Feng Xinya's temperament softened considerably towards Xue Yang once he found out that Xue Yang was not harboring any ill intent. Though he still didn't trust him completely, Xue Yang was also keen on making it clear that he could be trusted when it mattered. Otherwise, the younger boy would mind his own business.

Ye Xia had been sidelined. He didn't know how to approach Feng Xinya to gain a favorable impression and really hated how Xue Yang had already gained some of Feng Xinya's approval.

That night when the two were tending to each other's wounds, Ye Xia attempted to cook again. It resulted in the same routine of his two companions leaving as soon as the meal was finished.

Feng Xinya and Xue Yang had already returned to their rooms so Ye Xia also turned in for the night after the very long and suspenseful day.

According to the original plot, there were still the full six months until Shadow was to be taken down and the male lead would be free to pursue his protagonist.

But Feng Xinya was unsure of what effect their outing and bumping into the male lead would have on the timing. He was hoping that it was sped forward so that he would be able to complete his mission faster.

Since the original Feng Xinya was not involved in the purge of the organization, naturally there was nothing that Feng Xinya himself could do as not only did he not receive any orders to help, he didn't even know any significant information that would be of help, so he had to reluctantly adopt a "wait and see" mindset.

Anyway, a week passed by just like that with the same routine repeating over and over again.

One night, Feng Xinya had yet to fall asleep. Since day one, he had known that Xue Yang would leave his room in the middle of the night to do the dishes and clean up the messy kitchen. He could hear from his room with his peculiar senses.

The original did not have a nanny to do his chores for him.

On a whim, he decided to go out and watch.

The light was dim, and the boy was like a mild fleeting spark in the middle of the darkness. His platinum hair softly swayed as he scrubbed the plate in his hand. The faucet wasn't running so as to conserve water and keep the noise at the lowest level. His back was straight, giving off a slight sense of loneliness. As opposed to his normally noble and elegant attire during the day, Xue Yang dressed in only a large oversized t-shirt exposing his crystal like smooth white jade thighs.

He had gained a lot of weight over the week, just enough to pass as a boy his age. Feng Xinya's eyes involuntarily drifted to the boy's slender neck, and he suddenly felt that his throat was parched.

Narrowing his sharp hazel eyes, he stalked forward to grab a nearby glass, startling Xue Yang, who momentarily froze before nodding and continuing his work.

Feng Xinya proceeded to get water from the distiller as Xue Yang moved to the side to allow him access. He gulped down the water and caught Xue Yang peeking at him from the corner of his eyes.

The movement of the older man's pronounced Adam's apple bobbing up and down with every swallow...

Noticing that Feng Xinya caught him staring in a daze, Xue Yang ears flushed red and he quickly looked down to continue his work. Feng Xinya rinsed his glass before drying it and placing it back into the cupboard.

He was about to just leave and go back up to his room, but his body acted on its own as he lifted a large hand to pat the boy's head gently, feeling the fluffy and soft hair with his fingers. In the end, he found out he really liked the softness and couldn't bear to take his hand away, so it lingered on his head for a little bit longer.

Only when he felt that he had enough, did he let go.

Xiao was left in the room asleep, so when Feng Xinya returned to the room Xiao woke up asking what he was doing.

"Thirsty."

"Oh."

Xiao was actually in deep thought the past week. The mission was clearly supposed to be a mid-level mission, but it was clearly easier than that. So far, Feng Xinya had only needed to sit around at home and do nothing.

The male lead had not come knocking and the protagonist seemed to be even more in love with Feng Xinya than he was in the original timeline for some reason!

He asked Feng Xinya if that was part of his plan, but Feng Xinya just expressionlessly replied, "Expected."

Feng Xinya was not dense. He clearly knew that the original Feng Xinya was no different than a machine; an automaton. He only obeyed orders and did not show the protagonist an ounce of humanity.

Feng Xinya was truthfully no different but had unintentionally been forced to show a side that the original had not revealed to the protagonist in the original plot--his "affectionate" side. It was ultimately due to Xue Yang's presence.

The original, while he did not mind physical interactions as he did, never had the chance to show the protagonist how human he was.

On the other hand, when they went to see Louie for the haircut that didn't happen in the original plot, the protagonist who had concluded that Feng Xinya hated being touched, saw Feng Xinya allow someone to not only touch him but to molest him and rub his own body against his.

Then, the first time he himself was touched, though it wasn't the under the best situation or circumstances, it was still the first time after being rescued from the brothel--he had engraved in his memory the strong and reliable hand that held onto his wrist.

Shortly after, he witnessed Feng Xinya dressing Xue Yang's wound, then allowing Xue Yang to nurse his own as well, stripping his shirt in front of everyone. That night he had dreamt that he was the one in Xue Yang's place taking care of Feng Xinya and being taken care of.

As a victim of a form of manipulation himself as well as a vampire--a creature that naturally charmed their victims--Feng Xinya was more than well-versed in the field.

Though it wouldn't stop the favored children from falling in love and ending up together, prolonging the time it took them to get together was more than enough for Feng Xinya to be certain that he could fulfill both the original's wish and thus his world mission.

He was confident after interacting with Xue Yang, that Xue Yang was not a simple character. He had indeed lost his memories, but his identity still had not been figured out despite Feng Xinya's expert having been in charge of finding out who he was for the past week. That could only mean that Xue Yang was not a nobody.

Either somebody didn't want him to be found or he no longer existed in this world, or both. Either way, it took a lot of money to cover up someone so efficiently that not even the top hacker in the world could find him.

For now, Feng Xinya's superiors had ordered him to prioritize Ye Xia because of Ye Xia's definitive identity as the B country president's son. Xue Yang's identity was still unknown.

However, Feng Xinya trusted his gut that as soon as Xue Yang's identity was revealed, their roles would instantly switch and he could leave the protagonist with the male lead without a care due to the new order to prioritize Xue Yang.

Of course, since Xiao was prohibited from probing into Feng Xinya's mind and Feng Xinya hardly took the time to explain himself and his actions, he was left in the dark only trusting that his host knew what he was doing.

The nights in the kitchen repeated themselves with Xue Yang washing the dishes and Feng Xinya patting his head.

Since it was his own house Feng Xinya didn't need a reason to stick around while Xue Yang did his work.

Furthermore, Xue Yang didn't seem to mind and both of them gradually got used to the silent yet harmonious atmosphere.

It wasn't intentional that Ye Xia was unaware and left out of their little rendezvous in the middle of the night. They could care less whether or not Ye Xia was around.