Ghost Claw's Base - Main Conference Room - 4:47 AM
Tòumíng finished explaining how he'd acquired the beat-up Toyota SUV, which was now parked in Ghost Claw's garage beside significantly more impressive vehicles.
Lucy's jaw had progressively dropped throughout his explanation until she looked like she was trying to catch flies.
"You're telling me," she said slowly, her voice rising with each word, "that THEEEEEEE Ice Queen—Xuě Bào, the most dangerous woman in the criminal underworld, the person who has literally ordered executions for LOOKING at her wrong—forgave your ENTIRE debt AND let you pick ANY car from her collection?!"
"Yeah, pretty much." Tòumíng nodded casually.
"Oh, I forgot to mention—I'm apparently her 'sugar baby' now or something. She called it 'companion' but same thing, right?"
Lucy LOST IT.
"YOU GOT WITH THE ICE QUEEN?!?!" Her voice cracked with the volume. "YOU?! HOW?! WHY?! WHAT?!"
Ghost Claw, who'd been quietly listening from her position leaning against the wall, straightened with visible shock.
"This technically means my operation is now tangled with hers. Which means... more problems. But also fewer problems in some areas. Nobody will mess with us if they know we're connected to her."
Svetlana leaned forward with a perverted grin, her massive frame somehow making the gesture seem even more suggestive. "So... did you do adult activities vith her?"
Tòumíng nodded earnestly.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the arrangement was pretty adult and professional. Very formal. Lots of business talk about terms and conditions and—"
Everyone facepalmed simultaneously—a perfect synchronized moment of collective disappointment.
"NO!" Lucy grabbed his shoulders. "She meant did you have SEX?! Did you FUCK the Ice Queen?!"
"Ohhhhh." Tòumíng's expression shifted to understanding. "No. But she offered and I got cold feet and rejected her."
Lucy grabbed him by both shoulders and SHOOK him violently. "WHY DID YOU REJECT THEEEEE ICE QUEEN?! WHY?! GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON! ONE!"
"Ow! Stop shaking me! I'm getting motion sick!"
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
"She was scary! And controlling! And she said she'd OWN me! That seemed like a red flag!"
Lucy released him but looked absolutely dumbfounded. "I... I can't... I don't even know where to BEGIN explaining how stupid that decision was!"
Tòumíng rubbed his shoulders where she'd grabbed him. "Why are you so mad about this? It's my life!"
Lucy got even MORE mad, her face turning red. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD GIVE TO TAKE YOUR PLACE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?!"
"I mean... it really wasn't that grand. She was intense and kind of terrifying and—"
"WASN'T THAT GRAND?!" Lucy's voice hit a pitch that probably damaged everyone's hearing.
"WASN'T THAT GRAND?! THAT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF SAYING 'MY STEAK IS TOO JUICY AND MY LOBSTER IS TOO BUTTERY!' WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Tòumíng blinked, genuinely confused. "Do you... like her that much? Are you attracted to her or something?"
"NO!" Lucy threw her hands up in exasperation.
"I could care LESS about her personally! BUT IT'S THE PRINCIPLE! You just turned down infinite money, total protection, and freedom from debt because you got 'scared'?! That's insane! That's the dumbest thing anyone has ever done!"
Tòumíng rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I got a car and I'm happy about that. Free car is free car."
"A TWENTY-THOUSAND-YUAN PIECE OF SHIT CAR WHEN YOU COULD HAVE HAD A KOENIGSEGG!" Lucy was practically hyperventilating.
Marco, who'd been watching from the corner, chimed in:
"I mean, he's not wrong about the controlling part. The Ice Queen is known for being extremely possessive of her... companions. Some of them mysteriously disappear when they try to leave."
"SEE?!" Tòumíng pointed at Marco. "Thank you! Someone gets it!"
"But you also turned down MILLIONS of yuan in potential allowance," Polo added from his twin's side. "That's just bad financial planning."
Ghost Claw sighed. "This is going to complicate things significantly. If she's declared him her 'companion,' that means she'll be tracking his movements. Protecting him. But also potentially interfering with our operations if she thinks we're putting him in danger."
Svetlana grinned wider. "So vhen she catches you again—and she VILL catch you—are you going to keep rejecting her? Or vill you finally give in to sexy older voman?"
"I'm not planning on getting caught again!" Tòumíng protested.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
"Oh honey," Lucy said, wiping tears from her eyes. "You don't understand how this works. She's the Ice Queen. She ALWAYS gets what she wants. You rejecting her just made her want you MORE. You're fucked. Literally and figuratively."
"I can avoid her!"
"She owns half the criminal underworld and has unlimited resources!"
"I'll be careful!"
"YOU WALKED INTO AN OBVIOUS HONEY TRAP BECAUSE OF CATS!"
Tòumíng had no counter-argument for that one.
Ghost Claw pushed off from the wall. "Alright, enough. It's almost 5 AM. Everyone get some sleep. We'll deal with the Ice Queen situation later. Tòumíng, you're staying here tonight. Don't go back to your villa until we can assess the security situation."
"But Měi Nán is probably worried—"
"Text him. Tell him you're safe. But do NOT tell him about the Ice Queen. That's need-to-know information and he doesn't need to know."
Tòumíng pulled out his ridiculously overpowered phone and sent a quick message to Měi Nán: Safe. Staying at friend's place tonight. Don't worry. Will explain tomorrow.
The response came back almost immediately: YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION MISTER.
Everyone dispersed to their respective rooms. Lucy was still muttering under her breath about wasted opportunities. Svetlana was making suggestive comments about ice queens and young men. Ghost Claw was already planning contingencies for potential Ice Queen interference.
And Tòumíng collapsed onto a couch in the rec room, exhausted beyond measure, wondering how his life had become THIS complicated in less than a week.