They drove off and Zhan asked: "What actually happened?"

Yibo shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know exactly. Suddenly several guys came into the lounge, I think they were Russian, and then they said the party was over and all the guests had to leave. I went to fetch you, but Mrs. Isari was already coming towards me and told me to take you away."

"That's very strange." Zhan replied.

"That's right."

"And where are we going now? To my apartment?"

"Not right away. We're going to a meeting point first, where we'll meet Agent Nax. She wrote me that she wants to talk to us."

"Oh dear, I hope she doesn't grumble."

"I don't think so." Said Yibo. After that, they were silent until they reached the city limits and the fake cab pulled into a deserted parking lot. Shortly afterwards, a white van arrived, containing Agent Nax and the two agents Zhan had met the night of the concert. Zhan and Yibo got into the van with them.

Before Zhan and Yibo could say anything, Agent Nax clapped his hands. "Good work. Really good work. Yibo, Zhan was right, you had too much focus on being the idol. But, you did get information from the guests about how they met Mrs. Isari and their relationship. Zhan, I'm allowed to say Zhan, right? You've done a really great job. Thanks to you, we now know about a corrupt prosecutor. And we know what she's using to blackmail her assistant. What I wonder is, what was she trying to do with her questions about your childhood and your parents?"

"I'd like to know that too. The conversation was cut short abruptly and that's why we never got around to her explaining anything to me or telling me why and what she wanted to talk to me about. But I assume she'll be in touch soon and hopefully I'll find out then." Zhan replied.

"Yes, I also assume that she will get back to you soon."

"Sorry I was so distracted earlier. Um, who were those guys who crashed the party?" Yibo wanted to know.

"Well, we found two of them in the database. They're heavy guys who belong to a very well known Russian cartel. I assume the others are part of it too." Agent Nax explained.

"Russian cartel then? This is getting better and better. What else is there? The Italian mafia? Or some Asian triads? Jesus, what kind of people is this woman involved with? What else are we going to find out about her?" Zhan replied and just shook his head.

"The file is thick. Remember?" Agent Nax asked and Zhan remembered this overflowing file that he was not even allowed to see.

"And what happens now?" Yibo asked.

"Well, at the moment we'll have to wait for Ms. Isari to get back to Zhan. Since you don't have any idol appointments in the next few days, I'll ask you to stay with Zhan as a bodyguard. I don't think he really needs protection, at least at the moment, but I'd rather have someone with him. You'll also be there when she contacts Zhan and can let him know immediately." Agent Nax explained.

"Sure, I'll stay with him. But I should get a few things from my apartment. After all, I can't wear Zhan's clothes every day." Yibo replied and grinned at Zhan.

"I'll ask your personal assistant to pack some clothes for you and bring them to me. And then I'll let them bring to you." Agent Nax said. She looked at Zhan with a look that made him realize that she didn't want Zhan to know where Yibo lived.

"Man so complicated. Why don't we just drive by his apartment? I'll stay in the car downstairs too. If necessary, I'll wear these stupid black glasses so I can't see where he lives. Such a mess just because of a bit of clothing. And if you don't like that either, then let him continue to help himself to my closet. And by the way, it's really childish of you to make such a fuss just so I don't find out where Yibo lives. So that you know! Even if I did know, I wouldn't just turn up at Yibo's place!" Zhan interjected, annoyed.

"Then do it in such a way that you drive past and Zhan's eyes are covered. The main thing is that Yibo's address remains secret." Agent Nax said, without responding to all the other things Zhan had thrown at her.

"Agreed." Said Yibo. They were then allowed to leave the van and get back into the fake cab. Before they drove off, however, Agent Nax came to them again. She handed Zhan one of those black glasses and didn't leave until Zhan had put them on. As they drove off, Zhan heard Yibo turn to him. "I'm sorry. I wish it wasn't necessary." He said quietly.

"Yes, yes. It's okay." Zhan replied, on the verge of getting really angry again. So they trusted him to be a good bait and really help them get this woman. But not that he even remotely knows where Yibo lives. And he would never turn up there uninvited. He is in love with Yibo, but not a stalker or a mentally disturbed person who would do anything to be with the person he adores.

Zhan didn't spend much time being angry. It was already just after midnight and the darkness of the glasses, the alcohol and the excitement that had kept Zhan on his toes all day wore off and he simply fell asleep. When Yibo woke him up, he felt woozy. He hadn't even noticed when they stopped and Yibo picked up a bag of clothes.

Tired, they went upstairs to Zhan's apartment. Zhan told Yibo that he could sleep in the small guest room, then he went into his bedroom, undressed and fell into bed in his underwear. He had no strength left to take a shower or at least wash himself. He just wanted to sleep.

Zhan slept until midday and still felt tired. But he got up, went to the bathroom and took a long shower. He then brushed his teeth, combed his hair and got dressed. As he was a little cold, he put on a pair of long jogging trousers and a long-sleeved shirt. Then he opened the curtains on the windows and saw that it was raining heavily outside. He stood at the window for a moment and then went into the kitchen because he was hungry.

It was only when he saw the second pair of black shoes in his entrance area that he remembered that Yibo had spent the night at his place. But Yibo was nowhere to be seen. So Zhan assumed that he was still asleep. He didn't even know how long Yibo had been awake. Nor did he know what time they got home. All he knew was that it was well past midnight and that he could barely keep his eyes open.

Now that Yibo was his guest, Zhan didn't just want to make himself a sandwich and decided to cook properly. And as soon as the smell of food spread through the apartment, Yibo appeared, still looking very sleepy. Yibo raised his hand to greet Zhan and then went into the bathroom to take a shower. When he had finished showering and getting dressed, they were ready to eat.

"You were really tired last night, weren't you?" Yibo asked, breaking the increasingly awkward silence between them.

"Mhm. I couldn't keep my eyes open." Zhan replied and yawned.

"I can believe that. It was all very exciting and tiring."

"That's right. How long were you awake?"

"Just a few minutes. After you went to bed, I cleaned myself up and then went to sleep too. I was totally exhausted too. Oh yes, sorry again about last night."

"About last night? You mean about the theater, so I don't know where you live?"

"Yes."

"What else can I say about that? I can understand why you're making such a fuss and why everything has to be kept secret. But making such a fuss just so I don't know where you live was unnecessary. I'm not a crazy stalker and would never just turn up at your apartment like that."

"I believe you Zhan. I believe you're not like that. But..."

"Yes, yes, I know. Secrecy! But you know what? I don't care where you live. What I find simply unbelievable is that I'm not allowed to know anything. I'm not allowed to know where you live. But you know everything about me. You're staying with me and you've never once asked me if that would be okay with me. Don't get me wrong. I like having you here and I'm happy. But I didn't want this Liam or Agent Lee here. But did you respect that? No! But I should just shut up and accept everything."

"I know it's not fair to you. Especially because we barged into your life, messed everything up and you're still helping us. And we don't really show our gratitude very well."

Zhan shrugged his shoulders. "Well, for you, it doesn't matter how I feel about it. But something else. Why do you think she wanted to know so much about me and my parents?"

"I don't know. I thought about it too, but I just couldn't think of anything. It's possible that she knows your birth mother. So the surrogate mother. Or she knows the couple for whom the surrogate mother carried you. But I'm not sure."

"I have the adoption records here at home. Maybe we could go through them again and..."

"And?"

"Well, maybe we'll find some clues about my biological parents there. Even if I was carried by a surrogate mother, I was conceived with my biological father's sperm. And perhaps an egg from my biological mother was used."

"We can look at the records. But to be honest, I doubt we'll find anything. At least in relation to your biological parents."

"Yes, I understand."

"Why is it suddenly important to you to find out who your parents are?"

"I don't know. I never had the desire to find them. But since last night I've had the feeling that maybe I should find them after all."

"Mhhh, I understand you. But at the moment I think we should concentrate on the matter at hand. The next conversation with Mrs. Isari. And I'll be happy to help you find out more about your origins afterwards."

"Well, okay. You're probably right and, like you, I should concentrate on the here and now. But it's Sunday and I don't expect this woman to get in touch today. And I don't have to work today either. So what are we going to do with the day?" Zhan didn't want to rack his brains any more. He would much rather take his mind off everything and enjoy a nice day again.

"Well now. What do you feel like doing?"

"Since most of the interesting activities take place outdoors and you can't just walk around outside for obvious reasons, I suggest we stay in and play Monopoly."

"Oh, I haven't played that for ages. Sure, I'm up for it. But I'm warning you. Even though I haven't played it for a long time, I'm really good at it."

"So am I Wang Yibo. You'll see."

"So now you're calling me Wang Yibo again?"

"Well, it would have been weird at the party if I'd called you that."

"Yeah, sure. But I asked because I liked it when you just called me Yibo. So keep calling me that and leave out the Wang."

"Whatever you say. Now, let's play." Zhan said with a grin and took the game out of his living room cupboard. The first round, which Zhan won, lasted almost four hours, during which they laughed and chatted pleasantly. So Yibo explained to Zhan when he was recruited by the government and why it was decided that he should work undercover as an idol. Of course, Zhan had long suspected this. It was Yibo's versatile talents. And Zhan was very happy that Yibo and his talents had been discovered. Otherwise they would probably never have met.

The Monopoly game was followed by a series of other board and card games. Sometimes Zhan won, then Yibo won again. They only interrupted their games to go to the toilet and prepare something for dinner together. And they passed the time with Zhan's old game collection until late in the evening, before politely wishing each other goodnight and retiring to sleep.