When Jiang Cheng bit down hard on her, Qiu Yihe's eyes flew wide open.
She let out a soft yelp.
Her fists tapped lightly against his shoulders.
Your mind was screaming complaints.
I told you to do it, not to actually go through with it… The muffled groan that escaped her throat was crushed to fragments beneath Jiang Cheng's fingertips.
It mingled with the steady drip of the toilet tank, weaving an airtight net inside the cramped space.
Qiu Yihe's nails dug deep into the back of his neck, but just then she heard the click of leather soles stopping right outside the stall.
A moment later she felt someone crouch and peer in through the gap beneath the door.
Seeing Qiu Yihe deliberately lower herself,
Jiang Cheng covered her chest with both hands so no one could see.
Then he sealed her mouth with his own.
Mm— When one of the men caught a clear glimpse inside the restroom, he shot the other a lewd wink.
He mimed a couple kissing.
One of them knocked on the door like a hooligan. "People inside, come on out."
Feeling every muscle in Qiu Yihe's body tense, Jiang Cheng traced slow circles on her waist, wordlessly telling her to relax.
Once the door was shut, Wang Sheng and the others were bound to notice.
A leather sole suddenly kicked their stall door; Qiu Yihe hooked her arms around Jiang Cheng's neck and let out a broken moan as metal clanged.
The sound was so real it stunned even Jiang Cheng for half a second.
"I said, come out." The accented Mandarin carried the thick rasp of cigarettes and alcohol; the gun barrel rapped against the partition like a death knell.
After that, the other man lifted an eyebrow in vulgar delight, acting as though he wanted a look too.
Just as he dropped to the floor to peek,
Jiang Cheng barked, "Whoever it is—scram!"
Hearing this, the two exchanged glances.
After that Jiang Cheng reached out and stroked Qiu Yihe's silky hair,
while his palm quietly pressed the hummingbird pistol at the small of her back.
"Easy, babe…"
At those words Qiu Yihe's ramrod-straight body softened.
All her life she had fought her own battles, relying only on herself.
No one had ever spoken to her so gently, telling her not to be afraid.
So… was she allowed to have someone protect her?
A flash of warmth spread through her body.
The gun was already chambered; the two men outside no longer frightened her.
At worst the mission would fail and she'd be hauled back to the unit, disciplined, reassigned.
But right now what truly made her come undone was Jiang Cheng.
"Keep touching and," she nipped his lower lip, voice quavering on the edge of tears, "don't blame me if I blow your balls off."
Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow but didn't answer.
He answered with action instead.
"Ah—you…"
As Qiu Yihe snorted coldly, the Thai-accented man cursed and the leather soles turned toward the next stall.
Though Qiu Yihe found it pleasurable,
she knew this wasn't the time.
She leaned to Jiang Cheng's ear and whispered uncomfortably, "Stop, put me down. Aim for their knees later—don't go for headshots."
No sooner had she finished than urgent banging came from the restroom's main door.
Wang Sheng's furious voice rang out.
"Who the hell locked this? Open up—now!"
Seeing someone kicking the door, the Thai speaker swore again.
Before the two intruders could react,
the door flew off like a kite with its string cut,
crashed to the floor with a thunderous bang.
The two stared at the fallen door,
eyes as round as brass bells, faces stunned.
Wang Sheng stormed in like a raging lion,
each powerful stride seeming to shake the ground.
His gaze shot straight to the two men like twin bolts of lightning.
Without hesitation he swung a fist, smashing one man square in the cheek.
The punch came swift as a storm; there was no time to dodge.
A dull thud rang out as the man rocketed backward,
slammed into the wall, and slid to the floor.
The instant Wang Sheng threw the punch he called, "Young Master Jiang, are you all right?" Jiang Cheng replied coldly, "Get—"
Before he could finish, Qiu Yihe clutched his arm in warning.
He caught himself and amended, "Drag these two idiots out—they're ruining my mood."
The moment the order left his lips sounds of scuffling came from the doorway.
After a few exchanges a muffled thud was followed by dead silence.
Clearly the pair hadn't even managed to reach their guns before Wang Sheng subdued them in the blink of an eye.
In that instant several burly Bodyguards slipped in like ghosts,
swift and decisive, hauling the two away as easily as lifting chicks.
Yet the captives refused to surrender quietly.
While being dragged they kept cursing.
"Let go, you bastards! Do you know who we are? You're dead men!"
Seeing Qiu Yihe frown, Jiang Cheng soothed her softly, "Relax. The bigger the scene, the less chance you'll be exposed."
Qiu Yihe understood his logic.
If she'd been discovered alone she'd be compromised, but with Jiang Cheng and all these Bodyguards handling things openly,
and given that he's no ordinary man in Chengdu—he's the verifiable CEO of a construction company—
no one would suspect him of being an undercover agent.
Reassured, Qiu Yihe finally relaxed.
But once the tension drained, embarrassment flooded in.
She realized one strap of her bra had somehow been unhooked; the lacy edge hung askew over her arm.
Her leg was still hooked around Jiang Cheng.
When she struggled to get down,
Jiang Cheng held on, unwilling to release her.
His hands gripped her thighs firmly,
and his fingers began their wandering again.
He added, "Still, I don't think fieldwork suits you."
Qiu Yihe had no comeback.
The danger they'd just faced had been all too real.
If one of them were exposed, every painstaking thread behind the scenes would unravel.
The lead they'd worked so hard to grasp would snap.
She glared at him, the flush at the corners of her eyes still fading.
Defeated, she muttered, "Let go."
Jiang Cheng arched a brow and pinched the inside of her thigh.
"What, now that you've had your fun you're disowning me?"
"Don't you dare!" Remembering how she'd lost herself moments ago, she gritted her teeth and drove her knee toward his gut.
But Jiang Cheng was ready.
He locked an arm around her waist; the two of them swayed in the narrow stall, rattling the tank.
"If we're chasing thrills," he murmured, biting her earlobe, "we'll carry it through to the end."