"Uh…" The sound hung like a bead of dew.

"Alright, sit down first." Her voice warmed like steamed tea.

Mu Qingcheng smiled, light soft as spring sun. She settled on the sofa and patted the spot beside her, the cushion rippling like a pond. Tang Coco didn’t hesitate, yet slipped onto the other small sofa like a wary cat finding another perch.

"Hm? Why so far?" Her brow lifted like a blade of grass in wind.

"Uh… employee and boss… being too close isn’t good…" Her voice thinned like paper in rain.

Tang Coco explained, her confidence drifting like pale smoke.

"Cut the nonsense! Want me to show how many clients I lost last week because you skipped work?" Her tone cracked like a whip in cold air.

Mu Qingcheng spoke, feigning anger like a fox flashing milk-white fangs.

"Don’t! No need." The words fluttered like startled sparrows.

With no choice, Tang Coco sat beside Mu Qingcheng like a leaf nudged by the current to shore.

"What… still dodging me because of last time?" Her breath brushed soft as silk.

Mu Qingcheng leaned close, moving like a cat into a patch of sun.

"You admit you drugged me?" Her gaze slanted like a hawk’s wing.

"Haha, I admit it!" Laughter bubbled like spring water.

"…" Silence pooled like ink.

"Surprised? Yiyi and the girls should’ve told you—I'm not exactly a good person." Her smile curved like a crescent blade.

"But relax, I can’t bear to bruise hothouse flowers like you." Her words fell like petals.

With that, Mu Qingcheng leaned in and toppled Tang Coco, covering her like velvet night over a bright moon.

"Hey! You—" Her protest snapped like a twig.

"Tsk tsk, this face is criminal." Beauty glinted sharp as glass.

"But… you’re lucky today. I’ve got things to do. Change and head to the kitchen." Her tone waved off like a fan in summer heat.

She finished, stood, then folded back into her chair like a crane lifting and settling its wings.

"Then I’ll go." The words stepped lightly like footprints on new snow.

Tang Coco stood and pointed at the door like a compass finding north.

"Mm." Consent flicked like a match.

Mu Qingcheng agreed with a smile, her lips carrying a thin crescent moon.

After that, Tang Coco hit the changing room, tied on a white apron, and pulled a white mask, a snow lily behind gauze so the kitchen crew wouldn’t startle.

Soon, word of the hotel’s featured dishes spread like wind through bamboo. Orders poured in like summer rain. To apologize for last week, they set no limit today, generosity flowing like a wide river. Tang Coco stayed in the back kitchen, busy like a spinning top, until after three, when every order lay finished like trays in a neat row.

Click— The latch snapped like a bamboo node.

Tang Coco pushed in again like a breeze through a screen.

"You know, before you, no one dared do that." Her words dropped like stones into a still pond.

Mu Qingcheng spoke with eyes lowered to paperwork like ripples on rice paper.

"Really? Then I should thank your generosity. Here, made just for you." Her grin flashed like a lacquered tray.

She lifted the lid and presented Japanese curry rice, steam curling like white dragons.

"At least you’ve got some conscience." Her chuckle warmed like kiln-fire.

Mu Qingcheng smiled, set down her pen, took the plate, and ate, motions smooth as ink across silk.

"Then I’ve still got things, so…" Her voice trailed like mist across dawn.

Tang Coco asked, testing the waters like a toe in a cold stream.

"Leaving already?" Her brow curved like a bow.

"Uh… is that not okay?" Her words fluttered like shy moths.

"Have a drink before you go…" The invite poured smooth as wine.

"No! No way! I’d rather die than drink!" Her refusal hit hard, a door slammed in storm wind.

"Puhahaha, look how scared you are. Alright, alright. I’ve got too much today and can’t keep you company. If you’ve got things, go." Laughter scattered like dandelion seeds.

"Then bye! Get a waiter to clear your meal." Her farewell flashed like a swallow’s flight.

With that, Tang Coco darted out of Mu Qingcheng’s office like a kite loosed into blue.

"Heh heh—interesting." Her smile curled like incense smoke.

Mu Qingcheng laughed and kept eating, calm as rain tapping a window.

At the Imperial Walk Club, in the hotel on the second floor, the hall sat almost empty, quiet as a dry lakebed. In a half-enclosed corner booth, three beauties of distinct styles bloomed like flowers from different seasons.

"Wow, I didn’t expect the Princess and the Phantom—feared in the Shadow Division—to be such young beauties." Surprise sprang like a bird from brush.

Ningxin spoke, eyes bright as morning dew.

"Hehe, skip the pleasantries. We’ll need your care in Ninghai from now on." Gu Xin’s smile smoothed like polished jade.

"Haha, no problem." Confidence stood steady as a stone bridge.

"Alright, straight to business. You said you had something for us—what is it?" Her words cut clean like a blade through bamboo.

"I’m Ningxin, head of the Ninghai City branch." Her tone held steady like a lantern’s glow. "I invited you because I truly need help." The request lay simple like a bowl on a table.

"Let’s hear it." The reply snapped crisp as a thread.

"I want you two to help protect someone." The plea rested like a folded letter on a desk.

"Hm?" Brows lifted like twin willow leaves.

Gu Xin and Meng Yuting exchanged a glance, quick as knives flashing.

"I’m afraid that’s a no. We came here to stop dealing with that stuff; we don’t do bodyguard work." Her refusal held firm as a locked gate.

Gu Xin refused outright, the sound closing like a clap ending a show.

"I know, but hear me out first." Words rose like a palm against wind.

"Go ahead," Meng Yuting said, permission soft as falling ash.

"First, I’m not asking you to shadow her like bodyguards." Her intent stood clear like a sign on a gate. "I want you to help only when danger rises like a sudden storm." "Second, the person is an ordinary civilian, not in our organization." She lives like any passerby under streetlamps. "But recently her Anomaly Power awakened." It flared like lightning behind clouds. "And it’s… SS-class or higher." A dragon scale among pebbles.

Ningxin spoke slowly, each word dropping like beads.

"What? Impossible. There are barely any SS-class Abnormals worldwide, and one wouldn’t live here as an ordinary person." Her disbelief froze hard as winter ice.

Meng Yuting denied it first, the refusal slamming like a door.

"I know, but it’s the truth." Facts lay cold as river stones. "You’ve noticed, right? Ninghai keeps getting busier." The city buzzed like a hive. "Scouts from all kinds of Anomaly groups have arrived." Shadows seeped like ink between tiles. "It’s all tied to her." She’s the moon pulling the tide.

"…" Silence sat like a heavy bell.

The two fell quiet; they had heard the rumors drifting like autumn leaves.

"Even so, we can’t be her bodyguards." Their stance rooted like pines on a cliff.

Gu Xin refused again, tone flat as slate.

"No… I’ve considered your situation." Her words set like chess pieces. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t ask." The request was rare as a blue-feathered bird. "There are perks that favor you." Terms smoothed like silk. "First, she’s a girl, and she’s stunning—moonlight on clear water." "Frankly, she’s the most beautiful I’ve seen, a blossom unmatched in the garden." "When you see her, you might want to protect her." Instinct rises like spring wind. "That’s how it was for me." My heart tilted like a small boat.

"Oh?" The sound chimed crisp as porcelain.

"Second, if you agree, I can grant you privileges in Ninghai." Keys offered like jade tokens. "You’ll be in Ninghai for a while, right?" Your stay stretching like a summer afternoon. "If anything happens and my help can reach, I’ll give it my all." Support promised like a sturdy umbrella in rain.