Chapter 60: Clues

After lunch, Masashi escorted the girls back to school.

Before he left, Aiko unconsciously tugged on his sleeve, "Can you come to my house tonight?"

"There's no need to worry; everything is fine now. Didn't Murashima say she'd stay with you these next few days? If anything happens, just call me, and I'll come right away," Masashi reassured her with a pat on the shoulder.

"Okay," Aiko replied, though her face revealed an unmistakable disappointment.

Seeing her look so forlorn, Masashi chuckled to himself and then said, "How about I come pick you up after school?"

"Really?" The girl immediately perked up.

Masashi nodded.

"Then I'll wait for you at the gate after school. Be on time!"

"Got it. I'll see you after school." Masashi gave her a pat on the head, said goodbye to the other three girls, and left.

As they watched Aiko gaze after Masashi with reluctance, the three girls exchanged looks of surprise. They'd never seen her rely on anyone like this. Could this really be the same lively, cheerful Hasegawa Aiko, who usually paid no mind to boys?

"Let's go." Once Masashi was completely out of sight, Aiko turned back with her usual bright smile.

"Aiko, do you… like him?" Kogure asked in surprise, while the other two girls stared at her anxiously.

"I... Let's hurry, or the old maid will start scolding us again." Her face turned bright red, and before finishing her sentence, she ran off in a fluster.

"Aiko, wait! Explain yourself first! Don't run away!" Murashima and Kogure quickly chased after her.

Ai just stood there quietly, gazing thoughtfully in the direction Masashi had left.

***

In New York, on the southern tip of Manhattan, just five kilometers from the famous Wall Street, a middle-aged man dressed in a white long coat walked into the "China Town" investment consulting firm on the third floor of a high-rise building.

This investment firm was relatively small, occupying only two floors of the building. Although it seemed like an ordinary investment company, a closer look would reveal that it was filled with beautiful women. Apart from the male staff handling deliveries, all other employees were female and remarkably attractive.

As the middle-aged man entered, the elegant receptionist greeted him with a nod, "Good morning, Mr. Shen."

"Hello. I'm here to see your boss," Chang'an said, handing her his hat.

"Would you like me to take you in?" she asked as she placed his hat on a nearby rack.

"No need, I'll find my way."

"If you need anything, just call."

The receptionist watched him walk further inside, her mind filled with curious thoughts about this mysterious man.

"Mr. Shen, are you here to see the boss?" a glamorous secretary in a short skirt greeted him with a smile.

"Could you let him know I'm here?"

"The boss is currently in a meeting with the head of the planning department. Would you mind waiting?"

Noting her awkward expression, Shen offered a faint smile. "I'll wait here."

"I'll get you a cup of tea."

"Tea, if you please."

After bringing the tea, the secretary quietly returned to her work, aware that Mr. Shen wasn't fond of conversation.

About half an hour later, the boss's office door finally opened, but instead of the boss, a beautiful, tall woman walked out. She seemed not to notice Shen sitting on the distant sofa, only nodding briefly to the secretary before hurrying off. Her face had a peculiar blush, her breathing was slightly rushed, and her hair and clothes were disheveled. The secretary and Shen exchanged a glance, understanding what had been going on in that "meeting."

Seeing Shen enter his office, the boss, a young man with an unbuttoned shirt collar, looked pleased, like a cat that got the cream. "Chang'an, sorry to keep you waiting."

Chang'an looked at the young boss and gave a faint smile. "Lei, aren't you afraid of catching something like AIDS?"

Lei nearly choked on his coffee. For someone who rarely spoke, Shen's occasional comments could be deadly.

"You didn't come here just to lecture me on health, did you?" Lei forced a bitter smile.

"I just received a call from Master. He's found a lead on those mysterious men in black." Chang'an always got straight to the point.

"What? Really?" Lei shot to his feet in excitement.

"Yes. He's passed along the relevant clues and a list of people who can assist with this. We should have more information on those men in black soon."

"That's amazing! Truly incredible. Our master never disappoints!" Lei banged his fist on the table in excitement. Having such shadowy enemies lurking around like terrorists had been keeping him on edge.

"I'll leave this to you. Let me know if you need any assistance."

"Don't worry, I know what to do."

"This disk contains information on those people. The password is the same as last time, except the last six digits are today's date. After you read it, destroy it immediately. We don't want to alarm the enemy. They're more formidable than we initially thought." Chang'an handed him a small disk from his pocket.

"Understood." Lei placed the disk into his suit pocket.

As he was about to leave, Chang'an added, "Oh, and by the way, that new secretary of yours doesn't seem afraid of catching anything from you. To avoid future trouble, you might want to replace her. Love turning into hate is an old but real story."

"Ah, that's the fourth one already. Seems being too handsome really is a curse. Too bad, though—I haven't even had a chance to have fun with her yet. She has such a great figure..." Lei put on a dramatically sad face.

Ignoring him, Chang'an exited the office.