Lyca and Shen Qui's house, Kong City
"Did you find something?" Lyca asked Shen Qui as he continued to type on his computer.
"This area… I can't see it. Ronan already hacked into the satellite and it's still not visible. It was like, they don't exist in the map." Shen Qui said.
Lyca stared at the computer and went back to her seat. "I have suspicions that it was a trap. So I am not going to check the place."
"You think so too?"
She nodded in response. She stared at Shen Qui's worried look and gave him a smile of assurance. "No need to worry. He won't try to harm you."
"I'm not worried about myself. I am worried about you." Now that the enemy would kill just to hide a secret, it was obvious that their enemy is getting stronger. He was worried that she might not be able to handle it and… run away. His selfish self was worried that she would disappear. He was scared.
Of course, he wasn't planning to tell Lyca about these emotions.
"I think I may have a way to confirm something."
"What are you planning to do?" Shen Qui asked.
"We need to go to Long City. Visit Huang Ying. This time… I will cure her." Lyca squinted. "However, our enemies cannot know that."
"You wanted a decoy?" Shen Qui's eyes glinted. People are watching their every move so it was only logical for her to "I think I have the perfect way for us to leave unnoticed."
Just as the two continued talking, Ronan informed them that Shen Qiaosong wanted an audience. He was trying to force himself inside the ranch. He and his people are getting aggressive too.
"Let him in," Lyca said. "I will talk to him."
"You will."
"It's time that we put them in their place." Lyca stood. She thinks that these people are pretty troublesome. "You won't care… right?"
"Of course not."
"Good." Lyca stood, then she reminded him about his plan about leaving before she left his office.
….
Shen Qiaosong was expecting to see a nice mansion in the middle of the ranch. Maybe a villa that would fit Shen Qui and Lyca's net worth. What he saw greatly disappointed him.
He knew that the two are living underground, but this… this wooden house on top of the underground was pretty old. It looked like an old cabin made of wood, with boring whitewashed walls and rainbow-style cheap-looking rugs. The decorations are pretty bland too and the house... smelled like pancakes. He couldn't help but wonder if someone is living here.
No. To say that he was disappointed was an understatement.
"Father… are you sure about this?" Shen Jiaojiao nervously asked her father.
"If you don't want to talk to them, why'd you come here?" he retorted. He knew that Shen Jiaojiao's presence was because of Qiaosong's father's orders.
"Father… this is their— "
"I know what I'm doing!" If he is scared, then he was not Shen Qiaosong! Moreover, he actually brought ten of his elites with him. Right now, they are standing outside of the house, preventing Lyca's people from approaching them.
"You are not welcome here."
Shen Qiaosong turned towards Lyca, who just walked out from what looked like the kitchen of the two-story house. Dressed in tight black leather jeans and a white tank top, Lyca smiled at them.
"But you already know that," Lyca added he eyed the two people in the living room. While Shen Qiaosong was calmly sitting on the sofa, Shen Jiaojiao was pacing in the living room, the floor creaking from each of her heavy steps.
"How did you know there was a sniper?" Shen Qiaosong asked. He went directly to the point.
"Why should I tell you?" Lyca asked.
"Then… let me rephrase my question. Did you kill Miss Park?"
"If I say no. You wouldn't believe me." Lyca could see it in the older man's eyes. Shen Qiaosong already made up his mind. And she wasn't planning to do anything to change his mind.
"Did you or did you not kill Miss Park???" Shen Qiaosong's voice turned grave as he looked at Lyca. "Answer me!" he let out a low warning growl.
"No. I have no motive whatsoever." Lyca sat opposite him. "Take a seat, Miss Shen. It's not good to walk around like that in front of the owner of the house." Her voice was cold, it had a tinge of danger in it — something that the father and daughter immediately recognized. She was warning them.
"Then do you know who killed her?" Shen Jiaojiao asked.
"No."
"But… the sniper…"
"Am I the only one who can sense people that wanted to kill me?" Lyca asked, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "I can sense it. Just like how I know that you have two pistols in your back." She eyed Shen Qiaosong. "And how... Miss Shen is carrying a hunting knife that could easily slit my throat."
"You have a scanner in this property. Great!" Sarcasm laced Mr. Shen's voice. "But that isn't enough to convince me that you can sense a bullet from a mile away.
"Mr. Shen… just because your lover was dead didn't mean that I have something to do with it."
"What did you say?" Shen Jiaojiao paled. She looked at her father, waiting for him to burst with anger, to rage and tell Lyca it wasn't the truth. But Shen Qiaosong only lowered his gaze, jaws clenched. "Father? What — What is she talking about?" How could her father and the woman she considered her best friend was…? "She's lying, right?"
"Jiaojiao… "
"Your father and Miss Park have some… sexual relationship," Lyca confirmed. "No need to feel hurt about it. It was just sex. I am certain they have no feelings for each other. I can see it in their eyes. She— "
"SHUT UP!" Shen Qiaosong yelled. "Shut your trap! You already killed her! Stop saying stuff like that!"
"But I was telling the truth?" Lyca continued. She looked at the complicated expression on Shen Jiaojiao's face. "I swear… she never really liked him. Maybe the sex was just good."
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"Enraged, Shen Qiaosong's feet suddenly sprang forward as he tried to attack Lyca, strangle her slender neck and kill her to silence her. But before he could reach her, Lyca's legs were already moving. Her shin swiftly struck his head.
Shen Qiaosong staggered as a loud ringing echoed inside his ears. He felt like he hit something hard as he fell to the floor.
"Father!" Despite the feeling of betrayal, Shen Jiaojiao still chose to help her father. "How dare you hurt my father?"
"Wrong question," Lyca said. She was already standing, her feet in a fighting stance. She was prepared to kill these two if they still continue to resist. "You should say, 'How dare you move when my father tried to attack you!" she perfectly mimicked Shen Jiaojiao's voice, making the latter realized the absurdity of her words.
"You— "
"Yes, Miss Shen… I would move and retaliate if someone wanted to attack me. He is lucky, I wasn't in the mood to kill him after what he did."
"Lyca! How could you— "
"If I wanted to kill Miss Park, I would never pay for other people to do it. You know what I am capable of. Did you think I would hesitate to kill her using my own hands?" Lyca narrowed her eyes at them. "Someone was using you against me and you are letting them succeed. I always thought the Shen Family was such a scary existence. It turns out they are nothing but clowns who talk too much!"
"Lyca! hmm… hmmm!" Shen Jiaojiao held her throat when she realized that someone was stuck in it. "What is that?"
"You and your father are poisoned," Lyca said before she threw a vial containing four green tablets. "You have four days to make me happy. One tablet each day and you will live. If you want to die so badly, then don't take the tablet and you will experience the most excruciating thing in your life. In four days, both of you will come here with Old Man Shen. I will personally talk to him about the matters with my husband."
"What did you say?" Shen Qiaosong asked.
"Not saying it again." Lyca darted her tongue out.
"…"
"…"
"One more thing. If you try to hurt the people I love… I will use gas to kill everyone in the Shen Family. You want to know how serious I am? Then… talk to the people in Kong City. Rumors about me are going around here."
"Lyca… what poison did you— "
"Not telling," Lyca said. "You have the best doctors. You still have four days to find it out. Good luck, and I hope you stay alive by then. You already know the way… I'm not seeing you out." Lyca turned her back and walked towards the kitchen before she waved her hand. "Bye. I will see you four days from now," she added.