A few more days passed, and A’Da came home with a piece of news: the rookie in Alarm the People Squad — was dead.

This wasn’t really anything unusual, since rookie mortality had always been high. On top of that, after breaking the record, Nick’s squad had barely rested before throwing themselves headlong into new dungeons, and a rookie simply couldn’t keep up with the squad’s grueling pace — naturally, accidents in the dungeons were more likely.

Of course, one couldn’t rule out the possibility that… they had decided the rookie no longer had any value, and so, ever so slightly, in a perfectly measured way, abandoned him.

…

After lunch, the sun was at its finest — a clear, bright blue sky drifted with clusters of white clouds, soft and fluffy, like cotton candy.

Thinking of candy made Bai Youwei want some.

She had no cotton candy, so she fished a mint candy from her bag, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth —

A cool, crisp sensation swept from her mouth straight down into her lungs.

It made her think of the days when she and Shen Mo had first gotten to know each other. It was the height of summer then, and to beat the heat she had steeped mint leaves in water to drink — cool and refreshing with a hint of heat, a hint of tingle, much like the feeling Shen Mo gave her. Very much to her taste, and just a little bit… addictive.

Bai Youwei leaned against the curved railing of the second-floor balcony, gazing down at the man she so dearly missed.

He was down in the garden sparring with A’Da — exchanging move for move, back and forth. His agile frame, his solid muscle, the slightly damp wisps of hair across his forehead, those deep and focused eyes — all of it was every bit as captivating as always.

Bai Youwei’s upper and lower teeth pressed lightly together, crushing the candy. The mint hit her nasal passages all at once, and she unconsciously narrowed her eyes.

She wanted to devour him…

Their near-misses had been frequent lately, and each time, something derailed it at the last moment — sometimes the mood wasn’t quite right, sometimes the setting wasn’t suitable, and sometimes he still seemed to have some kind of hesitation.

She didn’t know whether this man was just too serious about it all — she had “shown her hand” so many times by now, and he still didn’t quite seem to believe she was really his wife.

Sigh…

It was genuinely frustrating.

But she had a feeling — the day wasn’t far off!

Her gaze drifted slightly and landed, without really meaning to, on Yuri nearby.

Yuri had a small knife in hand and was carving wood — what looked to be a little girl.

“Wow, such beautiful craftsmanship~” Bai Youwei called out in admiration. “Yuri, who are you carving?”

Yuri looked up toward Bai Youwei on the second-floor balcony and smiled. “Ah — my daughter.”

Bai Youwei’s eyes went wide in surprise. “You remember your daughter?”

“Only a vague impression…” Yuri gently shook the wood shavings from his hands and looked at the little wooden figure in his palm. “In my memory she was eight. I’ve been in this place for nearly two years, so… she should be ten now.”

Yuri’s eyes grew infinitely tender. “Once I leave here, I’ll be able to see her again, I suppose…”

From nearby, A’Da cut in, “Oh, so it’s his daughter — I always thought it was Natasha!”

“A’Da, you need to get your eyes checked!” Natasha’s voice drifted in from inside the house, equal parts exasperated and amused.

A’Da laughed, making his case: “Hey, I only joined the squad a month ago, I haven’t had time to look carefully! I just knew it was a girl, and back then Youwei wasn’t here yet — so the only girl in the squad was you, right!”

“Fine, I can’t argue with you! Come on in and rest, the servants have prepared some fruit.” Natasha called out from the living room. “Youwei, come down and have some fruit too.”

“Coming~” Bai Youwei shuffled in her slippers, padding down the stairs.

She had barely reached the living room when the doorbell rang out from the courtyard gate.

She peeked over — and it was that man again…

“Are you kidding me!” A’Da strode out and looked the man at the gate up and down. “…Did you come here looking for payback after getting chewed out last time? I’m telling you, if you’re here for revenge, at least bring more people — coming here alone, aren’t you afraid of getting the short end of it?”

Nick raised his hand, ran his thumb across his mustache, and smiled. “I’m here to discuss a partnership. I’m sure you’ve all heard — our squad has a vacancy. Are any of you… interested in joining?”

—