Electronic Nezha

Chapter 203 You Promise Me
When we entered the lobby, we encountered people we never expected to meet—my parents, wearing swimsuits and towels, steaming from their bodies, who had just come back from outside.

I said speechlessly, "Didn't we tell you not to come out at night?"

My mom said, "Your dad and I thought it would be a waste not to spend so much money and go for a longer soak."

While we were talking, Jinli and the others dispersed, and Old Ma also slipped away and hid.

Ma Chaoran grabbed my mother's hand and apologized, "Auntie, I received an urgent interview assignment and have to go back tomorrow." With all this happening, we need to get back to the Sixth Division as soon as possible. My father's plan was to stay for two nights.

My dad readily agreed, "Then let's go back. Work is more important."

My mom was a little worried about the money, but she supported my dad's decision: "Next time we come, we'll try to bring your parents too." As she spoke, she glanced around the lobby and said, "This hotel is great, they even have nurses. I'm going to find her to take my blood pressure."

I glanced at her and quickly pulled her back: "Don't go, that's not a nurse." It's just a game between young people. If needed, that girl could be a policewoman, a student, or a female executive, but she can't be a sailor; the sailor uniform is being worn by a fish-man...

When Ma Chaoran and I returned to the room door, Old Ma was following us like a ghost again. Ma Chaoran said helplessly, "Dad, what are you doing now?"

"You two are sharing a room?" Old Ma's eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

Ma Chaoran shrugged, not bothering to explain at all.

Seeing that Old Ma had no intention of leaving, I had no choice but to swipe my card to enter.

"Wow, a couple's suite?" Old Ma exclaimed.

The alluring mannequins on the wall, the pink ambient lighting, the waterbed, the ergonomic sofa, the transparent bathroom—even though I didn't do anything, just looking at it again made me feel guilty.

Ma Chaoran asked impatiently, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Sleeping in the same bed again?" Old Ma always had something to say.

Ma Chaoran said, "This is a mission!"

Old Ma said, "Here's what we'll do: you go and book a room, and I'll sleep with him. Your job is to protect him, right? It's definitely safer for me to stay than for you."

Ma Chaoran pointed to the door and said, "No, get out!"

Old Ma said, "I've been on missions for so many years, and I've never encountered a mission where we absolutely had to sleep together to complete it."

Ma Chaoran asked, "Really?"

Old Ma immediately changed his tune, saying, "I can control myself, but can he?"

I stammered, "I..."

Ma Chaoran said, "You don't need to pay attention to him—" and then added rudely, "Get out!"

"Fine, I'll go out then. Why are you being so fierce?" Old Ma said reluctantly as he walked towards the door.

Ma Chaoran said, "Take the listening device with you too!"

Old Ma said aggrievedly, "How could you think of your father like that?" As he spoke, he casually picked up a cigarette from under the table and stuffed it into his pocket. "Who left this here? What a waste!" I didn't even see when he did it.

Ma Chaoran watched his performance speechlessly.

Old Ma handed the pistol to Ma Chaoran and said, "Here you go, I'm leaving now." As he walked out, he glared at me with a fierce look, conveying all sorts of threatening messages.

Old Ma finally left, and Ma Chaoran unloaded the bullets from the magazine one by one to check them.

I was shocked: "Don't we need to be so careful?"

Ma Chaoran said, "That's because you haven't dealt with him before."

I said, "That's because your dad cares about you." After what Old Ma had done, I felt like he could still hear me, and I unconsciously added a hint of flattery.

Ma Chaoran said, "He just cares about me too much. When I was in fifth grade, he knew that the boys in my class were writing me notes, and he even called to warn their parents. At that time, he was still abroad."

"Is it possible that your mother told him?" "Even my mother doesn't know! Now you can understand what it's like to grow up in a family like this, right?"

I seized the opportunity to ask, "What does your mother do?"

Ma Chaoran said, "You'll find out later, but I hope you don't run into her too soon."

"So mysterious?"

Ma Chaoran nodded and said, "Yes, although her level of secrecy is not as high as yours, it still needs to be kept secret."

Feeling a little smug, I asked again, "How did you end up on this path?"

"It was just a normal schooling, military service, and then, unsurprisingly, an accident happened. I never even considered leaving the military and living a normal life. I knew about the special nature of my parents' work from a very young age. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it; on the contrary, I thought it was normal. Maybe I wasn't rebellious enough during my adolescence, and in the end, I couldn't escape the influence of my family."

I said, "We're quite similar. Ever since I found out I wouldn't get into a good university, I've made selling fruit my goal, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Ma Chaoran laughed for a while, then finally said, "Yes, we're the same, not self-reliant enough, not strong enough."

I scoffed, "I don't think so. Starting a business is hard, but maintaining it is even harder. Anyway, neither of our family's stalls went out of business while I was managing them." Then, my expression suddenly changed. "Oh no! That Liu Zhenhua kid probably doesn't like selling fruit. Who's going to inherit my empire?"

Ma Chaoran was happy again.

I said, "Was your dad always particularly wary of the men around you when you were little?"

“Elementary school is definitely not an option. Things have gotten much better in recent years. They may not say it outright, but they actually want me to settle down and start a family.”

"Then why didn't you find one?"

"There's nothing I like."

As she spoke, she took out her pajamas again. I turned my back to her and said, "You should really think carefully about your terms."

She patted me from behind, already wearing her bear pajamas. I instinctively asked, "Um... are you alright?" Even if I didn't look at her directly, I would still be face to face with her, and inevitably my gaze would fall on her chest. I had just crashed into her, so it was only right that I showed some concern.

Ma Chaoran knew what I was asking, and she said irritably, "You'll know next time you pick me up!"

I said, "Then you're in for a lot of trouble. I have a chest of steel."

"Hehehehehe." She laughed for a while, then seemed to realize something was wrong and glared at me.

After all that commotion, it was getting late. I turned off that damn pink ambient light and left only the porch light on. We each took one end of the waterbed, leaving a minefield-like area in between.

In the dim light, Ma Chaoran whispered, "Old Liu."

"Ok?"

"Next time you encounter danger, you need to take care of yourself first. You don't need to worry about me, Koi, Shark, or even Sixth Master, or anyone else in the Sixth Bureau. It doesn't matter if we all die. If something happens to you, we'll have died for nothing."

"So heartless?" I tried to steer the conversation away from the topic with a joke.

She poked me with her finger, so I had to turn around and face her.

"You must promise me seriously!"

"Oh."

"Oh, what is it? Repeat what I just said!"

"I'll write it down for you on a piece of paper tomorrow, and then I'll sign my name, is that alright?"

Ma Chaoran stubbornly said, "I don't want your signature, I want you to promise me."

(End of this chapter)