With their master having left, Si Er turned to Si Yi, expecting another few harsh words.

For a moment, Si Yi was tried to really say those words but on second thought, he figured that Si Er already should have understood what he had done wrong. In any case, the thing he loved the most had just been taken from him as a consequence of his actions. If he still didn’t get it, then no matter what he said, it wouldn’t change anything either. Thus, he just leaned back, not bothering about Si Er.

Seeing that he wasn’t even worth even a single comment, Si Er hung his head, got up, and slipped out of the room. He felt like he didn’t deserve this but what could he do? If this was what Si Yi and his master decided, he would have to live with it.

After he had left, Si Shi Wu turned to Si Yi. “I should call Qian Huang then and tell him that everything has been dealt with. Any advice on how to deal with this conversation?” A lot had gone wrong in just this one day so he wanted to be careful. It just didn’t seem like a good idea to take any chances right now.

Si Yi was of the same opinion so he thought for a moment longer. “Well, in the current situation, it might be best not to say too much. They are already vigilant. I think what they would hate to see the most right now would be any new attempts to set young master Xiao up with our master. So you shouldn’t even try.

“Keep it short and professional, directly to the point. Tell them that you have spoken to our master and Si Er and then what the result of that was. Also, assure them that this should’ve been dealt with but that if there are any problems in the future, they can come back to you. I think that this should reassure them.

“In any case, even though I think what master just did should have been effective, we never know with Si Er. If he ever tries something else, it would be best to be prepared for that and leave a means of communication open.

“Anyway, since you will see them again soon, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem since you can rectify further mistakes at that time. But still, today’s call might be the most important. It will set the tone for how things will be going forward.”

Si Shi Wu nodded and then took out his phone, holding it up. “Would you mind staying around while I have the call? In the worst case, you could give me some pointers.”

Si Yi nodded even though he felt that it probably wasn’t needed. Still, it also couldn’t hurt to have a second person hear this. After all, it would at least allow them to get a better read on how things had gone afterward.

When Si Shi Wu called, the three members of Bright Yellow Water had just sat down at the table. Qian Huang actually felt annoyed. It was never a bad time to call unless he was currently about to dig into Xiao Ming’s food. Whoever this was should better have a good excuse to disturb him at his favorite pastime.

He picked up the phone that he had left over on the cupboard next to the stove and then raised his brows when he saw the caller ID. “It’s Mister Ai.”

Xiao Ming and Li Shui looked up, surprised to hear that.

“That should be about that matter with his friends. Why aren’t you answering?”

Qian Huang smiled wryly and looked at the dishes on the table, feeling that he should better hurry up if he still wanted to get something. He accepted the call but still reached out to take some of the food. “Mister Ai, I hope you have good news for us.”

Si Shi Wu gave a hum. “I guess you could say that. First, let me apologize again. This matter shouldn’t have happened in the first place. It has put you and the other two in a difficult situation. That wasn’t okay. If not for the fact that we had gotten to know each other at the show, I’m afraid you wouldn’t even have known what to do.

“In any case, I talked with both Si Jin and Sima Qiu.” He glanced at Si Yi to make sure that just mentioning his master was alright. Usually, he would have liked to add a sentence or two about what his master thought about the matter but seeing as Si Yi had just reminded him not to try and matchmake again, he swallowed the words and focused on the troublemaker instead.

“Ah Qiu promised not to do anything in the future. Now, I can imagine that you won’t trust his words much after this matter has transpired but I promise that I will keep an eye on him as well as I can.

“Should he bother you in the future and I haven’t noticed, please let me know immediately. He isn’t always the most sensible, I will admit that, so it could be that he will overstep even if it might not be in the same way. I’ll do my best to intervene if that happens. You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

Qian Huang hadn’t been happy when Si Shi Wu had seemed to start to ramble at first but he had stopped after that apology and gotten to the point so he focused on that instead. Clearly, this wasn’t a complete guarantee that they would be left alone, but it was already quite good. At the very least, it was a start and that was more than they themselves could have achieved. “Thank you very much. Your help is very much appreciated. I will definitely get back to you should there ever be another problem with him.”

Si Shi Wu wasn’t sure what to say to that and glanced up at Si Yi again.

Si Yi just shook his head though, indicating for him to end the call sooner rather than later. They couldn’t keep the other side too long or they might feel that he had some other motive again. That, in turn, might let their one direct line Bright Yellow Water dry up.

Si Shi Wu nodded at Si Yi before he got back to the call. “Well, I think I’ve taken up more than enough of your time. You probably don’t want to think about this any further. I wish you a nice evening and I hope that you won’t be too distraught about this matter. Mister Li and Mister Xiao as well of course.”

Qian Huang smiled when he realized that the other person didn’t intend to talk for too long, meaning that he would get enough of the food. “Don’t worry about it. Since it’s been cleared up, then everything is well. Anyway, I guess we’ll hear from each other.”

Si Shi Wu gave a faint huff. “Well, I hope it will be in better circumstances then. Have a nice evening then!”

The two of them bid farewell and Qian Huang got back to eating, trying to make up for lost time.

At the same time, Si Shi Wu turned to Si Yi while he put his phone away. “Well, that has been taken care of. Master has given me a task so I will be busy with that for a while. After that, I guess I should start preparing for the cook-out. Qian Huang and Li Shui haven’t really said much about it yet but it shouldn’t hurt to bring some ingredients, maybe a recipe or two, and a gift probably to show my appreciation.”

“Do that. Si Qi can help you with the gift. Since he has talked to young master Xiao for a while, he might have some insight into what he would like. A thoughtful gift should go a long way. Make sure that it isn’t too personal though and that you mention where it comes from. Honesty is the most important right now to rebuilt trust.

“Anyway, when you’re there, don’t try to push young master Xiao too much. It seems that that was the wrong direction to work in from the very beginning and it definitely was at this point in time. We will have to wait until the show is over before we can try again and maybe the strategy should be changed by then anyway. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Si Shi Wu nodded and got up, leaving the room to find his master and teach him how to decorate dishes. They definitely couldn’t allow for him to embarrass himself if such a task came up in ‘Golden Spoon’ this weekend.

Meanwhile, Si Yi continued to sit there, thinking about what had happened over the course of this day. There was … a lot. A lot more than was good for them. Both for their master and also for the clan in general. He was afraid that if things continued like this, then there would be some consequences that he wouldn’t be happy about.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing his face. That matter with Si Qi didn’t want to go out of his head. He had always thought that he made the right decision but when his master asked him today what he liked about Si Qi, it had really hit him how awful all of this was.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t see this change in any way. After all, it wasn’t like their circumstances would ever be different. Maybe there would be a chance if their master got together with young master Xiao or maybe with somebody else in the future but he honestly doubted it. No, it seemed that there was no way for them to ever be together. As much as he hated that thought, that was just how it was. It couldn’t be changed.

Si Yi lowered his hand and sighed before he also got up and returned to his own room. He didn’t really have anything to do but it seemed that his master wouldn’t need him for the rest of the evening so he should go and prepare a bit more for the show himself.

As his master’s official assistant who would likely be introduced as such in the show as well, he couldn’t be lacking. At least for the first few episodes, he needed to make a good figure.

Actually, he would like to make it pretty far in the show. Not the last episode, of course, because it would be awkward when they were being judged against each other but getting into the penultimate one would be good. It would show that he had the skill but not put anyone in an awkward position. At the very least, nobody could say that either he, his master, or the judges had been biased because of their identities.

The other ninjas slowly returned to the temporary headquarters, slowly filling the house.

In one of the rooms, Si Shi Er was showing photos of everyone to his boyfriend who still hadn’t been thrown out. “Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to everyone. They’ll definitely all meet up for breakfast. At that time, it’s the perfect opportunity. Anyway, since my Boss hasn’t thrown you out, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Fu Jia nodded, not feeling that it was too strange that his boyfriend was actually living in a house with twenty of his coworkers. Anyway, rich people were strange and since this was an important organization, this might be some kind of security measure. Anyway, he had never worked for such a place so he felt that whatever his boyfriend said made sense.

“I hope you won’t get into trouble for bringing me here. Isn’t that a safety risk? Or was I cleared?” His eyes shimmered when he asked about that, feeling that all of this was so exciting! Maybe he should see if there was some kind of job in this organization for him as well.

If he got one, he might be able to spend even more time with his boyfriend then and his Ah Ming wouldn’t need to have as many secrets. After all, if he also knew about things because he was working for the same person, then his boyfriend wouldn’t need to talk around things so much. That would be perfect!

Si Shi Er wasn’t sure how to answer that question and finally sighed. “Well, I mean I wasn’t given express permission to bring you into the house but they also didn’t say no so I guess it should be alright. Anyway, it’s too late now so they’ll have to deal with it.”

Fu Jia chuckled and then inched closer to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Well, if it’s like this, then we shouldn’t worry too much. Anyway, if they still want to throw me out tomorrow morning, it’s also alright. It would be nice to meet the people you told me about before in person though.”

Si Shi Er smiled brightly. “Yes, I hope I’ll be able to do that as well. If you leave them with a good impression, maybe you’ll even be able to stay.” But, well, that wasn’t important right now. No, that still had time until tomorrow.

For now, they should celebrate that they had gotten the opportunity to be in the house together even for a limited time. Just maybe, this would lead to them being allowed to be together in the headquarters of the Si clan in the future as well. And not just in the temporary ones but even in the real ones. That was something he had wanted for a long time but he knew that it took time and there were still many other things to take care of first so they shouldn’t rush. Haste made waste, after all, and he didn’t want to waste any of the opportunities they were given.