605 Suspicious

"I can finally say that there is something even Ying doesn't know about."

Ying glowered at Darren who still had his smirk on making her blood boil. But she couldn't argue now since he was right. She honestly didn't know about this. 

"It's not like I have to know everything," replied Ying trying to seem nonchalant about it.

Darren chuckled at her atttempt to look casual as he said, "Fool someone else. If you don't know something, it leaves you restless. Even now, you're trying to figure out how did you miss this news. After all, you must have done your research before becoming the team leader."

Ying cleared her throat, trying to avoid this particular discussion. Of course, she always did her research but she really didn't remember seeing a sibling in Gigi's file. 

"You can relax, team leader. I know what's bothering you. The reason why you didn't see Ben's name on my file is because at that time, he was also part of our organization. You might not have heard it because you spent most of your time as an undercover agent and you're usually out of the country at that time. When you got promoted, he already resigned."

Hearing the explaination from Gigi, Ying could finally heave a sigh of relief. No wonder she didn't learn anything about Ben. If he was part of the organization, it's quite normal for her to not find anything related to him.

"Can't you have a normal party?" 

Ying looked over her shoulder and grinned, "Jini, you really came!"

Zhou Jinhai smiled slightly as he leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "If you didn't blackmail me, I wouldn't be here."

Still grinning, Ying patted his shoulder, "It's good that you came. We have a lot to catch up on."

Seeing her knowing look, Zhou Jinhai didn't argue. He noticed Darren and greeted him, "It's nice to see you, little brother."

Darren stood up and smiled politely at him before saying to Gigi, "Take good care of Ben! I'll come to see him tomorrow."

"I'll let him know," Gigi replied before adding, "But Mr. Salvay, you should think about what I said. There is a huge difference between smiling and being happy. Don't let a smile fool you." She bowed slightly to Ying and withdrew to another side.

"What cryptic message was that?" 

"Not related to you," said Darren as he walked away.

Ying looked at these two people and muttered, "Suspicious. Very suspicious."

Zhou Jinhai hit her shoulder, "Let go of this suspicious nature already. Doesn't your brain get tired of having so much to think about?"

"Not really," replied Ying while she snapped her fingers to get the waiter to serve them drinks. "I'm only tired when I have no mystery to solve."

Bouts of laughter from their group were infectious, he wasn't able to peal his eyes away. Beside him Ying had been speaking for a while but heard no reply from him. She smakced his head to get his attention and said, "Pay attention! Where are you lost? Missing your wife that much now?"

Zhou Jinhai glared at her, "Way to ruin someone's mood, eh!"

Ying shrugged in reply, "Not my fault. You look so lost. What's on your mind?"

Zhou Jinhai shook his head saying, "Nothing much. I just think your guest list is quite impressive as always. Even after years, only Yan Ying knows how to throw a party and gather a crowd like this. And that too on such a short notice."

"Indeed."

A couple of her guests came to talk to her and Zhou Jinhai's attention went back to the boistorous group. He had nothing on his mind but he was unable to look away. The way he saw Darren laughing out as he side hugged Xiu, made him smile on reflex. He could practically see the love and gentless in his brother's eyes from this far. It gave him a very content feeling, knowing that his brother was happy.

"Feeling proud?"

"Very," he replied in a daze and looked at Ying who laughed at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and shot back, "You leave my feelings and tell me about your own."

"My feelings?" she played dumb.

"What's up with this new boyfriend of yours? And how or when did it even happen?"

Yan Ying already knew this question was coming. For some reason, every person had been asking the very same question lately. Why is that difficult to accept that Yan Ying had a boyfriend? Why did they all act so surprised by it? Yes, it's her very first boyfriend but so what? Is it that shocking to have a first boyfriend at the age of thirty?!

"It just happened," she replied offhandedly.

"It just happened?" he repeated doubtfully.

Ying rolled her eyes at him, "Didn't you once tell me that matters of heart have no specific answer? They are called feelings because you can neither see them nor can you describe them in words."

"Oh, so now you even take my words seriously?" he acted surprised. "I said that to you back in high school when I learned about your feelings for Xiao Li. I never thought you'd remember it."

"I have an impeccable memory," stated Ying, proudly. "Besides, I really don't think I need to explain every single person about why I have a boyfriend."

"But I only want to know who is he?"

"That's also something I won't tell you all. What if you all scared him away?"

Zhou Jinhai took a gulp of his drink as he said, "I think you're enough to scare him away on your own." Ying raised her fist and he cowered back saying, "Sorry, sorry! What I mean is that if he has true feelings for you, he definitely won't mind a few abnormal acquaintances like us."

Ying stared at his face for a minute before sighing, "Something tells me, he really hates you already."

Zhou Jinhai frowned, "And why is that?"

"Because he loves Chen Xiu a lot."

Zhou Jinhai's whole body stiffened.