Chapter 74: Moth And Flame!

Chapter 74: Moth And Flame!

It was late Friday morning, and our grueling four-hour Principles of Management class was finally winding down to its last few minutes. I leaned back against the hard plastic of my seat, tuning out the low hum of the projector as I let my mind drift back over the absolute highlights of this past week.

Yesterday had marked the official end of an era in our computer science wing. Our temporary computer teacher, Shen, spent the final ten minutes of her lecture saying her goodbyes as a substitute before the permanent replacement takes over on Monday. The woman was over-acting the entire time, weeping and carrying on like she was our collective mother, lamenting how deeply she would miss seeing our faces every single morning.

Nadia and Nichole were practically throwing a celebration over her departure. Teacher Shen had spent her entire tenure acting as an absolute roadblock, constantly cock-blocking the twins from aggressively riding me in the back seat of the car during our morning commutes. Honestly, the twins are incredibly cute when they are actually forced to behave themselves, but I will absolutely never tell them that to their faces.

Just like Mary, Nadia and Nichole have officially entered their twelfth week of pregnancy, marking the end of their third month, and they are both finally starting to show just a tiny bit. Thankfully, with my Advanced Medicine skill hardwired into my daily routine, I am perfectly equipped to understand and carefully monitor our intimate physical activity, ensuring every single encounter remains completely safe and healthy for my pregnant lovers.

Before she walked out the door for the last time, Teacher Shen actually cornered me and threatened that I better visit Victoria's office once in a while, or she would personally make my academic life an absolute living hell through her boss.

Lucy Shen really gives off a deeply caring older sister or aunt vibe whenever she is around me. I know there isn't a single shred of mutual attraction between us, but she genuinely seems invested in how things are progressing with her superior.

Over in the athletic department, Coach Love-Triangle has been absolutely thrilled with my instructional work. I have been helping her train some of the more promising, team-oriented martial arts students, and she even coordinated a few official roster transfers into my class so they could work directly with me.

I can tell the coach desperately wants to lock down a victory in this winter's upcoming Azure State Cup for Kung-Fu. The entire second half of our academic year is going to be focused strictly on the Nationals, and she is highly optimistic that our squad can make a serious run for the title.

As for my social life, I had a quiet lunch with Tina yesterday afternoon. She didn't hesitate to boldly tell me that she wants to make love to me the second the Saturday match officially concludes. She also mentioned that her mother had finally found out about our arrangement, but instead of throwing a tantrum, Lane Feng just smiled at Tina and hugged her tightly, acting as if her daughter had done an incredible job securing a prize.

Yeah, I had fully expected a furious, threatening phone call from Lane Feng, but instead, I found out I will be sitting down to eat a formal lunch with their family this coming Sunday, which was undoubtedly a product of Tina's personal planning.

Oh, and then there was the Song family. They proved to be a hell of a lot smarter than Scott and his idiot mother, immediately figuring out that the limousine fire and the luxury club fire happening at the exact same time was a deliberate, coordinated warning shot. For the life of them, however, they couldn't figure out who in the city would be bold enough to strike at them so openly. Plus, the reports of that unknown blonde butler wandering through their private estate gave them serious pause.

They currently have a strong hunch that the entire disaster is tied directly to the frozen accounts and Scott's mother, mostly because of the sheer financial ruin it brought down on their heads. They also figured out that the club only got targeted because Scott frequents the venue so often, which was actually entirely correct on their part. They just couldn't bring themselves to believe that a kid like Rick Lee was capable of orchestrating such a massive, multi-layered operations run, so my name wasn't even listed as a potential suspect.

Meanwhile, Linda has been hitting up my phone more and more frequently, texting me for extra clues about what my life was like as a young child before high school started. She had paid extremely close attention back when we were in high school together, so she already knew all the standard facts from those years, and she firmly believed that hearing old stories second-hand from Mary wasn't nearly as good as getting them straight from the source.

James, on the other hand, was still completely unaware that Victoria and I had personally crashed his big evening date. It was a damn good thing he didn't know, because my poor buddy was currently sitting right next to me under the lecture hall lights, completely freaking out. He had brought an entire stash of junk food to class and had been binge-munching on snacks for the last three hours out of pure nervousness. Ashley really is a beautiful girl, easily counted as one of the top ten beauties across the entire Star University campus, so the pressure was destroying his confidence.

"Brother, what should I talk about?" James whispered hoarsely, his knuckles white as he squeezed a bag of chips. "I forgot my lines!"

Sitting just one row over, Cat Woo let out a sharp, irritated hiss, clearly annoyed at him for constantly whining about whatever advice his blonde sister had given him. "Fuck, I hope she stands you up so you shut up, sigh."

If I wasn't such close friends with James, I probably would have snapped and said the exact same thing to him.

Right on cue, the sharp click of a marker being capped signaled the end of the period, and Victoria finished up her closing remarks before looking out over the rows of desks. "Please pass your employee workflow-chart to Mr Lee on your way out to be graded, and everyone have a safe week."

The lecture hall erupted into a flurry of rustling backpacks as everyone made a mad dash for the exit. Scott swaggered down the steps, a smug, punchable grin spread across his face as he dropped his stupid paper directly onto the front podium right in front of me.

"I have noticed you and Linda talking a lot." Scott sneered, his voice dripping with venom as he leaned in close. "Just remember, she is my woman not yours. So enjoy the little bit of time you have left with her, bye bastard."

As Scott turned his back to walk out the door, I didn't even blink. "Have you been horseback riding all this week? I have been noticing a faint shit smell coming off your body?"

I watched his fists tighten instantly, his posture turning rigid for a split second before he forced himself to relax. He turned back around and flashed a dark smile at me, looking at me as if I were already a dead man walking.

Well, it made perfect sense why he felt so confident; he genuinely believed he had successfully hired the city's top professional assassin to reap my soul last night, especially after transferring a cool one million dollars directly into the spoofed routing account I had set up for him.

Tina had been lingering near the doorway, and the moment she saw the heavy smirk on my face as Scott walked away, she smoothly slid over to my side. "So what are you two children doing now?"

I smiled back at her, keeping my voice low so we wouldn't be overheard while the last few students filtered out into the hallway. "He hired an assassin named Blood Demon to kill me last night. So he thinks I am a dead man."

The casual expression completely vanished from Tina's face, her brow furrowing as she stared at me. "Rick, are you sure it was Blood Demon? I can assure you he did not hire that assassin."

"Yup, I redirected Scott's call to me and I let him pay me to kill myself, ha-ha!" I chuckled, leaning against the edge of the desk.

Her face shifted into a cold, professional killer-expression, her gold eyes locking onto mine with absolute seriousness. "Rick dear, I am the Blood Demon, it's my work identity."

I froze, the laughter dying in my throat as a wave of genuine shock washed over me. "But Dan Song said he was a male friend?"

Tina let out a soft sigh, reaching up to poke the side of my head as if I were a total idiot. "Who is going to hire a young woman to kill their foes? No, my butler acts as Blood Demon when he is on the phone and when meeting others. I am called Blood Demon because of my crimson-hair, silly. No one ever sees me kill so my identity is unknown to anyone outside the family, and you. Not even Jenifer knows so keep it under wraps."

The moment she saw how deeply impressed I was by her secret operations profile, the icy demeanor dissolved, and she put her bright, charming smile right back on.

"Crap, I am both turned on and intimidated!" I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief. "But I am keeping Scott's money."

Tina rolled her eyes at my greed, though her gaze remained intensely playful. "Come to the event tomorrow and sit in the Tang section. Dont come to me at the event, I will just be with my family, and I will see you on Sunday, and don't forget, I want you."

With that final parting shot, she turned on her heel and charmingly swayed right out of the room, her hips moving with perfect grace. I stood behind the desk, trying to get the massive stack of student papers sorted into a neat pile while watching her disappear down the hall, when the distinct, sweet scent of vanilla suddenly drifted up from behind me. I knew exactly who it was without even looking.

My basic Acting skill kicked in instantly, perfectly schooling my facial expressions into a calm, professional mask. I turned around, holding up the heavy stack of documents toward my teacher. "Teacher Long, I have counted them all and everyone turned one in."

Victoria took the papers from my hands, smoothly sliding them into her leather shoulder bag before fixing me with a curious, intense stare. "I have heard much about Feng's challenge for the second daughter's hand in marriage. So your Number 2?"

I offered her a calm, innocent smile, adjusting the strap of my bag as I explained the situation. "Around 3 months ago, Tina Feng drafted me into their game without asking for my permission. But, Tina wanted me to win, so she did not have to marry those other men. The announcement did not mention it, but the Fire Birds Syndicate control is also on the line here."

Victoria’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, her posture shifting as she processed the news. "So both Tina Feng and the Fire Birds are a bound winning prize? I did not think you wanted to run a Syndicate."

I shook my head instantly, making my intentions completely clear. "Nope, I don't care about that at all. I only want to fight and beat up the Number 1 Steve Woo, Cats husband for harassing my wife. But..."

I paused, turning my gaze toward the large windows that looked out over the sunlit university courtyard before continuing. "My plan was to throw the fight and not win. However, Tina who slowly became my friend pleaded for me to win. So, I agreed to win it for her so she won't be sad."

Victoria stepped a little closer, her eyes searching my face. "Then if you win, what will you do?"

I hoisted my backpack over my shoulder, offering her a completely honest answer. "Tina Feng will become a lower number wife and she will run the Fire Birds. It is a marriage of convenience, but it will be more than that. We are partners and friends first though."

"What? Even with your wives, you have not had a 1st wife yet?!" Victoria gasped, completely caught off guard by the admission.

I gave a casual shrug of my shoulders. "I have a complicated background and my wives insisted I keep it open, but Mary as the 2nd wife is the default first."

She nodded slowly, a look of sudden understanding crossing her features as she made the connection. "It is because your mother was a Tang, right?"

"My maid is waiting for me, so I will be back in a bit before your last class ends so we can do the grading." I nodded, giving her a quick wave as I moved toward the threshold. "See you in a few hours."

From her third-floor office window, Victoria stood completely still, her gaze locked on the sunlit courtyard below as she watched me walk out to the driveway. She saw me slip smoothly into the passenger seat of Mei’s sleek white car, tracking the fluid, easy way the maid smiled back at me before shifting into gear and driving off with me in tow.

Leaning her forehead slightly against the cool glass, Victoria let out a faint, heavy breath. "Am I a moth or a flame?"

"Sadly boss, you're a moth I think."

Victoria jumped slightly, turning around quickly as she realized she hadn't even noticed Lucy Shen standing right next to her. The temporary computers teacher was leaning against the window frame, her eyes following the distant white car as it finally pulled out of the university gates.

Victoria cleared her throat, trying to regain her professional composure. "Did you come for lunch in my office?"

"Yup, my last computer class is done, so my role as substitute teacher has come to an end, but it was fun." Lucy offered a bright, cheerful grin, stretching her arms over her head. "Now I can take care of the office fully again, fufu."

Victoria adjusted her glasses, looking back down at the empty driveway for a split second. "I was given two VIP seats for tomorrow's night's fight, are you coming with me? If not, I don't think I will go."

"Nope, it is midnight and this old-lady is going to bed early." Lucy dismissed the offer with a swift wave of her hand, completely unbothered. "You youngsters can play all you want. Plus the whole thing is a waste of time."

The two of them turned away from the glass, walking side by side out into the quiet corridor. They entered the elevator, the mechanical hum filling the small space as they began heading down to Victoria's private office suite. Victoria looked over at her assistant, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Why is it a waste of time?" Victoria asked, her voice filled with genuine curiosity.

"Have you been living under a rock?" Lucy let out a sharp, amused laugh, looking at her boss as if she had lost her mind. "Rick Lee is a prodigy in martial arts and won't even break a sweat in this silly child fight. The only way he can lose is if he throws in the towel. What kind of stalker are you to not even have watched his fights?"

A faint, unmistakable crimson blush crept up Victoria’s neck and colored her cheeks, prompting her to immediately scold her employee in a sharp tone. "First, I am not a stalker. And I am not really interested in fighting, so I was just told by Ashley he was good, that's all I need to know."

Lucy stuck her tongue out playfully, completely unfazed by her boss's defensive reaction. "Soooo, If Rick said... He was not interested in the Victoria Long businesses, how would you feel?"

The words hit Victoria like a physical blow, dealing an immediate amount of silent mental damage to her pride. She had spent years painstakingly creating, building, and operating her commercial networks, and the mere thought of me regarding her life's work as completely uninteresting clearly shook her confidence. She blinked rapidly, her lips tightening before she finally managed to speak.

"Then do you have his recorded fights?" Victoria asked, her voice dropping as she tried to sound casual. "I will watch them during lunch?"

Hearing the amateur Rick stalker finally bend to the wisdom of the expert Rick stalker, Lucy simply smiled to herself, thoroughly pleased that her superior was finally learning to appreciate her nephew's tier of talent. She gave a firm, satisfied nod, and the two of them stepped out of the elevator as the doors slid open into the main office reception area...

Back at the house, things were moving at a much more comfortable pace. Thanks to Mei's incredible efficiency, I didn't have to slave away over a hot stove all afternoon, though I made sure to stay in the kitchen and help her prepare the main family meal for my wives.

I kept my eyes sharp, treating the session as a learning opportunity; Mei’s cooking skills were operating at a genuine advanced tier, and I wanted to continuously absorb her techniques until my own basic proficiency reached her level.

Once the cooking was finished, I went upstairs to change for the evening, making a conscious choice to leave my standard black long-coat in the closet this time. Knowing Victoria would most likely be showing up in her signature professional dark suit, I opted for a sharp, tailored grey outfit without a tie, wanting to keep the look clean but relaxed.

I made sure to pack incredibly light, slipping only my father’s reliable handgun fitted with a compact suppressor into my inner waistband holster. I wanted to be completely comfortable enough to take my jacket off during the dinner if the restaurant got warm, and unlike Tina, Victoria wasn't exactly a massive fan of seeing a guy bristling with a small army's worth of firearms.

Before heading out the door, I spent about an hour sitting on the living room sofa, completely relaxing with my pregnant wives as we watched their favorite soap operas together. I leaned in, kissing Hana and Mary each on the lips, giving them a quick, grounded breakdown of my monitoring plans for the evening before Mei finally escorted me out to the driveway to head back to the university campus.

As the luxury car pulled up to the curb near the academic quad, I opened the passenger door to step out, but Mei quickly reached over to stop me. She leaned across the console, her nimble fingers smoothing out the lapels of my grey jacket and straightening my collar with a soft, affectionate touch.

"I will be hiding in the background if you need me, and then I will take you home." Mei said, her eyes searching my face as she adjusted the fabric. "Feel free to drink since I will drive. Lastly, here is a pin so you can talk and I can hear what's going on if you need me."

She reached forward and deftly attached a tiny, polished metal pin shaped like a cute white bunny directly onto one of my open shirt buttons. I looked down at the childish design with a completely blank, deadpan expression, which only caused her to break out into a quiet, musical chuckle.

"You code named me Bunny so it will look less strange to call me with a bunny pin, fufu." Mei teased, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I shook my head slowly, letting out a soft sigh as I stepped out onto the pavement. "Whoever sent you to be my partner, has a strange sense of humor, sigh."

Mei just flashed a brilliant, knowing grin, shifting the car back into drive as she pulled away from the curb. She steered the vehicle into a heavily shadowed, secluded parking spot across the street, lowering her seat slightly so she could maintain a clear, unhindered line of sight on the building's entrance.

I walked up the grand stairwell and stood quietly near the threshold of Victoria's final lecture hall, watching her wrap up her closing remarks the second her eyes caught me waiting in the back.

"Please pass your employee workflow-chart to Mr Lee behind you, who is my teaching assistant, on your way out to be graded, and everyone have a safe week." Victoria announced to the room, gesturing toward me with a slight nod.

A low murmur rippled through the rows of desks as the students began gathering their things. Yeah, I could tell these guys all recognized my face from two weeks ago, back when they collectively thought I was some kind of suspicious, lingering creeper. Well, to be entirely fair to them, I did look incredibly suspicious that day while I was tracking security lines.

I stood by the door, collecting the thick stack of papers as the class filed out into the corridor. Once the last student vanished around the corner, I walked over to the front desk, carefully sliding the bundle of assignments into her leather shoulder bag.

"Mr Lee, I see you changed for tonight and not in your bodyguard outfit." Victoria said, her signature husky voice carrying a distinctly playful undertone as she looked over my grey attire. "Then I am guessing tonight should be peaceful?"

I shrugged my shoulders with an easy grin, completely aware that she was teasing me. "Sorry Teacher Long, but trouble comes looking for me, honestly."

She let out a soft laugh, and the two of us quietly exited the lecture hall, heading down the empty administrative hallway toward her private office to finish up the preliminary grading work.

By the time we cleared through the bulk of the paperwork, the clock was rapidly approaching 7 PM—the exact scheduled start time for James and Ashley’s big evening date. Victoria looked down at the finalized ledger, a satisfied, genuine grin spreading across her face as she leaned back in her office chair.

"Making you my teaching assistant was one of my better decisions, you are very efficient." Victoria said, her eyes shining as she looked up at me. "Let me get changed for dinner."

I blinked in surprise as she reached behind the heavy office door, pulling down a long, opaque designer clothing bag before marching directly into her private executive bathroom.

I had honestly assumed she was just going to wear her standard office-lady business suit to the restaurant, so the sudden wardrobe shift caught me off guard.

While the sound of running water and rustling fabric echoed from behind the closed bathroom door, I pulled out my smartphone and opened my secure Cat and Mouse application. I carefully scanned the localized digital grid, mapping out the real-world tracking nodes to see exactly who was lurking around the downtown perimeter.

I knew Mei was currently monitoring the exact same interface from her secluded spot across the street, but with a high-profile target like the Tang family involved, I needed to ensure my own muscle memory was ready to react if any incoming idiots tried to ambush the venue.

A sharp click signaled the opening of the bathroom door, and the moment Victoria stepped out into the office, my mind went completely blank. I just stood there, stupidly staring at my teacher like a total idiot.

She had swept her dark purple hair up into a loose, incredibly elegant bun, completely exposing the elegant line of her neck. She was wearing a stunning, form-fitting red dinner dress that cut off just a tasteful few inches above her knees, highlighting her legs perfectly. The low-cut neckline displayed an incredibly enticing, tasteful amount of cleavage—more than enough to instantly trigger a barrage of vivid fantasies in my mind.

As I watched, she slowly, deliberately slid a matching red, thin jacket over her shoulders, smoothly covering up her arms and dialed back the sheer level of raw seduction. I couldn't shake the sudden, distinct internal feeling that she had performed that entire final layer of dressing specifically for my benefit; after all, she easily could have put the jacket on while she was still safely inside the bathroom, right?

Victoria smoothed down the fabric of her skirt, looking at me with a sudden touch of hesitation in her eyes. "This outfit, is it too much? I thought since we were chaperoning them, I would look a bit more intimidating if I stayed in my business-suit?"

I scratched the back of my head, deciding that complete honesty was the best policy. "My only concern is if James can focus on talking with Ashley, with you dressed like that, but it looks good."

Victoria’s lips twitched with a faint smile at the compliment. She picked up her designer purse and her remaining school materials, and we made our way out to the parking garage.

Being a gentleman, I smoothly took her heavy leather school bag from her grip, carrying the weight as we descended to the lower levels.

Climbing out of her luxurious, midnight-black BMW 7-Series sedan a short while later, we paused on the pavement to quickly straighten our outfits before heading into the brightly lit, packed entrance of the BBQ House.

Since Victoria and I were technically operating under a professional guise and weren't on an actual romantic date, we didn't hold arms or make any physical contact as we crossed the threshold, but I made sure to stand close to her side as she approached the front podium.

The hostess at the front desk immediately recognized Victoria as the true, underlying owner of the entire establishment. Her eyes widened, and she swiftly gathered a set of menus, skipping the main floor crowd entirely to personally lead us up the wide wooden staircase toward the more private, exclusive second-floor dining area.

We were guided to a darker, significantly quieter corner of the upper floor, far away from the noise of the main dining room. Victoria looked over the arrangement of the row of six secluded booths, turning to me with a sharp, tactical look.

"We will let them sit side by side, so you and I will put our backs in the corner-booth." Victoria instructed, pointing toward the deep leather seats.

She wanted us to position ourselves with our backs firmly against the wall, giving us an unhindered, perfect view of the entire room so we could keep an eye out for any anomalies. She slid into the inside booth seat first, leaving me to sit on the outside edge, effectively boxing her in against the corner.

When the waiter arrived, Victoria smoothly ordered a high-end bottle of white wine for the table. It was perfectly fine by me; since Mei was currently stationed outside ready to act as our designated driver, I could easily handle a few glasses of alcohol without having to worry about operational safety.

Victoria pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, taking a slow, elegant sip of her wine before leaning across the table toward me. "Rick, tomorrow night, will you be going to the midnight-event?"

I shrugged my shoulders casually, swirling the pale liquid in my own glass. "I think I am, but I had not made plans."

"Did you get your tickets?" Victoria asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

I took a sip of the wine, noting the exceptionally smooth, high-quality vintage before looking at her in genuine confusion. "No, I was just going to show up and buy some then."

A beautiful, distinctly amused smile spread across Victoria’s face as she shook her head at my ignorance. "The seats are sold out, you know?"

"Damn, really?" I muttered, genuinely caught off guard.

Before she could answer, the heavy sound of footsteps echoing up the wooden stairs announced the arrival of our guests. I turned my head to see a completely stunned James being led toward our corner by the hostess, with a beautifully dressed Ashley walking right at his side.

"Rick brother and teacher Long, you guys are joining us?!" James blurted out, his jaw dropping as his eyes darted between the two of us and the high-end booth setup.

Ashley let out a soft giggle, reaching over to gently tap his shoulder before leaning in close to whisper directly into his ear. "My aunt got the table and is paying for everything and anything, so let's do it."

The moment the magic word left her lips, the broke-man financial survival instincts hardwired into James's brain instantly took over. Hearing that everything was entirely FREE—a concept that every college student on earth loved with a passion—James nodded his head rapidly, acting as if her words were the most profoundly logical thing he had ever heard in his life.

The two of them quickly slid into the opposing seats side by side. James and Ashley gave their drink orders to the waiting hostess, and the second she stepped away, my good buddy decided to kick the evening off with an absolute, unmitigated bang.

"Wow, I am surprised we are on a double date!" James exclaimed, his face absolutely beaming with pure, unadulterated excitement.

Across the table, Victoria and I instantly froze, completely speechless as we stared back at his ecstatic face in absolute, stunned silence.