How could Gu Bei possibly cooperate with the Black Scorpion Organization? Xie Bingxia looked at Ethan warily and pulled Gu Bei aside, whispering, "Who is he?"
Ethan interrupted them and said with a smile, "So many things have happened tonight. I'm sure everyone is exhausted. Why not get some rest early and have a detailed discussion tomorrow."
"Alright," Gu Bei replied and led Xie Bingxia to the dock.
There were several yachts parked at the dock, which served as temporary resting places. Gu Bei and Xie Bingxia were on one yacht, while Qin Feng was naturally arranged on another one far away from them. According to Gu Bei's intention, he was supposed to reflect on why he had "run his mouth" and made a move on his woman. Qin Feng was, of course, not convinced, but for Xie Bingxia's sake, he endured it.
The two changed into clean clothes. Gu Bei was really tired. He sat on the sofa, and the wound on his chest was throbbing. He turned around to get the painkillers on the table.
Xie Bingxia complained irritably, "Your wound isn't even healed yet, and you went into the water again. Boss Gu is really working hard to bully his love rival."
Gu Bei swallowed the pills, lifted his coat, and showed his chest wrapped in gauze. "Change the dressing for me."
It was clearly a commanding tone. Xie Bingxia thought about the wound he got to protect her. The bloody scene was still shocking, and she felt more than a little heartache.
Under the gauze, the split wound had been sutured again. Fortunately, a waterproof patch had been applied in advance, so there was no secondary infection.
Gu Bei looked down and saw Xie Bingxia carefully scooping out the ointment and gently applying it to the wound with a cotton swab. It was like scratching an itch through a boot. He suppressed his desire and said, "There's also a wound on my back. You can take your time."
"When did you start planning all this?"
"Long ago, before Li Yishan returned to China."
"What?" Xie Bingxia almost dropped her jaw. "Don't tell me you knew you would be in danger."
"Indeed," Gu Bei didn't deny it. "I miscalculated one thing, which was that you were implicated because of me."
"You're really a divine fortune-teller, Gu!" Xie Bingxia pressed harder with her hand, and Gu Bei winced in pain. He continued, "After the car exploded that night, I was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Although I once stepped into the gates of hell, fortunately, I was tough enough to come back. Then I learned that you had been kidnapped and your whereabouts were unknown, so I pretended to be dead as planned and got mixed into Chen Laojiu's gang after a disguise."
Seeing him speak so casually, as if he was just playing a game of chess instead of being involved in a life - threatening incident, Xie Bingxia was quite speechless. Should she say he was heartless or fearless?
"Of course, I wasn't acting alone from beginning to end. Ethan provided backup..."
Mentioning this person, Xie Bingxia immediately warned Gu Bei, "He has a Black Scorpion tattoo on the back of his hand. He's the Black Scorpion who wants your life! How can you trust him so easily?"
Gu Bei smiled and reached out to ruffle Xie Bingxia's hair. "I forgot to explain to you. Ethan is an FBI agent and is currently undercover in the Black Scorpion Organization."
"FBI?!" Xie Bingxia exclaimed. Gu Bei immediately covered her small mouth. "Keep your voice down. His identity shouldn't be known to too many people."
"The leader of the Black Scorpion Organization is Vincent. He's my business rival and has always been obstructing my development in the North American market. A few months ago, Ethan contacted me privately and hoped to get my assistance to defeat Vincent's evil dark web once and for all."
"You agreed?"
"I refused at that time. I knew Vincent was doing some shady things, but I didn't plan to dig deeper. After all, I'm a businessman. As long as my business is going well, other people's legality has nothing to do with me. However, Ethan revealed a secret to me that I didn't even know..."
Gu Bei's expression darkened, and his memory was pulled back to a few months ago, when he first met Ethan.
"Sorry, I'm just a businessman and can't assist you."
In the secluded VIP box, Gu Bei lit a cigarette. Ethan, sitting upright across from him, was not anxious but extremely calm. "Xia Jingwei, Mr. Gu's fiancée, died in a car accident two years ago..."
Gu Bei slapped the table. "Mr. Ethan, you've investigated too much."
Ethan smiled. "Don't you ever think that the car accident was man - made? If it was Vincent, he was fully capable of making it seamless." As he spoke, he showed Gu Bei a photo on his phone. "Li Yishan, you know her, right?"
"She's currently working under Vincent and has been in a long - term relationship with him."
"How is that possible?!" Gu Bei couldn't believe it. "Yishan wouldn't do such a thing!"
"She was too obsessed with you back then and wanted to kill Xia Jingwei. Vincent won her trust by offering to assist her in exchange."
"What evidence do you have?" Gu Bei wasn't stupid enough to believe someone just based on their words.
"I haven't obtained any solid evidence yet, so I need Mr. Gu's assistance." Ethan opened his smiling eyes, and there was a sharpness in them that was different from ordinary people. Gu Bei was instantly intimidated by his aura. Only then did he truly realize that Ethan was definitely a tough guy.
"Do you want to uncover the truth about your fiancée's death yourself? I'll wait for your reply."
After listening to Gu Bei's story, Xie Bingxia straightened up, put her arms around his head, and let him lean on her chest. She gently patted his back with her right hand and said softly, "I understand. You have the right to get justice."
Gu Bei had seen the encrypted email in the USB flash drive, which was the most conclusive evidence. The person he loved deeply was brutally killed, his former friend betrayed him mercilessly, and there were still people lurking in the dark, eyeing him covetously. The man in her arms had endured too much.
Gu Bei covered his face with his hands, and his voice trembled. "I'm sorry, Jingwei. I failed to protect you..."
Xie Bingxia lowered her head and kissed his trembling forehead. "Let's send those bastards to hell together!" Gu Bei removed his hands, and his eyes were filled with mist. In his somewhat blurred vision, he saw Xie Bingxia's determined face.
"What do you need me to do?"
Gu Bei wiped his eyes and hugged Xie Bingxia tighter. "We can talk about revenge tomorrow. Now... shouldn't we make up for the time we've lost?"
"Desire is like a double - edged sword." Xie Bingxia placed her hand on Gu Bei's chest and easily pushed him down on the sofa. "With your current body full of open wounds, can you satisfy me?"
"Get some good rest!" Xie Bingxia grabbed Gu Bei's coat and threw it at him, then turned and walked out of the boat.
Gu Bei asked uneasily, "Where are you going?"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to find Qin Feng. I just want to get some fresh air."
Xie Bingxia came to the deck. A few hours ago, she had roared at the sky, wondering why God was playing with her like this. Now, there was a crescent moon hanging in the vast starry sky, and a faint sense of worry welled up in her heart.
When would the next blood moon come? How much longer could she hold on in this body?
"After revenge, do you want to change back?" Xie Bingxia lowered her head and looked at her outstretched palm, whispering to herself, "Or will you just disappear and never have existed?"
The faint voice was carried away by the sea breeze and drifted towards the vast sky.
The next day, Ethan summoned everyone to the yacht he was on to discuss the next strategy. As soon as Xie Bingxia saw Qin Feng with two dark circles under his eyes that were even darker than a panda's, she knew he hadn't slept at all last night.
"Good morning, everyone." Ethan made a cup of black coffee for each person and took a sip himself. "I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Stop being so mysterious," Gu Bei said. "Just tell us."
"The bad news is that Xie Shuwen has been captured by Chen Laojiu, and the situation is not good. As for the good news..." Ethan put down his coffee cup, and there was excitement in his eyes as if he was about to catch his prey. "Vincent has come to Hong Kong in person."