Chapter 142: Misunderstandings Pt.2
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"Its this city for sure, they set up their computer to run through many ip addresses and is technically very well protected. Anyone with less experience than me would have really struggled to get into this system, just based on that I can tell its a skilled individual. I doubt anyone in our past would search with these terms, it would be more specific and controlled. I think...."
"You don't have to say it I know...."
The reasonings and hidden meaning in his words were not lost on her. She knew what he meant and had somewhat accepted the answer.
While she did trust XI Long to an extent, it was not completely bulletproof. For someone she knew for only two weeks the mutual understanding and trust was high for sure. There was a lot of his character she understood and from the countless crooks she meant in her life, a good man was easy to spot.
Of course, her perception of what a 'good man' is very different from normal people. His ruthlessness and violence when dealing with enemies didn't matter, she appreciated his level-headed thinking. To be soft to your victims is just stupidity and allowed them to come back stronger. No sort of healing or method could eliminate poison from a person's mind once they have seen you as an enemy. She was also not above those crimes, her hands were stained with blood just as much as his.
However, what she did count as being a good man was his honesty and respectfulness in dealing with her and others. He treated his staff fairly and other than a few articles, the reports on him were very clean. A man who had committed evil acts with disgusting intentions would not be able to completely hide it. Just by looking at them she could smell those who were rotten on the inside. If not the body, the eyes were the biggest tell tale.
There was a phrase "the eyes are the window to the soul" and it wasn't an entire lie. Most people could control their facial expressions, body language, but the eyes? That was near physically impossible to completely control them. For those who did not know how to read eyes, they would be easily mislead or in general, have a hard time discerning what was going on.
For her, she had spent years studying people in both textbooks and real life experiences. Reading someone's eyes were easy for her and Xi Long had very clear eyes. Ones that did not falter when question nor held any fear for people commenting on what he had done. Those eyes were that of a good man's and she trusted her ability to read people the most.
Even excluding her own judgment, as soon as she had mentioned him to Ming Ming and Neo they would have done their research. Albeit, a lot of his information was hidden but if they felt like he was a horrible choice she would have known by now. Above her own opinion she treasured theirs, so to get an unofficial okay on whatever Xi Long and her were was a lot.
Despite all of that, she was not completely blind.
There will always be things that she missed and while he treasured her now, who was to say how long that will last? She was new and someone that triggered his curiosity. While their was this weird connection between them she kept reminding herself to be careful. Letting herself feel and let whatever this was happen was one side. The other part of her was quick to protect her heart and kept her logical.
She didn't come to this city randomly, she had a goal to achieve that was above everything else. Right now, someone looking her up was a breach of her trust but also a threatening her security. Xi Long did a preliminary search when they first met, which was fine. She had done one as well, however, to go as far as creating a code with her specific parameters was way out of line.
She walked over to another table and picked up her cell phone that she had tossed aside earlier. Unlocking the screen she pulled up her directory to find one number saved on the list. Ming Ming's and Neo's number was not there because she had it memorized by heart. They also contacted her through a complicated method that normal phone companies would not catch.
Ever since he had randomly messaged her she had saved his number on impulse. The name wasn't anything special, just his plain legal name - Han Xi Long. Yet it stood out more when it was the only number on her directory. Taking a couple of breaths she tried to keep herself calm before she called him. If she went in guns a' blazing then the conversation would not go on well nor would she get her answers.
The best form of revenge for this sort of situation was to be cold, be devoid of emotion. She played with the phone for a couple more minutes as she didn't want to rush into it. Looking back at Neo, she saw him still continue with the back and forth attacks. Though the other person looked good she could tell they were not a match for him. The mystery attacker was only defending and attacking while Neo was doing both on top of deleting their code.
"Neo...any other information you can tell about the person? I just want to be clear on my facts before I make this call."
He sent two more attacks before he responded, "well other than what I've already said no. The person is skilled in coding and hiding their tracks, if not for me being their opponent they would be successful. Though...."
"Though?"
"Though I don't want to pin this on him immediately all the signs are pointing to the fact that he is involved somehow. You know I wouldn't want to ruin anything if there wasn't such strong evidence against him. I can at least guarantee you that the signal isn't from the corporation, so if he's at work then its someone near to him. I would track him if I wasn't caught up on tracking this location down. I'm just...warning you before you make this call."
"Do you want me to be mad at him or not? It seems like you're stressing out for this more than me." She gave a pointed look to Neo after hearing his response, it was obvious that he was being overly careful with his words.
It was not as if she had not considered his best friend or secretary but both were still his men ultimately. If they had not been warned beforehand to leave her alone that was a mistake on his part. Or he should have kept track of his subordinates and friend to prevent this from happening. Excluding these two, there was also the possibility that he had ordered it himself.
She was not going to pretend or fool herself into assuming the best. Regardless, his involvement directly or indirectly was disappointing. Clearing up the last bit of confusion she had, she directly called him and put the phone to her ear.
The sound of the dial tone as it rang echoed in her ear before the call was picked up quickly. Her eyes shifted back to Neo's screen to see if the typing had paused on the other side. If it did she could confirm her suspicions without having to ask him but thankfully for him, the attacks had not let up.
It didn't take long before the familiar husky voice sounded from the phone.
"Kitten...miss me already?"
The phone was at max in-call volume and her ears were pressed against the receiver in an effort to catch all the background sounds. Due to this, his voice went directly into ear as if he was next to her. There was a slight pause as ignored how nice the voice sounded before noticing that his surroundings were silent. There were no typing noises or loud typical office noises for her to determine where he was.
"Where are you?" She jumped directly into her questioning, even though she wanted to be more subtle she switched up her position immediately.
He immediately responded with another teasing comment. "At work, why? Are you going to pay me a visit?"
Even if she didn't see him physically she could tell that he was smirking. On a usual day that would slightly annoy her but in this one it was reassuring. His tone of voice was flirtatious like normal and there wasn't any obvious changes to his enunciation. Adding onto how quickly he responded she became sixty percent sure he was not the one writing the code.
Her voice remained neutral as she spoke to him, hiding the calculations and overthinking she was doing behind the phone.
"Han Xi Long, are you testing me?"
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"Its this city for sure, they set up their computer to run through many ip addresses and is technically very well protected. Anyone with less experience than me would have really struggled to get into this system, just based on that I can tell its a skilled individual. I doubt anyone in our past would search with these terms, it would be more specific and controlled. I think...."
"You don't have to say it I know...."
The reasonings and hidden meaning in his words were not lost on her. She knew what he meant and had somewhat accepted the answer.
While she did trust XI Long to an extent, it was not completely bulletproof. For someone she knew for only two weeks the mutual understanding and trust was high for sure. There was a lot of his character she understood and from the countless crooks she meant in her life, a good man was easy to spot.
Of course, her perception of what a 'good man' is very different from normal people. His ruthlessness and violence when dealing with enemies didn't matter, she appreciated his level-headed thinking. To be soft to your victims is just stupidity and allowed them to come back stronger. No sort of healing or method could eliminate poison from a person's mind once they have seen you as an enemy. She was also not above those crimes, her hands were stained with blood just as much as his.
However, what she did count as being a good man was his honesty and respectfulness in dealing with her and others. He treated his staff fairly and other than a few articles, the reports on him were very clean. A man who had committed evil acts with disgusting intentions would not be able to completely hide it. Just by looking at them she could smell those who were rotten on the inside. If not the body, the eyes were the biggest tell tale.
There was a phrase "the eyes are the window to the soul" and it wasn't an entire lie. Most people could control their facial expressions, body language, but the eyes? That was near physically impossible to completely control them. For those who did not know how to read eyes, they would be easily mislead or in general, have a hard time discerning what was going on.
For her, she had spent years studying people in both textbooks and real life experiences. Reading someone's eyes were easy for her and Xi Long had very clear eyes. Ones that did not falter when question nor held any fear for people commenting on what he had done. Those eyes were that of a good man's and she trusted her ability to read people the most.
Even excluding her own judgment, as soon as she had mentioned him to Ming Ming and Neo they would have done their research. Albeit, a lot of his information was hidden but if they felt like he was a horrible choice she would have known by now. Above her own opinion she treasured theirs, so to get an unofficial okay on whatever Xi Long and her were was a lot.
Despite all of that, she was not completely blind.
There will always be things that she missed and while he treasured her now, who was to say how long that will last? She was new and someone that triggered his curiosity. While their was this weird connection between them she kept reminding herself to be careful. Letting herself feel and let whatever this was happen was one side. The other part of her was quick to protect her heart and kept her logical.
She didn't come to this city randomly, she had a goal to achieve that was above everything else. Right now, someone looking her up was a breach of her trust but also a threatening her security. Xi Long did a preliminary search when they first met, which was fine. She had done one as well, however, to go as far as creating a code with her specific parameters was way out of line.
She walked over to another table and picked up her cell phone that she had tossed aside earlier. Unlocking the screen she pulled up her directory to find one number saved on the list. Ming Ming's and Neo's number was not there because she had it memorized by heart. They also contacted her through a complicated method that normal phone companies would not catch.
Ever since he had randomly messaged her she had saved his number on impulse. The name wasn't anything special, just his plain legal name - Han Xi Long. Yet it stood out more when it was the only number on her directory. Taking a couple of breaths she tried to keep herself calm before she called him. If she went in guns a' blazing then the conversation would not go on well nor would she get her answers.
The best form of revenge for this sort of situation was to be cold, be devoid of emotion. She played with the phone for a couple more minutes as she didn't want to rush into it. Looking back at Neo, she saw him still continue with the back and forth attacks. Though the other person looked good she could tell they were not a match for him. The mystery attacker was only defending and attacking while Neo was doing both on top of deleting their code.
"Neo...any other information you can tell about the person? I just want to be clear on my facts before I make this call."
He sent two more attacks before he responded, "well other than what I've already said no. The person is skilled in coding and hiding their tracks, if not for me being their opponent they would be successful. Though...."
"Though?"
"Though I don't want to pin this on him immediately all the signs are pointing to the fact that he is involved somehow. You know I wouldn't want to ruin anything if there wasn't such strong evidence against him. I can at least guarantee you that the signal isn't from the corporation, so if he's at work then its someone near to him. I would track him if I wasn't caught up on tracking this location down. I'm just...warning you before you make this call."
"Do you want me to be mad at him or not? It seems like you're stressing out for this more than me." She gave a pointed look to Neo after hearing his response, it was obvious that he was being overly careful with his words.
It was not as if she had not considered his best friend or secretary but both were still his men ultimately. If they had not been warned beforehand to leave her alone that was a mistake on his part. Or he should have kept track of his subordinates and friend to prevent this from happening. Excluding these two, there was also the possibility that he had ordered it himself.
She was not going to pretend or fool herself into assuming the best. Regardless, his involvement directly or indirectly was disappointing. Clearing up the last bit of confusion she had, she directly called him and put the phone to her ear.
The sound of the dial tone as it rang echoed in her ear before the call was picked up quickly. Her eyes shifted back to Neo's screen to see if the typing had paused on the other side. If it did she could confirm her suspicions without having to ask him but thankfully for him, the attacks had not let up.
It didn't take long before the familiar husky voice sounded from the phone.
"Kitten...miss me already?"
The phone was at max in-call volume and her ears were pressed against the receiver in an effort to catch all the background sounds. Due to this, his voice went directly into ear as if he was next to her. There was a slight pause as ignored how nice the voice sounded before noticing that his surroundings were silent. There were no typing noises or loud typical office noises for her to determine where he was.
"Where are you?" She jumped directly into her questioning, even though she wanted to be more subtle she switched up her position immediately.
He immediately responded with another teasing comment. "At work, why? Are you going to pay me a visit?"
Even if she didn't see him physically she could tell that he was smirking. On a usual day that would slightly annoy her but in this one it was reassuring. His tone of voice was flirtatious like normal and there wasn't any obvious changes to his enunciation. Adding onto how quickly he responded she became sixty percent sure he was not the one writing the code.
Her voice remained neutral as she spoke to him, hiding the calculations and overthinking she was doing behind the phone.
"Han Xi Long, are you testing me?"
"Its this city for sure, they set up their computer to run through many ip addresses and is technically very well protected. Anyone with less experience than me would have really struggled to get into this system, just based on that I can tell its a skilled individual. I doubt anyone in our past would search with these terms, it would be more specific and controlled. I think...." "You don't have to say it I know...." The reasonings and hidden meaning in his words were not lost on her. She knew what he meant and had somewhat accepted the answer. While she did trust XI Long to an extent, it was not completely bulletproof. For someone she knew for only two weeks the mutual understanding and trust was high for sure. There was a lot of his character she understood and from the countless crooks she meant in her life, a good man was easy to spot. Of course, her perception of what a 'good man' is very different from normal people. His ruthlessness and violence when dealing with enemies didn't matter, she appreciated his level-headed thinking. To be soft to your victims is just stupidity and allowed them to come back stronger. No sort of healing or method could eliminate poison from a person's mind once they have seen you as an enemy. She was also not above those crimes, her hands were stained with blood just as much as his. However, what she did count as being a good man was his honesty and respectfulness in dealing with her and others. He treated his staff fairly and other than a few articles, the reports on him were very clean. A man who had committed evil acts with disgusting intentions would not be able to completely hide it. Just by looking at them she could smell those who were rotten on the inside. If not the body, the eyes were the biggest tell tale. There was a phrase "the eyes are the window to the soul" and it wasn't an entire lie. Most people could control their facial expressions, body language, but the eyes? That was near physically impossible to completely control them. For those who did not know how to read eyes, they would be easily mislead or in general, have a hard time discerning what was going on. For her, she had spent years studying people in both textbooks and real life experiences. Reading someone's eyes were easy for her and Xi Long had very clear eyes. Ones that did not falter when question nor held any fear for people commenting on what he had done. Those eyes were that of a good man's and she trusted her ability to read people the most. Even excluding her own judgment, as soon as she had mentioned him to Ming Ming and Neo they would have done their research. Albeit, a lot of his information was hidden but if they felt like he was a horrible choice she would have known by now. Above her own opinion she treasured theirs, so to get an unofficial okay on whatever Xi Long and her were was a lot. Despite all of that, she was not completely blind. There will always be things that she missed and while he treasured her now, who was to say how long that will last? She was new and someone that triggered his curiosity. While their was this weird connection between them she kept reminding herself to be careful. Letting herself feel and let whatever this was happen was one side. The other part of her was quick to protect her heart and kept her logical. She didn't come to this city randomly, she had a goal to achieve that was above everything else. Right now, someone looking her up was a breach of her trust but also a threatening her security. Xi Long did a preliminary search when they first met, which was fine. She had done one as well, however, to go as far as creating a code with her specific parameters was way out of line. She walked over to another table and picked up her cell phone that she had tossed aside earlier. Unlocking the screen she pulled up her directory to find one number saved on the list. Ming Ming's and Neo's number was not there because she had it memorized by heart. They also contacted her through a complicated method that normal phone companies would not catch. Ever since he had randomly messaged her she had saved his number on impulse. The name wasn't anything special, just his plain legal name - Han Xi Long. Yet it stood out more when it was the only number on her directory. Taking a couple of breaths she tried to keep herself calm before she called him. If she went in guns a' blazing then the conversation would not go on well nor would she get her answers. The best form of revenge for this sort of situation was to be cold, be devoid of emotion. She played with the phone for a couple more minutes as she didn't want to rush into it. Looking back at Neo, she saw him still continue with the back and forth attacks. Though the other person looked good she could tell they were not a match for him. The mystery attacker was only defending and attacking while Neo was doing both on top of deleting their code. "Neo...any other information you can tell about the person? I just want to be clear on my facts before I make this call." He sent two more attacks before he responded, "well other than what I've already said no. The person is skilled in coding and hiding their tracks, if not for me being their opponent they would be successful. Though...." "Though?" "Though I don't want to pin this on him immediately all the signs are pointing to the fact that he is involved somehow. You know I wouldn't want to ruin anything if there wasn't such strong evidence against him. I can at least guarantee you that the signal isn't from the corporation, so if he's at work then its someone near to him. I would track him if I wasn't caught up on tracking this location down. I'm just...warning you before you make this call." "Do you want me to be mad at him or not? It seems like you're stressing out for this more than me." She gave a pointed look to Neo after hearing his response, it was obvious that he was being overly careful with his words. It was not as if she had not considered his best friend or secretary but both were still his men ultimately. If they had not been warned beforehand to leave her alone that was a mistake on his part. Or he should have kept track of his subordinates and friend to prevent this from happening. Excluding these two, there was also the possibility that he had ordered it himself. She was not going to pretend or fool herself into assuming the best. Regardless, his involvement directly or indirectly was disappointing. Clearing up the last bit of confusion she had, she directly called him and put the phone to her ear. The sound of the dial tone as it rang echoed in her ear before the call was picked up quickly. Her eyes shifted back to Neo's screen to see if the typing had paused on the other side. If it did she could confirm her suspicions without having to ask him but thankfully for him, the attacks had not let up. It didn't take long before the familiar husky voice sounded from the phone. "Kitten...miss me already?" The phone was at max in-call volume and her ears were pressed against the receiver in an effort to catch all the background sounds. Due to this, his voice went directly into ear as if he was next to her. There was a slight pause as ignored how nice the voice sounded before noticing that his surroundings were silent. There were no typing noises or loud typical office noises for her to determine where he was. "Where are you?" She jumped directly into her questioning, even though she wanted to be more subtle she switched up her position immediately. He immediately responded with another teasing comment. "At work, why? Are you going to pay me a visit?" Even if she didn't see him physically she could tell that he was smirking. On a usual day that would slightly annoy her but in this one it was reassuring. His tone of voice was flirtatious like normal and there wasn't any obvious changes to his enunciation. Adding onto how quickly he responded she became sixty percent sure he was not the one writing the code. Her voice remained neutral as she spoke to him, hiding the calculations and overthinking she was doing behind the phone. "Han Xi Long, are you testing me?"
