Part 1:
Han Yue finally woke up around 2 p.m., stretched her body lazily in bed, and shuffled to the restroom to take a cold shower—relief from the suffocating heatwave outside. The temperature had hit a sweltering 55°C today; even the shadows seemed to be melting.
After getting dressed, she scooped up her fluffy little baby bunny and carried it downstairs for brunch. While chewing on her toast, she scrolled casually through her phone—and, as expected, headlines about the raid of a private research laboratory dominated the news feed. The news detailed how several missing children were rescued from the facility. Evidence like logbooks and cellphone records linked the lab to a network of human trafficking operations. The authorities were now tracking down the individuals involved in the kidnapping and selling of the children.
But as she continued reading, Han Yue frowned.
They still hadn't named the true sponsors or masterminds behind the lab.
In her past life, she'd heard whispers—hushed rumors that such private labs were usually funded by the rich or backed by politicians. This specific lab, she remembered, was said to be connected to a governor and a rich family named Li.
"Hmmm... I'll tell Long Yi later," she muttered with a mischievous smile.
After eating, she took her baby bunny for a short walk in the shaded pathway. It was still blisteringly hot, but she enjoyed the calm breeze under the canopy. As she strolled leisurely, she spotted Shadow 8 walking toward the office building with a stack of documents in his hand.
With a smirk, Han Yue decided to tease him.
Loudly, she announced to no one in particular, "Did you know… a certain Shadow Leader is afraid of cucumbers?!"
Shadow 8 froze in place.
He trembled a little, spun around dramatically, and shouted, "OMG WHO IS IT?! TELL ME!!" Then he rushed toward Han Yue, eyes sparkling with gossip-fueled excitement.
Han Yue giggled. "I'll tell you later. Where are you going?"
Shadow 8 pouted. "To report to Secretary Wen. I got some updates from Shadow 4 and 7."
"I see," she said. "I'm going to see Long Yi. Just remembered something after reading the news earlier. Let's go together~"
The two made their way toward the office building. When they arrived, Secretary Wen waved at Han Yue.
"You can go straight in," he said, taking the documents from Shadow 8.
Han Yue tiptoed to the office door, peeked inside, and grinned mischievously. Long Yi was seated at his desk, deeply focused on his paperwork.
Silently, she crept up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes.
Without missing a beat, Long Yi reached up, grabbed her hands, and kissed them gently.
Han Yue's eyes widened, cheeks flushing red as she quickly pulled her hands away.
"W-What was that?!" she pouted, flustered.
Long Yi simply smiled and gestured for her to sit on the sofa.
After settling in, Han Yue got to the point.
"I read the news just now," she said. "It feels… incomplete."
Long Yi looked up. "You noticed it too?"
Han Yue nodded. "In my past life, I remember when Grandpa He captured the people in the lab… they were tortured right in front of the base. Some of them shouted things like 'You'll regret this!' or 'Do you even know who owns that lab?!'—sounded like they were protected by someone powerful."
Long Yi listened quietly as she continued.
"Grandpa He ignored them and still had them shredded. After that… he vanished. People said the lab was backed by a family named Li. And a governor too, though I don't remember which one."
At that moment, Secretary Wen and Shadow 8 entered the room, having overheard everything.
Secretary Wen nodded seriously. "Miss Yue, the rumors you remember might be true. Shadow 4 and 7 investigated before we tipped off the police. They found documents and records inside that lab. One had the Li family seal, and another had the official seal of a certain governor—Governor Qian Shide. He's known for having 'friendly ties' with border forces."
Shadow 8, now seated beside Han Yue, started munching on the fruit platter while listening with wide eyes. Han Yue followed suit, placing her baby bunny on the table, who immediately waddled toward a juicy strawberry—nom nom nom.
Secretary Wen sighed as he looked at the trio. "I feel like a storyteller at a children's library…"
Long Yi chuckled behind his desk. "Then let's give that story a proper ending."
He leaned forward. "Wen, send all this intel to Commander Long. Let him handle it. This'll be good for his record. Also forward Han Yue's statement, and a copy of the USB we gave He Wenhai yesterday. Note that he's the official reporter—we'll need to monitor him in case someone tries to silence him."
Secretary Wen jotted down the orders. "Understood."
Han Yue tilted her head. "Can Uncle Long really go up against a governor?"
Long Yi smirked. "Don't forget who Uncle Long saved a few months ago."
"Wait… was it General Wang Tianlei?" she asked.
He nodded. "And that man isn't just some military hotshot. He's actually the President's adopted son, raised personally. That's why Uncle Long got placed in charge of Dragon Peak Military Base so smoothly."
Han Yue and Shadow 8's jaws dropped in sync.
Long Yi continued, "So Uncle Long won't even need to fight. He'll just report the evidence. General Wang will take care of the rest. Think about it—inhuman experiments, media cover-ups, border smuggling? It's everything Wang Tianlei's faction stands against."
Shadow 8 raised a finger. "So… General Wang will report it to his father. And since the Li family and that governor aren't part of their faction, they'll become perfect examples for 'justice'?"
"Exactly," Long Yi nodded. "Commander Long gains merit without making enemies."
Han Yue clapped her hands. "Long Yi is soooo smart~!"
Long Yi smiled and sat beside her, clearly enjoying the praise.
Shadow 8 groaned, dramatically covering his eyes. "Too much dog food…"
Then, with a devious grin, he asked, "By the way, YueYue… you slept in the car yesterday. Do you know who carried you upstairs and tucked you into bed?"
Han Yue blinked. "Who…?"
Long Yi wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Me."
Shadow 8 yelped. "I'm leaving! I need to help Secretary Wen—goodbye!!" He dashed out of the room.
Han Yue snickered at his retreating back. She stayed with Long Yi a little longer, her baby bunny hopping around the table like it owned the place.
After a while, she stood up and stretched. "Time to visit the training site!"
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "I want to spar with a few guards today~!"
Feeling fired up despite the scorching heat, she bounced out the door with a determined grin.
Part 2
Han Yue went to the martial arts arena and saw many shadow guards sparring. She stepped in and said she would spar with three people at once. Those interested in a 1v3 challenge stepped forward, and the match began. Han Yue sparred with them for more than thirty minutes, her body covered in sweat by the end, but she felt refreshed and exhilarated. After thanking her sparring partners, she continued with her other training quotas for the day.
She worked so hard that she didn't leave the training grounds until 10 p.m. After a hot shower in her dorm, she happily took the wizard train back home. Once she arrived, she lounged on the couch—only to find a surprise waiting for her. Zhihan and Rose were already there.
When they saw Han Yue, they both jumped up and shouted, "Sister Yueyue, welcome back!"
The three of them started chatting. Han Yue asked how their training had been going. With big smiles, they told her that it was going great—and that they had both awakened their powers. Rose had wood powers, and to everyone's surprise, Zhihan inherited electric powers just like his father!
Han Yue also asked if they were getting along with the other kids. The two beamed and nodded eagerly. "Yes! They're just like us—orphaned kids! When we first came, we talked with them a lot. They shared their stories, and we shared ours! We bonded fast and even teamed up in the arena—it was so fun!"
Relieved, Han Yue felt warmth fill her heart. After eating dinner together, she began scrolling on her phone. To her amusement, she got tagged again—it was a candid photo of her and Long Yi at the base's night market. She saved the photo and forwarded a copy to Long Yi.
In response, Long Yi sent her a kiss emoji.
Han Yue rolled her eyes. "This stinky man became even more shameless after we got together," she muttered with a small smile, then sent back an angry emoji with a fist.
While scrolling, a private message notification popped up. Curious, she checked it—and saw a short but hostile message from a woman named Li Meixue. The message read:
"Stay away from my fiancé, or else."
Han Yue's eyes widened. "WTF? Long Yi had a fiancée before?" she muttered. She didn't remember anything like that.
Feeling mischievous, she typed out a cheeky reply:
"No. I want to stick to him tonight. 😳"
Giggling to herself, she closed the chat and entered her space. She harvested crops, collected eggs, fed the animals, and played with her "babies."
—
Meanwhile, at the Li Family's private base, chaos still raged outside. Crowds screamed and banged on the closed gates:
"Give me the free food you promised!"
"You promised free water and food!"
"We came all the way here and now you shut the doors?!"
"I'm reporting you to the police for scamming us!"
Inside, the Li family was having a collective headache. The head of the family, Li Zhongyuan, sat gloomily in his office, thinking of ways to deal with the crowd of angry beggars. Hmph.
His deranged daughter, Li Meixue, who had sent that message to Han Yue earlier, was in her room when she saw Han Yue's smug reply:
"No. I want to stick to him tonight. 😳"
Her face twisted in rage. She began smashing vases and tearing curtains apart. A glint of madness lit up in her eyes as she stormed down to the basement dungeon.
Chained in the darkest corner like a dog was a weak, ragged girl.
Li Meixue stepped closer and sneered, "Didn't you say before that that slut was your sister?"
The chained girl coughed hoarsely but still managed to speak, "Yes… yes… she's my sister."
Li Meixue turned to the guards. "Clean her up. I have plans."
As she went back upstairs, a twisted smile formed on her lips. "Han Yue, you slut… I'll make you regret staying with my fiancé."
Her laughter echoed through the stone halls, chilling and crazed.
Han Yue, blissfully unaware, continued playing with her farm animals in her space, not knowing that a lunatic had marked her as a rival.