"Eat more, A Nuan."
Bai Siyuan picked up a piece of bacon with the serving tongs and placed it onto Jiang Nuan's plate.
"Thank you, big brother."
Jiang Nuan lowered her eyes and obediently picked up her fork to cut into the food.
"Back in the refugee district, we worried about food every single day. It's really nice now."
She paused, her voice softening by half a notch.
"It's nice having you here, big brother."
Bai Siyuan's expression softened.
"A Nuan has always been someone who cherishes the past."
"These bonds were built drop by drop at the edge of life and death." He slowly turned the wine glass half a circle. "That kind of connection is something outsiders can never understand."
He looked at Jiang Nuan, his smile gentle.
"And can never replace."
It sounded like reminiscence, but also like he was hinting at something.
Jiang Nuan watched the tenderness loosening at the edges of his eyes, and took the opportunity to tilt her head, her gaze sweeping curiously across the empty dining hall.
"But big brother, this mansion is so huge. How come I haven't seen anyone else along the way? Are you the only one from the Bai family living here?"
This was the strategy she, Ye Que, and Shen Wu had agreed on this afternoon.
Since he wanted to play the devoted siblings, she'd go along with it, using her sisterly curiosity to directly probe for answers.
After all, in this sprawling main residence of the Bai family, besides the staff, there wasn't a single direct relative in sight.
That itself was suspicious.
Bai Siyuan's movement paused slightly. He set down his glass with deliberate slowness, pulled out a tissue, and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. "They went to handle the shipment from the White Whale."
"Shipment?"
"Yes. The White Whale encountered a restricted zone and took some damage, but fortunately, the key supplies survived intact." His tone was as casual as if he were discussing some trivial household matter. "They were worried something else might go wrong, so they went personally to arrange the follow-up handover."
Shen Wu set down his knife and fork, eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm curious what kind of supplies would warrant the core members of the Bai family handling them personally, all at once?"
"Mr. Shen is joking."
Bai Siyuan met Shen Wu's gaze, the curve of his smile unchanged, unflappably composed.
"That's a batch of classified supplies the Foundation prepared for the Federation. We hadn't anticipated such a perilous voyage, so only I was assigned to accompany the ship."
He picked up the wine glass again, swirling it gently.
"Now that we've managed to bring it back safely, they're worried about further complications, so they went to inspect the goods and arrange the handover. That's all."
He took a light sip of wine and gave Shen Wu a mild smile.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Shen."
"I see." Shen Wu nodded, eyes lowered as he cut into the sausage on his plate.
The mental link was completely silent.
But Jiang Nuan knew what he was thinking, because she was thinking it too.
Federation supplies, important enough for Bai Siyuan to accompany the ship personally, important enough for the entire Bai family to mobilize for the aftermath.
She suddenly remembered, before they'd set out for the White Whale, what Wen Xu'an had said in the conference room: the investigation team's supply replenishment, and a batch of classified supplies.
What on earth was it, that would make the Bai family go to such lengths?
But asking any more would be pushing it. Bai Siyuan had slapped the two shields of "Federation" and "classified" on the table, and that closed the topic for good.
"Speaking of which—"
Bai Siyuan's gaze drifted past her, landing on Ye Que seated to her left.
"Since Mr. Ye is A Nuan's boyfriend, as her big brother, I can't help but be a little curious."
Ye Que set down his glass and met his gaze.
Bai Siyuan smiled, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes.
"I wonder, Mr. Ye—when exactly did you fall for my sister?"
A pause.
"For her to trust you with her heart so quickly, Mr. Ye must have... put in no small amount of effort, yes?"
Jiang Nuan's heart leaped.
When he'd even fallen for her?! They'd never rehearsed details like this!
Her left hand instinctively rose from her knee, reaching for the wine glass on the table, at least to give herself some cover.
But before her fingers could lift—
Beneath the tablecloth, a broad, powerful hand reached over.
Burning fingers brushed against hers, slid slowly along the gaps between them, then unhesitatingly pried open her clenched fist.
Rough calloused fingertips scraped across the soft side of her fingers, sending a shiver that was almost electric through her.
Ye Que locked her hand firmly in his grasp. Fingers tightened, intertwined, sealed tight as a drum.
Above the table, glasses clinked and undercurrents stirred.
Below the table, ten fingers interlocked, refusing to yield an inch.
The warmth of his palm flowed into her, ceaseless.
In the mental link, Shen Wu spoke up, his tone wry.
[This part wasn't in the script. Ye Que, you good? Want me to improvise a damsel-in-distress rescue scene?]
Ye Que ignored him.
"In the tunnel restricted zone."
He spoke.
Jiang Nuan whipped her head toward him.
Tunnel restricted zone?
That was the fifth day after she'd crossed over. Chased by monsters, her knee destroyed thanks to that bulldozer man, limping and running desperately through the dark, until he'd carried her away like a sack of grain.
Bai Siyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, apparently surprised by the answer. "Oh? A restricted zone?"
Ye Que's expression didn't so much as flicker. In those deep, dark eyes surfaced the faintest trace of something almost tender.
Beneath the tablecloth, his thumb traced slowly across the back of her hand.
"She'd been set up, and she was hurt."
His voice was low and steady, like he was recounting a scene he'd replayed in his mind a thousand times.
"She was terrified."
"But she didn't give up. Wounded as she was, she kept running forward."
"I shot the monster that was chasing her."
Ye Que paused for a beat.
"And the man who'd hurt her."
Jiang Nuan's heart skipped a beat.
...Not just because that bulldozer man had been blocking the way.
That shot—he'd fired it because he'd seen the man shove her.
...Or maybe it was both reasons.
But he'd noticed.
For one moment, she even forgot this was all a performance staged for Bai Siyuan.
Ye Que's voice continued.
"In that moment, I knew."
"I wanted to protect her."
The mental link was silent for a few seconds.
Then Shen Wu's voice drifted in, carrying a genuine, heartfelt shock.
[......Kid, you play the silent type every day, but when you make up sweet talk, you almost have me convinced.]
Jiang Nuan didn't hear him.
Or rather, she had no spare attention to listen.
Because under the tablecloth, Ye Que's calloused fingertip was brushing across the back of her hand, again and again.
Beneath the White family's crystal chandeliers and silver cutlery, before Bai Siyuan's eyes and under everyone's gaze—
This small patch of secrecy hidden by the tablecloth, a warmth only the two of them knew about, was nearly burning her alive.
Her whole body was strung tight.
But because it was Ye Que...
That tension somehow gave rise to a strange sense of safety.
She spontaneously pressed back just slightly, returning his interlocked grip.
Fingers slotted together, seamless.
His palm was scorching hot.
She didn't think about whether this act was for the performance or something else entirely.
Ye Que's Adam's apple bobbed.
His grip on her hand tightened even more.
Tight, like he was afraid that if he loosened even an inch, she would vanish.
Bai Siyuan across from him held a glass of red wine, his gaze moving slowly between the two of them.
The gentle smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth, but the knuckles gripping the stem had already turned white from the strain.
"Mr. Ye is indeed..."
He set the wine glass back down gently on the table.
The porcelain touched the surface, letting out an almost imperceptible clink.
"...deeply devoted."
Those two words slipped from his lips, the final syllable pressed so low it seemed like admiration.
Or perhaps, more like a declaration of war.
