Airport
Taking advantage of the holiday, Qiao Ying intended to fulfill her earlier promise to Qiao Yi-to take him out travelling.
She had originally intended for it to be just the two of them, but Qin Hanyue was very eager to come along, so the original pair became four people going together. Since work kept Qin Hanyue very busy, wherever he went out of course Qin Yan had to accompany him, so he naturally became the extra person.
While waiting for the flight, Qin Hanyue had his arm around Qiao Ying's shoulder and was murmuring with her very closely. The more introverted Qiao Yi and the less outgoing Qin Yan awkwardly kept silent.
"Time to go through security," said Qin Hanyue, taking Qiao Ying by the hand to get up.
"Wait, there's still one more person," Qiao Ying said.
"Who else?" Qin Hanyue wondered curiously, when Huo Chengdong arrived before his voice did. "Sis Ying! I'm here, I'm here!" shouted Huo Chengdong.
Dragging a suitcase behind him, Huo Chengdong waved with one hand while running over. With his long limbs and stylishly flashy outfit that he had clearly put a lot of thought into, he really was quite eye-catching.
Qin Hanyue had to ask Qiao Ying, "Him?"
Qiao Ying glanced back at him. She said, "I called him to keep Yi company." But her eyes said, Still because of you.
With Qin Hanyue along, Qiao Yi felt this trip would probably be even less relaxing for him than staying home and studying.
Knowing that his presence made Qiao Yi ill at ease, Qin Hanyue could only mutely close his mouth. In his heart he felt wronged and helpless. He had already shown Qiao Yi an amiability and smiles, as well as concern, that he had never shown the younger generation of his own family.
But he also knew he couldn't blame Qiao Yi, because probably no matter where he showed up, aside from with Qiao Ying and his own parents, his presence would make the other person constrained, let alone Qiao Yi.
With Huo Chengdong there to look after Qiao Yi, his sister wouldn't need to pay special attention to him, so Qin Hanyue could just focus on Qiao Ying.
Thinking this way, this Huo Chengdong really was useful after all.
Qin Hanyue said, "Wise thinking."
Sure enough, as soon as Qiao Yi caught sight of Huo Chengdong, his whole demeanor changed. He had never felt so nostalgic for and happy to see Huo Chengdong's enthusiasm and cheerfulness before; he even stepped forward a couple more steps.
Huo Chengdong rushed over like a gust of wind, tugging on the strap of the backpack over his shoulder. "Sis Ying, I'm here! I didn't come late, did I?"
Qiao Ying said, "So much luggage."
Huo Chengdong said, "Not that much."
As he answered, his gaze moved to glance at Qin Hanyue. He seemed to be thinking whether or not he should greet him. Exchanging a mutual look with Qin Hanyue, in the end Huo Chengdong wasn't able to call out that form of address. He just awkwardly explained, "Sis Ying called me to come. She said it was a group trip."
He hadn't wrecked their world for two.
Before Qin Hanyue could say anything, Huo Chengdong immediately gestured toward Qiao Yi next. "I'll team up with little bro."
Then he went over to Qiao Yi. Throwing an arm over Qiao Yi's shoulder, he walked with him toward the security checkpoint, chatting all the while. "With just that little luggage? Didn't you say we're going for quite a few days? Do you have enough clothes? I brought a lot, all new stuff. If you don't have enough you can wear mine. Trust my taste - one look at what I'm wearing now will tell you. Way better taste than Qin Hanyue's work outfit over there."
If they had been even just a tiny bit farther away from Qiao Yi's ear, he probably wouldn't have heard that last sentence clearly at all.
Qiao Yi said, "My sister said not to bring too many clothes. We can shop as we tour."
Huo Chengdong said, "How come I didn't think of that?"
Qin Hanyue had booked them all first class seats. As soon as the plane took off, Huo Chengdong was already full of anticipation. "Sis Ying, where's our first stop gonna be?"
Qiao Ying said, "M Continent."
Huo Chengdong doubted his ears had misheard. "Huh? Where?" His overreaction gave Qiao Yi a fright.
Qiao Ying repeated herself.
Hearing it was indeed M Continent, Huo Chengdong was a bit stunned. On reflex he shot an uneasy look at the dangerous man Qin Hanyue, then leaned forward to quietly ask Qiao Ying in a cautious tone, "You sure this is for touring?"
His eyes darted toward Qin Hanyue.
Not to go commit crimes? Or get victimized?
Qin Yan thought to himself: Just hearing the name scares him silly already? If he knew Third Master is the overlord of M Continent - no, now Miss Qiao has taken over and become boss, if he knew Miss Qiao was the big boss of M Continent's underworld, and once took on all the top bosses of the mercenary groups there by herself, he'd probably be scared to death.
What's more, Mr. Huo, you've got it backwards. The truly dangerous one is the person you're asking, not Third Master. His family's Third Master is at most just someone who sweeps up and disposes of corpses. Compared to Miss Qiao, Third Master has a good ways to go in being ruthless.
Qiao Yi puzzledly cut in to ask, "What kind of place is M Continent? Is it really dangerous?" M Continent? He'd never heard of this place before!
Qiao Ying said, "No big deal, just going to pick someone up."
Huo Chengdong asked, "Who?"
Qiao Ying said, "Sack."
Huo Chengdong reacted even more strongly, flabbergasted. "Sack is at M Continent? Wh-why's he there? Isn't that super dangerous!"
Qiao Yi also looked to Qiao Ying. "Sack, he..."
Qiao Ying resignedly explained, "He lives there."
Huo Chengdong raised his voice even louder. "He lives there!?"
Qiao Ying closed her eyes briefly, her ears hurt. "Quiet."
Huo Chengdong promptly shut his mouth. Shooting another look at Qin Hanyue, Huo Chengdong directly shrunk his head back down.
Qiao Yi asked, "What kind of place is M Continent? Is it really that dangerous?"
Huo Chengdong said, "How's it just dangerous? Let me tell you..."
M Continent-
Bai Xiao had arrived nice and early to wait for Qiao Ying at God's Army headquarters.
When Qiao Ying got there, not seeing Sack around, she asked, "Where's the person?"
Bai Xiao said, "Don't know when he slipped away. I guess he found out Boss Qiao was coming, so he hid."
Qiao Ying said, "This brat, his skills haven't improved but his attitude and arrogance get bigger and bigger. Making me go find him personally!"
Qiao Yi said, "Sis, I'll come with you."
Without even turning her head, Qiao Ying said, "No need, you go rest."
Qiao Yi said, "Sis..."
Qin Hanyue reassured him, "Don't worry, she'll find him and come right back. Nothing will happen to her."
Qiao Yi said, "But, this place is so dangerous."
On the drive over here earlier, the people on the sides of the roads were all holding weapons in their hands, just like in TV shows. And their styles of dress, plus the variety of skin colors - their gazes were like knives, even more dangerous than the weapons on their bodies.
Qiao Yi now completely believed that the bullets Sack had been casually tossing around in his hands, and the knife he kept tucked away on himself, were all real.
Yet Huo Chengdong, who had freaked Qiao Yi out with scare stories the whole trip over, now acted like he didn't have a care in the world. Phone in hand as he snapped pictures left and right, mouth blabbering nonstop, he looked for all the world like some country bumpkin who'd never seen the world.
Slinking to hide behind Bademan's back, he used English to ask Bademan, "Hey man, that thing on your waist, is it...the real deal?"
Bademan directly took the Uzi off his waist and generously handed it to Huo Chengdong, indicating for him to take a look and feel.
Huo Chengdong instantly put his phone away, excitedly taking the gun into both hands. "It's a real gun but it's so heavy!" Huo Chengdong hurriedly called Qiao Yi over. "Yi, come feel how heavy this is!"
Seeing how thrilled they were to examine the gun, Qin Hanyue asked the two, "Want me to take you around to see the sights?"
Qiao Yi's eyes faintly lit up. "We can?"
Huo Chengdong asked, "This is...Sis Ying's turf?"
He saw Bai Xiao here, and Bai Xiao plus Bademan were both calling Qiao Ying "Boss."
Qin Yan explained, "It used to be Third Master's. Now it belongs to Miss Qiao."
Huo Chengdong looked utterly worshipful and longing. "So awesome! What kind of place is this? Are all those people outside yours? What business do you operate here? But what business could you even do in a place like this? Those guys we saw on the way here, are they mercenaries? Do you guys fight wars here on the regular..."
The two peppered them with a bunch of questions, extremely curious about this place.
They didn't expect that just the first stop of the trip, only coming to pick someone up, they would end up in such an awesome hardcore place!
After the two plane rides, the two still seemed highly spirited, not a hint of tiredness at all. They eagerly followed along as Qin Hanyue gave them a tour of God's Army headquarters.
Huo Chengdong walked with phone held up, snapping pics the whole way. "Yo, what's that place up ahead? It's so big, a warehouse?"
No, what kind of warehouse would be so luxurious? But if it wasn't made to look so splendid, it also seemed not to match the rest of the place.
Huo Chengdong was pointing to a heavily guarded building up ahead.
"What's inside there..." Qin Yan looked to Qin Hanyue.
Huo Chengdong asked, "What's inside? We can't go take a look?"
Qin Hanyue answered: “Inside is the thing Qiao Ying likes the most.”
Huo Chengdong’s eyes suddenly widened: “The thing sister Qiao Ying likes the most?”
It must be a sports car!
He immediately thought of the garage that appeared in Qiao Ying's videos.
Seeing how curious the two were about the inside, Qin Hanyue led them forward: “Let’s go take a look.”
Huo Chengdong was already rubbing his hands in anticipation.
But when they went inside and took a look, they were stunned.
There were no sports cars. At first glance, the place was filled with rows of black combat helicopters and armored vehicles with special markings, as well as neatly arranged machine guns, extremely pleasing to the eye. There were countless guns and ammunition.
What shocked Huo Chengdong was that there were even tanks and cannons.
Neither of them had seen such a spectacular scene before. Huo Young Master was still fine, but the impact on Qiao Yi was overwhelming.
The two stood dumbfounded at the door, having forgotten to go inside, nor daring to.
It was Qin Hanyue who called them inside...
Bai Xiao was still worried that Qiao Ying would not be able to find Sack, and even if she did, Sack would probably still be unwilling to open his heart. But Qiao Ying had returned shortly after leaving, bringing Sack back with her. It seemed like nothing had happened. The next day, Sack packed up and left with the group to travel.
Bademan: “What’s Sack’s situation?”
Bai Xiao: “It must be because of the boss.”
On the plane,
Huo Chengdong was too excited last night and didn’t fall asleep until late. Now he wasn’t sleepy at all: “Sister Qiao Ying, I like this place. Let’s stay at our first stop, I haven’t finished looking around yet.”
Qiao Ying glanced at him and asked Qin Hanyue: “What did you show them?”
The quick-tongued Huo Chengdong interrupted: “Young Master Qin took us to see cannons, tanks, armored vehicles. That machine gun must weigh over 400 pounds. My brother and I tried to lift it together but could barely manage. That sniper rifle was so damn cool. I wonder if I could try shooting it? Sister Qiao Ying, do you know how to shoot guns? You must know how. Young Master Qin, I mean, Master Qin the Third, said those were your favorite things. You’ve kept it so hidden, sister Qiao Ying! Last night I dreamed of nothing but cannons...”
Seeing Huo Chengdong rattling on, Qiao Ying felt somewhat embarrassed and turned to stare at Qin Hanyue instead.
Qin Hanyue, who was being stared at, said mildly: “Just taking a look does no harm.”
Qiao Ying: “It does no harm, just a bit noisy.”
Qin Hanyue politely interrupted Huo Chengdong: “Young Master Huo, I think your brother was calling you.”
Huo Chengdong immediately turned his head: “Huh? Why was my brother calling me?” But Qiao Yi and Sack were sitting together and not even looking in their direction at all.
Huo Chengdong went over, about to ask Qiao Yi, when he caught sight of a top-tier beauty on Sack’s phone screen.
Huo Chengdong cried out in astonishment: “Holy crap! Who’s this?”
Sack quickly turned off his phone, but Huo Chengdong still managed to get a decent look in that split second. With just one glance, Huo Chengdong's eyes went straight. He’d even thought of where to take her out already. In over twenty years, it was the first time he’d felt such heart-fluttering attraction.
Qin Hanyue glanced at Huo Chengdong, then said to Qiao Ying: “With him around, this trip won’t be boring.”
Huo Chengdong plopped down next to Sack, his thoughts of tanks and cannons now replaced: “Sack, who was that girl on your phone? She’s not a celebrity right? Your friend? Not your girlfriend, right? What’s her name? How old is she? Where’s she from? She looks Asian. Do you have her contact info?”
Qiao Yi, who was fiddling with his camera, looked over: “What girl?”
Huo Chengdong brushed him off: “You’re too young, you wouldn’t understand. Just look at your photos, keep playing.”
Sack ignored him, but his gaze turned to Qiao Ying.
Her words from yesterday echoed in his mind: “I once told Bai Xiao that I am your unnamed leader. I got blown up by my own bomb, then my soul was reborn.”
Sack pulled his thoughts back and turned to Qiao Yi: “What are you taking pictures of?”
Qiao Yi eagerly showed him the camera: “A real tank, not a model.”
Huo Chengdong pestered Sack the whole way, but didn’t manage to pry anything about the girl from Sack’s mouth.
He pestered all the way to the hotel. Sack couldn’t take it anymore and shut him up with one line: “She’s taken.”
Huo Chengdong was instantly heartbroken. Still unwilling to give up, he shamelessly asked: “When is she breaking up with her boyfriend? I don’t mind if she’s separated.”
The group of six embarked on a global journey.
They went to Antarctica to see the end of the world, the glacial lake in Iceland to see the Northern Lights, to feel the desolate dreariness after rain in Edinburgh and the beauty of the White Cliffs in England, the grandeur of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the tranquility of Norwegian villages, the romance of France, the coziness of Switzerland...
Standing on the deck of a labyrinthine cruise ship, blowing in the sea breeze...
Huo Chengdong ran to a building with distinct local characteristics: “Brother, help me take a picture here, make me look handsome.”
Qiao Yi clicked the shutter: “Done.”
After Qiao Yi finished taking pictures for Huo Chengdong, Sack naturally reached out to take the camera from him: “Come over, I’ll take one of you.”
Qiao Yi handed him the camera: “Okay.”
The two walked unhurriedly behind the others. Qiao Ying suddenly said to Qin Hanyue: “Why do you keep looking into my pocket?”
Qin Hanyue: “I want...to hold your hand.”
Qiao Ying gave him a deadpan look and took out her hand for him, mocking: “Keep up the pretense, why don’t you. Now...”
Qin Hanyue smiled and grasped her hand, putting it into his overcoat pocket, feigning ignorance: “Whatever do you mean?”
Qiao Ying was too lazy to retort.
Qin Hanyue smiled radiantly: “Miss Qiao seems quite opinionated about me, and I have yet to find a way to correct it.”
When Qiao Yi got his camera back from Sack, he saw that the two of them were already holding hands as they walked ahead. He turned the lens on the couple...
Huo Chengdong followed his lens and saw a blonde, blue-eyed little beauty flirtatiously putting her arm around Qiao Yi’s neck saying: “Like her? Bro can get you her contact info. How about it?”
Qiao Yi was baffled: “What?”
Huo Chengdong: “No need to be shy, never dated before right? First time, how about some foreign meat?”
Before Huo Chengdong could finish, Sack yanked him back by the collar.
For Qiao Yi, who had grown up in a small town and only ever gone to the capital, this trip was beyond anything he had ever dared to imagine before. He took earnest notes, wanting to remember everything.
As for Huo Chengdong, who had been all over the world with his mother since childhood, he couldn’t stop thinking about the M Continent after over a month of traveling.
No one was having more fun on a paid vacation than Qin Yan.
Qiao Ying had traveled most of these places alone in her early years, although not leisurely touring them like this time. She had walked too many roads and seen too much, so the scenic spots along the way did not impact her too greatly.
But with Qin Hanyue by her side now, things were still a bit different after all. She quite enjoyed his solicitude this whole trip.
The vacation was drawing to an end, with Italy as the next stop.
Qiao Ying had been to Italy multiple times before, even carrying out missions here. But she looked forward to this visit for a particular reason.
For her birthday, Qin Hanyue had gifted her a vineyard in Italy which she had yet to see. Checking it out was the main purpose of coming to Italy on this trip.
