Chapter 174: Interrupted Again
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Just the amount of work and planning that went into these couple of months and the following months, was equivalent to years worth for them. He was just stressed thinking amount of interconnected plans and all the time s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ones they had in the works. Just two weeks ago they successfully took out one of their targets, with this streak going a woman might complicate things.
Part of his feelings emerged from just how different it was having a woman in the mix. Both of them had been single for years, anything that did happen was casual. That meant that there were no extra considerations for the people in their lives, they could just do what they wanted. He was no uncomfortable with Xi Long having a woman and their friendship potentially breaking. There was no fear like that which was common for other best friends in this situation. It was just that he was in hyperdrive trying to make everything 'fit.'
Especially considering that Xi Long added no security into the matter nor made any comments on how this was supposed to go. It was to vague for his comfort and for someone who's neurotically a control freak, it was a complete nightmare. Logically he understood that they were going with the flow but it was painfully obvious that Xi Long was head over heels for her. It wasn't love yet but would quickly become that if they went on the same path.
If she was someone dangerous for them or not well suited, then the pain of having to let go later was worse. He didn't want his friend to be in that position, Xi Long had already lost too many people for him to lose someone else he held close. For that, being a villain or doing the dirty work on his side was no problem.
It was just the worst timing with finding a romantic partner and one that was so elusive. Right now, she looked amazing and looked like she cared about him. He didn't necessarily doubt her feeling towards Xi Long based on her actions she was truthful. However, that wasn't enough guarantee when considering your best friend's life partner.
Yes, they weren't at the marraige stage and there was no reason for him to consider that far ahead but he had to. Imagine your friend was single his entire life, no specific attention towards women nor did he go through that awkward puberty stage. That stage was when adolescent boys became more interested in other people's bodies and looked for material that sated the curiosity. Videos, explicit magazines, anything like that and none of that could be found in Xi Long's room. They have been childhood friends so going in and out of his bedroom was normal.
He had even personally looked for those items a couple of times and could never find anything. Not even a hair of a woman could be found in his life and he was the gay one between them!! At one point he even thought Xi Long was As.e.x.u.a.l, which was fine, but it would explain a fair bit of his behaviour. For someone to attract his attention to this degree, it wasn't something to take lightly. He was also aggressively possessive about her, his attraction and affection for her was practically dripping from his eyes. It made him laugh when he remembered the amount of glares he got for just teasing or being near to Valentina. Both of them were so in their world that they didn't care about the dog food being fed to others.
When that position is given to someone and at that degree, it made sense he was on the edge. It was also too sudden, she came out of practically nowhere. Xi Long didn't even openly tell him about her till he questioned him post-chicken restaurant. The only comments given then were vague too and have been vague since.
The irritation and frustration was running through his veins but he couldn't do anything about. His hands were completely tied at the moment and for the foreseeable future.
When the hacker warned him about Valentina and knowing everything, it was 300% possible that Valentina had already been informed of what he did. There was no regret or shame from what he did, it was only natural that he did something. That something being a code to track down her information and piece her identity together. Adding on that he didn't get any information from his attempt, other than being offended he wasn't sure how much she would take personally.
What he was thinking about now was if she would be so offended to inform Xi Long. There was a reason he did it so secretly and behind his back, it was obvious he wouldn't have approved. A long sigh left his mouth as he slapped a hand over his face then dragged it down. His situation right now was almost pathetically comedic to him.
No answers, more questions, and now a potentially angry best-friend waiting for him outside this door. Glancing at his clock, it had only been around three hours maximum of him being here and so much had already happened. There was no limit to how long he could stay here and it was technically a defence against Xi Long.
This base of his, was more so a place he comes and controls. Of course, Xi Long was aware of it and had been here many times throughout the years. What that did not mean was he liked to come here frequently - which he didn't. Having both of them appear here would be too dangerous and would let anyone track him find their way here. Usually, people stayed away from tracking him after the years of him doing boring stuff. It was also easier for him to sneak out since his identity was less prominent.
So all of that was to say, that for as long as he was here the chances of Xi Long coming to get him were slim. He felt like a school boy hiding away from his teacher because of the potential punishment. The length of his hiding was indeterminate, another hour or a couple more hours? Or does he leave now and escape back to his home? Which would technically work considering that Xi Long was still at work and would be for a while.
In the middle of his deliberations he felt his phone vibrate again from within his drawer. He thought he had put it on silent but from the vibration it was clear he had didn't.
'Interruption after interruption, a man can't even day dream without being interrupted nowadays.'
Reaching into the drawer he pulled out his phone and saw a familiar string of numbers on his phone.
'F*ck well staying here is not up for debate anymore huh."
He felt himself laugh out loud, it was the final trigger for him to mock himself. The laugh was self-depreciating in tone and short as he picked up the phone.
"So what do I owe this call?"
His voice lazily spoke into the mic and waited for the response to come in. In his opinion, there was no point in stressing out or giving up his jig before the other brought it up. He had nothing to be ashamed or scared about nor anything to be guilty about. The storm had arrived on his door step, how can he run away now? Might as well take it and see how bad it gets.
The other line of his phone was very silent and he didn't urge them to speak up faster.
"Zhuang Wei.....what did you do?"
Xi Long's voice emerged out of his phone, it was the same serious and calm tone he always used. However, he could sense a strange atmosphere coming from the call. It was either him overthinking or his conscious that made him feel like such but a weird vibe was coming from the call at the get-go.
"You're calling cause you know so what happened. What's the point of asking now?"
His voice was calm in return and was stable. He had no intention of listing out his crimes or doing a roundabout with him. It was obvious what the call was about but Xi Long was trying to give him an out right now. An out that he didn't need, they both were aware of what happened. When he first decided to do the code and start everything behind his back, he was well aware of the consequences if it went bad. Now it did, he would not shy away from the lecture and guilt-tripping he was about to receive.
A long sigh came out of the phone, "I know why you did it but why now? Why did you feel like the timing was now?"
Xi Long's voice dropped from his serious tone to a more tired one. That change in voice made an unpleasant feeling grow inside of him. He would rather take anger or disappointment over 'tired' since that was just equivalent to a draining feeling. Then to be the cause of your best friend's draining was a heavy feeling to have.
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Just the amount of work and planning that went into these couple of months and the following months, was equivalent to years worth for them. He was just stressed thinking amount of interconnected plans and all the time s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ones they had in the works. Just two weeks ago they successfully took out one of their targets, with this streak going a woman might complicate things.
Part of his feelings emerged from just how different it was having a woman in the mix. Both of them had been single for years, anything that did happen was casual. That meant that there were no extra considerations for the people in their lives, they could just do what they wanted. He was no uncomfortable with Xi Long having a woman and their friendship potentially breaking. There was no fear like that which was common for other best friends in this situation. It was just that he was in hyperdrive trying to make everything 'fit.'
Especially considering that Xi Long added no security into the matter nor made any comments on how this was supposed to go. It was to vague for his comfort and for someone who's neurotically a control freak, it was a complete nightmare. Logically he understood that they were going with the flow but it was painfully obvious that Xi Long was head over heels for her. It wasn't love yet but would quickly become that if they went on the same path.
If she was someone dangerous for them or not well suited, then the pain of having to let go later was worse. He didn't want his friend to be in that position, Xi Long had already lost too many people for him to lose someone else he held close. For that, being a villain or doing the dirty work on his side was no problem.
It was just the worst timing with finding a romantic partner and one that was so elusive. Right now, she looked amazing and looked like she cared about him. He didn't necessarily doubt her feeling towards Xi Long based on her actions she was truthful. However, that wasn't enough guarantee when considering your best friend's life partner.
Yes, they weren't at the marraige stage and there was no reason for him to consider that far ahead but he had to. Imagine your friend was single his entire life, no specific attention towards women nor did he go through that awkward puberty stage. That stage was when adolescent boys became more interested in other people's bodies and looked for material that sated the curiosity. Videos, explicit magazines, anything like that and none of that could be found in Xi Long's room. They have been childhood friends so going in and out of his bedroom was normal.
He had even personally looked for those items a couple of times and could never find anything. Not even a hair of a woman could be found in his life and he was the gay one between them!! At one point he even thought Xi Long was As.e.x.u.a.l, which was fine, but it would explain a fair bit of his behaviour. For someone to attract his attention to this degree, it wasn't something to take lightly. He was also aggressively possessive about her, his attraction and affection for her was practically dripping from his eyes. It made him laugh when he remembered the amount of glares he got for just teasing or being near to Valentina. Both of them were so in their world that they didn't care about the dog food being fed to others.
When that position is given to someone and at that degree, it made sense he was on the edge. It was also too sudden, she came out of practically nowhere. Xi Long didn't even openly tell him about her till he questioned him post-chicken restaurant. The only comments given then were vague too and have been vague since.
The irritation and frustration was running through his veins but he couldn't do anything about. His hands were completely tied at the moment and for the foreseeable future.
When the hacker warned him about Valentina and knowing everything, it was 300% possible that Valentina had already been informed of what he did. There was no regret or shame from what he did, it was only natural that he did something. That something being a code to track down her information and piece her identity together. Adding on that he didn't get any information from his attempt, other than being offended he wasn't sure how much she would take personally.
What he was thinking about now was if she would be so offended to inform Xi Long. There was a reason he did it so secretly and behind his back, it was obvious he wouldn't have approved. A long sigh left his mouth as he slapped a hand over his face then dragged it down. His situation right now was almost pathetically comedic to him.
No answers, more questions, and now a potentially angry best-friend waiting for him outside this door. Glancing at his clock, it had only been around three hours maximum of him being here and so much had already happened. There was no limit to how long he could stay here and it was technically a defence against Xi Long.
This base of his, was more so a place he comes and controls. Of course, Xi Long was aware of it and had been here many times throughout the years. What that did not mean was he liked to come here frequently - which he didn't. Having both of them appear here would be too dangerous and would let anyone track him find their way here. Usually, people stayed away from tracking him after the years of him doing boring stuff. It was also easier for him to sneak out since his identity was less prominent.
So all of that was to say, that for as long as he was here the chances of Xi Long coming to get him were slim. He felt like a school boy hiding away from his teacher because of the potential punishment. The length of his hiding was indeterminate, another hour or a couple more hours? Or does he leave now and escape back to his home? Which would technically work considering that Xi Long was still at work and would be for a while.
In the middle of his deliberations he felt his phone vibrate again from within his drawer. He thought he had put it on silent but from the vibration it was clear he had didn't.
'Interruption after interruption, a man can't even day dream without being interrupted nowadays.'
Reaching into the drawer he pulled out his phone and saw a familiar string of numbers on his phone.
'F*ck well staying here is not up for debate anymore huh."
He felt himself laugh out loud, it was the final trigger for him to mock himself. The laugh was self-depreciating in tone and short as he picked up the phone.
"So what do I owe this call?"
His voice lazily spoke into the mic and waited for the response to come in. In his opinion, there was no point in stressing out or giving up his jig before the other brought it up. He had nothing to be ashamed or scared about nor anything to be guilty about. The storm had arrived on his door step, how can he run away now? Might as well take it and see how bad it gets.
The other line of his phone was very silent and he didn't urge them to speak up faster.
"Zhuang Wei.....what did you do?"
Xi Long's voice emerged out of his phone, it was the same serious and calm tone he always used. However, he could sense a strange atmosphere coming from the call. It was either him overthinking or his conscious that made him feel like such but a weird vibe was coming from the call at the get-go.
"You're calling cause you know so what happened. What's the point of asking now?"
His voice was calm in return and was stable. He had no intention of listing out his crimes or doing a roundabout with him. It was obvious what the call was about but Xi Long was trying to give him an out right now. An out that he didn't need, they both were aware of what happened. When he first decided to do the code and start everything behind his back, he was well aware of the consequences if it went bad. Now it did, he would not shy away from the lecture and guilt-tripping he was about to receive.
A long sigh came out of the phone, "I know why you did it but why now? Why did you feel like the timing was now?"
Xi Long's voice dropped from his serious tone to a more tired one. That change in voice made an unpleasant feeling grow inside of him. He would rather take anger or disappointment over 'tired' since that was just equivalent to a draining feeling. Then to be the cause of your best friend's draining was a heavy feeling to have.
Just the amount of work and planning that went into these couple of months and the following months, was equivalent to years worth for them. He was just stressed thinking amount of interconnected plans and all the time s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ones they had in the works. Just two weeks ago they successfully took out one of their targets, with this streak going a woman might complicate things. Part of his feelings emerged from just how different it was having a woman in the mix. Both of them had been single for years, anything that did happen was casual. That meant that there were no extra considerations for the people in their lives, they could just do what they wanted. He was no uncomfortable with Xi Long having a woman and their friendship potentially breaking. There was no fear like that which was common for other best friends in this situation. It was just that he was in hyperdrive trying to make everything 'fit.' Especially considering that Xi Long added no security into the matter nor made any comments on how this was supposed to go. It was to vague for his comfort and for someone who's neurotically a control freak, it was a complete nightmare. Logically he understood that they were going with the flow but it was painfully obvious that Xi Long was head over heels for her. It wasn't love yet but would quickly become that if they went on the same path. If she was someone dangerous for them or not well suited, then the pain of having to let go later was worse. He didn't want his friend to be in that position, Xi Long had already lost too many people for him to lose someone else he held close. For that, being a villain or doing the dirty work on his side was no problem. It was just the worst timing with finding a romantic partner and one that was so elusive. Right now, she looked amazing and looked like she cared about him. He didn't necessarily doubt her feeling towards Xi Long based on her actions she was truthful. However, that wasn't enough guarantee when considering your best friend's life partner. Yes, they weren't at the marraige stage and there was no reason for him to consider that far ahead but he had to. Imagine your friend was single his entire life, no specific attention towards women nor did he go through that awkward puberty stage. That stage was when adolescent boys became more interested in other people's bodies and looked for material that sated the curiosity. Videos, explicit magazines, anything like that and none of that could be found in Xi Long's room. They have been childhood friends so going in and out of his bedroom was normal. He had even personally looked for those items a couple of times and could never find anything. Not even a hair of a woman could be found in his life and he was the gay one between them!! At one point he even thought Xi Long was As.e.x.u.a.l, which was fine, but it would explain a fair bit of his behaviour. For someone to attract his attention to this degree, it wasn't something to take lightly. He was also aggressively possessive about her, his attraction and affection for her was practically dripping from his eyes. It made him laugh when he remembered the amount of glares he got for just teasing or being near to Valentina. Both of them were so in their world that they didn't care about the dog food being fed to others. When that position is given to someone and at that degree, it made sense he was on the edge. It was also too sudden, she came out of practically nowhere. Xi Long didn't even openly tell him about her till he questioned him post-chicken restaurant. The only comments given then were vague too and have been vague since. The irritation and frustration was running through his veins but he couldn't do anything about. His hands were completely tied at the moment and for the foreseeable future. When the hacker warned him about Valentina and knowing everything, it was 300% possible that Valentina had already been informed of what he did. There was no regret or shame from what he did, it was only natural that he did something. That something being a code to track down her information and piece her identity together. Adding on that he didn't get any information from his attempt, other than being offended he wasn't sure how much she would take personally. What he was thinking about now was if she would be so offended to inform Xi Long. There was a reason he did it so secretly and behind his back, it was obvious he wouldn't have approved. A long sigh left his mouth as he slapped a hand over his face then dragged it down. His situation right now was almost pathetically comedic to him. No answers, more questions, and now a potentially angry best-friend waiting for him outside this door. Glancing at his clock, it had only been around three hours maximum of him being here and so much had already happened. There was no limit to how long he could stay here and it was technically a defence against Xi Long. This base of his, was more so a place he comes and controls. Of course, Xi Long was aware of it and had been here many times throughout the years. What that did not mean was he liked to come here frequently - which he didn't. Having both of them appear here would be too dangerous and would let anyone track him find their way here. Usually, people stayed away from tracking him after the years of him doing boring stuff. It was also easier for him to sneak out since his identity was less prominent. So all of that was to say, that for as long as he was here the chances of Xi Long coming to get him were slim. He felt like a school boy hiding away from his teacher because of the potential punishment. The length of his hiding was indeterminate, another hour or a couple more hours? Or does he leave now and escape back to his home? Which would technically work considering that Xi Long was still at work and would be for a while. In the middle of his deliberations he felt his phone vibrate again from within his drawer. He thought he had put it on silent but from the vibration it was clear he had didn't. 'Interruption after interruption, a man can't even day dream without being interrupted nowadays.' Reaching into the drawer he pulled out his phone and saw a familiar string of numbers on his phone. 'F*ck well staying here is not up for debate anymore huh." He felt himself laugh out loud, it was the final trigger for him to mock himself. The laugh was self-depreciating in tone and short as he picked up the phone. "So what do I owe this call?" His voice lazily spoke into the mic and waited for the response to come in. In his opinion, there was no point in stressing out or giving up his jig before the other brought it up. He had nothing to be ashamed or scared about nor anything to be guilty about. The storm had arrived on his door step, how can he run away now? Might as well take it and see how bad it gets. The other line of his phone was very silent and he didn't urge them to speak up faster. "Zhuang Wei.....what did you do?" Xi Long's voice emerged out of his phone, it was the same serious and calm tone he always used. However, he could sense a strange atmosphere coming from the call. It was either him overthinking or his conscious that made him feel like such but a weird vibe was coming from the call at the get-go. "You're calling cause you know so what happened. What's the point of asking now?" His voice was calm in return and was stable. He had no intention of listing out his crimes or doing a roundabout with him. It was obvious what the call was about but Xi Long was trying to give him an out right now. An out that he didn't need, they both were aware of what happened. When he first decided to do the code and start everything behind his back, he was well aware of the consequences if it went bad. Now it did, he would not shy away from the lecture and guilt-tripping he was about to receive. A long sigh came out of the phone, "I know why you did it but why now? Why did you feel like the timing was now?" Xi Long's voice dropped from his serious tone to a more tired one. That change in voice made an unpleasant feeling grow inside of him. He would rather take anger or disappointment over 'tired' since that was just equivalent to a draining feeling. Then to be the cause of your best friend's draining was a heavy feeling to have.
