Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! This story was meant to be a small collection of lighthearted scenes featuring the shellfish. It's now taken on a life of its own and we're convinced Princess is behind it. Enjoy this next chapter :)

Beta & Co-author: jeangirlmy

- Chapter Start -

Wu Xie is fine with Bai HaoTian, PiaoPiao and Xiao Mei knowing about Princess. He should've known it wouldn't stop at just these three.

When Director Ding instructs Li JiaLe to drive him to an external storage location, Wu Xie tells him to go to his apartment instead. He secretly informs Pang Zi that Li JiaLe is Director Ding's spy. When they get inside the car again, neither are aware that a certain stowaway is now hiding inside Pang Zi's leather jacket.

After turning into a side road leading to their destination, Li JiaLe suddenly slams on the brakes. They all jerk forward, restrained only by their seatbelts. Something pink flies past Wu Xie and latches onto the rearview mirror, swinging back and forth.

"Princess!" Wu Xie and Pang Zi exclaim at the same time.

"What the hell's that?!" Li JiaLe stares wild eyed at the shellfish, leaning as far back as possible until his head is pressed against the window. His voice is an octave higher than usual. "I saw it in the rearview mirror!"

With a sigh, Wu Xie detaches the shellfish and brings her up to eye level. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Princess, you know very well why - wait. You're shivering. Are you scared?"

The shellfish jumps to his shoulder and dives under his collar, long fingers wrapping around his Adam's apple as she sticks to his neck.

"Wu Xie, that's your... pet?!" Li JiaLe pays no mind to the quiet knocking coming from the backseat. His eyes are still glued to said fingers.

Can we trust him?

Wu Xie glances at Pang Zi and nods.

"Right. Species, shellfish. Gender, female. Name, Princess," Pang Zi rattles off. "That's all you need to know. Oh, and no harming her. She's special to Tianzhen and me. Got that?"

"Who's 'Tianzhen'?"

Wu Xie swallows a groan and raps his knuckles on his door.

Please refrain from calling me that in front of everyone!

"I mean Princess is special to Wu Xie and me," Pang Zi says without missing a beat. "No harming her, understood?"

"Wu Xie is Tianzhen?" Li JiaLe eyes Wu Xie's neck. "She's not... poisonous, is she?"

Wu Xie couldn't resist.

"Only if she doesn't like you," he says solemnly. "Princess, say 'Hi' to this nice man."

The shellfish ignores her cue to appear.

"It's your fault for scaring her, slamming on the brakes like that," Wu Xie chides Li JiaLe and ignores his 'She scared me!' to look around. "Good thing we're not on the main road."

"Princess, come here," Pang Zi coaxes, holding out a hand. "Let's not freak out our driver anymore."

"I'm not freaked out," Li JiaLe mutters, side eyeing the shellfish when she crawls out and jumps to Pang Zi's hand.

"Sure you're not," Wu Xie says cheerfully. "Let's go, we haven't got all day."

He notes in amusement that for the rest of the ride, Li JiaLe relies on the side mirrors and avoids the rearview mirror entirely.

- o -

When they reach their destination, Li JiaLe is relieved to get out of the car and away from Pang Zi. He tries to follow Wu Xie, but Pang Zi flings an arm around his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks and sending a shiver up his spine.

Who knows where that shellfish is now?

Pang Zi steers him to a nearby Chinese apothecary, talking nonstop about a prescription for a lung tonic. He ignores Li JiaLe's shock at the prescription listing thirty six different kinds of Chinese herbs and purchases them all, insisting that Wu Xie needs the medicine to cure his lungs.

Li JiaLe finds himself led to a secluded corner and set up with a small stool, a charcoal stove and claypot. Pang Zi spreads a large piece of paper on a table and empties out the various herbs in neat piles, still chatting. The shellfish pops up on his shoulder, startling Li JiaLe again. She seems very interested in what's happening.

"Now, you are in charge of boiling the medicine for Wu Xie's cough since he compromised his lungs while on Warehouse 11 duty. He needs three doses a day. Each dose needs eight hours to boil. You're a young man so don't get lazy! Your main job is to take care of Wu Xie!"

Next, Pang Zi takes the shellfish off his shoulder and looks at her.

"As for you, Princess, your main job is to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't shirk his duty to Wu Xie and to Warehouse 11."

"Wait. You're leaving her here? With me?" Li JiaLe hopes the alarm in his voice isn't noticeable.

"How else can she keep an eye on you?"

"But-but-"

Pang Zi looks around as if wondering where to set her down. There's no other furniture around except for the stool Li JiaLe is sitting on and the small table on which the herbs rest.

"I'll be right back," he says and goes off.

In less than half a minute, he comes back with a larger table. He carefully transfers the herb filled paper onto it and sets the shellfish down on the smaller table. She immediately scoots to the side closest to the herbs.

Uh oh. Not good.

"There, all done!" Pang Zi says and dusts off his hands with satisfaction. "Now, I'm a nice man so I'll give you some good advice. First, never show her you're afraid or she'll bully you. Second, never take your eyes off her since she's more curious than a toddler. Third... well, I'll think of something later. Meanwhile, don't waste time and get started!"

Whistling, he goes off.

Li JiaLe's eyes dart back to the shellfish who's already moved to the edge of her table and has one finger stretching out towards the paper. His heart skips a beat.

"Don't touch that," he says at once.

She lowers her nail tipped finger onto the paper. Li JiaLe glares at her.

"What did I just say?!"

Another long finger uncurls and stealthily reaches out to join the first one.

"No! Stop right there."

The second fingertip touches the paper.

"No! Bad shellfish!"

The third finger follows. Li JiaLe makes a strangled sound and wonders just how badly Wu Xie needs his medicine. Then again, the man did save his life.

"Right. Princess, is it?" Li JiaLe injects a harder note in his voice. "That's far enough. Don't you dare move another-"

She hops onto the paper, causing the herbs to scatter. Li JiaLe's heart attempts to hop out of his chest and when that fails, begins galloping like a racehorse.

"You're just as bold and disrespectful as your owner, you know that?" He scolds in a low voice. "I know you can understand me. Don't pretend like you can't."

He doesn't want to think about what he must look like, talking to a shellfish. Then he realises she's tidying the scattered herbs, using her fingers to move them back into tidy piles once more.

"Alright, at least you know-"

She's also moving closer to him, delicately picking her way through the herbs.

What're you doing? Stop. Stay where you are!"

She ignores him again. Li JiaLe fists his hands and squashes down a mad urge to flee. Pang Zi said that he shouldn't show fear.

"I'm not afraid of you," he tells the shellfish who wriggles her fingers merrily at him.

Pressing his lips tight, Li JiaLe squashes down another urge, this time to cry. Grabbing the palm leaf fan and wishing he could swat her with it, he starts fanning the stove briskly instead.

"I've got this," he mutters to himself. "I'm a grown man. I can deal with a shellfish even if I've never seen such a creature before. Where did Wu Xie find her anyway?"

When he glances over, it's to see her standing at the edge of the paper just half a foot away from him. She looks like she's about to jump right in his lap. He doesn't drop his fan nor does he scream, but it's a close thing.

Despite his long sleeved uniform and the heat of the stove, goosebumps ripple along his arms and cold sweat beads on his forehead.

"You - don't come any closer," he warns. Then inspiration strikes. Or more like desperation. "Look, I'm boiling medicine for Wu Xie to help his lungs. You do want him to get better, don't you?"

She moves back an inch. Then another inch. Oh, thank all the gods and deities in Heaven!

"You do understand me. That's great!"

He runs a hand down his face and looks at her again. She's picked up a dried leaf between two fingers and is waving it at him.

"Put that down! What if you contaminate - wait." He consults the paper Pang Zi handed to him earlier. Yes, that is the first herb to add to the pot. What a coincidence!

Holding his breath and taking a proverbial leap of fate, he slowly extends his hand to her, palm up, keeping it as steady as he can. Which is to say, not very.

Just as slowly, the shellfish places the leaf in his palm, careful not to touch him.

"Thank you," Li JiaLe says.

One by one, Princess picks up the rest of the leaves and drops them in his palm. Li JiaLe adds them to the simmering water and wonders how has his life come to this; boiling medicines for a sick man while being aided by the strangest shellfish he's ever seen.

- o -

When Pang Zi comes back to him two hours later, he's tickled pink at seeing Princess is perched on the palm leaf fan and happily swaying as Li JiaLe moves it from side to side.

"Knew she'd win you over, just like how she won me over. PiaoPiao and Xiao Mei too!"

Li JiaLe doesn't know whose those two are, but he doesn't ask. He's had enough surprises for one day.

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter :)