chapter 17

Also, as I know a lot of people must be wondering: The ML comes into the story at Chapter 20, so hang tight, we’re nearly there!

Chapter 17: The Diamond

Li Xin clasped her hand around the enormous diamond she was holding; it belonged to some European royal family . She stood next to the window of her luxurious presidential suite, mindlessly running her fingers over the jewel .

“Long time no see, Li Xin,” came a steady male voice after a while .

She turned around to face the owner of the voice, an Afro-Asian man whose originally handsome face was dull with exhaustion . “Long time no see, Ya . “

His motorcycle had given him away . Li Xin had known the moment she saw the familiar vehicle that it was Mu Ya, one of the best male thieves in their organization . He was known for his calm, steady demeanor and impeccable skills . Jewels and diamonds were his specialty and he never failed . The two of them had also grown up together .

Ya glanced briefly at the diamond in Li Xin’s hands and then made his way over to the couch in the room, plopping himself down heavily . He poured himself a glass of wine . “Didn’t think I’d see you here,” he said . “I need your help . “

Li Xin joined him, sitting on the opposite side . She shifted the diamond between her fingers . “I’m not part of the organization anymore . Their business isn’t my business . “

“Li Xin, why lie to yourself? You know how important you are to them . Boss isn’t going to let you go . If you help me, ” Ya said, peering at her detachedly from the couch, “I’ll pretend I never saw you . Run, hide, do whatever you want . Whether you get caught or not won’t be my business . “

Li Xin was naturally aware of the fact that there was no way their boss would let such an easy money-making machine like her go just like that — not after the twenty years he had painstakingly spent making her into what she was .

That was the reason she rarely stayed long in any place after leaving them . Their network was huge, but she wouldn’t give them the opportunity to locate her . The world was immense, and by the time she’d drifted through it all, she’d have aged past her prime .

She just hadn’t expected to run into one of her old comrades so coincidentally .

“You’re such a hotshot, what kind of trouble would you run into?”

So she was going to help him then . Ya’s lips creased into a humorless smile . “I underestimated the European royals . They caught up to me nearly as soon as I took the jewel; I never got the chance to deliver it . I’ve circled pretty much half the globe, from Europe to here, and I still haven’t gotten rid of them . I need you to help me get them off my trail . “

Li Xin couldn’t help raising her eyebrows at him . It was rare for Ya to make such a serious blunder; just the fact that they were capable of following him all the way around the world was a surprise . She wasn’t sure who she ought to admire — Ya’s ability to evade capture, or his chasers’ ability to stay on his trail for so long .

Her stare made Ya feel humiliated . It shamed him that he was being chased all over the world and had been unable to return to headquarters . Instead, he was wandering around all over the place .

Li Xin watched as he collapsed sideways on the couch in embarrassment . In the ten plus years they’d worked together, she had never seen him blush . This was a novelty . She laughed and tossed the precious jewel over to him . “Have you looked at it?”

“It’s the real thing, 100 percent,” he said .

She rolled her eyes . “I know it’s genuine! If you stole counterfeit gems, you wouldn’t be in this business,” she said . “I meant, have you taken a good look at it?”

Her words prompted Ya to sit back up and inspect the diamond from multiple angles . “This side here seems to be less polished . “

Li Xin nodded . “When you look at it from a 120-degree angle, there’s a layer of jade powder on the surface . This kind of powder comes from a soft jade that has been preserved for a long time, so it possesses a unique scent that is imperceptible to humans . But it’s machine-detectable, and that would be the reason why you haven’t been able to get them off your trail . “

Her friend threw the diamond back at her . He was visibly seething and beyond humiliated at losing to something he’d never even heard of . “Help me out . Antiques are your specialty . “

She caught the stone neatly and laughing, began grinding the jewel against the tempered glass surface of the coffee table between them . Ya jumped up in shock . “You’ll ruin its surface!”

Li Xin smirked . “That’s your problem, not mine,” she replied . “All I’m doing is helping you get rid of your dedicated little entourage . ” After she finished, she threw the diamond back at him .

The jade powder was made using ancient methods and could therefore not be gotten rid of with modern ways . It couldn’t be pried off or melted, but it could certainly be eliminated using the most primitive method: grinding . Even the strongest powder cold be blotted out .

Ya stared at her in exasperation . “Well, a gem is still a gem, even if it’s been ground,” he finally said, furrowing his brows in defeat and holding the jewel to his chest .

Li Xin started laughing . He was right… even if the stone was broken in two pieces, it was still a coveted gem . Who cared? Besides, a bit of wear and tear was normal in such an old object; no one would deny its value regardless of whether the scrapes were man-made or natural .

“Let me crash here for a night,” Ya demanded, falling back on the nearest bed . “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in so long because of this . “

Li Xin raised her eyebrows at his lackadaisical manner . It seemed that just a mere few months away from the organization had made Ya blasé .

“Li Xin, why is your lock broken and your door open?” Jun Qi’s voice sounded from somewhere outside .

Li Xin glared at Ya, who shrugged helplessly . He couldn’t help it . As someone who barely had any trouble with professional standard safety locks, he found the average standard door lock extraordinarily boring . Although he could easily pick the lock, it wasn’t worth his time — so naturally, he just broke it instead .

His idiocy was entirely predictable and Li Xin was not unaware of it . Hearing Jun Qi’s footsteps come closer, she rolled her eyes at Ya .

Upon entering the room, Jun Qi’s eyes took in Li Xin on the couch before drifting immediately towards the attractive man nearby on the bed . He raised his eyebrows .

“Did you need something?” Li Xin asked . She picked up her wine glass and took a sip, savoring the rich, red liquid .

Jun Qi stood still for a moment, his glance still shifting between Li Xin and the mysterious young man . Finally, his face broke out into his trademark smile and he went over to sit next to Li Xin . He revealed a bag of takeout he’d been carrying, and said, “I promised to treat you . “

She peered down into the bag and started . It was the dish she’d wanted more of earlier that night, before they had been interrupted by Ya on his motorcycle . She felt slightly moved at Jun Qi’s dedication; he’d apparently gone back to retrieve their lost dish . She raised her head and looked at him in silence .

“You don’t need to be moved,” Jun Qi said with a smile . “That would make me proud . “

It occurred to Li Xin that he was completely ignoring Ya’s presence, as if the other man were air . She glanced towards her fellow thief, who appeared to be asleep on the bed . Ya was over six feet tall and had always had a particularly commanding presence — the fact that Jun Qi could completely pretend he didn’t exist was astounding . She couldn’t help thinking how great it would be if people would do that when they were being robbed .

*tn: 飞驼拉之星 is the original name of the diamond that Ya steals . I have no clue what esteemed European jewel this is (more than likely it doesn’t exist), and googling it just led to images of camels (presumably because 驼 is “camel”) so I decided to not name it and just refer to it ambiguously .