Caught in quantum entanglement

She hesitated before racking her brains out for any memory on quantum entanglement. It had been a couple of years since she delved into physics. "Uhh--isn't that about particles being connected or something?"

Fei Huangjin nodded with a smile. "To be accurate, it's the phenomenon wherein particles lose their individuality and coordinate with each other, such that even if they are far apart, they're still connected." He glanced to see if she was following him and was surprised to see her deep in thought, nodding at his words like she was seriously analyzing it. "In other words, the action of one particle, gravely influences the other, no matter the distance between the two."

She looked up at him with a startled look, as if finally realizing what he was getting at, and he stared deeply into her eyes with the kind of magnetic intensity that would make glaciers melt. Her heart pounded. It was an extremely geeky way of explaining their relationship, but she understood, and she felt like he couldn't have explained it better.

"What I'm saying is that ever since you walked into my life, we've been caught in quantum entanglement. We work better when we're together. I can't even work properly without knowing how you are or if you're safe. It happened again when you disappeared on me."

Confusion marred her eyebrows as she bit her lip, trying to understand what he just said. "What do you mean it happened again? Has it happened before?"

He squinted his eyes at her as his lips thinned. How did he end up with a woman with such low EQ? "You always refused to go on business trips with me."

"Of course, I can't be a spy if I'm always off jet-setting with you."

"Then haven't you noticed I called you as often as I could while I was away?" He frowned.

Her eyebrows untangled from each other and were now raised high up on her forehead. How could she not notice when he called her up at least three times a day just to ask her to do unnecessary stuff? "I have. You always had petty orders for me to do." He would call her to send him a file that was already in the hard drive he packed for him, or check if anything was amiss on his office desk, or even just to schedule something for the next month.

"Then you should have realized by now that those petty orders were an excuse to talk to you." He raised an eyebrow at her and sighed. She still didn't seem to get it!

Her mouth formed a slight "O" as the light bulb finally lit up inside her head.

Fei Huangjin could only shake his head in exasperation. "Quantum entanglement aside, I do want to marry you. And you're not going to lose out in marrying me. I promise I'll take care of Jade Circle and the circumstances around your brother." An uncertain look flashed across her pretty face and he found himself sighing again. He'd been doing a lot of sighing ever since they started dating. "You don't have to give me an answer now. Think about it first. I know it's a big decision to make."

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Now come here." He pulled her in to hold her against him, and his initially grim face lit up when she shyly wrapped her arms around his neck. Her citrusy scent that was extremely welcoming to him had permeated his nostrils again and he wondered if he was ever going to get tired of smelling it.

He didn't think so.

***

Mo Yiling was tinkering away in his computer while Big Boss was lounging in the man's couch, staring off into space as he thought about Ying Yue.

"We should make her give up on being a spy, or at least let her resign from Juyan." He sighed, his face grim and full of defeat. "She doesn't belong here."

The fingers that were flying across the keyboard suddenly stopped, causing an eerie silence that hung in the air like a question mark that had no answer. Mo Yiling swiveled his chair to look at Big Boss, who now had his head in his hands. "She loves being a spy. In fact, she's the best we have. You can't abandon her like that."

The man on the couch didn't answer.

"I know you're concerned about her safety and you think Fei Huangjin could be her salvation. But once you're in this business, there's no getting out. You should know that."

Big Boss flinched at Mo Yiling's words. It hit a little too close to home.

"For a long time, Juyan has been the only thing she's known. This is a part of her now." He pursed his lips as he returned to typing away. "Everything was taken from her six years ago, so I hope you don't take this away from her, too."