The sleek black sedan had barely disappeared down the dusty road when Zerkon Kalmas let out a roar of laughter that shook the porch beams.
He clapped a hand on Yuhon's shoulder, nearly sending the boy stumbling into a potted plant.
"Haha! Son, congratulations!" Zerkon boomed, his eyes crinkling with mirth.
Yuhon rubbed his shoulder, a dry, confused smile on his face. "For… what, Dad? For almost having my secret identity exposed by one of the most powerful guild master in the region? For having my cover story interrogated over suspiciously good cookies?"
Aoqi glided over, wiping her hands on her apron once more.
Her expression was one of serene amusement. "You probably guessed for what, right? The penny has dropped, as they say."
Yuhon's eyes widened as the pieces his adrenaline had been too high to process finally clicked into place.
The way Sarah Xin had looked at him. The specific questions. The sheer fact that she had personally visited their remote farm.
"Ah well… Yes," he said, his shoulders slumping. "But how did they know? I was so careful! I broke all the cells! I acted unconscious!"
Zerkon chuckled, ruffling his son's hair. "Probably that girl Mei's secret bodyguard saw the whole thing, don't you think? Standard protocol for a guild heir. Gotta have a shadow. Probably some grumpy old S-ranker who's very good at hiding."
Yuhon's face went blank. "What…?" The word came out as a tiny, defeated squeak.
Aoqi nodded, her tone gentle but matter-of-fact. "You made a critical mistake in your hidden mafia work, son."
"A tactical oversight. Don't you think the young heir of a top guild would have at least that much security? You assumed you were the only powerful one operating in the shadows there. A classic, if endearing, error."
The full, horrifying implication dawned on Yuhon. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
"So, you mean… I deliberately revealed myself to the Crimson Phoenix? The entire Crimson Phoenix?!"
"Yes, my dear little Fox," Aoqi said, her smile turning into a dry, teasing smirk.
"You performed a lovely solo act for a captive audience of one, who then undoubtedly ran home to tell the whole family."
Yuhon's mind was a whirlwind of panic. He began pacing the living room.
"And I revealed my enhanced physique in front of Mei and her mother! I flexed at them! They know the Grinning Fox is the scrawny kid who sits behind Mei in history class! They know it was me!"
Zerkon was now holding his stomach, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
"Haha! Yes, son! You have shown your great, mighty, heroic physique to those pretty ladies! I bet they were impressed! Your mother was certainly impressed with my physique back in the day—OW!"
He was cut off as Aoqi gently nudged a particularly sensitive pressure point on his side with her elbow, not breaking her serene smile. "Focus, dear."
Yuhon wasn't listening. He ran his hands through his hair.
"How do I speak to Mei after she knows all this? How can I even look at her? 'Hey, sorry about the whole vigilante thing and the mass knockout gas and the traumatic kidnapping. Hope my muscles weren't too distracting!' It's impossible!"
Aoqi's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Don't worry," she said, her voice dripping with false reassurance.
"You have already flexed your physique in front of her mother. So what's there to be afraid of? The hard part is over. The mother-in-law approval is halfway secured."
Yuhon stopped dead in his tracks, his face flushing a spectacular shade of crimson.
"M-MOTHER-IN-LAW?!" he squawked, his voice cracking spectacularly.
Zerkon lost all composure, collapsing onto the sofa in a giggling heap.
"She's right! You've passed the first trial! Next is the father! Does he like barbecues? I can give you tips!"
Yuhon just stared at his parents, who were now teasing him without a shred of restraint.
He looked like a cornered animal. "You're both impossible! This is a disaster!"
Aoqi finally took pity on him.
She walked over and placed a calming hand on his arm. "Don't think too much. She will probably not say anything directly. She's an analyst; she'll observe and collect data. So just act normal. Nothing will happen."
Zerkon, still wheezing with laughter, sat up and nodded, though his body was still shaking. "Yes, yes, your mother's right. Don't think too much, don't think too much."
He then dissolved into another fit of giggles. "Just maybe… don't try to change your physique in front of her again. Might be awkward."
Yuhon groaned and buried his face in a cushion. His life had become far too complicated.
---
On the other side of town, in a room that was all clean lines, organized bookshelves, and tactical diagrams, Mei Xin was not analyzing anything.
She was lying flat on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her usually sharp, calculating expression was gone, replaced by a distant, dazed look. A faint, uncharacteristic blush tinted her cheeks.
On her mental chalkboard, where complex equations and threat assessments usually resided, a single, looping image played on repeat: the Grinning Fox, his hoodie burning away in a shower of embers, revealing not just his identity, but a torso sculpted from marble and defined by lightning.
The way he'd moved, a perfect blend of power and grace. The low, gravelly echo of his voice.
She rolled over and screamed into her pillow, a sound of pure, flustered frustration.
A shadow coalesced at the foot of her bed. "That is an inefficient method of stress relief. It does not lower cortisol levels; it merely strains the vocal cords."
Mei shot upright, clutching the pillow to her chest. "Grandfather! Don't do that!"
Mudan Xin leaned against her dresser, arms crossed, a deeply amused grin on his face.
"What's got you all twisted up, little blossom? Still thinking about that boy from the farm?"
Mei's blush deepened. "What? No! Of course not! I am analyzing the structural integrity of the Grey Fog's operational model based on the data from the facility!"
"Mhm," Mudan said, nodding sagely.
"And does this analysis require you to sigh dramatically and punch your pillows? Is that a new technique they teach at that school? 'Pillow-based data interpretation'?"
"Grandfather!"
"I'm just curious," he said, pretending to examine a model of a mana-conduction engine on her desk.
"It's not every day my brilliant, ice-cold granddaughter gets all flustered because a boy showed off his… ahem… problem-solving skills."
Mei hugged the pillow tighter.
"It's not like that. It's… it's a variable. A new, highly unpredictable variable. Yuhon Kalmas is the Grinning Fox. His power level is grossly misrepresented. His family is clearly anomalous. This is a significant development that requires careful study."
"Oh, it requires study, alright," Mudan agreed, his eyes twinkling.
"A very thorough, hands-on study. Might take years. Decades, even."
"You're impossible!" Mei groaned, falling back onto the bed.
"I'm just saying," Mudan continued, enjoying himself immensely.
"If you need help with your… field research… I can be your chaperone. Make sure things are… scientifically sound. I'll even bring a clipboard. And a camera. For documentation purposes, of course."
Mei threw the pillow at him. It passed harmlessly through his shadowy form and hit the wall.
"Your aim is off. Distracted, perhaps?" he teased.
"Maybe you should ask him for some training. I hear he's very… physical in his teaching methods."
"GET OUT!" Mei yelled, though there was no real heat in it.
She was fighting a losing battle against both her grandfather and her own uncharacteristic feelings.
Mudan laughed, his form beginning to dissolve back into shadows.
"Alright, alright, I'm going. But just remember, blossom: most girls have to settle for a boy who brings them flowers. You've got one who brings entire criminal organizations to their knees and has the abs to show for it. Your grandmother is so jealous."
With a final, echoing chuckle, he vanished, leaving a flustered and thoroughly teased Mei alone in her room. She stared at the ceiling again, a new, terrifying thought entering her mind.
She had to see him at school tomorrow. And she had no idea how to act normal. For the first time in her life, Mei Xin, the brilliant analyst, was completely and utterly unprepared.