“Sun Yue is going to give me just as much access as she always has. I’m trusted more than you are with List-related information, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s another few years before she voluntarily gives me full access. I’m working on figuring out another way in.”

“Another way?” Weiran repeated.

“She doesn’t have any problem with me moving in and out of her office. Neither does Liu Baiyan. They both believe that I’m too much of a coward to do anything to hurt them. I can’t go into her office too often without raising suspicion, but I’ve been going in there to drop off information while she isn’t there so I have the privacy to snoop around.”

“And?”

“If I had anything, I would have given it to you.” Xiao-Xiao crossed his arms. “We should just skip next week’s meeting and give each other time to actually accomplish something. Otherwise, we’re just going to be repeating the same things over and over.”

“One more meeting,” said Xingyu. “Next week. If we haven’t gotten anywhere, we’ll wait a little longer.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“One more,” Xingyu said again stubbornly. “I believe Weiran can accomplish something in that time.”

Weiran raised an eyebrow at him.

“Fine,” said Xiao-Xiao. “We’ll meet again next week.” He went toward the door, but Weiran immediately shoved his computer off his lap and jumped after him.

“Wait—Xiaokai! Can we talk this time?”

Xiao-Xiao paused with his hand hovering next to the doorknob.

“This time,” Xingyu echoed, looking between them, and Xiao-Xiao rolled his eyes.

“I’ll stay a few more minutes, Xingyu. You can leave.”

Xingyu didn’t move. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” said Xiao-Xiao, “is it, Weiran?”

Weiran looked bewildered. “Um—no?”

That was more than a question than anything, but Xingyu knew when he wasn’t wanted, and he also knew that, even if he stayed, there was nothing he could do to get either of them to say in front of him what they wanted to talk about together. “I’ll wait for you outside,” he told Xiao-Xiao.

“That really isn’t necessary.”

“I’ll wait anyway.”

After the door was closed and Xingyu was gone—presumably just on the other side of the door, if ‘outside’ meant what Weiran thought it meant—neither of them said anything.

“I’m getting tired of these silences,” Xiaokai said. “Just spit it out.”

“I just—well, I was wondering if everything was okay. You seemed really strange last time.”

Xiaokai huffed out a laugh. “First Xingyu, and now you? What makes either of you think you know when I’m off?”

“Look, whatever you have against Xingyu, you and I spent a while together.”

“A few hours,” Xiaokai corrected.

“It was more than the few hours. And we also had”—he lowered his voice—“sex together. Twice.”

“Don’t get all shy now.”