Chapter Text
‘My terms are simple Mr Sheng De’, Lin Ling said. The boy was staring straight at him, looking him in the eye and refusing to back down. A defiance and determination that was so rare these days. A defiance and determination that was frankly impressive. ‘I need to be in control of my own narrative. I am the Commoner, the ideal that any human can become a hero. I cannot be a hero that strives for perfection as per the company’s policies.’
‘I am assuming you have a plan’, Shang De leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers along the armrest.
‘Yes’, the boy stated simply, ‘Though I will share it once this negotiation is complete.’
Two days, the boy had been MIA for two days. And the first thing he did when he came down from his floor was request an audience with him.
‘Is this about Moon?’ he asked, keeping the curiosity out of his voice.
Those brown eyes gleamed.
‘It is’, Lin Ling replied simply, ‘It’s also about your son.’
It took everything in him to not rear back as if he had been struck.
‘I’m sorry to drop this on you, sir’, the boy continued, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell on him, ‘But we are playing the wrong game.’
‘How so?’ Shang De asked with nearly gritted teeth.
‘Wars are not won by fighting battles’, the boy quoted, ‘Give me the next two weeks and please be patient with me through the tournament. You and I both know I don’t really stand a chance against the top 5.’
‘So you intend to use your recklessness to shake up the Hero System again.’
‘Yes’, came the firm reply.
‘Why should I agree to this?’
‘Because you’re a gambler, sir, while Miss J takes calculated risks and I’m the Underdog. If I exhaust all my contingencies then Miss J will pull up twice as many.’ The boy’s brown eyes now twinkled with something deep within. He had thought the boy would be drowning in grief now – lost, vulnerable and ripe for the picking. But he had come back with a cold sharpness that Shang De had only ever seen in his rivals.
Perhaps his company is in need of rebranding.
*****
‘I’m sorry for pulling you into this Miss J.’ Now that they were alone in the elevator, Lin Ling had trusted her enough to slump. He sighed as his shoulders drooped and his face slackened enough to show the dark circles and weary lines. Grief and rage painted a dark picture on him. And yet he had smiled at her – she who would have thrown him into wet concrete for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tired as it was, the smile still carried a fondness that stung her.
Juān was reminded yet again that this was just a boy before her, the youngest she had worked with, just barely out of his adolescence and on the cusp of adulthood. She was very aware of how unfair it was that he had been forced to carry the burdens even full-grown adults struggled with.
Perhaps that guilt was the reason for what she said next.
‘We’re a team, remember? Let’s do this.’