暗影的面纱 (Veil of Shadows)

Chapter XX (Chongqing)

[Message - 2:00 PM]

Xiao Xue Bao : Baobei, I miss you already

Xiao Ya Tou: You're so clingy

Xiao Xue Bao: 🥺🥺🥺

Sitting at her desk in the office, Xue Bao glanced at her phone, her fingers tapping out the message with a pout on her face.

She looked out the window, the dreary weather reflecting her mood. Despite only being apart for a couple of hours, she miss her Xiao Ya Tou.

Rivera walked in with a stack of folders and noticed Stacey Reyes at her desk. She seemed unusually distracted, her eyes fixed on her phone with a weird expression.

It was clear she was waiting for something, and her focus was miles away from the paperwork in front of her.

"Ehem,"Marco said, breaking the silence as he leaned over Stacey's desk.

Stacey snapped back to reality, quickly standing up from her chair.

"Mukhang busy ka diyan ah? May bago ka?" he teased, trying to peek at her phone screen.

Just then, a new message popped up from

Xiao Ya Tou: **Sent a photo**

Stacey's eyes widened as she glanced at the photo that appeared on her screen. Marco, peering over her shoulder, saw the image and his eyes went wide with surprise. He turned to Stacey with a playful smirk and crossed his arms, clearly amused by the revelation.

"Ayun! Sana all may nag-uupdate, ganda niya at parang pamilyar din" Marco teased, continuing to pissed Stacey with a grin.

His amusement grew as he observed how unusually clingy and affectionate the usually cold prosecutor was with the mayor.

"Ano yan, 'Xiao Ya Tou'?" he read aloud from the top of the message thread, clearly intrigued by the nickname.

"Sus! Daming alam!" Marco exclaimed.

"Alam mo, ang torpe mo pagdating sa ganyang klaseng babae," he added with a smirk.

Stacey, feeling a bit embarrassed, tried to hide her phone, but Marco's playful teasing continued.

"Hindi ko alam na nagbago na pala ang tipo mo. Cute na chinita na pala ang gusto mo," The man kept pushing.

"Usually, you date girls who are adventurous, and what I mean by adventure is obviously not the literal thing."

"Ay mali, hindi pala date; you go to bed with agad. Wala naman 'yang date sa vocabulary mo, higaan agad!"

"Shut up!" Stacey interjected, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Okay, chill man, totoo naman sinabi ko ah," Marco chuckled.

Then Stacey smacked his shoulder. It was true that the senior prosecutor never dated someone like Alice before. She preferred different type-those who were adventurous and more in line with her usual interests.

The Mayor, on the other hand, was gentle and wholesome-someone Fiscal Reyes didn't want to hurt. She had fallen for her purity and kindness.

"One night stand phase out na ba?" Marco sighed.

Mayor Tan, who was miles away from Stacey's usual type, had made her softer.

"Hindi ka titigil!" Stacey shot back.

"Joke lang! Hindi mo ba rereplyan 'yan? Like selfie, ganun?" Marco asked.

"Pa-paano ba?" Stacey asked, looking genuinely confused.