He stood up and took the dish from me. At the same time, he lowered his voice so only the two of us could hear.

“Bastard. Haven’t you always been trying to block my way into the Translation Institute? Fine then. I’ll steal Wynnie from right under your nose. That’s only fair!”

The next second, the plate slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor.

Most of the hot sauce splashed onto me, yet he screamed as though he was badly burned.

“Wynnie! It’s so hot! If Miles didn’t want to cook for me, he could’ve just said so, I wouldn’t have forced him. Why would he deliberately hurt me like this?!”

Before I could react, Wynnie’s slap landed across my face.

“Miles, when did you become this vicious? Apologize to Ash. Now!”

That was it. I could not hold back anymore.

I shot the two of them with a vicious glare, then turned around and stormed out of the room.

As I looked at the mess all over my body and my arm, scalded red, my hatred for Wynnie reached its breaking point.

…

By the time I had cleaned myself up and headed to the routine meeting, the team members were giving me strange, complicated looks.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

They looked awkward.

“Well… I went to get Ms. Lynn just now, but Ash was inside. She said she had something to deal with, so tonight’s meeting is canceled.”

A few teammates could not help but mutter under their breath, “Isn’t this a bit much? Pre-mission meetings are a long-standing rule at the Institute. How can she just cancel it like that? Especially when Miles is here, she…”

I dug my nails into my palm, forcing myself to calm down.

“Let me go take a look.”

The moment I pushed open Wynnie’s door, a coquettish laugh drifted out.

She was sitting on Ash’s lap, one arm hooked around his neck, posing deliberately for the phone camera.

When Ash saw me, his smile grew even brighter.

“Hey, Miles, don’t get the wrong idea. Wynnie and I are just really close like brother and sister.”

Wynnie shot me an indifferent glance, making no move to stop his hands as they roamed all over her body.

“Don’t let your seniority as an interpreter go to your head. If you don’t want a divorce, you’d better apologize to Ash immediately.”

“And when we get back, talk to the director and get him to approve Ash’s full-time transfer.”

I wanted nothing more than to storm over and slap their faces, then yell at her, “I want a divorce!”

However, my sense of reason barely managed to rein in my rage. It was not time to tear the mask off yet.

I clenched my fists and said through gritted teeth, “The Translation Institute isn’t my personal property and the director isn’t my father. I don’t have the power to turn an external hire into a full-time employee.”

Wynnie sneered, acting as though it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

“Didn’t you just receive an award last week? Trade your medal for a full-time slot. That shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

I took several deep breaths, telling myself not to stoop to their level.

“I came to notify you that it’s time for the meeting. Everyone’s waiting.”

Before Wynnie could respond, Ash cut in impatiently, “Are you all useless or something? It’s just a routine meeting. Does Wynnie really need to attend personally? I honestly don’t know how people like you even got into the Translation Institute. What? Did you all get in through connections?”

Then, he buried his face into Wynnie’s neck.

“Wynnie, you promised to spend the night with me. Don’t go back on your word. I even prepared several spicy uniforms just for you.”

A faint blush crept onto Wynnie’s cheeks when she heard that. Her eyes shimmered with unmistakable sense of desire.

Wynnie shot me a cold look.

“Why are you still standing there? Do I need to personally throw you out? You’re such a buzzkill. I honestly don’t know what my mother was thinking when she chose you as her son-in-law!”

The moment she finished her words, Ash scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

Soon, nauseating laughter and muffled moans drifted out from inside.

Those sounds pierced my heart like needles.

At one point, Wynnie and I had shared a period of genuine sweetness.

However, the moment Ash appeared, all of it came to an abrupt end.

In my previous life, I always believed she had simply been deceived by him.

It was only after being reborn did I finally understand that this was who she truly was.

…

Perhaps they had gone too far the night before, as Wynnie was unsteady on her feet as she walked.

Ash, on the other hand, looked radiant. He was clearly satisfied.

When he looked at me, his eyes were brimming with undisguised triumph.

“Wynnie, I’m not an official participant, so I’m not going to the venue today or kick up a fuss about it. I’ll wait for you at the hotel. Do your best!”

Wynnie smiled at him indulgently.

“Ash is always so thoughtful, unlike some people who only know how to ruin the mood!”

As she spoke, she cast a look in my direction.

The sight made me snicker to myself.

Was Ash truly not kicking up a fuss, or was he feeling guilty?

‘Wynnie, you probably have no idea what you are about to face.’

Due to the high level of confidentiality surrounding the talks, everyone had to pass a final security screening before entering the venue.

The other team members and I passed without issue.

Wynnie was the only one who ran into trouble.

The metal detector kept going off and she was promptly stopped by security.

“Please wait, Miss. We need to conduct a more detailed inspection. Your cooperation is required.”

The security officer’s tone left no room for refusal.

Other attendees began casting curious, scrutinizing looks her way.

Wynnie’s face flushed with anger as she exploded.

“Look closely. I’m the head of the interpretation team! Do you really think I’d violate regulations?”

She waved her credentials in front of them, but the security personnel remained unmoved.

“Sorry, Miss. Regardless of who you are, you must comply. Please remove all items from your person and place them in this tray.”

“Comply?”

Her gaze turned icy as she looked at me.

“Miles, you’re the deputy team leader. Explain it to them.”

I shrugged my shoulders helplessly.

“Sorry, Ms. Lynn. There’s nothing I can do. If you haven’t violated any rules, just cooperate. I believe the innocent have nothing to fear.”

The other team members nodded in agreement.

Wynnie glared at me with fury written all over her face.

“So now you’re kicking me while I’m down? You’re really something, Miles. Just wait, once we’re back, I won’t let this go.”

I ignored her threat and followed the security officers into the screening room with the rest of the team.

Since we were affiliated with her, our belongings were rechecked as well.

Soon, the results came in.

The head of security walked up to Wynnie holding the electronic watch with a grave expression.

“Ms. Lynn, we detected a miniature listening device inside your watch. Your participation in the meeting has been revoked. Please come with us to the National Security Department for further investigation.”