Chapter 145 - Post Call Interrogation Pt.1

"....Yeah I do."

"Good. I'll talk to you later then."

With that, they both said their greetings and ended the phone call. The mobile in her hand felt hot from how volatile that conversation was, she wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not but she still dropped the phone onto the table as if it was a hot potato. Looking down at her palms they were a bit red from either the phone or how hard she was clenching them. Regardless, she placed her palms against her cheeks to let them cool down. 

It didn't take long for her hands to become normal and in that period of time she was well aware of the looks being glared into her. Excluding Neo who's attention was still on the screen before him, Ming Ming had been burning holes into her the second she made the call. She never bothered to leave the room so they could hear everything that was being said on her side. Personally, she felt like she had nothing to hide and this conversation wasn't one she needed to keep secret either. The actions she was grilling him about affected them too so they had all the rights to listen in. 

Despite all this, she made sure not to look at anyone during the call lest she lost her composure mid-sentence. That meant that for the entire call and up to now, Ming Ming had been glaring at her and she had to ignore it like it was air. The task sounded easier to do in theory but not in practice. 

Over the years Ming Ming had developed a strong talent in glaring and the recipient always felt chills from the looks she give. Since it was her best friend, the reaction stopped at 'hard to ignore' and 'please leave me alone.'

"Do you have something to say?"

After a couple of minutes, noticing that the glare did not lessen in intensity she finally decided to break the silence. Turning her head to look at Ming Ming her eyes widened at the other's expression. This entire time she thought there was an unhappy or 'stern' look on her face. In actuality, there was not one bit of dissatisfaction or rejection on her face. If anything she looked like a Cheshire cat, her eyes and smile mimicked were a copy of the cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"If you don't stop smiling like that you're face might get stuck and your face right now could not afford more negative points." 

"..." The mischievous expression on Ming Ming's face dropped to an aggrieved one. Which was comedic against her deadpan expression, from Neo's point of view they looked like the perfect drama. One overly dramatic person and her best friend who looked like her soul was missing half the time. The amount of sitcoms that held this character base was proof of how popular it was and how easy to detect it was. Neo's attention was still on the screen but he had seen them interact so many times that she did not even need to check with him on if he agreed.

"Now that you're back to normal, mind telling me why you were staring at me this entire time? Especially with such a .....fervent expression."

"Can you not live on moment without being sarcastic or including a thinly veiled insult?"

"Thinly veiled? I think I was quite obvious with my insult, no?"

".....I want a refund on this expression, full return. Let's break up."

"Okay, with our friendship ending. For old time's sake can you let me know why you were staring? If not, I do have things to do or if its just an eye problem we can get a doctor over. I would suggest magnesium pills just in case."

"One of these days I'm going to bite you for all the sarcastic comments you make. I shall have my revenge!" Ming Ming shook her fist in a mock courageous way for extra emphasis. "But why I was staring was to see how you were talking with him." 

Bringing up that topic made Ming Ming's eyes light up in excitement. It was as if she could see the brewing gossip and wanted all the 'tea' on it. Thinking back on their lives, this was the first time she had started a somewhat romantic relationship. Her interest in a man, especially to the degree she was showing it now, was very unnatural for her. 

If questioned on it, she would be very quick to respond that "if there were men like him before, I would have tried this relationship nonsense out earlier." There were good looking men, she had seen many of them that they became average to her. Just none of them had caught her eye or held such an intense connection with her from day one. Maybe it was because they had met and fought immediately? The excitement from such a first meeting would definitely leave a lasting impression. 

Everything was also contingent on the basis that she had time for it too, in her entire life these past couple of months were the most relaxed she has ever been. There was no guarantee she had the time to entertain anything, her main goal back then was to survive and that's what's she's done for the past 25 years of her life. 

"So were you satisfied with what you saw or heard? I don't think the conversation was anything exciting, I was warning him remember."

"Yeah yeah...warning him sure but are we going to gloss over the middle part?? Where you guys were flirting about where to go out and he invited you for a meal???"

"I do not recollect flirting of any sort happening in that conversation, at most it was banter."

"Banter my a.s.s, stop lying. Even if you were cold I can read between the lines, especially with how many lines you were speaking. What happened to our notorious quiet and cold beauty?? The image is completely shattered! What will the fans say?? How will I explain this to our ancestors??"

"So? They see us being friends so they are probably friends too in the afterlife for us. Don't question the details, the point is you being affectionate with another man." There was a smug smile on Ming Ming's face and a satisfaction of brining up what she considered 'the cruz of the matter.' 

Thinking about what conversation Ming Ming wanted to have almost gave her a headache, they trusted her enough not to research Xi Long. However, asking details and having those romance talks was not outside of their limits. Without looking at Neo, she knew that he was listening very careful to them. He was always the first one to look nonchalant like he did not care but never left the room during these talks. His ears were faced in their direction and listened intently the entire time. 

"Don't say it like that, you're acting as if you caught me in the middle of a crush - which its not. Its only been two weeks so its somewhat of a romantic relationship but nothing to blow out of proportion. I've also kept you guys updated, we literally had a talk the other day about everything so nothing should be new."

"Ah but you see my little Ying Ying, I know you are novice so let this elder teach you." While speaking she walked closer and closer to her, the final words were said as she dropped an arm around her shoulder. 

Shrugging of the arm, Ying Yue responded dryly. "Elder? With what right? Your relationship history is bleak and slim and shall I remind you that everyone in this room is technically single for the past 5 years."

"TECHNICALLY you are not single, just say you're off the market. I get that you're uncomfortable to use any official terms right now, especially considering our mission but you're definitely better off than us. You think Neo and I don't want to grab ourselves a partner?! Watch as soon as we're done I'm bedding the next 5 men!!!!"

"You can still do it now, I appreciate everything you guys are doing. You know that right? I don't want you to feel confined to this base, I get to stay outside so you should as well. I've said this many times and I can stay in the base for long periods too and do the same tasks. Albeit I'm a little weaker on the computer science but I guarantee I'm better than most of our opponents. I even bought you guys separate apartments but none of you have really used them." There was a rare softness to her voice as she spoke and her eyes were filled with concern.