Chapter 11: WeChat Pay or Alipay?

It was him.

The two of them leaned against each other in a rather intimate manner.

Their faces were close enough that even in the dim light, they could see each other clearly. Their breaths intermingled with growing warmth. Yan Ye moved her wrist slightly; his grip wasn’t strong, so she easily broke free, using his momentum against him and swiftly pinned Xu Zhiting beneath her.

They switched positions.

He seemed afraid that a sudden movement might hurt her and tentatively wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

So delicate and soft.

Just then, the light overhead flickered on. Yan Ye’s hand still rested on his chest, while he looked at her with a playful smirk.

“Had enough touching?”

The room was already warm, and their back-and-forth had made them break out in a light sweat.

Yan Ye straightened up and withdrew her hand, her gaze evasive and a bit uneasy as she spoke. “It’s just so-so! Not nice to touch.” It was stiff, almost prickly against her hand.

Caught in the act, she felt slightly embarrassed for having touched his chest.

Yan Ye’s eyes fixated on the item on the table. “This soul pill isn’t of great quality; you all won’t find much use for it. Why not give it to me?” Strictly speaking, it was also the first big cat she had noticed.

The Supernatural Bureau was at best just an opportunist.

Before Yan Ye could reach for the soul pill, Xu Zhiting swiftly grabbed the glass cover. He lowered his head to examine the item in his hand and spoke in a voice only they could hear, “Who says it’s useless? It has attracted the most valuable thing.”

At this moment, Yan Ye had no idea she was the “most valuable thing” he meant. She pulled out a chair in front of the desk and sat down.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You tell me what you want, and I’ll trade with you.” Yan Ye took out several soul pills from her treasure pouch, some clearly of excellent quality and considerable value.

“You’re so generous.”

Yan Ye nodded firmly. The materials she needed couldn’t be made with the high-grade items she had on hand. And who knew when she’d next encounter the soul pill inside a big cat. If she failed this mission, she wouldn’t be able to take on the next. Forced withdrawal would also cost her reputation points, and one point of reputation loss required completing ten extra tasks to offset. She was not willing to risk that.

Yan Ye hadn’t dealt much with the newly appointed head of the Supernatural Bureau. Their only two encounters hadn’t gone well.

She saw the Bureau’s agents as reckless task fanatics.

They charged wherever the danger was.

“Well, I suppose I can give it to you.”

Yes, hope sparked instantly. Yan Ye’s bright eyes shone as she looked at him. Xu Zhiting stood beside her, leaning against the edge of the desk. From a certain angle, their silhouettes overlapped, and under the soft lighting, they looked quite fitting—like a celestial couple.

“Help me with one thing, and the soul pill is yours.” At some point, the glass cover had been removed. The soul pill lay quietly in the palm he extended, emitting a dazzling glow.

Seeing he didn’t pull away, Yan Ye reached out to touch the soul pill. His fingers closed over hers, enveloping her hand and the pill.

Startled, Yan Ye yanked her hand back as if burned, shooting him a glare over her shoulder.

“You took advantage of me.”

Xu Zhiting just smiled and shrugged helplessly, then tossed the pill directly into Yan Ye’s pocket.

“Who told you you’re so pretty?” He turned his back, no longer looking at her, but the slight curl of his lips couldn’t be suppressed.

He was laughing.

“Take the stuff and leave! If you linger much longer, I can’t guarantee you’ll get out so easily.” He tossed something resembling an ID badge onto the desk, motioning for Yan Ye to take it.

“You haven’t told me what you want me to do. I’m a model citizen—I won’t do anything unethical.”

“You’ll know soon enough. Don’t worry, it won’t be too difficult.”

…

With the items in hand and the badge from Xu Zhiting, Yan Ye passed through the building’s security with ease.

Was this too easy?

They had promised a labyrinth of traps with no return. Yet not only did she encounter no obstacles, the leader himself seemed rather casual about it.

After delivering coffee, Awei sneaked out and saw Yan Ye standing in front of the door, lost in thought. He quickly pulled her into the shadows. “How could you just walk out so boldly? Aren’t you afraid of being caught?” Seeing the ID badge in her hand, he snatched it away in alarm. “Are you crazy? Stealing a soul pill was bad enough, but now you’re stealing the big boss’s badge? I admit he’s pretty good-looking, but he’s fierce! You’d better leave quickly; I’ll find a chance to quietly return it for you.”

Before Yan Ye could finish speaking, Awei dashed away.

Could it be that Awei thought she was after Xu Zhiting, the old lecher?

What a jerk.

As Yan Ye left, she glanced back toward the building and sensed a gaze following her persistently.

Xu Zhiting, huh?

Interesting.

Meanwhile, Awei came to Xu Zhiting’s office under the pretense of reporting. Seeing no one there, he quickly returned the badge to the desk. His heart pounded with tension; he never knew how worried and scared he was that Yan Ye would get caught if the alarm went off.

When Xu Zhiting returned and saw the badge on the desk, his usually mild eyes instantly turned cold.

Sensing an unfamiliar presence, he activated the surveillance monitor and watched the footage with an indifferent expression.

From then on, Awei was frequently dispatched on missions. Unaware of the true reason, he thought he had earned the organization’s trust and worked even harder.

---

Yan Ye returned home late at night. Thinking of the scene as she left, she paused and looked toward the pond.

Tang Xu was asleep, leaning against a chair, while Golden Treasure stood guard motionless beside him.

She stepped lightly over and tapped Golden Treasure on the head.

“Yan Ye, you’re back!” Golden Treasure glanced at the still-sleeping man and followed Yan Ye eagerly.

“If I didn’t come back, would you have run off with him?”

“No way. That guy’s programming centers on you. I won’t run off with anyone else—at most, I’d just admire his good looks.”

Yan Ye fiddled with the items in her hands while talking to it.

“You really like that human.”

“Not exactly like. It’s just that he reminds me of that man.”

“Wan Wan Lei Qing?”

“Not really, just that since he arrived, the courtyard feels livelier. Don’t you think it’s too lonely here? You refuse to invite anyone, always avoiding the topic with excuses, and just tire me out.”

Tang Xu was lively and talkative, and also visually appealing to Golden Treasure.

But Yan Ye was used to being alone and disliked having her rhythm disturbed.

Even the chattering Golden Treasure was almost thrown out by her once.

Later, she realized that a robot that never needed to breathe was much better than people with complicated minds.

The microphone took shape, and Tang Xu slowly woke up to Golden Treasure’s calls.

As soon as he grasped the microphone, a surge of power filled his body.

Tang Xu clenched the microphone tightly, his expression excited.

“This is exactly what I wanted.”

…

Yan Ye nodded, then pulled out a scanner and aimed it at him.

“Pay with WeChat or Alipay?”