Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Yue Ling arrived at her office without running into any employees. She reaches for the door handle to her office but pauses when she notices the door to her assistant's office is open.

She turns away and heads in the direction to the left.

"Oh, good morning, boss."

Liu Shan greets her with a smile like every other morning. He had heard her get off the elevator and thought she would go into her office like usual. However, he was surprised to see her stand in front of his office.

"Is something the matter?"

Yue Ling stares at her assistant with an expression void of any emotions. She scans the room for a brief second before turning away.

"My office. Now."

Her tone was calm, but something behind it made Liu Shan feel all the hair on his body stand on its ends. He didn't know why but she sounded angry.

Did he perhaps make a mistake? But he can't recall anything.

He stares at the open door for a long minute, thoughts running all over the place. However, unable to come up with an answer, he gets up from his seat.

The only way to find out what he did wrong is to ask the person.

Inside Yue Ling's office, she had removed her coat and put her handbag away. She was calmly sitting on one of the white couches set up in her office.

"Um, boss…"

Liu Shan followed her and took a seat across from her. He swallows a hard gulp and tries to read her thoughts, but no matter how much he tries, it is all to no avail.

He inhales a deep breath to compose himself and straightens his posture.

"Boss, can you tell me what I did wrong?"

He raises his hand to scratch the back of his head. He looked like a child who hadn't done anything wrong.

"Also, can you not look like you're going to kill someone?"

Right now, his boss had on a grave expression. It was the expression she often made when she was ready to go to war.

Yue Ling's face remained the same as she made eye contact with the man across from her. She casually leans back and folds her arms over her chest.

"How did it go with your meeting with Uncle Luo?"

Hearing the question, Liu Shan felt like he could breathe. He thought it was something serious, but it turned out she wanted to know if he had found a new place or not.

He wipes away the imaginary sweat on his forehead and smiles crookedly at her.

"I didn't get the chance to meet with him. I fell asleep, so I had to postpone the meeting."

He didn't want to lie to his boss, but he couldn't tell her that he and Xu Long went to meet up with Lin Hui in Retro. He could have told her, but he didn't want to hinder her.

Yue Ling sat with indifference as she observed her assistant's expression and behavior. She would have believed in his words if not for the message she received.

She exhales a sigh, and her bluish-green eyes flutter at him.

"You know, Shan. This is making me sad. You asked me to make a promise, but you, yourself, cannot seem to keep your end up."

She looks away from him to the right of her and reaches for her phone. She picks it up, unlocks the screen, and then casually places it on the coffee table before sliding it toward him.

"I'm honestly surprised you are quite the heavy sleeper."

Liu Shan felt his heart drop to his stomach when he listened to her words, which held a hint of sarcasm. He could even feel sweat form on his forehead. Not imaginary sweat but actual sweat forming on his forehead.

His eyes slowly lowered to her phone in front of him. He couldn't help but swallow another hard gulp and picks it up.

He reads the message, and his eyes gradually widen. It was as if he had been caught cheating on an exam.

"T-t-this…."

His hand holding the phone trembles with great force, and he panicky looks up at his boss.

"It's not what you think. I can explain. There's an explicable reason why we were in Retro last night."

The message sent to his boss was from Li Wei, the leader of White Tiger. He didn't say much except for the fact that he saw them in Retro.

Yue Ling feigns ignorance of his nervous behavior. Did she know that Lin Hui was in Retro? Yes, he had informed her, but nothing else. Did it make her sad that her assistant lied to her? Of course. She promised not to keep any more secrets from him, and here he is, keeping secrets from her.

Her head tilts slightly to the left, and she looks at him with an expression that says she is waiting to hear his explanation.

Liu Shan didn't waste any time and took up the silent offer.

"I was supposed to meet with Uncle Luo, but Lin Hui called me and said he was going to Red Militant to look for Liu Peng. I didn't want him to go alone like last time, so I followed him. I picked up Xu Long on the way, and when we got there, he was already inside Red Militant. Then I saw that Lin Hui's motorcycle had indentations. It was barely able to stand."

He thinks about everything that happened last night and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and then opens his eyes again.

"I heard a group of men talking about how they were going to get back up and teach someone a lesson. I didn't think much at first, but everything clicked when they mentioned Lin Hui's motorcycle. I hacked into the surveillance and followed their movements. They ended up being part of White Eagle."

His eyes lower to the phone, then raise to look at his boss.

"Lin Hui only wanted to get justice because they ruined the motorcycle you gave him."

Yue Ling listened to his explanation without interrupting. When he finished, her expression finally changed as she sighed.

"He's really an idiot."

She knew Lin Hui was stubborn at times but never did she think he would do something like this.

Then again, she also understood his reasons. She would have flipped if someone had taken their anger out on one of her babies (cars).

She couldn't help but sigh again, and her posture slightly shifted.

"Are you guys alright? Do I need to intervene?"

When he saw her shoulders relax, Liu Shan felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from him. He sighed inside like he had dodged a bullet.

He even wanted to cry when he heard his boss ask if they were alright, but he shook his head.

"We're fine. Lin Hui said Liu Peng was hiding in Red Militant. If I have to take a guess, I think Hung Woo was hiding the bastard. They might even be acquaintances. As for the people Lin Hui got into an altercation with… well…."

He pauses after his words and ponders for a split second.

"Well, Lo Fat took care of his men. He said he didn't want White Eagle to be on Fate's enemy list."

Yue Ling stares at her assistant after giving him a nod. She knew Lo Fat would not cause a scene, especially when it involved Fate. The elderly man was the kind of person who preferred peace over a fight. However, if his people were the ones to be in the wrong, he wouldn't stand by and let it slide.

It was Lo Fat's way of reminding his people not to make the same mistake.

Brushing this matter aside, she raises one hand to touch her chin and ponders about something.

"So Liu Peng is affiliated with Red Militant."

Her lips ever so lightly pursed, and her eyes narrowed.

"Have you looked into it?"

Liu Shan shook his head in response and sat sluggishly on the couch.

"Lin Hui said he would look into it. He also wanted to ask Liu Ye if the kid's seen Hung Woo come before."

Both boss and assistant had the same thought. If Liu Peng is acquaintances with Hung Woo, why did he seek help from Tao Meng?

However, instead of asking the other person the question in mind, Yue Ling ends the conversation.

"Alright. You can go back. If anything comes up, inform me."

She stops in front of her desk and turns back to look at her assistant.

"Also, I don't want something like this to happen again. I rather hear the news from my subordinates than from someone else."

Liu Shan had just stood up from the couch when he heard her words. He knew she was serious and practically giving him a warning.

She would not hesitate to unleash her wrath if the others, especially him, were to keep anything from her again.