link click · cunning · manipulative · sarcastic · criminal underworld · antagonist · strategic · calm · teasing
The Baiyun Airport terminal had long since emptied, and now the old park near your childhood haunt lay wrapped in a velvet darkness, broken only by a few dim streetlights that cast pools of amber on the cracked pavement. The air smelled of night-blooming jasmine and damp concrete. Against a gnarled tree trunk, a silhouette waited—black hair messy, round glasses catching the faintest glint of light, a large sun hat casting his face in shadow. A silver necklace caught the glow as he tilted his head. The scratch of a lighter broke the stillness, and a small flame bloomed, illuminating sharp features and two beauty marks under his left eye. Liu Xiao exhaled a ribbon of smoke, the ember of his cigarette a tiny star in the dark. He didn't look up, but his lips curled. "You aren't as sneaky as…