"Can't your database gather information about this doll faster?"
"The Cave is already trying its best."
Leon Mo paced back and forth, scratching his head. "We can't stall as much time. Long Zhufu was already currently on the process of being demolished as we speak. And the Alpha could not gain anymore intel on the owners and workers, especially that Mr. Long."
Wolfe rolled his eyes. "I mean it could, but everything takes a while, Leon Mo. Even my baby."
"Your baby?"
"Yeah, the Alpha is my life's work. My baby. I mean, our family's baby. I worked with my dad but still."
Leon blinked, and Wolfe laughed with his head held back.
He smirked smugly. "What? You thought I was just some dumb pretty face theater actor who's only impressive features was my looks and my godly voice? How else could I operate the Alpha?"
"I've always been interested in tech, since I was 3. I just got interested in musicals later on in life....." His smile faltered, as it was this very dumb ogre in front of him that caused him to be interested in musicals.
Leon also had come to realize this. He looked away, and there was an awkward pause between them.
Ever since that incident in the restaurant's bathroom, the little bit of closeness and camaraderie between them was lost again.
"That's... Well, it doesn't matter. If the Alpha can't run information faster, I'll have to find it offline and on foot." Leon said, going out of the Hotel's door.
Yes, they were still staying in the Hotel Tuanyuan with their clothes just being recycled every week, but they were on a joint-room now instead of the Couple's room. They have different bedrooms but shared a single living room, bathroom and kitchen.
They were rich so the rent was no problem. They share it 50/50 so they can even last for a year just staying in the hotel.
Not that they want to stay in cohabitation for a year. And the joint-room wasn't that spacious and give much privacy either, the walls between them were pretty thin.
Having a shared bathroom also gives way for many fights and bickering due which one takes a bath first.
"You're going out again? You're like a junkie on withdrawal when it comes to police investigation, Leon Mo. We don't have much leads or resources so just chill out."
"Lives are at stake, how can I just chill out?" Leon retorted.
"I know that! That's why I'm trying my best here to gain information too! But travelling around aimlessly wouldn't get you anywhere, you dumb, hot-blooded og---"
"Say that one more time and I'll show you what a dumb, hot-blooded ogre is like." Leon grabbed his collar, but then his phone rang.
He took it out with a sigh. "Yes, Ba?"
"And the great prince finally answered his old man. I thought you already took us for dead, Shizi."
Leon let go Wolfe, and just rubbed his forehead.
"It's not like that, Ba. You know my situation here. I'm trying to clear Yao Yuzhui's name as early as can be so I can go back to US in peace that the police won't find out about his connection to the Mo empire."
"Yes, son. But nobody can get fat in one bite. Our connections are doing its best, your connections in Interpol are doing their best..... Hell, even poor Wolfe was also abusing his own liver and not sleeping a wink!"
He heard his mother add: "Yes! And yet he still makes time to visit and give us homecooked food! You should follow his example of being a fillial son!"
Leon gave this 'fillial son' a side-eye stare, and Wolfe just returned it with a proud, wolfish grin.
"Fine, fine. I will visit today. But I can't stay for long, I have criminals to catch---"
"Son, we are criminals." His father said and it was accompanied by a hoarse laugh by Mr. Fang.
Leon Mo rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I've been reminded of that my whole life."
This caused the oldies at the other side of the phone to go quiet, possibly feeling a bit guilty from his tone.
"Just get over here so we can talk about the house. You and Huilang shouldn't stay in a hotel for too long, don't tell me you plan on making your future children also stay on a hotel?"
Both Leon and Wolfe exclaimed in surprise:
"What house!?????"
------------------------------
"They're serious. What the hell..."
Their parents really were serious about buying a house for them the moment they signed the contract. It was a two-story Contemporary/Modern style that suits a simple family of 3-4, with practical design that still has 'chic' to it.
It looked like something both Wolfe and Leon would prefer, resembling the condos and eatates that had in America over the years.
Their parents really were watching over them even from thousands of miles away.
"Ah! That looks like a walk-in closet!" Wolfe ran immediately to a certain room as they went inside.
He opened it and immediately geeked out. "Shit, it really is a walk-in closet with a dressing studio too!"
Leon focused on scanning the area's security more. "The location is perfect, out of the radar but still not too far from civilization. It's secluded and the bodyguards are 1 kilometer apart to give the impression that they're not guarding us, making the kids believe that their dads were not mafia heirs for a short while."
"Remote control cabinets! Lights! Everything!" Wolfe immediately played around with it. "Wait, does it also have an Alexa?"
He rummaged through the manuals near the TV and found it. "Oh! It's a personal creation of the Fang family, Xiaolang!"
Leon nodded. "Pretty smart. I'm guessing all the cameras too devices are made by Fang too in order to avoid any snitches or bugging."
"Xiaolang, turn the first floor's lights on!" Wolfe ordered.
A robotic, masculine voice responded in Chinese. "Lights on."
And all of the lights on the first floor did turn on.
"Hahaha!" Wolfe chuckled in a child-like delight. "I never had a Chinese Alexa before!"
He rushed around the house finding more interesting spots, like this music studio with all kinds of instruments, the large pool with a kiddie version beside it, a private playground, and several bathrooms with jacuzzis.
Leon felt that living in a house this big and with the intention of staying with a family felt so wrong after living as a bachelor with an 'active' lifestyle. The rooms that affected him the most were the nursery room with all sorts of toys and the children's bedroom with a crib.
It was these things that really hit him like a slap of the truth.....
That he just signed papers that would soon turn him into a father.
And would he be up for it? He treated it nonchalantly in front of Wolfe Fang who couldn't care any less...
But deep down, the idea scares him, along with the responsibility and guilt that it would hold on him.
He's going to have children, and then leave said children once the money was secured.
The house felt more like a temporary dollhouse for their whole 'family' to play with until it comes apart.
"Hey, Leon. Is this really all the keys that they gave us?" He then heard Wolfe's voice from upstairs, breaking his reverie.
He went up and said. "Yeah, why?"
"I can't open any of the other bedrooms except this one." Wolfe frowned. "Can you call them and ask for the others?"
"There's no master key or anything like that?" Leon furrowed his brows.
"No. The number of keys really don't fit the number of rooms. There are like 5 bedrooms in total according to the house plan but they're all locked with no keys."
Leon called his parents about it, and they just chuckled.
"That's the childrens' rooms. We had three in case you had three kids." His father said
"But I thought the one near the nursery were the children's room." Leon frowned.
"Silly boy, those kids are going to grow up and not fit in the crib eventually. They'll be teenagers and need their own individual rooms. That will be their rooms when that happens, you two won't need to move out at all even as they grow older!"
"Hell, they can even have your grandkids stay when the time comes. That house has been secured to survive for 200 years, you can let your entire generation stay there."
Leon Mo and Wolfe Fang was so shocked.
These old people... have they already gone senile!? They already planned for 200 years of descendants!!!!!!
"Ba..... Ma..... Please don't be so unreasonable. Wolfe and I are just getting to know each other again after being out-of-touch for so long."
"Well, we were in touch but not that close." Wolfe corrected. "There still needs to be some adjustment period for you know... Our 'feelings'."
Both of them gave each other a look of disgust when he said that, but they gotta put up this act for the sake of 69 billion.
"Ah, right. You two are still getting rid of that denial, huh?" His father said understandingly. "Well, what better way to get rid of that and get even closer by sharing one roof AND one bed?"
"Ba, just give us the keys to the other rooms---"
"Enjoy your new house! We'll be planning for the wedding itself then the honeymoon next!"
And they hang up. Leon cursed, he knew they hang up on purpose.
"Maybe I could force the door open." Leon said. "If I break it, I'll just get repairs."
Wolfe sighed. "That won't do, they'll be even more suspicious of us. They haven't even seen us together that much despite agreeing to get married, they KNOW were doing this for money."
"Yeah, and hoping that by doing all this, we develop 'real feelings' for each other." Leon snorted. "It's all so messed up, I shouldn't have signed in on this."
"Well, 69 billion is 69 billion. There's still the couch. You sleep on it. You can also place your things in the walk-in closet." Wolfe said.
He took his luggage inside the room and about to close the door behind him.
Leon stopped him, grabbing on to his wrist. "I'm not taking the couch this is my house too. You sleep on it."
"And this is my house too, so what's your point?" Wolfe crossed his arms. "We'll just be temporarily staying here after all this fiasco is over. Just buy a mattress and set up your bed anywhere, this place is big enough for the both of us to not share a room."
Leon growled. "No. We alternate. If you don't agree with that, I'll take the bed permanently."
He entered the room and unpacked his things there, with Wolfe Fang clicking his tongue. "So who sleeps here first? What, we do rock-paper-scissors again?"
"Yes." Leon said, taking off his socks. "Loser sleeps on the couch."
Wolfe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and gets seen in the CCTV sleeping on it."
"So?"
"So our parents can just check in the footage and see that their married sons insist on not sleeping together. The only safe place besides this bedroom would be the bathrooms, everything else has cameras."
Leon had took of his pants, and then sighed.
"The other one sleeps on the floor, then. Easy."
He brought out his fist to start Rock-Paper-Scissors again, this time who takes 'top' bed and the 'bottom' bed edition.