She's only his secretary and nothing else

An old tattered, yellowing photo of a young woman was in between the fingers of Wang Longwei. The girl in the photo looked young, her hair roughly cut short and dyed bright red. She was wearing eye contacts that turned her irises blue. And on her lips was a gentle smile that clashed with her looks.

Wang Longwei narrowed his eyes at one of his men. "Are you sure she's the girl?"

Xu Lin offered him a document with a 2x2-inch photo of a woman named Ying Yue. "Master Wang, we've been told she's the most protected agent at Juyan and only the top personnel are allowed to handle her affairs. Our informant tells us no one else there has that privilege."

Although the woman looked vastly different from the previous photo, she had the same smile on her lips and the same shape of the face. "You're not even sure and yet you've launched an attack on her last night while I was away." Wang Longwei threw the document to the side and took a puff out of his cigarette. He blew out a cloud of smoke, watching it disappear into thin air in front of his eyes.

"We've also been informed that she's the top agent at Juyan. If she really is the girl, she has to be eliminated before she does us harm." Xu Lin retrieved the document carefully.

Wang Longwei sneered and stood up. "Because of your hasty move last night, Xu Lin, the Dragon Club is looking into our affairs. Fei Huangjin was in that car." He took his cigarette and held the lit end against Xu Lin's face before dropping it on the ground. He was just gone for a few days and was greeted by this news the day he returned. These men of his think that they can do whatever they want when he was out. They had to think again.

The Jade Circle and the Dragon Club had been co-existing for years in a silent truce. But after last night, he doubted if things would be peaceful anytime soon.

The cigarette that briefly came into contact with Xu Lin seared a part of the skin on his face. It was painful and stinging, but he did not dare make a sound.

He lowered his head and pursed his lips in annoyance. It was true, he had been hasty, but if the girl was the one they were after, she was now their biggest threat. "I apologize, Master Wang. The hitman we sent thought it was just the girl being sent home."

"Clean up after your mess. Kill whoever you sent."

"Yes, master." Xu Lin nodded to one of their men behind him and the man took off to comply with the mountain master's[1] order.

"Where are Jianjun and the others?"

"Brother Su and the others have not returned from their trip to A city. They are settling accounts there." Su Jianjun was the syndicate's vanguard[2], and he held the highest power next to the mountain master. He was the master's most trusted man.

Wang Longwei stretched his limbs and his back. "Does she mean anything to Fei Huangjin?" If she did, they couldn't touch her without inciting war with the man.

"Our sources say she's only his secretary and nothing else."

"Good. Bring the girl to me. Preferably alive."

Xu Lin left with a bow.

As the mountain master of Jade Circle, Wang Longwei had to protect himself and his men. They'd been looking for that bastard traitor Chen Shen's sister for a long time. It's been six years. They had to eliminate her before she finds what Chen Shen left for her to discover.

That traitor had stolen important data and documents from them and hid it somewhere, and that included a list of all their members along with their business and political pawns. If anyone found it, it would tear their syndicate apart. It was a damn good thing he killed that bastard himself.

***

At exactly 5 o'clock that afternoon, Ying Yue left Fei International without a word to her boss.

A cab was already waiting at the entrance with the driver beckoning her to take the ride, but she didn't want to get home too quickly. She turned to the nearby subway station instead. Perhaps the bustling noise of the people around her in the subway would help calm her nerves.

When she gets to Juyan later tonight, she'd have to tell Big Boss about what happened with Fei Huangjin. Relationships were forbidden in Juyan, because anyone and anything could be used against them if their identity was exposed. This was why she never even maintained friendships with co-workers.

The subway train was packed, and a young child who was pushing his way through the sea of people accidentally stepped on Ying Yue's foot.

"Argh!"

Losing her balance, she caught herself with the back of her hand against the standing pole, hitting her watch against it. She glanced at the watch she was wearing and noted a small crack on the glass. She cursed under her breath. Her feet still had blisters from last night's incident and a random kid stepped on her without so much as an apology. Now her favorite watch was damaged. How lucky could she be?

She adjusted her footing, and when she looked up, she noticed a man a few meters from her that hurriedly looked away. He was wearing a button-down shirt and had navy-blue trousers on, like he came from work. Ying Yue frowned. He didn't have a bag or suitcase with him, though.

Her guard immediately went up, and she slung her bag across her body, just in case she needed to make a run for it. She gripped the straphanger over her head tight as the subway train slowed to a stop. Her apartment was two stops away from this one. She had to get off earlier at the next stop to avoid being followed.

She observed the people around her. Behind her sat an old couple and a pregnant lady. In front of her sat a lady in heels, a young man in a hoodie, and a girl in a school uniform who looked slightly older than a high-schooler. Ying Yue slanted her head a bit and saw that she was wearing an earpiece.

Bingo.

She glanced at the other commuters standing alongside her. Most of them were on their phones. Two of them also had an earpiece with them.

She sighed. She was thinking she might be just paranoid. But if these people were really following her, that put her in danger. There were only two possibilities why she was being followed: either Fei Huangjin hired men to follow her, or someone else had figured out her identity. She really hoped it wasn't the latter one.