Liu Ruyan still wore the deep-purple gown, the fabric clinging to her like twilight and accentuating the hard, elegant lines of her body. The car hummed as it slid through the night; when the villa gate opened the little maid was already waiting. She dropped to her knees at the door with a practised bow.
"Master, welcome home."
Liu Ruyan inclined her head with a cool, indifferent nod, then hauled Chen Xiao up the stairs by the hand as if she were pulling him through custom. He glanced back twice on the way, curiosity on his face.
"What's your maid's talent?" he asked casually.
Liu Ruyan raised a single eyebrow. "Why do you care?"
Chen Xiao forced a sheepish smile. "Just curious."
She shrugged. "Swan Dream. One of my trump cards."
At the words Chen Xiao straightened. Swan Dream — that was the kind of ability that could turn the heavens into a highway. There were only a few talents that could counter thermal weapons: one specialized in flight, another in burrowing. So far Chen Xiao had found no burrowers. A flying talent like this changed the whole calculation.
They reached the upstairs room and Liu Ruyan fumbled with the door. "Are you crazy? This is—"
Chen Xiao had the knob and gently kept the door from closing. "It's only been three hours," he said, tone mock-serious.
"Yakuza Witch."
"Hm."
She hesitated, then called, "Yezi! Come here."
The maid froze, broom in hand. "Master—"
"Later, do this, then that." Liu Ruyan's instructions were curt but oddly protective.
Yezi's eyes welled; she nodded, remembering how Liu Ruyan had pulled her out of the base. The maid obeyed, small and trembling, and Liu Ruyan slipped away.
Chen Xiao guided the girl onto a stool and gave her a reassuring pat. "Don't be scared. I'm not a bad person." He smiled, teasing, "Maybe I'll take you to eat pork tomorrow."
"Pork?" The girl's face lit up like a lantern. As a low-rank servant she rarely touched meat. Chen Xiao's offhand promise made her eyes shine.
"Maybe mutton hotpot too," he added, playing along.
Her excitement filled the room; Chen Xiao watched the way her gaze brightened and felt a small, private warmth. Then the subject turned from food to talent: the A-rank Swan Dream had indeed just evolved.
—Divine Wind (S-rank Flying Talent). The way of the wind is invisible; the way of divine wind can change in a blink. Effect: those who command divine wind can walk on the air; their trajectory becomes as light and rapid as a hurricane.
"Handy," Chen Xiao murmured. If he gained a talent boost from Liu Ruyan and linked it to his own, his mobility problem — the one fatal weakness against orbital or thermal strikes — could be solved. He had plans. Favorability grew slowly; sometimes he wished for shortcuts. But talent bonds had rules. He would earn it properly.
Liu Ruyan reappeared downstairs with a plate in hand: fluffy omelettes and roasted pork chunks, the aroma rich and satisfying. She set the plate between them in a small, domestic ceremony that felt disarmingly ordinary after the terror of the past days.
Chen Xiao nodded his approval, then climbed the stairs with a portion and sat beside her. Yezi watched from the doorway, adoring and embarrassed all at once.
"You're being nice to her," Liu Ruyan said, picking at a piece of pork.
Chen Xiao cocked his head. "Why, jealous?"
"Hmph. We're business partners. Nothing else." She tried to sound unimpressed, but her voice betrayed her.
"All right, so you're not jealous. Then…" Chen Xiao let the sentence hang, a teasing smile in his eyes. The villa filled with the small clink of dishes and the warm smell of roasted meat — for a breath the world beyond their walls felt distant, and the two of them, messy and dangerous as it was, felt almost ordinary.