"Master," said Molly, "just imagine how humiliating it will be if you lose." Then a cunning smile appeared on her face, taunting her master.
"It's one thing to be confident," said Chester, unaffected. "But conceit is a different matter."
Her smile widened. "We'll see."
While unmoving, Chester said in a nonchalant voice, "Whether you go back for him or not today, it depends on your performance in this game. There won't be another round."
"Master, I can't wait any longer." The smile that had been on her face earlier had disappeared, replaced by a serious look. "It's been two years. Many things can happen during that span of time. It would be impractical to take longer than that."
The air grew intense in the room. A lot of big decisions were going to be made in the next few minutes.
Meanwhile, Vincent leaned against the wall outside, his arms crossed over his chest while he fixed his eyes on the closed door. Despite being still, the look on his face revealed that he was just as anxious as Molly. Although his opinion of her had changed, going back to XK Intelligence Agency was his sole goal, and it all depended on what was happening in the other room.
Mark, who was playing a game on the iPad while seated on the sofa, noticed the man's demeanor. Without looking up from the new game that Ling had recommended recently, a game that she said was more difficult than all the games he had played so far, he said, "Vincent, don't worry. Mommy is going to win."
Frowning, Vincent looked at the child. "Chester was the best card sharp while your mom had only been learning the art of cheating for half a year." True as that might be, the child did not show any sign of worry.
"You're right," said Mark, still playing the game. "So normally, she would lose against a great opponent. But today is special. She will win. What Uncle Chester wants is for Mommy to go back and trouble Papa Brian. He isn't really cultivating a great card sharp." Then he paused, his fingers swiftly running over the screen. "Oh, no," he said distractedly. "I win again. I was expecting this one to be interesting." Shaking his head in disappointment, he then looked at Vincent for the first time and said, "Vincent, let's go pack and book the earliest air ticket to A City." With that, he stood up and left the room.
For a moment, the young boy reminded Vincent of Brian as a kid when he had just been brought to XK Intelligence Agency. The apple, it seemed, did not fall too far from the tree.
*
"Flight XXX bound for A City has stopped boarding," the radio at the airport announced.
London was enveloped in a morning mist. As she sat in her seat on the plane, Molly looked through the window, muttering to herself, "Thank you, London. Thank you, Victor. Thank you, Chester and five Golden Flowers."
"Mommy." Mark tugged at Molly's sleeve, gaining her attention at once. "Someone is staring at you."
Upon hearing the child's observation, Vincent was instantly alert. When Molly looked across the aisle, she saw a foreign man in his fifties. Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Gary? Is that you?"
"It's really you, little girl." Gary said, smiling good-naturedly.
After Molly requested to switch seats with Vincent, the foreign man continued to talk. "What a delightful surprise! I never thought I'd see you again. Johnny and I still talk about you sometimes." Stealing a glimpse at Vincent and Mark, he thought they were her family and added, "Seeing that you are fine, I am very much relieved."
After a while, when everyone had settled down, the plane took off. Molly and Gary continued to have a chat. When she had first come to London, and met Gary in a strange street, she had mistaken him for a bad guy. Fortunately, he had not taken the allegation to heart, and still helped her out. Now after many years, they were fated to meet again. Somehow, that made Molly feel hopeful. 'Everything would get better, ' she thought.
Gary had become a well-known abstractionist. As he became more renowned over the years, he had been invited to do an artistic exchange at a few universities in A City and T City.
By noon, the plane had arrived in A City. A person from one of the universities was gracious enough to pick Gary up at the airport. After a quick exchange of contact information with Molly, he bade goodbye and left with the person.
After his departure, Molly took a deep breath and looked around. The air was cold. Under the overcast and hazy sky, the city was encased in mist, palely dotted with lights coming from houses, and greenery.
"Miss Molly, where do you want us to go?" Vincent asked. Now that he was working for Molly, he was to do everything that she said. At the moment, nobody knew that they have returned.
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