"You— you— you!"

Jane pointed a trembling finger at Sol, completely at a loss for words.

She had thought Sol was going to confess to her, yet the reality turned out to be something wildly different.

What could she even say to him now? That's he's just a totally average man, and a total turn-off?

Except now—it was her who was the average one!

"I— I— I!"

Jane withdrew her finger and jabbed it at herself this time, speechless once again.

She wanted to make a clean and sharp rebuttal, but after how she had just behaved, there was no way to explain it away.

So troublesome…O Sol Mercer, you really are hard to deal with.

She needed to think carefully about how to make herself seem even a little bit innocent in this situation.

Compared to Jane's awkwardness, Anby was overjoyed at Sol's words. Jane was beautiful and generous, possessing a wild and mysterious charm that could draw in even another woman like herself.

Now seeing Sol remain perfectly indifferent to Jane, she couldn't help feeling a flicker of satisfaction deep inside.

Though her heart leapt with delight, she maintained a calm surface as she said, "Sol, you did great, I—"

Halfway through her sentence, she swallowed the word I, suddenly feeling a dull emptiness. "Nicole will be very happy to hear that."

After a short pause, she turned to Jane. "Give it up. Sol belongs to Nicole. He's not going to fall for you."

She wanted to say that she herself was happy, but realized—she had no right to.

Sol wasn't hers. He was Nicole's—her best friend's.

At that moment, she could only speak under Nicole's name. The weight pressing on her chest made her joy at Jane's defeat feel more like a cruel reminder of her own disloyalty.

"That's right. I won't ever fall for you."

Without hesitation, Sol took Anby's hand and looked at Jane with righteous certainty.

Anby blinked in shock. The same hand that had felt warm and safe while walking together through the alley now burned like iron, making her want to pull away.

Even though Nicole wasn't there, she could feel her eyes behind her, watching every move.

But Sol's grip was firm—impossible to shake off.

After a brief, futile struggle, Anby gave up resisting, and with it, gave up her warning to Jane.

"…"

Jane could no longer find the strength to argue back. If this was to be a repeated execution, then so be it. Just a bit of frost and wind.

Yet, she sensed something else—something bigger—and felt her CPU was about to overheat.

She had assumed Anby and Sol were a couple. After all, they'd just watched a movie together and walked through an alley arm in arm. From her training in psychology, that was a textbook case of a blissful couple in the honeymoon phase.

But no—this gorgeous white-haired girl wasn't Sol's girlfriend! Sol's actual girlfriend was their mutual boss at the Cunning Hares!

Which meant… these two were sneaking around behind their boss's back!

At that realization, Jane looked at Anby with the kind of expression one would give to a junior henchman secretly flirting with the boss's glamorous wife.

She had seen plenty of such things during her years undercover—had even seduced a few "wives" herself for missions.

Didn't expect you, little white-haired girl… you look so honest, but you're a double-crosser too.

Unconsciously, Jane began to feel a touch of sympathy for the unseen leader of the Cunning Hares, Nicole Demara.

But then another thought struck her like lightning. According to the records she had seen, the three of them—Nicole Demara, Sol Mercer Demara, and Anby Demara—were all listed under the same last name!

Tsss!

She sharply drew in a breath, staring at Sol with a stunned expression.

In all her years infiltrating countless factions, she had never seen such an extraordinary, transcendental relationship.

"So that's it… Jane-senpai did it on purpose," Zhu Yuan said suddenly, looking enlightened.

Jane's earlier behavior had indeed been strange—but now it all made sense.

The veteran undercover agent acting meek and bashful? There could only be one explanation: love at first sight.

But was Sol's charm really that great? He was just—what—a bit strong, a bit handsome, a bit righteous, a bit funny.

And yet, somehow, these "bits" had managed to topple a seasoned expert in criminal psychology who'd gone undercover dozens of times—and this was their first meeting.

Perhaps adulthood's version of romance… is the courage to chase a fleeting heartbeat, Zhu Yuan thought with vague realization.

She walked over to Qingyi, whispering with emotion, "Jane-senpai fell for Sol at first sight, deliberately approached him to confess. But alas, unrequited love—no matter how beautiful and captivating she is, she still couldn't move Sol's steadfast heart."

"I just hope this blow doesn't crush such an excellent senior," she added softly. "After all, Jane-senpai is a top-level agent from the New Eridu Public Security. It'd be such a loss if her mentality broke because of this."

Qingyi's lips twitched, her youthful face showing mild exasperation. "If that makes you happy, sure."

Youngsters really do overthink everything.

From what she saw, Jane had clearly tried to get back at Sol—only to be effortlessly countered.

Listening to Zhu Yuan's hushed speculation, black lines practically appeared on Jane's forehead. Her new subordinate was way too green.

Still, after a brief period of reflection, Jane's mood had already steadied.

She had no intention of regaining face. In matters like this, women were always at a disadvantage—and besides, her own performance was beyond explanation anyway.

And more importantly—she had just deduced an earth-shattering secret. Compared to that, the bit of teasing she'd endured meant nothing at all.

Jane looked at Sol again, her expression stern, as if the coquettish girl from moments ago had never existed. "About the Black Panther organization—how do you want to handle it?"