They discussed a few more logistics, budget allocations, facility reservations, preliminary contract terms, before ending the call. Twilight set down her phone and stared at the tablet screen, at the frozen image of Liu Jing mid-performance, and felt a surge of something that might have been pride.
This was real. Tang Fei had entrusted her with something significant, something that mattered. Not just protection duties or reconnaissance work, the skills that had defined her young life, but creation. Building something from nothing. Taking raw talent and shaping it into something extraordinary.
The weight of that responsibility sat heavy on her fourteen-year-old shoulders, but she welcomed it. This was what Tang Fei had seen in her, what had made her take in a four-year-old orphan and train her not just to survive but to excel. To be capable. To be trusted with things that would make most adults hesitate.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. "Come in."
