The Manipulated Villainess

Aston and Nicole were on their way back home. They decided to not be too late to minimize the risk. 

"I already asked my friend to look for a house that would fit your needs. He will get back to me soon." Aston told Nicole as he drove the car.

"That\'s great. I wish I could move out soon." Nicole narrowed her eyes when one thing crossed her mind. "You don\'t forget that tomorrow is your shooting day for promotional video, right?" She asked.

"Of course, I remember. Why? Do you have something to say about it?" He repeatedly shifted his gaze from the road to her. She seemed troubled.

"No." Nicole promptly replied.

Aston recalled their conversation the day before last night. "Is it about Anna?" He paused before he said, "There\'s nothing between us. It\'s true that we used to see each other for barely a month, but we are not serious. It\'s only for fun though she developed feelings for me."

"Then why are you so good to her? She might misunderstand." Nicole wondered how he looked after her on the shooting set. He even dined with her father!

"She is having a hard time right now. Her only sibling died and she is not mentally stable due to that. Her father asked me to help her and I tried my best to help her recover. That\'s all." Aston explained. "Her condition is improving, so I don\'t meet her that often anymore."

"You have a good heart, Mr. Min. I truly hope that your kindness doesn\'t give her the wrong idea." Nicole dryly remarked, tilting her head to him.

"I already told her that I have another woman in my heart. Don\'t worry." Aston assured her which made her lips curved into a smile.

"No problem then." She flashed a relieving smile before she muttered, "I trust you."

Aston chuckled when he heard her. "Does she bother you that much?" He playfully asked. She was acting fine that day!

"I think so. It\'s quite tormenting to see you have a couple photoshoot. I even regretted signing a contract with you." Nicole simply said like a frank person she was.

"How can you say that while maintaining a calm yet serious face?" Aston mused. She never failed to awe him!

"It\'s my nature. You should get used to it." Nicole simply replied once again.

The actor finally burst out into a laughter. "You\'re really something, Ms. Yang." He remarked as his eyes twinkled with mirth.

* * *

As soon as he dropped off Nicole, Aston turned his car in a direction that doesn\'t lead him to his apartment. He had something important to do. Besides, it was 6 and it\'s still early.

After driving for almost an hour, he reached a two-storey building. It was located in a quiet place and it also seemed to be very old. Then he gets off his car and walked towards the small gate.

Seeing a figure who was approaching the gate, the two men who were on guard pointed at him with a torchlight in an attempt to take a look at his face.

He wasn\'t one of them and they knew it right away. "Stop there. What is your purpose of coming here?" One of the men shouted as he approached Aston. He admitted that he finds this intruder familiar but he couldn\'t recall it. Gangsters rarely watched television.

Aston maintained his pace and in no time, he was standing before the two men and they were holding him, stopping him from entering the building. He was about to speak up until... he heard a voice.

"How dare you touch him! He is my guest."

Aston and the two men darted their eyes to the building where the voice came from. Standing a few steps behind the gate was a young man who seemed to be Aston\'s age. The two men instantly withdrew their hands and bowed at the sight of the young man. He was Nathan Woo, the current leader of the Reyon Gang.

"Aston, my brother." Nathan Woo smiled and made his way to the actor. He stretched his arms wide open and Aston returned the gesture by hugging him.

"Long time no see, Nathan." He muttered.

Nathan chuckled and pulled back. "It\'s still hard to believe it. You really came to see me." He lightly punched Aston on the right arm. "I\'m not really pleased with how you avoided meeting me for the past years." He bluntly said.

"I\'m quite busy but you know that\'s a good excuse," Aston jokingly said which made Nathan laughed.

"I know. What you avoided is not me but your past." Nathan made a deliberate paused before saying, "Do you know how shocked I was when I heard about your new career? But it\'s understandable. That face is too good to waste in the gang." His words were followed by another laughter.

"You\'re still the same," Aston remarked with an amused face.

"Maybe. Come, let\'s get inside." Nathan led his former friend inside the base and they took a seat in the main room.

"Do you know that I even watch some shows and dramas because of you?" Nathan chuckled and shook his head.

"Really? I don\'t think so." Aston mused.

"It\'s so hard to see you and you even doubt me now," Nathan replied as disappointment was written all over his face.

Aston only chuckled but he didn\'t say anything.

"Well, I know that you won\'t ask to meet just for a few casual talks." Nathan\'s face was a bit serious than before but he still had a friendly aura. "What brings you here?" He asked.

Aston leaned a bit towards Nathan as if he was about to spill some secrets. "I\'m planning to take down Lester and I hope you could help me. Besides, I have interesting information."

"Talking of Lester Yun, I wonder how you manage to work for him for five years. Man! He\'s a psychopath! How can you endure for 5 long years?" Nathan asked, shooking his head at the nature of the Red Tiger Boss. His former friend would surely have a hard time putting up with him!

Aston laughed at Nathan\'s reaction. "It\'s not easy but somehow, time passed by." He was only able to endure it because of his twin sister. That\'s all.

"Before I say more, do you want to hear the little news that I got?" He added.

"Of course. Tell me, what is it?" Nathan was all ears.

Aston remained quiet for a few seconds before he said, "I heard that Lester Yun is planning to form an alliance with the Moyans."

The room was very quiet for a while until... Nathan suddenly slammed the table before him. "That son of a bitch! How dare he try to stab me on the back!" He grunted. His eyes were filled with rage in a split second. "Are you sure of this?"

"Yes. I heard it from a member who recently quit." Aston replied, observing Nathan.

Nathan Woo was the only son of the former leader of the Reyon Gang. The Moyan Gang were arch-enemy with the Reyons for more than two decades now. After his father was killed in the heating conflict with the Moyan Gang six years ago, Nathan hated the Moyans to the core!

Anger rushed through Nathan\'s whole body but he didn\'t lose control. He was never the type to act recklessly unlike Lester Yun. This was the reason why the Reyon Gang was more powerful than the Red Tiger Gang during the last five years.

"Why do you suddenly change your mind, Aston? As far as I remember, you wanted to abandon your past and live a new life." Nathan said after keeping quiet for a while.

"I realized that it is not possible as long as Lester disturbs me. He didn\'t plan to let me live in peace as he wants me back. I can tolerate that as long as he doesn\'t cross the line but now, he is planning to take control over me by using my weakness. I can\'t just sit back and watch." Aston earnestly said. He knew how careful Nathan was in making a decision.

"Your weakness?" Nathan mused. "The great pacesetter have a weakness? That\'s news for me."

"Well, if you accept my request, you will know it soon. Michael died unjustly five years ago. I think it\'s time to avenge him. Besides, I heard that Lester still doesn\'t drop his habit of killing people easily. He killed one of the members around a month ago." Aston made a deliberate paused. "I hope you can put trust in me, Nathan."

Nathan remained quiet, listening to his own thoughts. After a few seconds, his lips curved into a smile. "If you\'re not trustworthy, then who else will be? Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Aston smiled in relief and promptly said, "Lester will gain more power if he managed to make an alliance with the Moyans. What\'s more? He will be more brutal than now. So, I hope you can stop him before the alliance is formed. That\'s beyond my power as I\'m just a former member. The Moyans won\'t welcome me either."

"Consider that done," Nathan responded. For the first time, his lips curved into a malicious smile. Despite his young age, he was more than intelligent and never failed if he truly put his mind into something.....