Chapter 1196 - Panic
Lu Zihao had already given Long Jinjing the right to buy presents under both of their names together. He didn't care much about personally buying presents for others, except maybe for their younger sister Xiulan, but he wasn't the type to agonize over what gift to give for whom. Without Long Jinjing, he most likely would just instruct a subordinate to buy appropriate presents in his stead.
She was excited to do this mission of choosing Christmas presents for loved ones. She felt like a wife preparing everything but addressing all the presents under her and her husband's names.
Her phone was already filled with many bookmarked products when the car stopped. She glanced outside and realized that they were in front of her condo building.
"We've arrived, Miss Jinjing," Robin announced.
"Thanks, Robin. I'll go in first."
"Alright, Miss. I'll follow you inside after I park the car."
Long Jinjing nodded and climbed out of the car by herself, not waiting for Robin to open it for her. She was already making a mental list of all the things that she was going to pack while waiting for the elevator.
Although she preferred to stay in her own place, she didn't mind staying with Lu Zihao at her sister and brother-in-law's home. But only temporarily.
She understood the importance of what Lu Zihao and Jin Liwei were coordinating together in order to catch all the true culprits of the bombing incident back then. The two men also seemed to be working on other things together but she didn't know what exactly. She felt curious but also reluctant to ask because her intuition told her that whatever additional things they were working on must be dangerous.
Her thoughts continued to run wild until she finally reached her condo unit. She went inside and immediately started packing. It didn't take her that long to fill a small suitcase. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]
She headed to the kitchen next. She disposed a few expired food and ingredients. Seeing all the waste pained her wallet. It couldn't be helped. She hadn't been staying here recently. Nobody was eating the remaining food stored in her kitchen.
Sighing, she continued checking all the cupboards to make sure that nothing would rot while she was away. She opened the last cupboard and was about to close it when her whole body froze.
Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She reached a shaky hand inside the cupboard and took out a medicine bottle. Her heart was hammering inside her chest so loudly that it was all she could hear. She stared at the medicine bottle's label and felt like fainting.
"Oh no."
She ran back to the living room and grabbed her phone to check the calendar. At the same time, she was frantically doing mental calculations.
"Oh no no no."
Panicking, she immediately abandoned the suitcase that she just packed and ran to the front door. Then she backtracked to grab her handbag, tossing the medicine bottle inside, and then rushed out of the door to the hallway. It just happened that Robin was on her way to her unit.
Seeing Long Jinjing so agitated, the countenance of the usually friendly Robin changed in an instant. She turned cold and arrived next to Long Jinjing while quickly scanning their surroundings for any threats. Her frightening aura made the already panic-stricken Long Jinjing shake even more.
This was the first time that Long Jinjing really felt how dangerous Robin could act. Robin really was a female assassin. Just standing next to her made Long Jinjing's heart stop and turn cold.
"Miss Jinjing, what happened?"
"I—I…." She couldn't stop shaking.
Robin seemed to realize her aura's effect on her. She returned to her usual friendly countenance. "My apologies for scaring you, Miss Jinjing. Please tell me what happened. Did someone harm you?"
Long Jinjing shook her head. "N-no, I'm…f-fine…."
Robin studied her for a few moments and confirmed that she wasn't injured in any way. However, Long Jinjing's emotional state wasn't good. Robin also already scanned the surroundings and couldn't detect any immediate danger. Her comrades also reported that everything was normal in the area through her hidden earpiece after she silently alerted them.
It was difficult but Long Jinjing managed to calm down enough to speak more coherently. "Sorry for worrying you, Robin. I didn't mean to alarm you. Nothing really…uh, happened. I just need to, uhm, buy something really important. Yes. I was going out to buy something."
Robin raised an eyebrow. She could tell that Long Jinjing was lying but didn't ask too many questions. "Miss, you forgot your coat. It's cold outside."
"Oh!" Long Jinjing was embarrassed.
Robin didn't wait for her to say anything more and just went ahead inside the unit to grab Long Jinjing's coat for her. She saw the suitcase lying on the living room floor and closed it before bringing it with her outside.
"T-thank you…." Long Jinjing obediently wore her coat and followed Robin to the elevators.
Once inside the elevator, Robin asked, "What do you need to buy, Miss? I'll buy it for you. The wind chill outside is getting colder. It's better for you to stay inside the car."
"No!" Long Jinjing realized that her refusal was too quick and suspicious. She added in a hurry, "I mean, I prefer to buy it myself. I may also want to grab other things. Just drive me to the nearest convenience store."
Robin stared at her. Long Jinjing restrained herself from squirming under the inquisitive gaze of the other woman who was also a female assassin.
"I understand, Miss."
Long Jinjing breathed out a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, she stood inside the convenience store. There were quite a number of other customers inside. She glanced at Robin waiting by the car outside.
Trying to act nonchalant, she roamed all the aisles and started grabbing random things like magazines and junk food. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She looked around and quickly took three different brands of the same item, not bothering to read the product information on the packages, before hiding them between the magazines.
When the cashier was scanning her items, she was soaked in her own sweat. She felt like everyone was looking at her but told herself that it was just her own imagination.
'Calm down, Jinjing.'