You left me a clue

She traced his handsome face in the photo. At that age, he already looked a lot like dad. If Ying Shen was alive, he'd have been 31 years old by now. He might already even be married with a kid or two.

In fact, if she thought about it, she would've been an aunt by now. She'd be that young crazy aunt who'd spoil her nieces and nephews with clothes and toys, taking them out for shopping when she was free.

"Brother Shen…" She whispered.

The photo showed her brother with an arm extended towards the camera. He was the one who took their photo that day. His other arm was around Ying Yue's shoulders, keeping her close. Her hair was dyed bright red that week, and she could recall him rolling his eyes at her, telling her it was inappropriate that she looked unruly and crazy when she was a university scholar studying business.

The way his other hand was positioned suddenly caught her eye. His hand wasn't exactly holding on to her shoulders like she always thought it was; it was slightly askew, pointing outwards with his inner wrist exposed.

And if she squinted hard, there was something faintly written on Ying Shen's wrist. Curious, she took the photo out of the frame and stared at it for a minute or so. Since she didn't own a magnifying glass, Ying Yue aimed her phone camera at the photo and used it to zoom in.

There, on his wrist, were letters and numbers in his unmistakable scrawny handwriting. "M-8927," she gasped.

"That photo of you and me that's in your wallet -- don't you ever lose that," she repeated the words he said to her. "You didn't want me to lose it because the photo was a clue. Brother Shen, you left me a clue!"

Ying Yue instantly became excited and jumped up, her eyes glowing brighter than the stars that night as she found herself finally piecing together a piece of the puzzle. She'd been baffled on the whereabouts of Ying Shen's stash for years, but the clue was in her hands all along. Now she just had to figure out what M-8927 meant.

The combination of letters and numbers didn't seem familiar to her, so it might be a locker code or perhaps the coordinates to the stash. Mo Yiling could help her out of this one.

She hurriedly put everything back in the safe and pressed a few buttons on the wall, grabbing a small gun before the secret compartments folded in behind her clothes. In a matter of a few seconds, her walk-in closet looked just like any regular one owned by a 24-year-old female.

Minutes later, Ying Yue got down to the lobby of her apartment. She scanned the outside, looking for anyone from the phoenix team she could catch a ride from.

She sensed a presence behind her, and she turned around warily to find Xi Shenghui with his eyebrows raised.

He squinted his eyes at her outfit. She was wearing cargo jeans and a black sweater, like she was going off on a mission. "Why are you out?" It was already midnight and she was suspended from Juyan; she should be asleep by now.

Ying Yue grinned up at him. "Shenghui! I need a ride to Juyan."

"You're suspended."

"I just need to talk to Mo Yiling," she reasoned out. Her face became the definition of serious as she averted her eyes to his. "Help me out, please?"

Xi Shenghui looked away as he felt his face getting warm. Even without makeup, and with whatever expression there was on her face, she looked exceptionally pretty. He didn't bother saying anything as he exited the lobby and headed to his car.

The woman following him grinned.

"By the way, why were you in the building?"

"I was examining the security."

Ying Yue gave him a funny look as she put her seatbelt on. "You're too paranoid. Jade Circle hasn't even been around today."

"Just because they aren't around doesn't mean they're not planning anything." Xi Shenghui said as he started the car. He learned that lesson the hard way, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. "Besides, Big Boss hasn't talked to CEO Fei yet."

She glanced at him briefly before looking out the window. The mere mention of Fei Huangjin made her heart beat faster. She could even hear the pitter-patter of her heart getting stronger each second, pushing against her chest like it was straining to get out. It was just hours ago since their kiss. "Why not?"

"He still wants to assess your situation with him."