Chapter 40 Part 1

Yun Chun’s luggage was simple—just a small suitcase.

She had just finished packing when her phone rang. It was Qin Xing, letting her know the car had arrived to pick her up.

Yun Chun pocketed her phone and tugged her suitcase toward Lu Qingxue, who stood nearby. “Well, I’m off then.”

Lu Qingxue nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

As Yun Chun reached the door to change her shoes, Lu Qingxue’s flat voice made her pause and glance over. “Why aren’t you more enthusiastic?”

“Why would I need to be enthusiastic just to see you out the door?”

Yun Chun thought for a moment. “Not enthusiastic, exactly… but don’t you have any advice for me? Like, ‘be safe’ or something?”

Lu Qingxue smiled faintly at her. “Oh?”

Yun Chun blinked. “…”

She recovered with a pout. “Right, I forgot—we can see each other anytime.”

No need for reminders after all.

But…

Yun Chun asked, “Can you go overseas? Can you board planes? Does that mean no matter where I am, if I miss you, you’ll show up?”

And one more thing. “What do ghosts look like abroad?”

No sooner had she asked than a flood of questions bubbled up in her mind. “Do they have vampires overseas? If you run into one, can you take it? We have the Underworld here—what do they have? Is it the same jurisdiction as ours? Do they have…”

Yun Chun nearly blurted out “White Impermanence” but caught herself just in time.

Lu Qingxue watched her, her smile gentle. “So many questions.”

Yun Chun huffed a laugh. “Getting sick of me already?”

Lu Qingxue nodded toward her wrist. “Just a reminder—the time’s getting tight.”

Yun Chun let out an “oh” and naturally handed her bag to Lu Qingxue while she bent down to slip on her shoes. “Yeah, we should head out, or Sister Xing will start hounding me.” Without realizing it, Yun Chun found herself sharing her inner thoughts with Lu Qingxue. “She’s been so irritable lately. I don’t dare say more than two words around her—afraid I’ll set her off.”

These were the kinds of things Yun Chun usually kept to herself.

Lu Qingxue noticed, her expression softening as she played along. “What’s gotten into her?”

“All the headaches of running a company, I guess. She’s been swamped lately and wasn’t planning to go to Milan, but Xiang Ze—our HR manager—mentioned this supermodel who’s a real pain to sign. If we land her, it’ll push the company to the next level. And since your company is covering flights and hotels, it saves us a bundle, so she decided to tag along.”

Yun Chun finished tying her shoes and stood, taking the bag back from Lu Qingxue. As a final note, she said, “So, Sister Qingxue, even based on what I know about you so far, I still think you’re amazing!”

Yun Chun had dabbled in work alongside Qin Xing herself. Even that little bit had overwhelmed her. She couldn’t imagine how Lu Qingxue had managed alone overseas, building a company as massive as SNOW.

After praising Lu Qingxue, Yun Chun winked at her. “Let’s go.”

Lu Qingxue hummed in response. “Be safe.”

Yun Chun turned back, and in that shared glance, they both smiled knowingly.

~~~

The car took them straight to the airport.

SNOW Company had booked first-class seats for her and Qin Xing. After checking in, the group headed to the lounge.

On the way, Yun Chun spotted a few familiar faces—models she remembered from that gala. They were scions of Radiance City’s elite families; no doubt heading to Fashion Week, probably more for fun than work.

She glanced their way and looked away, figuring it’d just be a passing nod. But one of them paused when her gaze swept over them, then flashed a smile and came jogging up, calling out, “Mo Xing!”

Yun Chun was still puzzling over who “Mo Xing” might be when the girl threw herself into Qin Xing’s arms, draping her arms around Qin Xing’s neck. “Mo Xing! I sent you so many messages—why didn’t you reply?”

Qin Xing frowned and pried the arm from her neck. “You’ve got the wrong person.”

Yun Chun couldn’t help but chuckle, though she held it in out of respect for Qin Xing. She laughed inwardly at the girl practically clinging to her—wrong person? Yeah, right.

Sure enough, the girl refused to let go even after her hand was removed. “Oh, right—you changed your name.”

“Qin Xing, where are you headed? Mind if I come along?”

Qin Xing gave her a single look and strode toward the lounge.

The girl was left standing there, looking utterly pitiful.

Yun Chun’s instincts told her to steer clear, so after a quick glance at the girl, she lowered her eyes and kept walking.

But the girl caught up to her. “I’m Yan Lian. And you are?”

Yun Chun replied politely, “Yun Chun.”

Yan Lian didn’t seem to care what Yun Chun was called. “What’s your deal with Qin Xing? Where are you two going?”

Her tone wasn’t friendly—aggressive, even. She must have pegged Yun Chun as a rival.

Yun Chun smiled faintly, about to respond, when Qin Xing called out from ahead.

Yun Chun raised a brow and told Yan Lian, “Sorry, gotta go.”

With that, she hurried to Qin Xing’s side. Her first words were, “You used to go by Mo?”

The name Mo sparked a question. “Are you from the Mo Family?”

The Big Boss’s name popped into her head, and Yun Chun lowered her voice. “Mo Yue, Mo Xing—you two aren’t—”

Qin Xing shot her a look.

Yun Chun zipped her lips with a sheepish grin. “Just curious. If you don’t wanna say, I won’t ask.”

Qin Xing turned away. “I’ll tell you when the time’s right.”

“Got it. Need any help?” Yun Chun sidled closer to Qin Xing and subtly nodded toward the person following them.

Qin Xing: “Mm.”

Yun Chun linked arms with Qin Xing and whispered in her ear with a laugh, “Sister Xing, this cool-and-distant vibe of yours is catnip for girls like her.”

The follower saw their intimacy and hurried after them in her high heels, right into the lounge.

She reached Qin Xing’s side. “Qin Xing, you going to Milan too? What’s your seat number? Can we sit together?”

Yun Chun replied, “Sister Xing’s seat is right next to mine.”

Yan Lian blinked. “Can we switch?”

Yun Chun stayed quiet this time as Qin Xing said coolly, “No.”

The young lady wasn’t used to rejection. Yan Lian pouted. “Why not?!”

Qin Xing replied evenly, “Because I want to sit next to my girlfriend.”

Yan Lian’s eyes widened. “You… you two?”

Yun Chun played along perfectly, ducking her head with a shy blush and leaning against Qin Xing’s shoulder.

Qin Xing gave Yun Chun a look that seemed affectionate but was really laced with annoyance, then turned to Yan Lian. “Yun Chun’s my girlfriend, Yan Lian. You can give up on me now.”

She waited for Yan Lian’s response, but instead, a cold scoff came from behind.

“Heh.”

The familiar voice made Yun Chun straighten up instinctively. She turned to see Mo Yue approaching, elegant as a black swan in her high-necked black top. Yan Lian spotted Mo Yue and rushed to her side. “Sister Mo Yue, Mo Xing has a girlfriend now…”

Mo Yue smiled. “I heard. Go rest for now—I’ll ask for you.”

Yan Lian hadn’t agreed when Mo Yue turned to her assistant. “Take Miss Yan to her lounge.”

Yan Lian wanted to stay, but she couldn’t ignore Mo Yue, so she followed the assistant—after shooting Qin Xing one last deep look.

By then, the one being stared at had already turned away at Mo Yue’s arrival and sat on the sofa.

That left Yun Chun and SNOW’s two staffers standing.

When Mo Yue glanced over, Yun Chun called out, “Big Boss.”

She’d heard from Qin Xing and Xiang Ze that Mo Yue was SNOW’s top brass, so her presence here was no surprise.

Mo Yue’s smile was ambiguous. “So you’re her girlfriend?”

How to answer that?

Yun Chun felt a flicker of panic, like she’d been caught cheating.

She hadn’t forgotten that Mo Yue was friends with Lu Qingxue.

But the unease lasted less than a second. Yun Chun stood tall and explained seriously, “Just helping fend off admirers.”

“Mm.”

A neutral acknowledgment. Yun Chun wisely said no more.

Mo Yue asked her that one question, then took a seat—one spot away from Qin Xing, with an empty chair between them. Yun Chun had no intention of sitting there, but the lounge was packed, and SNOW’s two employees were keeping their distance, almost like they were avoiding someone.

Yun Chun figured, fine, whatever—it’s not like she’ll bite.

But less than ten seconds after sitting, Yun Chun understood what it meant to be on pins and needles.

An eerie aura emanated from both women. Stuck in the middle, Yun Chun felt crushed from both sides. Knowing Qin Xing’s old surname was Mo, and sensing Qin Xing’s off vibe the moment Mo Yue appeared, Yun Chun would have to be dense not to realize there was history between them.

The tension on either side was suffocating, so heavy Yun Chun barely dared to breathe.

She scratched her head and stood. “Gonna hit the restroom.” To her shock, Qin Xing rose too—and then Mo Yue stood as well.

Yun Chun: “…”

These were two people she couldn’t afford to cross. All she could think was: Can you two leave me out of this?

With both silent, Yun Chun forced a laugh to lighten the mood. “Uh, together then?”

Qin Xing sat back down. “You two go.”

Yun Chun looked to Mo Yue, who said nothing. “Big Boss, you coming?”

Mo Yue nodded and started walking.

Yun Chun fell in beside her.

But after two steps, Mo Yue stopped. “You go ahead. I forgot something.”

Forgot what? Qin Xing?

Yun Chun pretended not to get it and smiled. “Sure.”

Yun Chun quickly finished using the restroom but didn’t head straight back to the waiting lounge. Instead, she wandered around nearby and bought a few cups of drinks.

She was dragging out her return, afraid that going back too soon would mean facing the same tense atmosphere.

She had no idea what had happened between the two women while she was gone. All she knew was that when she returned, Mo Yue was saying something to her assistant, while Qin Xing was staring down at her phone.

Both were seated in their original spots, as if nothing had happened at all.

However, when Yun Chun handed out the drinks and reached Qin Xing, she noticed that the dark red lipstick on Qin Xing’s lips had been wiped completely clean.

It revealed her natural lips, green and tart like unripe apples.

~~~

After they landed, people from SNOW arrived with cars to pick them up.

To their surprise, three vehicles had been sent.

After inquiring, they learned that one was for Mo Yue, another for Qin Xing and the SNOW staff from the China Division, and the third for Yun Chun.

Everyone turned to look at Yun Chun in unison, only to find her wearing a puzzled expression.