Chapter 236: She Is Mine
"You damn girl, so you were hiding here." Ao Tian looked as if he had just taken a shower, reached for his underwear, only to find someone had stolen it—his expression was extremely embarrassed and furious. His face was already covered in dirt and blood, and with his anger now, the only word that could describe him was ferocious.
"You traffic violator, you… you… how are you even here? Did Lin Hui abuse his authority and release you?" Qi Xiaoxiao's pretty face was filled with anger, as if Ao Tian had stolen her wallet.
Ao Tian turned his head away, hands on his knees, still panting. He looked at Zhang Yang with a pained expression. "You two know each other well?"
Zhang Yang glanced at Qi Xiaoxiao, then at Ao Tian, and nodded. "Weren't you driving fast? Why are you so late?"
"Ask her! This damn girl and another idiot blocked me for speeding. I showed my credentials and told them I was on a mission. Didn't work. They insisted my documents were fake…" Ao Tian looked utterly miserable. "Then this girl told that idiot to watch me while she went to verify. And she never came back… I got held there like an idiot at the intersection forever."
Hearing this, Zhang Yang held back a laugh. Of course she didn't come back—she rushed here to save him. But he still asked, "So how did you get here?"
"Bastards! I made over a dozen calls to find their supervisor. I was about to explode!" Ao Tian glared at Qi Xiaoxiao, clearly still furious.
"Then why did you take a taxi…" Zhang Yang asked, noticing how obvious it was.
"Crap. My tire blew halfway…" Ao Tian almost spat blood at the sight of Qi Xiaoxiao. He didn't even want to admit the rest—that he was so anxious he drove into a fence somewhere, nearly killing himself.
"And your face?" Zhang Yang pointed at his injuries.
"Don't mention it!" Ao Tian nearly cried. "Didn't I crash? The fence scraped me. Then I ran forever just to hail a taxi."
As he spoke, he turned again to glare at Qi Xiaoxiao. "This is all because of you…"
"You were speeding…" Qi Xiaoxiao muttered. She now roughly guessed his identity and felt a little guilty—but her tone still stayed stubborn.
"I'll settle with you later." Ao Tian rolled his eyes at her and turned to Zhang Yang, frowning at his injured arm. "You're hurt?"
"Nothing serious. But today, you really can't blame Officer Qi. You were speeding."
"Bullshit, weren't YOU speeding?" Ao Tian looked behind Zhang Yang at the twin sisters. "Caught them?"
"Sort of." Zhang Yang glanced back at them.
Ao Tian said nothing more. He shot Qi Xiaoxiao another vicious glare and walked past them.
He approached Tang Qiqi, pulled out his credentials, flashed them, then took out a pair of handcuffs. "Tang Qiqi, you are suspected of four murders and involvement with a killer organization. I… hey, Zhang Yang, what are you doing?"
Halfway through his words, he saw Zhang Yang step between them, take the handcuffs away, grab his shoulder, and drag him aside. "Bro, let's discuss something."
"What?" Seeing Zhang Yang's expression, Ao Tian knew nothing good was coming.
"You can't arrest this woman." Zhang Yang lowered his voice and glanced at Tang Qiqi.
"Can't arrest her? I've tracked Spade Eight for YEARS just to catch one alive today."
"That's why I'm discussing it with you. Tell me—how much money do you want?" Zhang Yang put on the face of a rich man ready to pay.
"Bullshit, what do you take me for?" If he had the energy, he would've punched Zhang Yang.
"Then what do you want? I'll send you two beauties?"
"Fuck off…" Ao Tian glared. "No— hey, wait, why do you want her? Don't tell me… you LIKE her?"
"Yep." Zhang Yang nodded seriously.
"Bullshit. Even if you do, I still can't let her go. She MUST go with me today." Ao Tian was speechless. He wasn't stupid—he didn't believe Zhang Yang fell in love with a woman trying to kill him.
Zhang Yang sighed and spread his hands. "So no negotiation?"
"Bullshit. If you were me, would YOU negotiate?"
Zhang Yang licked his lips. "Then… if I don't let you take her, what will you do?"
"You—" Ao Tian's anger spiked. "Tell me why you want her?"
"Why you want her?" Zhang Yang countered. "To hand her to justice?"
"Crap." Ao Tian rolled his eyes. "That's what the police are for. You think WE handle that?"
"Ohhh, now I get it. You're going to lock her in a dark cell, torture her, force intel out of her. You guys are too cruel. Such a beautiful woman—falling into the hands of you wolves—of course you'd… molest her… maybe even jerk off…"
"HEY HEY HEY! Lower your damn voice! Her sister is right there!" Ao Tian yanked him further away and hissed, "What torture? What dark cell? What jerking off? We just want to use technical methods to extract intel and wipe out Spade Eight. It benefits YOU too!"
Zhang Yang smacked his lips. Good for THEM, sure. But if they took her away, how the hell was he supposed to complete his M‑level mission?
He stared at Ao Tian and smiled slyly. "So you want her for intel on Spade Eight, right?"
Ao Tian rolled his eyes. Obviously. What else? Take her home as a pet?
"Of course!"
"Alright then. I can get you that intel. You want info on Spade Eight? I'll get it for you."
Ao Tian froze.
He put his hands on his waist, shaking his head in disbelief.
He stared at Zhang Yang and sneered. "Joke. Even WE can't guarantee breaking a killer. And you? What do YOU have besides brute force? You think torture works on a professional assassin?"
"At least better than you."
"Impossible. She's part of a killer org. Legally and logically, I MUST take her. No discussion."
Zhang Yang tilted his head and asked calmly, "Got evidence?"
"Evidence? Are you kidding me?" Ao Tian stared. "YOU are the evidence. Today, at the alley—"
"Sorry. I forgot everything today."
"So if I insist on taking Tang Qiqi, you'll stop me?" Ao Tian's tone turned cold.
"Exactly."
"My men will arrive soon!"
"Unless you arrest me too." Zhang Yang turned and walked toward Tang Qiqi and Pan Ningning.
Ao Tian exhaled heavily, brow furrowed.
"Fine, I'll give you ONE week!" he shouted after Zhang Yang, silently adding in his heart: And I'll have people watching your villa 24/7.
"Thanks."
"Thought about how to deal with me?" Tang Qiqi sneered as Zhang Yang returned.
Zhang Yang looked at Pan Ningning, then at her, and nodded.
"Say it—kill me? Torture me? But if you're handing me to the police, better kill me instead."
Zhang Yang didn't answer. He smiled and looked at Pan Ningning. "Lieutenant Pan, you were sent to protect me, right?"
Pan Ningning frowned slightly, then nodded.
"Then if your sister tries to kill me, you'll protect me first, correct?"
Pan Ningning glanced at Tang Qiqi and replied calmly, "You don't need to doubt that."
"Great!" Zhang Yang beamed at Tang Qiqi. "I'm taking you with me."
"Taking me?" Tang Qiqi froze. Was this man insane? Well… he DID let her go once earlier. But that time was clearly intentional. This time…
"Just kidding." Before she could respond, Zhang Yang added.
"You—!" Tang Qiqi's face flushed with anger from being teased.
"You tricked me several times. I can't trick you once?" Zhang Yang eyed her beautiful face, then his injured elbow. "And this wound…"
"That was your own fault."
"Whether my fault or not," Zhang Yang smiled, "you'll be staying at my place for a while."
"Your place?" Both Tang Qiqi and Pan Ningning were surprised.
"Yep."
"Just like that?" Tang Qiqi lifted her empty hands, as if to say: Aren't you afraid I'll snap again?
"Just like that."
"Zhang Yang, I'm NOT staying at your villa." Pan Ningning frowned and warned, "She might not harm you, but for your delicate girlfriends…"
Zhang Yang smiled confidently and said nothing.
Pan Ningning's face darkened slightly, but she didn't argue.
Zhang Yang called Xu Danlu, and a while later, Yanqiang drove a car over.
"Zhang Yang!" Pan Ningning hurried over as he was about to get in. She whispered, "You won't hurt her, right?"
Zhang Yang smiled. In the end, she was still a sister.
"Don't worry. I won't harm a single hair on her." he promised. "If you're worried, why don't you stay there too?"
Pan Ningning shook her head, glanced at Tang Qiqi, and said nothing.
Zhang Yang briefly explained things to Qi Xiaoxiao, then took Tang Qiqi into the car. Yanqiang drove in front; Zhang Yang and Tang Qiqi sat in the back.
Tang Qiqi felt uneasy. This was something rare in her life—she truly had no idea what this man intended to do with her next.