Chapter 91: Immediately! Right Now! Arrest Them All…

On the left, Xun Jia gazed at him expectantly, his eyes sparkling. “Xunxun, you definitely have an idea, right? I don’t know what it is, but I feel like nothing can stump you. Heh.”

Xie Jianxun said, “…It’s what you think, not what I think!”

On the right, Seles looked over in confusion. The young man lowered his head and slowly, slowly rested it on Xie Jianxun’s shoulder.

The heavy muscles squeezed the other two young men, making them sway to the left repeatedly as they flailed to grab the stone pillar.

Seles murmured, “Tonight, I’m definitely not getting any peace. If my family doesn’t blow up my communicator, I’ll count it as my loss.”

Xie Jianxun said sincerely, “That’s easy to fix. Just remove the energy stone from your light brain, and no one will be able to find you.”

Seles suddenly lifted his head. “You’re right, Xunxun!”

Xun Jia leaned against Xie Jianxun, calling out movedly, “Our clever Xunxun!”

Xie Jianxun: “………………”

Damn it! Someone come and pry these two guys off him!

He took a deep breath, bearing the weight of both heavy bodies on either side, and analyzed the events of the evening. “So, currently, there’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.”

The other two nodded in succession.

“The good news is that we got close-up photos of Emory’s private meeting with that other lady, and they’re very solid—there’s even a short video clip.”

Xun Jia nodded obediently and played the video on his light brain.

Though his hand shook a bit and the footage was blurry, it was still clear enough to recognize Emory sitting next to a strange woman, rubbing her waist with his arm and drinking from the wine glass at her fingertips.

The two chatted and laughed softly, their voices and the sound of water too quiet to make out.

Xie Jianxun said calmly, “Thanks, but I’ve already seen it, so no need to show me again. Then the bad news is that one of the attendees was Seles’s older brother, and he unexpectedly recognized you.”

Seles irritably scratched his hair and tsked. “Our relationship is okay, but he doesn’t really like how I usually just mess around outside without doing anything useful.”

Xie Jianxun pointed out, “He didn’t call you out on the spot.”

That was a point Seles hadn’t considered, and he paused.

If it had been before, his brother probably would have stopped him right away and asked in a serious tone why he hadn’t come home for days.

Xie Jianxun hugged his shoulders, pondering as he said, “That means he’s still giving you some face, waiting for you to explain yourself.”

Xun Jia said nervously, “He was standing right there with Emory at the time. Do you think he might…”

…casually tell Emory about the fake bodyguard thing?

If that happened, all their hard work building their identities would collapse in just a few short hours!

“Hard to say,” Xie Jianxun shook his head. “From your description, he seems like the type with a lot on his mind—not the sort to blurt things out carelessly.”

Seles said, “There will definitely be some probing, and who knows—Emory might pick up on it.”

“It’s still a bit dangerous.”

He stood up to pull out his light brain. “No, I need to call him first and tell him not to say too much to Emory. I hope he listens—honestly, since I’m not inheriting the family company, I don’t have much say.”

Xun Jia hesitated. “Does your family have any dealings with Emory’s family?”

“Would this… uh, mess up your cooperation?”

Seles said uncertainly, “Probably not. Emory’s been trying to cozy up to my brother, but they haven’t closed any deals yet.”

Over there, Seles made the call. Xun Jia scooted closer, still sticking to Xie Jianxun.

Xun Jia whispered, “If Emory finds out and calls the police to arrest us, can you get away, Xunxun?”

“You haven’t interacted with him much, and you didn’t scam him out of money or anything… He probably won’t go after you, right?”

His first thought was that it was fine if he got arrested—he could just sit in detention for a few days and take some scolding.

He was alone in the Silver Watchtower anyway and didn’t care about losing face. His family hadn’t supported this trip in the first place. But he didn’t want Xie Jianxun to end up squatting in there with him.

He slowly, slowly lowered his head and suddenly said, “If only I hadn’t started this plan.”

Xie Jianxun suddenly said, “In that case, I’m the instigator who egged you on, so I’d get the same treatment as the main culprit.”

Xun Jia’s mind went blank, and he cried out, “But it was my decision to do this!”

Xie Jianxun rubbed against him, and the two leaned together, hugging their knees as they both let out heavy sighs.

If Emory really figured it out, the impulsive decisions they’d made earlier would soon bear bitter fruit.

It would be a lesson for them—young and reckless, Xun Jia thought.

He struggled for a long time before finally confessing the truth. “Actually… actually, it’s not that kind of relationship between me and Emory.”

“Sorry… I, I lied to you guys.”

He suddenly stood up, clenching his fingers, eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to look at the other two’s expressions.

He knew Xie Jianxun looked up at him in confusion and that Seles stood not far away, still holding his light brain, looking over in surprise.

His palms were sweating; he started to get scared. Would telling them make them angry?

“It wasn’t me—it was my sister…” he finally admitted. “There was no Star Net, no online romance. I’ve never even met Emory or spoken to him, so of course he wouldn’t recognize me.”

That winter break, he’d returned from his off-planet school and felt like home was different from before.

There was this inexplicable joy everywhere, from every member of the household, and his parents often looked at his sister with affectionate smiles, as if expecting something.

His family had always been harmonious, so in theory, there was nothing wrong with the scene.

But Xun Jia always felt something was off.

Damn, it felt like everyone’s souls had been swapped out. He had no idea what had happened between the end of summer break and the start of winter break.

Then his sister happily told him he’d soon have a brother-in-law.

Xun Jia was even more baffled. He’d never even seen the guy—how was he becoming his brother-in-law?!

His sister said, did he remember the neighbors who’d moved away when they were kids? They had a son named Emory, who was back home on vacation this time. They’d reconnected, and things had clicked.

Xun Jia sensed something was wrong but hesitated and didn’t interrupt her.

His sister happily said they’d started dating. The family had opposed it at first—after all, Emory’s family had left this rural planet long ago, and if it got serious, she’d be marrying far away.

But Emory told them not to worry. Interstellar travel was so advanced these days; it was just a hop away.

Plus, his family had moved to the Silver Watchtower and made it big locally with a major company—they were wealthy now!

The conditions were pretty good, so the family tacitly allowed them to be together.

Before long, they’d rolled into bed together.

Before the vacation ended, Emory told her he had to go back to manage his own company. Once this quarter was over and they’d solidified their position at Silver Watchtower, he’d come get her to be the pampered wife of a corporate magnate.

Months passed, and he’d only sent a few sparse messages before going silent.

But his sister’s belly had started to show.

Xun Jia said dazedly, “I tried to convince my sister not to keep the baby, but they called me ungrateful. ‘This is the heir of a corporate prince—even if she doesn’t marry in, it’s a good background.’ My sister even said it was her and her lover’s first child, and she’d have it no matter what.”

No one in the family wanted to work hard anymore. They were all dreaming, waiting for the baby to be born so they could tell him and get whisked away.

“But…”

He trailed off, sadly wiping his eyes, as if he were the only one awake in the house, bumping into walls everywhere, completely lost.

“I borrowed some money and added it to my savings to buy a reconnaissance secondary ship… After that, Xunxun, you know the rest.”

He wanted to act spoiled and rub against Xie Jianxun’s knee, but Xie Jianxun sternly dodged.

Xun Jia paled. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it from you on purpose. I just thought, as long as we got evidence on Emory, anything would do. At least it would wake my family up—stop them from dreaming.”

He let out a long sob, sniffed, and didn’t dare get closer.

Unexpectedly, Xie Jianxun kept a straight face and lectured him. “So, is this still your winter break?”

Xun Jia froze, then nodded dazedly.

Halfway through the nod, he paused and said sheepishly, “…School’s already started. I lied to my advisor and said I was off-planet getting treatment…”

“Then finish this up and go back to school properly.”

Xie Jianxun said very seriously, very seriously, “Catch up on your missed classes quick. And later, you need to call your advisor. Once he gets the sick note, he might check with your family about where you are. If they panic looking for you and can’t find you, it’ll be a big responsibility for him.”

Xun Jia’s nose clogged up, and he let out big “wu wu” sounds.

With all his secrets out, the weight finally lifted from his heart.

He quietly scooted a bit closer, thinking Xie Jianxun’s body was warm and that he needed to shield him from the parking lot’s cold wind, lest the heat be blown away.

Xie Jianxun said with a headache, “This is completely different from what I imagined.”

Wanting revenge because he was the victim was one thing; dealing with his family being blindly obsessed and using evidence to snap them out of it was a whole other path.

The latter didn’t even require infiltrating Emory’s circle. They just needed to wait for Miss Nevi’s birthday banquet—once the flood of press releases hit, even the most love-struck sister would snap out of it on the spot.

Xun Jia whispered again, “Sorry…”

Xie Jianxun thought for a moment. Actually, it wasn’t a big problem. They hadn’t made any substantial progress anyway. As long as Xun Jia wasn’t forcibly grabbed by Emory’s people and exposed as a fake VIP, they shouldn’t end up in custody.

In that case…

“After this, especially at Miss Nevi’s birthday banquet, you have to stick close to me no matter what.”

Xie Jianxun put his arm around Xun Jia’s shoulders, dead serious as he made it up. “If we get arrested, it’ll be both of us. I’ll know the situation inside better, and it’ll be easier to forge documents to bail you out.”

Xun Jia sniffed loudly again, making a huge noise. “Xunxun!!!”

Over there, Seles hung up the call and let out a heavy breath.

Just five minutes ago in the comms, his brother had pressed him again and again: Do you know who these two are?

They looked like harmless young boys, but in reality, they were unknowns—no background, total blanks. Did he really have the resolve to get close to people like that?

Or has the family been too lax with you, making you trust anyone?

Seles had quietly retorted, knowing his friends’ characters well.

You always befriend types like this. I can’t understand it, his brother said flatly. That last one you knew—how many women did he even sleep with? Fox and dog friends—what’s there to talk about?

I didn’t tell Emory anything. Whether he investigates on his own, I don’t know.

The once enthusiastic and outgoing young man hung up, his face now etched with an unshakable gloom.

No acknowledgment, no approval.

The one silver lining was that his brother usually agreed to his small requests—better than at home, where it always ended in arguments.

It was something. At least he’d gotten solid intel: his brother hadn’t told Emory.

He irritably bumped his fist against the parking lot’s gray stone pillar, then looked back to see Xun Jia tearfully hugging Xie Jianxun’s shoulder, whispering something. The boys’ backs looked gentle and innocent.

In that moment, his mood suddenly brightened.

He would be right, he thought.

Seles’s mind heated up, and he walked over, pressing down on both their shoulders. “Where were we?”

Xun Jia was deeply moved. “Xunxun said he’d go to prison with me.”

Xie Jianxun: “…”

His head throbbed with pain, and he hurriedly denied it. “I meant we’ll be fine!”

Don’t go around making up rumors the second you open your mouth!

…

Even if Beaufort hadn’t explicitly pointed out the issue with the bodyguard—or whether he’d keenly noticed something—Emory’s heart was already on edge.

He sat in the study again, flipping through the materials his subordinate had handed over about Xun Jia, but still couldn’t spot any problems—for now. There was just too little info.

And that was the problem: too little info.

Without solid evidence or an official verdict, he couldn’t fully confirm anything. Beneath his heart was an empty, fragile bubble that couldn’t hold up.

His family wasn’t an old established house in the Silver Watchtower, so they lacked deep roots there. The investigation hit dead ends everywhere, and they didn’t even have enough manpower to cover a wide area.

Perhaps Beaufort had noticed, but he said nothing.

…What a noble young master, always making others guess his thoughts. Emory sneered mockingly.

Whatever. Nothing would come of it in the short term anyway; his eyes were practically going crossed from staring.

He tossed the thin folder onto the desk, propped his feet up on his leg, and opened his Light Brain, ready for some proper relaxation.

Then a pop-up appeared suddenly—it was from the subordinate working at the office.

A bad premonition stirred in his heart.

“Young Master, the data’s synced!”

The subordinate typed rapidly, sending the electronic file to Emory’s Light Brain. “The two people you asked me to investigate last time—they’ve finally been found! They’re black market illegals who sneaked in from a border crash. For some reason, the system hadn’t updated before, but now it’s finally synced with the border network.”

Emory stared at the data, and the suspicions swirling in his mind finally settled into a dazed sense of “the dust has settled.”

Black market illegals… sneaked in… black market!

They really were black market illegals.

Damn it, smugglers!!!

A suffocating sense of oxygen deprivation hit him. Emory gasped rapidly, one hand pressing on the edge of the desk while the other clenched the Light Brain tightly.

The sturdy custom glass nearly shattered under his grip but ultimately held.

Emory relaxed his knuckles and said coldly, “Anything else?”

“After that, they must have gotten entry documents sorted, but for some reason, that part’s missing from the office archives.”

The subordinate looked at the data and said cautiously, “Could someone have hidden their files…”

“Hidden?”

Emory cut him off, gritting his teeth, a fire burning in his eyes. “How could two black market illegals get their files hidden? Who would hide them for them? If they had that kind of pull, why smuggle into the Silver Watchtower in the first place?!”

The subordinate shut his mouth, opting not to provoke his current employer whose anger was boiling over.

“Damn it, right now, immediately—tell my dad to haul them all in!”

…

Xie Jianxun sneezed, feeling like someone was talking about him.

He rolled around on the bed twice, successfully wrapping himself into a fluffy bread roll with the blanket.

Knock knock. Xun Jia poked his head in after knocking, clutching a pillow and blanket in his arms.

Xie Jianxun poked his head out from the bread roll, puzzled. “What’s up? Can’t sleep?”

Xun Jia said sheepishly, “Didn’t you say that from now on, I shouldn’t leave your side? So shouldn’t we stay together starting now?”

Xie Jianxun chuckled. “I meant when there are outsiders around, don’t stray too far from me.”

“Oh…”

Xun Jia thought he’d been rejected and felt a bit dejected.

Before he could sullenly close the door and leave, the Little Adventurer in the bread roll, showing only a pale little face, said lightly, “Of course, if you can’t sleep and need someone to talk to, you’re welcome.”

“…Jianxun!”

And so, late at night, one blanket per person, each rolled into fluffy bread rolls, with one serving as the filling inside the other.

Xun Jia had a curious question buried in his heart, and now he finally had the chance to ask. “…Jianxun, why did you go into forging documents? That line of work, uh… it’s not easy, right?” he said tactfully.

Xie Jianxun thought to himself, whoever wants to forge documents can go ahead; it wouldn’t be him.

He racked his brains to smooth over his own words. “It was because of an unexpected accident. I couldn’t find any other way, so I did that for a bit as a stopgap…”

Xun Jia had a sudden realization.

There were always all sorts of accidents that forced people into certain paths, even if they didn’t want to.

He comforted him. “You had no choice back then; it wasn’t your fault. Will you keep doing it in the future? I feel like that gig… isn’t all that stable.”

Xie Jianxun thought about it. There probably wouldn’t be more scenarios like that ahead, so he said, “Yeah, I won’t do that line anymore.”

Xun Jia smiled in relief, struggling to stretch a hand out from his bread roll and patting Xie Jianxun’s bread roll pat pat.

“Our Jianxun is so awesome; he can make a fortune doing anything.”

The other bread roll said generously, “Then I’ll borrow your auspicious words.”

The edges of the two bread rolls touched, and under the hypnosis of the night, they slowly drifted into their respective sweet dreams.