Shutting herself from the distraction, Luo Jingyi went over the files that Song Hia brought. Her assistant wasn't kidding when she said they were swamped with work. Completing half, she almost regretted sending Song Hia for a holiday.
The sound of alarm from her phone startled her. Putting the file down, she turned it off and darted to her bedroom to change. She had to go to the airport to pick someone.
The moment she stepped past the automated glass door entrance, her eyes scanned the area. The wide halls were filled with people, passengers pulling their luggage, family members waiting for their arrival and the uniformed airport staff working on the clock. Adding to the noise around her was the flight arrivals being announced over the intercom. Upon checking the large digital monitor displaying arrival times, she walked to a small coffee shop and ordered before occupying a chair. Due to flight delay, she waited for more than two hours. Luckily, she brought a book with her and killed time by reading.
After Xiao Wen's flight number was announced, she calculated the time Xiao Wen would spend getting cleared from the immigration and picking up her luggage from the conveyor belt. Twenty minutes later, she stood and waited for Xiao Wen at the assigned arrival gate. From the information her friend sent her, she was able to zero in Xiao Wen from the throng of people coming out. She had a small duffel bag flung over her back.
"Hello, Dr. Luo. I'm Xiao Wen." The woman introduced herself politely when she neared.
"Let's go." Luo Jingyi briefly glanced over her shoulder.
As the car traversed the road leading to the city, Xiao Wen made a comment to kill the uncomfortable silence. "A lot has changed."
"When was the last time you've been here?" Luo Jingyi asked.
"Three years."
"That's quite long." Luo Jingyi simply commented and glanced at the side view mirror. She turned on the left, entering an alley instead of continuing on the main highway before stepping on her speed.
The driver of the black car that had been trailing her upon her exit from her apartment building pulled over when he lost her. Hitting the steering wheel, he cursed. At the same time, two women slid inside the car, surprising him. One in the passenger seat and one at the back who laced her arm on his neck. He felt something pointed on his skin.
"Stop following me around." Luo Jingyi ordered him. He was the same guy who was taking photos in the park yesterday.
"I wasn't." The man denied vehemently, raising his voice to intimidate her.
Sadly, Luo Jingyi laughed it off and showed the images from the camera she wrestled from him. "Then how do you explain this?"
The man was stumped for words. Giving up, he begged, "Okay. Could you please remove that?"
He didn't want to die.
"Tell your friend too." Luo Jingyi added. Earlier, the other one pretended to be a janitorial employee pushing a cleaning trolley inside the airport. She wouldn't have noticed him if the man didn't circle her a couple of times.
"It was only me."
Xiao Wen pressed the tip of the pen harder on the skin. This caused the man to be more nervous. He lifted two hands in surrender.
"Okay. Okay!" He called the other one and instructed him to delete the photos he took.
"I don't like my pictures being taken so don't even attempt to follow me again in the future. Understand?" She erased the data and removed the memory card.
The man nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Xiao Wen loosen her grip. Luo Jingyi hopped off the car.
"Could you at least give back my camera? I need to earn a living." The man pleaded.
Luo Jingyi glanced at what she was holding and after a moment of contemplation, she tossed it back to him.
Back inside Luo Jingyi's car, Xiao Wen commented doubtfully, "You didn't ask who sent them."
"There's no need." She replied. They were the ones Chairman Shen sent to trail Yun Jinghan.
"Must be a stupid client for hiring non-professionals like them. They were too obvious."
"I don't think stupid is the right term. Let's just say, they underestimated me." Luo Jingyi chimed.
At the same time, wondered why Yun Jinghan didn't stop them when she clearly sent him a reminder last night.
Xiao Wen let out an 'ooh' before cackling in laughter. "You and Captain are so similar."
"That's why she hates me." The corner of Luo Jingyi's mouth quirked up. It wasn't exactly that kind of hate wherein her friend would harm her. It was more of rivalry and competitiveness. But at the end of the day, they had each other's back.
…..
"Follow me in my office." Luo Jingyi motioned to Xiao Wen after they had dinner.
When Xiao Wen was seated, she recounted the case and passed the file she had on her agent. She told the woman what she wanted: find the missing agent and her connection to the dead body found in her old place.
"This is easy." Xiao Wen murmured with confidence. Although she was disappointed with the task, she accepted it. It was better than being in the training camp.
Then, Luo Jingyi printed and handed her a single sheet of paper.
"This one is different. For now, do a background check again on her. But dig deeper. See if you could uncover what she had been doing in Europe."
Xiao Wen smiled beautifully. This was the kind of task she liked. "Is there a deadline?"
Luo Jingyi sensed pensiveness in Xiao Wen's voice and she laughed. "I'm not as demanding as your captain. So don't worry. But the faster you can solve it, the better."
"I understand."
"Where will you be staying?"
"My brother's"
Luo Jingyi recalled that Xiao Wen's file stated that she had a brother who married and settled in the city.
Taking a key from the drawer, she threw it at Xiao Wen and gave the address of another property she owned. When she left, Luo Jingyi rested her back on the chair and looked up the ceiling.
"Xu Wei, Wang Hua, Han Peng… who else do I need to deal with?"