, and both Wufan gege and I left the mafia industry. He went to be all lovey-dovey with Yixing gege. We were together, the three of us, side by side for about a month, then I moved out, in fear of being a nuisance. Yixing gege was rather devastated to learn that I wanted to leave the home we shared, but I left anyways,”

“They’re still after me, Tangying. It kind of scares me.” Tao breathed. “I’m paranoid. What if this time, they put you in danger too? I could never stand seeing you hurt. And, I don’t want to die by the hands of the enemy... I would much rather be killed by the hands of someone who I know loves me...”

Tao Tangying’s cheek softly, and lifted her chin to get a good look at her face.

“Tangying, it would kill me if you got hurt... because I’ve fallen in love with you... I’m so in love with you, I don’t know what I would do if you left,” he mumbled, giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek.  

author's comments

Hehehhehehe oooooohhh~~~ Tao confesseddd~~~ <3 <3 hehehehee~

Now, what will happen~? =3 Who knows? Muahahaha, maybe I do~ ;)

<3 anyways~ leave me a comment?