Chapter 177: Cards

Outside the interrogation room.

“Hey Sis, I want the first ‘I love you’ of the summer,” Xiao Yu said into his phone, a mischievous grin on his face.

“Haha,” Mu Qingwu’s voice, normally commanding, softened with a hint of sweetness. “Why do you always want something? How about I give you the first sip of the northwest wind instead?”

“Well, then I won’t buy you any more oranges,” Xiao Yu grumbled. “I’m hanging up now, off to drink that northwest wind.”

“Haha, be good, little brother,” Mu Qingwu laughed, her tone like that of a mother gently coaxing a child. “When you come home, I’ll have that first ‘I love you’ of summer waiting for you.”

“Hehe,” Xiao Yu’s mood brightened instantly. “Hey Sis, I heard that kissing with your hands on someone’s waist feels more intense. Wanna try it when I get back?”

“Huh?” Mu Qingwu laughed, teasingly, “Little brother, don’t you think it’d be weird if we kissed with our hands on each other’s waists?”

Xiao Yu, “???”

What was this about kissing with hands on hips? Shouldn’t it be about holding each other’s waists?

For a moment, Xiao Yu felt like he was dreaming. His sister wasn’t usually this clueless. Had she been abducted by aliens?

Sensing his silence, Mu Qingwu’s laughter rang out again. “I was just messing with you!”

“Whew, you scared me there,” Xiao Yu sighed with relief, glad his sister hadn’t been swapped with a clone. Lately, with all the mental strain, he was starting to get paranoid about everything.

“Sis, I came across an interesting topic today,” Xiao Yu said with a wicked grin. “What if we hadn’t gotten married so early, and you didn’t have any money? What if we were just ordinary people and I was 25 years old with no savings, what then?”

“Hmm?” Mu Qingwu chuckled, “In that case, little brother, you wouldn’t wait until you were 25 to marry me, right?”

“Your thinking is on a different track from everyone else’s,” Xiao Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “If we had money, of course I’d marry you sooner. But that wasn’t the point. What I meant was, I wouldn’t want you to suffer.”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Mu Qingwu’s voice was soft and comforting. “Twenty-five is just an age, nothing more. Why attach any other meaning to it? Life doesn’t have that many set standards. You’re already amazing, little brother. At your age, there aren’t many who can match you. I’ll always hold onto your heart and never let go. Whether you’re 25 or 30, I’ll always be by your side.”

“Sis,” Xiao Yu whispered, “I miss you.”

“I know you do, and I miss you too,” Mu Qingwu’s voice was as gentle as a serene pond, filled with longing. “But I can sense that the case you’re working on now… it’s dangerous. Don’t call me anymore. It might distract you. We have plenty of time ahead of us. When you get home, however you want me to be with you, I will. If you want to see me in a schoolgirl uniform, I’ll wear it for you every day.”

“Okay,” Xiao Yu replied softly, warmth spreading through his heart as his eyes softened. “Sis, I’ll try to come home as soon as I can.”

“Stay safe,” Mu Qingwu said, her voice tinged with reluctance. “I’ll be here waiting for you, waiting to tell you the first ‘I love you’ of summer.”

As Xiao Yu slowly put down his phone, a contented smile spread across his face. It was impossible to hide.

After a long moment, the smile faded from his cheeks, and he buried the longing deep within his heart. His expression gradually turned cold as he looked at the door to the interrogation room in front of him. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

‘Please don’t stand in the way of me going home, okay? Whether in my past life or this one, I’ve never been fond of bloodshed.’

***

“Someone came to kill you,” Xiao Yu said, staring at the suspect, Xia Xingchen, who was seated in the interrogation chair. “It’s someone from your assassin group, a pretty woman. Her weapon was a knife. A small one.”

“What?!” Xia Xingchen’s face instantly turned pale with fear. “Was she highly skilled?”

Xiao Yu coldly locked eyes with him and nodded. “Yes.”

“They’re here… number 3 is here!” 

Xia Xingchen’s teeth chattered as he spoke, his words stumbling over themselves. 

“I-I’m dead for sure… my family too…”

‘Why is he so terrified? And what does 3 mean?’ 

Xiao Yu frowned. “Relax, your family is in a safe place, somewhere they wouldn’t dare go.”

“Relax? Hahaha…” Xia Xingchen suddenly burst into laughter, but despite his laughter, his face remained deathly pale. “You don’t get it, you don’t understand just how terrifying they are. Even the lowest-ranked 2s aren’t people you can just deal with, let alone the Jokers.”

13 cards? Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up. 

He thought of that card—the one they called the ‘Joker.’ So what Xia Xingchen just mentioned, about ‘3,’ could it mean…

Everyone knows how playing cards works. There are four suits: diamonds, clubs, spades, and hearts. Each suit has 13 numbered cards, from 2 to Ace, and then there are the two Jokers.

So, is ‘3’ referring to the ‘3’ of a particular suit? If that’s the case, then could this mean the assassin group has 13 members, each represented by a card?

No, it’s 15 members—including the Jokers!

Xia Xingchen provided the confirmation Xiao Yu needed.

“I’m ‘2’—the most useless one,” Xia Xingchen stammered, panic evident in his voice. “I only handle the business contacts and report to the Joker. The Joker assigns the tasks to others. I don’t know who the others are. I don’t even know who the Joker really is. But I do know that from ‘3’ onwards, they’re all terrifying. Their methods of killing are beyond imagination, especially the Joker. He can make you die in all sorts of ‘accidents.'”

Seriously? Xiao Yu couldn’t help but twitch his mouth in disbelief. 

This felt like something straight out of a movie. 

What kind of cliché nonsense was this? But why was Xia Xingchen spilling everything so easily?

The answer was simple. The assassin group was coming after him—and even after his family. If they’re coming to kill you and your loved ones, would you still cover for them? Only a fool would do that.

Xia Xingchen’s only hope of survival now… No, he knew he was a dead man walking. All he wanted was to ensure his family’s survival. So, he wasn’t going to hold anything back.

“Keep talking,” Xiao Yu demanded coldly. “What else do you know?”

“That’s all,” Xia Xingchen’s body shook uncontrollably. “The Joker found me years ago because I knew some things about the dark web and how to handle networks. He had me post the assignments on the dark web and auction off the cards. That was my job. Every time, he paid me a commission of a hundred thousand yuan. I swear, that’s all I know.”

Xiao Yu fell silent.

Now, a new problem presented itself. How to track down the other assassins?

Xiao Yu eyed Xia Xingchen, an idea forming in his mind. It seemed this assassin group wasn’t particularly skilled in computer networks. Otherwise, why would they need to find a tech-savvy person to work for them? Maybe this was a weakness he could exploit.

But first, there was another question.

Xiao Yu’s gaze turned icy as he looked at Xia Xingchen.

“How did you know that female assassin was number 3?”