Woke up with a smile

Ying Yue gripped the paper in her hand tightly until her fingertips turned blue. She was narrowing down the list to the places, people, and things that were in the city. It was already 4 AM in the morning. She hadn't slept in almost 24 hours, but she didn't feel sleepy or tired.

Big Boss had personally driven her back to her apartment earlier. The ride was quiet as each of them kept to their own thoughts. It wasn't until they reached their destination that he bothered to say anything. "To move forward, there are some things you have to let go, shadow fox." He had said those words before she slammed the car door behind her.

Those words made her chest tighten and her fingers tingle.

Jade Circle was alive, while her brother was dead. They took everything from her. She was not going to let go until she destroyed them. She made this promise to herself a long time ago. Just because there was a chance for an alternate future with Fei Huangjin doesn't mean she was going to drop everything that made her this way.

She pulled out her phone, sending a text message to Huangjin, asking to have three days off. She offered no explanation and just e-mailed him his schedule for those days and the necessary documents that he would need. Then, she turned off her phone and picked up an alternate one that she occasionally used on missions. This way, no one she knew would bother her.

She picked up a few clothes and spy gear from her closet, and she purposely left the tracking watch from Juyan on her bed. Hesitating for a minute, she added Xi Shenghui's pen to it. Then silently, she slipped out of her apartment, making sure that the phoenix team didn't realize she was gone.

***

Fei Huangjin woke up with a smile that day.

The first thing he did was sit on the dining table and ask the housekeeper for the newspaper. When she handed it to him, he immediately flipped over to the front page. A photo of Ying Yue and him doing the groceries together was plastered in full color, and the headlines said something about the young master taking out the future madame of the Fei's.

He liked it. He really liked it.

"Young Master, may I serve you breakfast?"

The housekeeper came in with a tray of hot food and Fei Huangjin immediately removed the large grin on his face to maintain his image. He raised a hand to fake a cough, but he was actually shielding his smile from view. He replied with an aloof "hmm."

A few seconds after that, he found himself unable to control his lips from turning upward.

"Aunt Wang, please hand me my phone. I left it charging on my bedside."

He could've gotten it himself, really. But he just wanted to allow himself some time alone during breakfast, not suppressing the glorious happiness and amusement he felt at that moment. He had declared to the world that Ying Yue was his woman. No one would dare to make a move on her lest they wanted to die by the hand of the Fei's young master.

Little did Fei Huangjin know, that his happiness was going to be short-lived.

Aunt Wang returned with his phone after a few minutes, her eyes basking in concern. "Young master, you missed a call from the madame just now."

He held back a peal of laughter as he took his phone and scanned his call log. He knew his mother would be frantic to hear the news. In fact, he had several missed calls not just from his mother but also from the elders of the Fei household. His grandfather must have almost fainted when he read the headlines today.

An icon at the uppermost part of his phone indicated that he had an unread text message, and he opened it to find one from Ying Yue. He broke out into another smile.

His smile soon disappeared however, when he read the contents of the message. She asked to have three days' leave. Fei Huangjin immediately tried calling her back to ask about it, but none of his calls were pushing through. The lively man from earlier became annoyed, and he suddenly lost his appetite.

He must've redialed her number fifty times before he gave up. In fact, he had the urge to throw out his useless phone.