The Assassin's Enemy Lover

Thinking of their expressions when he mentioned for whom he was doing this for, Zi Han couldn’t help but feel like the boulder on his chest was lifted. He felt lighter and happy.

After years of watching his mother break down crying sometimes in secret, he finally felt like a filial son. His father might not be proud but his mother would definitely be happy even though she might not show it.

“ZI HAN!! Are you crazy? Do you not care for my words? Does your grandfather’s words mean nothing to you?” said Zi Feiji yelling at his grandson but Zi Xingxi remained a bystander.

Her attitude right now was so nonchalant like she wasn’t the one wouldn’t think she was the one who spat out coffee when she found out. After a round of yelling and not getting any support from Zi Xingxi, Zi Feiji suddenly glanced at her.

She was calmly seeping some of her Irish coffee. As soon as her lips touched the rim of the cup she paused and her eyes met her father’s. She quickly improvised saying, “Bad, very very bad.”

Zi Feiji, “...”

“That’s it? Are you kidding me?” he said and Zi Xingxi couldn’t pretend anymore.

“I mean he can always join the Bloodgarde. He did such a good job,” she said while internally continuing with her sentence, ‘I am so proud of him.’

.....

Of course, she was so proud. It seemed she had molded him to perfection. She was more than certain that if it weren’t for Yi Chen he would have joined the Bloodgarde a long time ago.

Zi Feiji was so done with the both of them that he got up and walked away.

While his lover was getting a half-assed lecture Yi Chen was trying to fend off his mother. She wouldn’t stop asking questions and boy was he running out of patience.

She wanted to know why he still hadn’t sealed the deal. By sealing the deal she didn’t mean sex but that double striped tattoo on his arm. She expected him to have only one left but here he was, waltzing in her house with two of them so yep she was anxious.

“It’s because he is a wuss,” interjected Yi Youxi integrating himself into grown folk’s business.

“What is a wuss?” asked Ming Ming while cuddling in the blanket her hand sneaking out to grab a handful of popcorn.

Yi Youxi turned to look at him and said, “It means he is a weak or ineffectual per-.”

“Youxi!” yelled Lin Ruoxi forcing the boy to shut his mouth by stuffing it with popcorn.

Lin Ruoxi turned back to Yi Chen and explained with her palms pressed together as though pleading.

“Chen Chen, listen to me. As your mother, I only have your best interest at heart. You have to lock it down otherwise you will always feel insecure.”

Yi Chen felt like this time his mother was more enthusiastic than the last time they spoke. Why was that? Yi Chen had already explained to her that Zi Han just wouldn’t say the L word. He thought maybe if he did something big like finding his father Zi Han would finally say it but who was he kidding? Everything went to shit and his boyfriend was acting different.

“Why are you so...so enthusiastic about this more than usual that is. The last time you weren’t as persistent as this. Something must have definitely changed.

Lin Ruoxi wanted to continue persuading him but when she heard his words she suddenly couldn’t speak anymore. He was right. She was too enthusiastic. That’s because she had realized how much fun it was to hang out with Zi Xingxi. She wanted her son’s relationship locked down as soon as possible so she and Zi Xingxi could be besties forever.

“Well, I...,” she said when the main door was suddenly opened and Marshal Yi walked in.

Lin Ruoxi could no longer speak of the subject anymore hence she could only drop it for now that is after giving Yi Chen a warning glance.

***

A fish with green scales swum through the murky aquarium its mouth open about to attack a smaller fish when the sound of a creaky door startled its prey. The smaller fish swam away and the predatory fish stared at the blank space with its beady eyes.

The man watching the show was equally disappointed. He placed the tobacco smoke pipe in his mouth and smoked it before asking the man who walked in without his permission what he wanted.

The man bowed before him his appearance most humble and said, “We have a report from Seon.”

He drew back the pipe pinched in between his lips and asked, “What happened?”

The man bowed even lower his back trembling and said, “None of our recruits appeared at the portal. It is assumed that all three of them were caught.”

The man with a smoking pipe in his hand suddenly flung it out of anger with the hot ash landing on the bowing man’s neck but he didn’t dare make a sound. He just grimaced in silence.

“And the documents? Did he at least get their weaknesses?!” yelled the man causing the bowing one to shiver involuntarily.

“We have no correspondence whatsoever. It’s as though they all vanished just like that.”

The man sitting in the armchair leaned forward with his fox eyes reflecting in the little light coming into the window. He rubbed his thin lips with his index finger with a thoughtful expression.

Since things had turned out this way they needed to find another way. He glanced at the bowing man and said, “Initiate the third phase. I want the Federation crippled.”

After saying that he got up on his feet ignoring his subordinate’s response. He had to see his very distant cousin. It was the only way he could calm his nerves.

In a matter of minutes, he was walking down a corridor with depictions of phoenixes all along the walls. This was the sacred temple of the Republic.