Chapter 88: Work Acquaintance

Chu Cheng quickly recognized her. After all, they had just met yesterday, and she had even saved him.

The girl's name was Fana, the only agent in Secret Service Nine who could fully control her "Phantom" ability.

As they made eye contact, Chu Cheng was momentarily stunned. They were colleagues, and she had just saved him yesterday, so he thought it would be rude not to acknowledge her. He waved and greeted her.

"Is she your colleague?" his mom, Huang Liping, asked, noticing Fana too. She remembered seeing her outside the milk tea shop last night.

"Yeah, that's right," Chu Cheng replied, noticing his mom's interest in Fana.

Fana tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then waved her hand in a small, shy gesture.

Huang Liping commented on how nice the place was, even with so many people waiting in line early in the morning. She then casually asked Fana what number she was waiting for.

Fana carefully took out a small, folded note, glanced at it, and softly said, "A46."

"46... Huh? What's our number?" Huang Liping asked.

Chu Cheng pulled out his crumpled note from his pocket and said, "A47."

"Wow, we're close together. Only two tables ahead, and it'll be our turn soon," Huang Liping noted, then noticed the empty seats beside Fana. "Are you here alone?"

Fana nodded slightly.

Chu Cheng was a bit surprised. It wasn't common to see someone alone at this kind of restaurant, especially early on a weekend morning.

"Aren't you with your friends?" Huang Liping asked curiously.

"Friends..." Fana paused, then shook her head. "No."

Chu Cheng couldn't tell if she meant she wasn't with friends or if she didn't have any friends at all.

"All by yourself?" his mom asked, surprised. "Why don't we sit together? We can share a table."

Chu Cheng initially thought Fana might want to be alone, but when she heard the offer, her eyes seemed to brighten, and she nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, the waiter led them to a freshly cleared table.

The three of them sat down to order and chat. Well, it was mostly Huang Liping doing the talking. Chu Cheng remembered his mom as always being talkative, but today she seemed especially chatty.

Chu Cheng guessed it was partly because she was curious about his job and colleagues, and partly because she was getting a little anxious that her son, now over 20, hadn't yet found someone special.

In all fairness, Fana was indeed very pretty. In fact, Chu Cheng couldn't recall ever seeing someone more eye-catching in real life. But she had such a youthful face that if you held her hand while walking down the street, security might mistake you for someone suspicious.

If you had to pick out a flaw in this almost perfect face and body, it might just be her unassuming figure.

But as the saying goes, beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Every type of landscape has its own unique charm. It's hard to say which is better or worse—everyone has their own preferences.

Chu Cheng had a gut feeling something was off about this girl. Sure, anyone who has their own private jet at a young age is probably loaded, but that wasn't the main issue. What really unsettled him was the girl herself.

First off, she had this weird vibe—like the first person to test a new therapy in a mental hospital. Considering the already creepy nature of the Secret Service, the girl's aura made him uneasy.

Yesterday, Chu Cheng was grateful when she stepped in to help, but he couldn't shake the feeling of unease during the whole ordeal.

The presence of the phantom was disturbing. Even though the people at the Secret Service assured him that the girl's Phantom was stable and safe, Chu Cheng wasn't so sure. He had a hard time trusting what they said, especially about something like this.

Then there was Fana, the Phantom itself. According to the information Chu Cheng found in the Secret Service Nine app, phantoms were created from the darkness or obsessions in a person's heart, a physical manifestation of their spirit.

The image of a female ghost in red with messy hair definitely seemed connected to the girl herself, so Chu Cheng decided to keep his distance. Staying friendly was fine, but getting too close might lead to trouble. He didn't want to end up as a horror story himself.

Moreover, Fana didn't talk much. She could speak, and her voice was gentle, but she seemed reluctant to use it.

It felt like talking to someone who gave short, one-word answers, making the conversation feel forced. Yet, when she did speak, you could tell she was listening intently, even if she wasn't saying much. Maybe there was a special reason for her quietness.

"So, do you live alone now? What do your parents do?" Huang Liping asked, following up on the conversation.

The girl had been answering questions quickly, but this time she paused.

"Dad…" She stared blankly out the restaurant window for a moment, then shook her head. "No."

Huang Liping realized she might have hit a sensitive topic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"With mom."

Fana snapped out of her brief daze and answered seriously.

"Not alone."

Huang Liping was surprised for a second, then smiled. "Really? She must be a great mom."

"Yeah," Fana said, a small smile breaking through her usual stiffness. "Very… remarkable."

Chu Cheng was taken aback too.

It seemed like the girl was saying she lived with her mom now, not alone. But Chu Cheng remembered something else.

When he used Batman to check the Secret Service Nine database yesterday, he had casually looked up Fana's information. It was mostly basic stuff, but the mental evaluation section said, "currently stable but needs further observation." Nothing too concerning.

But Chu Cheng clearly remembered that the document stated she had been abandoned by her father before she could remember, and her mother had passed away when she was six years old.

She was an orphan.