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"Eden?" Ma Jingnu echoes, pensive. "That's quite ambitious, professor. Those people are very picky."
The late evening sunlight passing through Qi Yan's professor office's window colors her tied up black hair with hues of orange and her skin in bronze and gold tones. The deep red of her lipstick has been darkened due to regular exposure to coffee, and the tips of her manicured fingers are marked black by ink dots. A rip in her pantyhose slithers down her right leg from the knee to the middle of her calf, clearly visible from her position on the edge of Qi Yan's desk.
All those signs indicate a surge of stress courtesy of the testing season that inevitably plagues all parties from students to professors and their overworked assistants when come the end of university year. Although her appearance isn't always flawless, Ma Jingnu is usually more put together than this.
This messier side of her suits her just as well, though.
"Too ambitious?" Qi Yan says.
Ma Jingnu bites her inner cheek. "Hmm, probably? Not that there's anything wrong with Yu'er and Jin'er per say, mind you, they are incredibly bright kids. It's hardly their fault Eden is as elitist as a school can possibly get. They fancy themselves as rightfully demanding of their students, but really, it's all about pedigree and connections."
Naturally, as expected from Wei's rigid and self-centered aristocracy. Even a tenured university professor like Qi Yan might not make the cut, considering his lack of relations among the powerful class and the modesty of his background.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to sour your mood or anything. Don't make that face, professor, it might work out!" Ma Jingnu smiles brightly in encouragement. "There is no harm in trying it out in any case. Although…You're not married, right?"
Qi Yan shakes her head. "My wife passed away a few years ago. It was her dearest dream that our children could attend Eden once they came of age."
At least that's the story they crafted as secret agent Yuanjun's cover for the sake of Operation Strix. Ma Jingnu pauses over the sadness of Qi Yan's sob story, but doesn't let herself drown into social platitudes. Her feet appear accustomed to trek the dangerous swamps of grief, even when she wasn't expecting to stumble into them.
"I thought it was something like this… My condolences, Professor Qi. It is a nice dream, but… Eden's staff are old-fashioned, they are definitely going to find fault in a single man raising his children on his own."
Qi Yan leans on her arm, her chin resting under her palm as she considers her colleague Professor Gonyang's assistant calmly.
"So you're saying I need to get married."
Nothing she didn't suspect already, but hoped she could avoid. A spouse sharing her home brought needless complications, and were bound to notice that some things didn't add up about Qi Yan eventually. It wouldn't be too annoying if she could just wed another agent, but Qi Yan would need a local above suspicion, not another unknown popping out of nowhere. As a last resort, she could still marry agent Bright Pearl, but her position as a famous actress didn't fit the criteria of discretion this mission required. And she can't marry Ding You either, for obvious reasons.
"It certainly would help, but it can't be anyone either. Should be someone who knows how to behave among those people. And you're running out of time too."
Qi Yan leans back against her chair and sighs. "So my cause is hopeless?"
Ma Jingnu grins. In retrospect, Qi Yan should have perceived the danger of her cat-got-milk expression. "I didn't say that! Don't give up so soon, professor. Your favorite assistant has a plan in mind!"
Qi Yan can't help but chuckle at her antics. "You're not even my assistant, Miss Ma, yet you claim to be my favorite. How bold of you."
It's not that much of a stretch to make, however, despite the nerve of her statement. Qi Yan values the talent, seriousness and drive of Qin De, but there is something about Ma Jingnu, something wilder and darker than their academic environment usually nurtures, that appeals to Qi Yan. She wouldn't have pursued the relationship for herself, as Ma Jingnu was of no particular interest to the mission and therefore a needless liability, if Ma Jingnu didn't keep pushing to spend time with the new professor that appeared out of nowhere six months ago in the middle of school year to replace old Professor Xingfeng, who had held the tenure for several decades.
Ma Jingnu pouts. "Well, I don't see Qin De coming up with a solution to sneak Yu'er and Jin'er into Eden, do I? Therefore, I should be your favorite."
"Hmm, I suppose." Qi Yan says, indulgent. "What's your plan then?"
Ma Jingnu tilts her head on the side to stare at Qi Yan's eyes. "It's simple. Marry me."
If not for years of spy training and experience on the field, Qi Yan's jaw would have probably dropped out of sheer astonishment. Ma Jingnu's face seems to have thickened quite a bit while Qi Yan wasn't looking for her to come up with such a shameless scheme on the spot. And Qi Yan thought she was bold before…
"Wait, wait, hear me out before you say no!" Ma Jingnu says. "It sounds like a bad idea, but it truly is the best solution, if you think about it. We already know each other, so it's plausible we might get married. I'm fine being in a fake marriage, so no need to explain anything and risk pointless drama or misunderstandings. Also, I get along with Yu'er and Jin'er great, so they shouldn't mind having me around too much."
An insane plan, no doubt, that Qi Yan shouldn't bother to consider. Yet, she considers it. It would solve most of her issues, as she was unlikely to find a reliable woman of local background willing to enter a marriage in name only and raise two objectively odd six-years old children in less than two months. On the other hand, she would invite the wolf inside her house, her intimity, the hollowness of her heart.
Too dangerous. Ma Jingnu was too smart to get easily fooled by Qi Yan's oddities and disappearances. Qi Yan's act would have to become even more irreproachable than ever for her not to notice her spying activities. Not to mention the risk for Yuxiao and Jinwushu to spill what they shouldn't, despite their top-notch pretense so far.
They're young enough that their family playact is no longer an act at all. They have only known Qi Yan for six months, but the way they easily call her father and blindly rely upon her at the slightest difficulty even when there isn't anyone to see them speaks volume of their trust in Qi Yan.
For the sake of the mission.
"Although," Qi Yan's prospective bride adds, "I must admit for the sake of making an educated decision that I'm a very bad cook. So there's that."
That's alright, Qi Yan is quite good at cooking, as Ma Jingnu was aware of since she kept stealing bits from her homemade meals at lunch time.
"Professor, you're still not saying anything, I'm starting to get nervous… You can just say no, you know."
Qi Yan smiles. It was unkind of her to let Ma Jingnu stew in her own anxiety, still, Ma Jingnu should have expected it considering the way she dropped her insane idea on her without a warning. "Miss Ma makes a strong argument for her case, and her offer is very generous. Unfortunately, I'm professor and you're a student, it wouldn't be appropriate-"
Ma Jingnu waves the concern off easily. "Post-graduate student, it's not a big deal, happens often. And I work under the tutelage of another professor, as you said. We're only four years apart, no one will bat an eye."
"Baishi might mind," Qi Yan points out, knowing he wouldn't.
"That's not likely, Professor Gongyang likes you so much you can't do no wrong in his mind. Pretty sure he'd let you get away with murder."
Very obliging of him, Qi Yan does have a lot of murder she needs to get away with.
"Might mind I'm stealing you away, though," Ma Jingnu mutters.
Qi Yan pretends not to have heard that. "I do see how this proposal might suit my interests. Yet, I fail to understand what Miss Ma could possibly gain out of this arrangement."
Ma Jingnu laughs awkwardly. "Ah, that's. That's a bit embarrassing to say…"
Qi Yan waits. She has all the time in the world. Ma Jingnu raises her legs up to her chest, circling her calves between her arms, her head tucked on top of her knees.
"Alright, it's only fair you know what you're signing up for," Ma Jingnu eventually says. "Truth is, I don't have a great relationship with my father anymore. When I was twenty, I… ran away from home. More or less. It's not as dramatic as it sounds, I promise. Still, although we hardly talk anymore, he's still pestering me to come home and get married like a proper society lady."
Genuine hurt linger on Ma Jingnu's face, the wounds bare and bleeding, on the brisk of infection. She must have loved her father very much for this betrayal and the consequent inability to connect anymore to pain her so deeply. Qi Yan can relate to that. Only, she never knew her father long enough for her childhood adoration to evolve into the deception inherent to the entrance into adulthood. He died too soon, and therefore remains intombed inside her memory as a hero tragically lost to war, untouchable, impalpable, unreachable.
A glimpse of sharpness glints through Ma Jingnu's tiny smile when she turns her head toward Qi Yan. "So, professor, don't be mad, but I thought that if you'd let me use you to signify to my old man to fuck off, that'd be very convenient…Two birds, one stone, of a sort."
Qi Yan blinks. Stretches her back. Smiles. " Alright."
Ma Jingnu loses her composure in one go and almost falls down. Her eyes widen in disbelief, her red mouth curled around a gasp. "Eh? Really? No way!"
Qi Yan's smile wavers. "Ah. Were you not serious after all?"
She jumps off the desk, her face alight with sheer excitement. "No! I am very serious! Let's get married, professor!"
Qi Yan is having an indecent amount of fun out of this. She truly shouldn't feel so giddy about the prospect. It's merely another sacrifice she must make for the sake of the mission. No reason for her heartbeat to accelerate in her chest in the face of Ma Jingu's clear enthusiasm to shotgun her way down the aisle.
"Hmm, that's no good. If we're to get married, you shouldn't call me professor anymore."
Ma Jingnu doesn't seem to be bothered by this. "Sure. Let's get married, Qi Yan! Speaking of, same goes for you, you can't 'Miss Ma' me anymore."
Qi Yan can't help but laugh helplessly.
For the sake of the mission.
"Let's get married, Jingnu."