[Lu Zeyan, Online Alias: "BlackNine"]
Zeyan stared at the blinking cursor on the dark web chat forum.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
His new alias was perfect—
Black background. Red text. No IP trail.
He even altered his grammar to sound foreign.
Username: BlackNine
Status: "Silent bidder – former associate of XYN"
He sent a private encrypted message:
BLACKNINE: Heard XYN's active again.
BLACKNINE: What's your price?
BLACKNINE: Or are you too soft now that you're married?
He waited.
Ping.
[Yinyin's POV – Code Name: XYN]
Yinyin saw the message and froze.
"BlackNine…?"
That name sounded vaguely familiar.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Too soft now that I'm married? WHO—"
Her fingers flew.
XYN: I don't do jobs. Especially not for creeps who think marriage makes me weak.
BLACKNINE: Rumor says your husband's a big shot.
BLACKNINE: CEO of some empire.
BLACKNINE: Must be hard hiding things from him.
Yinyin sucked in a breath.
Was this a threat?
Did someone know?
XYN: That's none of your business.
BLACKNINE: So it's true.
BLACKNINE: Does he know who you really are?
She stared at the screen.
Then typed slowly:
XYN: No.
XYN: And he never will.
XYN: I'd rather disappear than let him find out.
[Back to Zeyan – In His Study]
He leaned back, the glow of the screen soft against his unreadable expression.
She was lying to him.
And protecting him.
She still thought the truth would ruin everything.
Zeyan stared at her final message again.
"I'd rather disappear than let him find out."
His hand clenched slightly on the mouse.
"So you'd leave me… just to keep me safe?"
His jaw tightened.
He wasn't angry.
He was something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Determined.
That Night
Yinyin walked into the bedroom, yawning and stretching.
"Hey, babe," she said casually, "what're you working on?"
Zeyan looked up from his laptop and smiled softly.
"Just handling a few messages."
She crawled into bed and kissed his cheek.
"Missed you today."
He turned to her, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Same."
"Whoever your husband is… he must be really lucky."
She laughed. "He's kind of a headache, but I like him."
He smirked.
If only you knew, Mrs. Lu.