Lyca sat in the middle of her personal training space inside the mansion. She narrowed her eyes at the file in her hands. On the paper was an image of a young man with a bright smile, a small dimple and dazzling brown eyes. This was Shen Qui at nineteen. When he was assigned an assassination mission for the first time.
She browsed through his records once again, her eyes emotionless. Since she arrived in the mansion this morning, Lyca had not left this room. She glanced at the smiling face again. Funny how the people who always loved to smile sometimes had the saddest pasts.
How could someone look so dazzling despite the number of people that he had killed at such a young age? This man was not the innocent Shen Qui that she thought him to be.
Lyca had underestimated him. That was an undeniable fact. She had believed he was just another soldier with a bad past, determined to have their revenge against the people who treated them badly. Lyca had underestimated his perseverance and dedication. She had underestimated his training.
She had become lax, careless even. She had lived so carelessly that she had forgotten the rules from her previous life. Never judge someone by their outer appearance. Since coming into this world, Lyca had never trained her body. It was mostly because her training involved meditation and she realized she was too lazy to do that. She fought, occasionally spar with Yi'an and her servants but that was it.
Because of the lack of magic in this world, Lyca had slowly underestimated the martial arts that these people learned. She had thought they were naturally weaker than her— someone who had lived in another world. Someone who already had a lot of experience in assassinations.
How naive. She had been naive.
Slowly, she closed the file in her hand and stood from her seat. The knock on the door was the signal that she had been waiting for. Lyca walked towards one of the soundproofed walls. She used her fingerprint to open a secret vault that mostly contained important files about chemicals. This time, she put the file inside the vault.
"You called for me?" Hearing his voice immediately reminded her of the intensity of his eyes, his comfortable smell and the way he never actually retaliated last night. Instead, he dodged and avoided hitting her. Despite him being stronger, the man never flaunted it in front of her. Was it because she was considered his superior?
"I want you to train me." She turned towards him, staring at his gentle face. Funny how this gentleness would change into something dark when he fought. Dark. Cold. Deadly. And dangerous. "Seriously." She added.
She walked towards Shen Qui, hands behind her back. Seeing this, a smirk bloomed on his face. He was never the type of mix business with pleasure. And yet this woman…
"You know… I am wondering." She stopped a few inches away from him. "Who is the real Shen Qui?" The man from the other night was not this gentle man in front of her. She was certain of that. "Is it the man who smiled like a naive college student? Or the one who reeked of death and blood."
"Why can't I be both?" Wasn't it necessary to create a facade? In this type of job, showing everything in one go could mean death. And he dreaded death.
He lowered his gaze, moving his body forward towards her, eliminating the little bit of space between the two of them. Last night, Shen Qui had been hazy, almost confused. It was because he tried to understand her reasoning— something that he shouldn't have done.
Lyca was an endless abyss. Delving into its depths would only make him more irritated, confused and angry.
He felt her extend her hand into his chest, she started tracing circles. He flinched. "I read your file." She said.
"Was it enough to impress you?"
"Enough." Shrugging, she continued tracing circles in his chest. She had read the files that were kept by her grandfather— the ones that contained the real files about Shen Qui.
"Did you threaten the old man?" he raised an eyebrow. The only person who knew his past was the man who saved him and had been protecting his identity for years now.
"Hmmm. I am not that heartless."
He snorted in response.
"I suppose you wanted revenge?" Lyca asked.
"Revenge…" The word rolled in his tongue. "Sounds sweet but it's unattainable." At least for now.
"And if… I decide to help you?" she asked.
"What will you ask in return?" He countered. Lyca was not the type of woman who would just give without having something in return. He met her eyes as she raised her head. A smile was already plastered on her lips.
"You." She answered.
"Why?"
"Do I need a reason?" Lyca decided that she didn't want to do all this alone. Wouldn't that be too exhausting? So, she had already planned to create a team of people that would work for her. First, was of course, her father who would manage the company under her name. Second was her mother who grew up in a military family. And third… was a person that will protect her while she lazed around.
Of course, the current circumstances were not enough to change her mind about her ultimate dream. To Lyca, this was just a small mishap; a small clog that served to only delay her plans. To survive, she needed someone that would always stand by her side. Someone that needed to do the heavy lifting for her.
Seeing his stern gaze Lyca moistened her lips. "I need someone strong."
"To protect you." He finished her sentence. "While you sleep and eat nonchalantly?" Just what kind of twisted reason was this?
"Hmmm." She nodded. Lyca had fought other people in her family before, like her father and mother and she was well aware of their skills. They were both good and would surely be able to protect her. But… Shen Qui's internal energy would make him the best candidate for this task. He was healing, meaning, his senses would soon become sharper and he would be able to develop the other points in his body. And once this happened the man would become stronger.
Plus, this man wanted revenge to the Xu Family— a name too familiar. A name that made her blood boil with pure hatred.