Chapter 1594: Chapter 1573: The Most Terrifying Thing If a country’s Presidential Palace could easily let someone like Number Thirteen in, it would be a joke, so when Number Thirteen said it was hard, Gao Yang wasn’t surprised at all. If Number Thirteen had said it was particularly easy, then he would have found it strange. Number Thirteen’s brows furrowed more tightly, but just as he was about to speak to Gao Yang, the attendant began serving the dishes. Number Thirteen stopped talking. The attendant placed Gao Yang and Taylor’s appetizers on the table, then placed a freshly grilled steak and the small bread from the side dish in front of Number Thirteen. Gao Yang originally wasn’t planning to drink, not even an aperitif, so he didn’t have a drink menu, but he changed his mind. He decided to have an aperitif; no particular reason, he just felt down. “Please bring me the wine list, I need a glass of aperitif, what about you?” Taylor shrugged, nodded, and said, “Alright, get me a glass of vodka.” The attendant bowed and said, “One moment, I’ll be right back.” After the attendant left, Taylor shrugged and said, “I’ve never had such good caviar; I’ve heard it’s best with vodka.” Gao Yang shrugged, laughed, and said, “Suit yourself, I don’t drink vodka. If I do, I get dizzy. Oh, here we go again!” Number Thirteen scanned the surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze, then picked up the fork with one hand and stabbed it into the steak. After scanning again with narrowed eyes, he found that no one was paying attention to him, so he opened his mouth and bit into the steak. Taylor’s mouth immediately dropped wide open, staring at Number Thirteen in shock. Gao Yang spread his hands helplessly and said, “You’ll get used to it.” Number Thirteen almost never ate with others, and even when he did, he tried to make himself seem normal. So, although Taylor had known Number Thirteen for a long time, he had never actually seen him eat, at least not in his true manner. Number Thirteen devoured the steak in a few bites with a crunch. The medium-rare steak still had juices in it, but Number Thirteen had the ability not to let them splatter around. After finishing a steak with lightning speed, Number Thirteen swiftly picked up a piece of bread, dipped it in the sauce on his plate, and swallowed it in one bite. With two pieces of bread down, the plate was wiped clean, including the fork used for the steak, leaving only the side dishes on the edge untouched. Taylor, dumbfounded, swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, “Impressive!” When the attendant returned to the table with the wine list and handed it to Gao Yang with a bow, he inadvertently glanced at Number Thirteen’s front, then looked shocked and puzzled, but upon carefully examining Number Thirteen’s extremely clean plate, his confidence immediately wavered. “I’m sorry! I’m very sorry, sir, I apologize for our oversight and mistake. I’m terribly sorry, our side dish chef may have made an error, and I don’t know what came over me that I brought you an empty plate. I’m truly very sorry, I’ll immediately bring you your main course, would that be alright?” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novęlfire.net Number Thirteen nodded and said expressionlessly, “Another serving, medium this time.” The attendant immediately picked up the empty plate in front of Number Thirteen, then said apologetically to Gao Yang, “Sir, please consider what drink you’d like; I’ll be right back.” The attendant carried the empty plate away, probably still puzzled about why he served an empty plate. Although he remembered serving a steak, where could it have gone just when he turned around to get the wine list? The attendant began doubting life, and this time he took a bit longer when he returned, still in a daze. Gao Yang cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Bring me a glass of premium iced champagne. Also, my friend said he wants another steak; you didn’t serve him an empty plate. Tell your side dish chef he didn’t make a mistake. Now, please quickly bring us our drinks.” The attendant looked relieved, but soon fell into deeper confusion, unconsciously began sizing up Number Thirteen, and then Gao Yang had to clear his throat again, smiling and saying, “Please get us the drinks, thank you.” After the attendant left, Gao Yang said to the still expressionless Number Thirteen, “Please, don’t do that next time. This isn’t the kind of restaurant that can keep your secrets.” Number Thirteen still wore a deadpan face, saying in a deep voice, “Sorry, when I eat steak, I can’t help it.” Generally speaking, Number Thirteen wouldn’t respond to others’ doubts; doing his own thing was his best portrayal. And today, giving a simple answer was his way of expressing a mild apology. But today was different. After those words, Number Thirteen took a deep breath and then, with a rather emotional expression, looked at Taylor, saying deeply, “You know, my height should be about the same as yours.” Gao Yang and Taylor were both a little stunned because today, Number Thirteen was different from before. Number Thirteen casually picked up a small piece of bread, took a bite, and while slowly chewing, said lowly, “When I was thirteen, I was already this height and shape, but after thirteen, my body never grew again.” Taylor said in surprise, “Why?” Number Thirteen shrugged and smiled, “Because assassins don’t need to be conspicuous. A tall guy who’s six foot three, or a shorter guy who’s five foot seven, which do you think presents a greater threat? Which is easier to hide in a crowd? And most importantly, which one is easier to dress as a woman?” Taylor swallowed hard and whispered, “I wanted to know why you didn’t keep growing.” Number Thirteen still smiled and said, “Hunger, extreme malnutrition, forcible cessation of body growth.” Number Thirteen had never spoken about this before. Gao Yang smartly kept his mouth shut, fearing that if he asked, Number Thirteen might refuse to say more. “I was a beggar and a thief for a while. Back then, I could at least fill my stomach; it wasn’t good, but I was full. Later, when the path for my training was determined, I started starving. For five years, I never had a full meal, not once.” Gao Yang thought Number Thirteen’s experiences were quite similar to his sister’s. Both couldn’t eat enough; one to maintain a figure, the other forced to keep a figure. Thinking carefully, the experiences of these siblings were truly bittersweet. Number Thirteen picked up another piece of bread, saying solemnly, “Do you know what’s the scariest thing in the world? Hunger, endless, never-ending hunger, the kind that makes you want to devour everything, even making one contemplate countless times about killing someone to eat. Extreme hunger, I’m afraid of nothing. I fear hunger, so I never miss any chance to eat my fill!” (To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)