Chapter 36: Brown Eyes (10)

At the same time, two men walked into the hotel’s VIP-exclusive elevator.

The man on the left stood over one hundred ninety centimeters tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Strands of silver hair fell down, loosely veiling his deep-set eye sockets.

Between his brows lay a coldness like ancient, unmelting ice. His nose was sharp, his lips thin, the smooth line of his neck sliding into the slightly open collar of his dress shirt. Suited and dressed immaculately, he radiated a chilling, baleful air.

The man on the right had a much gentler temperament. Wearing an amiable expression, he was dressed in a white suit.

It was none other than Xu Zhiyuan and Jiang Shiyan, returning to Capital Planet.

Jiang Shiyan glanced at his friend beside him. “Haven’t you ever thought…” that he might be dead?

Before he could even finish the sentence, the temperature inside the elevator plummeted. He wisely shut his mouth. “Since you’re finally back, you should find some time to go see Xiang Yuan.”

“Mm.”

Five years had passed, yet the ice between Xu Zhiyuan’s brows seemed not to have thawed at all.

Over the years, Jiang Shiyan had personally watched his friend go from suppression to explosion, then to despair and madness. He had originally thought his friend’s years-long pheromone disorder had finally found a suppression method, only to discover it was the key to the abyss.

Arriving at the top floor, the elevator doors opened, a gentle electronic female voice informing them they had reached their destination. The two men exited together.

After taking a shower, Jiang Shiyan sent a message to his superior, saying he was going downstairs to the dining room to find something to eat. Perhaps it was from following Xu Zhiyuan deep into barren, impoverished lands for so long that his own young master’s temper had been completely worn away.

Buffet restaurant.

Fang Jingyue faced the cold shoulder with disbelief. “Do you know who I am?”

Shen Qiuxun sighed, dead tired inside. He listlessly lifted his eyelids and played along to answer this inexplicable young master. “Who?”

Fang Jingyue choked, angrily opening his Lightbrain. “I’m the Second Young Master of the Fang Family from Jiaxing Entertainment! I…” He had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth, always the center of attention wherever he went, and had never imagined there would come a day he’d have to introduce his own identity to someone.

“Wow, you’re amazing,” Shen Qiuxun offered half-heartedly. He glanced at the servers surreptitiously watching the drama in the distance, popped two grapes into his mouth, and wondered how the hell he could get out of this.

“Hmph.” Fang Jingyue was finally satisfied. “I admit it, your dream has come true. This young master has taken a liking to you. We can talk more at the banquet tomorrow night.”

“You know, no matter how long you stay here, you’ll never meet anyone more impressive than me.”

My dream?

Shen Qiuxun pondered this for a long moment, then voiced a soul-searching question only a corporate drone would ask: What is my dream?

Looking at his confused expression, Fang Jingyue gritted his teeth. “Playing too hard to get isn’t good. I admit you’re quite… quite good-looking. But Fang Jingyue is a man of class. I suggest you quit while you’re ahead. If you keep up this confused act, I will definitely… I can give you one more chance.”

“I’ll give you money. I can support your career. Of course, if things go well and progress naturally, giving you a proper title isn’t out of the question either.”

Fang Jingyue had already begun fantasizing about their beautiful cohabitation.

Shen Qiuxun pursed his lips, subtly rolled his eyes behind the cover of his black-framed glasses, and rolled two nuts between his fingers. ‘Is this guy sick in the head or what?’

[Tell him to get lost. Smash the watermelon in front of you right in his face.]

‘You’re sick in the head.’

[I hate you.]

With a flick of his fingers, the sharp nut shot out, precisely hitting Second Young Master Fang’s knee. The sharp pain made him leap to his feet. “Oww—!”

His movement was so violent that it caught half the table, sending the untouched leftovers and colorful soup juices on the tablecloth sliding straight down onto him, drenching him completely.

[Wow, nice aim.]

‘Naturally. Honed it as a gaming companion. Top-ranked dart companion, okay.’

[Host is mighty!] The System thought to itself: University students in Country Z really are a miraculous species.

As Jiang Shiyan descended the stairs, he caught this exact scene of a bully threatening a poor little soul being struck by heavenly justice. Raising an eyebrow, he walked down from the glass staircase with keen interest, getting a long-distance look at the little thing. The boy was surprisingly clean and refined in appearance.

Raven-black hair and snowy skin, like porcelain hidden away in a museum.

Perhaps because years of rooting around in the wilds searching for someone had truly cultivated a kind heart, Jiang Shiyan decided to help this poor little lamb.

“Young Master Fang.” Jiang Shiyan stepped forward, meeting Shen Qiuxun’s gaze right then and there. Eyes a rich, clear black, a delicate, straight nose, thin lips stained with a touch of red juice.

A pair of black-framed glasses added a scholarly air, giving him the look of a fresh graduate barely out in the real world. Even placed in the entertainment industry, it was the kind of face that would skyrocket to fame overnight. Quiet, with just the right touch of languid detachment, it made Jiang Shiyan daze for just a moment.

Jiang Shiyan looked away and gestured behind him. “Come clean this up.”

Servers immediately filed in like fish.

Fang Jingyue’s face at that moment resembled a color palette. He had searched the floor for ages and found nothing. Could it just be his own bad luck?

“The Eldest Young Master Fang was just trending on the hot search for days over a sex scandal. Does the Second Young Master want to follow in his footsteps?”

Fang Jingyue impatiently raised his head, intending to teach this reckless man a lesson, but paused upon seeing him. “Mr. Jiang, you just got back and already have such leisure time upon your hands?”

Although a wastrel, he still knew whom he could offend and whom he had to treat with caution. The man before him was different from the rest. He was a right-hand man under Xu Family Head, someone who held real power, a man countless people fawned over, hoping for a kind word from him before Xu.

So he could only swallow his anger.

Jiang Shiyan lowered his head and whispered, “Ji Buyan must be getting impatient waiting for you too, don’t you think, Young Master Fang?”

Fang Jingyue’s expression wavered. But this meddlesome man was not someone to provoke. He decided against a direct confrontation. He swept a glance at Shen Qiuxun, who was quietly finishing his second platter of fruit salad off to the side, then snatched the towel from a server’s hand and left with a livid face to change his clothes.

Once the man was gone, Jiang Shiyan glanced at that name card, looked up, and asked, “What’s your name?”

Shen Qiuxun had two strawberries stuffed in his mouth. He looked up, puffed up his cheeks, chewed, and after a long moment, mumbled back slurringly, “Zhang San.”

His languid features relaxed a bit because of a satisfying meal, a pair of eyes clear and bright, lashes like the dense black feathers of a crow.

Not simply a striking beauty, nor simply endearing fragility. Rather, like a lazy and heartless cat that would only act cute and lick its paws when it was in a good mood.

Jiang Shiyan’s brow quirked. His fingers suddenly itched. He figured that since he had helped this person after all, a little pinch wouldn’t hurt. He wanted to reach out and pinch this Beta’s cheek.

But the man dodged with a frown, so Jiang Shiyan’s hand seamlessly retreated. Forget Fang Jingyue, even he felt tempted by this person.

[That stinking man, what right does he have to touch you?]

‘I want to know too. Almost made me spit out the strawberry in my mouth.’

“Well… that person just now is not the type you want to cross,” Jiang Shiyan warned casually, taking one last look at the Beta before him before turning to leave.

As for whether this Beta would contact Fang Jingyue, that had nothing to do with him anymore.

Shen Qiuxun glanced left and right, then ordered a few more desserts, a mango pomelo sago, and two glasses of sparkling water.

It was only after he had fully eaten and drunk his fill that he quietly left.

Top floor. Jiang Shiyan knocked on the door.

As expected, the door opened moments later. Xu Zhiyuan was only wearing a dress shirt, meticulously fastened. Those dark green eyes were as cold as frosty stars, as though all human warmth had been completely stripped away.

He was nothing more than a hollow shell made of flesh and blood.

He had likely just been sitting on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed for a moment.

For five years, Jiang Shiyan’s friend had looked exactly like this.

His pheromone disorder grew increasingly severe. Even with the most excellent, most cutting-edge medical team on standby around the clock, and constant breakthroughs in suppressants, Xu Zhiyuan’s spirit still teetered on the edge of losing control.

One wrong step, and it would be utter destruction.

Jiang Shiyan felt this was a mental illness.

But Xu Zhiyuan had an extreme aversion to psychologists. Every time his Bonding Heat hit, he would lock himself away in the deep, secluded halls of the Old Xu Residence for over half a month without stepping outside. The bodyguards carried out were as continuous as a stream.

Jiang Shiyan pinched the bridge of his nose. He recalled hearing from several barely conscious bodyguards that the Controller of the Seville Group had a habit during his Bonding Heat period: a habit of acting like a dog. He would do nothing, think of nothing, just mutter over and over under his breath:

“Little Xun, Little Xun, Little Xun.”

Nobody knew what exactly he was looking for.

Utterly mad.

The two men sat down on the sofa. Xu Zhiyuan was busy reviewing documents in his spare time. A thick stack sat on the coffee table. He didn’t care what price had been paid to deliver these files into his hands. He spent only ten seconds on each one, and whether the owner of a file would soar to the heavens or not all depended on that ten-second glance.

Jiang Shiyan browsed his Lightbrain and reached over to pour himself some tea. Suddenly, an icy stare fell upon his hand, sharp as a blade, seeming to flay his skin and flesh inch by inch.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhiyuan stared at his hand, his gaze heavy.

Jiang Shiyan cautiously turned his hand over, inspecting every inch of his palm. No issue.

After a long, silent moment, the man finally shifted his gaze back to the documents in hand. Fingertips pinching the pages, he turned them one by one. “Who did you meet?” he asked quietly.

“Met… the eldest young master of Jiaxing Entertainment. He was hitting on someone, so I gave them a hand.” After all these years, Jiang Shiyan had finally internalized what it meant to be in the company of a king was like being in the company of a tiger. A single look from Xu Zhiyuan and he’d spend days mulling it over, producing a 60,000-word analysis. Could there be something wrong with that Young Master Fang?

The tip of the pen tapped against the Jiaxing Entertainment cooperation file in hand. Xu Zhiyuan said coldly, “The information.”

Naturally, he wasn’t asking for Fang Jingyue’s info. That meant it had to be…

“?” Jiang Shiyan recalled that person’s appearance: black hair, white skin, Beta… His eyes suddenly jumped. No way.

He immediately notified the hotel manager. Just as he was about to ponder it further, an urgent call came through. Jiang Shiyan glanced at Xu Zhiyuan on the sofa, then got up and stepped into the next room to take the call.

The spy ring that had stolen classified intel from the group’s high-level lab last month had been caught. Jiang Shiyan came out and grabbed his jacket. “They caught the spies, they’re detained at Fuming Building. I have to go right now… Don’t forget about the gathering you promised the Si Family tomorrow.”

Xu Zhiyuan nodded.

Jiang Shiyan put on his jacket and left, immediately running into the hotel manager stepping out of the elevator with a tense expression.

He raised a hand. “Be meticulous.”

The manager bowed respectfully as he saw him off. “Yes, please rest assured, Mr. Jiang.”