In the park close by, a notification leaped up on Si Er’s screen. This one was actually supposed to go to his phone but because he was usually too lazy to check, he had made any kind of messages be redirected to his laptop as well.

He glanced at this one and his brows raised faintly, surprised to see that this was actually a message from his master. And, in usual style, it directly got to the point.

Si Jin: [Si Shi Er?]

Si Er didn’t even think twice about it and opened the map that showed the locations of all the ninjas of the Si clan, as well as some affiliated people, and then send over the exact coordinates to his master’s phone. Then, he went back to his own matters, not caring about it any longer.

He would check in every now and then to see if his master needed an update but so far, it seemed that Si Shi Er and affiliated person number 12-C had stayed at the same place for quite some time. He didn’t think they would leave anytime soon.

Si Jin was satisfied when he got a response this fast and then reached out a hand, showing the text to Si Yi.

Contrary to the somewhat cryptic message he had been thrown before, Si Yi knew exactly what this meant. He straightened up, closed the book in front of him, and gave a nod. Then, the two of them walked out of the kitchen, leaving the finished dish standing there, and went to get the car before they drove off, soon reaching a busy street.

Si Yi didn’t know why they were here but he just parked the car as close to the spot indicated in the text as possible and then got out first, opening the door for his master.

Si Jin checked the place again and then walked over when his phone suddenly vibrated. He stopped in his tracks and pulled it out, looking at the screen.

Si Er: [You’ve reached the place.]

Si Jin didn’t react to that and just switched the screen back off before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Then, he stood on the sidewalk, looking at the door of the building in front of them with a blank expression.

Si Yi still wasn’t sure what they were doing here but he stopped a step behind him, folding his hands in front of his body, and waited alongside him.

The people that were walking past them looked at them but nobody complained. Maybe this was the magic of handsome faces or maybe it was the cold expression of the two ninjas that told them to better stay away. In any case, nobody bothered them.

Time quietly passed and Si Yi wondered if there was something he should do. What exactly were they waiting for? Young master Xiao? That was definitely an explanation he could get behind. Their master was willing to do all kinds of odd things for him.

Then again, he had always kept his distance. In fact, the ninjas had often told him that they could engineer a meeting between the two of them but he had refused, feeling that it would be disingenuous to do so.

Si Yi really didn’t think that his master would suddenly change his mind after he had already started to take part in the show. Especially not after he had been told by Si Qi that young master Xiao wanted to keep his distance from the participants so that he wouldn’t get in trouble. It definitely wouldn’t be like his master to put young master Xiao’s career in jeopardy.

But if it wasn’t that … then what was going on? He really couldn’t explain it to himself. But after he had already been unable to understand one message today, he was too embarrassed to ask about a second one.

His master would seriously start to doubt his ability if he wasn’t able to understand him continuously. Then, it would only be a question of time until he would be relegated to being the second among the ninjas and that wild child of the Si clan would have to start being their master’s assistant. How could he let that happen? No, he refused to accept such an outcome! In this kind of case, he could only tough it out for the time being and search for more clues along the way.

As it turned out, ‘the time being’ was two and a half hours. Si Yi was seriously starting to doubt his decision but at that time, the sliding doors in front of them finally opened and a throng of people came out, all of them walking in pairs. The last two to arrive … were none other than Si Shi Er and that boyfriend of his.

Si Yi stared at them in part dumbfounded but also somewhat angry to see them while Si Shi Er suddenly froze in his steps, involuntarily straightening up while he stared at their master with wide eyes.

The youth that had come out with him was still walking, chattering happily until he realized that his boyfriend wasn’t catching up. He turned back and blinked his doe eyes at him. “Brother Ling? What’s the matter?”

Si Shi Er opened his mouth, then shut it again before opening it once more, but he still wasn’t sure how to say this. He just stared at his master and Si Yi, wondering if he had done something wrong and was going to be pulled back by his hair.

His master wasn’t necessarily the type to do that but … Si Yi definitely was. Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but try to defend himself. “Si Yi, you said we could take along whoever we wanted to! And Si Shi Qi was even allowed to bring his wife. Why can’t I meet up with my boyfriend?”

Si Yi just continued to stare at him, seriously wondering why they had come here. Well, clearly, it had been to see Si Shi Er but he didn’t understand why. When it came to doing things, if there was a task that was in the expertise of one of the ninjas, then yes, it made sense. But Si Shi Er … he was an engineer. And Si Yi really didn’t know what they needed an engineer for right now.

At the same time, Si Jin wasn’t bothering about that. Instead, he looked at Si Shi Er’s boyfriend. From what he knew, the guy was actually twenty-seven but he looked about ten years younger. He had that kind of baby face with big eyes, a snub nose, and a pair of pouty lips. It made one wonder how Si Shi Er and he had met.

But no matter what, the way he looked at his boyfriend was quite good. He seemed to like him quite a lot so Si Shi Er was the right person. Realizing this, Si Jin stepped forward, gripped him by the arm, and pulled him toward the car.

Si Shi Er’s boyfriend covered his mouth in shock, then looked around furtively, still not quite sure what was going on. But if he wasn’t completely wrong, his boyfriend was being abducted!

Even though he wasn’t supposed to, Si Shi Er had actually told him about the Si clan. Not quite in detail but he had told him that, in fact, he wasn’t just an engineer but he was an engineer for an important organization. And as such, his life might sometimes be fraught with a little bit of danger.

When he remembered this now, he realized that if nobody helped his boyfriend, he might never see him again. Thus, he did the next best thing that he could think of and tried to jump on Si Jin’s back.

As a result, he was grabbed by the shoulder, flung back, and pressed to the ground by a seriously pissed-off Si Yi. His cheek made the acquaintance of the stone floor and he looked at two pairs of shoes that stood right in front of him while things around them suddenly seemed to get somewhat quiet.

Si Shi Er stared at Si Yi speechlessly, still not sure what was going on. “What are you doing?!” He finally burst out. “It can’t have been that bad!”

Si Yi frowned at him and then pulled the youth back off the ground, pushing him toward the car instead. He definitely didn’t want another attempt on hurting his master but he also realized that they couldn’t stay here if they didn’t want to be on the news tomorrow. “Shut up and get in the car.”

At that, while Si Shi Er was almost ready to indeed get in the car, his boyfriend started to wail loudly. Ah, he had tried to help his brother Ling, but now, he wouldn’t even be able to alert anybody to what had happened and he would instead be used against his boyfriend. He was so useless!

Si Jin stared at him and suddenly had second thoughts about his choice of instructor. Maybe Si Shi Er had only been able to get this opportunity because the person in question was crazy.

Actually, the fact that he was number twelve of the Si clan probably should’ve told him as much. If even Si Yi and Si Er weren’t able to get a date, then how would Si Shi Er be able to manage it? Then again, Si Shi Qi was already married. So maybe their general capabilities weren’t that important when it came to such things.

Convincing himself of this, Si Jin finally pulled at Si Shi Er again, pushing him into the car before he got in himself, drowning out the sound of Si Shi Er’s wailing boyfriend.

Shutting the door behind his master, Si Yi turned to the people that had gathered on the sidewalk and were pointing and whispering faintly. He bowed with a serious expression, hoping to look somewhat apologetic. “I’m sorry, I will bring this petulant child home. Please excuse us.” Then, he stuffed Si Shi Er’s boyfriend onto the co-driver seat, locked the door, and went around the car, hastily driving off as soon as he took his seat. He had no idea what was happening here but he definitely didn’t want any more attention on it.

He watched the people on the sidewalk slowly disperse in the rearview mirror and then wondered where he should drive. For the time being, he decided to just drive around a bit until he realized what was going on in the back of the car. Then, he would probably be able to make a better judgment.

Si Jin didn’t pay him any mind, not actually caring where they would be going, and instead turned to Si Shi Er with his usual expression.

Si Shi Er looked at him a little worriedly while he reached out to grab his boyfriend’s shoulder, trying to shut him up. The wailing really wasn’t helping.

His boyfriend seemed to get the hint and looked over the seat, trying to figure out what was going on.

Meanwhile, Si Jin took the silence as his cue to finally get to the point. He looked at Si Shi Er, and then brought up the question that had been bothering him since Si Qi’s report. “Date?”