Chapter 435: Chapter 410 That Assassin Is Not Too Cold_2 Chapter 435: Chapter 410 That Assassin Is Not Too Cold_2 Apart from that, Zheng Tan had heard the term before when mingling with Ye Hao and his crowd. It seemed that Ye Hao and his people were quite wary of it, and they mentioned that one reason why many people were cautious of Mr. Kun was because of his Thirteen Grand Protectors.

Xiao Jiu lowered her voice and said, “I heard the Thirteen Grand Protectors were organized by Grandpa Kun back when he was young, thirteen people, thirteen assassins, helping Mr. Kun eliminate those on the hit list. But now, you don’t hear about them as much, and it seems like there’s been a few rounds of changes within the group. That’s what my teacher told me. Pity though, thirteen people, and I haven’t seen a single one.”

“By the way,” Xiao Jiu seemed to remember something and said to Zheng Tan, “I heard there’s a person among the thirteen whose codename is Black Cat. Heitan, do you think he looks like a cat? I really want to see him.”

Zheng Tan thought to himself grimly: He definitely didn’t want to meet an assassin–just hearing about the occupation let him know they were not good people, the cold and ruthless sort. If he knew who was an assassin, he would surely keep his distance.

Xiao Jiu, this girl, was getting bolder and bolder.

After their conversation, Xiao Jiu checked the time; she needed to hurry to the secondary school. If she went now, she’d arrive just in time for the lunch break.

After seeing Xiao Jiu onto the bus, Zheng Tan headed back but hadn’t walked far when he ran into Xiong Xiong riding his bike, who seemed especially happy today.

“Heitan, help me out again today! Hey, maybe after today, I’ll have made it!”

Zheng Tan stopped walking and looked at Xiong Xiong. The guy’s smile was so silly, he wondered if Xiong Xiong would smile even more stupidly if the girl actually accepted him?

Anyway, since it was a crucial moment, Zheng Tan would definitely help.

The time Xiong Xiong mentioned was four o’clock in the afternoon. Plus, with the extra hour spent, he should be able to get home in time for dinner.

Having set the time, at three o’clock in the afternoon, Zheng Tan saw Xiong Xiong, who had gotten himself dressed up. His hair was trimmed and styled into a slant-cut punk hairstyle, clearly freshly done at a hair salon that afternoon. Zheng Tan watched a TV program with Jiao Ma the day before, where a celebrity with that same hairstyle got severely criticized by Jiao Ma. Zheng Tan felt awkward at that moment because he used to like that haircut. Now seeing Xiong Xiong with it that afternoon, he wondered what Jiao Ma would think if she saw it. She’d probably feel there was a huge generation gap.

Xiong Xiong had a constant smile on his face, yet he was nervous. From time to time, he rubbed his palms on his pants, wiping sweat. It was winter, and many people were wearing cotton-padded jackets and thick sweaters, but this guy was sweating from nerves. Zheng Tan inwardly despised him.

Just scheduling a date and expressing feelings, was it worth all this anxiety?

It was still at that flower shop where, after Xiong Xiong got the flowers he had reserved, he took off in the car, and Zheng Tan crouched on the bike seat, helping him watch the bike.

To keep Zheng Tan from feeling cold, Xiong Xiong left a down vest in the basket, so Zheng Tan could huddle inside if he got cold. With Zheng Tan there, Xiong Xiong wasn’t worried about the vest being stolen. Of course, even if the vest got stolen, as long as his confession succeeded that day, it would still be a profitable deal in Xiong Xiong’s view.

Since the timing was different from the past few days, while Zheng Tan stayed there, he didn’t see the young man who waited for the bus with a backpack. Fortunately, neither did he see the Big Striped Cat, sparing him some annoyance.

Zheng Tan crouched on the bike seat, watching the pedestrians come and go and the vehicles on the road.

Time passed, and in winter, darkness fell early. By five-thirty in the afternoon, it was already somewhat dark, and by six, it was pitch-black. Yet, Xiong Xiong still hadn’t shown up.

Every time a gust of cold wind blew, Zheng Tan shivered but didn’t want to jump into the basket. He continued to crouch on the bike seat, cursing Xiong Xiong in his heart: He said one hour, damn it, this is almost two hours now! I’m freezing here, and if I get back late, I’ll still get an earful. When Xiong Xiong gets back, I definitely need to knock a good sum off him!

Yawning, Zheng Tan looked into the distance on the road. Every time a taxi drove by, Zheng Tan would watch intently, hoping to see the taxi pull over to the side and Xiong Xiong, that goofball, get out. But each time, he was disappointed.

In the distance, because a stretch of road was under repair and wasn’t smooth, the headlights of passing vehicles seemed bumpy, and the dust thrown up wasn’t as visible in the night as in daylight. However, it gave the bright headlights a foggy look, a fog that didn’t scatter even with the wind.

After sneezing, Zheng Tan hopped off the bike to move around a little and checked his surroundings.

The Big Striped Cat, because the shop was too crowded and probably annoyed by the petting, decided to come out for some fresh air. It hesitated at the doorway, shrunk back a bit, shook its paws, and scanned the area, seeming indecisive about going out into the cold. Eventually, it stepped out, one ear alert to the sounds from the road while the other ear rotated towards the small alley next to the restaurant.

Suddenly, it seemed to spot something.

A rat emerged from the square drain cover at the edge of the alley.

The Big Striped Cat was immediately excited, shedding its prior lethargy. Its muscles tensed, and it quickly moved to a more concealed corner before the rat noticed, crouching low, ready to pounce.

About the alley corner, it seemed that someone had spilled some food. The rat sniffed around, looking around cautiously. With no one approaching and not noticing the Big Striped Cat in hiding, it felt momentarily safe and began to eat the piece it had snatched up.