HISO Chapter 108

Chapter 108 — Foretold Farewell

Yu Zhou was somewhat surprised when he received notice from Ning Fei that he was preparing to return to Tianyue.

“You’re just leaving like that? Right now?” Yu Zhou confirmed.

Ning Fei retorted, “Otherwise, what business would I have staying at this base?”

Yu Zhou replied, “Not really. But if you leave like this, what about your mistress?”

“What about her? Whether she’s around or not, I’ll still get by. Stop nagging—hurry up and send the letter, or I’ll just bail.”

Yu Zhou cautioned, “Even if I send the letter, they might not let you go easily. You’re a level-three super-ability user with a verifiable track record; Huichuan definitely won’t want to lose you.”

Ning Fei shrugged. “Then I’ll just submit my application and run off.”

Yu Zhou murmured, “That way, Tianyue and Huichuan will have another ‘exchange incident’.”

“If an incident happens, let it happen. Wasn’t it you who stirred up trouble before—telling me to hide my identity? And now you have the nerve to blame me for causing another incident? Get on with it, no more nonsense.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll have Old Yue sign it for you later,” Yu Zhou joked. “Actually, I kind of wish you’d keep your identity hidden a bit longer. I know your abilities—maybe later you can even mix it up at Jinghui Base.”

“Are you sure?” Ning Fei replied. “That works for me. In fact, waiting for your next undercover mission out here is even more relaxing. When there’s a job, you go out fighting; when there isn’t, you just laze around. I don’t need any promotion—I’m not the type to ask you for money. It’s far easier than going back to help you or Tianyue.”

Yu Zhou added, “…Or rather, you should go back. The ‘empty nesters’ at home miss you. The sooner you return, the better.”

Ning Fei snapped, “What the hell is this ‘empty nesters’ nonsense? If you’re not disgusted by it yourself, then I sure am!”

Yu Zhou burst into laughter. After hanging up, he quickly found Yue Fengping and had Ning Fei’s “family search letter” signed.

Yes—a family search letter. This was the document that could get Ning Fei out of Huichuan as quickly as possible. When Yue Fengping saw the application submitted by Yu Zhou, he was a bit puzzled: “Ning Fei is your brother?”

“Yeah, almost like that,” Yu Zhou replied cheerfully. “I want to transfer him back as soon as possible, but I was afraid Huichuan would hold him hostage, so I went with the highest-priority material.”

Yue Fengping looked at him and suddenly said, “If Huichuan refuses to let him go, are you planning to use unconventional means to get him back?”

Yu Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Old Yue, what do you mean? Last time I used some unorthodox tactics just to help you get your teammates over to Tianyue. What, is it not acceptable when it comes to my friend?”

(For your information, Yue Fengping wasn’t aware of how I once covertly ‘snatched’ Chen Yikun’s adopted daughter back, so I confidently claimed I had only once skirted the rules.)

“I’m not saying that,” Yue Fengping explained. “I mean, you needn’t put so much pressure on yourself. Honestly, if we couldn’t get Lao Zhou and the others last time, neither I nor they would have blamed anyone—not you. It simply wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m not here to rehash whether it was right or wrong—it’s already a done deal. You and your comrades are now enjoying the outcome, so don’t come back to me debating the merits of it, and spare me the ‘it’s not your fault’—this isn’t your position as judge.” Yu Zhou propped one hand on the table, a gentle smile on his face that nonetheless carried a hint of chill. “Now, approve my letter quickly—I have work waiting for me back there.”

Yue Fengping had no choice but to approve. In his presence, he clicked “Agree” in the system’s approval process.

After that, Yu Zhou could print the document for stamping without having to come before Yue Fengping again. He pulled out his phone and, upon seeing the “Approval Granted” notification pop up, bent over with a smile and planted a kiss on Yue Fengping’s cheek, adding a “Thanks,” before strutting away from the desk.

“…Yu Zhou!”

Yue Fengping couldn’t help but shout after him. When Yu Zhou paused and turned back, Yue Fengping was momentarily at a loss for words—his mouth opened and closed repeatedly until he finally blurted out rather oddly, “Do you… really consider Ning Fei like your brother?”

“What else? Like a son?” Yu Zhou laughed as he walked back to the desk across from him, leaning forward with both hands on the table. “You wouldn’t be jealous, would you, Commander Yue? Ning Fei was once my student and subordinate; now he’s one of my closest friends. I’ve known him far longer than I’ve known you. If anything were going on between us, by now we wouldn’t be fooling around in front of you.”

“Ahem…” Yue Fengping, a bit bashful on this matter, averted his gaze. “I’m not doubting you… But, since Ning Fei’s back, why don’t we all have a meal together? We only barely met before—he left in a hurry. Since he’s your friend, he’s also my friend. I should do what I can to help.”

“Alright, then it’s up to you to arrange it, Commander Yue.” Yu Zhou reached over and gave Yue Fengping a playful tug on the cheek. “I’m off, bye-bye. Come pick me up after work tonight—make sure to add me, don’t forget!”

“Okay, I got it. And don’t work too hard yourself.”

“I’m nowhere near as hard-working as you,” Yu Zhou laughed as he finally exited Yue Fengping’s office.

—

Ning Fei immediately logged into the system at the Center for Individuals with Extraordinary Abilities and, upon finding the “family search letter,” promptly applied for a transfer order to Tianyue Base.

Just as Yu Zhou had anticipated, Huichuan Base had no intention of letting him go. Several layers of leadership—and acquaintances with some say in the matter—had held multiple rounds of conversations with Ning Fei. At first, he even expressed that he really wanted to leave, but soon he stopped objecting. Whatever they said, he only murmured “mm-hmm, mm-hmm” and “okay, okay,” as if he’d given up on transferring bases. The head of the Center even pretended to be generous, assuring him that if it were just a family visit, they’d arrange something quickly so he wouldn’t be separated from his loved ones.

Ning Fei didn’t believe any of it. The so-called “quickly” or “later” would undoubtedly be indefinitely postponed—especially for someone with his “transfer intentions.” So, Ning Fei decided to resort to extreme measures.

Before taking action, Ning Fei went to see Duan Yunhong.

To be precise, they had arranged to meet that evening, much like before. And after a carefree, pleasant night together, while Ning Fei lay lazily on the bed, he mentioned his plan to leave.

Duan Yunhong had just come out of the shower, the moisture on his body not yet fully evaporated. Upon hearing this, he looked back at the figure on the bed. “Leaving? Where to?”

“Going back to Tianyue,” Ning Fei replied while lying on the pillow, tilting his head toward him. “I wasn’t planning on telling you, but I figured I’d let you know so you won’t get mad later and make trouble for no reason. But you have to keep this confidential—don’t let me down.”

“Why keep it secret? Are you planning to skip out?”

“Isn’t it because of Huichuan’s crappy regulations? Without supervisory approval, the procedures simply don’t allow them to release a person.” Ning Fei snorted. “I submitted my transfer application, and a bunch of people from the Center took turns giving me a hard time—it was almost like being interrogated. Their stance is always the same: they won’t let me go. What choice do I have? If I kept resisting them, they’d hold me down for sure. It’s better to pretend to cooperate and wait for the chance to slip away.”

Duan Yunhong remarked, “If you do that, Huichuan will definitely be displeased with Tianyue.”

“If they’re displeased, so be it—that’s none of my business. Leave that headache for Yu Zhou,” Ning Fei replied, rolling over onto his back. “I’m only telling you out of consideration for your feelings. Before you do anything, you should consider mine too. I’d hate to regret having told you.”

Duan Yunhong stood by the bed, eyes lowered as he regarded him, his tone laden with meaning, “Indeed, this is the first time you’ve told me your plan to bolt in advance.”

“Then be grateful,” Ning Fei waved his hand and yawned. “Alright, my message is delivered. Next time you want to reach out, remember to send a message first—if I suddenly vanish, don’t come blaming me.”

But Duan Yunhong continued, “What are you planning to do once you get to Tianyue?”

“What’s it to you?” Ning Fei’s eyes darted as he shot him a glance. “You don’t think I’ll be reporting every detail of my work progress to you, do you? Director Duan, I’m not your collaborator anymore, nor your subordinate. We’ve gone from partners to opponents—while we might have fun in bed together, outside of it, we’re on opposite sides.”

Duan Yunhong scanned the bed. “In bed and out of bed?”

“What, Director Duan, are you now trying to kick me off your big bed?” Ning Fei noticed his look and laughed. “Fine—I’ll dash out in a hurry, make enough noise so someone notices. Then when Huichuan Base finds out I’ve run off, they’ll surely claim it’s because you broke up with me and kicked me out of your apartment, so I left in a rage. Hahaha…”

“Stop wrapping this in some vulgar tabloid scandal.” Duan Yunhong sat on the edge of the bed, propping one hand on Ning Fei’s pillow. “Since you’re leaving, give me Yu Zhou’s contact information.”

“You want to contact him?” Ning Fei raised an eyebrow. “Why not ask him directly? A base director’s contact number should be public internally, right?”

“His office phone is filtered by his assistant—if he doesn’t want to answer, you just can’t get through.”

“Pfft, you’ve already tried?”

Ning Fei imagined Duan Yunhong’s sour face when he was rebuffed and laughed even more. “Well, there’s nothing you can do. Director Yu is swamped; it’s normal for him not to have time for chatting.”

“You have his private number, and since you introduced him, he’ll definitely agree,” Duan Yunhong said. “You two teaming up against me—this setup was his doing. I want to speak with him directly.”

Ning Fei snorted dismissively, grabbed his phone, and sent a message before quickly putting it down. “What’s the point of talking? Do you expect him to step back and give you a fair chance? Honestly, if he were me, he wouldn’t even agree to bet with you. I even left time for you to explain yourself back then—if he found out that you, too, transcend the confines of time, he wouldn’t even spare you a glance.”

Duan Yunhong narrowed his eyes slightly, “He despises people who transcend the confines of time?”

“Not despise, but under certain circumstances, he does find them repulsive,” Ning Fei replied ambiguously. Before Duan Yunhong could press further, Ning Fei’s phone vibrated. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, and turned it toward Duan Yunhong. “Look—he doesn’t want to talk with you.”

Duan Yunhong looked closely and saw that the contact’s ID was marked with a small tulip icon, and Ning Fei had sent a message:

“【Director Duan said he wants to have a phone call with you.】”

“See? Thanks to you, he’s even annoyed with me.” Without explaining his relationship with Yu Zhou—or why his cheeky tone always got under Yu Zhou’s skin—Ning Fei only showed the screen for a few seconds before turning off his phone. “I took care of what you asked. If it fails, you can’t blame me, alright? I can’t hold Yu Zhou hostage, saying ‘if you don’t answer the phone, I’ll die,’ can I? So, may I go to sleep now, Director?”

Duan Yunhong countered instead of answering, “His attitude toward you doesn’t seem like that of a mere colleague or friend.”

“Analyzing all that is none of your business,” Ning Fei replied, rolling over and turning his back. “I’m off—goodnight.”

“…Goodnight.”

Duan Yunhong managed a reply but didn’t immediately lie down—instead, he fell silent in deep thought, his gaze heavy.