C21

"Xue…. Xue…. Xue, wake up."

Xue felt someone calling out to her. Suddenly she woke up and found herself in a car. She looked around and saw Yang Li. She calmed down as soon as she saw him.

Yang Li asked her, "Did you have a bad dream?"

Xue said, "Yes! But I don't remember it clearly."

He handed her a water bottle and said, "We are about to reach our destination."

She took the bottle and asked him, "Where are we going? Can you tell me now?"

He said to her, "My workplace. The rest I will tell you when we reach there."

After about 5 more minutes Yang Li left the highway and turned to a dirt road. Xue was surprised. After a few more minutes they reached their destination. Yang Li got down and opened the door for her. Xue was astonished at the sight before her.

This place was 150 miles away from the capital. It was on route to Zijin. It was a valley area surrounded by mountains. At the base of the mountain outside the valley, there was a river.

The course of the river was such that it surrounded the valley acting as a natural barrier between the mountains and the outside. There was only a single entry into the valley. The size of the land was around 2 hectares.

Also, it was not connected to the highway directly. One had to travel off-road to reach the entrance of the valley. It was a remote region.

At the entrance, Xue saw Zhou Jin waiting for them.

He said with a smile, "Welcome Miss Xue." She returned the greeting.

They entered the valley. Xue was again astounded by what she saw. There were many buildings present. The largest one, which was referred to as the workshop was a 5-story building including the ground floor. One floor was underground and 4 aboveground. It was the main building.

There was another 3-story building. Jin told her that it was a cafeteria for the employees. Xue was also surprised to find a large shooting range adjacent to the cafeteria.

Then Yang Li took her into the building they referred to as the workshop. Zhou Jin took his leave.

Yang Li and Xue got into the lift and went to the 3rd floor.

As soon as the doors of the lift opened, Xue was stupefied. She had been shocked repeatedly since she came here. However, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling right now. When the lift opened, she looked at the wall opposite to the lift and saw a sign.

The sign read- 'YLM Enterprise'

She checked the sign again. Then she looked at Yang Li in surprise.

Xue asked, "So, you work in YLM Enterprise."

Yang Li nodded and signaled her to follow him. She was in a daze as she followed him.

YLM Enterprise was one of the top companies in the country. It was a technology company which had only been established 8 years ago.

It was considered one of the most innovative companies in the world. Its products were very popular and they had made the company a household name. Many global conglomerates wanted to collaborate with them. It had its headquarters in Cinea.

However, there were many mysteries attached to this company. Nobody knew the actual owner of YLM Enterprise, not even the elite families. Their CEO Zhou Jin had never made a public appearance. Although they were headquartered in Cinea, nobody knew the location of the actual R&D center of the company. Eight years ago, this company had mysteriously popped up and presently it was one of the leading global companies.

Suddenly, Yang Li came to a halt and turned towards Xue. He directed her towards his workspace. Xue was still a bit lost in her thoughts and simply followed him.

He guided her to a comfortable chair and then sat opposite her.

He looked at her and said, "As you might have already guessed this is the R&D centre of YLM Enterprise. We simply call it the workshop. You can ask anything now. Once you are satisfied then we will continue. So, go ahead and ask whatever you want to know."

Xue gulped. Although she had an idea, she still wanted to confirm, "What is your role here?"

Yang Li smiled and said, "I think you already know. I established this workshop 8 years ago when I was 21. It was later named YLM Enterprise. As you already know, Zhou Jin is the CEO. A few years after that we also established the subsidiary-YLM Security."

Although, she had already guessed it. But when he confirmed it himself, she felt like she had been struck with lightning. She was dazed and became lost in her thoughts.

Yang Li had a smile on his face. He waited for her to regain her composure. After a few minutes, she finally regained her bearings and looked at him.

She blurted out, "No wonder I am attracted to you. You are not only very handsome but also very capable."

Suddenly she realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. Her face turned crimson red.

On the other hand, Yang Li was still smiling as he enjoyed her shenanigans. On hearing what she said, he started teasing her.

Li said, "Hmm…. So, you are attracted to me!! Does that mean you like me?"

Xue was flustered and said, "W-W-Who likes you? I-I wasn't talking about you okay."

But Yang Li did not give up. He continued teasing her till she got irritated and shouted in exasperation, "FINE!! I LIKE you. Are you happy now!!??"

Li smiled and said gently, "Very happy."

He offered her a drink.

After a few minutes, Li looked at Xue and said, "So now you know about this place. Let's talk about important matters now."

He continued, "Xue, I LIKE you. I really do. You also say that you like me. However, there are matters that you do not know."

"I have never felt this way about a girl before. Therefore, I believe that I should tell you everything before any of us go further in this relationship."

"However, there are many things that I need to tell you. It will take time as I cannot tell you everything in one go. I will tell you bit by bit so you do not get overwhelmed. If you feel uncomfortable at any point in time, you can tell me and I will stop. There are certain things that I cannot change."

"At any point, if you don't want to continue further, I will understand and we can go our separate ways."

When she heard this, Xue became very restless.

Li continued, "I heard you talked to elder sister. She told you some things about our childhood."

Xue said, "Yes she did." Li said, "And?"

Xue looked at him puzzled. She asked, "And what?" Li said, "And nothing bothered you?"

Xue said, "Not really. In my opinion, both you and your sister had very tough and lonely childhoods."

Li asked, "So what do you want to know? I will start from there."

Xue said, "I want you to start from the moment you left the Yang household."

Li became solemn. He hesitated but finally said, "One more thing before we begin." For some reason when he said this Xue became very nervous.

He continued, "You should know that I have a lot of blood on my hands. I killed a man for the first time when I was only 12."

Xue shuddered when she heard this. She saw that there were no fluctuations in his eyes when he said that. Looking at his condition she felt pained in her heart.

However, Yang Li continued talking. He told her all the details that even Mei was not aware of. He told her about his survival training, his martial arts, his hacking skills, his first kill, the assassination techniques, and all the other gory details.

After half an hour he finished talking. The room became very quiet.

Xue was in a daze and her eyes were red and teary.

Yang Li looked at her in a doting manner and thought, 'Even when she is crying, she looks like an angel.' He got up and gave her a glass of water and a box of tissues.

She excused herself and went to the washroom. When she came back, she looked better.

When he saw her, Li asked, "So, I think it's enough for today, or do you still want to hear more?"

Xue shook her head and said, "No, not even close. I want to know what happened after you left the Yangs? How was your college life? I want to know each and every detail."

Yang Li said, "It's a long story. It will take time."

Xue gave him a smile and said, "Don't worry we have the entire night ahead of us. I have already informed sister Mei that I will come late tomorrow."

Li replied, "Okay if you insist then I will tell you. However, let's have dinner first." He then called Zhou Jin and asked him to send dinner. Soon the dinner arrived. After dinner, both of them sat down comfortably on a sofa. Yang Li began his story.