Chapter 121: A Risky Gambit
It was already the wee hours of the morning, and they had had a busy night. Li Chen had rested his eyes in the car and found himself falling asleep. When they arrived at Sun Lixia’s villa, she looked at Li Chen sleeping, feeling a twinge of guilt about waking him up. With a heavy heart, she gently patted his shoulder a few times before Li Chen opened his eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep.
"We have arrived. You can go to rest after meeting the person I want you to meet," Sun Lixia said with a soft tone.
Li Chen, still groggy from sleep, mumbled a response. They got out of the car and walked into the villa, the cold November air rushing through Li Chen’s cheeks, causing him to be fully awake. The exterior of the villa looked even more majestic in the pre-dawn light.
As they stepped into the well-lit foyer of the villa, the atmosphere felt both elegant and mysterious. Sun Lixia led Li Chen through the luxurious interior, adorned with exquisite artworks and tasteful furnishings. The faint fragrance of orchids lingered in the air.
Sun Lixia stopped in front of a door and turned to Li Chen. With a serious yet slightly hesitant expression, she said, "Li Chen, I want you to meet someone important. Someone who can help us navigate the complexities we’re facing."
Li Chen nodded, his curiosity growing. Sun Lixia opened the door, revealing a dimly lit room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A figure stood by the window, silhouetted against the moonlit night.
"Li Yanyan," Sun Lixia called out, and the figure turned around. Li Chen’s eyes widened as he recognized the elegant woman who had been conversing with his mother on the phone.
Li Chen was stunned when he saw the elegant woman. "Aunt Yanyan?" he exclaimed. Li Yanyan stood up, giving him a big hug, and said, "I thought you wouldn’t recognize me." Li Chen replied, "I have a photo of you. Of course, I can never forget you." Li Yanyan smiled, saying, "Look at you, all grown up. No longer that curious troublesome boy you were." Li Chen blushed at the mention of his childhood, saying, "Where were you? Why did you leave me alone? I was only seven years old."
Li Yanyan sighed, "I am sorry, Li Chen. I had to leave for your own protection." Li Chen retorted, "Seems like I grew up an alone orphan for my own protection." Sun Lixia heard the words, her heart aching with guilt. "I am sorry, son. Sorry you had to go through life without us," she said. Li Chen then turned to Li Yanyan, asking, "So, Aunt Yanyan, you are back now?" Li Yanyan replied, "Your mother called me here, so yes, you can say that."
Li Chen felt his heart tinge with happiness. He loved Li Yanyan because, in his childhood, she was the only one who had shown him real love. After she disappeared when he was seven, everything changed. The other people he lived with never treated him well. Now, with Li Yanyan back, he felt a sense of completeness, a missing piece of his life falling back into place. The reunion brought a mix of emotions—joy for her return and questions about the past that lingered in the air. As they continued to talk and catch up on lost time, Li Chen couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope and the warmth of familial bonds rekindling after years of separation.
After chatting for a bit, Sun Lixia’s expression shifted, her eyes conveying a sense of urgency. "I have something important we need to discuss," she said, her voice carrying a weight that caught Li Yanyan’s attention. Li Chen, seated nearby, felt a palpable tension in the air, sensing that something significant was about to unfold.
Li Yanyan’s demeanor changed, a mix of curiosity and readiness in her eyes as she responded, "I am listening."
Sun Lixia took a moment before revealing, "You know someone had hired assassins to kill me and Li Chen, right?" Li Yanyan nodded, her concern deepening. "Yes, Ding Chengxi informed me, but I knew they wouldn’t succeed with Shadow around."
Sun Lixia paused, her gaze locking onto Li Yanyan’s, "Well, they sent Agent 17 of the First 20. Shadow had a battle with him, and 17’s mask fell off." Li Yanyan’s confusion grew, uncertainty clouding her features as she awaited the crucial revelation. Sun Lixia then dropped the bombshell, her words laden with unexpected emotion, "Shadow says 17 looks like him," she said, pointing directly at Li Chen.
A stunned silence enveloped them, emotions swirling in the revelation’s wake. Li Yanyan’s eyes widened, grappling with the unexpected connection between her nephew and the mysterious Agent 17. The air hung heavy with tension as they collectively processed the implications of this newfound revelation, a revelation that seemed to tie Li Chen to a dangerous web they were only beginning to untangle.
Li Yanyan, caught in the whirlwind of revelations, uttered in disbelief, "Wait, you mean..." Sun Lixia interjected, completing the thought, "He said he looks like he could be Li Chen’s twin, with just a few different features." Li Yanyan’s eyes widened, realization slowly dawning on her. "Does this mean..." she began, her voice trembling. Sun Lixia, equally uncertain, replied, "I don’t know, sister-in-law. I don’t recall giving birth to twins." Li Yanyan pressed, "But my brother left the room when you gave birth, and..." Sun Lixia interrupted, "I blacked out due to pain."
The weight of the unknown hung in the air, a profound revelation that needed careful unraveling. Li Yanyan, grappling with the implications, asserted, "Anything is possible; this needs to be investigated." Sun Lixia concurred, "That is why I called you here. I can’t do this alone." Li Yanyan acknowledged the gravity of the situation, "This means we have to move forward with the plans of taking down the organization." Sun Lixia, driven by maternal determination, declared, "If that is my boy, I want him back." Li Yanyan, mirroring the sentiment, added, "I know. That might be my brother’s son. I want him back too."
Li Chen, sitting there quietly, contemplated the situation. After a thoughtful pause, he suggested, "Maybe we should give Agent 17 bait." Li Yanyan questioned, "What do you mean?" Li Chen explained, "Ever since Mom arrived, I have been moving around with a lot of bodyguards. What if Mom and I are in a place with no security?" Sun Lixia vehemently objected, "No, I won’t allow you to be used as bait. I will do it." Li Chen persisted, "I can fight him, Mom, just to get his hair." Li Yanyan interjected, "No way. I won’t allow you to fight people who are trained killers." Li Chen asserted, "Mom, you have seen me fight. Do you think Agent 17 can kill me that easily?" Sun Lixia, taking a deep breath, replied, "Still..." Li Chen, determined, said, "Mom, I am not a child. Just stop protecting me like I am a five-year-old or something." The room fell silent, the tension palpable, as the trio grappled with the complex decisions that lay ahead.
The room filled with a tense but determined energy. Li Yanyan, uncertain, asked, "Are you sure about this?" Li Chen, resolute, responded, "Hell, that could be my brother too. I also need to know if I have a twin brother out there." Sun Lixia, torn by conflicting emotions, added cautiously, "What if..." Li Chen interrupted, "You mean what if I die? Don’t worry, Shadow can be nearby. If it so happens that he overpowers me, he can take over."
Sun Lixia exhaled deeply, contemplating the risks of agreeing to the plan. Li Chen, sensing her hesitancy, pressed on, "I will do it even without your knowledge." Li Yanyan, breaking the tension with a light-hearted comment, remarked, "Well, sister-in-law, when you married my brother, you knew he was stubborn. Look at the child you made." Sun Lixia couldn’t help but chuckle, acknowledging, "He really is stubborn like his father."
Li Yanyan turned to Li Chen, practicality taking precedence, "If you’re going to do this, you need some training first." Li Chen, feeling the urgency of the situation, rebutted, "No, Aunt Yanyan. Time is running out. What if they change the person, seeing that 17 has not completed his mission?"
Their discussion left an unspoken understanding in the air—the gravity of their decisions weighed heavily, but urgency pushed them forward.
Sun Lixia, with a resigned tone, finally said, "Fine, since I can’t change your mind, we can do it." Li Yanyan, practical and strategic, added, "Settled then, but we need proper planning." The trio then delved into careful planning for the risky mission that Li Chen was about to undertake. The room echoed with the tapping of fingers on the table, the murmur of discussions, and the weight of decisions that would shape their future actions.
