“Well?” Tiang-Ji looked at her son expectantly. “What is going on here?”

Wang Zen let Choi Jingyi’s writ go. She withdrew her hand to her chest, gingerly rubbing it.

“Mom, she was attacking us with her fire techniques!” Zen said.

“That is untrue!” Jingyi said. “I was defending myself. I was just walking and then someone attacked me in the dark! I didn’t even know it was Wang Zen!”

“Is that true?” Ling said.

“No!” Zen said.

“Jun Nee!” Ling glared at the girl.

Jun Nee looked down. “Actually… yes, that might be true. It was pretty dark. But the only reason that happened was because she was acting strange.”

“Yeah!” Zen said, “She was snooping around and we found her trying to enter your office to” He pointed a finger at her accusingly.

“I was doing no such thing!” she said. “I came out of my room for a drink of water. I got lost when I was trying to get back to my room! I didn’t even know this was the City Lord office!”

“You got lost? Ha, that’s obviously a lie, Mom!”

“You got lost just this afternoon!” Ling said.

“Well… I’m different,” he said quietly.

“She… She also took a book from the library. It could holw important information.” Jun Nee said.

“Oh, yes I stumbled onto the library and took this,” she picked up a book. The title read ‘Yang, The Naughty Sheep.’ She looked at the City Lord. “It is a childhood favourite of mine. Helps me get to bed.”

Ling smiled at the woman. “Clearly there has been a misunderstanding, Miss Choi…”

“I would say it is more than a misunderstanding, Madam City Lord.” She said. Turning to Zen and Jun Nee, she continued, “and my father will hear about this!” She stormed off.

“Uh… Miss Choi, your room and your father’s room is that way.” Ling said, pointing in the opposite direction that she was stomping off to. “I’ll have one of the guards escort you.”

Her shoulders deflated. “Uhm… Thank you, Madam City Lord,” she said following the guard.

Once Jingyi was out of earshot and sight, Ling turned towards Zen and Jun Nee. “You two, in my office. Now!”

“What the hell was that?” Tiang-Ji Ling shouted at Zen and Jun Nee who were standing on the other side of her desk.

“I am so sorry, Madam City Lord.” Jun Nee bowed.

“I mean seriously?” Ling continued, slamming her hands on the table. “Am I some kind of unwitting architect of a love triangle?”

“N-No Madam City Lord!” Jun Nee waved her hands desperately while her face grew a shade of red.

“No, Mom!” Zen said at the same time, rolling his eyes.

“Then cut it out with the Twilight crap!” Ling said. “You two better not ruin this for us.”

There was a moment of silence.

Ling breathed a calming breath and sank down to her chair. “Jun Nee, if you want to help my son, then you will help this marriage go through not be another obstacle to it.”

“Yes, Madam City Lord,” Jun Nee said.

Ling turned to Zen. “And Zen’er, you will be a husband pretty soon, that means when your wife to be is lost in the mansion, you do not frighten her. You two will give her an apology tomorrow.” She sighed and massaged her temple as if to rid herself of a headache. “Hopefully by then, I will have calmed things down.”

“Yes, Madam City Lord.” Jun Nee bowed.

Ling looked at her son.

Zen sighed, “Yes, Mom.”

It had been a long night. He decided he would take it easy today, which involved waking up late and start training even later.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Shibi picking his nose. The Scorch Ape smirked when he saw that Zen was awake but he continued to pick his nose.

“Geez Shibi, the only time you should be digging that deep is when you can get enough gold to make everyone rich.”

“Shibi feels something in there.” Shibi said. “Zen help. Zen has small finger.”

“I’m not picking your nose!” Zen said.

Shibi groaned and continued to pick.

Zen rolled his eyes. “How’s your technique? You need to get I there without scratching yourself.”

“Shibi is!”

“No but are you doing it right? Like this.” Zen began picking his own nose. “See? You go round and round so you get whatever is in there.”

“Round and round,” Shibi repeated copying his motion.

“That’s it,” Zen encouraged while picking his nose. “Round and round.”

There was a knock on the door. Zen recognised the knock. “Come in,” he said.

Jun Nee walked in. Both Zen and Shibi turned to look at her, both with fingers up their noses.

“Eew!” Jun Nee said.

““What?”” both Zen and Shibi said, taking out their fingers out of their noses.

Jun Nee rolled her eyes. “Zen, I’m going to see Choi Jingyi. To apologise for last night.”

“Oh,” Zen said, before flopping onto his bed.

“You coming? We could do it together. Real team effort, hey?”

Zen sighed, “No thanks. I’ll do it some other time, if I get around to doing it.”

“Okay, just please do it,” Jun Nee said. “Don’t disobey your mother.”

Zen sighed, not looking forward to when he would have to apologise.