Others might not know about the Sihai Group, but Su Bingyan certainly did. It was the supreme leader of the national underground forces, a giant in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, with absolute authority domestically and a top-tier international power group. There were countless versions of legends about the Sihai Group, all of which were unreliable. However, one thing was undeniable: behind the Sihai Group was an incredibly powerful background that could disregard all obstacles.
However, as a girl, Su Bingyan wasn't interested in these things, just as she disliked the life of a gangster. Besides, it was best to avoid getting involved with a powerful organization like the Sihai Group; the girl had always been a smart and independent person.
...
After settling into a stable school life, the girl lived a rather carefree life. Apart from some troubles in her love life, everything else was fine. This trip to Europe was at the strong insistence of her good friend Chen Jiaxuan, because Chen Jiaxuan's family had some financial business in the United States and hoped to use this opportunity to cooperate with the powerful Sihai Group, since they were both Chinese companies.
Chen Jiaxuan also wanted to relax, and since her family was paying for it, she persuaded Su Bingyan to go out with her, ostensibly on a business trip abroad. Su Bingyan was feeling down, school was on holiday, and customers were fewer. Of the four beauties, only she and Chen Jiaxuan were left to keep things going. So they decided to take a break and go to the United States of America.
Before this, she and Chen Jiaxuan had already traveled around Europe. The trip to the United States was just the last destination. They also made contact with the Sihai Group very smoothly. After the two sides talked, the cooperation went unexpectedly smoothly, which made Chen Jiaxuan's family overjoyed. Being able to board a big business ship like the Sihai Group meant that the annual profits would increase by several levels.
Su Bingyan didn't actually know much about financial business. She just relied on her years of experience and shrewdness to negotiate with Sihai Group. To her surprise, the four senior executives of Sihai Group were so young and quite kind. After the cooperation was discussed, Xia Tian even specially and warmly invited the two of them to ride on Sihai Group's private luxury passenger plane.
Su Bingyan was a little embarrassed, but Chen Jiaxuan had already agreed without hesitation, saying that she had never flown on such a nice plane before and that today was truly an eye-opener. Her greedy and smug look made Su Bingyan wish she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Rather than saying Su Bingyan was interested in Sihai Group, it would be more accurate to say that she was more attracted to Li Lingling. This president's assistant, who was introverted and even taciturn in private, was somewhat similar to Su Bingyan in both temperament and personality. This made the two girls cautiously approach each other while maintaining a polite distance.
Li Lingling is clearly a frail girl, about the same age as herself, so how could she be so amazing? There must be some secret she doesn't know about... Just like she herself has her own secrets, Su Bingyan thought wistfully, and Ling Yun's image flashed through her mind again, the boy who showed a warm smile in the darkness, the young man who calmly tasted the Chanel coffee she had personally brewed in her coffee shop, unknowingly, had been deeply embedded in her heart.
Su Bingyan kept telling herself that her time with Ling Yun was too short, trying to forget him. But the more she tried to forget, the more she couldn't. That brief yet vivid memory was so firmly and stubbornly etched into the deepest and most sensitive part of her young heart. Whenever she thought of it, Bingyan's heart would soften and turn sad.
She kept telling herself not to get carried away. The girl wasn't weak; she wasn't one to waste her time on heartbreak and tears. She would hide away alone to quietly lick her wounds, then pretend nothing was wrong and go about her life. From childhood, having witnessed life and death and cruelty, Bingyan had always stubbornly resisted this unwanted love in her own unique way. But in the end, she couldn't hold on any longer.
Lingyun, where are you? Are you doing well? Bingyan thought silently, a hint of bitter resentment in her heart. I know you're not an ordinary person, I know you possess some kind of mysterious power unknown to the world, but do you still consider me your friend? What are you going to do? Could you please tell me, let me know you, don't make me worry about you? You left without a word. Do you know how much my heart misses you? Lingyun, you're so cruel, why do you torment me like this?
Seemingly sensing the silent cry from Su Bingyan's heart, Li Lingling suddenly raised her head again, her two clear eyes, filled with complex emotions, swept across Su Bingyan's face, and then she sighed softly, saying to Xia Tian, "Brother Xia Tian, let's end today's business here, I'm a little tired."
Xia Tian followed her gaze to Su Bingyan, then back to her, a mysterious smile spreading across her face: "Lingling, actually I've been tired of you talking about these official matters all the time. You're practically a workaholic, but I'm the boss. If you want to talk to me about work, I can't refuse. My head is about to explode. Sigh, Lingling, why don't you act like a normal girl, enjoying yourself and singing? Go on, chat with our business partners. They're all the same age, you should have more to talk about, especially that Su Bingyan. I think her eyes are very similar to yours. Maybe you both have an unforgettable figure in your hearts."
Li Lingling didn't move, but silently glanced at Su Bingyan, crossed her arms, and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought: "Brother Xia Tian, where do you think he is now, and what is he doing?"
Xia Tian chuckled wryly and spread her hands: "You're asking me? Who should I ask? That kid, he's always restless, who knows where he's run off to at this hour? Maybe if you look out the window, he'll be waving at you." As she spoke, she couldn't help but smile, her eyes darting around as if she were recalling some amusing things from the past.
Li Lingling couldn't help but smile, like a plum blossom blooming proudly in the snow: "Brother Xia Tian, tell me again about the first time you met him."
"Please spare me... Lingling." Xia Tian almost slid off the luxurious chair and sat on the floor. "I've told you this dozens of times, you can recite it by heart, why do I have to repeat it again? Lingling, can we change the subject? Let's not talk about him anymore, okay? Just mentioning Ling Yun's name makes me..."
He suddenly stopped talking, swallowing the word "annoyed" back down. It was because Boss Xia suddenly saw his female assistant glaring at him with murderous intent; that icy gaze could easily turn him into an ice sculpture. Boss Xia quickly realized he'd said the wrong thing and immediately shut his mouth, giving Li Lingling a bright smile: "I just wanted to tell you his story..."
The murderous glare instantly transformed into a gentle spring breeze, and her large, crescent-shaped eyes smiled, displaying her astonishing charm: "Brother Xia Tian, you're the best..." Li Lingling completely ignored the poignant lament in someone's heart.
"Shameless!" Chen Feng and Zhao Yu, two senior assistants of Sihai Group, cursed Xia Tian in their hearts. At the same time, they put on their headsets and stared at the LCD screen in front of their chairs with serious and focused expressions. The screen was showing "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf".
…………
"Lingling, Yunfeng sent me a text message from China a couple of days ago. He originally wanted to tell you directly, but he was afraid you would get too excited, so he asked me to pass it on." Xia Tian finally shook off the chill of the story of Sun Wukong fighting the White Bone Demon, and after thinking for a moment, he still whispered to Li Lingling.
“I know, Yunfeng ran into him in Hong Kong. It seems he was fighting with people from the Sky Eye Society. I’m very worried about him, but I know I can’t help him.” Lingling’s smile immediately faded as she spoke in a low voice.
"How did you know? Yunfeng only sent it to me," Xia Tian exclaimed in surprise.
"That careless guy sent a mass message to everyone on his contact list, and everyone's asking me what's going on," Chen Feng muttered through his headset, unable to hold back any longer.
"This kid is so careless. How can I entrust all the domestic business to him?" Xia Tian slammed his fist down, but his expression was nonchalant. Clearly, Zhang Yunfeng was highly trusted by him.
"Brother Xia Tian, do you think Ling Yun might be in danger? The Heavenly Eye Society is such a powerful force, and he is all alone. How can he fight against them?" Lingling obviously didn't hear what Xia Tian and Chen Feng were saying. Her mind was already on someone in the distance, and she said with great concern.
"How can you say you're all alone? Lingling, didn't Xia Zhen write to say last time that Ling Yun has already joined the Superpower Headquarters, and not just during his probationary period, but directly as a full-fledged superpower user? That's really enviable. With the Superpower Headquarters backing you up, what are you afraid of? Besides, I heard from Xia Zhen that Xia Lan and Chief Li have also rushed to Hong Kong to help them. With such a high-level expert as Chief Li around, there's nothing to worry about."
Xia Tian spoke with a mix of comfort and envy, her tone even tinged with anger, "Damn it, when I first met that kid, he didn't know any special abilities. He even needed Xia Zhen to give him the Azure Spirit Eye. Now he's climbed to the status of a formal ability user. In a couple of days, won't he outdo that little wench Xia Lan? Yes, good job! He should outdo Xia Lan and let that little wench taste what failure and falling behind is like, so my dad won't always use her to make fun of me."
"Not just shameless, truly shameless!" Chen Feng and Zhao Yu exchanged another glance, continuing to ignore Xia Tian's anger and focusing on watching "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf".
"Brother Xia Tian." Li Lingling seemed to have thought of something and asked hesitantly, "I heard that your sister, Xia Zhen, seems to like Ling Yun very much, is that right?"
"Uh..." Xia Tian was taken aback. He wasn't stupid. Although he hadn't had much contact with Xia Zhen, he could sense her deep affection for Ling Yun even from her words. But at this moment, he absolutely couldn't show his shrewdness, so he could only pretend to be confused. He shook his head and said, "I'm not sure about that. Xia Zhen and Ling Yun go to the same school. She's that kid's senior. They shouldn't have developed feelings for each other, right?"
Li Lingling bit her lip. She was incredibly clever and had already guessed the truth from just a few words. She thought to herself: Ling Yun, Ling Yun, how many more troubles do you want to cause?
"After this busy period, Brother Xia Tian, I want to ask for leave to go back to China. I want to go to the Superpower Headquarters for further study," Li Lingling said, her eyes flashing.
"Go to the Superpower Headquarters?" Xia Tian looked at Li Lingling with some surprise, but quickly understood what she meant. "Okay, I'll give you leave, but you'll be my assistant even if you go to the Superpower Headquarters. You must maintain work contact with me. I'll send you emails regularly."
"Thank you, Brother Xia Tian. I will do my job well, but before that, I must find him and have a good talk with him," Li Lingling said firmly, her big, bright eyes shining with determination.
Xia Tian secretly shook his head. He understood Li Lingling's infatuation with Ling Yun, but when it came to matters of the heart, even a superhuman was powerless, just like an ordinary person. There were many things to face in this world, and power alone could not solve everything.
The group was momentarily silent and bored when Su Bingyan and Chen Jiaxuan's voices clearly reached their ears again. In reality, Su Bingyan and Chen Jiaxuan were speaking very softly, but as ability users with exceptional hearing, they could hear Chen Jiaxuan's rather loud voice even without consciously trying.
"Bingyan, don't be upset. Let me tell you something funny. Just now, when I was looking at the scenery outside the porthole, before I could even blink, I saw a dark shadow whiz by. I didn't even see what it was. It was so fast! I thought it was an alien. It gave me a fright!" Chen Jiaxuan exaggeratedly patted her chest and laughed.
Chapter 395 Sharing the Same Misfortune
"Don't talk nonsense, Jiaxuan. The Boeing D7526 small passenger plane can fly to an altitude of 10,000 meters. No bird can fly that high. Are you seeing things? Or are you seeing a missile being tested by the U.S. Department of Air Defense?" Su Bingyan said calmly.
"I'm not lying to you, it's true." Chen Jiaxuan's eyes widened.
Su Bingyan just smiled in disbelief and ignored her. This girl loved to make a fuss and believed everything she heard. Su Bingyan was used to it.
Li Lingling and Xia Tian exchanged a glance, their expressions immediately turning serious. They stood up and sat down next to Chen Jiaxuan and Su Bingyan. Xia Tian looked at Chen Jiaxuan and asked, "Jiaxuan, you saw a dark shadow fly past the porthole? What did it look like? Can you describe it to us?"
Chen Jiaxuan and Su Bingyan were both a little surprised that the boss and assistant of Sihai Group would pay attention to such a question. However, their cooperation these past few days had been very pleasant, and they had gotten along well. Especially since they were all around the same age, they talked a lot. Although Xia Tian was a few years older, he was still a young man under thirty. His childlike nature made him seem like the youngest of the four, except for Chen Jiaxuan. Therefore, the two girls politely bowed slightly, making room for Li Lingling and Xia Tian to sit opposite them.
Chen Jiaxuan glanced smugly at Su Bingyan, as if to say, "You look down on me, but someone else is interested." Su Bingyan simply smiled and ignored the highly skilled young lady.
"I was just looking out the porthole. My eyesight is excellent, and my eyesight is incredibly fast. You might not believe it, but I can catch flies flying around in the air with chopsticks..." Chen Jiaxuan boasted proudly, expecting to hear exclamations of surprise. However, after a long pause, the other person's expression remained unchanged. Without any applause, Miss Chen's interest in the speech waned, and she reluctantly continued.
"Cough cough..." Upon hearing the word "fly," Su Bingyan coughed twice, reminding her friend not to mention these disgusting little insects in front of the distinguished guest. However, Chen Jiaxuan was good at everything, but she was always a step behind in understanding these hints.