A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 20

Afterword

As I write this afterword, I find myself remembering what I was going through when I wrote this story.

In 2012, I happened to be working on a project concerning the Asia-Pacific market. Because the project required in-depth collaboration, I gradually came to know more about the Philippines and Vietnam as well. The project lasted for more than a year. I had been to those places, and because of work, I also seriously researched their history and customs. The more I learned, the more I wanted to share it with people, and so it all found its way into this book.

So I think that as long as I do not stop continuing to get to know this world, I probably will never stop being curious.

Maybe it's because I'm an Aquarius. Curiosity is the source of my creativity, which is why the 一生一世 (Yisheng Yishi) series came into existence. So far, the series consists of three books, with three different angles from which to tell three different stories. And in this strange series, I always like to touch upon things from Buddhist scriptures. Interestingly, when you read enough Buddhist scriptures, you discover that they are more like books of philosophy. For example, the origin of the phrase “昙花一现” (“a fleeting appearance, like the night-blooming cereus”), and the line, “无挂碍故，无有恐怖，远离一切颠倒梦想苦恼” (“because the mind is free of hindrances, there is no fear, and one is freed from all inverted delusions, dreams, suffering, and afflictions”).

This story began with its very first character appearing on June 24, 2012. Counting it up, it has been more than four years now. I am very glad that after all this time, I could still write a new extra chapter. I have always stubbornly believed that writing is a matter of one's state of mind and of timing. Having written so many books, when I look back through them, I can usually come to a conclusion about myself: if I were to write this subject today, I probably wouldn't write it this well. That's why I am someone who is very afraid of writing extra chapters. Once a story ends, I turn the page on it. If I write more, I'm afraid it will lose its flavor.

Nan Huai may be a special kind of existence. In this story, he has a complete personal history, yet his story itself is a blank. So this new extra chapter captures, from the perspective of an observer, one ordinary night in Nan Huai's life. To him, it is an utterly ordinary night, described in only a few words. Yet for that woman, it is a lifetime of emotional investment. And he does not know that somewhere, there is someone who loves him. Perhaps this is exactly who Nan Huai is. This is how he should be. At least, that is what I believe as of today.

Mo Bao Fei Bao

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m&m: apologies for all the errors xx see you in the next one

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 19

Extra 2: Nan Huai

He said, “Beibei, the reason families like ours came into existence in the first place was to protect our loved ones and our homeland. No matter the wars or poverty, no matter how dynasties rose and fell, we protected this land and the people who lived upon it.”

The man who said these words was named Nan Huai.

That year, Macau had not yet returned to China.

That night, Zhou Nannan had barely landed at the airport when her agency hurriedly took her to a party. She spent the entire ride making excuses to get out of it, wearing down her boss’s patience until, just before she got out of the car, he shoved two paper bags into her hands.

“Change into these later.”

Inside the paper bags were a bikini and a bathrobe. Zhou Nannan was startled.

“You know perfectly well what Dice Rong used to do, Nannan,” her boss explained in a low voice. “He’s from the underworld, with money and connections. Of everyone coming tonight, you’re the smallest fish. You’ll know once you go in. And it’s not just you. All the models invited tonight have to wear bikinis and bathrobes. It’s a pool party in the first place. Don’t overthink it.”

Of course she couldn’t overthink it. It wasn’t the first time she had shown up to support someone at a birthday dinner.

Fifty thousand for one night was their appearance fee for events like this.

On the flight back, Zhou Nannan had talked with a friend in Hong Kong about the handover, and they had both, without exception, ended up talking about these powerful men with backgrounds who moved in the underworld. Now, as she accepted the paper bags, she found herself more supportive of the handover than ever before. At least after that, something like a criminal underworld background would no longer be something people could openly flaunt.

Zhou Nannan changed into her swimsuit and bathrobe with Monika in the restroom before going out.

The poolside was already in full swing. The music blasting out from the center of the stage made her uncomfortable, the aftereffects of several days spent working overtime on magazine shoots finally catching up with her.

“I’m going to sit by the grass for a while,” she said quietly before leaving Monika behind. She walked to the grassy area at the southeast corner of the pool and sat down on an empty lounge chair.

She had barely settled in when two young men and women squeezed her out.

“You’re Zhou Nannan, right? Who are you?”

The girl recognized her.

Zhou Nannan smiled and nodded. “You two sit here. I’ll find somewhere else.”

As the other girl looked her swimsuit up and down, Zhou Nannan stood and moved to the other half of a lounge chair. It was called “half” because there was a man sitting on the other side, apparently also having stopped there for a temporary rest.

She had barely sat down again when tonight’s birthday boy, Dice Rong, appeared.

Amid the uproar, the DJ, egged on by Dice Rong’s loud shouting, turned the dance music even more intense. The drunken birthday boy grabbed Monika and began dancing with her at the edge of the dance floor. Zhou Nannan was immensely relieved to have avoided that scene. Her mood lifted considerably, and she smiled at the man beside her.

“Are you afraid of the handover?”

It was only when she looked over that she saw his face properly.

He didn’t look local. Not at all. His brows and eyes, and the corners of his mouth that seemed faintly turned upward even when he wasn’t speaking, should have made him handsome, yet something about him felt wrong to Zhou Nannan. She remembered seeing a movie about Vietnam, a humid, primitive film wrapped in modern civilization, and the feeling this man gave her was similar.

Even, the moment she saw him, Zhou Nannan no longer dared say another word.

Fear.

Yes, she was afraid of this man.

“A child who was adopted and raised by another family can finally return to his birth mother’s arms. Would you find that frightening?” The man did not smile out of politeness. He simply asked her a question in return.

Zhou Nannan argued, “That’s not what I meant.”

For no reason at all, she actually wanted to explain herself, to explain to this man that this was not what she meant...

Unfortunately, the man did not give her the chance. Or rather, tonight’s birthday boy did not give her the chance. Someone soon came over and took the man away. She did not see him again for the rest of the birthday party.

At two in the morning, Zhou Nannan changed into her workout clothes in the restroom on the second floor of the hotel and came out, only to find Dice Rong’s people waiting at the door.

“Boss Rong wants to see you.”

Zhou Nannan was only a small-time model, nowhere near important enough to keep this boss company. So the instant she heard those words, she was certain she had misheard.

“Monika hasn’t been with me since the party started...”

“Our boss wants to see you.” The man had lost his patience.

Zhou Nannan was practically half-carried by the arm into the elevator. Someone pressed the button for the twenty-ninth floor.

The VIP floor.

Inside the elevator, she imagined countless possibilities, never expecting to be taken into a VIP suite. Monika was sitting beside a card table, her face deathly pale as she looked at her.

“Your little friend here lost us three million. I asked her who she knew here, and she said she only knew you.” Dice Rong propped up his arm. “So, little girl, how are you planning to redeem her?”

Her mind gave a sudden buzz and exploded.

Three million. She couldn’t earn that much in her entire career as a model. Besides, what did this have to do with her? She and Monika weren’t even close. Their only connection was that they had signed with the same agency...

Zhou Nannan’s chest ached with oppression, her insides churning as everything she had once heard said about Dice Rong in the underworld came flooding back.

There was laughter. Someone said in Cantonese, “Dice Rong, you’re really interested in a little girl like this?”

Dice Rong laughed too. He tossed a stack of chips onto the table and gave her a suggestion.

“My people say you were the only one who spoke to Boss Nan tonight. How about this? When he gets here later, you accompany me and him while I discuss a business deal with him.”

“...That person?” Zhou Nannan’s voice was hoarse as she replied quietly, “The man from beside the pool?”

“Do you know who he is?”

Zhou Nannan shook her head.

“In a moment, you’re responsible for serving tea.”

The others exchanged glances. Someone pushed open the door and said quietly, “Boss Nan is here.”

The men who had been sitting so casually around the gambling table just moments ago rose one after another. Apart from Dice Rong, not a single one dared go forward to greet him. The man who had been by the pool earlier appeared soundlessly from behind the door, both hands in his trouser pockets. Under Dice Rong’s guidance, he walked toward the inner room. A hand behind her pushed Zhou Nannan at the waist.

“Know what’s good for you. Don’t screw this up.”

“If you do screw it up, you two women can forget about taking the elevator tonight. Just jump from the upper floor and pay back the three million.” Someone added.

Zhou Nannan moved her feet forward.

The gambling table in the inner room was far from where she stood, more than a hundred meters away, yet the instant he raised his head, Zhou Nannan had the feeling that he could clearly distinguish every move she made, even the cold sweat on her back and the rhythm of her heartbeat. This man could see it all.

The door behind her was closed from both sides.

A single gambling table, covered in green felt.

“This lady here, Boss Nan has seen tonight.” Dice Rong explained with a smile. “I heard Boss Nan has never liked meeting outsiders, so I found someone who has at least spoken with you before to serve tea and deal cards. Her name is Zhou Nannan.”

“Nannan? I have a younger sister. Her name is Beibei.” Nan Huai raised his eyelids slightly. Her “unique” name prompted a response because it reminded him of Nan Bei, far away in Moscow.

“Mr. Nan, at the pool just now, I didn’t mean that I was against the handover,” Zhou Nannan explained softly.

Dice Rong looked completely lost. “Ah... the handover. The handover is great, of course. Returning to the embrace of the motherland, then I’ll be able to have the same nationality as Boss Nan. We’ll all be one family.” He lightly pushed Zhou Nannan’s back. “This Boss Nan is from Yunnan, you know.”

The coldness in Dice Rong’s eyes warned his “dealing girl” not to say another word.

No one here needed her to speak. She only needed to deal the cards.

Zhou Nannan hurried to the table, opened two fresh decks of cards, held one in each hand, displayed them before the two men, then began shuffling, not very skillfully. Sweat uncontrollably broke out in her palms. At one point, she could barely hold on to the cards.

Nan Huai remained seated beside the gambling table, patiently waiting for his own cards, without looking at her again.

From this angle, across the strait was Zhuhai, with hardly any lights. And here was Macau, a place of intoxication and extravagance.

All night, Zhou Nannan kept wondering what kind of place Yunnan was, that it could produce a man like this. But she did not dare speak. She could only serve as a card-dealing machine. Gradually, as time passed, she realized that Dice Rong did not dare speak much with this man either. What this Macau casino tycoon, worth more than ten billion, was doing was actually giving away money.

Yes, constantly giving away money.

The chips gathered beside Nan Huai, piling higher and higher.

And the smile on Dice Rong’s face as he lost money became more and more delighted as his chips dwindled.

Before dawn, someone brought breakfast.

The dining table was filled with all kinds of Chinese dim sum. Nan Huai had no interest in tasting any of it, and no one else, from the inside out, dared pick up their chopsticks either. They endured it from a little after five until eleven.

Several of Zhou Nannan’s fingers had gone numb from dealing cards. The man who had won all night finally set down his cards.

Nan Huai raised his eyes and looked straight past Zhou Nannan’s back.

For a moment, she was dazed, thinking he was looking at her.

In fact, he wasn’t. She knew very well that this man had no interest in her whatsoever. He was only looking at the sun. Her back had long since been scorched nearly raw by the sun outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, but she did not dare sit down, nor did she dare ask for even half a mouthful of water. Dice Rong finally could not endure it any longer. He temporarily stood up, rubbing his aching waist, and smiled ingratiatingly at Nan Huai.

“Boss Nan really never loses a bet.”

“Aren’t you thirsty?” Nan Huai instead asked Zhou Nannan.

Zhou Nannan opened her mouth, her lips dry. “I saw that you were having a good time... I was afraid of disturbing your mood.”

Nan Huai tilted his head.

Zhou Nannan stood there blankly, unmoving.

“Boss Nan told you to go drink some water. What are you waiting for?” Dice Rong said with a laugh.

Only then did Zhou Nannan move her feet. She walked to the serving cart, picked up the orange juice from the stainless steel container, poured herself a large glass, and gulped down several mouthfuls. When she put down the glass, Nan Huai also stood up.

“That’s about enough, Mr. Rong.”

“Yes, yes. I really have taken up too much of your time, Boss Nan.”

Nan Huai nodded. “See you again if there’s a chance.”

“What do you mean, if there’s a chance? This year, I’ll definitely go to Yunnan to pay you a visit.” Dice Rong personally opened the door.

This was the first time she had met Nan Huai.

After Nan Huai left, Dice Rong terminated her contract with her agency on her behalf and signed her to his own company.

Her contract said she was a model, but she did not have to do anything. Every day, she simply accompanied Dice Rong to meet various bosses, becoming a dealing girl who knew how to read people’s expressions and serve tea. Dice Rong called her “little sister” whenever they were out. Occasionally, when they met certain special guests, he would introduce her by saying that this little sister had once dealt cards for Nan Huai and attended to him for the entire night. Every guest who heard her described that way would look at Zhou Nannan differently. Without exception, before leaving, they would give her some jewelry.

Most of the jewelry they sent her was jadeite. They said Nan Huai’s younger sister liked jadeite. He was impossible for outsiders to read, so they could only guess at his preferences through his younger sister, Nan Bei. Dice Rong’s lies were something she never dared expose. She simply dealt cards to all kinds of distinguished guests with all her heart, doing her duty to the best of her ability.

As time went by and she gradually became more familiar with him, Zhou Nannan was also able, when Dice Rong was in a good mood, to cautiously ask about Nan Huai.

About how, after his entire family was wiped out when he was still in his teens, he had disappeared for fifteen years, alone with his younger sister; about how he had endured and bided his time, disguising himself as a mute to infiltrate countries across Southeast Asia, taking the lives of his enemies one by one; about how he had sent his younger sister overseas, then established himself through sheer force, step by step, and restored the Nan family to its former glory; about how he had fallen out with the Cheng family in Moscow for his sister, and fallen out with the CIA... and how, despite all this, he had raised his sister’s daughter alone, with not a single woman ever by his side.

Several years later, everyone at the casino, Dice Rong’s men, and even Dice Rong’s first and second wives all became convinced that Zhou Nannan was the “third” woman Dice Rong kept at his side. And after spending more and more time with her, Dice Rong developed feelings for her as well.

One night, Dice Rong used his means to have his way with her. From then on, in Macau, Zhou Nannan became Dice Rong’s third wife.

As a woman with no background whatsoever, ever since she had encountered that man named Nan Huai, it could be said that she had risen to the heavens in a single step, becoming the envy of so many. Even the boss who had once forced her to wear a bikini to accompany wealthy men to parties now had to respectfully address her as Mrs. Rong when he saw her.

The following year, Dice Rong suddenly took her to the airport, saying that he was going to see off an important big shot.

She walked onto the tarmac and saw several tall men speaking deferentially to a man with his back turned to her. The hands of time suddenly dragged her back many years, to that night when she had worn a bikini and bathrobe, walked unwillingly to the pool, met him, and talked with him about the handover of Hong Kong and Macau...

And now, five years had passed in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

Nan Huai was still alone. He had not grown older, nor had he changed much.

She followed Dice Rong at his side. She was Dice Rong’s woman, submissive and taciturn, yet she looked directly at Nan Huai. Hong Kong had returned to China in 1997, and next year would be the day Macau returned as well...

She had waited eight years, and finally, she was going to see him once more. Yet she still dared not say anything. She was afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of being reprimanded, just as she had been that morning eight years ago, even breathing with care.

Nan Huai noticed her gaze. After letting his eyes linger on her briefly, he recognized the little dealing girl from eight years ago.

“The handover is coming. Are you afraid?”

Zhou Nannan shook her head slightly. “I’ve been waiting for this day all along. I believe Macau will be better after the handover.”

After the handover, I’ll be able to stand on the same land as you and become a person of the same country, she thought.

Nan Huai smiled unexpectedly and walked toward the waiting plane.

Zhou Nannan’s voice was almost trembling. Suppressing the enormous upheaval in her heart, she struggled to bid farewell to his retreating figure.

“Macau will always welcome you, Mr. Nan Huai.”

This was the second time, and the last time, she ever saw Nan Huai.

Yet for the rest of her life, there would always be a shadow in her heart, in Yunnan, China, in Wanding.

There are some people who will never belong to anyone.

When they appear in your life, that alone is already a miracle.

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m&m: nan huai the most enigmatic of them all...

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 18

Extra 1: Here with me

There is always something unreal about taking a train at night.

At Nan Bei's ears was the resounding rhythm of the train running along the tracks. Leaning against the wall of the carriage, she could feel the faint vibration. Rhythm, all of it following a regular rhythm. The sound and the sensation could both bring to mind so many fragments of the past.

“I remembered the first time I ever took a train.” She wrapped her arms around the quilt, her face resting against it as she looked at Cheng Muyang, who was sitting by the window. He was dressed in simple, neat casual clothes, white slippers on his feet, sitting there flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

Beside him was a pot of tea.

It was so much like a certain morning by Qiandao Lake, before he and she had begun.

“Very special?”

“Not really.” Nan Bei's voice lowered. “That train was especially run-down. Once I got on, I felt like my whole body was being jolted around. Back then, I didn't know why I had to take such an uncomfortable train, so I was always crying. Hey, don't laugh. You know how old I was then. It was the first time I'd ever suffered hardship. All I knew was how to cry.”

“And afterward?”

“Afterward? I remember I sat there all night. My older brother held me all night, quietly coaxing me. When it got light, the train stopped somewhere deserted. My brother put me down behind a dilapidated station building, found some rope and tied up my hands and feet, and stuffed something in my mouth. Then he found a few scraps of torn cloth and a mat and covered me with them. He left me tied up like that for the whole day.”

Cheng Muyang frowned as he looked at her.

She, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease, without the slightest discomfort at the memory.

“Back then, I hated Nan Huai to death. It was so hot during the day, terribly uncomfortable, and there were so many bugs. I just thought I hated my brother so much. I thought he wanted to get me killed.”

“And then?”

“And then there was no ‘then.’” Nan Bei let out a soft laugh and lay on her back on the bed. “He came back, took me away, and gave me food and water. Then he would find another place to tie me up like that, not let me move or make a sound, disappear for a few hours, sometimes a whole day and night, and then come back to take me away again. It wasn't until I grew up, stopped crying and making a fuss, and understood that he was trying to draw away the people who were hunting us that I stopped hating him.” She fell silent.

Only Nan Huai knew how fiercely she had hated him when she was little.

She had bitten his arm until it was covered in scars. She really had been too young then, too ignorant to understand.

“When was the first time you took a train, Cheng Muyang?”

“Fourteen.” He put down the newspaper, lay down beside her, and drew her into his arms. “That was when I first went to Southeast Asia. I never imagined there could be places that hot. There were mosquitoes and insects everywhere, and everyone was tanned nearly black. You know, in Moscow, there are beauties everywhere, with skin as white as snow.”

Nan Bei looked at him in surprise. “You've been to Southeast Asia?”

“Yes. And...” Cheng Muyang looked at her bright, black eyes and said, “I've been to Myanmar.”

“At fourteen?”

“At fourteen.”

“What did you go there for?” Fifteen years earlier, it had not been a peaceful place.

“To see a country whose people were completely devoted to Buddhism.”

Nan Bei gave a derisive laugh. “Our fates really are different. I was running for my life in Myanmar back then, while you went there to admire the scenery?”

“At first, yes. Later...” His voice curved, carrying a temptation that seemed to eat into the bones and blood. “Later, I encountered a disaster. I was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?”

“Shh, let me finish.”

He leaned close to her ear and said, “I was clever. I took the opportunity to persuade several Burmese girls to escape with me. Along the way, one after another, they were either captured or shot dead. Later, I was trapped with nowhere to go in a forest. There were gunshots all around me, and shouts I couldn't understand. I thought I was definitely going to die.”

Nan Bei held her breath as she listened, as though she could see it before her eyes.

“I prayed to Buddha. You know my family believes in Buddhism, so I did too, but Buddha never appeared. Later, I prayed to God. I told Him that if He was willing to reach out and save me, I would worship Him until the day I died, but it was useless.”

His fingers brushed her face. “Back then, I could feel that when the girl who had climbed into the tree was shot dead and fell down, some of her blood splattered here.” He touched the place on his face. “I didn't dare move. I lay there in the grass, utterly despairing.”

“And then?”

She breathed out softly.

“Later, I was rescued. First, someone fired from hiding and killed the four or five Burmese men in that group one by one.” Cheng Muyang's voice held a smile as he told her softly, “I saw a boy come walking out with a gun. He looked like he wasn't even as old as I was, and behind him followed a pretty little girl.”

Nan Bei's eyes suddenly widened.

“That girl said, ‘Gege, don't search anymore.’ I think she knew that if they found anyone, her brother wouldn't leave a single survivor behind. So that girl took pity on me.”

“Cheng Muyang...”

“Let me finish.” He interrupted her. “A person with faith is utterly sincere toward what they believe in. When I was at my most desperate, it wasn't Buddha, it wasn't God who appeared. It was that girl.”

She couldn't believe it.

During those years of disaster, she had encountered him.

Nan Bei wanted to sit up and question him carefully, but he had already restrained her with his arm. “Don't rush to ask questions. Let's do something proper first.”

“You little hooligan,” she murmured, but her heart was pounding violently.

“Hooligan?” He laughed. “I'm a very virtuous person, you know. I'll recite the Heart Sutra for you. ‘Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva , when practicing the profound Prajnaparamita...’”

Entangled with him, Nan Bei began to laugh. She slipped out from beneath him, trying to escape, but unfortunately she was no match for him, and he forcibly dragged her back.

After all that struggling, the Heart Sutra in his mouth never once stopped.

Word after word, like words of love.

Only when the tip of his tongue teased open her lips and tongue did he have no more thought for any of it.

Because the Bodhisattva relies on Prajnaparamita, the mind is free of hindrances. Because the mind is free of hindrances, there is no fear, and one is freed from all inverted delusions, dreams, suffering, and afflictions, ultimately attaining Nirvana.

Ultimately entering Nirvana?

When had his heart ever been without attachment? This mortal world itself was an inverted dream.

He could no longer remember the words that came next.

Before his eyes, there was only that pair of pitch-black eyes.

For her, he was willing.

A lifetime of attachment, at the cost of the holy life.

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 17

Epilogue

The time difference between Saudi Arabia and Belgium is slight.

When they arrived in Belgium, Baobao was just getting ready to eat lunch.

Outside the living room, she was sitting there.

She was wearing a tailored cashmere dress, a tiny hair clip, and had clear, pure eyes, porcelain-white skin, and soft black hair curling just below her ears. She looked exactly like a beautiful cloth doll. When Nan Bei quietly walked over, she was sitting upright and proper, her head lowered as she flipped through a picture book. After a while, her eyes finally left the book and she looked solemnly at the clock.

Nan Bei followed her gaze.

She could guess that in Baobao's little head, she must be thinking about lunchtime.

For some reason, the child had inherited someone's good genes and was especially sensitive to time. Before doing anything, she had to check the time, arranging her little life in an orderly fashion.

Watching Baobao like this, Nan Bei could not help finding it amusing.

Cheng Muyang had already walked over ahead of her. Nan Bei did not have time to stop him before he was standing in front of Baobao, gently lowering himself into a crouch.

Baobao was a little afraid, but she did not move away.

She looked at Cheng Muyang's face, slowly taking in each of his features. When she finally reached his eyes, she seemed to understand something, and her eyes curved into a smile.

“Little Daddy.”

Cheng Muyang gave a quiet “Mm,” smiling as well. Even the curve of his lips was exactly like Baobao's.

Baobao smiled softly. “Is Little Daddy's illness better?”

A little timidly, she reached out her hand, trying to touch Cheng Muyang's forehead. Whenever Mommy was sick, she would touch Mommy's forehead like this, gently and slowly, and then Mommy's illness would soon get better.

Cheng Muyang took her little hand and placed it against his own forehead.

“It's better.”

His voice was unexpectedly gentle.

Baobao gave a little “Mm” too.

Watching the two of them, Nan Bei's heart melted completely.

After a while, Baobao finally remembered something, and her eyes suddenly reddened. Perhaps because she was not familiar with Cheng Muyang, she still did not dare ask him directly. Cheng Muyang noticed that something was wrong with her and asked gently, “What's wrong, Baobao?”

“Little Daddy's illness is better.”

“Mm.”

“Then, can you give Mommy back to Baobao?”

Cheng Muyang was speechless, unable to keep from laughing.

Nan Bei's heart ached at the sound of it. She quietly walked over, wrapped her arms around Baobao's little body from behind, and rubbed her face against her as she said, “Mommy's back.”

This time, Baobao was truly stunned. After standing frozen for a full three or four seconds, she suddenly burst into tears with a loud wail. All the composure and good behavior she had shown just moments ago disappeared. She plunged into Nan Bei's arms and refused to come out again.

If her politeness toward Cheng Muyang just now had been the courtesy she showed a guest, then seeing Nan Bei now, seeing the mother who had accompanied her day and night from the time she was little, Baobao was truly seeing the person dearest to her. From loud sobs to quiet sniffles, she kept her face buried against Nan Bei's chest.

Cheng Muyang wanted to reach out and hold Baobao, but Nan Bei hurriedly shushed him, silently mouthing, Don't move her now.

“Don't cry anymore, baby. Daddy is coming back.” Nan Bei gently coaxed her. “Did you forget what Daddy said? Daddy said that if Baobao cries for more than five minutes, she can't take her afternoon nap with Mommy.”

What kind of strange disciplinary method was that?

Cheng Muyang raised an eyebrow when he heard it.

Unexpectedly, Baobao was very obedient. At the thought of Nan Huai, she really did stop crying, though her nose was still thick with tears as she whispered, “Baobao misses Mommy.”

Nan Bei gave a quiet “Mm.” “Mommy misses Baobao too.”

Baobao lifted her head and looked at Nan Bei, reaching out a little hand to touch her face.

“Baobao is very obedient. I think about Mommy for seven hours every day.”

Nan Bei laughed at that.

Baobao frowned and hurriedly told her, “It's true.”

“Mm, it's true.”

As Nan Bei coaxed Baobao back and forth like this, Cheng Muyang remained half-crouched, watching Nan Bei and the child in her arms. He did not say anything more.

He had once imagined that this child would look very much like Nan Bei, but he had never expected her to look this much like her. Apart from the color of her eyes, which was the same as his, all her other features were exactly like Nan Bei's.

There was absolutely no way to put this feeling into words.

He finally understood, too, why Nan Huai loved Baobao so dearly.

After Nan Bei became the nuclear scientist's double, Bodongha was the one who found him first. Along with handing the nuclear scientist over to him, he also put Nan Huai on a connected call with him. Nan Huai was someone he had met once when they were young, yet he had never imagined that after so many years, Nan Bei's disappearance once again would bring him to speak with him over the phone.

“Tell me your plans in Saudi Arabia.” Nan Huai's voice held no emotion.

Cheng Muyang did not think much of it. In just a few words, he told Nan Huai everything he had arranged.

“I think the difficulty with this matter lies in your identity.” Unexpectedly, Nan Huai had seen this point as well. “I can help you leave Saudi Arabia safely as a VIP. An old friend of mine is currently the largest individual investor in the United States. He holds stakes in all the major corporations, so he is also very eager to make relations between the two countries more strained.”

“And then personally repair the relationship? Win even greater favor with the American people?”

At last, a trace of pleasure entered Nan Huai's voice. “That's right.”

Cheng Muyang naturally knew whom he was talking about.

The same person who had invited Bodongha and Nan Bei. The richest man in Saudi Arabia.

Indeed, it was a mutually beneficial partnership, and Cheng Muyang had no reason to refuse. After readily agreeing, he quickly came to an understanding with Nan Huai on the method, time, and location of the operation. To his surprise, they hit it off immediately. He discovered that he and Nan Huai had many things in common, such as having clear objectives and being extremely demanding when it came to execution.

“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Huai told him that day, before hanging up, “it's fortunate that it's you. If it were someone else, I would definitely have him die silently in Saudi Arabia.”

Cheng Muyang smiled. “Why should it be an exception just because it's me?”

“Because Beibei risks herself for you every time.”

Nan Huai's unspoken meaning was perfectly clear. Nan Bei was willing to risk even her life for Cheng Muyang, so he could only compromise.

Only after wiping Baobao's eyes and hands with a warm towel did Nan Bei ask her, “Where's Daddy?”

Cheng Muyang still found the word extremely strange when he heard it. He shook his head with a smile, pretending he had not heard.

“Daddy?” Baobao thought for a moment, then softly told Nan Bei, “Daddy said Little Daddy is coming over as a guest today. He said he doesn't like Little Daddy, so he's not at home today.”

Nan Bei was caught between laughter and tears and nodded. “Did Daddy say anything else to Baobao before he left?”

Baobao continued thinking for a while before saying softly, “Nothing else.”

Nan Bei thought that her big brother really was angry. But it did not matter. He would never truly be angry with her.

While Cheng Muyang accompanied Baobao at lunch, she had already become very close to him. This was the power of blood ties, a power that no distance or passage of time could ever dilute.

Nan Bei watched as Cheng Muyang dried his hands, personally peeled a shrimp for Baobao, then broke it into pieces and placed them into her mouth one by one. Baobao simply watched him obediently, waiting until his hand reached her lips before opening her mouth slightly and eating.

He smiled, and Baobao's eyes curved into a smile as well.

And both of them were the sort of people who did not talk while eating.

Just watching them like this, Nan Bei felt that being able to keep Baobao safe in the Philippines and give birth to her back then must have been the greatest blessing Buddha had ever bestowed upon her.

After lunch, Baobao only clung to Nan Bei for a little while before obediently climbing into bed and falling asleep.

Only then did Cheng Muyang finally move closer to her. He gently wrapped his arms around her from behind and lowered his voice. “Did I do well?”

“Very well,” she answered softly. “Very, very well.”

“Is there a reward?”

She laughed. “What reward do you want?”

“I don't know yet. I'll stay for now, and we'll talk about it later.”

“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Bei said, caught between laughter and tears, “don't you think you're especially insatiable?”

Cheng Muyang smiled and shook his head. “I wouldn't call it insatiable. In fact, there isn't much I'm greedy for. Having just you is enough.”

“Could you try putting Baobao before me?”

“I really like Baobao,” Cheng Muyang said quietly, “but I'm afraid I won't be able to take her with me, so I have to prepare myself mentally in advance, so I won't be too disappointed.”

“Why?”

Cheng Muyang looked at her and said two words.

“Nan Huai.”

“She won't,” she said, not quite believing him. “My brother isn't that heartless.”

“He isn't heartless. He just loves you all too much.” Instead, Cheng Muyang explained Nan Huai's position for him. “You, I will definitely take with me. As for the rest, we'll leave it to fate. I think since Baobao was fated to call him Daddy, he'll always treat her differently.”

Belgium was where she and Cheng Muyang had first met.

She had many memories of him, and they were always connected to winter.

And now, it happened to be winter here. In the depths of night, the temperature only hovered around zero degrees Celsius at its lowest. Although there was rain and snow, most of it was sticky drizzle and light snow that melted as soon as it touched the ground.

On the day they were preparing to leave, Nan Bei tried to contact Nan Huai, but she could never get through.

This was the first time her big brother had ever been like this. Holding the phone, she thought for a while and roughly guessed that he truly could not bear to part with her and Baobao. In fact, for most of all those years, she and Nan Huai had been apart. But those were only separations in physical space. In their hearts, they had always depended on each other for survival, sharing hardship and standing together through adversity.

And now, it was no longer simply a matter of her and her brother sharing hardship together. She had Cheng Muyang, and she had Baobao too.

Nan Bei brought over a little down jacket and put it on Baobao, who was standing on her small bed, then put a thick down hat on her as well. Such a tiny face was buried in the hat and collar, with only a pair of eyes fixed on Nan Bei. When Nan Bei picked up the gloves, Baobao finally could not hold back and softly asked her, “Mommy, are we going to find Daddy?”

Nan Bei was a little surprised. She smiled and asked her, “Why do we need to find Daddy? Baobao misses Daddy?”

Baobao thought for a while and said, “Daddy is angry.”

Nan Bei was already feeling uneasy, and Baobao's childish voice made her nose sting with emotion. She thought of so many things from her own childhood, those days and nights when they had never left each other's side. She even felt that she was being cruel. Not only was she going to Moscow herself, she was also taking away the Baobao her big brother loved most.

“Mommy?” Baobao looked at her in confusion. “We're not going anymore?”

She did not know how to explain it, but she was afraid that Baobao would look forward to seeing Nan Huai, only to become truly disappointed and hurt once they left here and arrived in Moscow. So no matter what, she still had to tell her the truth as gently as possible.

“Baobao will go with Mommy. From now on, you'll live with Little Daddy, okay?”

Baobao did not understand. “Will Daddy go too?”

“Daddy will come see Baobao often, and Mommy will often take Baobao to see Daddy too.”

Baobao was even more confused, and even a little anxious. She took hold of two of Nan Bei's fingers and asked her in a wounded voice, “Mommy doesn't want Daddy anymore?”

Nan Bei shook her head. She was truly about to cry from what Baobao had said. “Mommy isn't saying she doesn't want Daddy. It's just that Mommy has to be with Little Daddy, and Daddy will also have a... Little Mommy in the future.”

What a tangled web of relationships. It was the first time Nan Bei realized that there was simply no way to explain it clearly.

Especially when Baobao was still so young.

Baobao gave an “Oh.”

After a while, she sat down on the little bed and took off her white down hat with both hands. As though she had made a very difficult decision, she started crying before she could even say anything, tears dropping one after another.

Nan Bei was startled. She touched her face and was about to pull her into her arms, but Baobao hugged her own hat and, for the first time, did not let her hold her.

“Mommy wants Little Daddy,” she said between sobs, sounding aggrieved. “Baobao wants Daddy.”

Her expression was truly wounded, yet she was very firm.

Nan Bei did not know what to say. She could only try to coax her. “Baobao, did you forget? Little Daddy loves Baobao very much too. Baobao called him Daddy before too.”

Baobao pressed her lips together, her eyes full of tears. “Baobao wants Daddy.”

No matter what Nan Bei said, she would not say anything else.

Nan Bei was astonished by her stubbornness. Really, the one who should have been with Baobao day in and day out was her, her mother. Although Nan Huai's relationship with Baobao was incredibly close, he had spent very little time by her side...

Baobao repeated it through her tears many times. Huddled in the corner of the bed, she eventually fell asleep, both hands still clutching the hat tightly, as though she thought that as long as she did not put the hat back on, she would not have to leave this place.

Nan Bei did not dare force her, and she too could not stop her tears.

In the end, it was Cheng Muyang who came in. He had Baobao lie down on the bed and covered her with a small cotton quilt. When he saw that Baobao was clutching the little down hat tightly, he did not take it from her. Instead, he led Nan Bei out of Baobao's room.

“Beibei, don't force her. Let Baobao stay for now,” he said. “Perhaps she really has chosen your brother. If Baobao regrets it, we can bring her to Moscow soon enough.”

Nan Bei knew he was right, but she could not bear to part with Baobao either.

The two of them stood by the floor-to-ceiling window for a long time. In the end, Cheng Muyang finally persuaded her to give Baobao a chance to choose. Nan Bei truly could not bear to leave Baobao, but thinking that she was only leaving her with her brother temporarily gave her some peace of mind. Just as Cheng Muyang had said, as long as they wanted to see her, they could do so anytime, anywhere.

The two of them left Belgium. Instead of flying directly to Moscow, they went to Beijing and transferred to a train from Beijing to Moscow.

They were in an especially private carriage.

Apart from the people Cheng Muyang had arranged, there were no other passengers.

Sunlight came in through the glass and fell onto the floor. The train was traveling westward across the Siberian continent, with thousands of miles between stations. There were only vast stretches of forest and grassland, scenery utterly unlike anything that could be seen in Wanding.

Nan Bei was softly coaxing Baobao and had no mind to look out the window.

“My brother took Baobao back to Yunnan.” Nan Bei hung up Nan Huai's call and looked at Cheng Muyang somewhat nervously.

She had thought Cheng Muyang was planning to surprise her, which was why he had suddenly changed their itinerary.

Perhaps Baobao would suddenly appear on this train. Instead, there was nothing at all. Even more astonishing than joyful, the news was that Nan Huai had actually taken Baobao away from Belgium and returned to Yunnan.

Cheng Muyang was not surprised. He gave a quiet “Mm.” “He told me that he was going to take Baobao away for three years.”

His hand moved down Nan Bei's back, sliding to her leg, gently stroking it.

“You're willing to let her go?” Nan Bei could not shake the feeling that there was something strange about this.

He shook his head. “No.”

“Then why did you agree to him?”

“He's your brother.”

“But Baobao is your daughter.”

“You're his younger sister,” Cheng Muyang said. “I took his sister away from him, and Baobao likes him more than she likes me, even more than she likes you, her mother.”

He was stating a fact, yet Nan Bei remained puzzled. What exactly were these two men playing at?

She cautiously asked him, “My brother agreed to help you just because he wanted to take Baobao away?”

“Not the main reason. Just an additional condition.”

“What was the main reason?”

Cheng Muyang smiled. His voice lowered, but instead of answering her question, he said, “Beibei, didn't you notice that the scenery along this route is very beautiful?”

Nan Bei glanced out the window and heard him continue, “This railway from Beijing to Moscow has thousands of miles between stations, with nothing but vast stretches of forest and grassland. It's perfect for quietly reading, or doing some of the things you like to do.”

“It really is beautiful,” she replied casually.

“Most importantly, the entire journey happens to be six days and six nights.”

She finally understood what he meant.

So this man really did remember what he had promised her in Saudi Arabia.

Cheng Muyang smiled without saying anything. He picked up the intercom and instructed someone to bring dinner.

Soon, a Moscow girl came in carrying strong liquor and delicious food.

Nan Bei only glanced at her casually when the girl set down the tray, but she was somewhat stunned.

It was Katyusha, her roommate when she had studied in Belgium, that Moscow girl she had not seen in many years.

Katyusha only grinned at her, then quickly said something respectfully to Cheng Muyang in Russian before leaving the room.

Nan Bei was even more puzzled and turned back to look at Cheng Muyang.

It seemed she really needed a very reasonable explanation. Had Belgium, and her meeting Cheng Muyang there, all been deliberately arranged by him?

“She works for you?”

“No.” Cheng Muyang put an arm around her waist and gently smoothed her long hair. “She works for the Security Service.”

Nan Bei dodged his hand, but she could not escape the sudden look in his eyes, as though he were looking at something he had waited far too long for.

A look like that made it very easy for her to give in.

“I'll ask you about this later.” Her voice unconsciously lowered. “Tell me, what was the main reason my brother agreed to help you?”

Cheng Muyang quietly looked at her. After a while, he suddenly smiled.

“I told him a story. A story about something I experienced when I was fourteen.”

As he spoke, his kisses had already fallen upon her body.

“When I was fourteen, I went to Ruili Wanding and saw you. You were very young then. When you smiled, the corners of your eyes lifted slightly. You were incredibly beautiful.”

She looked at him in astonishment. Cheng Muyang smiled.

“Surprised? From the first time I saw you, there was nothing else in here.” He pointed to his temple. “Nothing else could exist.”

They still had a long time ahead of them, and he was in no hurry.

It was such a long story. He needed to tell it to her slowly.

How he, Cheng Muyang, had owed her a life.

And how, insatiably, he had wanted a lifetime with her.

✦

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 16.3

Chapter Sixteen: A Desperate Counterattack (3)

Nan Bei’s black robe was caught by the wind and billowed into the air. She looked up and could see the shadows of four or five helicopters circling in the night sky. Ladders were lowered from the helicopters.

Saudi police? Or something else?

She could not make out the people standing on the ladders.

It was not until one of them jumped down and walked toward her through the massive whirlwind and deafening noise that Nan Bei finally recognized him as Bodongha. Clearly, during the short time she had been gone, Bodongha had already become part of Cheng Muyang’s plan.

“The Crown Prince was extremely shocked to hear that so many American agents had appeared in Saudi Arabia,” Bodongha said with a smile. “At the same time, he was very concerned for the safety of his distinguished guest, you.”

Bodongha saw Nan Bei and inclined his head in greeting.

“I’m fine,” Cheng Muyang said with a laugh over the high-decibel noise. “Just a little shaken up.”

Bodongha understood immediately. “I’ll make sure to relay those exact words to them.”

“Thank you.”

Chaotic beams of light kept sweeping over Cheng Muyang’s body and face. The intense light made his skin look even paler. His hair had been blown into disarray by the whirlwind stirred up by the helicopters, mixed with drifting sand.

Nan Bei merely pursed her lips, signaling for him to explain himself later.

The only people who could have gotten Bodongha to intervene were Nan Huai and her. So, clearly, Nan Huai had helped him.

Although they were ultimately family now, she did not believe Nan Huai could have given in so easily. In the end, he had used his relationship with Saudi Arabia to help Cheng Muyang, turning black into white and white into black.

At this moment, dozens of police cars and military vehicles were already driving toward them from the edge of the desert. Cheng Muyang handed his gun to Bodongha, who understood immediately and passed the weapon that had taken a life to the person in charge.

From the moment Cheng Muyang handed over the gun, the “facts” had already been decided:

The entire incident was very simple. This distinguished Saudi guest of theirs had suddenly been attacked by American agents while watching a camel race. Fortunately, the Crown Prince, wise and formidable, had received intelligence in advance and arrived in time to save him.

And from beginning to end, this distinguished guest of theirs had known absolutely nothing about the nuclear scientists.

In the end, Cheng Muyang boarded the helicopter with Nan Bei and his people, leaving the dunes behind. Looking down from the sky, Nan Bei saw that the area below was already illuminated as brightly as day by the vehicle headlights. A huge number of armed forces had surrounded the place as though facing a formidable enemy. What those people did not know was that the few CIA agents at the bottom of the valley had already been crushed by Cheng Muyang, their confidence shattered, their guns abandoned as they surrendered.

Nan Bei stared at the ground growing farther and farther away, becoming more and more impressed by the man beside her.

“What are you thinking about?” He rested his chin on her shoulder.

She smiled. “I was thinking about how you twisted right and wrong and completely blurred black and white.”

He smiled without saying anything.

Nan Bei continued, “These people will definitely be prosecuted for espionage. And this will certainly strain relations between the United States and the Middle East. Moscow is going to have to thank you even more this time.”

Cheng Muyang gave a soft “Mm.” “They owe me another one.”

“The CIA is so pitiful,” Nan Bei sighed. “They went to all that trouble to turn the nuclear scientist, only for you to turn around and hand him over to Russia. Now they have not only lost the scientist, they also have to swallow their anger and accept espionage charges.”

He gave another quiet “Mm.”

After a while, he asked her, “Want a drink?”

“No.”

“Just one sip.”

“I’ll get drunk. Whatever you drink is practically pure alcohol.”

“You won’t.” He smiled.

“What if I do get drunk?”

“I’ll take you home.”

It was a completely incongruous answer, yet it was precisely the answer Cheng Muyang had intended to give. They were very close. She even felt that if either of them said one more word, their lips would touch. There was still a promise in those eyes, as well as a kind of seduction.

She could not help laughing.

This was clearly what he had said when they had first met, when he had tried to seduce her on the highway. From his gaze to his tone, there was that same deeply disorienting ambiguity. Thinking of this, she could not resist teasing him. “Tell me the truth. Back then, did you already want to get me drunk?”

He smiled. “Yes.”

Nan Bei raised an eyebrow. He really was a scoundrel.

Cheng Muyang said quietly, “If I had gotten you drunk back then, there wouldn’t be the Cheng Muyang there is now. But no matter what, our ending would have been the same.”

What an enticing confession.

Nan Bei had intended to keep asking, to make him tell her exactly what reason could have made her brother relent and, at this final moment, lend him a hand, making the entire affair even more flawless. Unfortunately, before she could say anything, Ning Hao beside them suddenly handed over a headset, signaling for Cheng Muyang to take the call.

It looked like something had happened in Moscow.

She reined in her curiosity. There was still plenty of time. She could ask him later.

On the very day they left Saudi Arabia, the media had already broken the news that American agents had been captured while conducting an operation in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the operation and what exactly it involved remained unknown. On the plane, Nan Bei saw a special report on a Middle Eastern television channel. At first, she was extremely surprised and could not understand how anyone could have learned of the news so quickly.

But very soon, she figured it out.

This must have been what Cheng Muyang arranged during that phone call with Moscow on the helicopter.

After this extremely brief yet highly effective trip to Saudi Arabia, she was thoroughly convinced by Cheng Muyang’s ability to orchestrate everything from behind the scenes, as well as his understanding of international politics.

She could imagine that everything would develop according to Cheng Muyang’s predictions. At the very beginning, Cheng Muyang had only intended to join forces with Moscow, using the nuclear scientist as leverage to pressure the United States into acknowledging his identity as a charitable businessman. But Nan Huai’s final assistance had brought the Middle East into Cheng Muyang’s camp as well.

In the days to come, these countries would renegotiate some of their interests with one another.

Cheng Muyang believed, and Nan Bei believed the same, that in modern society, any war, defection, separatist movement, or espionage and assassination activity existed only to serve economic interests. Economic interests stood above everything else. That was the core of the struggle.

So it was only a matter of time.

Everything would be quietly resolved at another round table.

In this world, the total area of land and ocean was approximately 510 million square kilometers. And there had always been another underground world as well. Perhaps the rules of survival there were different, but in every corner of that world, there were forces engaged in schemes and struggles against one another for the people living on their own patch of land.

Just as Nan Huai had said: Beibei, the reason families like ours came into existence in the first place was to protect our loved ones and our homeland. No matter the wars or poverty, no matter how dynasties rose and fell, we protected this land and the people who lived upon it.

And Cheng Muyang had said something similar before.

Nan Bei thought that the reason she had first fallen for Cheng Muyang was because she had seen the real him, the Cheng Muyang who belonged to the same world as she did. She was very glad that she had met him.

✦

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 16.2

Chapter Sixteen: A Desperate Counterattack (2)

“Cheng Muyang,” she protested softly, “could you give me some warning next time?”

“Give you some warning?” He laughed. “It would affect your mood for having fun. Not worth it.”

Good reason.

It seemed he always had a reason, whether it was sound logic or twisted logic.

By now, dusk was approaching. The setting sun was like blood, and the desert was like blood.

The weathered sandstone hills were drawing closer.

Those hills, eroded by wind and sand over a hundred years, stood in the distance in all kinds of strange shapes. No matter what they looked like in the daytime, late at night, under the moonlight, they would all take on the outlines of pagoda-like silhouettes. She remembered being drawn to a sight like this when she had first arrived in Saudi Arabia. Cheng Muyang had mentioned those pagoda silhouettes under the moonlight, too.

Sunset lasted only an instant.

By the time they abandoned the camels and entered through a natural fissure in the mountains, night had already fallen.

Cheng Muyang was very familiar with the terrain here. At each of the several forks in the path, he made his choice without hesitation. In such a vast expanse of dunes, it was extremely easy to get lost. Before long, the six or seven CIA agents following behind them had disappeared without a trace.

In the end, Cheng Muyang emerged completely from the maze-like Yin-Yang Mountains. After circling around a massive dune, he unexpectedly saw two or three clusters of campfires, with people who had been waiting there for some time sitting beside them.

There were tents already set up, too.

Oman and Kyle were speaking in low voices. When they saw the two of them appear, Kyle finally looked up with a grin and said in strangely accented Chinese, “Happy Valentine’s Day, you two.”

Cheng Muyang ignored him and walked over.

Everyone sitting beside the campfires immediately stood up and silently watched him.

Cheng Muyang leaned forward and carefully inspected the meat roasting over the fire, then casually sprinkled some powdered seasoning over it.

“Our original plan was to have someone disguise themselves as the two of you and lure the CIA people here,” Kyle said with a smile, looking at Nan Bei. “Unfortunately, today is Valentine’s Day, and Cheng insisted on celebrating with you.”

Nan Bei smiled.

Cheng Muyang’s kind of romance was not something an ordinary person could handle.

For example, however big a surprise he could give you, that much danger would be waiting behind it. Fortunately, he was Cheng Muyang.

Ning Hao, who was beside Oman, had been using a computer to monitor the CIA agents inside that stretch of hills the entire time. Red dots representing human body heat kept moving across the screen. Sometimes, when several of those red dots clustered together, they could even hear the sound of a small-scale gunfight from nearby. It seemed Cheng Muyang had not only arranged this maze, but had also arranged countless obstacles.

Soon, the dense gunfire disappeared.

Cheng Muyang pulled a short knife from behind him, cut off the best piece of meat, then walked over to Nan Bei and squatted down to feed it to her.

Nan Bei bit off half the piece and chewed it lightly twice.

“Is it good?” he asked.

“The meat is good,” she said with a smile. “It’s delicious.”

Cheng Muyang smiled and ate the rest of the meat. He told Oman that he wanted to take a hot shower, and that everything would proceed according to the original plan, beginning in an hour. They had to resolve everything before seven tomorrow morning.

After giving his instructions, he took Nan Bei into a small tent.

There was already a shower set up, along with fresh water for washing.

“Water here is more expensive than oil, Boss Cheng. You’re really extravagant.” Under the running water, Nan Bei washed her hair, rinsing away all the fine sand caught in the roots. Large patches of white foam covered her hair, and she narrowed her eyes.

Through the sensation of touch, she felt his hand helping wipe away the foam that was difficult to rinse from behind her ears and along her chin.

Then it slid down along her neck and grasped her breast.

“Pervert.” She could not open her eyes, and only muttered the playful insult with a laugh.

“Not a pervert,” he teased. “A bandit.”

That was what she had mocked him with that afternoon. She had not expected him to remember it so clearly.

She pursed her lips into a smile without saying anything.

Cheng Muyang pressed himself against her body and washed her, cleaning her meticulously from her hair to the rest of her body. “I’m a little curious why Zhousheng Chen would help you.”

Nan Bei thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Maybe it was just a favor. Or maybe it was because his younger brother really likes me. But either reason feels pretty weak.”

In the mist, Cheng Muyang’s eyes held a beautiful sheen.

Only at this moment, he was genuinely a little displeased.

Nan Bei smiled and poked his cheek with one finger. “Maybe think of it this way. We all have Chinese blood running through our veins. If it’s just a small favor, why not do it?” Cheng Muyang said nothing, only lowering his head to kiss her.

Their bodies pressed together, and soon both of them were reacting to their desire for each other.

But just as he was about to act, the sound of gunfire suddenly came again from the distance. The agents must have encountered the man-made “obstacles” in the valley once more. Nan Bei took the opportunity to pull his hand away. “There are a lot of people outside.”

He smiled. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

She looked into his eyes and said softly, “I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Double?”

“Double.”

“Six days and six nights. How about that?”

What an appetite.

Nan Bei found it amusing. She nodded casually, took the bath towel, quickly dried the water from her body, and put on clean clothes. Soon, she had also put on the black robe, headscarf, and veil. After their escape across the desert earlier, she had suddenly grown fond of Saudi women’s clothing. At least it kept the fine sand, as powdery as it was, from getting everywhere and leaving her covered in grime.

When they walked out, everyone was already prepared.

A group of people climbed up along the side of the mountain. As they made their way across the uneven sandstone at the higher ground, they could see all the scenery below through the gaps. Cheng Muyang carried a submachine gun as he led everyone across the mountaintop.

It was not until they entered a small encirclement that Nan Bei finally saw several men lying prone on the mountaintop, shielding themselves behind huge boulders as they continuously exchanged fire with the people below.

This was a carefully designed trap. Unfortunately, the CIA agents still did not understand that.

These men who considered themselves the finest agents in the world had run into a trap laid by their enemy while carrying out an assassination mission. Nan Bei thought that, no matter what, they would never be willing to admit it.

Unfortunately, what Cheng Muyang wanted to do was make them despair.

Cheng Muyang took out his small silver flask and drank in tiny sips. This was the first time he had violated the rules since coming to this country. He usually showed great respect for his friends’ faith, but he was not nearly as merciful toward his enemies.

The desert was swept by fierce winds late at night.

His hair was blown into disarray, falling across his face, but his gaze remained sharp and direct.

After watching the battle for only five minutes, he said two things to the men exchanging fire with the agents, in very brief Russian. Their expressions stiffened somewhat, but they quickly put away their guns and stopped shooting.

Cheng Muyang put on his night-vision goggles and quickly raised the gun in his hand, taking aim at the bottom of the valley. The shrill sound of bullets tearing through the air came without pause and without mercy. Nan Bei repeatedly saw figures throwing away their guns, but no one fell.

He was only disarming them.

Or rather, intimidating them.

His shooting posture was exceptionally striking. Especially in the sandstorm, it carried a suffocating sense of intimidation.

There were roughly twenty-five or twenty-six of Cheng Muyang’s men on the mountaintop, together with agents from Moscow’s security service, yet he alone conducted this extremely contemptuous barrage of gunfire, as though he were putting on a show of force.

“I don’t want to kill you,” he finally lowered his gun and said in English to the Americans. “On the contrary, I’m going to return a friend to you and let you go home safely. So put down your guns. It will be better for all of us.”

The figures at the bottom of the valley did not move, but it was obvious that they had stopped shooting.

Cheng Muyang tossed the gun to Oman beside him, then walked behind them and said to Afaf, whose hands and feet were bound and whose mouth was taped shut, “I know why you came to Saudi Arabia this time, and you should also know what I’m here to do.”

Afaf widened her eyes as she looked at him.

Before she had encountered this man, she had read a great deal of information about him, but it had all been superficial. Until he suddenly appeared in the Philippines, when her superiors immediately canceled the secret order under which she had been undercover for years and changed her mission to tracking the movements of this arms tycoon.

What kind of man was he, really?

Her first impression had been of a man who was gentle and attentive toward the woman beside him on a Philippine island. Later, the Philippines’ internal terror attacks among anti-government organizations caused him to disappear without a trace. Only when she returned to headquarters did she see the bloody footage of him single-handedly slaughtering several agents. In the words of an Easterner, he was a demon that had walked out of hell, an asura.

An internationally wanted criminal, an important figure on the assassination list, had actually brazenly snatched away the nuclear scientist they had recruited in Saudi Arabia, kidnapped her, and even surrounded the CIA agents sent to assassinate him in the heart of the desert.

Cheng Muyang looked into her eyes and tore the tape from her mouth.

“What are you going to do?” Afaf asked him in a hoarse voice.

“Hand you over to the Saudis.” His expression was calm, carrying the cold detachment of an onlooker. “Of course, you can report to them that I took the nuclear scientist. Whether they believe you or not, they’ll kill you first. Then a large number of people will come to hate your country. Terrorist attacks will continue without end, impossible to guard against.”

He spoke slowly, which brought out the cold softness in his tone.

His objective analysis was difficult to withstand.

Every word Cheng Muyang said was correct.

“If you’ve thought it through, I’ll let you go down there.” Cheng Muyang smiled. “In the days that follow, you’ll undergo prolonged drug-assisted and psychological interrogation. Then your country will certainly compromise through economic investment to negotiate the return of agents like you. I have only one piece of friendly advice: keep your mouths shut and forget about the nuclear scientist. That is the only way you’ll make it home alive.”

After he finished speaking, he stood up and gestured for the people around them to untie her.

“Good luck.”

He did not look at her again. Instead, he turned and walked back to Nan Bei’s side, gently brushing aside the hair the wind had blown across her face before kissing her forehead. It was as though he and Nan Bei had merely happened to pass through this place and decided to spare Afaf’s life.

“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Bei said softly, “sometimes, you’re really frightening.”

“Really?”

The corners of her eyes curved slightly. “Really.”

Nan Bei gradually began to hear the rapidly spinning sound of helicopter rotors. The deafening noise interrupted their conversation. As the sound grew louder and closer, powerful beams of light shone toward them, and there was more than one.

Chaotic beams of light swept across the dunes, illuminating the faces of everyone there.

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 16.1

Chapter Sixteen: A Desperate Counterattack (1)

They were in a deserted area near Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The private plane coming to pick up Cheng Muyang would arrive at Riyadh Airport the following morning. Before then, he seemed intent on staying here. After all, compared with the city, the desert was more suited to someone like him. If a bloody confrontation became unavoidable, it would also be easier to cover up. The bones and blood would all be buried beneath the shifting sands.

And this place was very close to the world's largest camel market.

That afternoon, Cheng Muyang took her to see the camel trade there.

There was more than just the sale of camels. There was camel milk, and even hamburgers made from camel meat.

Cheng Muyang handed her a camel-meat burger. Nan Bei took it with an odd expression and sniffed it.

“Does this really taste good? What does it taste like? Chicken? Lamb? Or beef?”

“It doesn't really taste like any of them,” he said with a smile. “But it definitely won't make you fat. Saudis have always believed that camel meat is extremely delicious and very low in fat. Most of the fat is in the hump.”

“Oh,” Nan Bei said, taking a small bite.

How was she supposed to describe the taste? She didn't think it was particularly good.

Seeing that Cheng Muyang hadn't bought a burger for himself, she held the one in her hand up to his mouth, indicating that he should take a bite. Unexpectedly, Cheng Muyang merely shook his head. She then held out the camel milk to him.

Cheng Muyang shook his head again and quietly told her, “I forgot to tell you. In the eyes of Arab men, camel milk is a natural aphrodisiac. It's very effective.”

“Ah.”

Nan Bei immediately lost any desire to drink it, too.

She remembered that last night, Cheng Muyang had not only drunk the camel milk himself, but had also fed it to her mouth-to-mouth. She suddenly felt her face grow very hot.

Because this was a market for trading large livestock, the place was extremely chaotic. There was even slaughtering on-site, and the bloody smell mingling in the air made her very uncomfortable. Nan Bei couldn't understand why Cheng Muyang had gone out of his way to bring her here, until they walked into a very large tent and she saw an astonishing number of beautiful stones.

They came in all sizes, arranged throughout the tent. The owner was smiling as he watched them.

All the stones were yellow-brown, their surfaces seeming to be covered in grains of sand, with two or three roses artificially carved into them. The one beneath the largest glass display case in the tent even appeared to have nearly a hundred flowers.

The roses were all different in shape, but every one had layers upon layers of petals.

“Desert roses.” Cheng Muyang slipped an arm around her shoulders and told her, “I've already reserved the largest one. I'm planning to have it sent to our home in Moscow.”

“Desert roses?”

He nodded. “The place where this stone was dug up is a red desert, so the rose stone formed there, like the desert roses from Australia, has a reddish-orange color. It's more valuable for display.”

Nan Bei touched the one nearby, able to feel the texture of the grains of sand.

Cheng Muyang explained it to her in a low voice.

He told her that at certain locations in Saudi Arabia, these desert roses were very easy to dig up. After digging three or four meters into the ground with a shovel, if they came across a layer of wet earth, there would be stones. And if they were lucky, they would find a desert rose like this.

“Quicksand can't grow real roses, but over hundreds or thousands of years, it can form desert roses that never wither.” Cheng Muyang wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and said quietly in Chinese, in a language no one else could understand, “Happy Valentine's Day.”

“Happy Valentine's Day.”

Nan Bei answered him.

It wasn't an especially expensive gift, but it was truly romantic enough.

He smiled. “When Shakyamuni was young, he lamented the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death. So he simply abandoned his royal status, left his wife and children during the night, and became a monk to cultivate himself.” His voice was clear. “I always thought what he did made a lot of sense. But after thinking about it carefully last night, how could anyone possibly abandon their wife and children just to escape the sea of suffering that is birth, old age, sickness, and death? He was really an idiot.”

Nan Bei laughed. “Shakyamuni was born with the lotus flower appearing beneath his feet with every seven steps. That's not a state of being that an ordinary mortal like you can compare with.” She took hold of the hand resting over her lower abdomen and joked, “Cheng Muyang, a man like you who casually quotes Buddhist stories while holding a butcher's knife is absolutely the nemesis of every woman.”

Cheng Muyang laughed but did not continue.

The owner of the tent had no idea what these two Easterners were saying. He simply stood to the side, smiling politely as he accompanied the two of them while they looked at the desert roses in all their different forms. He had even learned a few words of Chinese on the spot and kept saying, “Never wither.”

Nan Bei nearly died laughing. She was certain someone had given the businessman instructions beforehand to curry favor with Cheng Muyang. Cheng Muyang, on the other hand, acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

When the two of them stepped out of the tent, they saw a group of unexpectedly beautiful camels in the distance. Most were dromedaries, a breed commonly found in the Arabian region.

This particular group was especially striking. Their skin was smooth, and their eyes were large. They looked almost more like camels bred for ornamental purposes.

She watched with interest as Cheng Muyang told her beside her that Saudi nobles were particularly fond of camel racing, so these were premium racing camels specially bred by the locals. “Sometimes, when you come across a top-grade camel, a single one can cost at least five hundred thousand US dollars. The expensive ones can go for a million.”

“These?” she asked curiously, looking at the camels.

“Valuable racing camels aren't traded here.” Cheng Muyang smiled.

As he spoke, several well-dressed Arabs with distinguished features were buying premium racing camels on behalf of their masters. They were talking loudly. Cheng Muyang listened carefully for a while, then translated for her.

“This afternoon, there'll be a small camel race. We can go and watch.”

She had no objections.

This was their last day here.

After that, she would return to Moscow with Cheng Muyang and live there with him and Baobao.

About an hour later, the camel race finally began.

There was a brand-new racetrack several kilometers from the camel market. Many Saudi men dressed in white robes sat in the stands. Nan Bei and Cheng Muyang chose a corner and watched the young jockeys sitting atop the camels on the track.

According to Cheng Muyang, the younger the jockey, the lighter the burden on the camel, and naturally, the faster it could run.

So, looking at the boys sitting on the camels' hindquarters, clinging tightly to their humps, they all appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old.

Once the race began, the crowd in the stands became excited. People kept getting to their feet, shouting loudly.

Nan Bei became fired up by the shouting as well and couldn't help taking Cheng Muyang's hand, only to discover that he was looking toward a place not far away.

She found it strange and was just about to follow his gaze when Cheng Muyang had already quietly placed a hand on her shoulder and said softly, “Don't turn around. They're here.”

“Who?”

“Our enemies right now, our friends in the future.”

CIA agents?

Judging from Cheng Muyang's tone, he wasn't particularly surprised.

The carefree mood Nan Bei had maintained for most of the day finally shattered again, and her nerves tightened.

She had actually guessed that after they had sent the nuclear scientist away and kidnapped their agents, the CIA would eventually come after them.

This time, they would have no scruples.

If, before yesterday, their primary objective had been to get the nuclear scientist out of Saudi Arabia, then their mission now was much simpler and more direct: assassinate here, in this place, the number-one wanted man on the CIA's list.

Cheng Muyang probably knew that this confrontation was bound to happen.

That was why he had chosen to remain outside Riyadh, deep in the desert, and play a game with them.

The camels raced forward, kicking up billowing clouds of dust.

Cheng Muyang suddenly squeezed her hand, then jumped down from the stands and held out an arm to her. Nan Bei followed him down. Cheng Muyang caught her firmly around the waist. When the two of them turned around, a large group of camels was already charging straight toward them.

And several men in white robes not far away had also clearly gotten to their feet and were running this way along the stands.

There were too many cheering spectators for anyone to notice anything unusual about these few men in white. Cheng Muyang and Nan Bei, however, were cutting across the racetrack at an astonishing speed, drawing a chorus of boos from the stands.

The jockeys were already sprinting. One after another, they jumped up onto the camels' humps, gripping the reins and repeatedly whipping the animals.

At this speed, there was no way the two of them could avoid them.

Fortunately, it was Cheng Muyang.

And fortunately, it was Nan Bei.

The two of them flew across the racetrack through the billowing dust. The moment Cheng Muyang stepped off the track, the hooves of the camels racing behind them had already landed on the spot they had just crossed.

While the staff stood there dumbfounded, the two of them snatched the camels that were about to enter the race right out of their hands. Cheng Muyang lifted Nan Bei onto one, then climbed on himself, quickly riding it away from the racetrack.

Behind them came the cheers and applause from the stands, along with the staff shouting themselves hoarse.

“What is he shouting?” Nan Bei turned her head and asked Cheng Muyang, whose face was pressed against hers.

“He says this is the champion camel.” Cheng Muyang's voice held a laugh. “The implication is that it's extremely valuable.”

“At least a million dollars?”

“More than that.”

“Thief.” Nan Bei laughed. “You're not just a scoundrel. You're a thief, too.”

Their conversation was torn apart by the wind.

It was indeed a champion camel. Even with people chasing them from behind, it left them far, far behind.

The vast desert stretched beyond sight. Nan Bei put on her black veil to shield herself from the increasingly fierce wind and sand.

Cheng Muyang was clearly heading deeper into the desert, avoiding unnecessary crowds.

She didn't know what he intended to do, but she wasn't worried at all.

If the trip to the Philippines had been an accident, this time, the entire journey had been meticulously planned.

The fine sand was powder-like, glowing an almost painfully bright orange-red beneath the sunlight.

Unlike a horse, a camel's bounding gait was absolutely torturous.

Fortunately, he held her tightly in his arms, keeping her from being jolted around too badly.

Afraid that the fine sand would make her uncomfortable, Cheng Muyang was actually thoughtful enough to pull her black veil up even in the middle of their “escape,” wrapping it around her entire face and covering even her eyes.

Nan Bei's vision was veiled in a faint layer of black, keeping her eyes from being battered by the scorching sun and blowing sand.

It was just somewhat difficult to breathe.

“There'll be a Yin-Yang Mountain ahead.” Cheng Muyang lowered his head and spoke against her ear. “Jump off the camel. Oman will meet us there.”

Nan Bei answered with a soft “Mm,” and soon vaguely saw the sand dunes and rocky hills in the distance.

How cunning.

Was this a trap he had arranged long ago?

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A Lifetime, Suddenly Wanting Forever Chapter 15.3

Chapter Fifteen: A Deadly Bargaining Chip (3)

Amid the screams of several female passengers, the two women grappled with each other.

Ice water, mixed with scalding-hot camel milk.

It splashed everywhere.

As Nan Bei jumped onto the back of a seat, she stripped off her black robe and wrapped it around the woman, temporarily binding her arms. She had only just locked down her arms and wrested away the other gun when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind, wrapping both arms around her waist.

Close-quarters combat was her strong suit.

But in such a narrow space, it was all too easy to get trapped.

Someone shouted for help from the train police. Nan Bei took the opportunity to grab an emergency hammer, smashed the glass, gripped the window frame, and flipped herself onto the roof of the train.

In a confined space, fighting alone against attacks from both sides gave her little advantage.

But now, on the roof of the train amid the relentless sand and wind, she could finally stretch out.

Soon, the two women followed her onto the roof.

The train traveling through the desert was caught in a storm. The density of the blowing sand in the air was so high that it obscured the sky and sun, like night descending in an instant.

Nan Bei narrowed her eyes and looked at the figure five or six meters away.

“Afaf,” she said, calling the girl by name.

The girl from the anti-government forces' base in the Philippines had unexpectedly appeared in Saudi Arabia. She needed no explanation to know whom Afaf was working for. Sure enough, the agents of that country were everywhere, infiltrating every corner.

There was still camel milk on Nan Bei's arm.

The blowing sand clung to it, leaving a layer of residue. The same was true of Afaf, and the woman beside her.

“Where is the scientist?” Afaf stared at her.

The sandstorm tore apart every sound.

Nan Bei had no intention of answering her.

One against two. In the carriage, it was easy to be restrained, and she had no chance of winning. In an open space, however, it was easier to escape. But clearly, the disappearance of the scientist would obstruct all their plans, so what Nan Bei needed to do now was make it difficult for them to get word out.

That was Nan Bei's decision in an instant.

Afaf thought she would run. She rushed forward, only to be met by Nan Bei's fist.

It was a silent fight. Fists slammed into bone, and though Nan Bei knew something had broken, she could hear nothing, only the howling of the sandstorm. Nan Bei did her best to keep her eyes clear, but before long, sand blew into her right eye, leaving her unable to open it. Even so, she had to force herself to see her two opponents clearly.

Afaf was clearly the more skilled of the two.

The other woman, meanwhile, was soon kicked off the roof by Nan Bei, falling into the vast desert amid the blowing sand.

The train sounded its warning whistle.

Nan Bei guessed that it would stop soon.

She had to finish this quickly.

She had trained in boxing purely for self-defense. This was the first time she had fought someone with such aggression. After all, her foundation had been taught to her personally by Nan Huai. Though she could not compare to her brother's nearly artistic killing techniques, honed through more than a decade of uninterrupted training, her own skills were still exceptionally sharp, striking straight at the vital points.

Just as she slammed her fist into Afaf's chest, Afaf quickly spat out a mouthful of blood.

The coppery stench of blood mixed with sand hit Nan Bei in the face.

As Afaf's body began to sway unsteadily, Nan Bei finally moved forward and pinned her against the roof.

She tore off Afaf's top and bound her arms and legs.

Then, in the last moment that Afaf was conscious, Nan Bei leaned close to her ear and said softly, “I don't want you to die, so don't struggle.”

This was not a fight to the death. She did not need to finish her off. She only needed to stop her from revealing her whereabouts. A few hours would be enough to resolve everything.

When the train sounded another warning whistle, its speed had already slowed noticeably.

The people in the carriage were probably all going crazy.

The distinguished guest they had invited had suddenly gotten into a fight with someone and then jumped onto the roof of the train.

In their eyes, this was an incident in which a VIP had been attacked, and this “VIP” was also the scientist personally invited by the organizers. Unfortunately, by the time the train came to a complete stop, there was no sign of anyone on the roof. After the train police searched the surrounding area to no avail, they had no choice but to report to headquarters that a violent incident had occurred aboard the train.

But they were train police, after all. They could only continue on with the train to its final station, mark the location, and request additional resources to conduct a search.

Amid the sandstorm at sunset, the train started moving again, slowly following the tracks into the distance.

Nan Bei rose from behind a sand dune.

She had jumped down while the train was slowing, and had still injured her leg. The unconscious Afaf beside her was in even worse condition. Nan Bei did not know whether she would wake up tonight.

With someone like this in tow, it would be difficult to do anything.

She was a burden, but she was also a hostage.

Nan Bei believed that while Cheng Muyang was looking for her, the CIA would also be looking for this woman.

So should she leave her behind or take her with her? Nan Bei thought for a while, then simply sat down.

Since Cheng Muyang had said he would catch up with her soon, she might as well wait.

After all, in a desert this vast, even if she wanted to leave, there was nowhere to go.

The sandstorm slowly passed, and the sky gradually darkened.

This was the first time since entering the country that she had not been wearing her black robe. She sat in the desert in nothing but a shirt and trousers. After all, it was already winter, and once the sun set, the heat in the air gradually dissipated.

She had no warm clothing and no source of fire.

Sitting on the sand dune, she looked at the hazy moon and felt as though there were grains of sand lodged between every one of her teeth.

She even imagined that if she moved her teeth, she could hear the faint sound of them scraping against one another.

Soon, she saw the shadows of two or three camels in the distance, their long forms trailing across the sand dunes. At first, Nan Bei thought they were simply wild camels, but unexpectedly, several human figures soon appeared.

Cheng Muyang? The CIA? Or camel traders?

The group, along with several camels, soon came toward her. Nan Bei finally recognized one of the all-too-familiar figures among them. It was Cheng Muyang. She let out a sigh of relief as she watched him approach.

Under the cold moonlight, the pallor of his skin stood out. He wore a black bucket hat, its shadow falling across his face.

Only when he stopped in front of her did he reveal a pair of eyes, clear and bright.

“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Bei could not help laughing. “Did you really ride camels to chase after my train?”

Cheng Muyang patted her forehead with his palm. “I put a tracker on you a long time ago. When I saw you stop here, I abandoned the vehicle and switched to camels. There are plenty of camel traders around here, so it’s less likely to expose our whereabouts.”

“A tracker?” Nan Bei looked at him suspiciously.

Cheng Muyang went “shh” and lowered his voice as he told her, “In your underwear. As long as you don’t get close to a very strong magnetic field, I can find you.”

Sometimes, this man really made her grit her teeth in hatred.

She was both exasperated and amused. “What about the nuclear scientist?”

“She’s already on the plane,” Cheng Muyang answered. “He’ll arrive in Moscow tomorrow.”

“You handed her over to the security agency?”

He gave a quiet “Mm,” then took off his bucket hat and put it on her head, shielding her from the night wind and sand. “Moscow would never help me for free. This woman should have eight or nine months of medication and human interrogation ahead of her. Essentially, they’re no different from the Americans. They all want to obtain more secrets.”

Kyle stood in the distance with several others, holding the camels by their reins.

Cheng Muyang motioned for Nan Bei to follow him.

Only then did Nan Bei remind him that there was still a CIA hostage beside them. Cheng Muyang glanced at Afaf, then made an unmistakable gesture toward Kyle. Soon, two people came over and placed the unconscious Afaf onto a camel.

For them, having someone from the CIA in their hands would certainly make things much easier.

It was already deep into the night, and the sound of the wind had risen again. Another sandstorm would be coming soon.

Cheng Muyang and the others did not continue traveling. Instead, they went to a nearby camel farm. Recently, because the camel trade had been doing exceptionally well, there were many merchants coming to conduct business, making accommodations extremely scarce. They were arranged in a temporary tent with nothing but sleeping bags and camel milk given to them by the owner.

The wind was still howling loudly at night.

Once Nan Bei had settled down, the first thing she did was call Baobao.

It was half an hour later than the time they had agreed on every day. Baobao picked up and softly called out, “Mommy,” her voice already carrying a hint of tears.

“Be good, Baobao,” Nan Bei coaxed her softly. “Little Daddy is getting an injection. He’s very scared of shots, so Mommy is staying with him.”

Baobao said “Oh,” but still sounded aggrieved.

Nan Bei's heart melted into a complete mess. Holding the phone, she continued coaxing her, and in the end, Baobao finally became understanding and told her that she wanted to hear Mommy sing.

Nan Bei looked at Cheng Muyang, who had been listening the whole time, and could clearly see the amusement of someone watching a show in his eyes.

“Little Daddy says he can sing too. Do you want to hear him, baby?” Nan Bei narrowed her eyes and smiled at Cheng Muyang.

Baobao thought quietly for a moment. “Okay.”

She handed the phone to Cheng Muyang.

He was clearly a little nervous and gave a soft cough. “Baobao?”

Baobao, on the other hand, was much more open than he was. “Little Daddy.”

Her soft voice seemed to carry the sweet fragrance of milk.

Cheng Muyang gave a quiet “Mm,” and even his voice softened. The Cheng Muyang of the past had never imagined that, apart from Nan Bei, there could be another life in this world capable of making his heart melt like water.

Unfortunately, he did not give Nan Bei what she wanted.

They truly were a father and daughter by blood. They had not even met yet, and with nothing more than a few words over the phone, Baobao had already been won over by him. Blood ties really could make every distance disappear without a trace.

When Baobao forgot all about wanting to hear him sing and began quietly and earnestly telling Cheng Muyang about the fruit she had eaten after dinner that day, Nan Bei was completely convinced. This man was clearly the nemesis of both her and her daughter.

“Baobao, can you call me Daddy?” Cheng Muyang's voice carried a smile, clear as water.

Baobao's position was firm. “Baobao has a daddy.”

“Just a secret?” he continued coaxing her.

Baobao thought about it, then said softly, “Daddy will get angry.”

“Only the two of us will know. Okay?”

“Daddy will get angry.” Baobao wavered, sounding a little aggrieved.

“Daddy won’t know,” Cheng Muyang continued to coax her. “Daddy’s eyes are black, and yours and mine are the same color. So this is a secret between you and me.”

Nan Bei laughed aloud.

He really had figured it out without anyone teaching him, immediately learning how to coax a child.

Baobao continued wavering, making what seemed to be a terribly difficult decision.

Cheng Muyang waited patiently.

“Mommy's eyes are black too.”

Cheng Muyang gave a faint “Mm.” “So we won’t tell Mommy either. No one will know except you and me.”

Baobao said “Oh.”

After a while, a tiny voice finally came through the phone.

“Daddy.”

Nan Bei was quite surprised.

To a certain extent, Baobao was an extremely stubborn child, exactly like Cheng Muyang. She had not expected that with only these few words, Baobao would really give in. If there was any reason for it, then apart from their blood relationship, there was no other explanation.

Cheng Muyang's gaze became extraordinarily gentle.

Only after the call ended did he set the phone aside, pick up the camel milk, lean down, and kiss Nan Bei, feeding her the milk with his mouth. As the liquid passed through their mouths and throats, by the time she swallowed it, his tongue had already entwined with hers.

Only then did she finally feel that this day had truly passed safely.

“Baobao must be a lot like you when you were little,” Cheng Muyang said as he put out the temporary lamp, tucked her securely into the sleeping bag, then climbed inside himself and pulled her into his arms. “I can feel it. She’s very much like you.”

Nan Bei rested her head on his arm and gave a soft “Mm.” “My brother said the same thing.”

“Beibei?”

“Mm?”

“Don’t take such risks next time.”

She nuzzled closer into his arms and gave a soft “Mm.”

“Repeat what I said,” he suddenly said.

“Huh?”

“Repeat what I said.” He really was stubborn.

“Don’t take such risks next time.” With her cheek against his shirt, Nan Bei spoke softly.

Cheng Muyang gently stroked her back.

“Other than you, everything else in this world is an external thing to me.”

Nan Bei was somewhat dissatisfied and muttered, “What about Baobao?”

Cheng Muyang laughed softly. “She’s a part of you. Her blood and bones, her appearance, they’re all a part of you.”

She was utterly exhausted and soon fell asleep.

Cheng Muyang, however, held her in his arms, keeping his eyes closed as he rested while remaining fully alert.

Before they left Saudi Arabia tomorrow, danger could come at any moment. As long as Nan Bei was beside him, he would never truly fall asleep. His answer to Nan Bei's question just now had been deliberately ambiguous. Perhaps those who had once believed in Buddhism could possess great compassion and great mercy, yet find it difficult to have feelings in all their minute details.

In most matters, he could be utterly cold and ruthless.

But when he thought that somewhere in this world there was a life that was a part of Nan Bei, he knew he would surely love her very much. Regardless of what had given rise to that feeling, in the end, the result was that he loved everything connected to Nan Bei.

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