He finished mopping the rest of the floor. It looked squeaky clean. A distinct shine to it from the lights overhead. He wiped his brow off from the slight sweat.

Mùyáng glanced at the shop around him. He achieved this—built this, so to speak. He had worked so hard up until now to earn the position he was in; he couldn't let anyone ruin it. The life he had so tirelessly built after getting out of that one.

The white-haired man with blue highlights in his hair shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. Thinking about such things wasn't going to get him anywhere. Fretting over it wasn't going to accomplish anything. He was free, he assured himself from that. The agreement was made and it had been honored so far. Mùyáng had nothing to worry about. Nothing to be anxious about.

That's right. He had no reason to be anxious. The man took in a couple deep breaths, calming his nerves as he set the mop to the side. Finishing up with the last remaining things to clean up, he put the mop back into the custodian closet and walked back into the backroom to put away his apron. Tucking it neatly into the metal cubby, shutting the case to a close, he tidied up his things and adjusted his collar and exited the shop.

Locking the door behind him, but not before flipping the "open" sign to the other side in order to say "closed," he pulled out his phone from his pocket and went to his contacts. He scrolled down for a couple of seconds before coming across that particular profile picture of his partner, stopping a few moments to admire her beautiful face for a moment before hitting the dial button. The line began to ring.

*CLICK*

"Hello?" Zhu Yuan's voice rings out into his ear.

"Hey," Mùyáng greets. "I just got done. How about you?"

"Oh, Mùyáng. Umm... Let me check." Her voice cuts off, having put herself on mute. She soon comes back, "We're almost done here, too. Do you want to meet up somewhere when I'm done or...?"

"We can meet up here. I'll be on top, the second floor deck of the shop. Don't rush. Okay?"

"I won't. I'll see you soon. Love you," Zhu Yuan says, an audible kissing noise made into the speaker.

Mùyáng chuckled. "Love you, too, Zhu. I'll see you soon."

*CLICK*

He ended the call. Running a hand through his hair, he went up the wooden steps to the second floor outdoor deck to wait for her.

The only thing he ever looked forward to after a hard day at work. Just being with her was all that ever mattered to him.

Chapter 3 | Bantering Night

About ten minutes later, Zhu Yuan eventually met up with her boyfriend and left to head to the local grocery store. 141 Convenience Store.

Despite how small it looked on the outside, it was actually quite spacious on the inside. Not to the extent of a supermarket, but it was exactly what it was; a local grocery store.

The store is run by three bangboo merchants, Ask, Buy, and Give Change. Aside from their weird names, the shopkeepers were all nice and accordingly attentive to their customers. Though Mùyáng wondered how these three bangboo merchants were able to run this store all by themselves without a master (these bangboos were their own masters, being bosses to one another).

Bangboos were typically machine "pets(?)", with a rabbit-like appearance (and also cute and adorable), assistants that helped their human/Thiren companions on whatever they needed. Although their original function was to be evacuation assistants whenever there was a Hollow disaster about, the modern technology of now allowed them to be helpful in all sorts of jobs and assignments. From construction jobs, managing stores, to even being assistants to Hollow Investigators, they were able to pretty much get every job done. What helped them with this new placement in society of theirs was their ability to have semi-intelligence, so they had their own fair share of free will and thinking (to some degree, there were still directives and orders that they must comply with).

Anyway, they continued to go up and down the different aisles, looking for whatever they needed for their fridge. All while holding each other's hands, they didn't speak a single word to each other—it wasn't needed, anyway. Though some slight small talk was made here and there, mostly discussing what should be for dinner. Zhu Yuan had mentioned about one of those traditional soups he had made before, the ones his grandmother had taught him the recipe of. Though obtaining some of the ingredients for it would be a little bit difficult, considering some of the ingredients could only be found in the Throne Quarter. And the shops in the Throne Quarter would most likely be closing up by the time they arrived just to pick up some.

But still, it seemed like Zhu Yuan was craving something soup-like. Perhaps a homemade noodle dish? She didn't say no to anything like that. And as much as getting dinner at Waterfall Noodles sounded nice, too much of that would put a damper on a healthy lifestyle she always wishes to maintain. So perhaps a light broth would suit tonight's dinner best.

Mùyáng hummed to himself. 'If I'm going to make a light broth, then I'll probably have to pick up some more vegetables... Namely carrots, onions, and mushrooms.'

"Do we have everything?" Zhu Yuan's voice cuts in, interrupting him from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, no, not yet. Why don't you go ahead to the front and wait for me there? I'll pick up the rest of the things. They're just around the corner."

"Alright. Don't take too long, okay?" Zhu Yuan kisses his cheek. "See you soon."

He nodded his head. Like he told his partner, he goes around the corner to go to the vegetable section. They still had some poultry and other protein-based supplements at home, so there was no need to buy anymore beef, chicken, and or pork.

Collecting the desired amount of carrots, onions, and mushrooms he needed, he quickly rejoined his girlfriend up at the front. There, the bangboos, Buy and Give Change, were waiting for them, whom were bouncing up and down with happiness, flapping their stubby little arms in the air in cheering of celebration. The infectious disease of happiness from them was strong with them.

"Ehn-ne! Ehn-ne ne!" Buy says, the translation of what he was saying being roughly similar to 'Thank you for your purchase.' It didn't sound like they said much, but the white-haired male could tell that they were thankful.

"Eue-nah! Ehn-ne ehn-ne!" Give Change follows up with, his translation being similar to 'Here is your change.'

Zhu Yuan held her hand out as the bangboo merchant bounced up and down in repetitive motions as he placed a solid amount of dennies into her hand. The Captain of the Criminal Response team nodded her head appreciatively, Mùyáng giving his own nod their way as they left the store, Ask standing by the front as he did his own happy wave whilst bouncing as well. Bangboos, odd little machinery, were wondrous things. Adorable to boot.

"Is that everything?" Zhu Yuan asks.

"Should be. I'll be making a light broth noodle dish, so you don't have to complain anymore," Mùyáng chuckles.

Zhu Yuan frowned, although it was playful. "You make it sound like that I've been clamoring for it for forever."

"Were you not?" Mùyáng playfully nudges her shoulder. "I still remember you clinging to me a couple nights ago asking for it."

"Because I was craving something different! You may be able to eat the same thing every day, but I need something different every once and a while."

"Fair enough," he chuckles. He looks at her, watching his partner dart her eyes in different directions every once and a while. "I thought you were off the clock, Captain Overtime."

"I am?" Zhu Yuan turned head toward him—puzzled and slightly confused. "Is there something wrong?"

Mùyáng shook his head with a slight smirk. "No, nothing is wrong at all, but you keep glancing around like someone is gonna jump out at us."

She frowned slightly, "Because a time like this is as good as a time as ever. You can never be too careful."

"I know, I know. But I should have nothing to worry about because I have Miss Captain Overtime with me.~" He playfully nudges her shoulder again.

"Keep teasing me like that and I might not be protecting you," she huffs, crossing her arms.

"Now that doesn't fit a PubSec officer at all. Much less the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Squad."

"You did say I was off the clock, Mùyáng. So right now, I am not a Public Security captain, but a mere citizen right now."

"Point taken," Mùyáng nodded to himself. "Buuuut... I do suppose it is good for you to keep a keen eye because there is a cat right now nudging your ankle."

"...Eeeeeppp—!"

Zhu Yuan shrieked and screamed, jumping in slight fright as she backed up and got behind her partner. Mùyáng, however, only grinned deviously as he began to snicker slightly—his snickers eventually morphing into howling laughter—as if there wasn't a cat at all. Hell, there wasn't even anything standing there at all; a mere jerk or pull of her leg to get a reaction out of her.

Realizing that he was merely playing a joke on her, Zhu Yuan slaps his shoulder with a bit of force, Mùyáng doing nothing to recoil from it whatsoever. The slap wasn't a weak one, but if one couldn't sustain or flinch from it, then it could be considered a "strong" one. Besides, he knew that Zhu Yuan wouldn't raise that much of a strength against him—let alone have rage or anger toward him at all. Their relationship has—and mostly is—a stable and strong one, nothing of the sort to have any sort of ill will or ill intent to have between the two of them. They always held a mutual understanding with one another, and always willing to reach an agreement when necessary.

Calming down from her slight adrenaline-filled anxiety and stress, she took a deep breath and proceeded to walk ahead. Mùyáng laughed and chased after her.

"Come on, Zhu, I was just messing around.~"

"You should know better than to joke around when it comes to cats...!" She hissed, her face red from slight embarrassment. "You know how I feel about them!"

"Kind of, you just never told me the reason," Mùyáng shrugged as he gave his reason. "Every cat we spot, whether it is on the street or on some balcony, you begin to back up and cower up near me. Why is that? What's got you so afraid of them?"

Zhu Yuan's breath hitched, "I'm not... Afraid of them, per say. I just...I just don't want their fur to get onto my clothes, that's all."

"...Seriously?" He deadpans a little. "That's it?"

"Yes. And don't tell me I'm being petty." She shoots him a glare.

"Look, I'm not saying you are, but—"

"Quiet!"

He smirks, "Are you saying that as a Public Security officer or...?"

"...I hate you."

"No you don't. You love me."

Zhu Yuan sighed heavily... Before eventually smiling to herself as she faced the front.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

---

Unlocking the door to their apartment, Zhu Yuan stretched her arms in satisfaction, extending her limbs out as best as she could as she reveled in the feeling of her muscles getting that good stretch into themselves. Mùyáng chuckles as he locks the door behind him and walks past her to head to the kitchen.

Pulling her arms back behind her, allowing her chest to be puffed up into the air to open it up to allow in for another good stretch, she cocks her head in the direction he left in. She calls out to him.

"Do you need help making dinner?"

"No, I got it," Mùyáng calls out from down the hall and around the corner. "You can go ahead and take a shower. I know how much you like your late evening wash-ups after a hard day from work."

"Are you sure? If it's just from simple things like cutting up the vegetables, I'll gladly help."

"And I told you, I got it," he reassures from the other room. "It shouldn't take no longer than an hour or two for everything to be finished."

"Okay..." She wasn't skeptical, no, but she does wish that her boyfriend did ask for help. But of course, it was also okay if he didn't as well. They had their system of trust well built on one another. "I'll take your word for it, then."

Nodding herself, Zhu Yuan took off her jacket, folding it neatly over her forearm and went into their room. Stepping into the shared closet, she hung her blue jacket up onto a hanger and began to take off the rest of her garments.

The first bit of apparel to get rid of first was her multi-shaded green tie, swiftly undoing it from around her collar and neatly placing it on the rack next to her, she moved onto her dress shirt. Gently undoing the buttons of the shirt, she tossed it into the laundry basket behind her before getting to work on the black spandex pants, which were a bit tight fitting. Zhu Yuan was a bit self-conscious about wearing such a thing, especially noticing how it hugged her rear tightly when she first initially tried it on when she received it, but when she noticed the long stare Mùyáng would often have whenever she wore it in their home when getting ready for work, she had grown to get used to them—even enjoy wearing them to a degree. But putting them on was a bit of a hassle. Especially with the bits of rubber padding on them for extra protection—particularly whenever she slid across the floor to dodge under bits and exposed attachments of buildings like wooden boards and beams.

The next thing she took off were the cuff hair tie, shaking her head as the ponytail came loose and her hair (that reached to about the bottom of her shoulders) came flowing freely. Left in her undergarments, she grabbed a clean towel and headed into the bathroom, stepping over the slight bundles of clothes on the floor. She made a mental note to herself that they would have to clean up later this weekend.

She stepped into the bathroom. Turning the knob under the shower, the rushing water came in with loud pattering noise as it struck the smooth marbling flooring in the chamber. Taking a deep breath momentarily as she took off the rest of the articles of clothing that clung to her body, she stepped inside, allowing the warm, but gentle water to envelop her entire being. A calm, tranquil serenity of atmosphere as she breathed in the steam that was emanating from the shower floor, the reverberating noise of the vent as it would funnel the excess steam rising above and through the ventilation shafts. Just as she had stated before—everything felt perfect as it all had been.

And like she had told many times in her head; she wouldn't trade the world for it. This life—their life—she adored it completely.

---

After about thirty or so minutes in the shower (when in the evening, she liked slightly longer ones than those in the morning), she grabbed her laptop from the side table and headed to the living room. While she was done with work, she figured that she might scroll through her emails for a little bit to see if there were any important tasks or obligations she should make note of for tomorrow.

Settling herself down onto the couch, glancing at her boyfriend (who continued to work away in the kitchen) in the process, she plopped her down in a comfortable spot and placed her laptop on the coffee table, opening it up and beginning to scroll away at her email. She murmured to herself. At the current moment, there wasn't anything of most importance. Well, except for one.

An email went out from the commissioner's office. It seems that the public faith in Public Security was waning a little—in light of recent events regarding Belobog Industries of an out of control Ethereal in the Hollows—so they sent out the notice of conducting a Safety Awareness Campaign. The general gist of the campaign was to have officers conduct interviews with various inhabitants on the streets of New Eridu to ask them about their thoughts and suggestions in what they could do, Public Security, to improve the safetyhood of all citizens. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't sound so bad, but Zhu Yuan frowned a little upon realizing where she would be conducting her interviews.

Sixth Street.

The street in itself wasn't necessarily a bad place, no, it was often regarded as a lively street with how the tenants on that street get along with one another. The thing that concerned her, however, was that the street was known for a majority of its people to be skeptical of PubSec officers in the first place. She was dedicated to the task at hand, Zhu Yuan knew that and took pride in it, but that didn't mean it would be a headache just trying to ask interviews and suggestions from people when the people they're asking from are skeptical and a little untrusting toward Public Security in the first place. It was still technically doable; but that didn't make it any less easier.

Zhu Yuan bit her lip. She meticulously tapped her cheek as she pondered how she was going to do this tomorrow morning. Though such concerns regarding this were quickly melted away.

Feeling two arms wrap around her neck and pulling her back slightly, she smiled as she leaned into the warmth behind her. His grip was gentle—wasn't rough or hard—allowing her to sink into him with ease as she leaned back with a sigh. Zhu Yuan didn't need to look up at him, but she could tell that Mùyáng was looking down at her with a smile.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on dinner?"

"Dinner can wait," he responded, running a finger up and down her cheek. "It needs to simmer for a little, anyway."

She hums, "I see..."

"Enough about that, what about you? What's got you looking so worried?"

"Well... It's nothing too difficult, but..."

"But?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You know how I told you about Sixth Street?"

"Yeah, you have. I do like the place. A quiet, quaint little place. People are nice, too. Why? Don't like them?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just..." She blinked a couple of times, a small sigh escaping her lips. "The residents are just very cautious—suspicious to a degree about PubSec."

"Hmm, I doubt all of them are. I told you about Belle and Wise, remember? The owners of that video store: Random Play?"

"Yeah, you did. I actually met them yesterday evening."

"Ah, right. You saved Belle from getting hit by that out of control car," Mùyáng nods. "But even still, I don't think they're the type to distrust Public Security."

"Of course, I'm not saying them entirely, it's more so some of the other residents—the shopkeepers, specifically."

"Tin Master, included?" Mùyáng asks quizzically.

"Including Tin Master," Zhu Yuan says, a small bit of regret in her tone. "Don't get me wrong, he's a nice robot to talk with, but I can tell that him, and the others, don't exactly have the best image in mind when it comes to thinking of Public Security."

"I see... Do you want me to talk to him?"

Zhu Yuan shook her head. "No, no. I don't want to give him the wrong idea and make it seem like that you did something so I can earn his favor. I'd rather do it myself in my own way."

"I understand," Mùyáng says with an approving smile. "Go on and work your magic, 'Captain Overtime'."

She groans in annoyance, "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?"

"Nope."

That playful grin of his replaced his approving smile. Honestly, she both loved and despised that smile.

"I really hate you."

"Sure you do."

"I do."

He pokes her nose playfully. "You know you love me."

She sighed. "...I love you."

"Told you," he said with a grin.

"Alright, alright," she said, shooing him away playfully, "go back to making dinner. I'm getting hungry."

"Sheesh. Someone's demanding," he snickered.

"Mùyáng," she says, her voice dipping into a warning tone.

He holds his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm going. You don't need to be so angry about it."

"I'm not angry."

He points at her, "Your face says otherwise."

She scoffs, but smiles soon after, "Just hurry up and finish before I end up leaving this apartment."

"I really got together with a really demanding girlfriend, huh?" He laughed.

"Mùyáng."

"Okay, okay. I'm done now. Promise."

She shook her head with a smile. She really does love him. So much.