45 - Song VS Wei

I was walking towards the Eiffel Tower. Wei Xiaojian was waiting for me there. Whether he was ready to listen to me or not, I would expose my pure intentions to him without using any filter. The thought of finding myself in his arms like Mrs. Ndongo and Henriette made my heart leap in my chest. A heat struck me in the face and I started running towards the meeting spot.

It wasn't until a few seconds before I saw the symbol of Paris, "Xiao...I really need you on my side on this one." I sighed. Would he allow me to call him by his first name? It's not that I was afraid, but after seeing him lose his temper, I preferred to avoid it.

I slapped myself twice, "I'm not just anyone anymore: he's going to accept me. Just like the girls, just like the girls!" I resumed my race towards him.

Talking about them, police sirens sounded in the distance, as well as gunshots. It didn't take long for them to be noticed. As I walked forward, the sounds of fighting drove away many of the tourists. Alone, he was standing right below the monument. The only one who was not looking in the direction of the ruckus, the only one who was not running in the opposite direction, the only one for whom the flashing lights and screams were equivalent to the sounds of the city.

In short, Xiao had honored his promise. But even without the ruckus, his fluorescent bush wouldn't pass notice.

He was looking at his watch while holding a double bass case. He couldn't play it, as he had as much sense of rhythm as Bienvenue in improvisation lessons. He was hiding something in it.

My hope begged me to believe that he had started strumming strings. But it could only be his favorite machine gun.

Wei Xiaojian had brought firearms. Was he planning to kill me? My legs trembled and I slowed my pace.

He turned his face toward me. It was too late.

There was no one within a few dozen meters. He could shoot me down without worrying about the noise of the guns. I stopped completely.

Why was I so scared? Didn't I have my own gun too? Just like the lovers of the Trocadero. "The habits of the profession...He just has his weapon on him because of the habits..."

He turned, "You're finally here. Come forward, that I treat you as people like you should be: traitors."

The Tower lit up above him. The color settled on his suit and his hair, although nothing he said to me was colored.

Still a few feet away from him, I giggled, "Don't be like that, Xiao."

As soon as his name came out of my mouth, he shot me with his eyes, "You dare to show up in front of me after getting us all in trouble? I didn't think you'd survive Jieung yong or The Puma." My legs trembled and I slowed my pace.

He turned his face toward me. It was too late.

There was no one within a few dozen meters. He could shoot me down without worrying about the noise of the guns. I stopped completely.

Why was I so scared? Didn't I have my own gun too? Just like the lovers of the Trocadero. "The habits of the profession are just the habits..."

He turned, "You're finally here. Come forward, that I treat you as people like you should be: traitors."

The Tower lit up above him. The color settled on his suit and his hair, although nothing he said to me was colored.

Still a few feet away from him, I giggled, "Don't be like that, Xiao."

As soon as his name came out of my mouth, he shot me with his eyes, "You dare to show up in front of me after getting us all in trouble? I didn't think you'd survive Jieung yong or Puma." He unzipped the bass case, "As for me, I don't plan to lose to you anymore."

"What?"

"Don't be the one who doesn't understand. After shooting #3 and #2, I'm the only one left before ending the order to execute you."

What! No! That wasn't my goal. I outstretched my arms in front of me,

"Wait, that's not what I meant by 'talk'! Well, it is, but not in that sense!"

Xiaojian stopped opening the case, "Taking advantage of Boss's law is the best thing to do, so why don't you do it? It's not like you've never hurt me before. What else do you mean by 'talk'?"

Xiao...I was about to say his name and bit my tongue, "I don't want to hurt you," the blood rolled on my mouth, "Especially not you."

"If you didn't want to, you had to help us when we asked you."

My face fell apart, "I didn't realize what would happen to the Firm after my act, I have to admit."

" Instead, say you knew and didn't care."

I raised my voice, "You don't get it at all! I'm not on the side of the police. Henriette, whatever her position, is my friend."

I loved Henriette. In a different way from Xiao, of course, but not in a less intense way. Choosing between my life and my mother's life, my lover's life, or my friend's life was not for me. What was stopping him from seeing that?

Xiao squeezed his fingers on the cover of his machine gun. His metal barrel shone in accordance with the lights of the Eiffel Tower and reminded me that if I didn't act quickly, the sight of this interplay of colors would have been the last thing I would have ever seen.

"So you're not working with the police."

"No."

"In that case, you've got 20 seconds to prove to me that you're not a traitor before I deal with the situation myself," he unzipped part of his case.

He didn't need to say anything else. I collapsed to the ground. Contact with the pellet tore the skin off my knee. Prostrating myself, I flung my forehead to the ground, "I beg you. Please don't do this. We weren't like this before."

He took a step back, "Feelings have no place at work."

I lifted my head off the ground with a scratch on my forehead, "Then why did you take care of me when you were still at a Tai?"

He unzipped his case again, but his hands seemed to be fighting against his will, "That's not the point."

"Besides, you accused me of being a traitor when you left your own king."

"That has nothing to do with it!" He released his weapon from his hiding place, "I'm gonna kill you."

"Go ahead," I closed my eyelids, "Feel free to do so."

"You...You! You're always like that! You haven't proven anything to me and you know that."

I took a breath of fresh air, "I haven't given up yet. I know you won't kill me."

A nervous laugh erupted, "Any last things you want to say?"

"Yes, I do." All I had to do was confess the same thing to him as the girls next door. I took out my last card of the deck, "Actually," my cheeks flared up, "I like you a lot. In the end."

"And?"

"You know... like Henriette and Mrs. Ndongo over there. In a... romantic way."

He let the machine gun hit the ground and dragged it towards me. Even though my soul didn't leave me in peace, I kept my eyes closed. The footsteps of his dress shoes were only inches away from me, "Do you really mean what you say?"

I nodded.

Wei Xiaojian knelt down in front of me. He said nothing, and the breath of his voice caressed my skin, "In that case, I am convinced." He squeezed my shoulder. His warmth spread through my body, "You can open your eyes, I won't do anything to you."

I did. His face was only tens of millimeters away, "You're not a traitor. I know where the policeman is now."

What I was feeling not even two seconds ago, was it the heat? For there was nothing colder than his words. I was frozen to the ground.

Xiao stood up, "So that's what the racket was all about?" He put his gun in its holster, closed it, and went to the opposite side of the park, like the rest of the townspeople.

On the ground, I let my bodily fluids run down my face, without holding me back. I gave him my most personal thing and he ignored it. In front of me. Right now, nothing would please me more than a hug and words of comfort, but Wei has resigned from that role. Who could replace him?