Huangfu Jue remained silent for two seconds, then squeezed out a nasal grunt, dry and terse.
He had never been good at thanking others; rather than feeling grateful, he felt somewhat irritated.
To him, Qian Xueying’s actions were completely superfluous. Fortunately, she was unharmed; otherwise, he would owe the Locke Clan a huge favor.
She tried several times to start a conversation, but with the way he responded, Qian Xueying couldn’t help but feel impatient.
"Mr. Duke... do you not like talking to me?"
Huangfu Jue slightly furrowed his brows, taking a moment before speaking again.
"What compensation do you want?"
Anyway, whatever she wanted, he would give to her.
That would make everyone happy and spare him the feeling that he owed her something.
Qian Xueying was taken aback, then her lips curled into a smile.
"Is that how you see me, Mr. Duke?"
Huangfu Jue shrugged, "I don’t like owing people favors; whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. It’s simpler that way."
"Is that right!" Qian Xueying smiled, "Would you give me anything I ask for?"
"As long as I can do it."
Gan Yuan had mentioned Qian Xueying before; since she was someone who acted for her benefit, she should be presenting her bargaining chip now, right?
Qian Xueying sighed, "You should go."
Huangfu Jue raised an eyebrow.
She secretly smiled; was playing hard to get more effective with him?
She turned to face him again, this time with a self-mocking expression on her face.
"Or perhaps, in Mr. Duke’s eyes, my actions were just to gain something from you. But I just want to say, you’re wrong!" she lowered her eyelashes, sniffled gently, and her voice already had a crying tone, "Qian Xueying did this without wanting anything in return, just wishing for your safety... Since you think so lowly of me, I won’t waste any more of your time!"
Huangfu Jue’s brows furrowed.
He hated most when women cried and wailed. Speak if there’s something to say, why cry?
"Then..." he rose from the chair, "you should rest properly, I will arrange a special nurse for you. Anyway, I owe you a favor, and you can cash it in."
Just as Qian Xueying raised her face, he had already turned and walked towards the door of the hospital room. The bodyguard immediately pulled the door open for him, and the two left one after the other.
He... he really left?
Tilting her head to watch the door of the hospital room close, Qian Xueying was stupefied for a full three seconds before she recovered, only to punch the bed in anger, pulling her wound on the back so hard she grimaced in pain.
"Huangfu Jue, I’ve given up so much for you, do you think you can dismiss me just like that? Impossible!"
On the outskirts of the city, inside a secluded country villa.
Moses took the cup of tea Paul handed him, bringing it to his lips for a sip.
"You mean... it was done by our people?"
"Yes!" Jessica sat on the sofa diagonal to him, looking serious, "I just came back from the hospital. I was hoping to see him and gather some information, but... when I got there, the man was already dead. There were many people in the room, I didn’t go in. However... I overheard some agents talking about a six-petaled flower tattoo on his chest."
Jessica took a fax an assistant handed to her and passed it to Moses.
The fax contained the information of a young man, and the photo matched the face of the fake servant perfectly.
"He joined the organization three years ago, I’ve just called headquarters, and they said they have no record of this deal."