It seemed the summer sunshine did not suit Daph's cold mood at the moment. She was aware that every mission needed a little bit of "intimate connection" if they were really necessary, but she was thankful for some small and unremarkable "stories" that were told continuously in drips day by day by some "troublemakers" through spam emails, unnamed messages, etc. It was so confusing because even though Daph knew it was just trying to distract her, she still read it as if searching for something valuable to satisfy the nameless curiosity deep inside her.

And it was fucking working. Daph had too many questions in her heart that yearned to receive a little information from Viv from a long time ago. She came back home after work as usual; the gesture of locking the door latch was a little stronger than usual, just a little bit. Even a normal person wouldn't feel any difference, but Viv noticed.

Viv put pastries in the basket, smiled slightly at Daph, and expected a familiar habit, but nothing happened. Daph ignored Viv and went straight upstairs. Viv froze for a moment but then continued to clean up the messy pile of bills at the checkout counter.

Viv went upstairs after ensuring the store was locked and put up the "closed" sign. When she stood in front of the room and was about to push the door open, Daph pulled the door back to go out. They both paused for a moment when they caught each other's eyes; while Daph was still staring at Viv but not saying anything, Viv seemed very calm compared to Daph's strangeness. Finally, Viv broke the silence first.

"Do you have something to say?" Viv whispered, enough to upset Daph with repression, but she decided to slip past Viv to go down to the kitchen. Viv didn't let her go; she grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "What happened, Daph? ... You're not like your usual self," Viv said, gazing straight into Daph's eyes as if she wanted to find some explanation.

Daph finally stopped avoiding it, but the way she got straight to the point shocked Viv a bit, even though Viv's expression was still deadpan.

"I guess your last mission was also your most memorable mission, right?" Daph said dryly, although inside she was still trying to find some crack in Viv's expression.

"What do you mean, Daph?" Viv frowned, her voice slightly raised.

Daph hummed softly, crossed her arms, her body leaning to one side, then smirked: "Like you used to use what are called 'necessary interactions' to appease yourself when bored... You're usually like that, aren't you?"

Daph's voice wasn't loud, but each word weighed heavily on the confusion Viv was feeling right now. Viv tried to keep her expression as gentle as possible because they rarely let themselves fall into this situation.

"Don't tell me that 'strangers' send some trash news to make you misunderstand?" Having said that, Viv gently rubbed Daph's hand as if to calm her down.

"You think some bitches can piss me off easily?" Daph showed no sign of relenting, uttering words that Viv thought she would never hear from her mouth. Viv moved her lips, about to say something when Daph interrupted and continued speaking.

"Who knows, your tastes are so diverse when you're bored... Everyone knew before that your tastes were Arab, Latina girls,... and you dated one of them..." Daph paused for a moment, then continued without hesitation.

"And who else is missing? Ahh... The blonde one... when you had to save someone in America... Cute." The word "blonde" was emphasized as if Daph was deliberately referring to someone that Viv clearly understood. Viv could no longer keep a calm face and started to get more tense while looking at Daph.

"Yeah, it is true that I dated an Arab girl... But you knew her, you knew the story, you were her friend too," Viv replied, frustration and resentment subtly contained. "And she died a long time ago."

"Oh, it seems she will be grateful in heaven that both of you crossed the boundaries for once... in the training room? ... I accidentally heard the sound," Daph smirked, but her eyes showed an unconcealable pain and jealousy.

Viv froze; the hurt and offended feeling gradually spread throughout her body, and the sorrowful past seemed to happen again in her mind. Viv left Daph's hand, her chin raised so Daph could see her cold black eyes: "Or maybe the sound you heard was from another sneaky person, I don't care..."

Viv paused, then continued: "We were pure love... She and I were just about seventeen at that time... Do you really think that's the kind of person I am?" In an instant, regret and guilt rose uncontrollably in Daph's heart after hearing Viv's words and seeing her cold gaze. Daph didn't know what to say next and could only murmur a few words: "I don't mean that, Viv..."

"You're describing me like a whore, Blackwood," Viv gently let out a few words, but it was enough to interrupt Daph's train of thought. Looking deeply into Viv's eyes, there was still not a single drop of tears, but somewhere one could still feel a bit of the weakness that Viv never allowed herself to reveal. Now, Viv was the one who ignored Daph and slipped past her to enter the room.