Silence dominated their surroundings after the short exchange of words.
Han Meixiu started to felt a bit anxious. She wanted to ask few more things thus she fidgeted several times.
Liu Zijian who felt her subtle movement knew she wanted to do something thus he asked her.
"What is it?" If he would wait for her to talk, it would probably take a long time before she would find her voice.
She already formulated the question on her mind but when her husband asked her, she didn't know what to say.
"That is…" She struggled to continue as she searched for words.
"Hmmm?" He answered while his head was slightly leaning on her head and one of his hands was caressing her hair. It was an act of calming her.
"I'm a daughter of people who violated the law." She couldn't say the word 'criminal' for some reason. It was as if she couldn't associate that word to her parents. It somehow gave her an uncomfortable feeling.
Her statement wasn't also what she wanted to say. But it was the statement that was on top of her mind that she's trying to bury down.
"And?"
"Aren't you worried?" She asked when she heard his nonchalant answer as if he didn't care at all.
"Why?" He didn't know why Han Meixiu thought he would be worried.
"Well, research said that children with criminal parents have a higher chance of committing crimes than…"
"That's just a chance." He cut her statement. What she was talking about was just a small percentage of chance.
"But.." She wanted to rebuttal but wasn't able to continue her sentence.
"Meixiu, tell me directly what is worrying you." He knew that his wife was just beating around the bush. As much as possible he wanted her to voice out her thoughts so he could eventually address them one by one.
She sighed and distanced herself a little to be able to face him directly.
"Aren't I embarrassing the Liu Family? Will I eventually be shunned?"
"Because of your parents?"
Han Meixiu nodded.
"You are you. You're different from your parents. Why would you feel you're embarrassing the family? Shunned?" He asked and gently shook his head before he continued. "That would never happen."
"Is there anything else?"
"If I commit a crime one day,.."
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll have a good reason why you'll do it. But there's one thing I would like to ask you."
"What?"
"Before you do it, tell me." If ever there would be a time she would violate the prevailing law, he would do his best to protect her.
"Why?"
"So I could prepare." He simply answered.
"Prepare for?" She confusedly asked.
Although she didn't want to expect that her husband would infringe the law for her, she somewhat hoped he would do it. But then again, he would inflict his family as well if he would ever do it.
"Evidences to acquit you or your escape and hideout if necessary." He calmly said with a serious tone as if what he said was not a criminal act.
Her lips slightly parted before she broke into a smile showing her innermost gratitude. Her expectation seemed right.
Seeing that Han Meixiu was becoming more and more like her usual self before she read the report, Liu Zijian smiled in return. He then assisted her to stand up before he spoke again.
"Meixiu, remember… You have me."
She didn't response using words. She instead hugged him. That was an assurance.
'Yeah, I have you.' She said silently.
When they left the indoor shooting range, Han Meixiu remembered another question.
"Do your parents or brother Long know?"
"Dad and Big Zi know but not the entire details. My mom doesn't have any idea. Do you want them to know everything?"
She got conflicted for a while before she answered.
"I'm not sure." She honestly answered. She was in a dilemma.
"Don't force yourself. When you're ready you can tell them, especially mom."
Liu Zijian knew that his wife was worried about his mom's reaction the most. Compared to the other members of the Liu Family, Madam Liu was the closest to her.
She nodded.
When the two were backed in the study, Liu Zijian carefully arranged the papers Han Meixiu left earlier and placed them on the side of the table.
"Do you have any other questions?" He asked when both finally sat down again.
"The last part of the report was her joining the black.com. Are there no other details after she joined?"
"There are but they're not verified yet. Do you want to read?"
If the additional information were not yet verified then those could be true or false. Since that's the case, she opted not to read them as they might confuse her mind further.
She shook her head in response. She already experienced the emotional outburst earlier and chose to not torment herself again. Well, at least not for the meantime.
But tomorrow's another day, she might change her mind.
"If I want to read it, can I?"
"Of course. Anytime."
*
"What did you say?"
"The head of the Liu Family declined our invitation." The man answered their leader after he bowed. This was the second time he's been summoned within a month. It's an indication that the organization was getting busy.
"I see. Is there any other important things you want to report?"
"We capture some spies."
"Execute them all."
"Yes."
"That's all?"
"Are we going to open the recruitment this year?"
It has been two years already since they accepted and trained new blood. Unfortunately, the last batch was full of spies that needed to be executed.
"We'll start in a month."
"Noted."
Upon seeing the familiar gesture of dismissal, the man left the room.
"Liu Family, huh. Still as arrogant as ever… Good thing I'll be busy with something else. I'll deal with you later." The leader muttered.
When the button was pressed, the entire room was embraced by darkness. The long and think curtain across the leader's table moved to the side revealing a big flat screen monitor.
Within a split of second it showed a prison where a man was tied up in a chair.
"You have the guts to come back, H." The leader softly said.
The man moved when he heard the voice.