When they arrived at the address that Si Er had sent over, the four men couldn’t help but look at the signs that had been put up close to the door and the people that were gathered outside, standing around in small groups and talking spiritedly.

Si Shi Er’s boyfriend glanced to the backseat, already feeling like Si Jin was the one who was calling the shots here. “What’s this?”

Si Jin looked outside, not having an idea either. One of the signs outside proclaimed this to be some kind of event centered around food. He had never heard of it so he didn’t know what to expect.

Si Yi glanced at him through the rearview mirror, trying to figure out if his master knew the relevant information. From what had just happened, he was pretty sure that he was just trying to answer some kind of question and had decided that he didn’t want to wait until the day was over and everyone returned home to their temporary headquarters in the evening. Most likely, he hadn’t bothered to find out what they were doing and had just gotten Si Er to get him the address where he could find the people he wanted to see.

“Should I see if I have to get us tickets?”

Si Jin nodded and then just continued to sit there while Si Yi parked the car and then got out, going to gather some information.

Meanwhile, Si Shi Er’s boyfriend turned back to the two ninjas on the backseat, hugging his seat. “So, what’s your name? I am Fu Jia.”

Si Shi Er was getting flustered and already wanted to jump in to explain but his master was faster.

“Si Jin.”

Fu Jia just nodded at that. In any case, he just wanted to know. But speaking of which, there was still one more person. He pointed at the empty driver seat and then raised brows. “And him?”

“Si Yi.”

“Oh, so you’re related?”

Si Jin shook his head at that but didn’t explain.

Si Shi Er felt like he was sweating all over. He had thought that it would be great if he finally got the chance to introduce his boyfriend to the others and officially tell him about the Si clan. He had always imagined it to be some kind of gesture of acceptance that would finally make him feel like they weren’t judging his relationship with Fu Jia anymore.

But now, he wasn’t sure if maybe he had been wishing for a little too much. Having your partner know the others and actually have him interact with them was actually really stressful.

He wondered how Si Shi Qi was doing this. Then again, Si Shi Qi’s wife was a famous actress. She knew how to deal with other people. Fu Jia, on the other hand … Oh, well, he loved him no matter what but he really wasn’t the kind of person you would brag about.

He had been tumbling from job to job and even now that he was twenty-seven, he still hadn’t found what he wanted to do with his life. Fu Jia was actually a bit embarrassed about it himself but there was nothing he could do. In his own words, ‘you can’t find easily what your heart is beating for’. And since Shi Shi Er loved him, that was enough of an explanation for him. What the others of the clan thought about it though … sometimes, he wished that he didn’t know it all too well.

But in any case, it seemed that right now was an opportunity to bridge the gap at least a little. After all, his master hadn’t complained about his boyfriend yet and maybe he would even value him for his interpersonal skills instead of whatever his job could’ve been. This opportunity couldn’t be wasted!

Thus, Si Shi Er explained to his boyfriend himself. “They’re not. It’s more of an … well, just imagine that it’s a long story that goes back some generations.”

Fu Jia wasn’t quite sure what kind of story to imagine there but he still just nodded. “Okay.” In any case, he was an easy-going person and his boyfriend didn’t sound like this was something he should inquire about any further. He was alright with that.

Instead, Fu Jia looked back at the banners outside again and then took out his phone, looking the name of the event up on Baidu. After reading silently for a minute or two, he turned to look over the shoulder again, his eyes bright.

“I just looked it up online and it’s an event that is organized by a food journal. They usually publish tests of restaurants, introduce well-known chefs, or scientific studies on ingredients and stuff like that. And apparently, they regularly have these get-togethers where famous people will give interviews and a mix of chefs, food critics, and restaurant owners will have discussion panels.”

Si Jin furrowed his brows at that. This … didn’t sound like the kind of exciting thing he had imagined Si San to be doing. Why was he here?

Si Shi Er nodded though. “Oh, I see! It’s probably an event that doesn’t happen too often, right?”

Fu Jia looked at his phone again, apparently searching for the information. “Yes, it seems that it’s only this week. Like, from Monday to Wednesday or something. And the last one was two years ago. So it’s a rare opportunity.”

Si Shi Er nodded, feeling like whoever had discovered this event online was a lucky bastard. They had all been worried about what to do to fulfill the task Si Yi had given them and this kind of event where many professionals would come together would fit perfectly. Especially if it went on for several days.

If somebody who registered for a cooking show entered an event about food, it wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. On the other hand, there were many people there and you couldn’t really track who they had met there. Thus, there was probably the assumption that they either went alone or that they had relations with some of the people there. It was the perfect plan. And one that didn’t give you an alibi for only one day but for several at once. Really too smart!

Si Jin had also realized this but he wasn’t too astounded by it. That was the reason that Si San was the number three of the Si clan. So this kind of move was really to be expected. On the other hand, he still wasn’t sure if this was something exciting. He stared at Fu Jia’s phone and then looked up at him, hoping that he would give him some more details.

Fu Jia didn’t realize at first because he had been continuing to read but when he realized that everyone had suddenly fallen silent, he looked up and caught Si Jin’s gaze. He blinked his doe eyes and then raised his phone. “Did you want to know more?”

Si Jin nodded.

“Well, what do you want to know? Maybe some of the things they have scheduled?”

Si Jin thought about it and then nodded again. In any case, maybe there were some exciting things among the scheduled events and not just talks and more talks.

Fu Jia thought for a moment as well and then undid his seatbelt. The two men in the back didn’t understand what he was doing up until the moment he started to climb past the middle console, then stepped on Si Jin’s foot, and smacked his boyfriend in the face before he stumbled into his lap, his behind sticking up into the air.

Si Jin stared, a little bewildered. Having grown up around the ninjas that were raised with the goal of joining the clan in the future, he had never experienced something like this before. Although maybe it should count as a skill to almost injure two people while doing a supposedly easy and harmless task. In fact, this might be a strategy worthy to remember for the future.

Meanwhile, Si Shi Er winced, afraid of what his master would think. He didn’t bother to look at him though, knowing full well that he would only see the same unperturbed expression that told him nothing. Instead, he just reached out to help his boyfriend up so he would look a bit more dignified. “Are you alright?”

Fu Jia nodded, not minding too much what had just happened. In any case, he had been in more awkward situations before. He brushed back the hair that had fallen into his face and then made sure to plant his butt on the seat between the two of them, holding up his phone. “Here, take a look!”

He had figured that it would be much too difficult to read everything to them and that he could just show them directly. This way, he’d only have to scroll or navigate to the right place instead of reading everything.

Si Shi Er felt that this was a bit excessive. Back at the Si clan, if there was something their master wanted to know, he would be provided with the information immediately. Either the person responsible gave him a rundown on it or they had a document ready that was handed to him so he could read it on his own. Sharing a phone between three people … he didn’t think his master had ever done something like this.

Si Jin actually didn’t mind. In any case, this way, he had all the information at hand. Not that he couldn’t have looked it up himself. But since it was already provided to him, he was alright with that as well and surely wouldn’t complain.

Instead, he just focused on Fu Jia’s phone screen, scanning the itinerary that was being shown. Although, looking at it, he still didn’t see what the big deal about this was. Could it be that he had once again gotten it wrong? Was Si San not that much of an interesting person after all?

Well, he would certainly find out soon because when he glanced out of the window, Si Yi was already coming back, finally opening the door for him and motioning over to the building.

“I gained us entry.”

With that, it was settled and the three ninjas with their addendum went inside to find Si San.