"Why are you staring at me like that?" Yang Ruqin groaned. Curiosity was written all over Zhao Lifei's face in bold, red letters. She didn't like that look.

"My sweet Qinqin, I think it's storytime." Zhao Lifei patted the space beside her. Yang Ruqin's fiery glare could burn a hole through the pure linen fabric. She sniffed, was that burnt cloth she smelled?

"Storytime about what?" Yang Ruqin tried to stall as much as possible. She took tiny steps to Zhao Lifei. A minute passed and she had not crossed a meter yet.

Zhao Lifei impatiently climbed out of the bed and grabbed Yang Ruqin's wrist. Then she hauled the young woman onto it. "Story about you and the assassin!" She forced her Qinqin to sit down on the bed.

"How about we talk about something else? Like how the blind date went—"

"I saw how the blind date went. You guys seemed genuinely happy and there was no bad blood. What else do I need to know?" Zhao Lifei shrugged. "Seeing as Huo Qiudong has not hunted me down for it, I can safely assume he was not unhappy with the arrangements."

"Really? He didn't seem unhappy?"

"If you're referring to the private room's first reaction, he was unhappy, but after I left, he seemed pretty...normal. If you're referring to the present, my words were a mere guess. All of the text he has sent me was about work-related stuff. So, we can infer that he was not upset." Zhao Lifei explained. She clasped her hands together, "Alright. I answered your question. Now, it's time for you to tell me about Yu Pingluo and you."

Yang Ruqin tried to divert the topic again, "Are you and Yang Feng married? Did you guys elope in secret? I heard the way you guys addressed each other."

Zhao Lifei completely forgot about keeping this a secret from Yang Ruqin. Nervously, she began to twirl the rings on her right hand. Naturally, Yang Ruqin's eyes dropped down before turning around.

"A-are those wedding rings?! So you guys did get married!" Yang Ruqin slapped a hand over her gaping mouth. She didn't want flies to come in. "Who else knows about this? What about my parents and grandfather? Why didn't you tell me about this?!" She shot questions faster than a gun could release bullets.

"A small handful of people, including my grandfather. And now, you too. " Zhao Lifei breathed in through her nose and released a heavy sigh. "I didn't want to tell you because I was worried you might tell your parents."

Yang Ruqin feigned an offended expression. She dramatically placed a hand to her heart and pretended she was taken aback by the words. "Why, I would never—"

"Qinqin! I'm serious. You can't tell them yet. Not until everything is settled and I finally gain everyone's approval myself!" Zhao Lifei grabbed Qinqin's shoulders. She didn't expect to see it had gotten firmer, stronger, and more secure. Wow, it seems the training paid off!

Yang Ruqin nodded her head like a broken bobble-doll [1]. She made a gesture of sealing her lips and then tossing the imaginary key over her shoulders. "I swear I won't tell anyone. You've kept all of my secrets. It's my turn now to keep yours."

Zhao Lifei's shoulder sagged in relief. The angst in her eyes dispelled and she could finally breathe properly again. "Alright, now that we have gotten the marriage talk over with, will you finally tell me the story about Yu Pingluo?"

Yang Ruqin played with the fabric of the blanket. She wrinkled her nose at the boring burgundy color of the deluxe blanket. White and burgundy. How boring. Another splash of color, perhaps something white and unexpected, would really liven this place up. "Do I have to?"

Zhao Lifei paused and thought about her words. "Only if you feel comfortable telling me." Her voice dropped an octave to become gentler and more understanding. "If you're not ready yet, I won't force you."

Yang Ruqin nodded her head, "I'm not ready." She raised her head, "At. All." She added on.

Zhao Lifei was severely disappointed by the news, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Not wanting to cross the boundaries and pressure Yang Ruqin even more, she said, "Alright then. We can always talk about it another time." She grabbed the TV remote and handed it to Yang Ruqin. She hoped browsing through the channels would distract her from any negative thoughts.

"If you ever want to talk about him, or anything else for that matter, please remember my ears are always open. I'm only one call away." Zhao Lifei gave Yang Ruqin endearing pats on the head.

Yang Ruqin paused her channel surfing. A relieved smile made her angelic features softer, "I know." Her voice wasn't the typically bubbly one she had. It sounded a lot more mature.

When Zhao Lifei saw the faraway look on Yang Ruqin's face, she realized how much she has changed. Leaving Yang Ruqin alone, she flopped back onto the bed. Like Yang Feng wanted her to, she spent the majority of her day watching television and movies with Yang Ruqin.

Chen Gaonan's eyes briefed over the command on his tablet. Her name was highlighted and underlined. It was a very risky mission. Like the lady-boss had said, there would be a war between two households if Xia Mengxi mysteriously disappeared off the face of the Earth. It would not take long before Zheng Tianyi discovers what happened and who took his precious fiancee.

Chen Gaonan knew it was not his place to question his boss' decision. He knew how smart and tactical his boss was. I mean, just look at his unbelievable accomplishments as the President of Yang Enterprise and triad leader of the Yang Clan. No one ruled both the surface and ground better than him. His achievements were steadily outranking Yang Mujian and the man still had a very long life ahead of him.

Chen Gaonan had been staring at the new mission for a while now. He was supposed to be advising Lu Shanshan on one of her slip-ups, but he was too busy debating whether or not he should speak up about this matter. His job was simple. All he had to do was send out the mission and assign the members responsible for it. He was one button away from finishing the task. Yet, for some reason, his fingers could not move.

There were going to be so many consequences to this decision. At this moment, he knew his only choice was to send out the message.

If his boss does not make a move, Yang Yulong will. Everyone knew how much the Second Young Master cooed over the Young Miss.

Apparently, when they were children, Yang Yulong had a massive sweet tooth and he would always charm the maids into giving him another piece of chocolate. Unfortunately for him, Yang Ruqin loved chocolate more than she loved her life. Yang Yulong would hide his chocolate from Yang Ruqin and he would always find it gone the next day. Even though he knew Yang Ruqin had discovered the secret location, he never moved it. He allowed her to take all of the extra pieces of chocolates that he desperately wanted to devour for himself.

"What are you contemplating about? I'm getting stressed out just looking at you." Lu Shanshan placed the binder and notebooks on top of her neatly-organized desk. Aside from a family portrait of her husband, son, and her, there was no other personal belongings on it. Everyday, she would take the picture home and routinely clean it like the neat-freak she was.

"This mission that boss wants me to send out." Chen Gaonan showed Lu Shanshan the message.

"Oh, that's easy." Lu Shanshan pressed the button for him and just like that, the mission was sent out.

"What the hell?! Are you crazy?! Have you lost your damn mind?!" Chen Gaonan slammed his tablet onto his desk, cracking the surface. His face was turning red, the anger spreading to his ears.

"What?" Lu Shanshan gave him an equally scathing glare. Her lips were pressed into thin lips. She placed a hand on her hip, ready to dish it out with him if she had to.

"How can you not think of the consequences and the things that will happen to the Yangs if they touched something that belonged to the Zhengs?!" Chen Gaonan blew up. All of his bottled emotions poured out like an overfilled rain sewer.

Lu Shanshan quirked a brow. That was what he was mad at? How dumb.