22 Niu Xiaolin (2)

Niu Xiaolin…

That was her name. Her birth name, at least. And her grandfather, the man that ruled the Eighth syndicate had been looking for her.

"Why is he looking for me?" Shao Lin questioned, breaking from her daze.

"He felt like he failed with his son. Niu Wen told your father that he would take you one day and bring you to the Eighth Syndicate. It's the reason your father confessed to mine. He wanted Long Jie to spare and protect you, but my father did not want a girl raised without hers, so he sent you all away instead, hoping that Niu Wen would never find you."

Shao Lin then closed her eyes for a moment. "Until a certain detective must have figured it out."

Long Yat-sen glanced at her with wariness. "I don't know much about Zhong Bai's history," he admitted. "He was adopted when he was eleven by the Zhong's. There are nothing of his birth records, and everything in his early childhood was unaccounted for."

Shao Lin's eyes widened. "So…he..." she was struggling to speak the words. She thought she knew everything about Zhong Bai. But it turned out she only knew the shell of him. He was very much a stranger to her now. "So if he knew who I was, why didn't he tell my grandfather right away?"

Long Yat-sen's eyes darkened slightly, not at her, but at what he was thinking about. "At first, I didn't think he was planning anything against you, given your shared history. But now, I can assume that he was planning to butter you up, gain your trust, mould the Sweet Lin into his puppet to present to its master."

Shao Lin was surprised he knew of her nickname, but then she chuckled harshly. "So he thought I would be obedient to him, didn't he?"

"He was a fool to think so," Long Yat-sen expressed. "To think of you as weak, when you're not."

Warmth bloomed on Shao Lin's cheeks. Long Yat-sen was angry, but his anger was not directed at her. He was angry on her behalf with Zhong Bai for lying, tricking her, and mistreating her. Long Yat-sen did not know Zhong Bai was using her, and part of her believed that he would have made sure Zhong Bai was nowhere near if he had known.

He was his father's son, and his father wanted her protected. Perhaps Long Yat-sen had also felt that duty passed onto him. But she didn't understand why her mother warned her to stay away from them. She remembered what she had said, 'Stay away from them all! I want them all dead!' Was she referring to the Long's or the entire Underworld itself?

Shao Lin broke from her thoughts. "What do you think Zhong Bai could gain from my trust?"

Long Yat-sen looked at her, his face dismal. "Power. If it was promised."

"How would I be able to give him…power?" She then thought about it, and when her eyes met his, it only confirmed what she was thinking. Shao Lin then ran a palm down her face. "He wanted to marry me."

It made sense. Zhong Bai was quick to get close to her. Quick to be in a relationship. Fast to move into her place. He was bulldozing his into her life, not giving her much of say or a choice.

But to think he would go as far as to think she would actually marry him would have been absurd, unless…

Shao Lin bunched her hands over her thighs, scrunching them up, her knuckles turning white. "He locked me in a room. Do you think he would have forced me?"

Long Yat-sen's face paled, and his expression nearly wanted to bring her to tears.

Shao Lin took a deep breath.

"You're safe now," Long Yat-sen reminded her gently. "I know it may not seem like it, given I may be the last person you can trust." He leaned forward, resting his elbows over his thighs. "But I can assure you that I would never allow anyone to take you."

Shao Lin's face flushed. She glanced away from his intense gaze, so strong with confidence and assurance.

He meant every word he said, and Shao Lin didn't know how to feel about it.

When Shao Lin looked back at him, his expression was soft and gentle. He gazed at her and didn't break it. They were staring at each other, letting the silence fall between them. Shao Lin felt her face and body gradually warm, her heartbeat accelerating. Long Yat-sen's face became curious. His eyes then started to rake over her, taking in everything. She felt like bearing her neck to him, tempting him to put his mouth, his tongue, his teeth there.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Long Xia stumbled into the room with a sudden urgency. When she saw them, she glanced between them. "Ah, sorry for the interruption, but father is coming over!" She then approached Long Yat-sen, making him stand up, raking his hair. "Oh, please get dressed. You can't see him like that."

Long Yat-sen looked at his sister, not amused.

Long Xia then glanced at her. "He wants to see you too, but what you're wearing is fine."

Shao Lin looked at Long Yat-sen, who mouthed. "It will be fine." She believed him. But why did Long Jie want to see her?

Long Xia started to stalk away. "I have to start cooking something for him! He will see me after too!"

Shao Lin couldn't help but chuckle. "Your sister idolizes him?"

Long Yat-sen smiled at her with amusement. "Treats him like a celebrity. She always looked up to him."

"He seems like a good father."

"He is," Long Yat-sen admitted.

"Should I be scared to meet him?"

Their eyes met then. "Don't. I told him of the situation, and I think he'd want to give you some more perspective."

Shao Lin smiled faintly. "All right then."

"I will return shortly," he said to her before he turned, ascending the staircase, most likely to change.

Shao Lin took a seat and kept herself when she heard someone enter. She turned and found a handsome older man with dark auburn hair and arctic blue eyes. "Hello, Miss Shao," he said, voice gravelly. He wore a smile that could win him anything he wanted. So this was the man that fathered, Long Yat-sen? Long Jie.