"Why are you wearing a mask?" Jiang Zhaohe sounded genuinely curious as she walked beside Wenzhi down the hallway.

Wenzhi touched the edge of the mask. "My lips are swollen."

"Oh." Zhaohe blinked. "How did that happen?"

Wenzhi sucked lightly on his lower lip beneath the mask before answering. "I was almost kissed to death."

Zhaohe stopped walking and turned to stare at him.

The grin spreading across her face was downright evil.

"Oh?"

Before Wenzhi could react, she reached out toward the mask.

"Let me see."

Wenzhi slapped her hand away. "Don’t."

The disappointment on Zhaohe’s face was immediate. "You’re no fun."

"You are nosy." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"I prefer observant."

"You are nosy."

Zhaohe laughed. "So you two are alright now?"

They resumed walking.

Wenzhi shrugged.

"Let’s just go see Shao Jingxin before Xinyuan gets back."

"Fair enough." Zhaohe folded her hands behind her back. "Chenxi and Yuzhen left for Sector Two to help with the rift."

Wenzhi nodded. "And Shao Jingxin?"

"The bullets are out." Zhaohe’s expression became more serious. "He regenerated quickly, but we have him restrained with facility restraints."

Wenzhi hummed thoughtfully. "They’ll hold him?"

"They reduce active abilities and physical output." Zhaohe glanced at him. "They won’t stop him forever, but they’ll hold even an S-rank long enough."

By then they had arrived outside the room.

Wenzhi looked at the door. "Then I’d like to speak to him alone."

"No." The answer came immediately.

Wenzhi looked at Zhaohe.

She crossed her arms. "I know you."

"That sounds insulting."

"It is."

Wenzhi rolled his eyes. "I simply want answers."

"And you have a terrible habit of making reckless decisions when people annoy you."

"That sounds like a personal opinion." Wenzhi countered trying to push away the wave of dizziness that washed over him.

"It is."

Wenzhi sighed. "Fine."

Zhaohe looked visibly relieved. "If anything happens to you because I let you walk in there alone, Xinyuan will kill me."

Wenzhi rolled his eyes as they continued down the hallway.

"Have you told everyone why we’re gathering here?" he asked.

"Yes." Zhaohe smiled. "And surprisingly, they’re all in."

"Even Mo Heyun?"

"Even Mo Heyun."

That earned a raised brow.

"It took Chenxi nearly ten minutes to stop him from killing Shao Jingxin last night."

Wenzhi looked amused. "Really?"

"He was furious." Zhaohe laughed. "Apparently Shao Jingxin sprayed something in his face and knocked him unconscious."

"Uh huh." Wenzhi wasn’t impressed by this Mo Heyun.

"Mo Heyun is SS-rank." Zhaohe nudged his shoulder. "Do not doubt him because he got tricked once."

"I am not doubting him."

"You are."

Wenzhi chose not to argue.

"He’s still one of the best operatives we could ask for," Zhaohe continued. "His network stretches across multiple sectors and several countries. We need someone like that."

Wenzhi considered it and nodded. "Fine. If everyone has agreed, then we’ll use this place as headquarters for now."

"Glad we’re on the same page."

The elevator doors opened and immediately both of them froze.

Inside stood Kaiwen and Duan Ze locked in a very enthusiastic kiss.

Their kiss broke the second they noticed they had an audience.

Duan Ze nearly jumped out of his skin.

Kaiwen merely waved. "Hello."

Wenzhi stared.

Zhaohe stared.

Duan Ze looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him alive.

"We were just coming to find you," Kaiwen added casually.

Zhaohe slowly crossed her arms. "I thought you were helping with the rift in Sector Two."

"We were going to." Kaiwen nodded seriously. "Then we got distracted."

Duan Ze covered his face. "Please stop talking."

"I think context is important."

"It isn’t."

"It absolutely is."

Zhaohe pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable."

Kaiwen immediately stepped out of the elevator and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Actually, speaking of important matters, it’s about our bedroom..."

The rest of his sentence faded as he casually steered Zhaohe away.

"What do you mean you broke the bed?"

"Our bed."

"Kaiwen!"

Their voices disappeared down the hallway leaving Wenzhi standing there and Duan Ze standing beside him.

Silence settled between them.

Duan Ze looked absolutely mortified.

Wenzhi looked at him.

Duan Ze looked away.

"...Good morning," Duan Ze muttered.

Wenzhi nodded. "Morning."

He looked around. "Nice elevator."

Duan Ze groaned and covered his face. "Fuck me."

"Relax," Wenzhi laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "It’s just a kiss."

Duan Ze looked unconvinced.

Wenzhi smirked behind his mask. "Trust me. It’s much better than Xinyuan listening to you two fuck."

Duan Ze’s face turned bright red.

Wenzhi laughed harder.

The elevator doors slid shut behind them and an awkward silence settled between them.

Duan Ze stared at him.

Wenzhi leaned lazily against the wall.

Neither of them bothered pressing a button.

After a long moment, Duan Ze cleared his throat. "Why are you wearing a mask?"

Wenzhi resisted the urge to sigh.

He really wasn’t interested in explaining that Xinyuan had practically spent an entire night kissing him senseless. Or that this morning hadn’t been much better.

His lips still felt swollen.

Every time he licked them, he was reminded of exactly why.

Wenzhi raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

Definitely the imprint.

It had to be.

Because the fact that he had actually wanted things to go further was information he preferred not to examine too closely.

Especially not right now.

"Fashion statement," Wenzhi said dryly.

Duan Ze stared, clearly not believing him.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked instead.

That made Wenzhi glance at him. "Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?"

Duan Ze hesitated. His fingers fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Well..." He looked away briefly. "When Xinyuan called earlier, he asked—"

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open and standing outside was Gu Luhan.

His brown hair looked ruffled, as though he’d been running his hands through it repeatedly.

A large supply bag hung from one shoulder.

He blinked once upon seeing them. Then his gaze settled on Wenzhi, lingering briefly on the black mask.

"Well." Gu Luhan stepped into the elevator. "What a wonderful morning. Isn’t it, faction leader Lin Wenzhi?"