Feng Sixi's dark, narrow eyes stared at Yan Yang for a long moment, while Yan Yang blinked back with an especially innocent look.
"If you don't want to cook, we could order takeout instead—though there isn't really any good takeout near my place…"
"Is there anything in the fridge?"
"There is, there is! Plenty!"
Yan Yang hurried over to open the fridge, and both the refrigerator compartment and the freezer were packed full of fresh ingredients.
Feng Sixi narrowed his eyes slightly. "You don't know how to cook, yet you keep this much food stocked at home."
"Ah… my friend occasionally comes over to mooch a meal, so when she's here, she does the cooking. I provide the ingredients, she provides the labor—pretty fair, right?"
Feng Sixi withdrew his icy gaze, walked past Yan Yang to the other side of the fridge, swiftly pulled out the ingredients he wanted, and began to prepare the meal.
When the arch-villain wasn't having one of his episodes, he seemed to have no other flaws besides being too intimidating and hard to approach.
After all, with a face and a physique like that on display, it was enough to make most people overlook whatever shortcomings he had.
At least for someone as shallow as Yan Yang, she was very satisfied with her mission target's good looks.
Feng Sixi was clearly someone who cooked for himself often—his movements were methodical and unhurried, the muscles of his arms shifting in beautifully defined lines with every motion.
Standing off to the side, Yan Yang smacked her lips. Across the entire Central Star System, you couldn't find a single human with a more perfect golden ratio than his.
Feng Sixi paid no heed to her burning gaze, only asking in a cold tone as the stir-fried pork was nearly ready: "Done staring? If you're done, come over and help."
Yan Yang flashed a suitably shy smile. "Sorry, you're just too good-looking."
A merciless curve tugged at the corner of Feng Sixi's lips—a silent mockery of her infatuated display.
Yan Yang, meanwhile, laughed coldly in her heart. Feng Sixi, you'll regret this—just wait until I'm the one you're fawning over!
…
Originally, for this mission, Yan Yang had only planned to approach things from the angle of a friend—to warm Feng Sixi's heart and show him the remnants of beauty this world still had to offer.
But from that very moment onward, the boss of the Space-Time Administration was ready to abandon all the rules she'd followed in past missions. This time… if she was going to play, she'd play big.
Of course, Yan Yang kept that shy, innocent expression on her face the whole time, praising Feng Sixi's cooking while cleaning every last bite off her plate…
She really was hungry, and it had been a long time since she'd had food like this—she was genuinely curious about it.
After all, the humans in the Central Star System had long since fallen into a lifestyle of relying entirely on nutrient solutions—one dose could keep you going for days without needing to eat. Convenient, fast, efficient… no time wasted on meals, all energy devoted to work.
Sigh, who would've thought even the aliens at the center of the universe had gotten caught up in the rat race?
…
After the meal, Yan Yang volunteered to do the dishes—though really, that just meant tossing all the plates into the dishwasher and calling it done.
"Mr. Feng, you just got out of prison, so take some time to rest at home. I still have things to do later—I probably won't be back until dinner."
Feng Sixi gave a lukewarm "Mm."
Yan Yang's eyes curved into crescent-moon arcs, utterly alluring. "I'm off then, bye-bye."
Feng Sixi watched her leave, the door lock clicking shut with a "snap" as Yan Yang's figure disappeared completely.
The coldness on his face shifted into something even darker, frost-laden gloom.
He pulled out an old phone that was clearly out of step with the times, and made a call.
The person on the other end sounded overjoyed to hear Feng Sixi's voice: "Boss? You're out of prison! Didn't they say it would be a few more days? I didn't even have time to pick you up…"
"No need for that. First, tell me where they are."
"Boss… are you sure you really want to do this? You just got out, you finally have the chance for a new life…"
A new life?
Feng Sixi murmured those words between lips and teeth sharp as blades, his expression dripping with sarcasm.
"I don't need a new life."
His life no longer held any meaning…
"But…"
"Don't worry. This time I won't let them call the police on me again. I'll handle it cleanly."
Feng Sixi's tone was bloodthirsty, like a deadly viper: "Guan Bai, tell me where they are, or I'll find out on my own."
Guan Bai, Feng Sixi's former secretary, sighed, and with no other choice, gave him the address. The next second, Feng Sixi hung up without hesitation.
As he stepped out the door, Feng Sixi glanced back at the house—simple and cramped, yet somehow resembling a home. The smile at his lips was cold and cruel.
He didn't need to come back. This kind of place was never suited to him anyway.
As for what that woman was really scheming… considering that the ingredients for that meal just now had been provided by her, he could spare her life.
But just before the door closed, the key sitting on the entryway caught Feng Sixi's eye.
On a strange whim, he reached out and closed his palm around it.
The icy touch jolted his palm. Feng Sixi's expression grew even more inscrutable, impossible to read…
After leaving, Yan Yang drove that pink mini car to a residence in an urban village.
After parking, she walked deeper into the alley. Sewage flowed everywhere, electrical wires hung in chaotic tangles, and as she crossed the potholed ground, she could even spot a few rats scurrying past her feet.
But her expression didn't change.
Compared to those disgusting insect creatures, what were a few rats?
In the courtyard on the first floor of a self-built building, a couple was in the middle of a heated argument, accompanied by the loud crash of pots and pans hitting the ground.
"Are you looking down on me? Tell me! Do you think just because I'm a cripple now, you want to remarry and run off with some other man?!"
"No, I really don't! Wuwuwu—stop hitting me, please, don't hit me—"
Yan Yang, with her rosy lips, white teeth, and clean, pretty face, stood out far too conspicuously here.
So when other residents living nearby saw her, they came over to ask: "Who are you looking for? You're not here for Old Liu and his wife, are you? They get into fights like this every couple of days. Don't go looking for trouble at a time like this—once Old Liu's had a drink, he doesn't recognize anyone!"
"It's fine, no need to worry. I'm here for them."
Seeing how stubborn she was, the bystanders said no more and quickly left the scene of trouble.
Yan Yang waited until the sounds of beating and crying from inside had died down before stepping in.
"Liu Shi and Lu Fang, right?"
The drunken middle-aged man and the woman lying on the ground, her face black and blue, both looked at her at the same time. When the man saw Yan Yang's face, his gaze shifted slightly, then he asked in a gruff voice, "Who are you here for?"
"Of course, I'm here for you two."
"For us? I don't know you!"
"Is that so?"
Yan Yang curled her lips: "Three years ago, the people you framed and sent to prison—you haven't forgotten them yet, have you?"