'Senior Grind, don't forget about your mission.'

James Grind was talking with Huang Shu when he got the notification. James Grind glanced at Huang Shu, who seemed to be enjoying their time together, and smiled at him. "Master Huang, unfortunately, I have other things to do."

Huang Shu was surprised when he saw James Grind suddenly walked past him. Huang Shu grabbed James Grind's wrist and asked him, "Where are you going?"

"Ah, I need to meet someone," James Grind said. He glanced at Long Zhen, who was still talking with a regional government, and Huang Shu seemed to catch James Grind's line of sight. He peered and scoffed. "Ah, I see, Mister Grind wants to meet Long Zhen."

Huang Shu felt that his pride was at stake here. Because he finally laid an eye to a man that seemed to be a good person, an excellent candidate to be his lover, but Long Zhen did absolutely nothing and already stole his candidate away.

"What is your intention with Long Zhen?" Huang Shu asked.

"That… I cannot tell you, Master Huang," James Grind shook his head. "My matter is not your problem. Please let go."

Huang Shu squinted to observe James Grind, then he noticed James Grind's bowtie was a bit crooked, showing a small vial with a spray. The bowtie should be able to spray some acidic fluid in case of danger.

It was a smart and helpful gadget for a spy, a professional spy that was. James Grind didn't seem to be one of them since he didn't pay so much attention to detail, and his facial expression couldn't lie either.

He was like a bunny trying to hold a knife with his mouth.

'Cute.' Huang Shu thought. James Grind was indeed a gorgeous man, but Huang Shu was not easily swayed by beauty. At first, he only thought of James Grind as someone to spend his free time with.

But now, since this beauty actually had some quality in him, Huang Shu was inevitably interested. He leaned in and whispered lowly at James Grind, 'You are a spy, right? Are you here to assassinate Long Zhen?'

James Grind's eyes widened in response. He thought he was stealthy enough, but this mafia boss was able to guess his identity correctly. James Grind became uncomfortable and tried to release his hand from Huang Shu. "M—Master Huang, I think we have nothing to talk about here. Please release my hand."

[How could he find out about my identity so quickly?! Am I really that easy to guess?]

[Pupa: Your bowtie is crooked, you showed the acid spray from your bowtie to Huang Shu. These mafia bosses are the real deal, you know. They are not people whom you can play around.]

"Oh, I can, but I think it will be more fun to play around with you a bit," Huang Shu grinned. "Mister Grind, what if… I told you that I have the same intention?"

James Grind stopped struggling. He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I can help you to complete your mission, but I need something from you. Do not worry. It is something that should be easy for you to fulfil," Huang Shu grinned. His finger unbuttoned James Grind's suit, and he continued, "You shall be in my bed once the mission has been completed. But for now, I'd want you to be my partner. I don't care if you think of it as a pretend partner or whatever." 

James Grind seemed to consider this for a moment.

[Huang Shu is really Long Zhen's enemy, right? No backhanded intention? No shady deals?]

[Pupa: Well, he is another mafia boss, of course, he has shady deals. But it is correct that Huang Shu is Long Zhen's rival. In fact, he is eager to get rid of Long Zhen because he wanted the trade monopoly, of course.]

[Okay then, since I don't need to romance Long Zhen at all, let's do it with my way… just with a different man!]

After careful thought, James Grind nodded. "You just want me to be your pretend partner, right? I do not mind, but may I know why? Master Huang doesn't lack man or woman at all."

"It's up to me about who I will pick. Either you accept it or not," Huang Shu said. He engulfed his hand around James Grind's waist and said, "Now, shall we meet your target, darling?"

James Grind leaned his head on Huang Shu's chest and replied, "Certainly, honey."

***

'Where is that cute guy?' Long Zhen pondered. His eyes observed around the party, scanning the surrounding to find that cute guy who wanted to assassinate him. He was currently attending a charity party with an elegant man beside him.

The deal was simple. He wanted to find the minister of trade and offered him this young man beside him in exchange for leeway for his trade in and out of the border.

After the deal was sealed, he wanted to find the cute guy and, well… play around with him a bit. "Master Long, are you listening?" the elegant man beside him said.

"Hm? Yes," Long Zhen said unattentively.

"Master Long, you seem to be looking for someone. I can help if you want," the elegant man suggested himself, but Long Zhen ignored him instead. Long Zhen took his phone out and searched the guy's number. He already had that cute guy's number, but he was yet to know his real name.

Long Zhen finally texted James Grind first.

*Hey, cute spy, you said that you want to assassinate me. Where are you right now? I'm at the charity party hosted by the government, come here, or you might miss the chance to kill me.*

Ding! The moment Long Zhen sent the text, a message notification rang on his ear, telling him that James Grind was near. He looked to the front and saw the cute spy with his archnemesis, Huang Shu.

Huang Shu had his hand rested on James Grind's waist, while James Grind rested his head on Huang Shu's muscular chest. "Ah, did you just send me a text?" James Grind asked.

Long Zhen was stunned silly. He thought the cute spy would run around him with his klutz behaviour, trying to kill him and inevitably failed. It was such an entertaining thing to watch.

But now, the cute spy was in Huang Shu's embrace, and he also let Huang Shu touched his waist. Long Zhen gritted his teeth. "Master Huang, do you know this guy?"

Huang Shu nodded with pure certainty. "Yes, he is my partner."

"PARTNER?!" Long Zhen was shocked. How could this guy leave him hanging like this and go inside Huang Shu's embrace? Long Zhen thought they would be playing this cat and mouse game for a while until he got bored.

Seeing the shocked expression of Long Zhen, Huang Shu was satisfied in his heart. "Of course, just like you and your partner, Master Long," Huang Shu provoked.

Long Zhen glanced at the man beside him, that was supposed to be his partner. Actually, Long Zhen didn't intend to bring him, but he needed this guy in case a deal happened in this charity.

Long Zhen felt inexplicably guilty towards the cute spy. "T—This is now what it looks like," Long Zhen tried to explain.

"Huh? Master Long is an amazing man. I see nothing wrong with you having so many partners," James Grind said. "We may have different taste, Master Long. I'm loyal to my partner, right, honey?"

Huang Shu nodded. "Yes, darling."

Long Zhen was speechless with the harmony between these two. He felt both awkward and stupid at the same time. Because he felt a sense of crisis when this cute spy started dating someone else.

Or maybe…

Long Zhen had another guess in his head. Albeit incompetent, this guy was very serious about doing his job. There was no way he could switch that easily.

'Maybe… he just got stationed to assassinate someone else because he hasn't hurt me at all after two assassination attempts?'

'… I will make sure that he is assigned to me.'

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 15%.]

[Pupa: Do you know your real mission here?]

[Huh, what?]

[Pupa:… why are you doing this unnecessary drama?]

[This is not an unnecessary drama! This is beneficial in the long run! Long Zhen will get jealous and… and…]

[Pupa: And what? There is no use in this. You know it yourself, right?]

[…Pupa, you are too detailed! Don't worry, I will complete the mission just fine!]

[Pupa: Now you are just dodging your responsibility!]