Chapter 238: Chapter 229: Out of Courtesy

(Over 100 guest appearances from book friends! Putting aside names that are insincere jokes and those that can’t fit the plot requirements, most can be arranged. Interested book friends can continue to leave comments in the review section to take part.)

That woman from Li Country was standing while shooting, and was immediately headshot by the foreigner, then started to fall sideways, while the foreigner himself was shot through the chest by the man from Li Country, falling onto the table filled with delicious food.

In that moment of action, they were all competing for speed; the foreigner wanted to kill before the woman from Li Country could hit the target, and the man from Li Country wanted to kill him before he could act.

The man from Li Country immediately turned his gun and aimed at the girl who was now shielded by an old man, crouching under tables and chairs for cover.

Li Yan had just saved that girl’s life, because he saw the three assassins were foreigners, and they, an old man and a young girl, were Yun Country people. But he couldn’t meddle excessively, nor take constant responsibility for her life. Therefore, as the man from Li Country had no intention of shooting him, he did not act.

The old man still used his own body as the final barrier, trying to protect the young girl from being shot, getting her to crouch down. However, the moment when the man from Li Country was about to shoot, the foreigner who had fallen onto the table wasn’t dead, and shot again at the man from Li Country!

This shot simultaneously hit the man from Li Country, causing his hand to shake, and the bullet’s direction became unknown.

After each fired a shot, they both fell; the foreigner indeed collapsed onto the table, and the man and woman from Li Country fell together.

The entire shootout took place within seconds. When the chef and the waiters inside realized what was happening, they were shocked and started to crouch down in terror, not daring to look. Shi Jian’en, Feng Wuqing, and the other three, although they had quickly ducked for cover upon seeing the female assassin from Li Country pull out a gun, reacted instinctively rather than out of fright, thus witnessing the rapidly occurring scene.

Once the three had fallen, they stood up one by one. Seeing Li Yan still sitting calmly eating his beef, they couldn’t help but be impressed.

Liu Xi was already sweating profusely; the moment he saw the woman from Li Country draw her gun, he nearly wanted to use his own body to shield King, to prove his innocence by sacrificing himself. However, the situation was too urgent, his rigorously trained body instinctively ducked for cover. By the time his thoughts were complete, the gunfight was over.

"Looks like the one who seemed like an assassin was actually a bodyguard, while those two Li Country people were the true assassins..." Liu Xi smiled bitterly, "As expected, King has sharp eyes!"

Li Yan finished a piece of beef, stood up, and said, "Let’s go. At least we don’t have to pay the bill."

Everyone realized that it wasn’t a place to linger. With a shootout occurring, the police would arrive soon. Staying longer would cause trouble.

"Let’s take the back door!" Li Yan had already sized up the situation in the restaurant, pointing to the area behind the kitchen. Cook Hall is connected from the back of the restaurant, and the main entrance leads to another restaurant outside.

Since they were unrelated, all being assassins, their lives or deaths held no concern for them. The six of them quickly ran towards the back, where the frightened chef and waiters also reacted and ran in front to lead the way. They all exited through the back door. The old man also shielded the girl as they followed.

Although such an incident interrupted their meal, it was common for them and did not frighten them in the least. After exiting through the back door with the waiters, the waiters and chef quickly ran off. Since they weren’t employees there, they naturally couldn’t stay and had to loop around to the front.

"Please wait, everyone!" The old man supported the girl and jogged to catch up and called out to them.

"What do you want?" Liu Xi turned and glared, feeling extreme displeasure towards the two due to the near accusation as a traitor.

Encountering such a shooting incident, they had been able to avoid panic, reacting quicker than others, and one even remained seated fearlessly. The old man could see they weren’t ordinary, yet he wasn’t either. Facing Liu Xi’s glare, he remained unfazed, staying beside the girl.

The seemingly quiet girl, now up close, clearly revealed her delicate, exquisite appearance even in the dim light. Her clear black and white sparkling eyes bypassed Liu Xi, landing directly on Li Yan.

"Sir, thank you for saving my life earlier."

When Liu Xi and the others discovered the woman from Li Country with a gun, their first instinct was to dodge and cover, checking their surroundings afterward. Therefore, they didn’t see Li Yan’s actions. Hearing her thanks now, they were a bit surprised, wondering how King, sitting calmly eating beef amid a gunfight, had saved her life?

Li Yan was also a bit surprised that in such a situation, his interception with that piece of beef was not noticed by the foreigners or the older men of the Li Country. Even the Li Country woman who fired the shot might have only noticed something flickering at the muzzle and didn’t see where it came from. Yet this little girl saw it?

Although she looked like an ordinary person, she didn’t panic in that situation. Either she’s used to such things, or she has excellent composure by nature.

Seeing everyone’s surprise, especially Li Yan’s astonishment, made the little girl seem a bit excited. She smiled slightly and then took something from the old man’s hand and handed it to Li Yan.

"I am Nian Yufei. Thank you for saving me. You don’t need to be puzzled; I didn’t even realize there was danger. I just happened to see you take action. If there’s anything I can help you with in the future, feel free to find me anytime."

It was a business card with not many titles printed on it, just the words "Nian Yufei," what might be a word, and a phone number.

Being targeted by assassins and having assassins for protection, she certainly can’t be the child of an ordinary family. The help she speaks of is naturally significant and carries some weight. However, Li Yan certainly wouldn’t need her help. Looking at this girl who was at most sixteen or seventeen, still somewhat a little girl, it wasn’t appropriate to refuse her in front of so many people, so he took it.

Seeing that Li Yan accepted it, the beautiful girl named Nian Yufei seemed very happy, but Li Yan turned away with the others immediately, leaving her a bit embarrassed and disappointed. She quickly caught up and said, "Out of courtesy, shouldn’t you also give me a business card?"

"Out of courtesy, I took your card; out of courtesy, shouldn’t you not disturb strangers?" Li Yan didn’t want to converse with her further and quickened his pace after speaking.

Nian Yufei couldn’t help but feel disappointed, and then shouted at Li Yan’s back, "Then please don’t throw it away, okay?"

Li Yan, having walked a few meters away with the others, initially intended to throw the card into a trash bin once she stopped following. Hearing her words, it became slightly inconvenient to dispose of it.

...

"Boss, when did you become a hero saving a damsel?" Shi Jian’en laughed and asked the question on everyone’s mind, "Was it because you were so singular and outstanding in the gunfight just now, so impressive and handsome, that the young girl took you as a hero?"

After hearing Nian Yufei’s words, Feng Wuqing was trying to recall the scene from the gunfight earlier. Now he understood a bit more: "The two Li Country people were acting to cover each other, plus they were inherently sneaky and ordinary, so none of us spotted them as assassins at first. With such a well-prepared ambush and being so close, neither of us, nor the Li Country people, nor the foreigners, could have failed. The shot from the Li Country woman didn’t hit the girl, and it wasn’t the old man who blocked it; it was simply off-target!"

At this point, they all came to a realization. An assassin capable of going on missions, even if a rookie, couldn’t fail like that without hindrance. The shot from the Li Country man showed they weren’t rookies, and the Li Country woman also got shot only afterwards. Someone must have caused her to miss, and it wasn’t any of them who acted. The old man shielded Nian Yufei with his body, so who else could it be?

King’s ability to detect the signs in advance and to continue enjoying his meal alone amid the gunfight already impressed them. Now discovering he could inconspicuously cause the shot to miss right in front of them deepened their admiration!

It’s likely the gunfight at Cook Hall has been discovered, and the hotel has already started receiving police. They didn’t go back to retrieve their car but circled to the area near Prince Mansion to find another taxi.

"I’ve been so unlucky, causing all this now... It’s not far from here to the Four Seasons Hotel, which is also a nice place. Lan Yifang and the culinary district aren’t far either..."

Before Liu Xi could finish his suggestion, Li Yan interrupted, "Let’s go to the pier!"

"Pier?" Liu Xi immediately reacted. When it comes to entertainment, food, and leisure, the opposite side at Xin Long is more bustling, so he quickly said, "Alright, going to the pier means heading to Terminal 7 for the Star Ferry Line..."

Others had already hailed a taxi, and another one was coming over. Once they reached the taxis, Li Yan said in a low voice, "Listen, we’ll head to the pier all the way, find a suitable place to get off. Someone’s been following us."

"What?" Liu Xi was startled, and the others also became alert. But they all understood; if King said it is so, it certainly was so. They didn’t turn to check, continuing to act as if they were discussing where to go to have fun.

"Someone’s been tailing us shortly after we left the factory. Although they’re very concealed, the fact that they arrived at Yun Huan with us is too much of a coincidence. And now, even though we’ve exited through the back door, they’re still following from afar. I suspect they were following God, and for them to follow so long without taking action shows they have some patience." Li Yan wouldn’t be careless having decided to stay the night. He had been observant and talked little all along the way, not out of arrogance, but due to being attentive.

"Understood!" Others whispered their agreement, then all proceeded towards the coming taxi, observing through the rear-view mirror in the vehicle to remain inconspicuous. (This story arc won’t last long, and it will soon progress.) (To be continued, to know what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author and support legitimate reading!)

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