Bai Li walked towards the delivery man. A nervous giggle slipped past his lips. Since when did commandos part-time as delivery men?

This was one of the men who was guarding Knox at the hospital. If things like this continued to happen, Bai Li would end up developing stomach issues. He needed to get back into the mindset where he looked forward to the challenge and thrived on the stress.

The man got visibly more nervous the closer he got. He rubbed a hand on his chest. “Are you Mr. Bai? This is a prize you won for spending more than $2000 at LP computer store.”

Was this a mind game or Knox’s way of saying he would be upfront with his activities? It was hard to tell. He would continue to wait and see. He didn’t want to have to fight against Knox Degas. He didn’t have the right foundation to do it.

“That is me.” Bai Li looked at the security desk to see the guard man watching them intensely. It wouldn’t be strange if his father found out about this. Not to mention all the other people in the building who paid to have him keep an eye out.

As he looked at the things inside the basket, he was even more suspicious. It looked like a regular prize. There was tin food and a bottle of sparkling wine. The more ordinary it looked, the more his heart raced.

He took the basket. “Tell the sender thank you for me. I appreciate it.”

The man smiled as if he was in on a secret. “As long as you continue to shop with us, that will be the best thing.”

Giving two hollow laughs, he signed the receipt.

Getting on the elevator, he couldn’t stop steering at the package in his hand. It felt like a heavy hot potato. Knox said it contained what he needed most. The things Bai Li needed most, other than a new family, were people and capital.

In his room, he placed the basket on the table and stared at it. He had the feeling that if he opened it, his life would go down a path he couldn’t imagine.

There was no turning back. Even if Knox handed him poison, he would use it to the best of his abilities and poison him back. That was how he lived his life until this point. Using everything about him to his advantage.

If he had resolved to use Bai Wei back then, he would have seen her character and not ended up in the situation that he did.

Unwrapping the plastic, he placed all the foodstuff on the table and stared at the envelopes at the bottom of the basket. There were four of them, two thicker than the rest.

He started from the thinnest one.

Bai Li sucked in a sharp breath. He read twice before he could believe what he was seeing. The fifty thousand that Bai Tao had given him looked like chump change. A total of twenty million in assets was in front of him.

Picking up the second envelope, he read the contents. Bai Li burst into laughter. It was pictures and proof that Ping An was in contact with the Goldstein family. He checked the dates. Everything was dated after he decided to go to C School.

Was Ping An sloppy because she wasn’t prepared? Or was Knox that good?

Looking at his phone, he wondered if he should call. Having an ally was better than an enemy. There were no eternal allies or enemies. Only benefits. He couldn’t remember who said it, but it was the truth.

Since the opportunity presented itself, he would be a fool not to take it. He would take the chance and call after he looked through everything.

The third envelope. He could hardly contain his excitement. This was like someone handing you a pillow as you were falling asleep. Then after see you were cold, covering you with a blanket. The third envelope contained the information on the Trident security team that was being assigned to him. He would be free to use them for a year. He would have to pay and renew the contract after that.

The last envelope was like being gently woken up after a long night’s sleep and then being served breakfast in bed. It contained: banking information, company registration, and international business permit.

This took care of all the things he would have to rely on Ping Zen or Bai Tao to take care of. It was troublesome being a minor. Not for the first time, he wished he was in a novel where common sense didn’t apply.

He added an accountant to the list of things he needed to get. His plans were progressing faster and smoother than he expected.

Picking up his phone, he dialed the number he knew people would kill to have.

“Little Li. I didn’t expect to hear from you this soon.” Knox answered on the first ring.

Are you still saying that when you answered so quickly?
“Bullshit.” Bai Li decided to throw away his act in front of this man. Their cooperation would be a long one. “How much can I trust the men you sent to my side?”

“You mean how much you can expect them to report to me?” Knox stated. “We are a professional company. The men by your side are your people. Trident wouldn’t have lasted this long if our clients couldn’t trust our discretion.”

There was the sound of shouting in the background. “I have other people keeping an eye on you.”

Bai Li would take that with a grain of salt.

“Why the interest in me?” Bai Li decided to take the chance and be upfront.

Knox laughed. He had not been expecting this question, but it was refreshing to have someone be so upfront. “Bai Li, who are you? Every time I see you, I get this stuffy burning feeling in my chest. I must talk to you. I don’t know how to explain it. It only happens when I see you in person. My rationality goes out the door. Can you tell me why?”

“What kind of bullshit are you saying?” That was Bai Li’s gut reaction, but something in the back of his mind clicked. He chased the thought. He had been reborn. He always kept in mind that his being here would change things.

Was this a one-off event?. Was he the only person who ever got this opportunity?

He saved Knox’s life.

“You have only seen me once.” Bai Li bought time as his mind ran a million miles an hour.

“I went to see you at the mall. I was so shocked by my reaction at the Hospital. I watched the video footage and the effect wasn’t the same. The third time I saw you, it was less strong.” Knox’s voice was intense. “Why is that, Little Li?”

Wasn’t this all about cause and effect?

He would need to experiment with this more. Did he aff the people’s lives he saved?

“Would you believe it if I said I wasn’t the only one? All of the men who were there with me said they had an odd reaction when they were near you. Except for one, can you guess which one? Even that doctor ran home to complain about how irritating your face was. He couldn’t keep calm.”

Bai Li felt his back go cold. If he could experiment, couldn’t someone else?

Avoid!!!! His mind shouted. “Where is this coming from?” Bai Li kept his voice calm. “Is that the reason you are interested in me? Because you get all bothered when I am around.”

Knox laughed. “ I am curious. Very curious.” His voice was lazy. He never expected a straight answer anyway. “You would be shocked if you knew my first thoughts. I am an intense person. Possessive even. Now I just want to see where this goes. What things do you know?”

Bai Li rubbed his chest. The need to tell someone overwhelming. “I know a lot of things.”

“Don’t get be on guard, Little Li, we have time, a lot of time thanks to you.” Knox wasn’t in a rush.

That was not reassuring. “What did you do in regards to my mother?” This conversation needed to get back on track. Even if he wanted to tell, the only safe secret was the one no one knew.

“Keep your secrets. Your mother is nuts. When my team started looking, it was like crawling into an ant nest. Everything was dead ends and traps. I am thinking of using her to train my team. Even I would benefit from studying her.” Knox looked at the information they had on the Bai and Ping family.

“The information regarding the Goldstein family was damn hard to find. I think she did it to get caught. She gave it up to hide something else.” Knox tapped his finger on the desk. “ as for getting her off your back. I threw her a bone. Did you know that your father had a first love?”