Chapter 278 One Buck, That’s The Price on Your HeadChaos broke out that same night.
It turned out that the young master of the Mo family from the G Province had just been murdered at a hotpot restaurant. Usually, when wealthy people died, at most, the news of their death would appear in the society’s section of the newspaper. Then again, it would a different story altogether if there was a celebrity involved.
The police came not long after Wan Qingsi and Ah Sha arrived at the company the next day.
“Mr. Wan, Miss Mei, we have some questions we’d like to ask you. There was a homicide at Florence’s Hotpot Restaurant last night. We have witnesses claiming that both of you had interacted with the victim before his death.”
Ah Sha shared a look with Xunxun. Then, she said, “Might I ask who is this victim that you’re referring to?”
One of the policeman, a younger one, pulled out a photo and placed it on the table. “Hey, it’s him!” Ah Sha said after she saw the photo.
The officer did not miss the look of disgust in Ah Sha’s eyes. “Do you know him, Miss Mei?” he asked quickly.
“Who would know a man like him?” Ah Sha said with a nasty look on her face. “I ran into him when I came out of the bathroom last night. He was drunk and he tried to grab me. But he stumbled and knocked his head on the wall. After that, he was unconscious.”
An older police officer frowned. “What happens after?”
“What do you mean ‘after’?” Wan Qingsi said coldly. “Are you suggesting that we should help the douche to his feet or call an ambulance for him?”
Ah Sha blinked several times. All of a sudden, a look of surprise formed on her face. “Wait, are you saying that he died because he knocked his head on the wall?”
“Not at all. He was killed with a knife,” the policeman said. None of them had the courage to look at Wan Qingsi during the interrogation. How could a twenty-year-old young man give out such a terrifying aura?
Wan Qingsi snorted. “And I presume that you guys think we’re the ones behind his murder?”
“You were the last people who came in contact with him. Not long after you left, he was found dead inside the restaurant’s storeroom,” the police officer explained. “We’re just asking you to help us in our investigation.”
Qi Xiu, who had been standing on the side the whole time, saw the pointed look that Wan Qingsi had given him. Qi Xiu looked at the two police officers sternly. “I assume that you guys are already aware of Mei Jing’s status as a public figure. Your suspicion will greatly affect her public image. If you have any further questions, I suggest you speak to Stars Entertainments’ lawyer. I kindly ask you not to harass Mei Jing again if you don’t have any evidence linking her to foulplay.”
The younger officer seemed slightly pissed off. “We’re merely following protocols. How’s that considered harassment?”
“It is if you don’t have any evidence,” Wan Qingsi said, giving the officer a sidelong glance. “Do you know how much Stars Entertainment has to spend on fix the PR shitstorm you’ve caused the moment you stepped into our building?”
Ah Sha smiled at Xunxun. “Officer,” Ah Sha said in a troubled tone, “the truth is exactly as we had explained just now. We really didn’t know anything about the reason behind the victim’s murder.”
The police officers stood up and left without bothering with any pleasantries.
As expected, very soon, the connection between Mei Jing and the homicide case began popping up in newspapers everywhere. The funny thing was that none of those articles had mentioned Wan Qingsi’s name despite the fact that she and Xunxun had been at the scene together. The articles claimed that Mei Jing had been harassed by Mo Xi that night at the restaurant, and that an altercation might have ensued after that. Various allegations were made against Mei Jing, all of which suggested that she might have accidentally hurt or murdered the victim.
“This is just so unfair! You were there at the scene too. Why are they only attacking me!” Ah Sha leaned into Xunxun’s chest. Both of them were seated beside the fireplace, watching a DVD.
Xunxun stole a kiss from her. “They don’t have the guts to mess with me.”
“The showbiz is a dark place indeed,” Ah Sha said, holding Xunxun’s hand and biting down on the skin there. “But I wonder who killed the guy.”
Right then, a folder appeared before Ah Sha’s eyes. Surprised, Ah Sha took it. “I knew you’d look into it!” she said excitedly.
Adoration filled Xunxun’s countenance as he gazed upon Ah Sha whose head was now lowered as she studied the documents intently. When they were young, Ah Sha had often hung out at the Wan family’s base. At the time, when Ah Sha saw Boss Wan’s men doing combat drills, she kicked up a fuss, saying that she wanted to learn how to fight so that she could become a female warrior.
Back then, they all thought that the little girl had made the request on a whim. But then every summer after that, Ah Sha insisted on joining training camps on the base. Xunxun went with her, of course. The first time Ah Sha had witnessed a death, she threw up for three days straight; Xunxun nearly tied her up and took her back home right then and there.
“You don’t have to face all these,” Xunxun had told her then. “I’ll always protect you.”
“But you can’t be by my side all the time, right?” Ah Sha answered him. Her face had been pale at the time, though the fire burning in her eyes was unmistakable. “Being raised in a family like ours means there’s a higher chance for us to have to deal with kidnappers, criminals and even terrorists. I don’t want to be just another helpless damsel in distress who only knows how to cry whenever I face a crisis.”
In that precise moment, Xunxun knew that his little girl had grown up.
“This isn’t the work of a lowly thug,” Xunxun said. Ah Sha set down the documents when Xunxun pulled her into a hug. “It’s done by a professional hitman. An assassin. The police will figure that out very soon. I just wonder whom the Mo family had managed to piss off. I mean, hiring a professional hitman? There has to be a lot of bad blood involved for them to go that far.”
Ah Sha wiggled her body against Xunxun. “It’s got nothing to do with us, anyway.” Then, all of a sudden, Ah Sha froze. A second later, all traces of blood left her face.
“What’s the matter?” Xunxun asked anxiously as his hands checked her body from head to toe. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Ah Sha curled her lips. “My period came.”
Because of her period, Xunxun gave her two days off. Bright and early next morning, Ah Che came by with the soup that Aunt Tian had prepared for her. Xunxun sat there and watched Ah Sha finish every drop of the soup before he headed to work.
The moment Ah Sha heard the door close, Ah Sha booted up her laptop.
“Johns, we need to talk.” Ah Sha left Johns a message. Then, she lay down on her bed and stared off into space. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it in her bones. Mo Xi was killed by a single knife strike. The wound was located at the back of Mo Xi’s head. What screamed at Ah Sha was the shape of the wound; no ordinary knife could have caused that kind of wound.
If she was not mistaken, only one person in this world would use a weapon like that.
Beep! Beep! Beep! A notification sounded from her laptop. Ah Sha quickly picked up the call.
She was immediately greeted by Johns’ familiar voice. “Hi, little girl!”
Ah Sha filled Johns in about Mo Xi’s murder. “Ah Sha, I think your identity has just been compromised,” Johns said in a grave tone after hearing everything.
“You mean Mo Xi’s killer had identified me and that’s why he killed Mo Xi? To send me a message?”
“I’m not sure. But he’s likely to be the same assassin who had been sent to kill you. The top ranking assassin in the league of assassins, Bai Qi.”
Ah Sha rolled her eyes. So her guess had been right all along. “Surely, they don’t need to hire a big gun like him just to take me out?”
Nobody in this line of business didn’t know who Bai Qi was! For the past five years, he was the one who sat comfortably at the top spot of the league of assassins’ ranking table. Besides, he was somewhat of an eccentric too; if he wasn’t interested in a job, he wouldn’t take it no matter how much money he was offered. If he hated your guts, he would go to your sworn enemy and then ask your enemy for—wait for it—one buck. One buck. That was the price on your head.
“I know, right?” Johns seemed rather perplexed as well. “Look, it doesn’t matter whether you’re his real target or not. You have to watch out regardless. Don’t ever take him head on. I’ll look further into this and get back to you soon.”
The call ended and Ah Sha hugged her blanket, preparing to take a nap. Her phone rang. It was Xin Qing calling to check on her. Obviously, her mommy had seen the articles in the newspaper and was worried about her. Ah Sha spent a long time comforting and reassuring her mommy. Around noon, she finally fell into a hazy sleep.
Ah Sha woke up after some time. Instantly, a mouthwatering aroma assaulted her nostrils.
“Babe?” A familiar voice sounded beside her ear. Moments later, she felt herself being lifted off the bed.
Ah Sha’s arms automatically wrapped around Xunxun’s neck. “I’m hungry,” she mumbled with her eyes closed.
“That’s why I’ve come home bearing food!” Xunxun pecked Ah Sha’s lips a few times. “Come, I’ll carry you into the bathroom so that you can wash up.”
By the time Ah Sha had made herself presentable and had arrived at the living room, the coffee table was already filled with all kinds of thermos containers.
“Have some porridge first!” Xunxun dragged her to the couch and pushed her down. “Is your stomach hurting?”
Ah Sha tasted a mouthful of sizzling hot crab porridge and then shook her head in contentment. “It doesn’t hurt!”
Xunxun stayed with her until she finished her lunch. After that, he set up the DVD player for her and then got her to lie down comfortably on the couch to enjoy the animated film. He then poured her a cup of red tea and set a bunch of junk food near the couch. After all that, he kept kissing her until he reluctantly went back to the company.
Watching the man leave, Ah Sha felt a warm sensation creep into her heart. She realized that she and her mommy were both lucky women; they each had a man who loved them dearly, who would spoil them rotten every second of the day. Then again… her mommy was very nice to daddy too. Daddy would’ve died a long time ago if it weren’t for mommy.
“I must treat Xunxun nicely from now on!” Ah Sha thought. Then, her phone pinged. She glanced at the screen and saw a notification banner alerting her of a new text message.
“Hello, poison queen! I’m Bai Qi.”
… There was a split second where Ah Sha was thrown into a tailspin. Then, she quickly regained her wit. This was a declaration of war.
She quickly picked up her phone and tapped on the banner. She was just about to reply when she had a sudden thought. Moments later, she abandoned her phone and went back to her animated film.
Johns worked fast; he contacted her that night.
“Ah Sha,” Johns said, “I’ve confirmed that it was Bai Qi. He had accepted the mission to kill you.”
“I already know that!” Ah Sha said, waving her phone. “Do you know why he took the mission?”
Johns cleared his throat twice when he heard that question. Then, he continued in a strange tone, “Do you still remember your first mission? The one where you were sent to South Africa to steal a diamond from a rich billionaire?”
“Of course I remember!”
The first time was always memorable. That billionaire had robbed the diamond from someone else via despicable means; he had even raped the victim’s wife before killing her. So, after Ah Sha had stolen the diamond, she sprayed all kinds of powdered drugs all over his home.
“The person who hired us had actually hired an assassin too. But he didn’t tell us. The assassin went to the place right after you left. The assassin did manage to kill the billionaire, but then he ended up with all kinds of powdered drugs stuck on his body. And he suffered for quite a few days.”
A wave of clarity hit Ah Sha right then and there. “Um, don’t tell me… that unfortunate assassin was…”
“Exactly Bai Qi,” Johns said in a helpless tone. “That’s just sh*t luck,” Johns went on. “After Bai Qi knew that someone had put out a hit on you, he took the mission for a price of one buck.”
Hardy har har. Ah Sha honestly couldn’t decide whether to laugh or to cry at this point.
Meanwhile, Johns was still nagging on. “Look, why don’t we try negotiating with the league of assassins? Maybe we can cut a deal with them or something? Or, we can ask your father-in-law to intervene.”
“But then they would find out that I’m a bounty hunter. Nah, I’ll take care of it myself!” Ah Sha said in a decisive tone.
“Take care of it yourself?” Johns yelled in incredulity. “And how exactly are you planning to take care of it? You don’t stand a chance against him in a fight.”
Ah Sha laughed. “But I can poison him to death!”
When Xunxun came home that night, he saw his woman still sprawled on the couch, watching TV. He went into the bathroom and fussed around with something inside. After that, he emerged in a bathrobe and picked up Ah Sha from the couch. “Let’s take a bath first,” he said. “After that we’ll go out for dinner.”
“Huh?” Ah Sha reacted by wrapping her arms around his neck. “I get the bathing part. But why are you carrying me?”
“You don’t feel well, so I’ll bathe you.”
Before Ah Sha could even protest, her pajamas had already been stripped off her body; she shuddered when her skin met the cold air. The huge bathtub was already filled with water. Xunxun removed his bathrobe and lowered himself into the tub with Ah Sha still in his arms.
A red thread swirled around in the water, slowly spreading out like wisps of smoke.
A deep blush formed on Ah Sha’s tiny face. She pounded his chest a few times. “Eww. What are you even doing? That’s so disgusting.”
“Nonsense! How could your blood ever be disgusting?” Xunxun said, reaching out to pat the redness away before burying his face into her chest.