Xu Zhiyuan stared at the few sheets of paper before him, silent for a very long time.
The manager stood to the side, nearly suffocating under the oppressive, stifling atmosphere. Cold sweat trickled from his forehead down into his collar as he anxiously looked at the stack of white paper as if it were a document decreeing his life or death.
After who knows how long, Xu Zhiyuan flipped open the cover and saw a photo ID of a blond delinquent on the first page, with three black characters printed underneath: Xian Zeyang.
The abyss in his eyes receded back into silence, leaving behind only a barren darkness.
Moments like this—where a sliver of hope was offered, only to be shattered—were plentiful. So plentiful that his heart was riddled with wounds, carrying on only through sheer despair.
“President Xu, the surveillance system in the dining hall today experienced some minor malfunctions. By cross-referencing the reservation information, we found that the reservation was made under this Mr. Xian. The surveillance footage will be restored within two hours. Do you need it?” The manager, under the immense pressure, grew ever more cautious.
Xu Zhiyuan pinched the bridge of his nose. A knife-slicing pain throbbed in his head. He was accustomed to the pain by now. Without changing his expression, he tossed the papers in his hand onto the coffee table. “No need. You may leave.”
The manager took the papers and slipped away without a sound. It wasn’t until he was inside the elevator that he let out a long breath, feeling like he’d been brought back to life.
The previous generation of the Si Family had some slight ties to Xu Zhiyuan’s parents. The two families weren’t particularly close, but they were generally on speaking terms. The Ji Family was related to the Si Family by marriage and had a project they wanted to seek from Seville Group for cooperation, so they commissioned the Si Family to act as intermediaries.
The project had been given to Ji Buyan. Xu Zhiyuan had declined several social banquet invitations from the Si Family, but some connections were pulled, and they managed to arrange a private gathering under the pretext of a welcome-back party, accompanied by Si Zhen and Fang Jingyue.
The form was secondary. The chance to meet was the point.
Twenty-four floors up inside the WS Hotel, the entire prosperity of the Upper City District stretched out unobstructed below.
The guest of honor for today’s gathering, Xu Zhiyuan, finally arrived late.
The private party was small, only a dozen or so people, all prominent members of the major families of the Upper City District. Not a single one dared to voice a complaint.
Si Zhen, whose past relationship with Xu Zhiyuan had been fairly good, was the first to step forward and greet him.
Xu Zhiyuan raised a hand as a greeting, then walked straight to the central sofa and sat down.
The room was silent until Si Zhen took the first step to break the ice, taking a seat on the sofa next to Xu Zhiyuan and starting a conversation.
Xu Zhiyuan responded occasionally, and with Jiang Shiyan helping to mediate, the atmosphere slowly relaxed.
Ji Buyan’s project was a new type of holographic game set against the backdrop of the ancient martial world of Ancient Blue Star. He hoped to cooperate with Seville Group to launch new, more compatible gaming pods and a brain domain gaming experience.
When speaking about the game’s authenticity, Ji Buyan mentioned that the character modeling had specifically referenced the classical beauty archetype of Ancient Blue Star.
Fang Jingyue, who had been silent for a long time without a chance to chime in, finally saw his moment of usefulness. He took a swig of alcohol to steel his nerves, then joined the conversation, feigning calm. “Recently, that Omega actress in the entertainment industry fits the standard of an Ancient Blue Star beauty perfectly. She debuted and hit it big immediately from a single ancient costume drama. Her current commercial value has already squeezed her into the top-tier, which goes to show how much people love these Ancient Blue Star beauties…”
Seeing his own value for the first time, a younger brother who had always lived in the shadow of an outstanding older brother inevitably felt a little giddy, and his words began to slip a bit. “Speaking of beauties… that Beta I met yesterday was truly unforgettable. Raven-black hair and snowy skin, just like the ancient books described: ‘Graceful in bearing, distant beauty with true elegance. Smooth and supple is her tender skin, evenly formed are flesh and bone…'”
Xu Zhiyuan leaned against one side of the sofa, legs crossed, one hand propped against his temple. He asked in a low voice, “Raven hair?”
The relaxed atmosphere froze instantly at this sudden question.
Several people tensed simultaneously, looking towards the source of the voice.
Fang Jingyue jumped in shock. Pinned by those dark green eyes, a shiver went down his spine, and a cold sweat of terror instantly formed on his back.
“He’s asking you,” Jiang Shiyan spoke up to remind him.
Fang Jingyue gulped nervously, forcing a smile. “Yeah, black hair…”
“And?”
And? Fang Jingyue glanced at Jiang Shiyan beside him. In his mind, images of the Beta he had seen yesterday flashed by rapidly.
“Black… black eyes. His eyes are beautiful. Like a cold breeze at the end of spring. Sharp nose and thin lips, his lip color is just a faint, pale pink…”
As he spoke, it became increasingly smooth, almost like he was introducing his future lover to a friend ahead of time. “He even has this very delicate mole beneath his lip. It’s tiny, hidden just under the line of the lip, like a flower blooming amidst an expanse of white snow. A trace of amorous wind in the pure, chilling snow…”
The smooth trailing note quivered inexplicably. He felt a chilling murderous intent settling upon him. The lingering sting of the strong liquor on his skin seemed to bubble and sizzle, as the killing intent seeped into his skin, gnawing into his bones. He uncontrollably shuddered.
Everyone in the Upper City District knew that the pheromone of the Seville Group’s Controller, Mr. Xu, was the scent of hard liquor.
“Oh? Is that so.” Xu Zhiyuan pressed against his temple. The headache was intensifying, reaching a point he could barely tolerate, near the edge of losing self-control. It was as if a knife had been stabbed into his head, churning wildly in his mind, mixing the Mental Domain into a bloody pulp, granting him not a hint of peace.
A storm was coming.
Xu Zhiyuan lowered his hand, looking down at the sliver of black fabric peeking through his sleeve at the wrist. His voice was deep and low. “Call that manager from yesterday. Pull up the security footage. Three minutes.”
The words were like a slow blade slicing across human skin.
“Right,” Jiang Shiyan, now sensing something was seriously wrong, dared not delay.
In less than three minutes, the manager arrived in trepidation, leading the tech department and the server from the previous day. They stood in a row in the lounge area, ready to take orders.
The scent of hard-liquor pheromone saturated the air, bringing terrifying pressure.
Xu Zhiyuan pressed his temple, a storm brewing on his face.
The technician, encountering such a major scene for the first time, was trembling so hard his hands shook. The manager shot him a glance and pulled him back, then stepped forward himself to open the footage. Seconds ticked by, and a slender figure finally appeared in the frame.
Jiang Shiyan’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at Xu Zhiyuan, whose head was bowed, and commanded, “Zoom in on this person.”
The feed zoomed in, precise enough to capture even the gentle sway of hair with each step.
“Well, was it this person?” Jiang Shiyan turned to the server.
The server, merely an ordinary Beta, was scared out of his wits. He carefully looked up at the monitor, his face drenched in cold sweat as he recalled. “Yes… yes, it’s him, sitting at table sixteen… after being accosted by Mr. Fang, then… then Mr. Jiang came to help him out.”
The manager swallowed hard. He was a B-Rank Alpha, and having just been promoted to manager last year, he was at a point in his life where he was constantly being flattered and celebrated. Yet standing here, all he felt was terror, afraid that one wrong step could bury everything he had.
“Yesterday, this server had a family emergency and was on leave. Combined with the surveillance malfunction, we didn’t verify the identity of the diner in time, causing this error. I beseech Mr. Xu to consider… I may not have achieved anything of note, but I worked hard. Please grant me a chance to atone!”
Xu Zhiyuan finally lifted his eyelids, looking at the paused surveillance footage on the screen. The figure he dreamed of day and night was right before his eyes. It felt like being in a dream.
He traced the figure’s outline. The hair was shorter, and he wore glasses. Not much else had changed.
Five years… just like the first time they met.
A close call. Only a bit more and he would have gotten away again.
Suddenly, the pain in his head surged again, a soul-destroying storm mixed with sharp gravel scraping against his inner walls. His nerves were cut apart and glued back together inch by inch.
Within those dark green pupils, a gloomy red seemed to swell. Xu Zhiyuan stared fixedly at the figure on the screen, his teeth practically grinding to dust. Rage to the extreme, a cold laugh escaped from the depths of his throat.
Jiang Shiyan gave the figure on the screen a look. His mind inexplicably retrieved a description by Xiang Yuan from distant memory: “Like fine porcelain stored in a museum. You’ll understand the moment you see him.”
No wonder.
No wonder Xu Zhiyuan was so utterly obsessed.
He put away his idle thoughts and gestured to the manager to continue playback. “I’ll have someone investigate right away—” To think the person they’d been frantically searching for five years was right under their noses the entire time.
“No.” Xu Zhiyuan watched Shen Qiuxun quietly eating on the screen. His fingertip tapped against the file labeled “Xian Zeyang.” His voice had become that of a demon from hell. “Send him another complimentary meal voucher.”
He knew how intelligent Shen Qiuxun really was.
Last time, he ran for five years. This time, Xu Zhiyuan had to make absolutely sure.
Jiang Shiyan understood his meaning, not daring to underestimate the Beta who had evaded them without a trace for five years. “Yes.”
He glanced at the three men who stood deferentially silent. “Do you understand Mr. Xu’s intentions?”
The manager’s eyes spun, and he bowed and scraped in response. “Understood, understood. I guarantee it will be seamless.”
“Get lost.”
The three didn’t dare linger for even a second before leaving.
On the screen, the surveillance playback had reached the moment Fang Jingyue went downstairs and started strutting like a peacock before Shen Qiuxun.
A lethal hostility flashed across Xu Zhiyuan’s brow. “I want his life.”
Just the thought of Fang Jingyue’s longing descriptions earlier in the private room ignited an urge to flay the man alive and rip out his tendons.
“Understood.” Jiang Shiyan looked at the screen, stood up quietly, and opened the door to leave. He knew Xu Zhiyuan probably wanted… to be alone with that footage right now.
He still had to handle some things regarding Xu Zhiyuan’s sudden departure from the banquet. Nothing major, but he had to give them an explanation.
Inside the elevator, his friend Xiang Yuan called.
Jiang Shiyan answered, sighed, and said, “Xiang Yuan, oh Xiang Yuan. If only you’d sent me a photo of that person back then?”
Both men knew exactly who “that person” referred to.
“Photo? With how fiercely President Xu guarded him back then, you think I could’ve taken one?” Xiang Yuan instinctively sniped back, then suddenly had a flash of insight. “You found something?”
“Yeah. Right under our noses. He even swaggered into the WS Hotel buffet to eat a meal.”
“…” Xiang Yuan thought it over for a moment. It truly felt like something only that guy would do. “It’s good you found him. It’s good you found him.”
If they never found him, he really was afraid Xu Zhiyuan might just end the world along with himself one day.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Shiyan looked up at the elevator ceiling’s reflection and thought about that Beta.
He had a nagging feeling this wouldn’t go so smoothly.
Inside the room.
Xu Zhiyuan’s fingertip gently traced the figure in the surveillance video. The emotion in his chest raged like boiling oil poured over a fierce fire.
“Ha… hahaha…” His forehead pressed against the holographic screen. A startling madness burned in his eyes, a crystalline sheen seething within his bloodshot sockets.
Long time no see.
It’s been a long time.
