Amuro Tooru sped to the hotel and, with the front desk's help, quickly located the room Jiangxia had been in.
He took the elevator up, carefully pushed open the door—
—and was immediately struck by how different the scene inside was from what he'd imagined.
Jiangxia was gone.
Instead, Vermouth was slumped by the bed, clothes rumpled, one hand tangled in a towel and handcuffed to the headboard. She was on the phone, her expression casual, like this sort of thing happened all the time.
The chaos made Amuro's eyes flash with subtle interest.
For a second, he even considered rushing forward to karate-chop her into submission and deliver a 'one-stop service' straight to the Public Security Bureau.
But Vermouth, spotting him, only gave a faint sneer into the phone:
"Relax. I didn't do anything to him. Maybe ask him what he did."
…
Amuro glanced at her phone screen—yep, it was an actual call, not her mumbling to herself out of spite.
Disappointed, he shelved his arrest fantasy.
Still, he thought with some frustration—if Jiangxia had just cuffed both her hands, this menace could've starved in peace. Or at the very least, he should've confiscated her phone.
Such a missed opportunity.
Amuro clicked his tongue inwardly. Truly a pity.
Vermouth hung up the call and looked at him, a little wary.
Something about Bourbon's expression just now had felt… not quite friendly. Possibly even threatening.
But she reminded herself: according to the intel she'd dug up recently, Ouzo was now working under Bourbon's wing. And Bourbon, the legendary lone wolf, had finally managed to rope in a half-decent subordinate—only to have her snatch him away mid-mission.
No wonder he was grumpy.
Vermouth lowered her phone, casually tugging at the towel Jiangxia had tied in an endless series of cursed dead knots.
"You're late," she said flatly. "He just left a little while ago."
Amuro gave her a once-over and chuckled. "Yeah. I can tell."
Vermouth: "…"
…
Elsewhere, in the stairwell of the same floor, Jiangxia leaned against the wall.
He could sense the bloodlust through the concrete—ah, that satisfying swirl of mutual hostility. Beautiful.
If only this moment could last forever.
Sadly, the conversation fizzled quickly.
Amuro asked a few questions. Vermouth gave her usual half-truths. Then he left, not even bothering to uncuff her.
Typical.
Once the elevator descended, Jiangxia slipped down the stairs and exited the building.
…
He took a slightly winding route, slipping through an alley before making his way toward the subway.
Just as he was strolling along a street, the sharp roar of an engine echoed behind him.
The car screeched to a halt beside him—Amuro Tooru's Mazda.
Amuro glanced over from the window. Jiangxia looked perfectly fine. The man gave a nod of relief.
Under normal circumstances, Jiangxia would've opened the door and hopped in. Then the two of them would speed away before the traffic police had time to lecture them.
But Jiangxia just stood there.
First, he looked at the car. Then at Amuro.
There was a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
Amuro froze for a moment, then got it—ah.
Right. Once bitten, twice shy.
Vermouth's cosplay trauma had clearly left a lasting scar. Now Jiangxia treated every acquaintance like a potential shikigami wearing a human suit.
With a sigh, Amuro tugged at his own face to show there was no disguise underneath.
"Get in," he said patiently. "The traffic police are coming."
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 23/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:3/10*