A driver met the group at the airport and drove them out to a tall building with many windows.
The building was ordinary, not flashy like the ones in the city, but it looked clean.
Huan Mao led them into a dim hallway through a door near the back of the building, opened through an electronic access card.
The building appeared to be a hotel of some sort, but Xin Tuyong didn't see anyone other than a few workers far away.
Huan Mao took them through to a steel elevator and brought them to an upper level.
The doors opened and they exited, finding themselves in a long hallway with many doors on either side.
She pulled out her wallet, retrieving black cards. She looked closely at each one before walking to a room towards to end of the hall. She inserted the card and unlocked the door.
"Yun Bao, this is your room," she said as she handed him a card. He accepted it and entered.
She continued to the next room. "Di Gaohun." She handed it to him and he nodded.
Xin Tuyong was the last one. She unlocked the door nearest to the windows that overlooked the city. She slipped a card back into her wallet.
"Xin Tuyong," she smiled. He was excited to see his room and took a step forward, intending to collect his card. "You'll be sharing a room with me."
The moment he heard her words, he felt his brain shut down.
His expression faltered. What?!
She laughed at his dumbstruck expression and entered the room as he remained rooted to the spot.
After his mind came back to him, he took a deep breath. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. She won't hurt you.
He took a step through the doorway and almost screamed when his phone rang from his pocket. It was Fan Qentian.
He took another breath and was about to answer when Huan Mao materialized beside him and took the phone from his hand.
In a single move, she rejected the call, blocked Fan Qentian's number, and turned the phone off.
"We just got here and you're already trying to give your location? Do you have a death wish?" She was irritated. "Can I have... just one second without trouble?"
She lightly smacked the back of his head with the phone and sighed as she turned to walk away with it.
Xin Tuyong grabbed her arm to stop her, asking, "Wait. How would he get my location?"
She spun around and stared at his grip on her. Then she began counting: "Five, four, three, two..." She made a move to bite his hand but he had the sense to let go at the last moment. "Sh*t... handsy today..." She rubbed her wrist.
Xin Tuyong became flushed with the realization that he'd overstepped his boundaries.
"Oh. S-sorry," he stammered.
She shot him an indignant look before seating herself on a lounge chair nearby. "The minute you answer, he has all of your information. Did we not go over this in training?"
She used her fingernails to rip off the back of the phone, revealing the battery and SIM card. At Xin Tuyong's silent stare, she glanced up.
"Sigh... I guess not," she muttered, removing the SIM card and reassembling the phone. "Is there anything important on here?" She gestured to the tiny chip in her hand.
"Uh... no? I don't think so..."
"Well, you'd better hope so." She held the SIM card with metal tongs in one hand and a lighter in the other.
The protest died in his throat as the chip blackened in the fire. On the outside, he was frozen. Inside? He was screaming.
He didn't even have the phone for a year before it ended like this. He wiped an imaginary tear. All those months saving up and this is what I get?
Why did I get involved in such a mess? His soul fled his body and he was a husk slumped over in the kitchen.
Huan Mao finished burning the SIM card and looked to Xin Tuyong who had fallen to his knees. She saw his crestfallen face and watched him dramatically slump over with dull eyes.
She couldn't help but to roll her own eyes.
How dramatic... He wasn't nearly as heartbroken when I shot Fan Qentian...