It seemed as if time had stopped. Brian stood by the door coldly, porridge and soup in his hand while
Molly and Spark stood across him by the ICU's windows side by side. They stood beside each other
with their backs turned to him, and this did not spark joy in Brian's eyes. His intense stare sent daggers
in their direction.
He turned around slowly and left as quietly as he came. When he ran into Shirley in one corner, he
paused. She hadn't slept since visiting Mark in his hospital room. When he sensed that Shirley was
looking at the food he was holding, he lowered his eyes by a fraction and said in a clipped voice, "Mol
hasn't eaten anything for a whole day..." Then he raised his eyes to look at Shirley, "Shirley, please give
these to her."
"What's wrong with you two?" Shirley asked with hint of a scowl on her face. They had been getting
along well when they came back and even on the first day the accident had happened. She briefly
wondered what had transpired that day.
"Please don't ask…" said Brian with finality in his voice. He handed the bag of food over to Shirley. She
knew his temper quite well. He was so like Richie, who never wanted to talk about anything he did,
even if he might be judged or misunderstood. She could only sigh, took the food he offered and went to
the ICU.
Brian did not leave until he saw Shirley reached the ICU. He decided he did not need some rest yet,
but instead went to the rooftop. Thick cumulus clouds obscured most of the moonlight. He leaned
against the railing and fished out a cigarette from his pocket. He took out a lighter and lit it, its steel
making a pit-pat sound as a reddish flame flashed by the side of his mouth.
Brian returned the lighter to its place and smoked silently, his other hand resting in the pocket of his
trousers. The hazy cloud of smoke swirled and spread in the bleak moonlight. His face looked ethereal
and almost unreal under the diffusing smoke, his handsome features enhanced by the gentle
moonlight.
"Ding..." a beeping sound cut his thoughts. Brian frowned slightly and put one end of the cigarette
between his lips, then took out his phone. He glanced at the name and number displayed on the screen
before answering, "What have you found out?"
"Mr. Brian Long, just as you predicted," Vincent's cold voice came through the phone, "they may have
tight deployment this time."
"What? Are you saying they did that only to prevent me from returning to the National Congress?"
"Yes!" Vincent stated in his usual distant voice. He continued, "We weren't able to find out the details.
Shawn hasn't discovered any very valuable information either. I'm afraid that they're really determined
to disturb the regime of Dragon Island this time." He paused for a second and added, "Do we need to
strengthen the protection for our little master?"
Brian raised his hand in the silence to lift the stick from his lips, and inhaled a puff of smoke. The little
sparks from the cigarette looked especially bright in the dark night. He exhaled the smoke gently and
slowly said, "Let me think about it."
"Alright." Vincent answered. He knew that Brian had never thought of returning to Dragon Island, so
those people were just overthinking. Besides, due to his many identities which remained largely
unknown by outsiders, it was impossible for Brian to host the National Congress as the person in
charge of XK Intelligence Agency. If things escalated to unmanageable limits, Mark would have no
choice but to inherit the candidacy for power holder and host the National Congress as a member of
the Long family. Since their opponent would naturally want what they wanted, Mark would be in great
danger. With these thoughts in mind, Vincent asked, "Mr. Brian Long, does this accident have anything
to do with them?"
"I guess not," Brian calmly said, without a trace of doubt in his voice. That sort of thing could not be
done by Becky or people against imperial power for that matter. If they did that, they would most likely
to be exposed. However, in order to prevent Brian from finding out the truth, they had destroyed many
of the clues except the one pointing to Becky. "But they were undoubtedly reminded at the same time,"
he added after thinking it through.
Vincent was silent. He understood what Brian meant.
"Tell Shawn to retreat," Brian said in the same impassive tone. "You will take a trip by yourself."
"That's what Shawn and I think." said Vincent, barely showing any emotion.
Brian hung up the phone after that. He cast away the remnants of the cigarette and ground it with one
of his feet. Then he went back down to Richie, who was making a video call with Frank when he
arrived. Richie glanced in his direction when he saw he came in, and returned to his video call. "Do you
have to take the risk?" he said.
"Do they view the Long Family as blind because we haven't dealt with them for the past few years?"
Frank said in a sinister voice on the other end. Although many years had passed, he still seemed like
the young man back then who had enjoyed racing on the race track as long as he was with Richie.
Richie did not answer. He kept quiet for a moment and then unsympathetically said, "Now that you
have decided, go ahead."
"It's great to have your support!" Frank said with a smile.
A flashback suddenly came to Richie's mind upon hearing what Frank said. Many years ago, he had
lashed out at Frank for stealing documents in his study, but afterwards Frank said, "Well, it's actually
great that you waited for me…"
A smile made its way to Richie's thin lips at the memory. He said, "It's late. You should go to bed as
soon as possible."
They bid their good nights to each other and turned off the video. Turning his attention to Brian who
was playing with the gun he had just placed on the desk, he asked, "What's up?"
"Can you take Mark away?" asked Brian in his usual aloof voice. It did not sound like a request.
Staring blankly at his cold and arrogant son, Richie said, "You'd better have a good reason."
"I don't want Mark to be involved in political conflicts…" Brian said while putting the gun down. Its metal
barrel made a little thud on the mahogany table. "I hope he could grow up simply and do whatever he
likes to do."
"If I take him away--" "then what about Molly?" Richie said plainly. "I'm afraid she won't agree with you."
Brian lowered his eyes slightly to conceal the self-mockery reflected in them. He said disinterestedly,
"It's not up to her to decide."
Richie was obviously surprised to hear what Brian just said. He did not expect that.
He slowly asked, "Aren't you going to tell her why?"
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