Chapter 155 - You almost got us both killed!

...

After having dinner, they went to get ice-cream at a Ben & Jerry store. 

"Damn, it's been a while since I had these..." Tian Le murmured as he ate a bite of his Peanut Butter Cup ice-cream. 

"Why didn't you order more scoops then?" Xiao Zhihao asked while taking a bite out of the mountain of ice-cream that his mother ordered. 

Tian Le shrugged. "Can't, I'll get fat. I don't have time to exercise that much for the next two weeks, so I have to watch what I eat..." 

"Really?" 

Tian Le smirked. Biting down onto the spoon, he reached out and patted Xiao Zhihao's head while saying, "When you're my age, you'll care about your looks as well..." 

Xiao Zhihao raised a brow at him but did not say anything else.

"Too bad Caleb can't join us, but he probably prefers to spend the time with his mother," Tian Le murmured while eating. 

Han Ye was looking at Xiao Lei, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, when he heard Tian Le's words. Looking up at Tian Le, Han Ye asked, "Caleb left? I thought he was in the room playing games earlier."

"Yeah, he left. His mother arrived in the afternoon and picked him up."

"I thought Tiffany would arrive in a few more days..." Han Ye thought out loud while taking a bite of his Cookie Dough ice cream. 

"So did I," Tian Le said. He then shrugged and added, "Uncle William said that Caleb has been misbehaving, so he called Aunt Tiffany to come back earlier... and I guess Aunt Tiffany doesn't like to leave Caleb for long." 

"I see..." Han Ye nodded. During the party last night, he managed to talk to William for a while. Apparently, Caleb had been throwing tantrums and causing trouble for his nanny ever since his mother, Tiffany Tang, left him to do something. "It's better anyway... Caleb has to start school tomorrow. It's his first time attending school, so he's probably a little scared." 

"First time?" Xiao Zhihao asked. "He's about nine, no?"

"Almost nine, but not yet," Tian Le corrected him. 

Looking at Xiao Zhihao, Han Ye explained, "Caleb had been following his parents all over the world since he was about six years old, and he was homeschooled since then. He had never attended a primary school before, so this would be a new experience for him."

Xiao Zhihao nodded. He did not get that many chances to talk to Caleb yesterday. He only remembered that Caleb was the boy that created trouble at the mall. It was a coincidence that he was also Tian Le's sworn younger brother.  

Tian Le suddenly looked at Han Ye and asked, "Caleb's the surprise that my... godfather mentioned last night, right? Not Quinn, right?"

Han Ye nodded. "Quinn is still in the US with her mothers. I'm not sure about their return date, but they should be here in a week or so. President Du didn't tell me anything. I don't think they have even bought their flight tickets yet. Knowing Ms. Layla and Judge's hectic schedule, they probably have a lot to clear before they can leave." 

Tian Le nodded. "As usual then..."

....

After sending the kids back to Imperial Secondary, Han Ye and Xiao Lei were heading home in silence when Han Ye suddenly asked, "Xiao Lei, are you angry at me?" 

Xiao Lei was looking out the window when she heard him. Without looking at him, she replied in a hushed tone, "No."

"But... I feel as if you've been avoiding me since earlier. You barely even talked to me during dinner. Not even during dessert, and it's your..." Han Ye stopped himself and hesitated for a moment before continuing, "and you like sweet stuff, don't you?" 

Xiao Lei pulled her jeans jacket together as she murmured, "I had nothing to say to you, that's why I didn't say anything."

When she went to get the dress with her son yesterday, she saw that this jacket was on sale. Since hers was quite tattered and washed, she decided to get one for herself and one for her son.  

Hearing the impatient tone in her voice, Han Ye frowned slightly. He was really confused about her behaviour today. When they parted yesterday, she was still treating him normally.

He decided to change the topic by asking, "So, are you alright with giving yourself injections? Do you need help with it?" 

"No, I'm good. I can do it myself." 

"You sure?" he asked while looking forward. 

She turned to look at him and nodded with a determined expression. "As long as I'm alone, I can do it." 

"What do you mean?" 

She shrugged. The reason why she said those words was because it was the truth; as long as she had no one to rely on, she would not be weak. Well, to be more accurate, she could not be weak. She needed the money and the protection that the Shenlong Family could give her and her son. Hence, no matter how afraid she was with needles, she would still do it.

"Zhihao said that you've to go to the hospital daily. I can send you," Han Ye offered.

"I've talked to Guangying. My appointment is every day at 8 p.m, for the next few days at least. He'll be sending a driver over to pick me up and send me back, so you don't have to worry about it," Xiao Lei explained. Looking at Han Ye, she added, "I know you're a busy person, so you don't have to worry about me, and you can continue to focus with your work and your woman." 

"Xiao Lei..."

"You are still in the beginning of your relationship, so everything is shaky at the moment. You should pay more attention to her," Xiao Lei added. 

"I know I should pay more attention to her, but..." Han Ye wanted to say "you're important too", but he stopped himself from saying it. She was just his long-lost friend. He felt that he should not cross the boundary of friendship. He just wanted to look out for her until the return of her husband. 

Xiao Lei placed her elbow against the car door and leaned her temple against her fist as she stated, "I'm your secretary, so I know your schedule well. You have seven meetings in the next three days, and President Du has three dinner meetings next week that you must attend with him. And on Friday, you have to go to Singapore to attend a conference on behalf of President Du, and you won't be back until the week after. Basically, your next entire week and the week after would be packed full of meetings. I think, by the time you're free. I'd have a baby in me already."

Han Ye sighed while listening to Xiao Lei telling him about his schedule. He had forgotten how hectic it was. He would have some time off two weeks later, but it was also time for him to put his late wife's ash somewhere where she belonged. 

"Han Ye!" 

Han Ye snapped out of his trance when he heard Xiao Lei's frantic cry, and when he looked up, he saw he was too close to the car in front, and he immediately pressed down on the brake. The momentum caused both of their bodies to lurch forward.  

Luckily, they were both wearing seatbelts. Otherwise, they would have hit the dashboard.

"What is wrong with you!" Xiao Lei snapped after calming down from the initial fright. Looking at the people that were crossing the road, she then turned to glare at him as she snarled, "You almost got us both killed!" 

When she saw the traffic light turned red earlier, but Han Ye still did not show any signs of slowing down, her chest nearly jumped out of her heart. 

Her chest hurt from the being pulled by the seatbelt, and she kept rubbing it while glaring at Han Ye. She was still trembling slightly from the memory earlier as it reminded her of the last time she was in a car accident. 

"I-I'm sorry..." Han Ye murmured as he rested his forehead against the steering wheel. Thank god that the car behind them was at a distance away, otherwise, they would have gotten into an accident. "I was thinking about something..." 

When he didn't hear anything from Xiao Lei, he turned to look at her. To his confusion, she was looking past him and out the window at his side. Her body was trembling, but it was not from fear. Instead, to him, Xiao Lei looked like she was excited about something. Her eyes were narrowed to almost a slit while she continued to stare out of the window. 

Han Ye noticed that she was clenching her fists and worried that she might have somehow gotten hurt, he asked, "Xiao Lei, what's wrong?" 

He even reached out to touch her shoulder.

However, Xiao Lei ignored him. "Mole Man..." she murmured before suddenly opening her door. At this moment, the traffic light had turned green again. 

"I can't be wrong!" she thought as she kept her eyes on the convenience store that the man walked into earlier. Ditching her crutch, she quickly limped across the wide street, causing cars to stop abruptly. The drivers then either honked at her, or shout obscenities at her, or both. 

HONKKK!

Following the louder than the rest honking sound, Xiao Lei turned and saw a huge, bright light coming toward her. Before she could even do anything, she was pulled back while a truck drove past her. When she was pulled back, she closed her eyes to brace for the impact against anyone who pulled her back. 

"Urgh..." Xiao Lei groaned. She felt something hard and when she opened her eyes, she saw someone's chest. When she looked up, she saw Han Ye's angry face. "Han Ye..." 

"What the f*ck do you think you are doing?! Do you think this is the village?!" he yelled at her angrily. When he saw her standing right in front of the truck, frozen in spot, without even caring for his own safety, he just ran over to pull her back, nearly getting hit by the cars that had just started moving again. 

"Let me go!" Xiao Lei yelled when she recalled what she was looking for earlier. Turning her eyes around, she saw the man walking out of the convenience store. The man looked over at them for a few seconds and sneered before turning away. 

She immediately pushed Han Ye away and continued limping while chasing after the man. While chasing him, she touched her jacket. When she felt the knife hidden within the inner secret compartment, which she sewed herself, of her jacket, she grinned evilly. 

"25 years..." She sped up while trying to chase the man. Even though she had never talked about the man with anyone, she had never forgotten about his face either. Every morning and every night, she would think about his face until his face was forever etched into her mind. 

Even though he was fatter now and his hair had turned grey, but those moles of his, as well as the snicker on his face... She would never forget it. 

The one who murdered her parents.