Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 587 - 434. Is it for a hegemony or for the loved one (Part 2)
Huangfu Huazhang squinted as he looked over: "Are you saying you are the only person I can choose right now?"
He then gave a slight smile: "Your words just now aren’t wrong, but they’re not entirely absolute either. Even if it’s one against two, it seems disadvantageous, but if that one ’one’ is strong enough, what’s so scary about being one against two?"
He lifted his eyes to glance at Tang Yanqing: "Besides, all these years, I’ve always been one against two. I’ve never needed to ally with anyone, yet I managed to balance those two brothers for a full 15 years..."
At this point, he suddenly paused, squinting: "Wrong, it’s not 15 years, but 17 years now."
It’s just something I’ve gotten used to saying, forgetting these last 17 months.
But as soon as this thought arose, his brows knitted even tighter.
years, 17 months, these two numbers coincidentally coincide like this.
He couldn’t help but look up at Tang Yanqing. He’s known as "Young Master Yan Qi," and the fake name he used in China was also "Yan Qi"... He doesn’t believe in some mysterious divine will, and he didn’t want to think further.
He then lightly hummed as he lifted his chin: "I’m already used to being one against two. I enjoy this type of situation, not needing to rely on others."
Faced with rejection, Tang Yanqing remained unfazed: "Yes, for 17 years, eldest cousin has always been the victor, so I never thought that in the end, James would seize the opportunity to take away Jieyou."
So what if it seemingly looked like a victory for 17 years? In the end, aren’t you still being squeezed at your weakest point?
Reflecting on those past 17 years of strategy with this result, would it still appear as wins and losses as before?
Huangfu Huazhang’s heart constricted, needing deep breaths to calm the pain.
Tang Yanqing calmly sat back, like Tang Yanxi, instinctively lifting his leg, brushing off the dust from his trouser leg: "Actually, I could have stayed out of it. Wait until you go all out against George and James to rescue Jieyou, then your back will surely be open. I could seize the chance to take Shi Nian and be done, why waste time with you?"
"Moreover, after taking Shi Nian, I could make a surprise return, cut off your retreat, and objectively team up with George and James to wrap you up like a dumpling. Front and back assault, taking your life wouldn’t be difficult."
Huangfu Huazhang’s heart turned cold.
Tang Yanqing gazed at the lightly drifting dust in the air: "But I still gave up on doing that, I still came to see you. Eldest cousin, if you think being one against two is not frightening, you could also try one against three."
Huangfu Huazhang squinted: "Are you threatening me?"
Tang Yanqing spread his hands: "The situation is clear, there’s no longer any talk of threats. These are natural choices under duress, wouldn’t you say?"
Huangfu Huazhang lowered his eyelids, "But you are here now, I could take your life right now. One against three would never have a chance to appear."
Tang Yanqing smiled: "You could indeed do that, you might as well let me die here then." He looked toward the door with a smile: "After all, she’s here, I’d die willingly."
Huangfu Huazhang slammed the table and rose: "Don’t you dare become the second Shi Haoran in her heart!"
Tang Yanqing spread his hands: "As you wish. Anyway, my views are all laid out before you, it’s up to you to decide."
Upon hearing the slam of the table inside, Xia Zuo opened the door and cautiously asked: "Sir, any orders?"
Just one order from Sir, and Tang Yanqing would never return!
Huangfu Huazhang took a deep breath, then slowly sat back down, waving his hand: "It’s fine. Escort Mr. Tang out first."
"Dismissing guests?" Tang Yanqing raised an eyebrow at him.
Huangfu Huazhang forced himself to calm down, then lightly raised his eyes and met his gaze: "I need to think. You go back first, I’ll call you when I’ve decided."
Tang Yanqing nodded, then elegantly strode out.
Until Tang Yanqing walked out the door, Xia Zuo kept looking back at Sir. Just one order from Sir, and there was still time.
But in the end, Sir lowered his head, deep in his thoughts without giving any order. Xia Zuo could only sigh, close the door, and personally escorted Tang Yanqing out.
.
Once Tang Yanqing stepped out of the inn’s main entrance, Tang Yanxi left the jeep, swiftly stepping forward to protect him.
Tang Yanqing stood by the car, turning back to look at the inn’s windows.
Though heavily guarded, the outer walls of this building were equally riddled with holes. Amidst such walls, all those windows covered with curtains resembled lonely and desperate eyes.
He wondered which window Shi Nian was behind.
And whether she was also watching him.
Tang Yanxi, holding an AK47, cautiously guarded his brother, wary of shots from unknown directions.
What the brother was doing, how could he not know? He merely let out a hum: "Excluding shared areas like hallways and bathrooms, there are 47 guestroom windows in total. Did you guess correctly?"
Tang Yanqing glanced over once more, and his gaze fixed on the window in the center, a slight smile appearing on his face.
When people are in dire situations and want to protect someone, they instinctively place her in the center, arranging defenses around her. This subconscious psychological tendency might stem from the primitive hunting era, where the weakest in the team are always placed in the middle, or they form a circle to protect the most important person.
Indeed, though no one was visible, the curtain seemed to ripple gently, as if caressed by a breeze.
He decisively turned around and got into the jeep.
All encounters are reunions after long separations, and all brief partings are for longer companionships.
.
After sending Tang Yanqing off, Xia Zuo returned to the room to report back. Finally, he couldn’t help but say, "Sir, if you had been ruthless, he would now be a corpse."
Then, Mr. Xiang’s heart would be relieved, and there would be no need to scheme so painstakingly.
Huangfu Huazhang raised his head: "Banquet at Hongmen, do you know why Xiang Yu ultimately did not kill Liu Bang?"
Xia Zuo frowned: "I only know one phrase: don’t try to emulate a tyrant for fame!"
Huangfu Huazhang laughed: "Indeed, Xiang Yu courted fame and reputation, letting Liu Bang go, thus actually dooming his own empire."
"Then why is sir still doing this?!" Xia Zuo was anxious now.
Huangfu Huazhang laughed again: "Although Xiang Yu lost his empire because of this, it also fulfilled his timeless tale of parting with Yu Ji by the Wujiang River." He glanced at Xia Zuo: "Do you think Xiang Yu wanted to be just another emperor in history, or to forever be the man embracing his beloved woman, sharing life and death, celebrated by countless romantic poets?"
Xia Zuo felt his ears buzz and couldn’t help but shout, "Sir!"
But Huangfu Huazhang averted his gaze, his face returning to a calm state, devoid of joy or anger, and lightly waved his hand: "You may leave now, I wish to be alone for a moment."
.
Amidst the flaming clouds in the sky, Huangfu Huazhang silently walked into Shi Nian’s room.
She lay peacefully asleep, yet her brow was furrowed tightly.
Under her eyelids, her eyeballs moved rapidly, causing him to repeatedly frown.
As he reached the bedside, he intended to reach out and smooth her frown, but before his fingers could touch her, she suddenly sat up, glaring at him with wide eyes.
Her face was pale, and the strands of hair on her forehead were soaked with sweat.
He withdrew his hand gloomily and gazed at her: "What’s the matter?"
Seeing it was him, Shi Nian felt embarrassed and hurried to explain: "...It was a dream, a nightmare. It’s not that I’m afraid of you, sir."
Huangfu Huazhang sat down by the bedside and looked back at her: "What dream?"
Shi Nian bit her lip and slowly said: "I... dreamed of my dad. And the events of the past."
Huangfu Huazhang lowered his head.
Shi Nian said: "I never thought one day my daughter would also encounter the nightmares I faced back then, while I find myself in my father’s position." She reached out and grabbed Huangfu Huazhang’s arm: "Promise me, when you go to rescue Jieyou, take me with you!"
"It will be very dangerous." He straightforwardly told her: "And you have undergone no training, going might not help either."
Shi Nian gently bit her lip: "I know, and if I go, I might distract you, or you might even have to assign extra people to protect me. But I won’t be a burden to everyone, a mother’s intuition at critical moments might actually be very useful."
For some reason, as she spoke these words, she couldn’t help but think of her own mother.
In the dream just now, it was again about the events of the past, yet unlike before where it was always intertwined with the companionship of that person in the darkness, it directly jumped to the final stage, to that suffocating calm before the major battle broke out.
She seemed to hear her mother’s call in the boundless endless darkness, and in the next second, she actually walked out of the room that trapped her, and then stepped into a narrow dark corridor that seemed endless.
Was it auditory hallucination in the dream?
Huangfu Huazhang stared into Shi Nian’s eyes: "If I refuse, would you still find a way to follow?"
Shi Nian nodded resolutely: "That’s right, even if you leave me behind, I will use all my strength to escape. Then find a way to follow."
As she spoke, her eyes turned red: "I’ve missed my daughter’s growing years, I don’t want her to be in danger without seeing mommy coming to rescue her. I want her to see me at first glance, knowing mommy will always be by her side."
Huangfu Huazhang was also moved.
Once, when he himself was still a child, he fervently hoped his own mother would be like this. No matter how tough or difficult, if she could have been there to accompany him through those long, lonely years, instead of fleeing into illness herself, then perhaps he would not harbor such hatred for this world, for those people.
