Xia Tian smiled at the yellow-haired men. He had overheard their conversation and naturally knew why they were here. With him present, he would not allow them to test Lin Bingbing.
"Who are you, brat? We're here to have fun. Let this girl dance with us, or don't blame us for being rude." The yellow-haired man had already surrounded Xia Tian.
"Bring your mother out here to play with me," Xia Tian replied curtly.
"Damn you, you little brat. I warn you—I have a bad temper." Huangmao glared at Xia Tian. Their intent had been to test Lin Bingbing, and he did not want Xia Tian spoiling the plan.
"Then change it." Xia Tian said.
"You're asking for trouble. Brothers, kill him." Several yellow-haired men kicked Xia Tian at once. Everyone on the dance floor continued dancing obliviously; no one paid attention to the scuffle.
Xia Tian held Lin Bingbing in his left arm and, with a flash of his feet, avoided the attackers' kicks. His movements were graceful. Then, with two fingers of his right hand, he quickly struck the arms of several men.
Screams rose from the dance floor. The yellow-haired men were already sprawled in the center of the floor, while Xia Tian had returned to the booth, still carrying Lin Bingbing.
"Two of those, please." Xia Tian had never been to a bar before and did not know what to order, so he pointed to the drink the man next to him was drinking. Lin Bingbing remained in his arms.
"Let me go." Lin Bingbing hurriedly freed herself and asked, "Did you find anything?"
"We found Shadow." Xia Tian looked back at her. He had to admire Liusha's skill. Shadow was only a third-level killer, but his disguises and observation skills were terrifying.
Shadow had just entered the bar. His eyebrows and facial features had been neatly trimmed; if not for his eyes betraying him, Xia Tian would have had difficulty identifying him by appearance alone.
He was not tall—about 1.73 meters—and thin. He kept something in his mouth, giving his face a square appearance.
"Which one is him?" Lin Bingbing was about to turn when Xia Tian pulled her back.
"Don't look back. He's very alert." Xia Tian cast his gaze around without lingering on anyone.
"Let's notify Aunt Ye quickly." Lin Bingbing brightened. She had not expected the task to be completed so easily, though she realized it had little to do with her—everything had been thanks to Xia Tian. To her he was merely a scoundrel, but she had not expected him to possess such ability to pull a needle from a haystack.
"Don't worry. I'm curious who his target is this time." Xia Tian did not move.
"But our mission is to find him, and we must follow the organization's procedures." Lin Bingbing knew that if she wanted to enter a place like the Special Operations Department, obedience was essential.
"You didn't find him. I did. So you haven't completed the mission." Xia Tian said lightly.
"What do you want?" Lin Bingbing looked at him angrily but had no way to challenge him. He was right: she had not found Shadow; Xia Tian had.
"You're so naive. Someone like you would be kicked out even if you joined the Special Operations Department. Think about what kind of organization Liusha is," Xia Tian continued. "It's an assassins' organization—one that fights to the death. As long as the client doesn't cancel the contract, they carry out the assassination. Even if we catch Shadow, what then? You complete the mission but don't protect the intended victim. If we knew his target, we could take measures to protect them."
"But what if he runs away?" Lin Bingbing felt that Xia Tian's point had merit, but she worried Shadow might escape.
"He can't escape." Xia Tian smiled slightly, his eyes flicking toward Shadow from time to time. Shadow was acting cautiously: he had not contacted anyone, had not gone to a private room, and had sat at the card table next to Lin Bingbing.
Before Lin Bingbing could reply, Xia Tian kissed her on the lips.
"Ugh!" she cried.
"Don't resist—he's looking at both of us." Xia Tian said in a low voice. Hearing him, Lin Bingbing stopped struggling, though tears welled at the corners of her eyes. It was her first kiss, stolen by Xia Tian for reasons she did not understand.
She had imagined her first kiss countless times, never that she would lose it like this.
Shadow glanced at Xia Tian and Lin Bingbing and, assuming they were a young couple, said little and turned his attention to others in the room.
When Xia Tian released her, Lin Bingbing looked at him with resentment and anger, but said nothing. Xia Tian knew that, given her personality, she must hate him with a passion now.
"Don't look back. He's right behind you." Xia Tian warned.
Lin Bingbing felt like she was in a spy film. She dared not look back or even breathe for fear Shadow would see through them and undo all their work.
It felt unreal—that the needle in the haystack would be sitting so close behind her. She had imagined meeting Shadow many times, but she lacked the courage to even glance back now.
"Sir, this is a package for you."
"Thanks."
A small package was handed to Shadow. He did not rush away; instead he snapped his fingers. "Two Red Bats for the two people next to me."
"Stop pretending. We've been discovered." Xia Tian shook his head helplessly.
"Discovered? So you kissed me for nothing?" Lin Bingbing snapped. Xia Tian had taken her first kiss under the guise of hiding her identity, only to be discovered now.
"Even a fool can see your temperament." Xia Tian said lightly.
"So you knew I would be exposed?" Lin Bingbing's face darkened.
"Yes." Xia Tian did not deny it. He realized Lin Bingbing would have been detected the moment she entered. Anyone with experience could see her innate coldness and haughtiness—how could someone like her come to such a decadent place?
"You dared to kiss me even though you knew we'd be discovered." Lin Bingbing's hand already pinched Xia Tian's thigh; the sensation was intense.
Shadow watched Xia Tian and Lin Bingbing, then left the bar with a sinister smile.
"Let's follow him." Lin Bingbing sprang up and hurried outside.
Xia Tian rose and smiled faintly, his eyes sweeping the crowd approaching them. He moved with the Manyun Fairy Steps; in an instant he was beside the men on the left and tapped each of them with two fingers.
"It seems the backing here is larger than I thought." Xia Tian moved quickly; when he reappeared he was in front of the men on the right. Under the dim lights, no one knew what had happened.
Xia Tian's actions were so swift that after dealing with the men who had tried to stop them, he pursued in the direction Lin Bingbing had gone.
"Where did he go?" Lin Bingbing could not find Shadow after running outside. She turned, and Xia Tian was gone. Just as she was about to search for him, Xia Tian reappeared.
"Oh, something just fell in there," Xia Tian explained.
Shadow had discovered their identities. The people Xia Tian had handled were the ones Shadow had arranged before leaving. In this bar, only the most distinguished guests receive a certain privilege: the crowd assists the customer by restraining anyone following them.
The two Red Bats Shadow had ordered meant he wanted the bar patrons to help stop Xia Tian and Lin Bingbing.
"I lost him." Lin Bingbing said despondently.
"That's normal. If you could catch him, he wouldn't be Shadow." Xia Tian nodded.
"Hey, what are you saying? I haven't settled this with you. Do you realize that was my first kiss?" Lin Bingbing glared at him. She had lost Shadow—and her first kiss too.
"It was my first kiss as well." Xia Tian seemed indifferent. Although he had been dating Wen Ya for a while, they had never kissed.
"How can your first kiss compare to mine? This makes me so angry. What should I do now?" Lin Bingbing felt sad remembering her lost first kiss, but finding Shadow remained the priority.
"At worst, I'll let you kiss me back." Xia Tian said plaintively.
"What are you talking about? Your mind is twisted. I'm asking about Shadow." Lin Bingbing looked ready to kick him to death.
"Oh, he can't run away," Xia Tian said seriously. "But if you feel disadvantaged, you can actually kiss him back—I'll admit it."
"I'm going to kill you." Lin Bingbing kicked Xia Tian.