Cobwebs on the bedposts

Fei Huangjin's jaw became slack, hanging loosely like an untightened screw. His feet took two steps inside the room, carrying him closer to it. There was an unmistakable photograph slipped inside the glass casing of the unmoving clock.

Although the records may have failed to take into account of someone staying here temporarily, he still found it quite unbelievable. Ying Yue's brother… impossible, he thought.

The woman in the room sneezed twice in succession. "Would it hurt your finances to let someone clean up the room at least once a year? Geez, Huangjin! There are even cobwebs on the bedposts. For such an advanced syndicate base with a top-notch medical facility, your cleaning here really sucks." She lifted a corner of the bed to peek underneath it and then released it suddenly to put it back in place. A cloud of dust puffed up, making her sneeze again. "See that? Oh geez, my nose."

Her ranting, however, was only met with silence, and she turned to him with an upset look.

"Hey, Huangjin!"

He was just staring at something on the wall with a frown, walking closer and closer to it. Confused at what he was so distracted of, she followed his line of sight to the clock, and did a double take when she realized that there was a photograph slipped inside it.

She walked to Fei Huangjin's side, squinting at the slightly dusty glass in an attempt to see through it. She felt like her breath left her when she realized that the photo looked familiar. It seemed like the same one she had in her apartment.

Ying Yue let out a pained yelp. Both her hands came up to cover her mouth as tears broke out and started to stream down her cheeks. It was then that Fei Huangjin realized she'd seen it, too. And he turned to her to pull her close to him.

He whispered words of reassurance as he kissed the top of her head, and she held on to the lapels of his suit, unconsciously wiping her tears and snot on his shirt. Her mind was a mess. She was so prepared to face the idea that Ying Shen could never have been here, but when she finally found proof that he actually had, she couldn't hold her emotions in.

"Can you get the clock for me?" She whispered shakily.

Fei Huangjin nodded and did as requested. He dusted it off with a flip of the hand and with one swift move, slammed the clock against the wall to break the glass. The photograph fluttered down to the ground.

Slender hands picked it up.

Her bottom lip quivered as she stared at it. No doubt about it, it was an aged and yellowing photo of Ying Shen with his arms around her. Now everything seemed more real than she imagined. Ying Shen knew she wouldn't give up when she found the clues he left. And he had left this photo here knowing that she'd figure this one out eventually. She couldn't help tearing up again and smiling at the same time. It seemed like the cobwebs here served a purpose. If they had the rooms cleaned, the photo might also have been thrown away.

Fei Huangjin peeked at it, too. "Let me take you back to the office. We'll try to figure out how he ended up here."

"Wait." There were markings on the photograph, like someone had scribbled something forcefully behind it. She flipped it over, and true enough, there was something written on it with a black ink pen. "Bunker 1," she read aloud. "What is that? What's Bunker 1?"

He froze and hesitated.

"It's my father's bunker." There was a serious gleam in his eyes as he said it. "There are two bunkers in the building. Bunker 1 for my father, and Bunker 2 for his heir – me." What he didn't say was that only the mountain master could get inside these bunkers, together with their designated right hand. For him it was Guan Ting. If her brother could get inside Bunker 1, then… he swallowed. Things were getting more and more unusual. Who exactly was this Ying Shen? And how did he not know about his existence in the Dragon Club?

Her eyes brightened, and she failed to notice the expression of unease on Fei Huangjin's face. "Take me there. Right now."

He sighed.