Chapter 351 - The Letter

Christina was having such a grand time that night that she felt like she had been slammed to the ground when she received the envelope. She didn't see who had been sitting there for when she arrived the old woman owner only pointed at the dirty table and she got to cleaning it.

Too bad, CCTV cameras were still not that big in that city that there wasn't any way that she could check who was here.

But it did not matter. She received her orders and she could only follow. She pocketed the envelope and hastily cleaned the table. She double-checked the cushions for anything else but nothing was left.

For the rest of her three-hour shift, the diner was almost like a ghost town. One or two customers sat together and when they left someone would replace them.

"Go rest," said the old woman to her in disdain. She must have noticed how jittery she was. She could not stop tapping her feet on the tiled floor and it was a wonder that her lips had not yet bled with the way that she had kept biting on it.

She did not waste another moment in the diner and rushed upstairs. She felt the envelope like it was burning her clothes and she ripped it out of her apron the moment she had the door closed. 

As soon as she was about to open it, she dropped it to the table. She did not think she would be able to open the letter. She heaved a breath. What if she would not like the names that were there?

Well, she did not really care for the names on that envelope. Like how she did not care about the other times that she received orders.

But there was one name that she did not want to see.

She barely knew Zihao but… it did not seem like he was the type of man who deserved death. She was not saying that he was the next target. But it would not be anything new if there was a businessman on the list.

He was young, whispered her mind. If a certain Qing would be on that list it would not be Zihao. Most likely, it would be his father or grandfather.

With a heavy sigh she tore the upper part of the envelope and read.

**

*** ONE COPY ONLY ***

*** DESTROY UPON READING ***

From the Order of The Red Hand

Greetings, Christina

Have a speedy mission. 

Timeline: 3 months

**

After the short message, there was a list of names that were already familiar with Christina. She had been studying these names even before she left.

When she reached the end, that was when her heart dropped to the floor. The last name of the list was: Qing Zhangwei - Enigma Mafia Lord 

Christina repeated the names three times before closing her eyes and repeated it to herself five times more. She grabbed a match and lit the letter on fire. She let it burn at the small sink in the rundown bathroom and she flushed it down the drain.

**

Qing Zihao made his way home after he walked Christina back to the diner. He was not expecting a nice time but that was what he exactly got.

It was better than most of the blind date meetings that his mother kept on asking him to attend. Most of the girls in the blind dates were nice. He should be even thankful that his parents were still leaving him some choice on who he would marry—although the selection that they gave him did not really give him that much options.

The thing with the women in blind dates was that they were too focused on being nice, because their marriage would be a business deal and he would be the one to make the decision. It was like the women were courting him. Qing Zihao knew that the women's parents just also forced them to go out with him.

He hated to be a cliche but with Christina, it was like he could say anything he wanted to say. He was not going to marry her so he could be open with how he really felt. She certainly was not trying to impress him. She had no problems offending him either.

Maybe he should befriend the next woman who would be sent to him as a blind date. Maybe… they would somehow work it out. Make themselves comfortable with each other and start from there.

"Good morning, Sir," greeted the guard on the gate of their property.

"Morning," he muttered as he was stretching. The sun wasn't yet peeking over the horizon so he would still be able to catch some sleep.

He walked to the side of the house and rolled up his sleeves and pants. He was going to climb these tubes to get to the second floor. He strained and groaned all the way up only to find that his window was closed.

He tried to yank it open but it would not budge. When he lifted himself higher, he almost lose his grip when he saw that his mother was looming by his window with her arms crossed on her chest. She did not look happy.

He coyly smiled at her squinted eyes but she did not make a move to help her son. He knocked on the glass, asking his mother to open it.

His mother returned his smile without humor in it and she shook her head.

Qing Zihao hung his neck and started going down the tubes again. It was clear that his mother was not going to let him in the house tonight.

He rounded the house to the garden and plopped himself down on the hard wooden swing set and threw an arm over his eyes. 

His mother probably knew he was out with a woman. She had eyes everywhere. He sighed at the thought of having to defend Christina once the sun was up.