"May I?" I ask as I step into Mrs. Qin's cabin.
She nods politely.
But wow—cold.
Not office air-conditioner cold.
More like… freezer-with-a-smile cold.
Something about it makes my shoulders tense on their own. Bad feeling. Big one.
I sit across from her desk. The chair makes a tiny sound, way too loud in this quiet room.
She folds her hands and looks straight at me.
"You're doing very well, Yunhua," she says.
I blink. "Oh— it's nothing."
I wave it off, pretending my heart didn't just skip. Compliments from her feel illegal.
She keeps staring. Then—
"Would you mind handing over all the data," she says calmly,
"from day one?"
…Huh?
My brain freezes for half a second.
"Ah— I mean— why?" I say, forcing a small laugh.
"You know how the government is taking everything under them now, right?"
I try to sound casual. Try.
She laughs.
Light. Pleasant. Too pleasant.
"But you still have access," she says smoothly.
"And you can grant permission for us, right?"
