Chapter 38.C: Invitation to “Read”
Ngan’s smile was still on her lips. A challenging, understanding, and slightly dangerous smile. She knew he had thrown out a challenge. He had turned his cards over, shown her that he knew everything, that he was just watching.
And Ngan, in her whole life, never liked to act for others to see.
She moved slightly.
A small movement, but full of purpose. She leaned down a little, her hands resting on the back of Quan’s chair, her body leaning forward slightly. The action immediately broke the safe distance between them. He could smell the gentle scent of her hair, a complex scent of night dew, wood smoke, and women. Her loose shirt fell down, revealing the white hollow of her neck and the faint curve of her breasts inside.
She lowered her voice. A seductive, mysterious whisper, loud enough for only him to hear, cutting them off from the world, from the two still sitting stunned in the distance.
“In books it’s probably not as good as in real life.”
She looked deep into his eyes, without a trace of hesitation. Her gaze flashed with a wild fire, an open invitation.
“Do you want to ‘read’ it?”
A masterpiece.
The invitation was not vulgar. It struck at Quan’s core: his curiosity, his desire to analyze and explore. She wasn’t asking him to have sex. She was asking him to participate in a study, as an insider. She was offering him the one thing a man like him could never refuse: access to the truth, in its most naked form.
The silence was broken.
A genuine smile, a smile of admiration and utter pleasure, spread across Quan’s lips. He was checkmated, and he loved the feeling. He slowly, very slowly, closed the book.
*Pop.*
The sound of hardcovers hitting each other rang out, a dry and decisive sound in the silence. The psychological game was over. The observer had accepted the invitation.
“With pleasure, ‘old lady’.”
He stood up. Ngan also stood up straight. They said nothing more, just looked at each other, an understanding had been signed.
Then they both turned around and walked towards Minh and Tung. The two were still sitting there, stunned, eyes wide open, completely unaware of what had just happened. They only saw their enemy and their prey, after a whispered conversation, now walking side by side like old allies.