#tghm

—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand?

masterlist | back | thirteen | next

—THIRTEEN 

“Oh, screw it.” You mutter, huffing as you got out of your chair, the chair scraping against the concrete floor. “Who the hell cares about his father. For tian’s sake, we are Exousia, we aren’t supposed to be afraid of puny clients.”

Ziyi merely raises his eyebrows and with a firm shake of his long locks, he turns back to his work, a small section just falling over his solemn eyes.

For once, you wished Justin was here to persuade Ziyi, but hell no, he had made an appointment, a study date, with Fan Chengcheng. A study date. Would you believe that.

Sighing, you carelessly brush away the fallen strands and tuck it behind Ziyi’s ear. “Ge, please? Linkai is getting bored, and I’m bored, and I want to go to the amusement park. Please??” You practically beg him, pouting, trying to entice him with puppy eyes, but none of them work.

“You can see Xukun too.” You mutter, hand dropping as it comes to rest on the armrest of his seat. It’s a low blow, and you know it. But it’s the last card you have in your hand.

He closes his eyes and sighs.

Why do you always win?

-

Linkai drags you towards the rollercoaster, and you’re starting to regret this. “Why the rollercoaster??? Do you know how dangerous it is?” You complain as he pouts at you. “Oh come on, don’t be a spoilt sport. Life’s all about taking risks, isn’t it?” He shakes your arm excitedly and you roll your eyes at his childish gestures.

“Oh tell me about it,” You mutter under your breath as he drags you towards the large loop, the blood curdling screams from the carriage hung upside down turns your gut inside out, but at least you’re not cooped up in your room, so that’s something, I suppose.

Ziyi looks like he is about to have a mini heart attack as he follows behind you with a silent Xukun, trying hard to persuade Linkai out of it.

“Linkai, I know you love these kind of things, but can you please reconsider-”

“And the two of you are supposed to be from Exousia.”

“Will you keep it down?” You hush him, looking about, half afraid that someone will spot you.  

“The carousel looks nice.” Ziyi tries again as he points towards the cute miniature ponies going round and round, the only people there are those whiny 5 year old kids and their old parents.

“Linkai, please??? I promise I’ll buy you something nice afterwards.”

Your puppy eyes make him weak in the knees and he raises his hands in surrender, a huge sigh coming from his mouth as he allows himself to be dragged by you, a suppressed smile on his face.

Why do you always win?

-

“You better buy me something nice.” He groans as the carousel goes another round. “Does anyone here know how to pick up the speed? There’s no excitement in this thing. At all. At all.” He mutters under his breath grumpily.

“Oh come on. At least the two of them aren’t with us, right?” You comment, nodding towards the two bodyguards who are very much engaged in a heated conversation.

“That’s true.”

He cocks his head to the side, thinking for a moment. But the words already fall out of his lips and he asks the question he has been dying to ask since day 1. “What happened between them though?” Linkai asks as he stretches his arm, fingers grazing your shoulder. You shrug, leaning into his careful touch. “No idea. Ziyi wouldn’t say, Justin tells me to shut up whenever I try to ask.”

“Well, and why do you want to know?”

You raise your eyebrows, turning towards him. “And why do you want to know?” Only, the words come out slightly breathless.

Your hands folded on your lap, his fingers brushing your elbow, you didn’t know when he came so close, but the moment you tilted your head to look at him, the only thing you see are his pink, soft lips, that, by the way, look extremely inviting. His breaths are shallow and rapid, as they fan over your lips, and you unconsciously bite on them, your fingers curling into a fist, fingernails digging into the flesh.

You wonder what it would be like to close the distance, eyes fluttered shut as you press your lips against his. They look soft and velvety, heavenly, pillowy. You suppress a small sigh rising in your throat, your throat visibly moving as you swallow hard, eyes fixated on his lips.

But the moment only lasts for a few seconds, and Linkai clears his throat, retracting his hand, as his eyes wander to somewhere else.

To say you were disappointed would be an understatement.

-

Ziyi rubs his temples as his elbows rest on his knees, his head hung low as he concentrates on the stone floors. “Xukun, there is really no point in bringing this up.”

“Yes there is, Wang Ziyi. You literally left your boyfriend, who you claim you love, all alone, isolated, unprotected-”

“You weren’t alone, neither were you isolated or unprotected. You were in a bodyguard training academy, Xukun.” Ziyi retorts, his nails digging into his palm, red crescents forming on the pale skin.

“I didn’t mean that kind of isolation and unprotection. Ziyi, you left without a word. You didn’t even tell me! All I remember, is waking up to a cold bed, and then I had to find out from Zhengting that you left!” Xukun broke into an outburst, his rage and frustrations, the years of hurt and injustice building up once again in his chest, rising with tension.

“Did you have any idea what you did to me? Do you,” Xukun swallows, his words becoming softer as he retracts into a shell, a vulnerable, rare state.

He swallows again, and the words stumble out.

“Do you even care?”

Ziyi takes in a sharp intake of breath and looks up.

“Of course I did! There has never been a day where I live without regret. I hated myself for leaving you. It was irresponsible of me and it hurt you. I hated it so, so much. But Xukun, I had no choice. Exousia was moving up the charts, Yanjun couldn’t take care of YN, she was only a kid then, a mere kid of 14! Who suffers from PTSD and other mental illness and whatnot! She needed me, Xukun-”

“More than I needed you?” Xukun asks abruptly, the words flowing like a stream, and he couldn’t even stop himself from saying them.

A pregnant silence follows.

“Xukun, stop it.” Ziyi says through gritted teeth, eyes closing and fluttering open. 

“You know how much the kid means to me. I love her, almost as much as I, I, love you. Though, though it’s a different kind of love.” He bites his lips, and looks away, squinting as the setting sun shines in his eyes.

He brings his hand up to shield the strong light rays, beating down mercilessly on him. He sighs. “You didn’t need me Kun.” The words whisper and like a needle, it pricks Xukun’s heart, salty droplets forming at the corner of his eyes.

“I did. I really needed you. Ziyi, please, can we-”

“We can’t go back to the same way it was before Xukun.” Ziyi doesn’t bother hearing Xukun’s request, standing up, hands in his pockets as he leans against the rough bark of the tree.

“It’s not the same anymore. We’re on two completely different sides. You’re on the cops and clients side; I’m on the other, much darker side. It doesn’t fit.”

“It will. We can make it fit.” Xukun is practically pleading him at this point.

Eyelids fluttering shut, he whispers out the words he wants to say the most.

“Please stay.”

And the small shake of Ziyi’s locks was his only answer.

-

“Oh come on, who cares? Look their busy arguing, they wouldn’t even notice us leaving.” You beg Linkai as you get off the carousel, looking at him pleadingly. Sighing, he rolls his eyes and nods resolutely, a small smile creeping on to his face as he watches you break into a grin, silently pulling him away towards the cotton candy store.

“A blue one please.”

“And a pink one.” You add on to the order, winking at him, giggling at his scrunched up face.

“I didn’t know I was going to pay for you as well.” His eyebrows furrowed, arms crossed.

“Awh, come on! Just buy me this once please?? Pleaseeee? Wang Linkai, I promise you I will pay you back in some way or another.”

He raises his eyebrows as he hands the cotton candy towards you, the other arm extended as he exchanges his money for the blue one.“Oh yeah? In what form, may I ask?”

You laugh at his seriousness, winking at him once more. “How does a kiss on the cheek sound?”

Red rushing to his ears and his face, down his neck, dissolves you into giggles as he adorably looks down, feet unconsciously tapping unrhythmically. A warm sensation bubbles in your chest as you watch him smile a little, the warm sun rays glowing on his milky white skin, his hair tied up in a neat, soft ponytail, looking like everything you could ever wish for.

-

“What kind of-” Linkai retorts as he looks up. YN is nowhere to be seen. Gone. How long has he looked at the floor? His teeth catch his lips, wild panic rising and bubbling in his chest, like hot water in a pot. Where is she? How could she have just-

“Wait what-”

And then a mask.

And then black.

The last thought on his mind as he slips out of consciousness, is where has he seen that X before?

-

I DID IT!!!!!!!!

I UPDATED!

FUCK SPELLING ERRORs!

I tried T_T I wrote it. I think it’s good.

IT’s 6 am for me. I’m going to bed.

—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand?

masterlist | back | five | next

a;n//filler chapter!!!

—FIVE

Xingjie gives you a short nod and shakes Justin’s head. In hushed tones, he explains the plan for you. Simple, ordinary really. Tycoon again, got a couple of enemies, he is to be dead meat tonight. Xingjie’s pale arm reaches out as he stretches out the map of the mansion. He points out the exits and the various bodyguards, splitting the Reapers into their various subunits.

You, unfortunately, are not in the spot of action. Your team’s job was to simply just take over the left wing and make sure everyone is out of the main team’s way, as Xingjie’s subunit moves in to pierce the bullet through the tycoon’s heart.

Smoke bombs and rifles are going to be used, he warns, “Be on high alert,” is the last instruction he gives as he rolls up the map, all of the Reapers pulling down their caps one by one, black masks concealing their features, making them indistinguishable.

The Reapers slide into the shadows, becoming one with them.

-

You slither towards the wall, your back pressed against it as your subunit’s leader presses his earpiece. Once given the command, he kicks the door open, he and you each firing one bullet with your silencers. Two down, twenty more to go.

Hand arrested and held in an upright position, cold metal pressed against your shoulder, you see Justin making his way forward right next to the captain as he acts as his guard, the tip of his gun pointed at the oak wood door. Bullet shot, another gone, and you can just see the black mask of his crinkle a little, barely concealing the smirk underneath it.

Your subunit continues to move stealthily forward. Your subunit leader walks confidently down the dark hallway, a flickering light making his shadow become rather unstable.

He momentarily puts down his gun, fingers typing away on the keypad as he searches for the other subunit.

And that is all it takes.

Wham, and he is gone and down, a rifle now pointed at all of you.

Smoke bombs are released, and you don’t know whether it is your side or their, but instinctively you raise a hand as you inhale a sharp intake of breath, holding it as you squeeze your trigger and hear a yelp of pain.

Someone is pulling you dragging you as you continue to fire aimlessly into the smoke, dark figures seemingly crawling towards you. The person has let go of your shirt, perhaps off running somewhere, but you refuse to back down, one hand continuously squeezing the trigger, the other hand tracing your way back to the exit.

“Abort, abort! Bia, Reaper RALPHA, RTWO get out of there!” The voice crackles through your earpiece but you ignore it as you see a burly figure coming your way.

In a swift move, you cause him to stumble and kneel on the floor, on his knees, as if paying respects to a God.

His fingers wrap around the gun and before you can pull your trigger, a piercing pain resounds from your stomach as a sharp Bang echoes through the corridor. Your bullet reaches his skull and, with a hand pressed against your stomach, you run towards the light, away from the darkness.

-

When you reach outside, you see no one in sight and you fully understand.

It’s protocol, to leave team members behind if they don’t come out in time. You just sincerely hope that Justin wouldn’t get killed by your brother, when he arrives home tonight, you, nowhere in sight.

Stumbling as your vision blurs, you run from the shouts and the haziness of the mansion, into one of the alleys and out into one of the main streets.

Your shirt clings to your skin as blood dampens the black cotton, and you wince in pain as you limp your way through.

TGHM

—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand? 

masterlist | prologue | one

—PROLOUGE

“I’m your boss, don’t forget that.”

You slip your phone under the table as the teacher walks past, unaware of your “illegal” usage of the phone. You shake your head at your brother’s message, a cheeky smile on your lips. He’s the notorious leader in the region and yet, behind his cold facade, he was as childish as ever.

The bell rings and the teacher dismisses you, but not before she calls you out, passing you some papers. You smile as you take them, but when you return to your seat you sigh and run your fingers through your hair.

“Stop sighing! You sound like an old grandma.”

“Oh shut it Chengcheng. Remind me again, why did I sign up to be the chairperson?” You knock your head on the table, regretting your life choices.

“Because you wanted extra credits? I wouldn’t know Miss Perfect.” He mocks you, eyelashes fluttering ridiculously. He yelps in pain as you slam the book on his head, rolling your eyes at him. “Go away kid. I got work to do.” “‘Go away kid, I got work to do.’” He repeats childishly, walking away, waving a quick goodbye.

Shaking your head at his cheekiness, you copy and write down the numbers, tracking the records and helping your teacher to sort out the late comers. Photographic memory certainly comes in handy and you’re quick to sort everyone out by level, class, register number. Clicking your tongue at a certain absentee and frequent latecomer, you close the book and slip it into your teacher’s locker, walking home, a tune on the tip of your tongue.

“I’m home!” You call out as a waft of your favourite dish—sweet and sour crispy fish—overwhelms you. Abandoning your bag, you run to the kitchen and dizzily smiles as the aroma hits you in the gut. “Smells good Berth.”

Zhangjing narrows his eyes at you, before turning his attention back to his dish. He hates being called by his code name, he thinks it’s an ugly code name, but he got unlucky and was drawn to pick last so of course, he got the worst name out of the lot. You stick your tongue out at him as you pass him to grab a drink from the fridge.

A cold, wet metal presses against your skin, making you jump out of your skin at the sudden contact of it and Justin laughs, making fun of you. “Huh! ‘Heiress to Exousia’. Tell me, what kind of heiress gets scared of a cold can drink?” He teasingly waves the drink above his head, where you couldn’t reach. You claw onto his shirt, whining, pouting, and fighting with him until you got him into a necklock, happily sipping your cola as he pretends to choke, rubbing his neck.

“You’re home.”

“Ge!” You shout as you run towards him, body slamming him as he staggers back, arms automatically snaking around your body as he holds you secure. “Haven’t seen you in a long time kid,” Ziyi says as he presses a quick kiss on your forehead, his wet hair tickling your cheek. Letting go of you quickly, he rushes to his study room as the phone rings once again.

Ziyi has his own room in your apartment because well, most of the time he stays around here, doing his job, making sure you are safe. But he hardly ever uses the room, mostly staying cooped up in his study room, his glasses hanging elegantly at the tip of his nose as he furiously types away, phone permanently in his ear.

Ziyi has been with you all your life, as if he was your second older brother. He was like a father, a mother, a brother and an uncle for you, being there when your father and mother died in a car crash, being there for you when your brother was on the streets fighting, being there for you when your brother wasn’t home for weeks, supposedly on business trips, being there for you when you had nightmares. Definitely your pillar of strength, and you don’t know what you’ll do without him.

Justin, was a ragged kid, incredible dancing talent, incredible fighting skills, even though he was very much an unpolished stone when you first met him. When he fended off an entire gang of members, holding them off as he tried to protect you from being kidnapped while Ziyi rushed from his assignment, you immediately knew this would be your protector, your partner in crime, your best friend. When your brother offered him this job, despite knowing the complications that came with it, he took it nonetheless, because it meant a roof over his head, food to eat, and a family.

Zhangjing was like this really annoying uncle you had at family gatherings. Yanjun would always bring him over, making use of him to babysit you, when you really didn’t need any. But, he broke your cold and rebellious facade, quickly becoming one of your favourite agents. It’s a plus that he cooks so well.  

“I’m home!” Yanjun calls out as a waft of his favourite dish—sweet and sour crispy fish—overwhelms him. Abandoning his bag, he runs to the kitchen and dizzily smiles as the aroma hits him in the gut. “Smells good Berth.” He says, lips at the curve of Zhangjing’s ear, colouring the latter’s cheeks.

“Get a room!” Justin calls from the living room, lazing on the couch as he listlessly flips through the channels. Your brother sends a glare his way, knocking his head, whispering a fierce but cheeky “Remember who feeds you kid!”, before stalking off to Ziyi’s room, already speaking to him in rapid fire.

You lean against the doorframe as you see your brother torture Ziyi with enormous amounts of information and folders, your arms folded together as your brows knit together. “You should really give Ziyi ge a break man,” you say, once they were both done discussing. Yanjun rolls his eyes, patting your head. “If I give him less work, and I pass it on to the other team leaders, the work will never be done properly. It’s not my fault your bodyguard is so good at everything.” Ziyi gives a weak smile and you cheekily roll your eyes as you follow your brother to the dining room.

“How’s school?” Yanjun asks as he scoops out the rice into the ceramic bowls, passing them to you to lay them on the table.

You shrug. “It’s okay.”

“Grades?”

“Straight As. I screwed up on this small test though and who knew Fan Chengcheng was so smart, he scored full marks on that one so he’s first for this term.” You sigh, ready to receive an earful.

“How did you magically flunk that small test?” Yanjun asks sarcastically, fingers tapping on the table as his other hand supports his chin, his intense eyes causing you to have your eyes downcast.

“I forgot we had a test on that day! It wouldn’t happen again,” you reply sulkily, pouting.

Yanjun rolls his eyes, opening his mouth to reprimand you again, when Zhangjing calls out, “INCOMING!” The crispy, golden sweet and sour fish, paired with the red sauce, pineapples, onions and cucumbers lightened the mood immediately. “Ziyi ge!” You call as you scoop out a portion, putting it in his bowl. “Come eat!”

“I’ll be there soon! Give me 5!” You count under your breath and sure enough, in 5 seconds, he is slipping into the seat next to yours, a protective arm hanging at the back of your chair as he tucks in.

“So,” you say, mouth full of rice and tender meat. “Why the hell did I receive an email saying that I’m up to collect protection fees?????? I never do such small jobs.” You say accusingly at your brother, eyebrow raised.

“Well, this guy is from the rival gang, and he’s behind on his fees. Didn’t I explain that already?” Yanjun replies nonchalantly as he places some of Zhangjing’s favourite pork ribs into his bowl.

“Yes, but-”

“Until you’re the leader of Exousia, you have to listen to my orders, no matter” He pointedly says, voice raised as you try to interrupt. “No matter if you’re my sister or not. Whether you like it or not, you’re still my subordinate and you have to listen to my orders. They will all be going with you, by the way.” And Justin and Zhangjing groan in unison, complaining immediately. They all had other more important things to do, Highway jobs were usually for the newcomers.

Yanjun clucks his tongue, shoving food into both their mouths.

“Both of you be quiet.

TGHM

—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand? 

masterlist | back | one | next

—ONE

You signal the teams to move forward, and Highway Subunit 1 blocks the man, Highway Subunit 2 immediately surging from the back, trapping the man. Between the two walls of the alleyway, and the two highly equipped teams, he had no way out.

“Mr Zhu, late on protection fees for the months of January to July, physically got involved with one of our gang members, injuring him severely, avoiding the gangs by changing numbers and locations, it looks like you owe us a lot, Mr Zhu.” You say, tapping your covered chin thoughtfully, eyes narrowing under your black cap.

He scoffs, arms crossing in a defensive move as he leans against the wall, relaxed, his beautiful features showing through under the blue cap. He raises his hands, a smug expression on his face as if to say “Fight me”. Before you knew it, your team was surrounded by a group of burly men, pipes clanking, menacing grins plastered on their faces. Ziyi immediately moves in to protect you, an arm out as he back faces you, gun out and poised. You press the earpiece in your ear lightly, whispering soft instructions to Zhangjing, who is guarded by Justin.

He quickly sends a message to the other subunits, all already on their way. This was what your brother was warning you about, the long awaited showdown, the two rival gangs of Pingzhou, facing off as each call on more and more men, hoping to outnumber and intimidate each other before the actual fighting starts.

Your fingers slowly wrap themselves around the cold metal of the gun, this time you welcome the shock of adrenaline coursing through your veins. One half of the two subunits have the man held at gunpoint, the other half, point their guns outward, as they come face to face with the tattoo covered men, blue ink in spirals on their skin. 

Zhangjing follows your command and his little genius spider devices come crawling through the alleyway, releasing a smokey, sleeping gas. Pulling a black cloth over your nose, you shoot at an incoming male, kicking him in the stomach as he doubles over. Ziyi takes your rear, in a somersault in the air as he spins and pushes two of the men down. Grabbing your hand, he pushes you against the wall as he trips a woman and fatally cuts her neck, causing her to crumble.

You are about to go for the last push, out of the smoke filled alleyway, when out of the corner of your eye, a horrifying sight reveals. A blue inked man hold an older man at gunpoint, his son crumpled on the floor, intoxicated and vulnerable to the gas, his throat red and painted with handprints and bruises. The man clad in blue wraps his fingers around the gun, his fingers just brushing over the trigger, a sinister smirk on his face.

BANG.

-

Linkai was walking down the streets of Pingzhou with his father, hearing his father talk about the agencies and businesses once again, boring him to death. All he wanted to do was make music, and his father has to complicate things, sending him to different agencies, even striking a deal with the principal, promising to give her 30% of the profit so that he can randomly skip class and wander around as he pleases, in search of “inspiration”. In reality, it was so that he could send his son for more classes, more training, more interviews. Linkai was hardly interested in all this business things. He just wanted to make music.

He was playing with a loose string from the hem of his shirt, thinking about some lyrics as he walked under the dim lights, when a burly man and a few others, clad in different shades of black and blue, dash past him, a few blue ones vomiting at the side of the road. 

One of the blue man pulls his collar, fingers pushing down on his pale neck, making him dizzy as he chokes for oxygen. The man shouts in a dialect he doesn’t understand, and there is chaos everywhere, everything in a spiral of noises and smoke, the blue inked spiral on the man’s neck making everything even more dizzyingly confusing. 

Through his blurred vision, he can just make out a girl crumpling to the floor, like a thin piece of paper, crimson blood oozing from where she was cut, a man with sharp features intertwining his fingers with a small girl, as she accurately shoots down another person, their shadow falling into dust.

He turns, and in his haze, he barely sees his father try to surrender, trying to explain in rapid Chinese, hands held up as the man presses the tip of the barrel at his father’s forehead.

Linkai looks down at his clothes. Black.

Linkai looks at the man’s clothes. Blue.

He squeezes his eyes shut.

BANG.

-

The only thing he registers is dim lights and a person, clad in all black, the shadows making it hard for him to even distinguish their facial features.

He winces as he tries to sit up,  the person only pressing his shoulder down, signalling him to lie back down as the person continues to apply some medication on him, occasionally checking the monitor next to them for any abnormalities in vitals.

Linkai turns his head, and he sees another one, exactly like the one treating him, seated next to his father long, black ponytail swaying as she nods gravely, eyebrows furrowed, mouth opening and closing as she shakes her head, disagreeing with what his father has to say.

Another member of her team taps on her shoulder, and she moves aside, allowing him to take over.

You seat yourself on the floor next to the backseat of the van, fingers barely brushing Linkai’s forehead as you move the strands of his hair away. He flinches at the light touch and you immediately pull your fingers back, an apologetic smile on your lips.

“How is he?” She asks the person attending to him.

“Seems fine. Vitals look okay, just a few bruises on the neck”, at this Linkai subconsciously touches the blue black marks on milky white skin, “but I already applied medication on it. Should heal in a couple of days.” You nod, about to say something when your phone dings.

You whisper to Ziyi the instructions and he gives a curt nod, moving over to his seat at the side, laptop open and typing away.

You face the boy, a small smile on your lips. His forehead has a deep crease in it, his eyes curious and defensive, his arms folded on his chest as he pouts ever so slightly. It’s endearing. Without much of a thought, you ruffle his hair and stand up, moving over next to Ziyi as you help him craft out the contract.

The Gods of Hades and Music

—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand?

masterlist | back | eight | next

a;n//short chapter!! chapter 9 will be posted soon :))

—EIGHT  You didn’t expect to go home and have a warm welcome. You were of course, met with nagging, screams, careful, ginger hugs and a cup of hot coffee.

“You are not going on a Reaper mission ever again.”

“That’s not fair!” You whine and protest, wincing as the energy is being sapped out of your body, causing the pain at your side to become excruciating.

Yanjun stares at you pointedly, eyebrows raised as he stares at you, as if saying, “Really?”

“Let her be, Yanjun.” Zhangjing says quietly, his eyes trained on you as he gives you a weak smile.

“What did I say about interfering with my personal matters?” Yanjun replies sharply and and curtly, annoyance and frustration weaved with anger, lacing his words.

Zhangjing is unfazed by it, to say the least. He juts his chin out and with a head held high, he looks at Yanjun.

“You’ve been around long enough in this industry to know, Yanjun. So long as you are in a gang, in an illegal organisation, there is bound to be accidents. Who hasn’t had one? It’s normal, this is part of the package. You can’t just control her and think that holding her back and locking her into her room 24/7 is going to protect her. It is not.”

“I didn’t say I will lock her in her room.” Yanjun rubs his temples, trying hard to smooth the crease between his brows.

‘Well, if she isn’t going to go on any missions, what the hell is she going to do? The kid has only ever done assignments. It’s part of her life, you can’t just change it in a second.” Zhangjing retorts venomously, as if accusing Yanjun of taking away your life, taking away your chances of having a normal life.

“The two of you, please don’t get in an argument. YN needs the most rest she can right now. And I propose, I be there 24/7 with her. Which means,” Ziyi gives a pointed look at Yanjun. “Which means my work has to be cut down because I wouldn’t have time to finish all your paperwork while taking care of her.”

Yanjun’s eyes are simply trained on the ground, and you gulp as you accidentally meet its intensity. The tension fills your bones and your muscles just lock a little.

Waving his hand, he nods and walks out of the room, Zhangjing trailing after him, Justin patting your head as he exits too, and you let out a breath you never knew you were holding.

“Yanjun is worrying me.” Ziyi says, as soon as the door closes, his eyes trained on the black painted door.

“What do you mean?”

Ziyi’s head turns sharply, almost startled by your voice. “Did I say that out loud?”

You nod, leaning back against the soft pillow, eyes heavily closing. You feel his soft hands brush your hair and trail down your cheek slightly, pinching your cheeks lightly.

“Don’t worry about it.” He whispers in your hair, pressing his lips against your warm forehead.