It might be okay

A trace of uncertainty, hope, and protectiveness, flickered in his eyes. She was really growing up, and perhaps she might even leave Juyan forever after getting married.

It seemed that Juyan wasn't the only thing she had now -- she already had Fei Huangjin by her side.

For some reason, he suddenly felt mildly disappointed.

The silence from the other line was disconcerting to Ying Yue, and she glanced at her phone to see if Big Boss was still on the line. He was. "Hey, Big Boss?"

He drew himself out from his thoughts and cleared his throat. "Well, what have you decided?"

"I haven't decided yet. Marriage is a big thing, but with Fei Huangjin…" She bit her lip for a moment. "It might be okay, you know? I mean, he's more powerful than either Juyan or the Jade Circle, and he might really be able to help."

"…" He didn't know what to say.

"But if ever… if ever I do accept his proposal, you won't expel me from being a spy, would you?"

Big Boss exhaled the breath that he didn't know he was holding. He suddenly felt a bit relieved that she still wanted to be a part of Juyan, even if common sense was telling him she was better off living a normal life. His chest started to tighten as he thought about it and he sighed. "You're my top agent, why would I?"

Ying Yue's face broke out into a smile. "Good. So… uh, what do you think about this?"

He gradually willed himself to relax and a ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "He seems to like you enough. He even has the Dragon Club tailing you at all times."

"Really?" She was surprised. She didn't realize there were men watching her lately.

He nodded in his seat, even if she couldn't see him. "He made me pull back the phoenix team so he can protect you himself, so I distributed everyone else to other jobs but let Xi Shenghui stay at the company with you. I'm not comfortable leaving you without any of our men around."

His last statement made her smile. "Thanks, Big Boss."

"Do you like him enough to get married to him?"

Ying Yue was silent and her cheeks turned red. "Uh…"

"I'll take that as a yes."

She covered her eyes and flopped onto the bed. "Big Boss, you were married once, right?"

There was flash of pain on his face as he listened to her question and he put the phone down for a moment to collect himself before he picked it up again to answer her. "Yes, a long time ago."

"Then… don't you think this is going way too fast?"

Big Boss scratched his head, a complicated expression on his face. "I wanted to marry my wife the moment I met her, so… I can't really say for sure."

She was silent for a moment and turned her head the other way. She remembered Fei Huangjin saying something about liking her as far back as when he hired her. Could that also be how Fei Huangjin felt when he met her?

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. "Ying Yue, if you like him, just marry the poor guy. He can help you out, you know."

"I know." She whispered. She should probably give him her answer tomorrow. He'd offered her marriage a week ago, and although he tried to not bring it up, the occasional yearning look he gave her in the office was too much of a giveaway to his thoughts. Argggh, she couldn't believe she was actually concerned about him this way.

"Big Boss, can you tell me about your wife?" She didn't want to talk about the proposal anymore.

"You know I don't talk about it, shadow fox."

"I just want to know how you felt when you first met her. Maybe it'll give me some insight." A corner of her mouth perked up. Although what she said was half-true, it was honestly more of the fact that she was naturally curious.

He hissed. She didn't really convince him, but she was like family, and since Big Boss wanted her to loosen up a bit, he decided to push his inner demons aside, at least for a short while tonight.

He adjusted himself on his seat and closed his eyes. It wasn't difficult to recall the happy memory of meeting his wife for the first time, but it was difficult to think and talk about it knowing she was gone. He sighed. "The first time I laid my eyes on Chunhua, I knew the love bug hit me. I was in this small noodle shop with the guys I just hired back when Juyan just started, and the food was so good that I asked to meet the cook… That's when I saw her. She came out from the kitchen all sweaty and a face partly covered with flour, but her beautiful almond eyes beckoned to me like a siren's call."