Miss Assassin is heavily addicted

Chapter 61, Section 18: Perhaps Rumors of a Romantic Encounter Will Emerge

—Sweet Honey Club, Table 8—

"Cough, cough, cough—"

As He Ye was carefully savoring the taste of the fried fish, Loris, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly coughed, even choking and dropping the knife and fork she was holding onto the table, looking quite disheveled.

Look up.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she clutched her chest.

Seeing this, He Ye kindly pushed the wine glass next to him towards her.

Lolis glanced at him with a troubled expression, and He Ye, understanding her meaning, pulled out a tissue from his hand and handed it to her again.

This is the quality of a gentleman.

A few seconds later, Loris remained silent, picked up her glass and took a sip, barely swallowing the salad in her throat. Then she awkwardly raised the glass to the right, as if to indicate something.

Heye:?
So what does it actually mean?
He Ye glanced at the wine glass in her hand, then at his own raised glass. If we're talking about actions related to wine glasses…

After hesitating for two seconds, He Ye had no choice but to clink glasses with her.

"Cheers to your eyes."

"Are you an idiot?!" Loris blurted out, blushing with embarrassment.

He Ye was speechless for a moment: "You didn't mean that? I thought you were implying that I should clink glasses with you... After all, all the members around us are doing that, you can just say it directly."

“I meant for you to look over there…” Loris said in a low voice, her voice filled with shame and indignation. It was partly her fault for being so shocked and flustered.

Okay, He Ye listened and then looked over.

In the lobby on the first floor, waiters in black were pushing carts around, with couples gazing at each other affectionately in the background. In the direction Loris was gesturing with her wine glass, He Ye saw a middle-aged couple sitting at a table with white gauze.

That was Sergeant Draco and a woman.

He Ye recognized his appearance and quickly realized that he was a colleague from the intelligence department, but he only glanced at him a few times before looking away without paying any attention.

"What's wrong?" He Ye thought it was just running into a colleague.

"..." Loris lowered her head, feeling annoyed and wanting to bury herself in it, complaining, "Why did he come here? If he sees the two of us sitting here, there will definitely be terrible news tomorrow."

He Ye pondered, "You mean, utterly disgraced?"

This club is for couples only, and the two of them sitting here having a candlelight dinner looked so perfect together that it's no wonder there were rumors that they were struck by Cupid's arrow and got together.

Loris lowered her head even more in annoyance: "My reputation..."

She held her head in her hands, her eyes gloomy, looking as if she had been defeated by life. It seems that in her eyes, matters of love between men and women were not something to be joked about.

However, this was just a pretense of being a couple for a mission; it could be explained later. He Ye thought to himself, there's no need to take it to heart.

“We’re just carrying out an investigation mission. We can just explain it to Sergeant Draco later, right?” He Ye said while eating.

Loris sighed in distress, looked up and slowly said:
"This case is a private investigation, and it is only my personal suspicion that he is involved in betraying the country. It is not a public investigation within the intelligence department."

"In other words... if others find out that I've been investigating internal personnel without authorization, it could cause trouble."

After listening for a while, He Ye asked, "Will I be in trouble?"

“It’s hard to define. It depends on how big the matter gets and whether the other party has really colluded with the enemy,” Loris said sadly, resting her chin on her hand and turning the bowl with a silver spoon. “So this matter cannot be made public for the time being. At least it should be covered up until the investigation is completed, or if there is no result, it should just be kept secret.”

Lorice sighed again at this point: "That's why I don't want to see him. If misunderstandings arise these days, there'll be no way to clear them up. If it were someone I had a normal relationship with, or someone from the same group, I could explain... but he and I don't get along."

It turned out to be the case.

He Ye understood Loris's concerns; such a misunderstanding arising from an inexplicable predicament was indeed worrying.

However, besides the two of them, there were also Officer Rory and Riley present—if Sergeant Draco had noticed them, he would have easily guessed that this four-man team was on some kind of mission.

Although this might raise concerns for Loris, he had no idea who they were investigating. Besides, given Loris's demanding work schedule, it was probably nothing out of the ordinary for him.

After all, he had already finished get off work and was on a date with his wife, while his colleagues were still stalking him at the same club, asking what he was doing... that probably required a lot of courage.

Thinking of this, He Ye told Lolis her thoughts while eating, telling her not to feel so embarrassed, and that it might not necessarily lead to misunderstandings.

Loris didn't breathe a sigh of relief after hearing this; she just shook her head and muttered something under her breath:
"He will spread rumors about me."

Thinking back to the atmosphere in the spy office, the police officers there always seemed distant towards Lolis. Although He Ye didn't know what had happened in the past, he could guess from her experiences over the past two days.

Even though he values ​​his reputation, he still chooses to enter a club that is only open to couples; regardless of whether he will get into trouble, he decides to investigate the clues.

His workload was non-stop from morning till night, and he only had quick meals for lunch. With such colleagues around, he couldn't be said to be out of place with Draco and the others, but he certainly didn't have much in common with the other people in that relaxed office.

The fact that Country A's intelligence department, with its mediocre performance, has recently cracked a series of major cases is no wonder – the answer seems to be right in front of us.

"Then let's not explain."

He Ye said calmly, looking at her:
"Even if he finds out we're on a mission, he won't know who we're investigating, so there's no need to worry about it being exposed. As for the misunderstanding you're worried about, well, you and I are definitely not a couple, just keep that in mind."

"How do you say that?"

He Ye cut the fish in front of him with his knife and fork, saying casually, "Fame is like fleeting clouds, there's no need to be attached to it; if the mind is at peace, one can naturally be detached."

Loris looked at her subtly: "What you said seems to make some sense."

He Ye: "Are you feeling any better?"

Loris glanced at his smiling face. Sometimes this guy really did know how to care about people, even though he kept irritating her... clearly no one had ever dared to challenge her like this before.

After a while, Loris had no choice but to continue eating, pretending to be sullen.
"Forget it, as long as it doesn't cause a bigger misunderstanding, at most he'll just see the two of us sitting here, without any substantial evidence. Besides, if he really dares to spread rumors and slander me... I'll beat him up."

Heye: "...?"

Did you hear the last word correctly?

This guy is actually pretty impressive in some ways...

"Don't look at me, look over there," Loris instructed.

“Yes, yes…” He Ye turned his head and kept an eye on the older couple.

Loris watched as he turned his head, forking a piece of fish fillet, putting it in his mouth, chewing, and then looking calm, thinking to herself that he was really being casual in front of her.

However, compared to the respect and backs of others, at least this is more real.

……

—Sweet Honey Club, Table 12—

The candlelight flickered on the table. The club was spacious. Draco raised his glass of red wine, looked at his wife across from him, and smiled as he said:

"Cheers to our seventh wedding anniversary."

"Cheers!" his wife chimed in with a smile.

The wine glasses clinked gently in mid-air, the two looked at each other and then drank, chatting and laughing.

Draco was actually a little embarrassed.

He was reminded by his subordinate at 5 p.m. today that it was April 10th, his seventh wedding anniversary with his wife Melanie.

Every year at this time, she prepares unique gifts, but unfortunately, ever since she had a child last year and became a housewife, she has been nagging about it, making Draco somewhat reluctant to go home.

But wedding anniversaries always come around, so I had a sudden inspiration and remembered this Sweet Honey Club – the last time I was here was during Cupid's Day last year, and thankfully my membership hadn't expired yet.

“I’m so glad you remembered our wedding anniversary,” Melanie said with a smile.

“Of course.” Draco sniffed, inwardly thanking his subordinate for the reminder.

As he waited for the food to be served, Draco casually glanced around, noticing that the club's interior decor was almost unchanged from last year, which was a little disappointing. However, he figured the entertainment and little surprises were probably the same too. They chose this club for their seventh wedding anniversary not only because of the ready-made candlelight dinner, but also because of the other surprises.

However, his gaze drifted aimlessly—

'Lorry?'

Draco saw Rory smoking a cigarette, deep in thought with his eyes closed (actually, he was eavesdropping on the conversation at the next table), while sitting opposite him was a blonde, busty beauty, intently showing off her food.

"These noodles are really chewy."

Draco's gaze fell upon her with surprise, not only because Rory was eating with a strange woman—he knew Rory was a Jericho Covenantist—but more importantly, because the blonde woman had such large breasts.

"Uh, darling?"

Draco's attention was drawn back by his wife's voice. He immediately pretended nothing had happened and smiled at his wife.

Although Melanie is getting on in years, with dry hair, wrinkles, and a bit of belly fat, she is his beloved, and no one knows better than them the hardships of having a child late in life.

"It's nothing, I just noticed my colleague was daydreaming," Draco told the truth, a rare smile appearing on his usually gloomy face.

“It’s a good thing you’re in the intelligence department.” Melanie, his wife, sighed as she recalled something. “You can leave work on time, there’s not much danger, and you have pension and year-end bonuses. It’s so much better than when you were in the security department.”

Draco didn't reply, he just opened the menu:

"Have you finished ordering everything? How about we add a few more dishes? After all, it's our anniversary."

"too expensive."

The chat content was unremarkable.

After closing the menu, his wife indicated that she needed to leave for a moment to go to the restroom. Draco asked her if she remembered the way, and after receiving an affirmative answer, he watched her leave.

Draco was somewhat uncertain about Rory's presence, unsure whether it was an affair or some kind of official business.

Curious eyes darted around again until they met those of a rookie police officer holding a knife and fork.

He was calmly skewering the fish fillet.

Draco saw Assistant Officer Leon, who was dressed in a uniform and had a presentable appearance. His black hair covered his eyes and he exuded a refined air. When their eyes met, Leon calmly glanced at Draco before looking away.

Opposite him sat a somewhat familiar pale blonde figure, the girl with her back to him trying her best to hide something.

Oops~
Draco suddenly realized that Rory and she must be on some kind of mission to be here.

Following auxiliary officer Leon's gaze, one could see dozens of white tables in that area, and amidst the hushed conversations, it was difficult to determine who he was looking at.

However, Draco didn't care, since Loris always had clues from who-knows-where, capturing one spy or informant after another. Her numbers in three weeks were equivalent to the combined numbers of the other groups in a month.

However, thinking about the nature of this club, and glancing at the rookie police officer sitting opposite Loris, who was indeed handsome, it was truly pitiful that he was forced to pretend to be Loris's lover on a mission after only two days of joining.

How heartbroken he would be if he had a lover or girlfriend to know this?

I'll go to the police station tomorrow and complain to my colleagues about her domineering and independent behavior; at least that will give this newcomer some comfort.

Draco shook his head, thinking to himself.

……

—Sweet Honey Club, Table 19—

Amidst the undercurrent of intrigue and backstabbing among the three tables of spy colleagues, the central figures of this affair, Sir Humphrey and Miss Mia, are completely unaware of anything.

For them, this is simply a time worth remembering.

"Speaking of which, two police officers asked me today, saying you were a strange person and told me to be careful about keeping my distance from you..."

Miss Mia held her wine glass with both hands, speaking reservedly, feeling uncomfortable with the luxury and high society atmosphere. She was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family, possessing nothing but beauty.

The reason we brought up this topic was simply because I remembered it and decided to say it; otherwise, there would have been a bit of a lack of conversation.

Sir Humphrey: "Two officers?...How did they know about you and me?"

“Because of my neighbors…” Miss Mia explained.

After quickly explaining, Sir Humphrey sighed.

“I see. But I had no intention of deceiving you…” He paused here, “At least the person you see is the real me, and I show you my true feelings.”

This elderly gentleman, when facing a girl a size younger, seemed to be decades or even twenty years younger, speaking frankly and directly to her peers without beating around the bush.

Miss Mia's cheeks flushed slightly: "Thank you."

"Speaking of the College of Arts and Sciences..." She stroked her hair, changing the subject, "My classmates know about you, and they are all very surprised... Some of them respect you so much that they asked me to find out your home address so they can visit you to express their gratitude."

Humphrey Xavier, the former Secretary of Health, made many achievements during his tenure, promoting medical reforms. These beneficial things naturally made him famous, not to mention the grammar school where he held the position, where he would have even more supporters.

"Oh, I see... I hope I didn't cause you any trouble?" Humphrey said with a hint of helplessness.

"This is also my own thought, but... I'm not sure if I deserve this treatment from you..."

The two were chatting in a way that sounded like a couple. Rory, who had been eavesdropping with his arms crossed, opened his eyes and then wrote down notes in the black notebook in his hand.

Frankly, he couldn't see anything suspicious about either of them.

The only thing to mention is the age gap, but such things are not impossible; it's just that they go against social customs.

Hopefully, Commander Loris won't go too far this time, otherwise she probably won't get a good night's sleep for the next few days...

As Rory was pondering this, the symphony orchestra playing in the hall gradually stopped.

A man in a white suit walked to the center, where a red lottery box had been set up sometime earlier, as if it were the opening ceremony of some special event.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he reached into the red box, and while holding the microphone, smiled and announced:
"Tonight, starlight and champagne intertwine, and it's Friday again. As usual, we've carefully designed a few elegant yet fun little games for you."

After saying that, he took out a round ball from the red box, which had the number 20 on it.

He held it up in the eyes of the members.

This is clearly a move that leaves people momentarily bewildered.

New members don't understand; old members are already waiting for good news.

The waiter in black saw the number on the ball and walked steadily toward his destination—table number 20.

The blonde beauty, Raleigh, who was eating, raised an eyebrow slightly because someone had walked up to her, disturbing her meal.

And the next second.

“Every couple’s meeting is a destiny that ‘arrives as promised,’ Cupid brings two people destined to love each other to each other.”

"So, you two sweet couple at table number 20, would you mind standing up and sharing a toast?"

Rayleigh: ?
Rory: ?
The meteorite falling from the sky shattered the wall of the heart.

Wait, what the hell?
The two were bewildered by the sudden "invitation," but the long-time members knew the club's ways—ostensibly it was for couples only, but in reality, all that was needed was a verbal acknowledgment of the relationship.

So, besides being a perfect spot for a candlelight dinner on an anniversary, this place is also ideal for quickly escalating the romance between two people.

For example, a male lawyer might date a female teacher he's only met twice. Out of politeness, they might always treat each other with respect, but this forced, intimate interaction is the best catalyst for their relationship.

But without a doubt, for some people,
It was a bolt from the blue.

"Gulu."

Rayleigh swallowed the noodles covered in cheese, looked at the waiter standing in front of him, and then at the dazed Commander Rory across from him, thinking that this might really be the last time he would appear in this town.

(End of this chapter)