Ye Muo hugged Norton for a while longer before returning to Lady Ye’s side.
Norton got in the hovercar and left without looking back. He knew Ye Muo was watching him.
Once the hovercar disappeared into the night, Lady Ye bowed her head. She brought Ye Muo closer by the shoulders into a warm embrace.
She looked him up and down before caressing his cheek. “Muomuo’s hair is a bit longer now. You also seem a bit more chubby and lively than before. His Majesty took good care of you, remember? You were crying your eyes out the last time you were here…”
She looked a bit nostalgic. Ye Muo was very obedient as a child, overly so. He would almost never act spoiled and rarely cried. When he did cry, it was in a quiet, subdued way that broke her heart.
Ye Muo blushed. He raised his voice a little, “Mom!”
Lady Ye held him close. “Let’s go inside. Ye Yun’s probably still upstairs. He’ll be so upset with himself once he finds out you’re here. Come, let’s pay him no mind. Mom will get you something good to eat.”
Ye Muo’s attention was somewhat redirected. “Just a bite. I had a big dinner.”
Ye Yun was pouring himself a cup of water in the living room when they arrived. He glanced over at the commotion. “Who was at the door just now?”
He paused at the sight of Ye Muo before grumbling, “Why did you call me over, Mom?”
Lady Ye led Ye Muo over to the sofa. “There’s no point in calling you when you’re gaming.”
Ye Yun rubbed his nose and circled Ye Muo. He inspected Ye Muo’s teeth like a proper big brother. “Not as bad as I thought. I saw all the candy you were eating in the videos.”
Ye Zhiyuan brought over milk and some fruits. He took a seat beside his wife and listened in.
Ye Muo felt a mixture of familiarity and awkwardness sitting in the living room.
However, any awkwardness soon disappeared. His heart settled once he realized how little the room had changed. The potted plant in the corner seemed to be flourishing more than before. Ye Muo always pruned its branches and leaves on a schedule before.
The aged sofa felt the same as ever. Ye Muo often fell asleep on it when he waited for Lady Ye to return home as a child. He was a light sleeper, so he woke up when she carried him back to his room despite her gentleness. However, he never opened his eyes.
That way, Lady Ye would carry him to bed, tuck him in, and even plant a kiss on his forehead or cheek.
Lady Ye was still holding Ye Muo’s hand. Her touch was still as warm as he remembered. She subconsciously squeezed his palm or fingers from time to time.
Now that they had been reunited, Lady Ye enthusiastically chatted with Ye Muo for quite some time before letting him go.
Ye Yun dragged Ye Muo upstairs. “I’ll show you the gifts Ye He brought last time. Hey, did you hear about the school making an exception and opening all the maps in the virtual battlefield recently?”
Ye Yun led Ye Muo into his room. A psychic power access system was scattered across the carpet. Ye Yun had been doing something online just now.
Ye Yun picked up his comms device. “Something came up. Keep playing without me, guys. I’ll make it up to you next time.”
“But this level’s so hard–”
Ye Yun turned off his comms before the other person even finished whining. He haphazardly cleared the carpet before carefully taking out a couple of exquisitely packaged gifts. He pushed them in front of Ye Muo.
“Big Brother had someone bring them back on his behalf. Here’s your share.”
“He barely brought me any before.” Ye Yun huffed and puffed.
“He only gets me a gift when he gets you one. Mine weren’t even wrapped up.”
Ye Muo touched the box. Ye He was quite busy lately due to the insect plague and didn’t come back often. It’s been some time since Ye Muo had seen him.
Ye Yun watched Ye Muo gently caress the gift.
He coughed, “Of course, I can give you something too.”
……
Two days passed before Faceless returned. The mission had drawn on longer due to an accident.
Faceless wondered as he pushed the door open if 03 was angry with him because he forgot to let him know.
Faceless was taken aback to see 03 was sitting upright for once, staring at the screen of his terminal.
03 could usually be found lounging around bonelessly on the sofa or the balcony.
Faceless took off his jacket and weapons, setting them aside on a nearby cabinet.
03 showed no reaction. He was even busy with something.
Faceless paused for a beat. He glanced between 03 and the bathroom before walking over to the other man.
Something wasn’t right here. 03 was using way too much effort.
03 didn’t even raise his head as he continued with his task. “Wait a bit.”
Faceless did as he asked.
“Done.” 03 exhaled a while later.
He looked up. “There’s new intel.”
“The outsiders are searching for something important to them. They’ve been putting pressure on Arachnid through the frequent meetings as of late while sending people out to various historical sites. Seems like they’re looking for some sort of relic.”
“How useless.”
Faceless blinked and subconsciously asked, “What?”
“The intel, ah. That guy is a real pest, looking for fights everyday despite not being that strong. He doesn’t even attend the meetings. At least I can listen in when his adjutant comes to report to him. It took me a long time to squeeze out something useful, but I still have no idea what this relic they’re looking for is or why. There’s no way it’s for ‘the betterment of mankind’ or some crap like that.”
“You planted a new listening device?”
03 slumped lazily onto the sofa. “En. I should have placed a few more for good measure.”
Faceless frowned. “My mission this time, an assassination at first glance, was actually to disguise a historical site as some insect-destroyed ruins.”
03 raised his head to meet Faceless’ gaze.
Something was clearly fishy here.Â
