Tianyan didn’t rush to respond. He stood up, leaning forward, closing the distance between them. His green pupils gleamed under the light, his gaze trailing from her eyes down to the slightly open collar of her shirt, then slowly, deliberately retreating.
“The boss had a scare in the cabinet today,” Tianyan said softly, dragging out the last syllable. “As subordinates, we ought to offer some comfort.”
“Comfort?” Jiang Lijin let out a laugh. “And how would you do that?”
Before she finished speaking, Tianque moved.
He stepped around the sofa, leaning down to close in. His white hair fell, brushing against Jiang Lijin’s cheek, carrying the scent of body wash. He didn’t speak. His red eyes fixed on her intently as his fingers cupped her chin, his gaze boldly locked on her lips.
The smile in Tianyan’s eyes faded. He reached out, grabbing Tianque’s wrist, forcibly pulling his hand away.
“Don’t you know the rules?” Tianyan’s voice grew darker, but when he turned to Jiang Lijin, his smile returned. “Boss, he’s too rough. Ignore him.”
Tianque wrenched his hand free, his aura pressing down on Tianyan. “Get lost.”
“You’re the one who should get lost,” Tianyan shot back, stepping in front of him.
Jiang Lijin watched the two identical faces bicker right in front of her and let out an exasperated laugh. “If you’re going to fight, take it outside. You’re too loud.”
Both of them froze at once.
Tianyan seized the moment, taking her hand. His thumb traced over the back of it as he leaned in, his warm breath brushing her ear. “No fighting. We came together, so naturally, we’ll serve the boss together.”
The word landed with deliberate ambiguity.
Tianque didn’t argue. He pressed in from the other side. He was never one for wasted words—he lowered his head and kissed her directly.
His kiss was like him: cold, forceful, a touch that brooked no refusal. His lips met hers, and he even bit her lower lip with a hint of payback.
Jiang Lijin winced and moved to push him away, but Tianyan’s hand had already slid to the back of her head.
“You hurt her,” Tianyan said coldly, shoving Tianque aside. As Jiang Lijin gasped for breath, he covered her lips with his own.
Unlike Tianque’s brute charge, Tianyan’s kiss was far more cunning. He teased her defenses apart bit by bit, pushing and pulling, drawing out every second of tension.
Tianque stood nearby, his red eyes churning with emotion. He reached out, grabbed the back of Tianyan’s neck, and yanked him away, then leaned in again himself.
They kept at it, locked in a stalemate, neither yielding an inch.
Jiang Lijin felt herself growing dizzy from lack of air. Every time she pushed one away, the other closed in. Two identical faces, two completely different presences, stealing her breath in turn.
Finally, her chest heaving, she lifted both hands and pressed them over each of their mouths.
“Enough,” she panted. “Know when to stop.”
Tianyan licked the corner of his mouth, grinning like a cat that had gotten into the cream. “As long as the boss is satisfied.”
Tianque said nothing. He just stared at her reddened lips, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
“Out,” Jiang Lijin said, pointing at the door.
The two took the hint and retreated, one after the other. Before the door clicked shut, Tianyan didn’t forget to toss out a parting shot: “Good night, boss.”
The room fell silent again. Jiang Lijin touched her heated ears and cursed under her breath.
---
The next morning.
Two heavy hover vehicles pulled up, one behind the other, outside the Imperial Female Protection Center building.
The doors opened, and Ryan stepped out with the Aegis Squad. These Federal elites, forged in the pits of death, didn’t spare even a glance at the security guards at the entrance. They fanned out quickly. Fully armed S-class and A-class males stood their ground, and the usually swaggering security of the protection center didn’t dare breathe—they cowered in the corners like quails.
Jiang Lijin wore a tailored black trench coat today, her hair loosely pinned up. She stepped out of the vehicle in combat boots, with Tianyan and Tianque flanking her on either side.
“Which floor is Su Han on?” Jiang Lijin asked casually.
“Thirteenth floor, Customer Service Supervisor’s Office,” Tianyan replied, checking his optical device’s tracker. His green eyes narrowed. “But she’s not in her office right now. She’s in the meeting room. Based on the surveillance feed, she seems to be in a bit of trouble…”
Jiang Lijin didn’t slow her pace as she walked straight into the lobby. “Let’s go see.”
The door to the meeting room on the thirteenth floor was slightly ajar.
Before they even got close, the sound of a sharp, abusive voice cut through.
“Su Han, who do you think you are? Some nobody from the slums, and you dare go over my head to submit a funding request directly to the Cabinet?!”
The speaker was a fat, middle-aged male with a badge reading “Deputy Director.” He hurled a thick stack of documents at Su Han.
Papers scattered everywhere, the edges grazing Su Han’s cheek and leaving a fine red mark.
Su Han stood still, not dodging. She wore a faded, washed-out professional suit, her back ramrod straight.
“Deputy Director Li, that fund is for the emergency medical treatment of detained females with genetic diseases. You’ve been holding it for three months without approval, so I followed protocol and escalated it,” Su Han said, her voice steady, no trace of fear—only a cold, businesslike firmness.
“Protocol? I am the protocol around here!” Deputy Director Li snarled, raising his hand to slap her across the face. “You think because you’re a supervisor, you’ve made it? What about that sick little brother of yours, still on life support at Central Hospital? Believe me, one word from me, and his medication gets cut off.”
Su Han’s gaze hardened. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists. She gritted her teeth, itching to tear the fat pig apart and feed him to the dogs.
Just as the slap was about to land—
Bang!
The solid wooden door of the meeting room was kicked open, slamming into the wall with a deafening crash.
Deputy Director Li jumped, his hand frozen mid-air. He turned to meet the cold, unfeeling red eyes of Tianque.
Jiang Lijin walked in slowly, her eyes sweeping across the mess on the floor before settling on Deputy Director Li’s quivering, fat face.
“Quite the display of authority,” Jiang Lijin said, hands in her trench coat pockets. She tilted her head toward Tianyan. “Who’s this pig?”
Deputy Director Li was about to flare up, but when his gaze landed on Jiang Lijin’s face—a face that had been all over the StarNet—his legs went weak.
“Your Highness, the Regent… Your Highness!” He collapsed to his knees, his back drenched in cold sweat.
Jiang Lijin didn’t spare him another glance. She walked over to Su Han, looking her over.
“Are you hurt?”
Su Han shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Your Highness, why are you here?”
As Jiang Lijin’s personal customer service contact, Su Han knew quite a bit about her. But she still couldn’t understand why the Regent, who should have been overwhelmed with her own crisis, was here.
“Looking for you,” Jiang Lijin said, pointing at Deputy Director Li. “Tianque, toss this pig out. Look into how much he’s embezzled, and send him and whoever’s backing him straight to the Supervision Bureau.”
Tianque stepped forward, grabbed Deputy Director Li by the back of his collar with one hand, and dragged him out. The man’s desperate pleas echoed through the hallway before the Aegis Squad muffled his mouth, and he quickly disappeared.
The meeting room fell quiet.
Jiang Lijin pulled out a chair and sat down, casually gesturing to the seat across from her. “Sit.”
Su Han didn’t stand on ceremony. She pulled out the chair and sat down, her back still straight, her eyes meeting Jiang Lijin’s without flinching.
Jiang Lijin liked that attitude. She cut straight to the point. "You must have heard about the three empty seats in the Cabinet yesterday. The Minister of Finance, the Chief of Internal Affairs, and one sinecure post. I intend to hold all the real power of those three positions in my own hands."
Su Han frowned slightly. This was a power reshuffle at the highest level of the Empire. Why was she, a mid-level manager, being told about this?
"But I need someone to do the work." Jiang Lijin leaned forward, crossing her hands on the table. "A dedicated secretary who can manage those three departments for me, sort out the mess of accounts, and follow only my orders."
She looked at Su Han, her tone absolute. "You're the one."
Su Han was stunned.
No matter how composed she usually was, she felt dizzy at this sudden opportunity. Those were the Empire's most powerful departments—positions dripping with enough benefits to drown a person, but also deep enough with intrigue to bury you alive. She was a commoner with no family connections, not even a noble title. She was being asked to run them?
"Your Highness, are you joking?" Su Han steadied herself and cut to the core. "I have no background, no connections. Even if you put me in that position, Prince Daron and those old-line nobles will tear me apart. This isn't just a thankless job—it's a death sentence."
Jiang Lijin laughed.
This woman was sharp. She saw right through to the heart of the matter, not dazzled by the illusion of power.
"Connections? I'll give you connections. No background? I, Jiang Lijin, am your background." Jiang Lijin's tone was casual, yet carried absolute arrogance.
Su Han was silent.
Jiang Lijin watched her bowed lashes, calculating her leverage. She knew what Su Han cared about most. A younger brother with a genetic defect, sky-high medical bills—that was Su Han's only weak spot.
She had planned, if Su Han hesitated, to bring up Chiron. A personal promise from the director of Central Hospital would solve all her brother's treatment problems—not just the treatment itself, but access to top-tier gene-repair serums from the Empire. Money wouldn't be a problem either.
Jiang Lijin was about to say Chiron's name.
Clack.
Su Han raised her hand, ripped off the name badge identifying her as a customer service representative from her chest, and casually tossed it into the trash bin beside her.
"I'm honored by your trust." Su Han looked at Jiang Lijin, her voice steady. "For tomorrow's meeting, what materials do I need to prepare?"
