Mated at First Sight
Chapter 245 - 196 Bad, It’s Nature! (Third Update)_1

Chapter 245: Chapter 196 Bad, It’s Nature! (Third Update)_1

An hour and a half later, Zhou Yicen, drenched and half-dried, wrapped a bath towel around his waist and carried a drowsy Yue Qiao out.

During this hour and a half, they hadn’t spoken much. That phrase "I love you," for some reason, Zhou Yicen suddenly couldn’t muster the words. For the first time, he fixated on the coldness in Yue Qiao’s eyes, the slight aloofness preventing him from speaking carelessly.

Carrying the exhausted Yue Qiao out of the bathroom, he gently placed her on the bed, then returned to the bathroom to change into his own pajamas. From a drawer, he took out a small hairdryer, sat beside the bed with his back to the camera, and began gently drying her still damp hair. His movements were slightly clumsy, but intensely focused and earnest.

With her eyes closed, feeling the warm air brush against her, Yue Qiao’s lips were lightly pursed.

Although it was only a mission, it was the first time aside from her grandmother and Mu Lin that someone was making her heart feel this strange warmth.

Once her hair was dry, Zhou Yicen casually set the hairdryer aside, climbed onto the bed from the other side, and casually pulled Yue Qiao into his embrace. Sensing her stiffness, Zhou Yicen chuckled lightly, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, eyes meeting eyes, noses touching, lips against lips. He closed his eyes and "fell asleep."

At least, that’s what it looked like under the surveillance of their female boss. The scene was surprisingly cozy, making one wonder what the boss was thinking as she turned off the display, no longer watching. But she didn’t know that she had missed a rather real moment.

Although, who knows if she would have been able to observe that.

...

Upon hearing this, Yue Qiao instantly froze and dare not move.

"I’m sorry." His voice was starting to sound hoarse.

"Hmm." Yue Qiao replied quietly, "I understand." She had forgotten who had said this, but it was indeed a great truth that she had finally come to understand.

Zhou Yicen: "Are you mocking me?" He chuckled bitterly, filled with helpless resignation. He would have to consult Mu Lin about this, but he didn’t know if Mu Lin understood this area.

Mu Lin made it clear that she wouldn’t mind helping him check.

Jing Youlan simply responded: Dare!

However.

"No." On hearing his words, Yue Qiao calmly denied, "I’m simply stating a fact that everyone knows."

"Hehe..." Zhou Yicen laughed.

If it were the usual, she would definitely have punched out all his teeth.

This man... why had he suddenly become wicked?

Yue Qiao didn’t quite understand that there’s really only a tiny gap between a man being good and him being bad;

Being bad is in a man’s nature!

...

Meanwhile, leaving the police station with the answers she desired, Mu Lin reckoned the rest of the matter was none of her business, leaving it to the professionals at the station.

Zhang Chen declared he never wanted to see Mu Lin interrogating a criminal again, even though he admitted that her method was rather... robust, and quite... nauseating.

"Shall we meet up with them next?" Now that they had their answer, the next step was to discuss how to carry out the mission.

It was unexpected that none of their suspected locations were right, but instead, happened in a place no one would ever suspect.

"Where are they now?" Mu Lin asked offhandedly.

"Let me make a call and ask." said Jing Youlan as she took out her phone to dial.

A few minutes later.

Jing Youlan: "They’re split into three groups outside looking for clues, not at one location."

Mu Lin nodded, pondering for a moment, "In that case, don’t gather them together yet. Let them each head to that location separately and we’ll contact them by phone once we’re there."

"Okay, I understand." Jing Youlan had a rough idea of what Mu Lin meant. Indeed, it would be better for them to move independently.

...

That night, the starry sky was obscured by dark clouds, with only the moon remaining steadfast, occasionally struggling to light the way for people, unwilling to abandon its duty.

Yongcheng Boxing Gym.

This was a place where some people made their living, and also a place where many rich people in the large B City spent their free time.

Two boxing matches a day, one in the daytime, one in the evening - while bloody, they were thrilling. In such a short amount of time, this place had surprisingly become a small base for drug traffickers.

To get a good view or even a clear sight from a private room upstairs in such a place, the cost of a ticket was not insignificant. Jing Youlan and Xue Jianbing’s group were regulars here; Mu Lin, Jing Youlan and a third person had just arrived at the entrance when the doorman greeted them warmly, saying it had been a long time. However, he was somewhat amazed and wide-eyed to see Xue Jianbing and Jing Youlan coming to watch a match together.

It was widely believed these two could never share a platform; what on earth was happening? Was it raining red rain from the sky, or had the sun risen from the East?

The doorman declared he was utterly bewildered.

The three of them were escorted to a private room on the second floor. Looking down, they had a clear view of the scene below.

"Mu Lin, have you been to a place like this before?" Standing by the window and looking down, Jing Youlan asked Mu Lin.

Mu Lin shook his head, "No."

"Well, aside from your mission today, you should really take a good look. The fights here are full of vim and vigor and it’s not just our people here, there are also many foreigners. Perhaps you didn’t know, but among the boxers here, many of them used to be soldiers, and even... Special Forces Soldiers." Of course, they were no match for his older brother’s team.

After leaving the military, finding work can be a problem for soldiers due to their rigid thinking. The outside world requires cunning, not straightforwardness. Regardless of how excellent your performance was in the military, once on the outside, you still need to cater to others’ needs, pitifully earning meager wages to get by.

Jobs like drivers, security guards, and bodyguards are common choices for veterans. Of course, boxer is also one of them.

For some, this is because, firstly, money comes faster here than in other jobs; secondly, even if you get beat up half to death, such a lifestyle can sometimes remind you of the days when you and your comrades trained together, fought together, and spilled your blood together.

Those were their happiest moments.

...

Hearing Jing Youlan’s words, Mu Lin subconsciously nodded, paused for a moment and asked pensively, "Do you think that there might be people like us mixed among them?" That was a question.

"That’s hard to say." From the side, Xue Jianbing replied, "While the jobs... that Jing Youlan just listed are indeed popular choices among veterans, due to survival or various situations forcing their hand, soldiers sometimes end up taking a path of no return. Many of the foreign mercenary groups are made up of well-trained former soldiers. They are ruthless, killing as easily as cutting grass, using everything they learned in the military to descend into depravity."

Take for example, the so-called bodyguards that some people have. In many situations, they might as well be considered assassins. They are completely unpredictable.

Life can drive people into desperation.

"Seems like we need to be careful." After all, sometimes they might run into some of their seniors. However, Mu Lin didn’t really wish to run into them, not because she was scared of trouble, but because she didn’t want to see it.

Just that.

Jing Youlan and Xue Jianbing nodded in thought; they had to be careful, especially not to run into any retired Special Forces Soldiers.

Of course, if it was just people in the ring, they wouldn’t mind seeing the moves of their predecessors.

Time slowly ticked by. After Mu Lin and her group entered, the others also trickled in one after another, each choosing to stay in their own private rooms and wait quietly.

In one private room, Zhou Yicen was still irritated. If your own spirits were exceptionally high, about to capture the heart of the girl you’re after and then a phone call disrupts it all, wouldn’t you be irritated too?

Of course, Zhou Yicen’s ’capture’ here refers to slowly breaking the ice around Yue Qiao’s cold heart, allowing it to gradually accept him.

Jing Youlan implied that it wasn’t his problem. Who knew a guy who seemed serious would take the opportunity of this mission to pursue his personal affairs; this couldn’t be blamed on anyone else.