Love Began with the First Meeting

Before long, they got their boarding passes from the ticket counter. Both their names were changed. After boarding the plane, they waited for about ten minutes before the plane took off.

Edgar glanced at Maggie, who seemed to be bored out of her mind, and then took out his cellphone to put it beside his ear. After the call was connected, he said, "I'm coming back to A City. I have something important that I must tend to... I just boarded the plane now." Brian wrinkled his well-defined brows slightly and his eyes darkened. He winked at the person in front of him and said, "And why are you telling me this?"

Edgar laughed. "Since when do I need a reason to call you?"

"You don't. But let's face it, you wouldn't call me for no reason."

An indistinct smile crossed Brian's lips.

"Hmm, I am coming back to finish a task this time..."

Edgar's voice was not loud, but loud enough so that Maggie could hear him. "Let's have dinner tonight."

"Sure," Brian quickly glanced over his watch. "I will have Tony pick you up at the airport."

"Okay. I'll see you later..." Edgar hung up the phone and found Maggie eyeing curiously.

"Uncle Three, who were you speaking to on the phone?"

Maggie came up with that nickname just moments after they arrived at the airport. In her words, William told her that when Edgar first enrolled into the army, his number was all three, and since he was more than ten years older than her, he was old enough to be her uncle. Edgar would usually correct her when she started to address him in this way, but he was not in the mood to say anything right now. He just stared at her blankly and decided to ignore her.

Maggie felt snubbed and figured that she would eventually find out who it was when they had dinner, so she didn't ask anymore. She pulled out a magazine from the back of her seat and flipped through the pages without any interest. She allowed curiosity to play with her mind instead of controlling her thought.

The wheels of the plane scratched the ground and made a thudding noise as it landed.

It took around more than two hours from S City to A City by air. When they arrived, the sun in A City was still hidden behind the Phoenix Mountain.

Just as Brian had said, Tony was waiting for Edgar at the exit. The two had grown to like each other. After loading their suitcases in the back of the car, Tony said casually, "Mr. Brian Long told me to drive you two to the hotel first."

Over the years Edgar's experiences had taught him that having a thick-skin came with its own perks. Since Brian embarrassed him in front of Molly and all the people of Eagle last year, he was willing to accept Brian's apology in the form of a free dinner and accommodation.

When Maggie watched with awe the street view of A City, which was dubbed to be an international metropolis, she had fallen in love with this city. When they reached Smile Hotel, she realized that she had wasted all her years by not living in this city. What was the meaning of low-key luxury?

This place described it perfectly.

Taking convenience into consideration, instead of reserving two separate rooms, Brian arranged the presidential suite for them with a balcony that overlooked the entire city. Edgar had absolutely no trouble accepting this. Maggie felt a bit awkward but she knew it was because of their job, so she didn't say anything.

"Mr. Brian Long is in a meeting but he will be here in about one hour."

Tony's voice was not overly respectful or indifferent. It had just the right amount of timbre to sound friendly. "You can rest up until then." Nodding his head courteously at them, he turned around and walked out the door.

"He is quite capable and efficient, and there are many unknown advantages hidden in his behavior. His eyes are sharp and indifferent..."

Maggie spoke as if she were talking to herself, "Even his subordinate carries himself with such poise and panache. Mr. Brian Long must be a big shot." She turned around to face Edgar as if to ask for his approval of her opinion. Edgar kept silent, glancing at her before he turned and opened his suitcase. He put the clothes in the wardrobe neatly and said, "You can get something to eat in the hotel or call room service later... The expenses will be paid for."

"What about you?" asked Maggie.

"I will go to see Mr. Brian Long."

"I will go with you!"

"No!" Edgar refused her at once.

Maggie moved closer to Edgar and tugged at his sleeve like a spoiled brat. "Uncle Three... This is my first time in A City. How can you leave me alone here? And..." Pouting her lips, she continued, "What if I run into those people alone and I don't know the situation? Do you think I should take action or not?" She looked at Edgar pitifully and said, "Uncle Three... I promise I will just eat my food and keep my mouth shut... How about you take me there just to have a look? Come on?"

Edgar gently rubbed the part between his eye-brows and smiled. "You are just a child. You're not old enough to get involved in the affairs of adults... As a member of Eagle, you have to face the truth..." He paused for effect and then continued, "No matter how hard the obstacles are. Moreover, this is your job. You need to complete your mission no matter what it takes."

Maggie's face contorted in anger, her eyes widened like two saucers and she said, "Edgar, are you kidding me? You expect me to finish the task when I don't even know who the opponent is or what I am going up against? You are being irresponsible..."

Edgar was in no mood for arguments, so he turned around and continued doing whatever he was doing before she interrupted him. At first, he recommended Maggie because she was smart, capable, resourceful in any emergency situation, and bold. All the qualities were needed to be a good soldier. Most importantly, she was a complete stranger.

But now Edgar was beginning to regret his decisions. Maggie was still young, only twenty-five years old and dealing with her own issues. What if he was wrong about her? How was he going to explain himself to her parents, his superiors?

Maggie was very clever, which was evident from the major she had chosen and the position she had reached at such an early age. Edgar's indifference was not as usual but with resistance.

"Are you unwilling to finish the task with me?" Maggie asked cautiously when she saw Edgar deliberately ignoring her. She curled her lips and squatted next to him. "I can see that from the way you've been acting. But I am not here just to have fun. This is against..." Suddenly, an unexpected occurrence cut her words short. Before Maggie found out that Edgar had an affair, she dreamed that someday the scenes from all her favorite romantic television shows would happen to her... While she was blabbering away, Edgar turned his head around and his lips accidentally brushed against hers. Needless to say, it was the good kind of accident.

Maggie's mind took a while to register what just happened. She stared at the face close at hand and a feeling of excitement welled up inside her. Her heart started palpitating and she could feel the heat rise in her face.

Edgar never expected to find himself in such an awkward situation. Practicing his self-control and sound judgment, he would look away and say, "I am sorry! I can't bring you with me."

But then... Why was his heart beating so rapidly? He even forgot to move away from her.

He didn't expect this girl's face to be so soft. After all, she trained every day. But why was her complexion so fair?

Edgar's mind was a mess and he could clearly hear the sound of a heart beating, but he didn't know if it was his heartbeat or Maggie's. Suddenly, the cell phone rang and the two pulled apart almost instantly. Having lost balance, they both ended up on the floor. Maggie's face flushed red as she looked at Edgar and swallowed. In the grip of silent panic, she staggered back to her feet and answered the phone as fast as she could. "Hello. Who is speaking?" She cast a sidelong glance at Edgar nervously and sensed that he was looking at her. She looked away quickly, averting his eyes.

Hana's voice echoed from the other end of the line, while Maggie stammered, searching for the right words. "Hmm, ummm... Hmm. Well... Oh, it's all right... I, I have to go." Before Hana could even finish, Maggie hung up abruptly. Then in order to appear unaffected, she raised her head high, still avoiding his eyes and said, "Hmm... Well... I am coming with you later whether you like it or not."

Edgar saw Maggie turning around complacently and suddenly felt frustrated for no reason. He sighed inwardly, ridiculing himself and quietly continued to sort out his things. The two made a secret pact about never mentioning what had happened just now.

In the end, Maggie concluded that she was going with Edgar because she believed that whatever Edgar would talk about at dinner with Brian Long would surely be related to the task. Any person Edgar would ask for help from had to be very powerful, and since she agreed to undertake the mission, she couldn't take her word back because she was afraid of the unknown.

Maggie glanced at Edgar sitting next to her and looked away instantly. The speed of her heartbeat doubled. After their little incident at the hotel, she couldn't get the thought of his lips and his touch out of her mind. Maggie must have been a wolf in her past life because she still couldn't stop thinking about him even though she knew he was up to no good.

She wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide her face.

While Maggie's thoughts ran amok inside her head, she caught a glimpse of Edgar's face turning towards the entrance to the dining hall. Before long her eyes caught the sight of a man dressed in a formal suit walking towards them with one hand inside his pocket. . 00000000