Watching him walk in, she paused at the door, unsure whether she should enter or leave.
"Co in? What are you hesitating for? Otherwise, the food will get cold, and no one’s going to heat it up for you," Xia Shuangming said, then turned without looking at her again and entered the house.
Zi Yunsui walked over to Hua Xiaomo and whispered, "Hurry up and go in. The Master has been busy all afternoon just for you. You should at least give him so face, right?"
Hua Xiaomo paused upon hearing this, looking at Zi Yunsui. "What? You’re saying your Master... he cooked?"
"Hehe, you ask that as if it’s a strange question. But it’s not that funny, to be honest. Just co in," Zi Yunsui said, then turned and went inside.
Hua Xiaomo looked at the door. A sign hung there with the word "Pandora" written in artistic cursive script, exuding a peculiar and dreamlike mystical charm at all tis.
After a mont’s thought, she stepped into the exquisite and compact garden villa.
Upon entering the villa, she found the space entirely white, decorated in an ancient and intricate European style. Fireplaces, wall columns, even the chandeliers—everything was adorned in an ancient fashion. All sorts of rare European antiques filled the space.
Notably, one crystal glass cabinet displayed various wine tower models.
However, these were not the main attraction. The true centerpiece, nestled among the wine towers, was a crescent-shaped blue diamond roughly the size of an adult man’s fist.
Its dazzling radiance instantly captured Hua Xiaomo’s gaze.
She was almost speechless, her eyes fixed on the fist-sized diamond.
Wasn’t that one of the largest and most perfect blue diamonds in the world, the "Blue Moon" diamond?
She couldn’t be mistaken; she definitely couldn’t be mistaken!
The "Blue Moon" diamond had once been bought by Qi Longbing at a Gasia auction for fifty million US dollars, only to be stolen right at the event.
She still rembered the thief’s na: Sha Po Lang, whose Chinese na was Situ Cheng. Of course, Xia Shuangming had later arranged for Zi Yunsui to obtain this information by hacking the British Security Bureau.
"Xia Shuangming, the Blue Moon... you’ve already got it?" Hua Xiaomo felt a surge of amazent, a glimr of disbelief in her amber eyes.
To her surprise, Xia Shuangming said without even lifting his head, "Let’s eat first."
"Oh," Hua Xiaomo replied and said no more. However, her gaze remained drawn to the "Blue Moon," not only because it was so valuable but also because it was deeply intertwined with her life.
She had received a five-hundred-thousand reward from Xia Shuangming to steal it.
But after losing it, she had paid back five million.
She had nearly lost her life in the process. To repay Xia Shuangming, she had worked as Super Mario at the Emma Show Field.
Later, she even borrowed money from Mo Rutian...
How ridiculous. The "Blue Moon" seed to have been tied to her by a cursed fate from the mont of its existence.
She was like a mule, endlessly circling it. Yet, no matter the suffering it brought, she, Hua Xiaomo, had never uttered a single word of complaint.
But for a single harsh word from that person, she...
These thoughts unsettled Hua Xiaomo. As she sat at the dining table, gazing at the lavish dinner, she couldn’t help but recall the tis she had dined with a certain soone.
It was as if those mories were playing vividly before her eyes.
"I made the hot Chinese dishes. Master made the cold dishes and these Western pastries. Otherwise, how would he have had ti to pick you up?" Zi Yunsui said with a smile.
"Too talkative," Xia Shuangming said curtly, then fell silent. With one hand, however, he picked up a wine glass and deliberately poured Hua Xiaomo a glass. "Chateau Lafite from Bordeaux, France. Your favorite. Have so."
"Thank you," Hua Xiaomo said, holding the glass. Through the wine, she thought she could almost see the face beneath his mask.
He had never taken off his mask. From initial mystery to current indifference and calm, Hua Xiaomo found herself smiling faintly.
Yes, she had grown accustod to everything. Whatever their relationship, she had truly gotten used to it.
To want to escape, to say goodbye, to sever ties completely—it was truly so difficult.
He couldn’t bring himself to be Wuqing, and she couldn’t bring herself to be Wuqing either.
The three of them ate unhurriedly and in relative silence, broken only by Zi Yunsui’s occasional playful remarks.
It was rather strange, though. She had never realized this young man was so talkative. She had actually thought he was as cold as Xia Shuangming.
But it was quite the opposite. He talked a lot, mostly telling her how exceptionally good his master was.
This, however, seed to visibly annoy Xia Shuangming.
"Yunsha, is your mouth itching for a slap from your master?" Xia Shuangming said sternly. Beneath the Platinum Crown Mask, his eyes glinted sharply.
"Ay, ay, alright, alright! I won’t say another word, Master! I’m really full. I’ll just slip back to my room now, ha!" With that, Zi Yunsui indeed vanished from the dining table.
The two of them were left at the table.
Xia Shuangming looked at Hua Xiaomo and said slowly, "Xiao Mo, don’t mind Yunsha’s words. Have so more Lafite." He then moved to pour her another glass.
Hua Xiaomo reached for the wine bottle, then froze. Beneath his long robe sleeve, on his pale arm, she saw a deep, long scar—as if from a knife.
The scar stretched from his elbow joint all the way to the back of his hand, looking as if it had nearly cut to the bone.
Hua Xiaomo stared at the wound on his arm in utter shock. "What happened? Your hand..."
The dark scar was starkly visible, freshly scabbed, looking quite shocking on his arm.
Xia Shuangming quickly lowered his hand, his sleeve covering the wound.
"Injuries are common for people like us. It’s nothing serious, no need for alarm," Xia Shuangming replied nonchalantly.
"Was it Sha Po Lang who injured you?" Hua Xiaomo guessed.
That madman, the fugitive who stole the "Blue Moon"—he looked utterly ruthless!
Xia Shuangming glanced at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. "You’re very perceptive to have guessed so quickly." His gaze beneath the mask shifted slightly, moving towards the "Blue Moon" in the crystal cabinet, and his dark eyes seed to deepen.
"For the ’Blue Moon,’ any price is worth paying," Xia Shuangming stated.
Hua Xiaomo looked at him. "What about Sha Po Lang? Is he still alive?"
Her intuition told her that soone who could inflict such a grievous wound on Xia Shuangming would likely not have fared much better himself.
Her intuition proved correct. "He lost an arm and escaped," Xia Shuangming answered. Then, his gaze fixed on her, he remarked, "Xiao Mo, it truly has been a long ti since we last parted ways."
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