"Baby, are you ready?"
Meixiu peeks at their bedroom door and sees Xiaohui combing her hair in front of her vanity table. The smaller woman's eyes met hers through the mirror.
Xiaohui smiles and nods, putting the comb on the table. She stands up while Meixiu waits for her.
The revelation yesterday was something unexpected, considering Meixiu doesn't look and act like she grew up in a mafia household.
Xiaowen didn't go home yesterday night, probably trying her best to beg the master of Zheng's forgiveness.
She doesn't want to go down with her daughter, and she'll do everything to stay afloat. Even if that means she'll be stepping on her own daughter.
"Don't be afraid, my love; I'm here beside you."
Meixiu whispered as Xiaohui walked past her. She closed the door of their bedroom before following Xiaohui out of their house.
The smaller woman looked outside, not seeing anything extraordinary until Meixiu held her shoulder.
She flinches in the process, causing Meixiu to widen her eyes and hold her arm.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?"
"No, I just got shocked."
Meixiu nodded before grabbing the woman's wrist and dragging her towards the ghost street in their neighborhood.
"Is this where they mostly pick you up?"
"Uh-huh, it's safe around here because there are no people around."
Meixiu said her eyes saw one of their trusted men, and the man quickly bowed down to show respect to Meixiu.
"RD, are you ready- Mrs. Song!"
The man bows down immediately, afraid to get fired by the Song Mafia Clan. Meixiu waves her hand, telling the man to stop the flattery because it makes Xiaohui uncomfortable.
Feeling how Xiaohui steps a little closer to her with the man's greeting probably causes her to be uncomfortable.
He was quick to grab what the successor wanted him to do; he nodded and opened the door on the backside of the car.
"He's one of our men; we call him Branco."
"That's like codenames, right?"
"Yes, we still want a private life, so we have codenames."
Meixiu guided Xiaohui towards the car as Branco kept the door open. She looks at Branco once Xiaohui steps inside and smiles at him.
"Don't tell the others."
Branco nodded, watching Meixiu sit down beside Xiaohui before he gently closed the door to not scare the young mistress.
"This is one of my father's cars."
Meixiu spoke, grabbing the attention of Xiaohui, whose eyes were looking around the luxurious interior of the car.
"This is also one of his favorites."
"The interior is... nice."
Xiaohui spoke; her head couldn't think straight. The interior probably cost more than her salary.
'This must be expensive.'
On the way to the Song Villa, Xiaohui saw how they passed by multiple billion-yuan mansions in the neighborhood.
Yet, it seems as though they are going nowhere. They've reached the other entrance of the neighborhood.
The Song Villa stands in a double-gated community. With luxurious amenities as well as wealthy people, you can communicate well.
Xiaohui felt the car turn to the left; her eyes were now on a field with tall trees as if they'd entered the forest or deserted area.
"Are you sure this is the right way?"
Xiaohui suddenly felt uncomfortable; clearly, she was nervous and scared to death.
Meixiu found her reaction hilarious, yet she was worried about what her wife would say about her.
She doesn't mean to scare her or to make her uncomfortable, yet she doesn't want to lie anymore.
She held Xiaohui's hands and ran her thumb across the woman's back as silence engulfed the heavy atmosphere Xiaohui's feeling.
"Branco, don't scare my wife."
The buff man giggles in the process before turning to the left, where a beautiful garden welcomes their eyesight.
"This is the front yard of the villa."
"That gate we just went in—that wasn't another gate for the community?"
Xiaohui thought all was wrong as Meixiu smiled and nodded her head. Once you enter the gate, you are welcomed by a green field that seems to go on forever.
She couldn't see any other building or establishment but the desert-like forest on the left.
A lot of questions folded Xiaohui's mind.
How much money did they accumulate in how many years?
Do they still do illegal stuff?
What kind of illegal stuff did they do?
But she felt too little to even ask her successor or her wife about this. Meixiu might be the loving partner she didn't know she had.
Meixiu might be the patient partner she has, but she knew that if she messed something up, she'd end up being dust.
"I know you have a lot of questions in mind."
Meixiu faced Xiaohui, causing her wife to look at her in the process.
"I'm Song Meixiu, the successor of the Song Clan that's been made by Song Changpu, also known as Gunner."
From afar, the Song Villa can be seen with its majestic modern castle-like style. Xiaohui saw the villa from afar; she couldn't help but be in awe.
-
"Welcome, Ms. and Mrs. Song!"
Xiaohui's heart beats inside her chest; her ears could hear the beating silence around the big villa.
She felt Meixiu's gentle hands around her back; her eyes glanced towards the taller woman, which she reciprocated with a smile.
A couple of footsteps echoed throughout the mansion. Meixiu's eyes looked towards the second floor and saw Weimin and Mingzhu.
"Meixiu!"
Weimin waves his hand while Mingzhu shakes her head. He was quick to run down the stairs as his smile slowly straightened.
"Sister Xiaohui!"
He bows down as Mingzhu stands beside him, bowing down and smiling towards the couple.
"Welcome to the Song Villa, Sister Xiaohui."
"Hey, give her some energy."
Weimin said, nudging the younger woman beside him. He smiles widely before stepping aside, inviting her inside.
"Meixiu, Mr. Gunner will get mad at you if you don't invite her inside."
Mingzhu shakes her head as they stay in the foyer. The younger woman guided the four of them into the living room.
"Sister Xiaohui, sit down comfortably; this is your home."
She said with a smile as she bowed down before walking towards the kitchen to prepare refreshments for them.
Weimin takes the seat in front of Xiaohui and looks at Meixiu, who's sitting beside her wife while admiring the smaller woman.
"Meixiu, stop with your heart-filled eyes; it's disgusting."
The said woman glares at Weimin before she throws a pillow towards the young man.
Xiaohui watches the two interact; her eyes can't understand how these two grew up in a mafia household.
Meixiu explains that the two people—Weimin and Mingzhu, whom she met back in the bank robbery—are also two people who grew up in a mafia household.
They look innocent, especially Mingzhu because she's a beautiful woman. Speaking of the younger, she went into the formal living room to give the refreshments.
"Lemonade made by yours truly."
"Liar."
Mingzhu glares and slaps Weimin's shoulder, causing the guy to winch in pain.
"Goddamn, that hurts!"
"Now, it's clear they did grow up in a mafia household."
Xiaohui has kept quiet since they came to the Song Villa; her smile brightens the whole mansion as she giggles at the banter between the two.
Meixiu smiles as Xiaohui starts to warm up around the two important people in her life. Her hand quickly went towards Xiaohui's left hand as she drank the lemonade.
"Do we still need to introduce ourselves?"
"Obviously, Sister Xiaohui needs to learn about us."
Mingzhu answered Weimin's dumb question with a sass. The guy scoffs at her before clearing his throat to introduce himself again.