Rong Duo swore that she didn’t really mean it, but when Luo Ran walked out of the office, she couldn’t help but take a glance at him.

The corners of Luo Ran’s mouth and lips were red, and the blush on his cheeks had not completely faded away.

Ao-wu!

Rong Duo quickly lowered her head and covered her face in shame.

Rong Duo thought very simply, the Admiral must have kissed too hard!

Luo Ran strode to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, and then washed his face with clean water, not only to clean it, but to give himself more energy and concentration. After all, today’s workload was heavy.

Sigh……

Luo Ran held himself up on the glazed sink with his hands, adjusting his breathing.

Lucas was the person he liked, and was also his Alpha. It took a lot of effort for him to calm himself down and stop messing around with Lucas.

His throat that had just been hydrated felt a little hot now, and the heat spread to his cheeks, neck, and limbs again.

Luo Ran turned on the tap again and washed his face.

He stood there for quite a long time.

He was now beginning to understand the concerns of his parents and brother.

Indeed, there were no expectations in the past. They were just an ordinary boss and subordinate, and Luo Ran would set a limit for himself.

He would not think too much, nor would he be too attached.

But now……

How could he not yearn for Lucas?

When Luo Ran was sitting on Lucas’s lap before, he almost said: “How about you don’t go?” Upon realizing his own thoughts, he immediately felt annoyed and guilty.

What he should do was lighten the burden for Lucas and take care of the department and logistics for him so that he had no worries, rather than become an extra burden.

Luo Ran took a deep breath, dried his face, and straightened his collar before going out.

. . . . . . .

Early the next morning, Luo Ran once again watched Lucas’s tall figure board the aircraft.

Lucas was away for four days. During these four days, other than a call before battle, Lucas had no contact with him. It could be assumed that the war was very dire.

And in the past few days, the government’s investigations had also made great progress.

His Royal Highness Zhou Mingyu, the First Prince of the Empire, had indeed embezzled funds for the military base on Apollo.

Now, Zhou Mingyu’s image had completely collapsed.

He had been delaying the start of the trial, but hadn’t done anything other than this so far. For the time being, Luo Ran couldn’t figure out what the other party intended to do.

On this day, Luo Ran got the court to sign a confirmation that the testimony of the military department would be guaranteed.

When Luo Ran went there, he met Zhou Mingkai, who was standing outside and leaning against the wall, looking at him in a very depressed mood.

Just like a stray dog.

This was natural. Firstly, the elder brother he admired had suddenly become connected to terrible things, and secondly…..Lu Bei had also resigned.

“Third Highness.” Luo Ran stepped forward to greet him. “Why are you here?”

“Ah…..I came to find Lu Bei. He accompanied Yuan Han here.” Zhou Mingkai was stubborn and obstinate. He scratched the back of his head and said: “Are you concerned about your former subordinate?”

“En.” Luo Ran nodded.

“But Secretary Luo……” Zhou Mingkai said: “You look really unhappy.”

“Ah…..?” Luo Ran said: “I’m not.”

“You do, ah.” Zhou Mingkai grinned and said: “Are you thinking about the Admiral?”

“How could this be? It’s not the first time the Admiral has gone to war.” Luo Ran smiled and changed the subject: “The Third Highness seems to be even more unhappy.”

“Pei, I’m really not.” Zhou Mingkai smiled. “No one is controlling me now that Lu Bei is gone. I’m so happy, ah, haha.”

Luo Ran: “…….”

Luo Ran patted Zhou Mingkai on the shoulder.

Zhou Mingkai looked at Luo Ran and his reassuring gesture, paused for a moment, but still went on to make an exaggeratedly downcast expression.

“Wuwuwu…..” Zhou Mingkai squatted down and hugged his head, saying: “I made plans with him to go to the moon to participate in the Alliance Sports Competition, how did it become like this now, ah? Wuwuwu, I bought the tickets, but he’s avoiding me now.”

“Who the fuck can think of my big brother…..ah, I don’t know if it’s true, how troublesome, ah.”

Zhou Mingkai had been holding back these days, but now when he was comforted by Luo Ran’s warm voice, he couldn’t hold back his wailing and howling. The scene of a tall Alpha with reddened eyes blubbering was very eye-catching.

Luo Ran felt both distressed and amused, and crouched down to pat Zhou Mingkai’s shoulder lightly.

“What kind of suffering is this, ah!” Zhou Mingkai howled.

Luo Ran said comfortingly: “It’s okay, there will be more sports competitions. You can talk to Mr. Lu again once this turmoil is over.”

“There won’t be more.” Zhou Mingkai said pitifully: “The sports competition is held every five years. He’s not talking to me now, and I don’t know if he will acknowledge me after five years.”

After Luo Ran coaxed him for a long time, he couldn’t help but turn on the mirror function of his terminal to look at his face after returning.

Was it really that bad…..?

Luo Ran hesitated for a long moment, then clicked on Lucas’s name on the terminal.

— Is the Admiral all right?

When Luo Ran finished typing the line, he immediately deleted it.

Sitting in front of his desk, Luo Ran suddenly remembered Zhou Mingkai’s mention of the Alliance Sports Competition.

Every five years. The last time happened to be in his second year as Lucas’s secretary, but…..

Luo Ran suddenly discovered a terrible thing. Why did he not have any impression of it?

Logically speaking, the Alliance Sports Competition was a very grand event. For example, there were advertisements everywhere now.

Frowning, Luo Ran clicked on the historical usage records of his terminal.

Luo Ran waited for the system to run for a long moment, and it finally launched the activity report from five years ago.

He looked down slowly. The system had recorded his work records from January to March, but starting from April…..

It was blank..

Blank through December.

In January of the following year, the terminal resumed operations.

What had happened?

Luo Ran tried his utmost to make a connection, but found that he had indeed lost his memory of those nine months, and the memories from before and after were not clear.

He frowned slightly.

Luo Ran felt terrible. He had lost so many memories, such as what had happened before he was adopted, and those inexplicable nine months.

He was presently working as Lucas’s secretary, so Luo Ran decided to look for clues from Lucas.

Luo Ran sent a call request to Lu Cheng.

“Secretary Luo?” Lu Cheng’s hearty voice came from the other end of the phone.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Okay!”

Luo Ran said: “Do you still remember what the Admiral was doing five years ago, the year of the Alliance Sports Competition?”

“…….”

There was a sudden silence on the terminal.

Luo Ran felt even stranger, but he couldn’t see Lu Cheng’s expression at the moment and couldn’t judge what was going on.

He asked again: “Adjutant Lu? Do you remember?”

“Ah, this, I don’t remember.”

Luo Ran frowned slightly.

After a moment, Luo Ran said: “Adjutant Lu, is there anything I shouldn’t know?”

“No! Absolutely not! It’s just……” Lu Cheng seemed very embarrassed, and could only say: “Well, when the Admiral comes back, can’t you ask him yourself?”

“…….”

“It’s really not a secret, but…..ah, just, I don’t know if I can say it!”

“…….”

Luo Ran didn’t make things difficult for Lu Cheng, and said with a smile: “It’s okay, I understand.”

Luo Ran hung up, thinking that he would ask Lucas and see what he had to say.

In fact…..he didn’t completely have no impression.

Luo Ran tried hard to think while flipping through the terminal for the before and after records, and recalled some intermittent images. He vaguely remembered that there were many wisteria flowers and a very cute log cabin.

Wisteria flowers……

With a slight frown, Luo Ran subconsciously glanced at the wisteria flowers by the office window.

He rested his chin on his hand, somewhat lost in thought.

New Year’s Eve was two days away.

. . . . . .

Luo Ran went home to have dinner with his family for the New Year.

It was presently snowing in the capital, but snow here generally didn’t last long.

Near midnight, the Empire’s Central Plaza began to broadcast the countdown.

There were thirty minutes to go.

Luo Ran was holding the terminal while sitting on the recliner on the balcony at home, wearing thick clothes and watching the night sky.

The originally drab night sky was now full of slowly falling snow, and a thin layer had accumulated on the ground and the balcony railings.

He didn’t bother Lucas, but still carried the terminal.

“Ranran, you…..” Wang Zitong glanced at Luo Ran and stepped forward to rub his shoulder, saying: “It’s the same for the Admiral…..it’s not long after you got together…..”

“Mom, it’s okay.” Luo Ran held up the terminal to show her. “I’m watching videos for fun.”

“En.” Wang Zitong glanced at him and said: “Go to sleep early.”

“Okay.”

Many relatives had come to the house, and Wang Zitong went downstairs to play cards with them.

Luo Ran was a little ashamed.

Could it be that…..he was really acting distraught and concerned?

But he wasn’t doing it on purpose. And presuming he didn’t care, his body and pheromones may not be able to accept it for a while.

Lucas had given him temporary marks, they had made a spiritual connection, and Lucas also used his pheromones as an antidote when Luo Ran was having spiritual problems.

And since the temporary marking, they had been staying close, their pheromones always fusing together intimately.

Luo Ran thought, fortunately there was no official mark yet. If there was a permanent mark, his body may be even more uncomfortable.

Luo Ran watched videos for a while, and then there were only ten minutes left on the countdown.

He exited the video and looked at the night sky quietly.

Ten minutes later, the sky would be covered with gorgeous fireworks, and would look extremely beautiful.

When only five minutes were left, Luo Ran’s terminal rang.

Startled, Luo Ran opened it.

— Lucas.

A smile appeared on Luo Ran’s face, and he accepted the call.

“Ranran,” Lucas said in a low voice. “What are you doing?”

Luo Ran chuckled: “Waiting for the countdown and the fireworks.”

The other side was silent for a moment, then said: “Open the video screen.”

Luo Ran paused, then did so.

He saw Lucas on the small screen.

Lucas seemed to have just come from battle not long ago. His military uniform was a bit dirty, and there was a fierce look in his eyes that had not yet receded.

“Sorry,” Lucas said. “I had originally agreed to spend the New Year with you.”

“It’s okay, I’ll adjust the camera after the fireworks start, and we can watch them together.” Luo Ran’s eyes contained a smile. “There are only three minutes left.”

“Okay.”

Lucas seemed a little tired and quiet, so they didn’t speak, and just accompanied each other silently.

Lucas changed clothes in his room on the battleship and quickly washed his face.

“Ten! Nine! Eight!”

The countdown in the Central Plaza began, and was broadcasted everywhere in real time.

“Seven! Six!”

. . . . . .

“Three! Two!”

“One!”

Fireworks shot into the sky, and everything went from dim to bright for a while.

Luo Ran watched the fireworks and said: “Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.” Lucas paused, then suddenly said: “Luo Ran, I love you.”

Lucas’s tone was very gentle when he said this, and it was hard to imagine that he would have such a soft tone.

This was also the first time Lucas had said such words that he considered “sappy.”

Luo Ran stared blankly at the terminal, sitting there on the spot.

Lucas was a little embarrassed after speaking, and scratched the back of his head, saying: “Ai, anyway, that’s all. What time are you going to bed?”

“I…..later.” Luo Ran blushed slightly. He grasped the terminal tightly, and finally conceded.

“Admiral, I miss you very much.”

Now it was Lucas’s turn to freeze.

“I’m really sorry.” Luo Ran lowered his eyes with a smile. “But I’m going to do everything well.”

“I…..” Lucas said hoarsely: “I will also fight hard and bring victory to the Empire and to you!”

“Good.”

The fireworks were still going on, but Lucas fell asleep within a short while after lying down. It could be seen that he was truly exhausted. He didn’t even have time to say goodnight, and fell asleep holding the terminal.

Luo Ran paused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and turned off the call.

At that moment, Luo Ran lowered his head and kissed the screen of the terminal.

. . . . . . 

The next day, Luo Ran received a call from Kleiman’s secretary.

He said that Kleiman would not be returning anytime soon, and had fallen in love with climbing, completely addicted to it.

An avalanche had occurred on the snowy mountain where Kleiman was a few days ago, which changed its geology, so Kleiman, who was a mountaineering enthusiast, was more excited to explore.

Therefore, Kleiman meant for Luo Ran to find him in person if he had any business to discuss. After all, if Luo Ran wanted to go, he didn’t need to climb the mountain. An aircraft could take him up.

But in fact, Luo Ran already knew the answers to the questions he wanted to ask, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

Until the dispatch team brought him a new report.

“Regarding His Highness Kleiman’s invitation to go to the snowy mountain, Cyril’s side seems to be very nervous.” The captain said with a frown: “The reason is unknown, but they were concerned and even tried to investigate and spy on us.”

However, Lucas’s investigation team had always been the elite of the Empire, and they were soldiers. No one could detect them without being counter-investigated.

The team had been paying special attention to Zhou Mingyu and Cyril recently, so they would immediately know if there was any trouble.

Luo Ran frowned slightly.

Was there another mystery?

Luo Ran asked: “Where is the mountain Kleiman is on?”

“In the Western part of the transitional territory between Luobing and the Empire. It is extremely remote, and the temperature is also extremely low, even colder than Luobing. It is covered in thick ice and snow all year round, and the terrain is steep. Recently, there have been frequent avalanches due to geological changes.”

“Has this happened before?”

“The location of the mountain is special, and each type of terrain has different advantages for military strategists. Therefore, there have been many battles, weather between the Empire and Luobing or the Empire and the star pirates.”

Luo Ran nodded, frowning for a moment. “Does His Highness really like climbing mountains?”

“It’s unclear. He wasn’t that keen before, but after the avalanche, he became obsessed with climbing.”

When it came to climbing, this person was still a prince anyway, and there were countless aircraft following him, which could temporarily take him away before an avalanche occurred.

“I’ll go and have a look,” Luo Ran said. “Tomorrow.”

“Yes!” The captain reminded: “Please be sure to bring enough troops to ensure your safety.”

“En.” Luo Ran planned to take Lu Cheng and his team directly.

Otherwise, Lucas would have to worry about being far away on the battlefield. Luo Ran would take the entire squad with him, so that even if a small army came from the opposite side, he would not be afraid.

. . . . . . .

The snow-capped mountain was located in the far reaches of the planet, and was indeed extremely cold.

The aircraft landed on flat ground on the mountainside, where Kleiman and his camp of guards were located.

Luo Ran was wearing two thick layers of clothing, but after getting off the aircraft, he still felt a gust of wind pour into his nose and mouth, reaching his lungs.

Hiss, it was really cold.

“Secretary Luo is here!” Kleiman stepped forward and said with a smile: “Aiyo, so urgent, ah. I’m curious about what urgent matter could get you to come here in person.”

The brown-haired Kleiman looked sloppy.

Luo Ran just smiled.

Kleiman looked around and said with a smile: “Shall we go into the tent?”

Kleiman and Luo Ran walked into the tent alone. Kleiman asked people to stand guard, and after making sure that there were no other people around, he said: “Secretary Luo, I have something to tell you.”

“Say it.” Luo Ran sat down and said: “Is it something sensitive?”

Kleiman sat in front of Luo Ran and whispered: “Secretary Luo, do you know why I suddenly wanted to climb this mountain?”

“Hm?”

“I came here to find something, but now that I found it……I think things are more complicated.” Kleiman’s voice shook a little as he spoke. “I haven’t been able to sleep well at all these past few nights.”

“Speak slowly, it’s okay.” Luo Ran said: “If necessary, I will keep it a secret.”

“Just, when Admiral Alton was fighting the star pirates, another logistics team that Cyril was in was surprise attacked by Luobing. I was on the battleship at the time. Later, I saw that Cyril kept coming back after the incident as if he was looking for something. He was very nervous and scared, and I lied to him that I had found what he wanted.”

Kleiman scratched the back of his head and said: “At that time, I just wanted to extort money and scare a high-ranking official of the Empire, but I didn’t expect that there would be assassination attempts next. After escaping a few times, I came clean and confessed that I just wanted to blackmail him, but I was still being watched.”

Luo Ran frowned slightly: “Are you still being watched?”

“Yes, ah! There have been several attempts on my life since I came to the snowy mountain. I can’t stand it anymore. I wanted to get rid of this curse, so I came back to look for that thing.”

“I didn’t expect that because of the avalanche changing the terrain, I would actually find the remnants of the battlefield that was buried back then.”

“Just……”

Kleiman took out a personal communication device from his pocket and handed it to Luo Ran.

The device looked like it was from a long time ago. It was worn out and covered with a lot of old ice and snow, which made it a little cold to handle.

“There are still conversation records inside.” Kleiman turned his head and said: “After a lot of thought, I still think it’s most appropriate to tell the Admiral, but, that, I dare not. So…..I’ll trouble you.”

Luo Ran turned on the communicator and played the conversation recordings.

“Beepbeep……”

“Hello, hello.”

Luo Ran was a little surprised.

That was Cyril’s voice.

“Target is heading north, coordinates y8e6……”

“Repeat. Target is heading north, coordinates y8e6……”

“Beepbeep……”

After he heard it clearly, Luo Ran’s blood instantly froze.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Six

Liu Xian’an did not go to the guest courtyard in the end, because the main courtyard where Liang Shu resided was very big. That said, even if the main courtyard was not big, with only a hard bed on the march, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang should be able to find a reason to squeeze to his sweetheart’s side and not leave, such as pretending to be sick or having a heartache.

“I don’t see where the prince is hurting.” Liu Xian’an withdrew his hand. “But Commander Ku’s eye disease must be treated as soon as possible.”

“He has an eye disease?” Liang Shu asked. “I’ve never heard of it before, what kind of disease is it?”

“Gold blindness,” Liu Xian’an said. “The prince once said that Commander Ku had golden eyes since birth, and his silver hair was caused by poisoning. Golden eyes are indeed not a disease, but reflective golden eyes cannot be ignored. It should be the case that the poisoning also affected his eyes. The disease requires fine needles to remove the cataract, supplemented with medical treatment, and it will take at least half a year for a complete recovery.”

Liang Shu asked: “If treatment doesn’t work, what will happen? Will he lose his sight?”

“Yes, and the disease should be treated early, or it will be more difficult if it is delayed.” Liu Xian’an said, “But neither A-Ning nor I are proficient at this sort of treatment. It is better for Elder Brother to do it. Do you want me to send a letter home right away?”

“Okay.” Liang Shu pulled out a chair for him. “You write first, and afterwards, wait for Ku You to return from his busy military affairs and take a good look at him.”

But Commander Ku on the other side was not actually busy with military affairs. After listening to the Dayan love story that Gao Lin told him, he was shocked, and asked three or four times in a row: “Either I’m deaf or you’re crazy. The prince and Second Young Master Liu, is this okay?”

“You’re not deaf and I’m not crazy.” Gao Lin grasped his shoulders and said, “There is nothing wrong with this. Second Young Master Liu has excellent medical skills, is patient and meticulous, has no temper at all, and also looks like an immortal. He is a suitable match for our prince, a match made in heaven.”

Ku You’s mind was still a mess. Mainly, he felt that although he was in the Southwest, his grasp on information coming out of the Central Plains was very accurate, and he could adjust the troops at any time according to the current situation. But now that the prince was here, nothing that happened was in line with his own cognition, so he fell into deep melancholy and reflection. Who am I, where am I, is the information I found out before really all correct?

Thus, he couldn’t help but ask again: “Really?”

Gao Lin simply brought him along to convince him through observation. The two sneaked into the main courtyard like thieves and slowly poked half their heads above the bushes. When they looked across, the window was half open. Liu Xian’an was sitting at the table writing, and Liang Shu was pressing paper and grinding ink for him.

“See?” Gao Lin nudged Ku You’s elbow. “That is to say, your broken house has been repaired in a very unromantic way. Were it to be replaced with carved mahogany windows, and weeping willows planted all over the courtyard, it would be just like having a tryst with a lover.”

Ku You was still very skeptical, because both the prince and Second Young Master Liu were frowning, and it didn’t look like they were speaking words of love. Hearing what he said, Gao Lin craned his head to take a second look. The heads of the two grew like mushrooms, and Liang Shu said: “Come in!”

Gao Lin said with certainty: “The prince is in a good mood today.”

Ku You was puzzled: “How can you tell?”

Gao Lin had rich experience in this area, because usually the word “scram” would come prior to the words “come in,” but this time it was not.

Ku You was speechless, and stood up, saying, “Then you scram, I’ll go.”

Gao Lin kicked him on the buttocks, and the two military officials rushed into the front hall without dignity, all smiles: “Your Highness.”

“Sit there.” Liang Shu ignored Gao Lin and pointed Ku You to the bench. “How are your eyes?”

“Eyes? Fine, ah,” Ku You said. “It’s only that I read military reports for a long time and feel a little dizzy.”

Gao Lin thought to himself, how normal is this, that dense nonsense makes me dizzy too.

Liu Xian’an asked: “May I examine Commander Ku?”

Ku You nodded: “Naturally, Second Young Master Liu may take a look.”

Liu Xian’an washed his hands, then opened the other party’s eyelids for examination. He had never examined a person with an eye disease before, and even fewer golden eyes. At most, he had picked up a wild cat that had slipped into the waterside pavilion and exchanged stares with it, marveling at the beauty of the cat’s eyes. But Ku You’s eyes were more beautiful than the cat’s eyes, like pale golden gemstones rolled in stardust.

Ku You asked: “Miracle Doctor, am I all right?”

Liu Xian’an sat up straight: “You have something wrong with you.”

Ku You: “……”

Gao Lin also stepped forward to look at his eyes, and said to Liu Xian’an: “But the eyes of all of A-You’s family are like this.”

“It isn’t golden eyes, but gold blindness.” Liu Xian’an explained: “I wrote a letter to my family member just now and asked him to come to Garrison City and diagnose Commander Ku. His method of removing cataracts is very precise. This is not a serious case, it is only that it is a trial for some doctors, so don’t worry too much.”

Ku You sat on the bench, still not convinced that he had an eye disease, but seeing that the prince and Gao Lin seemed to place great trust in Miracle Doctor Liu, his heart was shaken, and he tentatively asked: “What will happen in the most serious case?”

Liu Xian’an: “Blindness.”

Ku You sucked in a breath of air: “No, I can’t be blind. If I go blind, those Baifu Sect grandchildren will celebrate in circles.”

Gao Lin asked: “Are they still offering a reward for you?”

“It’s not just me. As long as someone is in charge of exterminating the cult and has a military position, they are willing to pay a lot of money for their heads.” When speaking of this matter, Ku You’s voice sank. “I just lost a brother last month, and when I heard the news and brought people to rescue him, it was too late. The person who killed him was Wumeng Yunyou. He just turned sixteen, but his status in the Baifu Sect is already extremely high. He never preaches, and only kills people who choose not to believe in the Baifu Sect.”

The other three people were not unfamiliar with this name, because when he was in Baihe City, the Baifu Sect disciple tried to kidnap Liu Xianche, but ended up kidnapping Liu Xian’an. He had also called himself Yun You.

Wumeng was a Southwest surname, and had produced many famous frontier generals, but this was the first time it had produced a killer cultist. Ku You said: “He also has a younger sister named Wumeng Yunle, who is said to have a very beautiful and elegant appearance. She was just chosen as a saint a while ago, and is also the successor of the Baifu Buddha Mother.”

Although beauty did not directly kill people, it was an extremely useful tool. People always yearned for beauty. If the Baifu Buddha Mother was a beautiful girl, then the sect she represented would share in the same beauty. Conversely, if the Baifu Buddha Mother was Aunt Mou Cuihua in Huaizhen City, slapping her thigh and greeting your eighteen generations of ancestors, it may not be the court’s concern to suppress this religion.

Liu Xian’an asked: “How beautiful is she?”

Ku You said: “Although I have never seen the rare beauty, since Wumeng Yunle was elected, the number of followers of the Baifu Sect have indeed increased dramatically. There are no few people who are willing to lose their fortunes and make the journey just to see her.”

“Then start investigating this brother and sister pair,” Liang Shu said. “Go find all the files related to them first, and give them to Gao Lin to read. You have a good rest, and don’t use your eyes too much in the near future.”

Lieutenant General Gao: “…….”

Ku You nodded, asking again: “Second Young Master Liu, how long will it take for my eyes to deteriorate?”

Liu Xian’an said: “Three months. After my brother receives this letter, if he speeds up his horse, he will be able to make it in time. His riding skills are very good.”

How good it was to be particular. When treating patients outside, it was common for one person and one horse to carry a medicine box on their backs and traverse snow-capped mountains and rivers. Thinking about it this way, the children of Baihe Mountain Village were truly hard-working. The entire family only had Second Young Master Liu who ate and slept like a rice weevil. Nowadays, even if His Royal Highness Xiao Wang forcibly lifted him up to move around, he would still lie in the carriage to eat snacks and carry a stove in his arms, very luxurious.

Ku You took Gao Lin to the study, leaving Liang Shu behind to ask: “Three months, is that true?”

“Not necessarily. It should be up to three months,” Liu Xian’an said. “But he’s in a relaxed mood, which is beneficial for the condition, so I said this first, and we’ll take it a step at a time. If Elder Brother is too late, I can give it a try.”

“Fortunately, you’re here.” Liang Shu sighed. “If he really becomes ill at this time, I truly can’t think of anyone who can take over. The military doctors here are also a bunch of wastes, and didn’t notice it earlier.”

“Commander Ku was born with golden eyes, so it is difficult to detect the illness. Besides, he really doesn’t have any symptoms right now.” Liu Xian’an cleared the table. “Shall we go through those files too?”

“Don’t be in a hurry.” Liang Shu pulled him to sit down. “You haven’t had a good rest in the past few days. I had someone stew some chicken soup, have a bowl first. We’ll go out for dinner later.”

Liu Xian’an asked: “How did the prince find out that I haven’t had a good rest?”

Liang Shu said without a change of expression: “I just looked at you.”

Liu Xian’an said: “A-Ning said something.”

Liang Shu crouched in front of him, rested his head on his knees, and said shamelessly: “If you want, you can also bribe Gao Lin. I have no objections.”

Liu Xian’an smiled and grabbed a lock of his hair: “Then I’ll sleep for a bit now. Would you like to join me, Your Highness?”

Liang Shu answered with considerable dignity: “This lord……will consider it.”

The result of his consideration was that they squeezed into the single-person bed in the room and wrapped the quilt around the two of them. He didn’t sleep well during the day, and the chicken soup was about to be simmered, so Second Young Master Liu said to His Royal Highness Xiao Wang who was lazily soaking in the hot spring, I’m leaving soon today, I can’t stay longer. The prince should also go back to sleep early, have you seen the tall palace on top of the mountain? I made this new just for you, and it’s filled with gems and herbs.

His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was still dissatisfied, frowning as he asked: “Where are you going?” After asking, without waiting for an answer, he stood up from the pool with a splash, and Liu Xian’an closed his eyes. He was innocent, but not completely innocent, so he opened his eyes a little, still wanting to see.

As a result, he didn’t grasp his strength well and overdid it, waking himself up.

He sighed somewhat regretfully.

Liang Shu hugged the person in his arms tightly, and asked: “What is it?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I woke up from my dream.”

Liang Shu laughed: “Then continue to dream.”

However, Liu Xian’an couldn’t fall asleep. He dawdled for a while, then turned his gaze to His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s lapels and stretched out a finger to reach for the slightly open neckline.

Without moving, Liang Shu let the other party pull away his belt bit by bit. After the under layer was opened, there was a strong naked body. Liu Xian’an laid down a little bit to regard it very seriously. After being stared at for a while, Liang Shu felt that it was time for him to wake up, so he made a charming, profound expression and reached out a hand to grasp his chin, asking: “What are you looking at?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I’m looking at the prince’s muscles. They look very even, more even than the pictures drawn by my elder brother.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Three

“…….”

Do you want me?

Having such a straightforward and touching invitation thrown out like this, Bo Yueming’s mind drew a rare blank.

He instinctively captured the lips of the person in his arms, and kissed him for a long time before he was rational enough to speak. “I want, of course I want—”

The never before heard low, hoarse tone was impulsive but even more restrained. “But you still have a fever and your arm is injured. You can’t mess around.”

Pei Yi pressed against him again. His cheeks were a little hot. “But I want you.”

He had already thought it through. The two of them would reach this point sooner or later, and now that they were one hundred percent invested, there was no need to distinguish “sooner or later” so clearly.

“Er-ge, just be careful.”

Pei Yi intermittently kissed Bo Yueming’s eyebrows, the tip of his nose, his lips, and his Adam’s apple, using the most sincere and clumsy method to attract his full attention.

“I’m not afraid of pain, and I know you won’t hurt me…..wu.”

His unfinished temptation was lost in a kiss.

Bo Yueming’s breathing was rapid, but there was a subtle coolness on his lips and tongue, like a turbulent sea sweeping in, wrapping his lover in his scent.

Pei Yi was only stunned for a second or two, and immediately clenched the collar of the other’s pajamas with his uninjured left hand, responding and giving him the most basic sense of security.

Their blending breaths swirled with heat, like a whirlpool suddenly appearing on the surface of the sea, sucking them into the abyss together.

The kiss ended.

Pei Yi realized that the two of them had changed their positions unconsciously. He looked up at Bo Yueming with faint longing at the tips of his eyes.

Bo Yueming avoided his injured right arm, leaning over to kiss his lover’s soft red lips. “Are you sure? Tomorrow is Monday, don’t you have to go to work?”

Pei Yi hooked Bo Yueming’s arm with his left hand and leaned forward to lightly rub the tip of his nose, joking slyly, “In any case, I can ask for sick leave. Maybe it could partly count as a work-related injury?”

Bo Yueming was puzzled. “Work-related injury?”

Pei Yi said seriously, “En. As one of the representatives of YWY, I expressed my willingness to accept the invitation for a friendly discussion with a GM shareholder.”

Bo Yueming kissed him again. “Where did you get such a glib tongue?”

Pei Yi didn’t see any unease or nervousness in his eyes, and he became increasingly eager. “Er-ge, I’ve really, truly thought about it—”

“I want to have you completely, just as you have me completely.”

Bo Yueming tilted his head and rubbed his earlobe. “Call me something else, what did you call me on WeChat today?”

“…….”

Thinking of that call, Pei Yi felt even hotter all over.

Bo Yueming began to move his hands, and asked him coaxingly, “You called it so smoothly when we first met. Why do you refuse to call me that way now that we’re getting along with each other?”

Pei Yi was so excited that his breath shook, and his heated brain was dizzy. “In the past, I called it out for the outsiders watching. It was a joke, it doesn’t count.”

Bo Yueming continued to provoke him. “Then what about now?”

“Mmph.”

Pei Yi moaned in a broken tone, tightly grabbing Bo Yueming’s arm again.

He barely managed to grasp his last bit of reasoning in his dizziness, looking into those eyes that held a hint of provocation amidst pure love. 

“Husband, want me now.”

“……”

In the end, Bo Yueming couldn’t resist the invitation. The last string of restraint suddenly broke, and he instantly hurtled toward the edge of his control.

Pei Yi gasped, and fell into an earth-shattering kiss.

Desire climbed higher and higher, occupying their entire world.

. . . .

. . . . . . .

When Pei Yi woke up in a daze, his head was still dizzy and he couldn’t tell north from south or east from west.

“Er-ge.”

Upon making a sound, Pei Yi was taken aback by the hoarseness of his voice, and there was a trace of confusion in his sleepy eyes. Was this his voice? How did it get like this?

Footsteps sounded.

Bo Yueming returned with a glass of water. He saw that his lover had finally woken up naturally, and couldn’t help but speed up his pace.

“Awake?”

“……”

Pei Yi belatedly realized that his throat was a little hot, and stared straight at the glass of water in his hand.

Bo Yueming helped his silly lover sit up, and passed over the water. “Come on, drink some water first.”

Pei Yi gulped it all down vigorously, and didn’t feel that he had gained some sobriety until he drank the entire glass of warm water.

—Beep.

Bo Yueming at the side took his temperature and frowned. “You still have a slight fever. Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Pei Yi shook his head, then nodded again. “It’s normal to feel dizzy after just waking up. What time is it, Er-ge?”

Bo Yueming replied, “Three o’clock in the afternoon.”

Pei Yi was startled. “T-Three o’clock?”

He automatically calculated the time in his mind, then straightened up without thinking about it, an inexplicable smugness in his eyes.

“Er-ge, you—” That’s not good, ah.

Pei suddenly recalled that process that was almost fierce enough to make a person pass out. 

Where wasn’t it good? It was obviously very good!

He changed his words in the middle of the sentence, the smugness in his eyes undiminished. “Hey, it looks like I’m pretty good too.”

Bo Yueming raised his eyebrows. “Pretty good? Where are you pretty good?”

Pei Yi’s self-confidence continued to increase, and he felt that his head wasn’t so dizzy anymore. “We did that kind of thing early in the morning, and now I woke up at three in the afternoon. Isn’t that enough to prove that my physical fitness is superb?”

Bo Yueming sighed and picked up his phone. “Look for yourself.”

“What?”

Pei Yi lit up the phone screen. There was a string of numbers on it—

Tuesday, 3:07 p.m.

“…….”

Pei Yi’s smug expression froze instantly, and he even faintly doubted life.

It wasn’t Monday?

But three o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday?

He fell unconscious for nearly a day and a half?

Bo Yueming held back a small smile, and leaned closer to whisper, “There’s a kitten, ah, who was attracted so intensely and cried out so wantonly that it was too sleepy to wake up.”

“……”

The blood rushed back to Pei Yi’s brain in an instant, and he was too ashamed to speak. When he lowered his eyes in avoidance, he realized that there was a small needle mark on the back of his hand—

Although Bo Yueming had been careful enough in restraining himself, he had been restrained for a long time, after all, and once he indulged, he was a bit excessive.

Pei Yi, who was already suffering from a low-grade fever, grew hotter afterwards, and no matter how much he was called, he fell into a drowsy sleep. Bo Yueming could only ask a private doctor to give him an antipyretic injection.

Pei Yi came to terms with reality and his ego took a hit. His face flushed red, and his head became dizzy again.

He lay back down, pa, and simply pulled the quilt over his head like a shrunken kitten. “Don’t talk to me. I’m, I’m a little embarrassed.”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about between you and me?”

Bo Yueming patted his little head through the quilt. “Since you’re awake, you should at least get up and eat something first. You can’t leave your stomach empty for so long.”

After being reminded, Pei Yi indeed felt hungry.

He revealed his eyes again, and said with the innate stubbornness in his bones, “Then you’re not allowed to talk about it outside.”

Being made comatose for a day and a half?

If Li Yuan found out, he would laugh at him to death!

“I’ll never speak out about anything that happens between us.” Bo Yueming leaned closer and kissed his forehead. “Besides, you have a fever. Uncle Kai only just went to bed. He was frightened about your wound being inflamed.”

“Really?”

“I kid you not.”

Pei Yi managed to recover a bit of confidence, and got up, unspeakably sore. “Er-ge, I’m hungry.”

Bo Yueming responded softly, “There’s food prepared for you in the kitchen. Do you want to stay in the room to eat, or go downstairs?”

Pei Yi thought for a moment. “Go downstairs.”

To prove that he was all right — go downstairs! Must go downstairs!

Bo Yueming picked up the thick coat that had been prepared earlier. “Then put on your clothes and wash up. Do you want my help?”

Pei Yi paid no heed to the deep meaning in the last sentence, and just as he got off the bed, his legs suddenly went limp—

Bo Yueming seemed to have long expected this, and picked him up.

Pei Yi grabbed his shoulder with one hand, and came to a belated realization. “Don’t laugh! I, I injured my feet after being kidnapped, and I don’t have my strength.”

“En.” Bo Yueming played along with him earnestly. “You really don’t have strength.”

In the early hours of the morning before, he was struggling to crawl away, but because he had no strength, he was dragged back by him.

Pei Yi saw something wrong in Bo Yueming’s eyes. “I feel like you’re laughing at me inside.”

Bo Yueming denied it. “I’m not.”

Pei Yi didn’t believe him. “You’re really not?”

Bo Yueming helped him sit on the clean sink, and prepared the dental kit for him. “Wash up quickly.”

“Oh.”

It was inconvenient for Pei Yi to lift his injured right hand, and the efficiency of doing things with his left hand was much slower.

Bo Yueming waited patiently for him to finish getting ready. “Should I carry you downstairs, or do you want to stay in the room to eat?”

“Go downstairs, go downstairs.”

Pei Yi took the initiative to hug him like a koala, and smashed the jar. “Anyway, it’s not the first time I’ve lost face. I’ll stick to you and order you around.”

Bo Yueming kissed his lover’s moist lips and took him out of the room.

Pei Yi felt a little worried when he saw Inspector still curled up in the cat nest. “Er-ge, have you checked on Inspector? I think he must have been scared that day.”

Fortunately, it knew to hide when it couldn’t fight, and listened to his words that day.

Bo Yueming replied, “Don’t worry. I asked Lin Zhong to take him to the pet hospital for a checkup, and there’s no major problem. It ate canned cat food normally last night.”

While talking, the two of them had already descended the stairs.

Uncle Kai was still resting in his room, and when he heard movement, he immediately rushed out to check on the situation. “Ah, Little Sir is awake?”

“Uncle Kai, go back and lie down,” Bo Yueming instructed in a low voice, both out of concern and the need to give the ‘embarrassed kitten’ some space.

He signaled to the other servants to bring the food. “Eat, ba.”

Pei Yi drank two or three mouthfuls of light millet porridge to fill his stomach, and didn’t move the topic to serious business until the discomfort of hunger was eased. 

“Er-ge, you beat Bo Guancheng so hard in front of so many shareholders two days ago. Are you not pretending to be blind anymore?”

Bo Yueming nodded. “En, he knew about it before the shareholders’ meeting, otherwise he wouldn’t have united with other shareholders to put pressure on me.”

Pei Yi was puzzled. “How did he know? When did you leak it?”

Bo Yueming replied truthfully, “That day in the parking lot of the hospital. You went to have a private chat with Mr. Qin, and I saw Pei Huan when I returned to the car alone.”

“…….”

Pei Yi frowned when he heard that name. “Why is it him again? Did you reveal it on purpose?”

Bo Yueming didn’t deny it. “I threatened Pei Ruzhang at the door of the hospital emergency room—as long as I am still in the Bo family and Pei Huan stays with the Pei family, they won’t get any benefits.”

Pei Huan should be very attached to the life of a young master provided to him by the Pei family. He didn’t want to be kicked out, so he could only find a way to make something happen to Bo Yueming in order to relieve this threat.

“I deliberately exposed my secret in front of him. He likely turned around and told Bo Guancheng in order to use someone else’s hand to deal with me.”

Little did he realize that everything was under Bo Yueming’s control.

“Fuck!”

Pei Yi couldn’t hold back his low curse.

Realizing that he was in front of his lover, he pretended to be well-behaved and civilized.

Bo Yueming had already seen through his ‘little wildcat’ character, and urged, “Quickly, eat.”

Pei Yi nodded, changing the subject. “Er-ge, did the other matters work out?”

“Cheng Yangshan and Bo Lihui can’t escape, and even the dog skin plaster relatives of the Cheng family will follow along.”

Bo Yueming wiped his hands with a wet towel and peeled fresh shrimp for his lover.

“I heard people say that when they were taken away the afternoon before yesterday, Cheng Yangshan and Bo Lihui were lashing out at each other.”

Hearing of this farce, Pei Yi scoffed coldly. “This father and son are really alike, a dog biting a dog, ah.”

Sure enough, they were both selfish people, and would protect themselves in the face of disaster.

Pei Yi took a bite of the shrimp that Bo Yueming handed over, and murmured, “Cheng Yangshan is very old. Can he be put in prison? He’ll find someone to figure out how to release him from jail, won’t he?”

Seeing that the kitten liked to eat these, Bo Yueming continued to peel. “The ‘connections’ he has accumulated over the years are all for the Bo family. At this critical point, who is willing to find connections for him to be released on bail?”

Even if the law expressly stipulated that old people who had reached the age of seventy-five may be given a lighter punishment, if Cheng Yangshan came out again, what would be left for him?

Pei Yi sighed. “Ai, he’s lived most of his life and still fell into a trap of his own devising.”

It was clearly Cheng Yangshan himself who married in when he was young, but in the end, he became dissatisfied as time went by.

With everything he was given by the Bo family, he was still dissatisfied and ungrateful, and blamed Old Mrs. Bo for restricting him.

If he really had the ability, he could abandon all of this and start his own business. He had lived most of his life as a cheap person who wanted to look valuable, but in the end, hadn’t he become a talking point and laughing stock for others?

But having said that, Old Mrs. Bo was worthy of being a heroine, boldly loving and boldly hating!

Pei Yi looked at Bo Yueming with a trace of real jealousy hidden in his teasing. “Er-ge, I really envy you for having such a good grandma.”

Bo Yueming corrected, “You have one too.”

Pei Yi responded with a laugh.

The villa door opened, and Lin Zhong walked in hurriedly. He looked at the two people sitting at the dining table, and his footsteps slowed.

“Mr. Bo, Little Sir, you’re both here, ah.”

Lin Zhong replied, “Oh, the police called to inquire about Little Sir’s situation, and want to know if it is convenient for him to go over as quickly as possible to give a statement.”

The police had sent someone to inquire the day before, but Pei Yi had still been in a state of “sleeping and getting an injection.”

“I’ll go over in a while.”

Pei Yi bit the spoon lightly, and looked at Bo Yueming, hesitating to speak. “Er-ge, didn’t you have to go to the company these two days?”

“Grandma specially gave me a vacation. It happens that Sister Zhong Yi came back, and Bo Jiao can also fill in.” Bo Yueming explained briefly, responding to his inner thoughts, “I’ll accompany you there later. I also want to report to the police.”

Pei Yi didn’t react for a moment. “What?”

Bo Yueming reminded him, “Did you forget? I told you the chances are eight out of ten that the car accident was man-made.”

“……”

Pei Yi’s expression suddenly changed, and he realized the strangeness at once. “Er-ge, you’re saying that Bo Guaneng ordered the car accident?”

Bo Yueming surmised, “Pretty much. It depends on how the police interrogate him and if he confesses.”

Pei Yi quickly finished the porridge, and when he got up, it implicated an unspeakable place. He immediately pursed his mouth in a frown.

Bo Yueming saw this and smiled. “What’s the hurry?”

Pei Yi whispered, “It’s all your fault.”

Bo Yueming inquired, “Who was the one who asked for it?”

“…….”

Pei Yi was speechless.

Lin Zhong, who was eating this dog food, had nothing to say and felt that his existence was becoming more and more redundant!

. . . . . . .

As night fell, Pei Yi and Bo Yueming walked out of the inquiry room.

The leading police officer in charge of the case stopped. “Mr. Bo, Mr. Pei, don’t worry. Please rest assured that we will begin handing this over to the joint case once we have the first-hand evidence together.”

Li Gui had been arrested, and was stubborn. He refused to confess other things in order to mitigate his crime, but the call records on the mobile phone still betrayed him.

As for the two younger brothers who were brought by Li Gui, they said everything they had to say early on.

The evidence of that day’s kidnapping was solid, and Bo Guancheng, the mastermind, could not escape legal punishment.

It was just that the man-made car accident had yet to be verified and confirmed. After all, what police were most concerned with was evidence.

“Many thanks, apologies for the inconvenience.”

“You’re welcome, this is our duty.” The police officer wore a righteous expression. “Then I won’t see you off, you two go slowly.”

The two walked out of the police station lobby.

The cold, howling wind brought the night with it, and the temperature difference between inside and outside was so great that Pei Yi shivered.

Bo Yueming quickly took the scarf in his hand and re-tied it. “Are you cold?”

Pei Yi shrank his neck and smiled back. “I’m not cold, I’m warm.”

Bo Yueming reached out to touch his forehead. It seemed that the fever was gone. “Are you still dizzy? I’ll ask Lin Zhong to take you back to rest first.”

Pei Yi asked curiously, “Er-ge, where are you planning to go?”

Bo Yueming said bluntly, “To the hospital to see Bo Guancheng again. Grandma wants me to tell him something.”

The day before yesterday, Bo Yueming had lost control of his emotions for a moment and beat Bo Guancheng unconscious in full view. Perhaps he intended to use that sort of vicious character to “trick” him.

Thinking of this possibility, Pei Yi held his hand. “I’m not tired, I’ll go with you.”

Bo Yueming clasped his fingers tightly. “Okay.”

. . . . . . . 

Imperial Capital Central Hospital.

Bo Guancheng was lying on the hospital bed. His face was bruised and swollen, and his complexion had turned sallow and unsightly in just two days.

Suddenly, the door opened. 

Bo Guancheng glanced sideways, and after seeing the person clearly, he sat up from bed at once with a look of deep resentment on his swollen face.

“Bo Yueming, you still dare to come here!”

“…….”

Why wouldn’t he dare?

Who was the loser here?

Pei Yi was inwardly sarcastic, but obediently stayed by Bo Yueming’s side without speaking.

Seeing the two of them approaching, Bo Guancheng suddenly picked up the fruit knife on the bedside table and hurled it. “Get lost!”

The fruit knife hit Pei Yi’s foot.

Bo Yueming’s expression immediately darkened, and he kicked it back under the bed. “Bo Guancheng, it’s come to this point, and you still want to hurt people?”

“Hurt people? What did I do?”

As if thinking of something amusing, Bo Guancheng patted his colorful face twice. “My face is like this because of you. Just wait, I’ll do an injury appraisal report!”

He would never let the person in front of him get away with it!

Thinking that he had caught him, the malice and arrogance in Bo Guancheng’s eyes reappeared. “You don’t deny what you did, do you?”

Pei Yi’s eyes shifted slightly, and he wished he could go up and punch Bo Guancheng in the face again—

One shouldn’t be merciful when dealing with this kind of person!

He had clearly done so many dirty things and wouldn’t say a word, but wanted to bite back when he got the opportunity?

Sensing his lover’s impulse and fury, Bo Yueming lightly rubbed his wrist.

Pei Yi noticed his silent comfort and managed to calm down.

Bo Yueming looked directly at the malicious Bo Guancheng and admitted fearlessly, “One must admit what they have done. The car accident you planned in the beginning and the kidnapping you planned that day are enough for you to spend the rest of your life in jail.”

Bo Guancheng gritted his teeth, which pulled at his wounds. “You…..”

“I came here to tell you that I don’t regret what I did to you, nor do I fear your subsequent prosecution methods. Between the two of us, whose actions are more severe? You have to know.”

“……”

Bo Guancheng’s smile froze slightly, and he couldn’t answer for a moment. How could he not know—

The matter between him and Brother Gui was more serious. As for the few punches Bo Yueming gave him, he could just use “justifiable self-defense” as an excuse.

“Bo Yueming, don’t think that with the protection of the Bo family, you can be lawless! You say I engineered the car accident? Where is the evidence? Do you have any? Do the police have any?”

He had always been very secretive in his work, and never did it himself.

If Bo Yueming had evidence about the car accident, Bo Guancheng wouldn’t be here, but facing a cold interrogation!

Seeing his ridiculous internal struggle, Bo Yueming calmly changed the subject. “Bo Guancheng, have you ever thought that Grandma’s favorite heir was actually you?”

“……”

Bo Guancheng was taken aback, and made a sound of disbelief.

“She once told me that your ability is better than your father’s, that you are tactful enough to conduct yourself in life, and merciless when necessary.”

Compared to Bo Yueming’s cold, unsmiling demeanor, Bo Guancheng, the eldest grandson, was the most suitable of the Bo family children to take over.

“My background would inevitably be criticized. Grandma told me long ago — if one day she really couldn’t handle it anymore, she would have you take over her position as chairman and let me assist you in handling affairs.”

Bo Guancheng suppressed his astonishment, and blurted out his denial, “Who do you think you’re bluffing? Would you be willing to help me?”

“Of course not.” Bo Yueming didn’t lie. “You and I don’t share the same worldviews. We would never get along.”

All these years, the reason he was willing to work in the company was to show respect for Old Mrs. Bo and not disappoint her.

Bo Yueming had never coveted the position of chairman of Bo Group, and had even thought about waiting until Bo Guancheng took over. He would resign on his own, preferring to manage GM together with his friend Yan Cen.

Bo Guancheng was still disbelieving. “Impossible, how could she leave the position to me? How could you not compete with me?”

Bo Yueming asked back, “How is it impossible? Think about your name.”

Bo Guancheng, ‘become crowned.’

Although this name was chosen by Cheng Yangshan with shameful intentions, in Old Mrs. Bo’s heart—

Back then, she truly did hope that Bo Guancheng could shoulder the family business and take over the ambition hidden deep in her husband’s heart.

It was a pity that Bo Guancheng’s thoughts grew increasingly crooked, completely disappointing her in the end.

Bo Guancheng shook his head, denying blindly, “Impossible! Don’t try to deceive me! The only grandson she favors is you! I’m just a decoration! A decoration!”

Pei Yi had already figured out the key points, and concluded, “If you’re just a decoration, given Old Mrs. Bo’s temper, would she have given you the chance to join Bo Group?”

She would have cut off Bo Guancheng’s hopes from the very beginning!

Bo Yueming put the facts in front of him. “The grandson of the Bo family, the young master of the Bo family, and before I graduated, you became the youngest general manager of the Bo family.”

“At the beginning, she held out a project worth nearly one billion, just to give you good experience when you had newly graduated.  It didn’t even matter if you lost money. Is this not enough to make the matter clear?”

“…….”

Bo Guancheng’s hands loosened and tightened where he held the blanket, and his expression looked as if he had been slapped several times.

Seeing his changing expression, Pei Yi shook his head in amazement and lament—

You left your biggest backer, and now you have to get along with that soft rice guy!

If Bo Guancheng hadn’t thought too much and had concentrated on accomplishing things, perhaps the position of chairman would have already been his today!

Bo Yueming didn’t want to continue interacting with him, so he quit while he was ahead. “I came here today to relay a message from Grandma — you’re on your own.”

With that said, he took Pei Yi and left.

The sound of the door closing knocked hard on Bo Guancheng’s heart, shattering his self-understanding.

Bo Guancheng only felt that he had been pushed into an endless abyss, waking up from a dream into a rapid freefall.

It turned out that Old Mrs. Bo valued him? He was favored before? 

Bo Guancheng covered his face, letting the pain of his wounds wreak havoc. 

He laughed wildly and frantically, and a gleam of water overflowed from between his fingers.

Unwillingness? Regret?

Bo Guancheng didn’t know what was going on in his heart. He only knew that it was too late now!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Four <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Six

The villagers gradually lost control of their emotions, and the encirclement became smaller and smaller. Their bodies staggered and their wrists shook, poisoned wine splashing out of the cups, but none of it fell on Liu Xian’an. Because Liang Shu almost simultaneously shot out a cold light with a sweep of his hand as the soft sword in his sleeve emerged like a silver dragon coming out of a box, blocking the bowls of wine back without a drop leaking through.

“Drink…….ai!” One person was excitedly urging the two to drink, but was unexpectedly splashed in the face and mouth. The venom ate through his skin like acid, and he was so shocked that he grabbed his throat and squeezed aside to vomit desperately.

This small misfortune caused the scene to go quiet for a moment. The villagers stopped and looked at Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an warily, as well as the sword in Liang Shu’s hand. And in that short period of silence, the villager who had mistakenly swallowed the poisoned wine had already collapsed with convulsing limbs, his face a strange blue color. Liu Xian’an said: “It should be snake venom.”

“Kill these two demons!” A shout burst out from among the villagers!

“Kill the demons!” The people shouted, raising their arms.

Then, as if a hidden switch had been flipped, they suddenly became excited again and seemed to have forgotten that their neighbor had died just now. They poured the poisoned wine in their hands toward the two of them like a summer rain. Liang Shu grabbed Liu Xian’an’s waist and flew over the dark mass of heads in front of him, landing firmly under the trees on the other side.

Gao Lin, who had been standing guard at the village entrance, also led his people over. When they first heard the sound of the rattle drums, everyone judged that this might be another trap set up by the Baifu Sect, but Gao Lin only suspected an ambush, not such a big scene as this. “When it comes to the routines of cults, I’m really too naive.” While thinking such, Lieutenant General Gao swung his sword to sweep away a group of ruffians who had already drawn their knives, and turned to ask: “Your Highness, how should this be settled?”

Liang Shu suggested: “If you can ask such a question, why don’t you try to reason with them first?”

Gao Lin: “…….”

There was no way to explain the truth when the knives were already at their throats.

On Liang Su’s southern tour this time, although he didn’t bring many guards, every one of them was a master, and the group of strong men from the court were still following him inseparably. This small village contained more than a hundred people. Excluding the old, the weak, and the women and children who could not be hit, there were about fifty men left. If replaced by enemies, it would take no more than half an hour to clean them up.

But they were common people. Even if they were raising their knives to kill at this time, they were still common people. An Imperial guard turned sideways to avoid the long knife in front of him, but two people snuck up from behind. He was hesitating for a moment over whether to draw his sword, when a cold black wind suddenly swept in front of him with a crash. The attackers flew up with blood dripping from their mouths, landing on the ground one by one. The soles of Liang Shu’s boots stepped on the arms of the two men, and the sound of cracking bones was clearly audible amidst the collisions of swords and knives. Their shouts of pain were accompanied by hysterical curses. Liang Shu ignored them, kicked them under the trees, and turned around to say coldly: “Don’t make me save you a second time.”

The Imperial guard was ashamed: “……Yes.”

Liu Xian’an stood alone under the trees, and an older child noticed him, saying in a cruel, shrill voice that had not yet changed: “Skin him too!”

The little dolls shook the rattle drums in their hands, trying to drive away the demons with the sound, and picked up stones to throw under the trees. A group of old women also raised torches to burn the demons. Liang Shu turned back in time and drew his sword, sweeping it under the trees to the sound of miserable screams. He landed on the ground and glanced around with cold eyes, shocking the group of children and old women so much that they dared not move anymore. A few sporadic people among them continued to babble even though they couldn’t get up, “Kill the evil gods! Kill the evil gods! Baifu Buddha Mother, kill the evil gods!” They spoke tremblingly, timid and cringing, but the hatred in the glances they occasionally stole did not diminish by half.

Liu Xian’an gave a slight sigh.

Liang Shu asked: “Should we have mercy on them?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “A little, but not much.”

Gao Lin was listening and thought, a little, but not much.

It sounds humane without overdoing it. I’ll learn it and say it next time.

Second Young Master Liu was truly suitable for the prince.

The villagers were quickly subdued. They increasingly regarded Liang Shu and his party as evil gods, and their hatred and fear were clearly displayed on their faces. Some of them even spat at the guards. Gao Lin moved away from these watering cans in disgust, and asked Liang Shu: “Your Highness, did the Baifu Sect put this group of people here just to repulse us?”

“Yes,” Liang Shu said. “They can’t do anything else.”

There were many rattle drums scattered on the ground. Liu Xian’an picked one up with a handkerchief and asked an older child: “Did you make these yourselves, or did they give them to you?”

The other party didn’t answer, but cursed at him in a dirty manner, then pulled out a provocative smile. Liang Shu frowned slightly. The guard to the side understood and pulled the soft whip from his waist, waving his hand.

A bloodstain bloomed. The child cried out in pain, and his parents also shouted anxiously in the crowd. The guard raised his hand and whipped again, this time toward the ground, which caused dirt to splatter and gravel to fly. This shocked the adults into silence, and the child was the only one still shouting loudly: “You adults hit me, a child!”

Gao Lin smiled at the sound: “How old are you this year?”

Given an opportunity, the child shouted loudly: “I’m only ten years old!”

“Ten years old?” Liang Shu looked at him. “At the Northwest camp, some herdsmen send their seven and eight-year-old sons there. Some children are so small that they can’t even climb on the back of a horse, but they can still carry big bags and follow the army on foot when marching and fighting. They are born into poverty, and feel that they can enter the military camp and have enough food to eat, read books, and practice martial arts, so they work hard. All of them are trained to be strong and righteous, and are good at riding and shooting. Those are the good boys that Dayan needs. However, the southwestern region is rich in food and clothing, there is no border turmoil, and the Bai river is not flooding. Instead, you have raised such a big, ignorant waste!”

The child was stunned by the scolding, and his chest heaved in anger. Due to the pain in his body, he didn’t dare to shout “evil gods” anymore, so he just stared fiercely at Liu Xian’an — he was also discerning, and among the crowd at the scene, this one looked the kindest and weakest. But evidence turned out to prove otherwise, because he was whipped again soon after. He screamed in pain and only cried: “You, why don’t you adults leave us alone?”

“It is because you are still young and can be saved that the prince is willing to discipline you personally,” Gao Lin said. “As for the rest.” As he spoke, he turned and glanced at the villagers under the trees. “You are things that will only grow older, not wiser. Life in the Southwest is stable and prosperous, and border trade is developed. If you want to live a long life and get rich, there are many ways to do so the right way, but you chose the wrong way.”

“Baifu Buddha Mother saves all living beings!” Someone shouted.

Gao Lin wasn’t even interested in shutting him up, and turned around to ask Liang Shu for instructions: “Your Highness, should the government take all the villagers away?”

“As soon as possible,” Liang Shu ordered. “After being taken back, those who can be persuaded and whose minds are working will still be temporarily imprisoned and do hard labor nearby for a few years. Those who still single-mindedly seek their religion will all be exiled to the mines in the north. Since they have the energy to chant their mantras here, that energy shouldn’t be wasted.”

“Yes!” Gao Lin ordered the guards to take the Imperial token and hurry to the local government. At this time, the crowd was still in commotion. The northern mines, perhaps the most unforgiving mines in the whole of Dayan, were covered in heavy snow and ice in winter and were thousands of li away. Someone cried: “My parents are already sixty years old and can’t walk. What is the difference between this and murder?”

Liu Xian’an said: “Your parents were able to try to burn me with torches, so it isn’t that they can’t walk, but that they walk more slowly.”

Gao Lin gave a laugh, pfft, and after laughing, he felt that this occasion should be more serious, so he cleared his throat and frowned at the man, saying: “Not to mention sixty years old, even if you were six hundred years old, can you break the law with impunity? In my opinion, your parents have lived decades longer than you but still don’t know right from wrong, so they should be sentenced more severely. My family’s prince has never bought such tricks as relying on youth and old age. If you want a lighter sentence, the only way out is to cooperate with the Imperial court’s investigation and clear up the Baifu Buddha Mother in your mind as soon as possible, and stop dirtying the ears of my family’s young master!”

My family’s……young master.

Liang Shu felt that he should consider giving him a raise.

Whether the villagers had been scolded to sobriety was hard to say, but they were at least scolded silent.

The guards kept watch on the area with their swords. The government office was not nearby, and even if they hurried, they should not arrive until noon the next day. Liang Shu didn’t want Liu Xian’an to stay in this strange, dirty village any longer, so he went back to the woods outside the village with him.

Liu Xian’an asked: “Will the prince continue to interrogate them?”

Liang Shu said: “No need, Gao Lin knows what to ask.”

Liu Xian’an nodded, feeling a little hungry.

Liang Shu smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then gathered a pile of dry firewood in the forest and lit it. He took a package of meat out of the carriage and slowly roasted it, saying: “It’s true that nothing can delay your eating and sleeping.”

“There are things that can delay them.” Liu Xian’an said beside him and imitated him by baking a piece of biscuit. He was indeed able to eat and sleep most of the time, but there were also a few times he was unable to eat or sleep all night, all because of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang — he was reluctant to fall asleep and was not at ease, worrying about having to work in his dreams.

Liang Shu asked: “What things? Let’s hear them.”

Liu Xian’an refused: “Won’t say.”

Liang Shu put his arm around his shoulders, coaxing: “A forty-eight thousand-year-old immortal who is rich in experience has nothing to say?”

Liu Xian’an remained calm and kept his mouth shut.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll make wild guesses.” Liang Shu cupped his face. “Were you thinking about me so much that you couldn’t sleep?”

He was just speaking randomly, and never thought he would get it right. A forty-eight thousand year-old immortal had not cultivated a forty-eight thousand year-old face. In this respect, Second Young Master Liu was still very young. Looking at his sweetheart at such a close distance, his heart was poked, and he blushed. Liang Shu seemed to have discovered a secret treasure stash: “No, you really think about me so much?”

But Liu Xian’an thought, this is human nature. That is to say, love is annoying, and you will think about someone when they’re out of sight. It is written like this in poems.

Liang Shu embraced him tightly: “That being the case, how about I don’t go back to my own place to sleep, and just stay at your bedside all night?”

Liu Xian’an’s ears itched because of what he said, so he turned his head to hide, but the other party refused to let go, so he could only say something like: “I’m hungry.”

Liang Shu continued to wrap the man in his arms in order to keep him warm, and leaned over to take something from the fire for him to eat. With food in his stomach, the chill in his bones that had just set in at the village dissipated a little, and he was much more comfortable. Liu Xian’an said: “I don’t know how many similar villages there will be farther south.”

“Even if there are one hundred or one thousand villages like this, they are not difficult to handle,” Liang Shu said. “The tricky part is the Baifu Sect. It is like a giant queen ant hidden deep underground, continuously spawning batches of victims. If it is not completely eradicated, there will never be peace in the Southwest.”

His voice was very soft when he spoke, without any hostility, and when he gave a light sigh, it was like a sigh of exhaustion. Liu Xian’an reached out to touch the side of his face, caressing it a bit. Liang Shu felt his care and distress, and pushed forward to get closer to him, their faces nearly touching.

The mountain wind rustled the trees in the forest, and winter in the Southwest was not very cold. The two of them snuggled up to each other by the fire, and their hands and feet were warmed up. It was rare for Liu Xian’an not to feel drowsy from being baked by the fire, and he stretched out his hand to let Liang Shu rest his head on his shoulder.

There was quiet a sense of being dependent on each other.

Everyone slept in the woods overnight. At noon the next day, the local official came with a bunch of people who were scared witless. He fell off his horse, and when he met Liang Shu, he almost wet his pants in fear. He knew that there were many cults in this world, but why were there so many? All of the people in the village were brainwashed and raised their knives to kill His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. This……they might as well kill themselves too!

“I will leave further investigation to you, and if you achieve results, this lord will spare you the crime of dereliction of duty this time,” Liang Shu said. “Persuade the people of this village if you can, and the ones who remain stubborn will be considered cultists, so there is no need to waste words.”

“Yes, yes, I will do my best!” The official had already determined that he would be beheaded, and now that he had recovered his life in the wake of this catastrophe, he nearly cried. “Your Highness, just rest assured!”

He kowtowed here, with the villagers on the other side still cursing and chanting scriptures endlessly. The official was so dizzy that he ordered his subordinates to shut them up and arrest them. A guard of Xiao Wang Palace was also anxious, and said: “It’s been a whole night, why aren’t these people tired? Do they really think they can talk people to death with just their mouths?”

“You can really talk people to death with your mouth, but not with this kind of wording.” Gao Lin tossed over a steamed bun. “Eat, then continue on your way.”

The guard asked: “Then what kind of wording?”

Gao Lin looked toward the other side, where Liu Xian’an was talking to A-Ning under a tree: “Look, that’s the way it is said.”

But Second Young Master Liu himself didn’t think he was too talkative. He didn’t have a good rest last night, so his neck was sore and his head was dizzy. While massaging his shoulders and neck, A-Ning asked: “The young master was holding the prince for the whole night?”

Liu Xian’an said: “Yes.”

A-Ning found this unbelievable: “But the young master usually sleeps lying down, and even has to change position seven or eight times per night.”

Liu Xian’an explained: “Because there is usually no prince there when I sleep.”

After speaking, he was so tired that he climbed back into the carriage to catch up on sleep. Gao Lin sneaked over to acquire information, and asked: “What were you talking about just now?”

A-Ning answered truthfully, saying that there was usually no prince when he slept.

Gao Lin slapped his thigh deep in his heart. I knew it, Second Young Master Liu’s hazy and distressed expression just now must have something to do with my prince. I’m so clever and witty. He immediately took this news as if offering a treasure, and said to Liang Shu: “Second Young Master Liu regrets that there is no prince when he usually sleeps.”

This sentence could be broken down into two parts. “There is usually no prince” was said by A-Ning himself, and the “regret” part was summarized by Lieutenant General Gao himself because of that distressed look. It must not be very much different from regret, and couldn’t be explained as happiness, right?

Liang Shu praised: “After returning to the Northwest, go to the accountant for a raise.”

Lieutenant General Gao had gone through many ups and downs during his years of life, but this was the first time he made such easy money. 

The mountain road became increasingly rugged as they went farther south. When they arrived at the Southwest garrison military camp, it was already approaching New Year’s Eve.

This city was called Garrison City. There were no civilians in residence, but soldiers and their families. Ku You personally led the army out of the city to meet them. Wearing silver armor and riding a white horse, he held a long spear, and had silver hair and golden eyes. With this appearance of somewhere between a demon and a god, it was no wonder that rumors about him spread everywhere in the Southwest and even the entire territory of Dayan.

“Your Highness.” He got off his horse and was about to salute, but was grabbed by Gao Lin, who said, “Kneel when your old injury is healed, or I’m afraid you won’t be able to get up.”

“I’m already better.” Ku You handed the spear to a subordinate, and personally led the horse for Liang Shu. The sun was just right on this day, and when he looked up, his eyes reflected the light like a cat’s or a leopard’s, and Liu Xian’an behind him was taken aback for a moment.

A-Ning also noticed it, and whispered: “This Commander Ku’s eye disease seems to be very serious.”

“It’s very tricky, and needs to be treated as soon as possible,” Liu Xian’an said.

A-Ning asked again: “Can the young master cure it?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “Although I know medical principles, this disease requires surgery, and I have never cut an eyeball myself.”

A-Ning had actually gone to observe several cadaver dissection classes, but that wasn’t enough either. The two of them just put their heads together and murmured. Ku You also noticed this, and asked: “Brother Gao, are those two people in the back the rumored miracle doctors?”

“Yes.” Gao Lin said, “I’ll ask Second Young Master Liu to take a look at your old wound for you. He’s a master. He treated our prince and tamed him.”

Ku You was puzzled: “Shouldn’t the miracle doctor be First Young Master Liu?”

Gao Lin said with surprise: “Aiya, you’re well-informed in these old Southwest forests. This matter is a long story, and we must start with our prince’s marriage.”

Ku You was happy to hear this. “I heard that the prince truly wishes to marry the lady of Baihe Mountain Village?”

As soon as these words fell, a piece of silver was thrown at Gao Lin’s head and smacked into his teeth. With sharp eyes and quick hands, Gao Lin snatched the small windfall from the sky and put it in his sleeve with peace of mind, saying in a knowledgeable tone, “This brother advises you to shut up.”

Ku You: “…….”

Their residences in the city had been prepared. Liang Shu naturally stayed in the main courtyard, and Liu Xian’an’s residence was also good, spacious and bright. However, it was far away from the main courtyard. Gao Lin was impressed, and asked: “Why don’t you just arrange for Second Young Master Liu to live in the wild forest outside the city?”

Ku You didn’t understand at all: “What do you mean by that? What’s this about arranging him outside the city? Isn’t this for the convenience of the miracle doctor to go collect medicinal herbs?”

Gao Lin was so choked that he couldn’t speak a word.

What happened, I didn’t notice you were this stupid in the Northwest, ah!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Two

Feeling the coolness on his neck, along with this choked out apology, Pei Yi’s heart seemed to be crushed into two halves.

These few hours, how much had Bo Yueming suppressed his self-blame for his kidnapping?

This was why he was so wild, fragile, and agitated.

“Er-ge, it’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Pei Yi mirrored Bo Yueming’s actions in order to comfort him, gently rubbing the back of his lover’s neck again and again. “I know, I know, I didn’t let you come to me.”

“I should have gone,” Bo Yueming replied very softly, the strength of his embrace never relaxing.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone. I should have learned my lesson from the first two banquets, but I still took it lightly.”

Pei Yi coaxed him with a hint of humor, “Okay, I forgive you. I’ll ask Mr. Bo to pay attention next time, all right?”

One couldn’t imagine that a thief was living in their own house.

Who would have expected that Bo Guancheng would still be thinking of finding someone to attack him at this juncture?

Thanks to their infrequent contact and his “foolish” disguise on the occasions they met, the poor information had given Pei Yi the chance to escape.

Bo Yueming regained his sanity in his lover’s embrace, and finally recovered from his ruthlessness. “Did I hit him hard just now?”

Pei Yi patted him on the back. “Yes, ah. If I hadn’t come, you would have beat him to death.”

Bo Yueming loosened his grip, but the hostility in his heart had not completely dissipated. “He should be killed.”

Bo Guancheng’s tricks had not been used once or twice. He had planned the car accident, drugged and slandered him—

Bo Yueming could bear it for the sake of the overall situation, but today, the other party had touched his bottom line, and he couldn’t stand it anymore!

“That won’t work. If you kill him, you’ll be at fault.” Pei Yi kissed Bo Yueming’s lips, and said regretfully, “We should send him to jail, the longer the better.”

For a young master like Bo Guancheng who was used to living a good life, sending him to prison would be worse than death for him.

Bo Yueming took a deep breath. “Don’t talk about him, let me see. Where are you hurt?”

Pei Yi said with a guilty conscience, “I’m not hurt, ah.”

Bo Yueming debunked his lover’s well-intentioned excuses. “You can’t hide it from me. During the video call just now, you held the phone very close on purpose, because you were afraid that I would see and be distracted during the meeting.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming took him to sit on the sofa. “Is this coat Mr. Qin’s?”

“En, I was caught off guard today and tied up, and I didn’t have enough clothes……” As he spoke, Pei Yi remembered one important thing.

His expression changed, and he raised his hand, slapping his thigh with force, but unfortunately, his unspoken question changed in tone, “—Hiss!”

His injured right arm went numb with the movement, and Pei Yi’s face twisted.

Bo Yueming was suddenly anxious. “What’s wrong?”

Pei Yi endured the pain and said, “It’s not me, it’s Uncle Kai! Uncle Kai fainted!”

Bo Yueming explained, “I’ve already asked Lao Fu to rush back. He just passed out for a while with a slight concussion, and he’ll be fine after a few days.”

“What about your arm—”

Carefully taking off his lover’s coat, he stopped in astonishment halfway through his words of concern.

There was a tear in Pei Yi’s right sleeve, and when carefully peeled open, it could be seen that there was a big abrasion, red, swollen, and bruised, with oozing blood. It looked very serious.

In contrast, the ligature marks on his wrists and ankles looked very light.

“What happened!”

Bo Yueming’s heart ached as if someone had their hands around his arteries. “Did they mistreat you? How did you get hurt?”

 Pei Yi lowered his eyes and muttered, “I was careless and fell down.”

“Don’t try to lie to me!” Excessive worry caused Bo Yueming to raise his voice for a moment, then he quickly softened it and coaxed, “Kitten, be honest.”

Pei Yi knew that the possibility of deceiving his lover was very slim, so he briefly talked about his experience of being tied up, and then vaguely talked about the end—

“I really couldn’t escape out the front, and I couldn’t let them take me to another location, so I jumped out the bathroom window on the third floor and j-jumped to a second floor platform on the other side.”

Pei Yi carefully observed his lover’s face, and the more he looked, the more confident he became. “I d-didn’t land firmly, and fell sideways.”

“……”

The blue veins on Bo Yueming’s forehead stood out, as if he was trying to restrain himself, and his eyes were beyond red.

“Aiya, I told you I’m fine.” Pei Yi rubbed the corners of Bo Yueming’s eyes with his warm fingertips, and deliberately teased, “Are you twenty-six or a seven-year-old child? Why are you still crying?”

Bo Yueming suppressed his emotion and held his hand, wanting to touch but daring not to. “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts, ah.”

Pei Yi simply stopped hiding it.

He slipped into Bo Yueming’s arms, both coquettish and comforting. “I need you to hug me so I feel better.”

Bo Yueming avoided his injury as much as he could, and kissed his hair. “Do you want to go to the hospital? Or do you want to go home and call for private medical treatment?”

“En, let’s go to the hospital. My brother has been worried this whole way.”

Pei Yi had originally planned to rush to Bo Group and then deal with the injury, but upon arriving to the door—

He saw law enforcement officers taking away a nearly fainting Cheng Yangshan, as well as an ashen-faced Bo Lihui, but only Bo Guancheng was nowhere to be seen. 

For some reason, Pei Yi was instinctively worried about Bo Yueming, so he rushed over just in time to see the previous scene.

His lover hit as hard as he could, and the powerless Bo Guancheng was beaten until he almost passed out.

Pei Yi asked in confusion, “By the way, why wasn’t Bo Guancheng taken away?”

Bo Yueming replied, “Some time ago, Zhong Yi and I checked the company’s accounts for the past year. Without exception, all of the financial records and projects were signed by Bo Lihui.”

It was possible that Cheng Yangshan and Bo Lihui had kept a trick up their sleeves by preventing Bo Guancheng from participating.

It was also possible that Bo Guancheng had calculated the danger of being exposed and took himself out early.

Pei Yi thought of Bo Guancheng’s behavior all this time and was leaning toward the latter option—

Bo Guancheng had Cheng Yangshan and Bo Lihui’s selfish genes engraved into his bones, and even more. He was the one who knew best how to instigate schemes while protecting himself amongst these three relatives!

Pei Yi asked, “What does the Old Madam intend to do? Is she going to be lenient with Bo Guancheng?”

After all, he was one of the grandsons that she had once favored.

Bo Yueming shook his head. “Grandma isn’t someone who acts unreasonably in favor of her own relatives. My car accident and your kidnapping were caused by Bo Guancheng. As long as there is evidence, she won’t play favorites.”

“That’s great.”

That being the case, they had nothing to be polite about.

At the next prison meal, Bo Guancheng must also have a bowl, so that the three surnamed Cheng family members could be reunited.

Bo Yueming glanced at the electronic clock on the wall. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Pei Yi didn’t refuse. “Okay.”

When the two walked back to the headquarters lobby, they happened to bump into someone taking Bo Guancheng, who had lost blood and fainted, to the hospital.

Qin Yishun saw his little brother’s figure and approached. “Xiao Yi.”

Pei Yi murmured softly, “Brother, why are your men sending that guy to the hospital?”

“If he isn’t sent to the hospital and there are serious consequences, who will it fall on?”

Qin Yishun glanced at the “culprit”, Bo Yueming, and added, “I’ll send someone to watch Bo Guancheng. As long as those three confess to the police, he will definitely not be able to escape punishment.”

Bo Yueming knew that he had lost his calmness and sense of proportion, so he gave his sincere thanks, “Mr. Qin, thank you for today.”

Qin Yishun still put on the air of “being a big brother,” and pretended to be indifferent. “Don’t be polite. I’m doing it for Xiao Yi, not for you.”

“Thank you, Brother!”

Pei Yi jumped on the opportunity to create peace, and asked on the sly, “Brother, weren’t you going to help me beat him?”

Qin Yishen covered his lips with a clenched fist, feeling a little uncomfortable about ‘doing bad things.’ “I made a few moves while helping to put him on the stretcher. It hurt the bones, but not the skin. He’ll suffer.”

Bursting with delight, Pei Yi gave him a covert thumbs up with his uninjured left hand. “Awesome! As expected of my big brother!”

He thought of how beaten up Bo Guancheng was when awake, and how he was plotted against while he was unconscious—

En, so cool!

Qin Yishun’s expression eased a lot in the face of his little brother’s smile. “All right, let’s go to the hospital.”

Bo Yueming was in the same camp. “Yes, let’s go to the hospital first. Nothing is more important than your injury right now.”

Having finally heard a pleasing sentence, Qin Yishun nodded slightly.

Not bad!

His little brother’s affairs should come first.

Pei Yi looked at his elder brother and his lover who were not yet on friendly terms, and decided to contribute his own strength to the harmony of the family!

With no delay, he tugged Qin Yishun’s wrist with his injured left hand and gently hooked Bo Yueming’s fingertips with his injured right hand.

“Go, go, I’ll go to the hospital with you both right away!”

As soon as these words fell, the three of them saw the nearby elevator door open—

Sitting in a wheelchair, Bo Peizhi was pushed out of the elevator by Zhong Yi, the latter’s complexion slightly grim.

Pei Yi looked at Qin Yishun and changed track in a whisper. “Brother, can you go and start the car first? We’ll go over immediately after greeting the Old Madam.”

Qin Yishun nodded. “Okay. Don’t delay too long, your injury still needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.”

“En.”

Bo Yueming and Pei Yi walked up to the Old Madam. “Grandma, are you feeling unwell? Shall we take you to the hospital again?”

Bo Peizhi shook her head. “No, it’s just that I haven’t had the energy to talk this much for a long time. I feel a little tired after slacking off for so long, so I just need to go home and have a good rest.”

She hadn’t been back to Bo Manor for a long time, and now that the root of evil had been dealt with, she could finally pack up and go home.

The bodyguards sent by Qin Yishun were still there, and the medical staff from Mingxi Manor had been paid for at-home services, so there was nothing for her juniors to worry about.

At this thought, Bo Yueming unconsciously glanced at Pei Yi.

Pei Yi at once politely greeted, “Old Madam.”

Bo Peizhi asked in a low voice, “Have you been wronged? Did that bastard Guancheng plot against you?”

She couldn’t think of any other reason that could have made the always calm and restrained Bo Yueming lose control like that.

Pei Yi also didn’t want his elder to worry. “It was a small matter. Old Madam, please rest well. Don’t be concerned about me, I have Er-ge.”

The last sentence was infused with a bit of unique sweetness.

Bo Peizhi smiled, liking Pei Yi from the bottom of her heart. “Deal with it early and go home, then have a reunion dinner with Grandma tonight.”

Although there were fewer people, there was the new addition of Pei Yi, and the atmosphere must be much better than before.

Pei Yi understood tacitly. “Okay, Grandma.”

Hearing his lover change his address, there was finally a hint of a smile in Bo Yueming’s eyes, and the frightening feeling of being on the verge of losing control just now disappeared at last.

Bo Peizhi was also very satisfied, and waved her hand with a smile. “All right, you two go first.”

Under her affirming eyes, lightly held his lover’s hand again and led him to turn around and leave.

Zhong Yi gazed at the backs of the departing young couple and bent down with a slight smile. “Old Madam, these two kids are really a match. I used to look at Yueming’s indifferent temperament and think that he would never find a partner in his life.”

As she spoke, she remembered the entertaining story of Pei Yi at the exchange banquet in Wencheng, and joked about it with Bo Peizhi in a whisper.

Bo Peizhi followed suit with a smile. “Xiao Yi is an interesting kid, smart enough, straightforward enough, and cute. And he’s able to manage Yueming’s cold temperament.”

That shameless old bastard Cheng Yangshan did the right thing by making this mistake!

Bo Peizhi recalled the secret preparations they had made recently, and patted Zhong Yi’s wrist. “A-Yi, you’ve worked hard during this time, coming here to help with everything.”

“Old Madam, what are you talking about? You treat me just like your own daughter.”

“After I got married, everyone thought that I followed my husband to go out and start a business. Only you understand and know that I am the one who really wants to work hard on my own and take care of things outside.”

From graduating university until now, Zhong Yi had learned and benefited a lot from Bo Peizhi, and was grateful.

Zhong Yi asked with a smile, “My company over there is stable, and my daughter is also being taken care of by her father and nanny. I’ll stay in the capital with you for a while longer before I leave?”

Bo Peizhi answered, “Yes, of course.”

The two returned to the parking lot with the rest of the bodyguards, and saw a figure from a distance.

Bo Jiao ran up, and said with some rare embarrassment, “Grandma.”

Bo Peizhi understood her unspoken thoughts. “Jiaojiao wants to go back with me?”

Bo Jiao nodded. There was something in her heart that she wanted to ask clearly.

Bo Peizhi didn’t refuse. “Then let’s go together.”

The car door closed, and they drove toward Bo Manor.

Bo Jiao still had her straightforward personality, and couldn’t help but ask, “Grandma, did you and my brother prepare ahead of time and set up today’s shareholders meeting?”

Hearing this address from Bo Jiao’s mouth, she smiled slightly and responded, “Yes.”

She looked at her granddaughter who had grown up abroad. “Jiaojiao, I know what you want to ask. Your brother offered to let you speak for the first round of reports at the meeting.”

This was something that she and Bo Yueming had prepared in advance—

Bo Jiao had the same demeanor that she had in the past, but she was still young and lacked experience, and wasn’t a familiar face in front of the shareholders. Today’s shareholders meeting was a good opportunity.

“Jiaojiao, Grandma is actually very glad that you grew up with the Xue family abroad. At least you could avoid being affected by the bad views and influences from our family.”

“After you joined the group, you spent a lot more time with Yueming. You should know what sort of character he has, right?”

Bo Jiao nodded.

Watching the street go by outside the window, Bo Peizhi spoke earnestly, “There are people in the main branch and second branch who think that I’m biased, but you must think about it—”

“It was your father’s mistake in his youth that produced Yueming before he met your mother. This sort of background shouldn’t be considered a sin on Yueming’s shoulders.”

“During these years, if I didn’t protect him a little more, he would have only received more indifference and ridicule.”

Bo Jiao’s eyes lowered slightly. “I understand.”

Not to mention other people, Xue Min’s disgust toward Bo Yueming and Bo Wang’s bullying alone were not something that an ordinary person could bear.

After this experience, the second branch knew who was right and who was wrong, who was good and who was bad.

“I know your father is not good at managing things, so I gave him a more relaxed subsidiary company. If you and Bo Wang are interested in the affairs of the group and having positions, Grandma is willing to give you a chance to practice.”

“The Bo family can stand firm by relying on pure strength, so don’t think about crooked ways, all right?”

“Understood.”

Bo Peizhi breathed a sigh of relief, and said calmly, “You are the future of the Bo family. If you, brother and sister, do not separate, our Bo family can go far.”

Bo Jiao’s heart was moved, and she replied even more resolutely, “Grandma, don’t worry, I will talk to my mother—”

“In, in the future, I will definitely not treat my brother like before.”

“En, good child.”

. . . . . . .

Ten p.m.

Pei Yi, who had been exhausted all day, finally lay back in bed. “So tired. So sleepy.”

Bo Yueming approached his lover and carefully peeled off the waterproof wrapping from his wound. “Did you get any water on it when you washed? Does it still hurt?”

“No, I was very careful.”

Pei Yi could see that Bo Yueming was still anxious, and he only said, “It doesn’t hurt very much, but my arm is still swollen and I can’t lift it up.”

Bo Yueming was still distressed. “It will probably take ten days to half a month for the swelling to subside.”

Pei Yi didn’t want him to continue thinking about the wound, so he changed the subject. “Er-ge, did you notice tonight that the second branch’s attitude toward you is much better?”

“Especially Bo Wang.”

That kid used to turn up his nose at Bo Yueming, but tonight at the dining table in the main house, he offered to pour wine for Bo Yueming.

Bo Yueming replied placidly, “Something like that happened to the main branch, and they restrained themselves toward me for Grandma’s sake.”

Pei Yi shook his head. “When Grandma was at home before, did they restrain themselves? I see, ah. Time reveals a person’s heart, and they finally see you.”

Bo Yueming was indifferent. “I’ve been here for so many years. No matter whether they treat me well or not, it doesn’t mean much to me anymore.”

As long as they didn’t touch his bottom line like the main branch did, Bo Yueming was willing to coexist peacefully with them, but there would be no deeper emotions.

Pei Yi nodded and yawned a little, nestling into the left side of the bed as usual. “I’m a little sleepy.”

“Then rest.”

Bo Yueming also lay down, saying, “You lay down with your back facing me. Don’t press on your left arm tonight.”

“En.”

Pei Yi obediently leaned into his lover’s arms.

Bo Yueming encircled him tightly and pressed his lips against his lover’s neck, but didn’t attack. “Pei Yi.”

It was a simple call, with the joy and cherishment of regaining something lost.

Pei Yi lightly rubbed the back of his hand. “En?”

“Nothing, go to sleep.” Bo Yueming hesitated to speak, and kissed his ear. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Pei Yi responded in a whisper.

He only felt that Bo Yueming’s grip on his waist was tighter than before.

. . . . . . .

Bo Yueming didn’t sleep soundly this time. In his sleep, he heard the ringing of a phone—

When he rummaged around and found that the call was connected, it was still that same call from the kidnappers, but this time they refused to let him see Pei Yi!

Bo Yueming was vaguely flustered, but didn’t believe it. He subconsciously believed that Pei Yi was sleeping in his arms. He struggled to wake up from the dream, and before he could take a breath—

His arms were empty!

The lover who was supposed to be sleeping in his arms had disappeared!

“…….”

Dream and reality tangled together in a flustered maze, firmly capturing Bo Yueming inside it.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he almost fell out of bed as he rushed out. “Pei Yi? Pei Yi!”

“Er-ge?”

Pei Yi returned from outside in the small living room, his voice abnormally hoarse. “Why are you awake? Did I disturb you?”

As soon as the lingering sound fell, Bo Yueming approached in big strides and pulled him into his arms, still remembering to avoid the injured arm.

“Where did you go in the middle of the night?” Bo Yueming tried his best to restrain himself, but there was still undue tremor at the end of his tone. “Where did you go?”

“……”

Pei Yi’s dizziness brought on by the exertion stopped, and he murmured hoarsely, “I was a little uncomfortable, so I wanted to get up and drink some warm water.”

He had been very careful not to wake Bo Yueming, but didn’t expect to hear the other party’s panicked shouts just a few steps into the living room.

Pei Yi reached out and patted Bo Yueming’s head, coaxing, “Er-ge, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay by your side.”

“……”

Bo Yueming breathed in with great effort, and managed to calm down.

He felt Pei Yi’s forehead, picked up his lover in front of him again, and brought him back to the bed to settle down.

“You’re sick with a fever? Why didn’t you wake me up when you felt uncomfortable?”

Pei Yi murmured, “I thought about it for a minute or two, but I didn’t want to bother you.”

When he was sick and didn’t feel good in the past, Pei Yi could take care of himself well. But the drinking fountain at the water bar seemed to be broken, and since he was unable to get his warm water, he intended to go downstairs.

“What is the relationship between us? How can you mention bothering me?” Bo Yueming was angry and helpless as he wrapped the quilt tightly for him.

“Stay still, I’ll get you some water.”

Pei Yi leaned forward to kiss his lips, and obeyed in a well-behaved manner. “Okay.”

Three minutes later.

After drinking half a glass of warm water, Pei Yi’s thirst was relieved.

Bo Yueming took his temperature with an electronic thermometer. “You have a slight fever, but there’s no need to take medicine for the time being. Sleep for the night and I’ll check it again when we wake up tomorrow morning.”

Pei Yi nodded, and took the initiative to move his position. “Er-ge, let me switch sides with you? I like to sleep face to face in your arms.”

“All right.”

The bedside lamp gave off only the dimmest gleam of light.

Pei Yi huddled in Bo Yueming’s warm embrace. Recalling the two panicked and uneasy cries he heard not long ago, he felt a little distressed.

He raised his eyes to look at Bo Yueming, who was only a short distance away, and understood the unease deep in his heart.

Pei Yi had always known that he was important to Bo Yueming, but now he had a new understanding of this importance.

Pei Yi breathed lightly. “Er-ge, do you know what I was thinking when I jumped out of that window today?”

Hearing the words “jumped out of that window,” Bo Yueming’s body automatically tensed. “Hm?”

Pei Yi kissed his Adam’s apple. “I was thinking, wouldn’t it be such a pity if an accident happened?”

Bo Yueming denied, “What pity? Don’t talk nonsense!”

Pei Yi looked into his eyes and leaned up to kiss his lover’s lips, saying carefully, “Bo Yueming, I’m right here, staying in your arms.”

“I know,” Bo Yueming replied in a whisper.

“I can take care of myself. I’ll avoid danger as much as possible, and I will not disappear suddenly, much less leave you alone in the middle of the night. I promise.”

“……”

The uneasiness deep in Bo Yueming’s heart was stripped away until it was completely gone. “Don’t lie to me.”

Pei Yi leaned close and kissed his lover over and over. “I won’t lie to you.”

The two exchanged light kisses.

Pei Yi’s cheeks flushed faintly, and he continued to tell him what he hadn’t finished voicing just now in a light manner. 

“I thought for a second or two when I jumped out of the window today that I hadn’t been able to communicate with you in-depth. Wouldn’t it be a pity if I just fell stupidly and miserably like that?”

“If so, I would rather be sleeping with you……”

“……”

Bo Yueming was taken aback. “You’re talking nonsense again.”

Pei Yi smiled and got closer, shyly comforting him and boldly showing his love. “Er-ge, do you want me?”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Three <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Five

T/N: Thank you to hope for the donation! Another double update, here we gooooo

*

A WeChat video call suddenly popped up. It was Bo Yueming.

Pei Yi inexplicably panicked, afraid that his sorry appearance would make his lover worry.

He quickly wiped his face with a wet paper towel, smoothed his messy hair a bit, and gathered his outermost coat in before answering the video call.

Bo Yueming’s face appeared the moment the screen switched on.

They had obviously just seen each other that morning, but what happened these few short hours was not something that anyone could easily bear.

After seeing Bo Yueming, Pei Yi’s courage when facing his kidnappers collapsed in an instant, and he felt an inexplicable sense of grievance and sourness. “Er-ge.”

“Pei Yi.”

The two spoke at the same time and stopped at the same time.

Bo Yueming stared at him without blinking, the worry in his eyes undiminished. “Why did it take so long for the video call to connect, are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine, it’s just a little cold.”

Pei Yi explained his situation very lightly, not wanting to distract Bo Yueming from his business at the shareholder meeting for the time being.

He glanced at Qin Yishun, who was sitting quietly by his side with his face growing darker and darker, and added in a very low whisper, “Er-ge, my big brother is getting angry, shh.”

“…….”

Suddenly being used as an excuse to “bluff” people, Qin Yishun’s expression darkened even more—

What was so good about Bo Yueming? Was he enthralled by his own little brother’s willing appearance? 

Seeing that Pei Yi liked him, Qin Yishun just turned a blind eye. As a result, his little brother was involved in the Bo family’s disputes two and then three times, and each time was more frightening!

It had been less than five minutes since he had gotten out of a dangerous situation, and in front of his brother, he only had eyes for Bo Yueming?

“…….”

A daughter married off was like water poured out, and it was hard to recover a cabbage with long legs!^[1]

Qin Yishun remembered this joke he had heard in the army before, and simply turned his gaze out the window so he couldn’t see them.

Annoying!

At this moment, the ‘annoying’ Pei Yi was still immersed in the video call, not revealing the wounds on his body. “Er-ge, the shareholder meeting hasn’t ended so soon, has it?”

“Not yet, I rushed out after receiving the WeChat message.”

Bo Yueming glanced in the direction of the large conference room and explained, “The most important part on the agenda is coming soon.”

Pei Yi was anxious. “Then you go back quickly, what are you still doing here chatting with me?”

Hearing that his tone was as normal as always, Bo Yueming only said, “Listening to your voice wasn’t enough, I needed to see you to rest assured. I’m ready to go back now.”

Pei Yi nodded. “En, don’t forget the business I mentioned.”

Bo Yueming recalled the previous voice message, and his ribcage became a shield as he recovered his confidence. “I know, none of them will leave with a smile today.”

“Okay, go ahead. I’ll wait for you to finish.”

Pei Yi hung up the phone, only to find that his brother’s expression was nearly as black as carbon.

“…….”

Pei Yi suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem, and the curve at the corners of his mouth widened a bit, trending toward cute and obedient.

“Brother?”

“Don’t call me Brother and take my phone to send WeChat messages and make phone calls. You only think about Bo Yueming, but have you ever thought about your brother who was worried this whole time?”

Qin Yishun took a deep breath, feeling a little sour.

Pei Yi thought of the special endearment he had sent Bo Yueming in that WeChat voice message, and his eyes filled with a bit of guilt.

“Cough.” He deleted the WeChat voice message without any trace. “Brother, I really know I was wrong.”

“Can’t you see me now? I’m fine! Don’t worry about me, okay?”

Qin Yishun looked at his red, swollen, bleeding arm and frowned. “You call this fine?”

“The wounds on the wrists and ankles are self-explanatory, but what happened to your arm? Did they drag you on the concrete?”

“No.”

Pei Yi thought of his risky jump from the building that could have resulted in disaster if he was a little careless, and his eyes wandered in avoidance. “I just fell when I was running away barefoot.”

It was indeed a fall, but not on flat ground, and was instead a fall from a high place to a low place.

Qin Yishuen felt that the wound was not that simple. Just as he was about to ask, there was a knock on the car door—

The subordinate sent over the shoes and socks that had been bought for the interim. “Boss Qin, the things you asked for.”

“We also handed over the three kidnappers and their weapons to the police, and Mr. Pei may be required to give a statement later.”

Pei Yi took the opportunity to change the subject. “Okay, I’ve troubled you.”

“It’s no trouble.”

The subordinate stopped there and turned to leave.

Pei Yi picked up the shoes and socks, and blatantly changed the topic, “Aiyo, I’ll put them on quickly, my feet are almost numb from the cold. Brother, you drive, I still want to go to Bo Group to watch the excitement.”

Qin Yishun was angry and helpless. “Do you have to go?”

Pei Yi nodded affirmatively, a dark light overflowing from the corners of his reddened eyes.

“The culprit of the kidnapping is still at Headquarters, and I can’t let this go. Brother, will you teach him a lesson for me later?”

Qin Yishun had always had no way to deal with Pei Yi, not to mention that his last sentence really hit him in the heart.

“Brother~”

Pei Yi’s voice dragged on for a long time. “Let’s go. At worst, we’ll arrive at Bo Group in a while and you can apply medicine for me, okay?”

Qin Yishun sighed. “Fasten your seatbelt.”

Pei Yi responded with a smile, “Okay!”

. . . . . . .

The door of the conference room reopened.

After settling his emotions, Bo Yueming walked steadily back to his place before everyone’s eyes, and calmly took control. “Apologies, some personal matters delayed me. Where are we now?”

Sitting in the back row, Bo Guancheng narrowed his eyes, feeling that something was wrong—

Why did he come back?

Shouldn’t he have run off to find Pei Yi, unable to sit still? Why did he look more at ease than before?

Some shareholders couldn’t help being curious. “Mr. Bo, are, are your eyes okay?”

Bo Yueming took off his concealing guide glasses and placed them lightly on the table. “They’re pretty much healed. Thank you, shareholders, for your concern.”

The light in those blue eyes had rekindled again, even a bit colder than before.

Bo Yueming looked around at the large and small shareholders, and paused for a moment on Bo Guancheng’s face. “As the only ‘general manager’ of Bo Group, I will better lead the group to a new level in the future.”

He bit out the word “only,” and Bo Guancheng grit his teeth upon hearing it.

“In this near year, shareholders and—” Bo Yueming gestured toward Cheng Yangshan and Bo Lihui, and said simply, “Mr. Chairman, please support me.”

The next step was voting to “hire or dismiss” the holders of high level positions. His pre-emptive move made it clear that he had grabbed the shareholders’ votes before the decision-making could begin—

It had to be known that Bo Yueming was able to win the Wencheng project while blind, and now he had publicly stated that his eyesight had recovered. Wouldn’t this improve project efficiency?

At this time, who would object to a general manager that could make the group a profit?

Sure enough, there were shareholders that responded quickly and happily, “That is a matter of course. Let the company’s projects be handed over to Mr. Bo. We can all rest assured!”

“Yes, ah, yes, ah.”

Hearing the responses of many shareholders, Bo Lihui subconsciously looked at Cheng Yangshan, a little anxious.

Cheng Yangshan hadn’t expected for this to happen either, but the matter had come to this point. He still grabbed his cane and tapped it hard, beginning the “scene” that he had planned beforehand—

“I, Cheng Yangshan, do not agree with Bo Yueming continuing to serve as general manager of Bo Group!”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s attention was drawn in.

Bo Jiao was the first to ask, “Why?”

Cheng Yangshan straightened up, harnessing his speaking skills. “Why? He knows this himself!”

A shareholder who was biased toward the main branch assisted him, saying, “From the old man’s tone, has Bo Yueming done something outrageous?”

Bo Yueming picked up his water glass with no outward panic at all.

Cheng Yangshan knew that he was not someone who was easy to deal with, so he took out the set of excuses he had prepared in the beginning, “Ladies and gentlemen, family affairs should not be publicized, but this bastard has made too many mistakes!”

“I was unable to teach him well, but for the sake of the future of Bo Group, I can only place justice above family and remove him from his position. I implore everyone to help me!”

The well-prepared remarks drew the attention of the conference room to the utmost, seemingly reserving affection for Bo Yueming, but actually pushing him to the forefront.

Bo Jiao didn’t know what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd, and was worried for Bo Yueming—

Over these months of working together, she had truly recognized the other party’s ability, and also accepted him as her half-brother.

Bo Jiao leaned in toward Bo Yueming on his right, and asked in a whisper, “Brother, what does the old man mean by this?”

A sneer appeared at the corner of Bo Yueming’s mouth, and he deliberately didn’t lower his voice. “Since everyone is here, I’ll ask Mr. Cheng to publicly clarify.”

The vague provocation of “Mr. Cheng” made the atmosphere even more tense.

Cheng Yangshan’s expression was slightly stiff, and as if to cover something up, he slammed down with his cane. “Up to now, you still don’t know to repent?”

“Using the convenience of the general manager position and your grandmother’s trust in you, how much funding have you embezzled privately? The GM commercial investment firm in your own name, how did you get the money for it? Don’t you know?”

“After being discovered by your grandmother at the beginning of this year, she originally wanted to educate you in private, but you didn’t consider the kindness of your relatives at all and pushed her to the ground, causing her to fall into a coma!”

Everyone present was shocked to hear this.

What?

Was Old Chairwoman Bo’s accident man-made?

Bo Yueming pushed her after doing something wicked? 

Bo Jiao was the first to deny it, “How is this possible? Who doesn’t know that my brother is the child brought up by Grandma herself? How could he hurt her?”

The shareholders nodded slightly as they recalled the past. 

“How is it impossible!”

Bo Guancheng stood up from the back row, showing his presence. He walked forward from the back while continuing to add “evidence” against Bo Yueming—

“Not long after the old lady fell into a coma, Bo Yueming moved her behind our backs! Whenever we ask about her, he blocks us with various excuses!”

“He’s clearly afraid that the old lady will expose his bad deeds when she wakes up, and he wants to be the first to silence her!”

“The heavens are watching when humans act. Not long after Grandma’s accident, he also lost his sight in a car accident, which temporarily curbed his wolfish ambitions!”

Bo Lihui chimed in cooperatively, “Everyone, it’s not that I’m partial to my own son. There is something else I want to clarify—”

“Guancheng is definitely not a womanizer. The previous incident occurred because someone plotted against him and drugged him. He immediately went for a drug test and handed it over to the police to file a case.”

This was, of course, made up.

“The reason we refrained from speaking is because the investigation results have not been released, so he can only suffer ridicule and grievances in vain.”

Bo Lihui glanced in Bo Yueming’s direction very obviously.

Shareholders who favored the main branch played along, “Chairman, you really save face when you speak!”

“Some time ago, Guancheng had an accident, and the positions of general manager and deputy general manager went to the second branch siblings, and Bo Yueming’s eyes recovered a long time ago. Where can there be such a coincidence?”

“All the shareholders present are not fools, you can see the trick that is being played here!”

He secretly misappropriated funds and hurt the old lady, but going blind in the car accident affected his plans?

And after his eyes healed, he teamed up with the second branch to remove Bo Guancheng from the position as general manager!

What was next? Was he aiming for the position of chairman of Bo Group?

In the large conference hall, discussions abounded.

Bo Yueming felt the gazes cast by everyone, either anxious, puzzled, or questioning, and felt a chill in his heart—

What was he seeing?

Did they want to surreptitiously substitute one thing for another and create a patchwork plan to frame him?

It was clear that Cheng Yangshan had failed to embezzle public funds, and accidentally injured Old Mrs. Bo, but now this set of charges was placed on him?

He had worked and saved money during university, and co-founded GM after his graduation, but even this had become part of the unwarranted allegations?

The car accident was caused by Bo Guancheng, and Bo Guancheng dispensed the drugs first, but now he said the car crash was only an accident and wanted to secretly frame him?

Were the three of them innocent? They were clearly jackals of the same tribe!

Wicked! Ridiculous! Shameless!

Bo Jiao still didn’t believe the main branch’s arguments, and urged in a low voice, “Brother, can you explain?”

Bo Yueming stroked his watch, and said with a calm and breezy air that no outsiders could see though, “What about the evidence? You don’t intend to convict me based on your few arrangements, do you?”

Cheng Yangshan had already guessed that he would ask this question, and continued to create difficulties, “Arrangements? Do you still need us to spell out what you must do?”

“Since you want clarification, then get it from the source! Let your grandmother come out and clarify for you!”

Cheng Yangshan stood up agitatedly, both furious and sad. “It’s been more than half a year. Whether she’s alive or dead, have you let us see her again? You…..”

At the end, his voice was choked with a sob.

Some shareholders asked, “What’s wrong with the old man?”

Bo Guancheng immediately put on an act. “Grandpa, you just got out of the hospital not long ago. Don’t be over-excited, take it easy.”

“I heard that if a cerebral hemorrhage doesn’t improve after half a year, then……”

Some shareholders were uncertain, and spoke tactfully, “According to the old lady’s character, she would have come back long ago if she was okay. How can there be no movement at all?”

“Yes, ah, Mr. Bo stopped the family from seeing the old lady. What does this mean?”

“What else could it mean? If the old lady was awake, the culprit couldn’t hide. If the old lady is gone, according to inheritance laws, what else could Bo Yueming get?”

“How can the grandson stop the whole family from seeing the grandmother? There is no reason! I think he is harboring evil intentions!”

Three or four shareholders who supported the main branch spoke up one after another, and someone else was the first to take a stand—

“I agree with what the old man said, Bo Yueming cannot be allowed to stay in the group, or who knows what he’ll do behind the scenes!”

Right now, it seemed that he was helping the group make money, but that was because he wanted to win people’s hearts. Who knew what he would do when he was completely in power?

Public opinion was great, and slander could melt iron and stone.

The isolated and helpless Bo Yueming lowered his eyes, remaining silent.

Cheng Yangshan concealed the gleam in his eyes, while Bo Lihui and Bo Guancheng exchanged glances.

The confrontation now had a faint bias, and next, a vote would be made. If they added the big shareholders who favored the main branch and the small shareholders they bought in advance with benefits—

Even if others stood in line with Bo Yueming, based on the ratio of shares, the other party could only leave the group today!

At this thought, Bo Lihui covertly gave a shareholder another veiled look.

The latter understood, and launched the final blow. “Yes, ah! Since the old lady isn’t here, the old man and Chairman Bo are in charge, so…..”

—Bang!

The conference room door was swiftly opened.

A slow, powerful voice like the wind in late winter and early spring broke through all the dirt and filth. “Who says I’m not here?”

Bo Peizhi was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing the plain, thick shawl, and the person helping to push her was the former chief assistant Zhong Yi.

Not only that, but there were six strong bodyguards in black standing behind the two of them.

Just standing there, this grand scene was enough to frighten people!

“…….”

The conference room, which had still been a little noisy, instantly switched to silent mode.

Everyone’s expressions changed again and again. It was incomparably wonderful.

Only Bo Yueming, who was in the know, remained calm. He took the initiative to walk over and call out, “Grandma.”

Bo Peizhi nodded slightly. “En, thank you for your hard work.”

Although she was still then, her complexion was much better than when she had just woken up.

Bo Yueming exchanged glances with Zhong Yi, who was pushing the wheelchair. She was specially invited from Haishi to assist. “Sister Zhong, let me do it.”

Some shareholders couldn’t help but say, “W-what’s going on, ah? Chairwoman, are you okay?”

They had just talked so drivenly just now, and even agreed that Old Mrs. Bo was “dead.”

As a result, in the blink of an eye, the other party appeared in front of them in good condition.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm.”

Bo Peizhi raised a hand lightly, and all conversations stopped in an instant.

What really convinced them was by no means strong words or relying on volume, but the steadiness and calmness of many years of experience.

“Peizhi, you……”

Cheng Yangshan gazed at his wife who had suddenly appeared in the conference room, and his astonishment could not be dispelled. A secret sense of fear even arose in his heart.

He stood up from the head seat, but his feet seemed to be weighted down, and it was difficult to move even half a step.

The Bo Lihui and Bo Guancheng father and son looked at each other, and the impending victory in their eyes cracked.

Bo Peizhi regarded these three generations of grandchildren and grandparents, and prompted, “Xiao Yi, I don’t like to sit in this lousy wheelchair.”

She was of strong character, and if she could stand, she didn’t like to sit and show weakness.

Zhong Yi was helpless, but chose to cooperate.

With her support, Bo Peizhi walked in front of Cheng Yangshan, with an indescribably ruthlessness in her seemingly tranquil eyes.

“Is this seat comfortable?”

Facing his wife’s dry question, Cheng Yangshen felt guilty from the bottom of his heart, and couldn’t help but exert force on the hand holding the cane.

Before he could utter a word, the left side of his face hurt!

—Pa!

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Bo Peizhi slapped Cheng Yangshan hard on the face.

“…….”

Cheng Yangshan opened his eyes in astonishment. The two had been married for many years, and even if Bo Peizhi was a strong woman, she would save him some face outside!

Even on the day when they quarreled the worst and the accident happened, Bo Peizhi hadn’t slapped him.

This was the first time!

Bo Lihui at the side saw this scene and panicked. “Mom!”

—Pa!

Bo Peizhi’s slap landed on Bo Lihui’s face, and she criticized harshly, “You bastard, do you have something to share?”

Bo Lihui felt the heat on his cheek, and immediately fell into a silent panic.

Bo Peizhi looked at Bo Guancheng, who was hesitant to speak, and caught him accurately. “What, do you have something to say?”

Comprehending the situation, Bo Guancheng changed his tone. “N-No, Grandma, please don’t get angry. Has there been some misunderstanding?”

“Misunderstanding?”

Where couldn’t Bo Peizhi see his little calculations? She unceremoniously gave him a slap, pa!

“When you designed a car accident for Yueming, then tried to drug him, and dug your own grave in the end, was that also a misunderstanding?”

“…….”

One slap after another, one question after another!

The shareholders present looked at each other in blank dismay, feeling that they had never seen such a scene—

The three generations of Cheng Yangshen, Bo Lihui, and Bo Guancheng were all slapped in the face by Old Mrs. Bo, but Bo Yueming stood there tranquilly.

There was clearly a reversal, ah!

In the end, according to Old Mrs. Bo’s style of work in the past few decades, who was right and who was wrong in this battle suddenly had an obvious result.

The face that had been strong for decades was completely swept away at this moment, and Cheng Yangshan didn’t hold back after all, glaring angrily. “Bo Peizhi, what do you mean? We’ve been husband and wife for decades!”

“Husband and wife?”

Bo Peizhi exposed the truth regardless of affection. “At the beginning, you misappropriated Bo Group’s finances and my private seal in order to benefit a bunch of your shameless relatives!”

“After I found out, you grew angry and knocked me to the ground. Have you ever considered us to be husband and wife?”

“If it wasn’t for Yueming, who realized something was wrong and transferred me to another hospital for protection, I’m afraid I would be burned to ashes by now and not qualified to stand here!”

This simple and clear statement of facts was enough to shock everyone—

After such a long time, it turned out that Chang Yangshan was the one who used his power for personal gain? Chang Yangshan was the one who almost made the Old Chairwoman fall gravely ill?

“Chang Yangshan, I’ve turned a blind eye to your behavior these years, but you didn’t know to repent and just got worse!”

“Let me ask you, did you want to marry me back then?”

“All these years, Bo Manor has been yours, servants have been arranged for you, and you have never been short of money. If someone else had been eating soft rice for decades, they would be happy, but you—”

Bo Peizhi still retained her hard and unyielding personality. Although she was old, her words were still piercing, and slapped Cheng Yangshan hard in the face.

“How much are you worth? Your shamelessness all these years cannot be afforded!” 

Cheng Yangsheng shook with anger, his complexion more agitated than an overturned color palette. “You, I……”

“Stop talking nonsense! From today until the day you die, go back to where ever you came from!”

“As long as I, Bo Peizhi, live in this world, you and your family cannot even think about getting any benefits from the Bo’s!”

The Bo family would always be the Bo family! No one could covet it!

Bo Peizhi finished speaking in one breath, and signaled to Bo Yueming with her eyes. “Yueming, please come in.”

Bo Yueming nodded, and sent a text message to his assistant Lin Zhong.

Cheng Yangshan was so infuriated by this sudden reversal that he fell down on his chair suddenly, gasping for breath.

Bo Lihui was anxious and flustered. “Dad! Dad, are you okay? Ambulance, Guanchang, hurry and call an ambulance!”

Bo Peizhi watched coldly. “I’ll see who dares call an ambulance for him!”

She had already seen through Cheng Yangshan’s bad nature. The other party was contemptible, and would not fall directly ill like this!

Even if he really passed out on the ground, the bodyguards that Bo Yueming had brought for her also had first aid skills and would not let the other party die for a while!

Within a minute, disordered footsteps sounded again.

Assistant Lin Zhong walked in with four law enforcement officers, and the leader looked around for their target. “Chang Yangshan, Bo Lihui, right?”

“We have received a report that you are suspected of a job occupation dispute, and we have obtained preliminary evidence. Please cooperate with us to go back for further investigation!”

Bo Lihui’s face turned colors. “W-what job occupation? I didn’t!”

The officers didn’t listen to his excuses. “Whether you are involved or not, come with us to make it clear!”

“…….”

Bo Lihui looked at Cheng Yangshan, who was too angry to speak, and immediately cast his gaze to Bo Peizhi. “Mom, I know I was wrong! Give me another chance! I’ll do anything!”

In fact, Bo Lihui was very aware of what he had done to help Cheng Yangshan during this period of time, and was even more afraid of the prison time he would face after the follow-up investigation was completed.

“Mom, I’m part of the Bo family!”

Bo Peizhi looked at this eldest son and was full of disappointment. “From the moment you helped him harm me, you were no longer my son!”

The reason why she refused to hand over the position of chairman for so many years was not that she was obsessed with power, but because she had already seen that—

Neither of the two sons she had given birth to could be of great use!

Bo Lihui was arrogant and full of himself, and in his bones, he was just as greedy as his father! And Bo Lihong had a romantic nature, and even if he restrained himself later, he had no intention of managing the family business.

Bo Peizhi worked hard for her grandson and granddaughter, who were useful people of the next generation—

Bo Guancheng’s temper was mild and sleek, Bo Yueming’s was cold and severe, and Bo Jiao and Bo Wang were still young, so they couldn’t play a role for the time being.

If the former two could help each other along the path they had cultivated, she would have been relieved. 

It was a pity, ah, that there were still some people who had been influenced by their parents and grandparents and had gone astray!

Bo Peizhi ignored her eldest son’s false confession and let the law enforcement officers take him away with Cheng Yangshan, who had almost fainted. She didn’t want to take another look.

“……”

Bo Lihui really panicked, and was filled with so much regret that his intestines turned green. He had obviously lived a smooth life all these years, so how had things come to this point?

It was a pity that no matter how regretful he felt, he couldn’t change the result.

The door of the conference room closed again.

Bo Peizhi sat back on the main seat, holding on to her last bit of strength. “Dear shareholders, since I am back, I will naturally arrange the vacant positions properly.”

“Do you have any objections to today’s shareholder meeting being dismissed?”

Bo Peizhi had been in control of Bo Group for more than fifteen years, and she was also one of the top figures in the Imperial Capital circle!

Even though she had just recovered from an extended illness, she was still resolute in her tactics and even put righteousness before her relationship with her husband and son—

Who would dare to say no to her?

The shareholders’ meeting ended in a farce, and everyone knew that the main branch’s momentum was gone.

The few shareholders who were leaning toward Bo Guancheng and his ilk didn’t dare to speak anymore under the pressure of Old Mrs. Bo.

“…….”

Bo Guancheng looked at Old Mrs. Bo in the main seat, and the malice that had been brewing in his heart all this while thoroughly condensed.

He had never expected that Old Mrs. Bo would recover so early, and that Bo Yueming would invite her to today’s shareholders’ meeting!

What should he do now?

Without the support of Cheng Yangshan, all the hard work he had done before would be in vain!

As he thought, Bo Guancheng caught a glimpse of a figure approaching quickly from the corner of his eye.

Bo Yueming, who had been holding back for a long time, suddenly went into a rage and kicked him to the ground. 

“Ah!”

Bo Guancheng’s vision was filled with stars, and he subconsciously cried out in pain, but this was far from the end—

In front of the shareholders who had not yet disbursed, Bo Yueming, who never preferred to fight, grabbed his collar. “Bo Guancheng, if you touch someone you shouldn’t, you should think about the result!”

His eyes were bursting with rage, and the fist he swung seemed to contain all of his hostility.

“…….”

Bo Guancheng was shocked, and watched helplessly as another punch came—

It actually made him vomit blood!

“H-Help me……”

Bo Guancheng tried to struggle, but having missed his opportunity, he no longer had the strength to resist.

Punch after punch fell.

How had Bo Yueming held back his fear, hatred, and anxiety just now, sitting in the conference room like a normal person? 

He hadn’t even dared to think deeply. If something happened to Pei Yi, he would have killed Bo Guancheng on the spot!

Everyone saw Bo Yueming beating the shit out of him and had some doubts for a moment—

What, what was going on here?

Why did Mr. Bo suddenly go crazy like this? If he did such a thing, he would probably get in trouble, right?

Assistant Lin Zong caught up with him. “Mr. Bo! Stop fighting!”

There were so many shareholders watching! It would be terrible if somebody died!

Bo Peizhi and Zhong Yi, who accompanied him, also realized that Bo Yueming was on the verge of losing control, and stopped him one after another.

“Yueming!”

“Calm down!”

But Bo Yueming was immersed in his uncontrollable hatred, and once again aimed his fist at Bo Guancheng’s face.

At that very moment, there was a soft but powerful cry at the door—

“Er-ge.”

“……”

Bo Yueming stopped at once, and with reddened eyes, he slowly turned around to look.

Pei Yi was still wrapped up in Qin Yishun’s oversized coat, trying his best to cover up his injuries.

He walked quickly to the furious Bo Yueming and gently held his wrist like every time before. “Er-ge, stay with me, okay?”

Bo Yueming stared at the person in front of him and sucked in a sudden breath.

He maintained his sanity that was about to collapse, and said in a voice that was so hoarse that he almost couldn’t respond, “Okay.”

Pei Yi ignored everyone’s stares, and gently took his lover away from the conference room, leaving the group of dumbfounded outsiders behind.

. . . . . . .

In the adjacent unoccupied lounge.

Pei Yi locked the door and turned around, falling right into Bo Yueming’s arms. He suppressed the pain in his arm and reached out to caress the back of his lover’s neck with great effort.

“Er-ge, I’m here, it’s alright.”

“……”

Bo Yueming breathed with difficulty, and fiercely pulled his lover into his arms. “Pei, Pei Yi.”

His heartstrings that had been tense to the point of snapping ever since he received the kidnapper’s call finally relaxed at this moment.

Bo Yueming took a deep breath, and choked out a sob, “……I’m sorry.”

---

[1] Someone stealing your cabbage is when a suitor comes to sweep away your child. Or in this case, when the cabbage runs away of its own volition. 🙂 ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Two <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Four

In order not to disturb the common people in the city, Liu Xian’an got out of bed at dawn the next day, and the rest of Xiao Wang Palace had already prepared the carriage and horses. Both Tong Ou and Liu Meng were in the courtyard, each holding a stack of books in their arms. They had followed Liang Shu’s orders and searched all over to find these strange books. Liu Meng whispered: “Commander Tong, what do you think the prince wants these things for? I turned two pages yesterday, and each page is bloodier and more obscene than the other. There was something about a bloody girl who embraced a man and stuck a lamp on his head. When my mother saw me reading these, she picked up a broom and hit me without saying a word. She didn’t even listen to my explanation, and almost stuffed them into the stove and burned them.” 

Tong Ou said: “You see them as bloody and obscene things, but Second Young Master Liu is reading legends from the Southwest. Sometimes folk tales are not necessarily made up, and shadows of reality can be found in them. Have you never heard the story of the bloody girl with the lantern?”

“What bloody girl?”

“The one in the drawing you saw,” Tong Ou said. “There was a girl who poisoned her man not long after getting married, and cut off his head to make a lantern, which she carried in her hands all day long, walking around the mountains all covered in blood.”

Liu Meng’s hair stood on end when he heard this: “What kind of scholar is able to make up this kind of story?”

“It’s not a story, it’s real.” Tong Ou said, “It was in Raven City. After the girl killed her husband, she pushed the headless body into a dry well. It took three days before neighbors discovered it. A woodcutter encountered the bloody girl in the mountains and recognized her as the missing woman, but because her appearance was so strange, even though he went down the mountain and reported it to the officials, he stated that he had met a ghost.”

But it was a real person. At that time, Tong Ou was investigating the Baifu Sect in Raven City. He said: “It was I who personally led people to arrest her.”

Liu Meng listened to this in disbelief: “Was she insane?”

“She wasn’t insane. She had a clear mind, and wrote down her plan to poison her husband in great detail. The cut was neatly made, and it could be seen that there was no hesitation in the attack.” Tong Ou said, “At first, everyone thought she was just like most murder cases, and could no longer bear being abused all the time. But it was later discovered that she and her husband were very affectionate, and neighbors testified that they had never quarreled more than once.”

The woman killed her husband in order to get her child back. She became pregnant shortly after the wedding, which was a great joy, but lost the child three months later. Although her husband comforted her in every possible way, she was still depressed. And one day, she went to the street to relax and met a wizard.

Liu Meng: “A disciple of the Baifu Sect?”

Tong Ou nodded.

Since then, the woman believed in the cult and donated her property to the wizard again and again. At first, it might have only been a bowl of rice and a piece of meat, but it later turned into a coin or a piece of silver. Seeing his wife getting increasingly confused, the man forcibly locked her in the house and considered taking her back to his hometown to get away for a while, but the woman killed him one rainy night.

“She believed the wizard’s words and felt that the child’s death was entirely due to her husband’s sins, and that at this time, the child’s soul was being torn and eaten by thousands of wild ravens. She wanted to call him back, but had to use her husband’s head as a guiding light. She walked barefoot in the mountains every day, just to call that remnant soul back into her belly.”

Liu Meng’s face paled, not because of fear, but due to nausea. Tong Ou patted him on the back: “You’ll hear more such tragedies in the future, and you’ll become accustomed to it.“

Although the conversation between the two was very soft, Liu Xian’an had good ears and could hear it clearly. He turned his head and asked Liang Shu: “Raven City. If I remember correctly, it should not be far from the Southwest Garrison camp. It’s a large city with lots of traffic, and there are even many foreigners from Nanyang. Is the Baifu Sect so arrogant?”

“Sometimes a cult will not admit that it is a cult. There are so many kinds of witchcraft in the Southwest that they can just put on another disguise at will.” Liang Shu said, “It doesn’t take a lot of fanfare to spread the word. Just one mouth can destroy the families of dozens of people.”

Although Liu Xian’an had never been to the Southwest before, he liked Raven City very much, mainly because of the name. Coupled with the mystery of the Southwest frontier, he felt that there was a sort of magnificence like countless ravens flying in the emerald mountains at twilight. A-Ning didn’t understand, and said: “A sunset in the deep mountain forests, the sky full of flying ravens. Will it be haunted?”

Liu Xian’an pinched his mouth shut. All right, don’t spoil the atmosphere.

Liang Shu said: “Okay, I’ll bring you to the mountains to see it.”

Liu Xian’an let go, but A-Ning still felt very depressed. He wasn’t wrong. How could a normal person go to the mountains to look at ravens? The young master’s tastes were very strange, and the prince also spoiled him.

There was still a long distance between Huaizhen City and Raven City, so Liu Xian’an lay in the carriage and went through all the books that Tong Ou had collected. It was also Liang Shu’s first time seeing him read a book. Saying that he took in ten lines at a glance could be considered modest. The pages turned with a squeaking sound, and Liang Shu watched for a while before stepping forward to stop it with his hand: “What is this page about?”

Without thinking, Liu Xian’an said: “A ghost mother giving birth to a child. A wealthy homeowner in Huaping town had a wife and a concubine. The wife had no children, but the concubine did, so the wife was jealous……wu.”

Liang Shu leaned over and kissed his lips, then ran his tongue across them. “A ghost story about jealousy, I won’t listen.”

Liu Xian’an explained between kisses that there was not a single page in this book that was not a ghost story.

Liang Shu said: “Then I won’t listen to those either.”

Gao Lin passed by and glanced through the gap in the curtain, and immediately straightened his head with a solemn and respectful expression. 

Liu Xian’an went through most of the carriage full of books in three days. Liang Shu asked: “Shall I go find some new ones?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “No need. They’re all similar stories with minor differences, not interesting.”

Liang Shu lifted the other’s limp body a little, asking: “How about doing something fun?”

Liu Xian’an didn’t want to do that either, so he crawled under the quilt on his hands and knees and rolled himself up. Sleep was important.

Liang Shu found this amusing, and stopped teasing him, simply staying by his side. The Sleeping Immortal slept for another ten days, lazy all day long, and after laying down for a long time without moving, he began complaining of a headache. Sitting beside the coachman, A-Ning thought, alas, he didn’t seem to have so many problems before. I thought our entire family was used to the young master, but I didn’t expect that there are still further heights he can climb to.

Liang Shu patiently helped massage his temples. Liu Xian’an found a comfortable position in his arms, but before he could take a nap, A-Ning said outside: “Your Highness, Young Master, there’s a village up ahead. It seems they’re also holding a Many-Color Festival, and there are many people. Shall we go around?”

“Go around, ba, don’t disturb them.” Liang Shu covered the ears of the man in his arms, wanting him to continue to sleep, but the crisp sound of rattle drums came from afar.

Liu Xian’an opened his eyes.

. . . . . .

Like thousands of other villages in the Southwest, this village consisted of bamboo buildings with tiled roofs, colorful and gorgeous. A huge bonfire was lit in the middle of the village, radiating warmth in the winter, and pheasant meat was being roasted. The little dolls were circling around the fire, laughing and making noise. It should have been a cozy, festive scene, but because of the rattle drums in their little hands, it was a bit strange.

Liu Xian’an said: “It’s exactly the same pattern.”

The villagers also spotted the group of people at this time and greeted them with smiles, leading them over to share a cup of wine by the campfire.

Liang Shu reached out and calmly wrapped an arm around Liu Xian’an’s waist.

When ordinary villagers saw foreigners, even if they were the most enthusiastic and forthright people, they would ask where they came from and where they were going before pouring tea and wine. Greeting them like this and luring the other party to drink at their home without saying a word….. “Be careful,” he whispered.

Liu Xian’an made a sound of acknowledgment, walking forward with Liang Shu. He had participated in the Many-Color Festival in Huaizhen City, and knew what the songs, dances, and welcoming smiles should really look like. They came from the heart, without a trace of any false joy. At this moment, although the villagers before them were smiling, they smiled like they were wearing human skin masks, extremely stiff in the light of the dancing flames.

The village head invited them to sit by the bonfire, and someone soon brought over two cups of wine. Liu Xian’an didn’t drink, and Liang Shu also set his cup down on the ground. A little doll kept secretly looking at Liu Xian’an, perhaps thinking he looked good. Liu Xian’an called her to his side and handed over a handful of sweets from the bowl in front of him, taking her rattle drum.

A clear texture, with a greasy smell.

It was human skin.

He took note of the number of rattle drums at this scene and felt a chill in his heart. He had previously thought that the drum stuffed into his hand in Huaizhen City could already be regarded as the Baifu Sect’s most straightforward provocation to Liang Shu, but didn’t expect that they could be even more unbridled. There was poison in the wine. He knew and Liang Shu knew, and the Baifu Sect people should know that Liang Shu knew. But they still arranged for the villagers to organize this Many-Color Festival and specially watched the road, holding rattle drums and pouring poisoned wine.

In the Southwest, people were often refined into puppets through mystical witchcraft. Although it sounded terrifying, Liu Xian’an felt that it was far inferior to the scene he was looking at now. These people were neither poisoned nor bewitched, and it was because of this that it was even more chilling — all the people in the village, men, women, and children, had been brainwashed by the cult. Singing and dancing, celebratory and jubilant, they worked together with sober minds to poison and kill.

This was truly more sinister than puppets crawling out of a mass grave.

Sensing his discomfort, Liang Shu took the water bag from his waist and handed it over: “Take a drink.”

“Guest,” an old woman asked him, “Why aren’t you drinking our wine?”

Liang Shu replied: “We still need to travel, and can’t drink.”

“It’s a Many-Color Festival, everyone has to drink,” another villager said. “If you don’t drink, you’re looking down on us!”

“Right, drink! Drink! Drink!”

The villagers began to chant in unison. The little dolls were naive, and also shouted in an excited frenzy, the rattle drums in their hands clamoring like a summer thunderstorm, an anxiety-inducing sound. A little boy no more than five years old raised his head and said with shining eyes: “Drink, drink! Peel the skin and make drums!”

His mother hurriedly covered his mouth. Mixed in the noise, it went unnoticed. 

“Drink! Drink! Drink!”

The people around stood up one after another, holding wine cups and surrounding the two of them. They pushed and shoved as they approached, the wine in their hands shaking and splashing, and the scene was filled with a pungent smell.

Liu Xian’an regarded the group of fanatical, brainwashed villagers, and moved slightly closer to Liang Shu.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Sixty-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-One

Lucas looked at the gaudy titles and felt like he was about to burst.

Fuck, Luo Ran secretly read such books!

Hadn’t he thought he was the only one watching adult videos?

Moreover, the videos he watched were quite satisfactory, basically teaching an Alpha how to make an Omega comfortable, and how to complete a perfect sex tutorial. Unexpectedly, there was no limit to the universe or to people, and Luo Ran liked these novel and uncommon things?? Not to mention that he and Luo Ran were the main characters?

Lucas felt even more parched.

Tsk…..!

He knew that little bastard Luo Ran was greedy for his body! Sure enough, he liked it this much!

Oho, and he usually pretended to be indifferent, ah!

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and Lucas strode forward. Luo Ran saw Lucas as soon as he opened the door, and was startled.

“Admiral, what’s wrong?”

Lucas gazed at the man in front of him.

It went without saying that his facial features were exquisite, and the tear-shaped mole at the corner of his eye was the icing on the cake.

At this moment, Luo Ran was wearing a loose white bathrobe. His hair was not in its usual up-do, and the long, silver strands were casually draped over his shoulders, still damp with water.

Lucas directly pressed this person against the wall and kissed him, his breath scorching hot.

“I’m going to satisfy you.”

“…….? ? ?”

Luo Ran was a little surprised, but he was pinned to the wall as Lucas kissed him roughly.

He put his arms around Lucas’s neck, raising his head to accept his sudden enthusiasm.

They kissed and kissed. Lucas’s hands became restless, especially now that Luo Ran was wearing a bathrobe and it was very convenient for him to do anything.

Lucas placed his hands on Luo Ran’s chest. Luo Ran frowned slightly, and was forced by Lucas’s movements to make small sounds that were blocked by kisses.

“Admiral……” Luo Ran’s legs were weakened by Lucas’s hot pheromones. The other man was aroused to passion at the moment, and his pheromones were more provocative than usual.

They were two adults, one Alpha and one Omega, staying in a small house.

Too dangerous.

“Ranran.” Lucas moved his lips slightly and asked in a low voice: “If I’m not 38 centimeters, will you be disappointed?”

“……..”

What?

Luo Ran was stunned.

Lucas said: “There also aren’t four of me either.”

Luo Ran: “…….”

Luo Ran’s face reddened, and he asked cautiously: “You……saw it?”

“En.”

“……..”

“Admiral, I-I can really explain!”

Now Luo Ran understood how Lucas felt when he was caught watching those adult videos before.

And it was even more embarrassing than videos.

“No need to explain,” Lucas said. “It’s all Shen Xiluo’s fault.”

Lucas was very understanding.

Hey, it was normal for the little secretary to like his fierce body. He was a thoughtful and considerate Alpha.

“…….” Luo Ran paused for a long moment and faced death with equanimity, saying with hopelessness toward life: “That’s right, it’s his fault.”

There was no way to excuse it. Even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t wash him clean.

Anyway, it was all Shen Xiluo’s fault!

“Then will you be disappointed?” Lucas held the two of them together, stubbornly trapping him there, and said: “I might not be that exaggerated.”

Luo Ran lowered his head with a blushing face, and said: “It’s…..anything is fine.”

He felt that it was already exaggerated.

“You say anything is fine, ah? You’ll make do?!” Lucas was dissatisfied. He grasped Luo Ran’s chin and said: “Then your requirement of 38 centimeters is too inhuman!”

And also unfair.

“I don’t have a requirement!” Luo Ran smashed the jar, blushing as he retorted a little loudly: “I think it’s already very good! V-very big!”

“…….”

All right.

Lucas got slightly hard as a token of thanks.

Luo Ran: “…….”

The two were stuck together, after all, and Luo Ran could naturally feel it.

Lucas said hoarsely: “I’ve endured for a long time, you have to help me.”

“…….” Lucas grabbed Luo Ran’s wrist and said: “I don’t want to use hands, I want to go further.”

T-too soon, ba.

Luo Ran did the math. They had been dating for less than half a month, and he hadn’t made any preparations at all.

He didn’t even have time to read the comics. They had been hidden at home ever since Shen Xiluo brought them back from the office.

Luo Ran turned his head and said: “I……”

“Ranran.” Lucas rested his head on Luo Ran’s shoulder, acting like a baby.

“……..”

Luo Ran took a deep breath and knelt down in front of Lucas.

Lucas was startled: “What are you doing? Get up!”

Luo Ran pushed away Lucas’s hand, then gently undid his belt. The iron buckle made a crisp clanking sound, and the sound of the zipper was also obvious.

Lucas was now completely stunned.

Luo Ran was so nervous that his hands shook, but……it was always like this between lovers.

This was also his duty as a lover.

Upon lowering his head, Lucas could see Luo Ran’s collarbones and chest under the loose bathrobe. Luo Ran was half-kneeling, and other than his face being faintly red, his expression was the same as usual, looking like the same professional and distant Secretary Luo.

Lucas felt even hotter, as if he had been walking in the desert without water for three days.

. . . . . . .

That night, Luo Ran slept in his room, and Lucas still slept on the couch in the living room.

But the big lion had tasted a bit of sweetness and was satisfied.

The next day, Luo Ran and Lucas returned to the office together. After finishing their last bit of business, they were ready to go home for dinner in the evening.

“Hiss……why is it like this, ah?” Rong Duo looked at the report and said angrily: “The Royal Family……”

Then she paused. As a civilian in the military department, she shouldn’t talk about the Royal Family, so she could only shut her mouth.

Luo Ran took the report and could probably guess what was going on.

The investigation department had notified him earlier.

Now that the First Prince’s case had been filed, as the investigation progressed day by day, the First Prince’s reputation was being affected more and more.

So the First Prince’s PR counterattacked Lucas.

The Viscount who supported the First Prince was there, along with Shi Xiuqi, accusing Lucas of seeking public revenge.

Luo Ran watched the video.

“The Admiral holds a grudge against His Highness, and that’s why he slandered His Highness so much!”

“Yes, when Luobing sent the new UNK ore, more research would have definitely made great contributions to the Empire’s technology. There must be experiments in research, and there must be failures in experiments, but the Admiral could not accept failures. Moreover, Secretary Luo had a special physique at the time as a Beta who had mastered the mystery of UNK refining. It was a pity that the Admiral was overprotective of Secretary Luo and was unwilling to let him participate in the experiments.”

“At that time, the Admiral even brought his troops back to the capital and used force in the research institute.”

In the video, the voices of the First Prince, his ministers, and Shi Xiuqi were vivid and colorful.

Rong Duo frowned and said: “Secretary Luo……do we need to clarify, ah? Do you want to send out PR?”

“No need.” Luo Ran paused and said: “We’ll bide our time.”

If they came forward to explain, they would look guilty, and Lucas, the Admiral who led troops into battle, did not need to quarrel with these politicians and lower his style and credibility.

“But……do you want to let them smear him casually? Public opinion can turn lies into truth, ah.” Rong Duo was really indignant.

“Don’t worry.” Luo Ran raised his eyebrows and smiled. “There are people who will help us.”

Luo Ran wasn’t very worried about the slander, and went home with Lucas after finishing his other official duties.

“Ranran is back.” Wang Zitong and Luo Cheng always like to wait for Luo Ran outside the door.

Perhaps because Luo Ran was an adopted child and the most wronged one in the family troubles before, the couple felt more compassion and love for him than if he was their child by blood.

“The Admiral is here too.” Wang Zitong smiled and nodded.

Lucas stood stiffly, extremely upright, carrying a large bag of gifts. Heroic and handsome, sonorous and forceful, he said: “Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, hello!”

Wang Zitong: “…….”

Luo Cheng: “…….”

Luo Xingyuan also came out curiously to see what was going on, but when he saw Lucas, he subconsciously gave a military salute and shouted: “Frontier D5 Eastern District Commander Luo Xingyuan greets the Admiral!”

Then Lucas returned the military salute and shouted even louder: “I’m Luo Ran’s boyfriend, good evening, Brother!”

Luo Xingyuan: “! ! !”

What the fuck.

Luo Xingyuan was so shocked by “boyfriend” that he still hadn’t recovered, and he was petrified by Lucas’s address of “brother.”

The two of them stood one straighter than the other at the gate.

Luo Ran: “…….”

Fortunately the neighbor next door wasn’t watering flowers outside.

When the group of people entered the house, Wang Zitong went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Luo Ran led Lucas to sit down in the living room. Luo Cheng glanced at Lucas and said with a smile: “It’s the first time the Admiral has been here with us.”

“Yes!” Lucas sat upright with his hands on his knees, as serious as if he was in an interview.

“Don’t be nervous, you can come back often with Luo Ran in the future,” Luo Cheng said with a smile. “Will the Admiral ever leave the capital to fight?”

“Yes!” Lucas paused, and said cautiously: “I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

“En.” Luo Cheng nodded.

Luo Xingyuan smiled and said: “Dad, don’t worry. The Empire has been doing its best to wipe out the star pirates. One day we’ll be able to completely eradicate them, and then the Admiral will be free.”

Luo Ran knew that Lucas was nervous. Seeing that Luo Xingyuan was wearing tennis shoes and going downstairs to run and exercise, he patted Lucas and asked him to follow.

After all, his big brother and Lucas were familiar, so there would be no awkwardness.

After Lucas left, Luo Ran smiled and said: “Dad approves?”

“Whether we approve or not, you are already with the Admiral. We can’t stop it. If we don’t agree, it will only add to your obstacles.” Luo Cheng smiled, saying: “After all……”

Luo Ran looked up at Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng said: “Since you’re together, there is no need to mention what will happen in the future. It is up to fate. The only thing that your mother and I hope for is that he will be good for you.”

Luo Ran said: “He is……”

“En, we know.”

Luo Cheng paused, then said: “His fingers seem to be inconvenient, and his childhood and past experiences may be……different?”

Luo Ran was taken aback, not having expected his parents to notice. Maybe it was because he had been teaching all morning?

“It’s clear that it is difficult for him to integrate into normal society both physically and mentally, so he always looks a little clumsy.” Luo Cheng smiled and said: “But since he is willing to try and change for you, that’s good too.”

“En.” Luo Ran gave a big smile.

Knowing how difficult it was for Lucas to do things for him that he wouldn’t otherwise do made him appreciate him all the more.

Later, Lucas and Luo Xingyuan also returned. When the siblings came back from school, they saw Lucas and immediately encircled him, not expecting to encounter a person they had seen in textbooks.

After eating, Luo Ran went back to sleep, and Lucas also went under the direction of Luo Ran’s glance. 

The first time he went home for a meal, it was a complete success.

The next day, Luo Ran’s prediction was correct.

Sure enough, the Second Prince made a move.

The Second Prince showed up in person and also held a press conference, telling the media about the UNK ice mine.

“Director Shi is very cunning. He only released the UNK data and analyzed how powerful and good it is, and what it can bring to the Empire.”

“However, why did Director Shi not mention any of the side effects? Director Shi only said that experiments would definitely fail. Yes, we all know this, but why did he not mention the consequences of failure? Director Shi, your words are very interesting.”

“I won’t try to cover it up. I’ll stand up and say it openly without a representative.” The Second Prince said: “First of all, UNK can indeed bring great benefits, but only Omegas above S level can refine it, and a few A-levels can do so with instructions. However! Long-term refining and exposure to UNK will result in an Omega’s spiritual breakdown. I will show you a few cases here.”

“Also, Director Shi and Elder Brother advocate for the use of UNK on the human body, so I will show you another video of an Alpha losing their mind after being injected with UNK.”

The Second Prince showed countless materials.

The First Prince was not to be outdone. The two sides continued to refute and argue, producing countless materials and theories.

The people were dazzled, but were more inclined toward Lucas. In the end, Lucas had the upper hand and the First Prince was once again at a disadvantage.

Luo Ran had guessed correctly. They didn’t need to show up at all.

Whether the Second Prince wanted to use Lucas’s hand to bring down the First Prince, if he was worried that he would be implicated in the future and came out to refute the rumors first, or if he was really thinking about Lucas and the soldiers, these things were not important. Luo Ran only needed one result.

As for that result, Lucas’s reputation and status remained intact, and the fight for the throne was not only exposed to the eyes of the public, but the image of the First Prince was also compromised again.

However, a wave of ups and downs arose again, and this matter was still being debated when there was other news from Luobing.

— The star pirates had aggressively attacked Western Luobing, occupying several cities.

The tragedy of Luobing’s Te City last time was vividly remembered. The people of Luobing hadn’t yet recovered, and at this moment, several cities in a row had fallen in the West. After Mu Yuan was notified, he led troops to rush over and was only able to save one city.

At present, the star pirates occupied three small cities, and Lucas must go out to quell the chaos.

“Ah……” Lucas scratched the back of his head and said: “I originally wanted to celebrate the New Year with you, and I also promised Father-in-law and Mother-in-law that I would come back.”

Lucas looked at the report in his office, a little irritable.

He and Luo Ran hadn’t been together for very long, and he was leaving again.

“It’s all right. If it is convenient for the Admiral, we can use video calls to communicate.” Luo Ran smiled and said: “We don’t just have this year, but the next year and the year after……there are still many years.”

Lucas paused, then nodded solemnly.

“Luo Ran.”

“En?”

Lucas hooked his fingers: “Come here.”

“…….?”

Luo Ran walked over subconsciously, and in the next moment, his wrist was grabbed and he fell into Lucas’s arms, sitting on his lap.

The office chair was very big. Luo Ran hugged Lucas’s neck, saying helplessly: “What is it?”

Lucas said: “This battle is very urgent. I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Luo Ran paused. His ears turned red, and he said: “En, I will arrange everything as soon as possible before tonight.”

“Who fucking wants to talk to you about business.” Lucas leaned toward Luo Ran’s ear and said: “I want benefits before I leave. I might be away for a week this time.”

Luo Ran gently grabbed Lucas’s tie, pulling it as he said with a smile: “What benefits? The Admiral is leaving so suddenly. I am in the military department office today, so the Admiral will have to come back early if he wants benefits.”

Lucas paused for a moment, and then asked: “Luo Ran, will you miss me when I’m gone this time?”

“Ah……?”

Lucas looked at the man in front of him, who always maintained a gentle and elegant expression, always putting work first. He asked stubbornly: “Will you?”

Luo Ran lowered his eyes, a little embarrassed.

“Luo Ran.” Lucas gently bit Luo Ran’s ear and said: “If I fuck you, will you……”

“Admiral!” Luo Ran laughed and said: “Of course I’ll miss you!”

Luo Ran gently held Lucas’s tie and turned around to say: “So the Admiral will come back early, right?”

Lucas’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, as if he had been injected with chicken blood, he said in a whisper: “Okay.”

“I must win the battle and come back soon!”

Luo Ran smiled so hard his eyes narrowed.

“Then I want benefits, right now!” Lucas didn’t forget his original purpose, and was even more excited at the moment. He hugged Luo Ran’s waist and said: “That time at your house.”

“Here……?” Luo Ran stared.

This was the office.

“Here.” Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Should we go home specially for this?”

“…….”

Going home to complete this task of fifteen minutes was really……kind of silly.

. . . . . . .

Rong Duo saw that Luo Ran was in the office all this time, and thought he might be discussing some official business. After all, Lucas was leaving, so she took a stack of urgent official documents and prepared to send them in.

Knock, knock.

Rong Duo knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.

She knocked again, but there was still no response.

What were they doing……?

Rong Duo cautiously said outside the door: “Secretary Luo?”

“Go away!”

It was Lucas’s voice.

Rong Duo was stunned for a moment, and then came to a realization and covered her mouth, running away crying.

What a wonderful love!

In the office, Lucas rolled his eyes and said: “I told you no one would come in casually, why are you nervous?”

With lingering fear in his heart, Luo Ran hid under Lucas’s desk.

He had been half-kneeling by the table, but when he heard that voice, he almost disappeared.

Lucas pulled out a tissue and grasped Luo Ran’s chin, wiping it for him: “Be good.”

Luo Ran gently batted Lucas’s hand away, feeling that hiding under the table was…..too shameful.

His ears and cheeks were completely red.

It was like a plot in that pornographic literature.

“I can help you too.” Lucas grabbed Luo Ran’s wrist.

“No need……!” Luo Ran turned around and strode away with the documents in his arms.

Too shameful…..!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Five

In the executive conference room of Bo Group, there was a surge of people.

Shareholders big and small from around the world surrounded the round table, and even the long benches in the back row were full of people.

The reason why Bo Group could grow bigger and stronger to its current scale was not only because of the salary and treatment of employees, but because it was also firmly controlled by the interests of its shareholders—

The procedures for this annual large-scale meeting were set in stone, and had been determined by Old Mrs. Bo herself.

The first order of business was to summarize the investment situation of the group’s major projects, including profits and losses. The second was to clarify the annual dividends of the large and small shareholders, and the third was the voting of some major shareholders on the hiring or dismissal of the decision makers in top positions.

As soon as Bo Yueming took his seat as the general manager, he was surrounded by many shareholders. “Why does Mr. Bo look so bad? Didn’t you sleep last night, ah?”

“Ai, Mr. Bo should stay in the position of general manager. There are so many big projects to manage, and he naturally puts in a lot of effort, unlike us, ah. It’s thanks to Mr. Bo that we’ve been able to lie down and make money peacefully in the past two years.”

“By the way, Mr. Bo’s eyes……are they better?”

The projects handled by Bo Yueming had always been Bo Group’s profit-making tools, especially the large-scale project he went to Wencheng to win this year, which had opened up a completely new path for Bo Group.

Coupled with the turmoil of his “blindness,” there were few shareholders who did not truly admire Bo Yueming.

To be more realistic, since Old Mrs. Bo’s accident and abdication, how many people in the Bo family could do the job?

Old Mr. Bo had an empty title, and Bo Lihui assumed the title of Chairman, doing things in a well-regulated manner. Bo Guancheng, who was originally among the younger generation, could just get by, but the other party became more and more outrageous—

First, he lost hundreds of millions from the German Chamber of Commerce, and then that type of scandal broke out. It was too disappointing!

As shareholders, their main concern was money.

Who wouldn’t want the group to be run by a capable person?

These solicitous greetings lingered in his ears, both sincere and with an element of deliberate flattering.

Bo Yueming would like to have a few polite words with them as usual, but he was full of concern for Pei Yi, and wished he could leave this meeting directly and rush to his lover’s side.

But at this juncture, it would not be good to leave the meeting and run out—

Not only would such impulsive behavior not help anything, on the contrary, it was possible that Bo Guancheng and others may completely control the situation and put Pei Yi into even more of a predicament.

The next two hours were the grace period set aside for Pei Yi, the search and rescue time for Qin Yishun, and the time he would be trapped in torment here.

“Mr. Bo?”

The shareholders looked at each other in blank dismay. Everyone felt that Bo Yueming’s expression was a little strange today. Since he had lost his sight, didn’t his assistant always stay by his side?

Why was Lin Zhong not there today?

Just as everyone was puzzled, the door of the conference room opened again.

Cheng Yangshan walked in, accompanied by Bo Guancheng and Bo Lihui, his manner imposing and full of posturing.

When the shareholders caught sight of Bo Guancheng, their expressions changed, and some directly whispered to each other—

“Wasn’t he dismissed? How can he still attend the shareholder meeting, ah?”

“Who knows, I didn’t see him on the list beforehand.”

“Could it be that the old man and Chairman Bo want to take advantage of this shareholder meeting to let him return to the position of general manager?”

“What a beautiful idea, the reputation of the group was almost ruined by him!”

“It’s just, how long has it been? If the old man really uses his power for personal gain like this, what prestige is there?”

Bo Guancheng ignored the gazes of the people around him. Anyway, he had already lost his face some time ago, and it was better to make things easier by being thick-skinned.

The winner would become king, and the loser an outlaw.

After today, the trend of this discussion might change again.

At this thought, Bo Guancheng immediately looked at Bo Yueming, who was sitting in the position of “general manager” with a hint of coldness in his eyes—

He didn’t know if he should say that he had overestimated the significance of that fool Pei Yi in Bo Yueming’s heart, or that Bo Yueming had a cold-blooded and mercenary temperament.

His marriage partner had been kidnapped, but he was still turning a blind eye?

Heh.

He wanted to see how long the other party could sit there!

Bo Guancheng was filial, and helped Cheng Yangshan sit in the main seat. He asked the conference room assistant to move in a chair, and sat in the back row seemingly without a fight.

Cheng Yangshan looked around and said, “Shareholders, please take your seats. The meeting is about to begin.”

Everyone responded one after another.

All of the meeting materials had been distributed in advance.

As the chairman, Bo Lihui looked unflustered. “All right, let’s first summarize the overall situation of our group’s projects this year.”

Bo Yueming indicated to Bo Jiao next to him, according to what he had planned in advance. “Go on up, don’t be nervous. I’ll help you fill in any omissions at any time.”

Bo Jiao replied sincerely, “Thank you, Second Brother.”

In the past, this sort of important matter would have been narrated by the general manager, Bo Yueming, but the other party was giving her the opportunity for this public experience.

When everyone saw Bo Jiao stand up, they were secretly surprised.

Only Bo Guancheng in the back row revealed a triumphant smile, thinking to himself mockingly—

He knew it, Bo Yueming was still afraid of something happening to Pei Yi, so he could only be forced to be “mute.” Otherwise, how could he let go of this chance to earn impression points?

It seemed that as long as Brother Gui could keep an eye on Pei Yi until the end of the meeting, Bo Yueming was destined to be ruthlessly controlled by them today!

. . . . . . .

Xiguan Urban Village was one of the few places where the population of the Imperial Capital gathered in disarray, due to the unresolved problem of land reconstruction all year round—

The housing density here was very high, and the living conditions, including lighting and ventilation, were very poor.

“Brother Gui, how long are we going to stay here? I haven’t eaten anything since last night, I’m starving to death.”

“Don’t fucking talk nonsense to me! This is important business!”

Brother Gui was the leader of the three of them, and his original name was Li Gui.^[1]

He accidentally killed someone in his hometown in the early years, and had fled abroad in recent times. He lived a marginal life on the road, and also gave himself a more vicious homophonic name.

He planned to immigrate abroad after completing this job, which was why his asking price for Bo Guancheng was a bit harsher this time. Not only that, but he planned to make money on both sides, and leverage Bo Yueming for a fortune later!

In any case, this rich person valued the life of a fool more than money.

The reason Brother Gui chose this temporary location was because there were many people in the building, which provided cover.

He glanced at Pei Yi in the corner with mocking eyes.

From the start of the kidnapping to present, the other party just shivered in the corner, not even possessing the courage to try to escape.

As expected of a fool, did he really think he could just wait for someone to come get him if he was obedient?

Brother Gui picked up his phone and looked at it. It was only 1:40.

He thought for a moment, then got up and said, “You guys, I’m going out to have a look.”

“Brother Gui, where are you going?”

“In another twenty minutes, we’ll take this fool to another place. Those rich people are really cunning, maybe they’ll call the police or bring someone here.” Brother Gui casually spit his cigarette butt onto the ground and crushed it with the sole of his shoe. “The crafty rabbit has three burrows, understand?”

“We understand! It’s still Brother Gui who is fucking awesome!”

“The car just now can no longer be used. I also connected with a seven-seater that has a fake license. I’ll go to the side of the main road and have a look first. Just wait for my notice and bring him down later.”

Brother Gui had decided that Pei Yi was a senseless fool, so he only said, “Be careful when going out later. Don’t let him startle others by yelling.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

The door of the rental house opened. Light and a cold breeze rushed in, and then was blocked once more.

Pei Yi, who seemed to be curled up trembling, listened to this scene, and a long-awaited light gleamed in his eyes—

It should be said that this kidnapper was really a bit cunning and adaptable, it was just a pity that the only mistake the other party made was taking him as a real fool, and spoke without any defenses at all.

It had all happened so suddenly today. He was only wearing a sweater, and stayed in this damp, cold rental room—

The others saw him trembling with fear, but half of that was due to being cold.

Pei Yi suppressed the discomfort in his body as his brain quickly worked out countermeasures—

If he was moved to a different location later, then wouldn’t the information he reported to Bo Yueming and others be useless?

That was no good!

He couldn’t move locations, or he would have less of an advantage!

If he couldn’t wait for a quick rescue from Qin Yishun, then he needed to take the opportunity to escape.

Otherwise, the later it was, the more the other party would watch him. Three people were difficult to deal with, but he had a chance with two.

Having made up his mind, Pei Yi covertly looked around the layout of the rental house again. There was faint light from the door and window of the bathroom to the side, which stirred his thoughts.

“B-Bathroom.”

Pei Yi murmured, looking up at the two chattering people nearby, “I need…..to go…..to the bathroom.”

The shorter one looked over and sneered, “Yo, this idiot knows how to go to the bathroom? Just pee in your pants, you nuisance!”

Hearing this, Pei Yi burst into tears of “grievance” and “timidity.”

The white sweater on his body had been stained with dirt, his unbrushed hair was messy, his nose and ears were red, and even the corners of his eyes were reddened with a sheen of tears.

He looked pitiful, making people a bit reluctant.

The skinnier man frowned. “But don’t we have to transfer him after a while? If this fool really can’t hold it in halfway, we’ll be the ones who’ll get disgusting.”

Smoking another cigarette, the shorter man hesitated. “That’s right. Damn, this fool is a nuisance.”

He glanced at his thin companion, then walked toward Pei Yi, who was tied hand and foot. “Can you use the toilet? I don’t have to hold you to piss, right?”

“……”

Pei Yi suppressed the disgust in his heart, and nodded with a sob.

Soon, the painful restraints around his wrists and ankles loosened.

The short man grabbed Pei Yi and took him to the small bathroom. “Go on, don’t close the door. I’m watching you!”

Pei Yi quickly glanced out the window, confirming the situation—

It was a long window, and with his figure, he should be able to pass through it.

According to his visual estimation, he was at the height of a three-storey building. Although he couldn’t jump down directly, because there were so many illegal buildings in the urban village, there was a small platform directly below on the opposite side.

The width was likely no more than a meter in the middle.

Pei Yi’s thoughts settled down slightly, and he turned around to reveal a bit of “confusion” to the short man. “T-Toilet? Where?”

The short man was stunned for two seconds, then cursed speechlessly while biting his cigarette. “Shit, a fucking rich idiot like you hasn’t used a squatter before, have you? 

As he spoke, he tilted his head and glanced at his accomplice outside.

“……”

Now!

The confusion on Pei Yi’s face swiftly turned to ruthlessness. He slammed the toilet door shut and locked it, then turned around and raised his feet to stand on the window.

It was cold and windy.

Looking from the top down, the height of a three-storey building was still a bit scary. If he couldn’t reach the opposite platform in one jump, he could get injured or die in the fall.

There was a frenzied banging sound outside the door. “Fucking damn it, this fool tricked us!”

“Er-ge.”

Pei Yi held this name between his teeth, took a deep breath, then steeled his heart and jumped.

—Bang!

When the two people broke through the door and saw this death-defying leap, another degree of shock was added to their expressions.

“Damn, where did the fucking fool go?”

“He didn’t die, right!?”

“What are you looking at, hurry up, ah!”

“……”

The sound of the landing made Pei Yi’s eardrums ring, and the mixture of coldness and pain took his breath away for a moment. But he had no time to slow down—

Pei Yi gritted his teeth and got up, enduring the unspeakable pain as he ran down the stairs of the second floor balcony.

He had just run to the first floor when the thin man in the rental house opposite reached the stairs at the junction of the first and second floors. 

“Stop running!”

As soon as their eyes met, Pei Yi dashed wildly down the alley, knocking down a series of drying racks.

He didn’t have the advantage of numbers, so he definitely couldn’t stop and fight. On the contrary—

He had to destroy some things and make as much of a racket as possible in order to get the attention of nearby residents. This would be a kind of alternate protection for him.

If he was lucky, he might even meet the search and rescue personnel sent by Qin Yishun and others.

As he thought, a smelly black stream appeared at the head of the alley.

Pei Yi was about to turn a corner, when he caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of his eye, and had to stop abruptly—

Brother Gui suddenly appeared to the right and gave Pei Yi a fierce look, and behind him were the other two chasing after him.

“……”

“Pretending? Pretend again!”

Brother Gui drew the short knife he carried with him. The blade glinted coldly. “Okay, ah, I had originally had reservations for the sake of you being a ‘fool,’ and didn’t play rough.”

He was quite good at pretending!

Even Bo Guancheng had been deceived. The other party gave them incorrect information, and they were almost tricked by Pei Yi, who was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger!

Pei Yi tried his best to control his unsteady breathing. His heartstrings were tight, but he didn’t show any fear on the surface. “You’re working so hard for Bo Guancheng. How much did he pay you?”

He needed to delay for time as much as possible, and find a gap to slip away.

“You don’t need to worry about me and him!”

Brother Gui played with the knife. His hoarse voice was influenced by the sound of the wind, making it more menacing.

“Don’t think you can delay time by talking. The cleverness of you rich people doesn’t seem worth mentioning to me.”

The short man came forward. “Brother Gui, don’t talk any more nonsense with him! Let’s take him up, then tie him up and beat him!”

As soon as these words fell, a figure unexpectedly rushed out from the corner.

Brother Gui’s attention was all on Pei Yi. It was too late to resist.

In the blink of an eye, he was knocked to the ground by a kick.

“Hiss.” Brother Gui covered his waist and abdomen as if his ribs had suffered, his face pale. “Ah…..”

The short and skinny men who were about to step forward were startled, and their footsteps paused slightly. Qin Yishun approached with a dark expression and stepped on Brother Gui’s wrist, forcing him to let go of the knife in his hand. “Who do you think you’ve kidnapped?”

The defensive line in Pei Yi’s heart suddenly loosened, and he quickly ran over, the tension in his eyes replaced with joy. “Brother! How did you find me here?”

“Xiao Yi!”

Qin Yishun saw that his little brother was clearly distressed, and stepped down on the man’s wrist harder.

“—Ah!”

Brother Gui let out a scream, and tried to get up, but failed. He said through gritted teeth, “What are you still doing? Come on!”

The thin man and the short one exchanged glances, and felt a simultaneous burst of anxiety. The height and presence of the other person standing there was enough to scare them.

Qin Yishun handed the knife to Pei Yi. “Xiao Yi, hold this. Wait for me for a moment, and Brother will take you back.”

Pei Yi still had the ability to protect himself, and he believed in his older brother’s strength. “En.”

After all, Qin Yishun was a retired Special Ops soldier, how could his skills be beaten by ordinary people? With almost no effort, he put the three of them on the ground.

Not long after, the search and rescue personnel rushed over after hearing the news. “Boss Qin.”

Qin Yishun was concise and clear, “Arrest them and call the police.”

Pei Yi pointed to the residential building not far away. “On the third floor of that building, there should be the rope they tied me up with, and maybe there’s some other evidence.”

When Qin Yishun heard this, he caught sight of the ligature marks on Pei Yi’s wrists and bare feet that were red from the cold. “Where are your shoes?”

Pei Yi looked at the black and smelly artificial river and gave a thoughtful hum. “I was only wearing slippers earlier when I got up, and then they brought me out.”

The next second, Qin Yishun took off his coat and covered him with it. “Why is your right sleeve ripped like this? How did you escape?”

When Qin Yishun saw his little brother looking like a little beggar, he felt distressed, and at the same time rejoiced that he had already recovered his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have had the ability to protect himself.

Qin Yishun hesitated to speak, but in the end, he was still afraid that Pei Yi would catch a cold. “Never mind. I’ll carry you back to the car first, and we can talk about things slowly.”

Pei Yi was taken aback. “Carry?”

Qin Yishun seemed to understand his concerns. “What? How can Bo Yueming have anything to say about an older brother carrying his little brother? When this matter is over, I must settle accounts with him!”

Pei Yi felt that his legs were about to freeze, and simply jumped onto Qin Yishun’s back. “Brother, this has nothing to do with Yueming. You can’t blame him.”

He said a few words of excuse for his lover, and couldn’t help wondering, “He asked you to come to me, right? How is he doing?”

Qin Yishun couldn’t let go of his anger as he carried him away. “At this sort of time, you’re still thinking about him? Think about yourself first!”

“Didn’t my brother protect me? Misfortune turned to blessings.” Pei Yi smiled purposefully and pressed his advantage. “Brother, lend me your cell phone, and I’ll send him a message to report that I’m safe.”

“……”

Qin Yishun could only say, “It’s in the coat pocket, but you don’t know the password, so it’s useless if you take it.”

There was clearly a fit of pique in the last part of that sentence.

Pei Yi took the phone out of the coat he was wearing and suddenly pointed it at Qin Yishun’s face. “Brother, smile, I’ll use face unlock.”

The cell phone authenticated Qin Yishun’s face and immediately unlocked.

Qin Yishun was angry and helpless, “Who still thinks you’re a little fool? You should be called clever!”

Pei Yi smiled lightly, and took the opportunity to ask, “So how did you find this place?”

“Bo Yueming called me to explain the situation, and asked me to focus on investigating dilapidated rental buildings that were about twenty minutes away from Bo Manor.”

And this urban village was the only eligible place.

Qin Yishun used the joint road control system between his company and the police to find the surveillance cameras near Bo Manor—

It was found that there was only one vehicle with strange whereabouts at the time, and the car had a fake license plate. The road monitoring along the way also pointed to this.

Coincidentally, when Qin Yishun was driving on the outer roads, he saw the suspicious Brother Gui, and his hypervigilance alerted him right away that something was wrong.

It was his innate intuition and keenness, but also the helplessness of needing to make a gamble that made him choose to follow.

Fortunately, he got there in time.

Qin Yishun closed the car door and immediately turned on the heater. “Cold? I told my subordinate to buy a pair of shoes for you, and I’ll take you to the hospital later.”

Pei Yi’s wrists and ankles had minor ligature marks from being tied up, there were scratches on the back of his right hand and forearm, and the shoeless feet he’d had to run wildly on were not much better.

There were no major injuries, but a lot of minor ones.

Qin Yishun didn’t have any wet wipes in the car, so he could only use paper towels soaked in mineral water to clean his little brother up.

Pei Yi took a paper towel and resisted the pain on his right arm, shaking his head. “I’ll go to the hospital later. Brother, why don’t you take me to Bo headquarters first?”

“…….” Qin Yishun stopped pouring water. “What? Didn’t you just send him a message?”

Pei Yi didn’t conceal it from him. “I sent him a message, but I still want to find him.”

Qin Yishun frowned again. “Why?”

Pei Yi hesitated to speak. Some secrets were hard to reveal—

Uncle Kai had told him that the night he packed his luggage and tried to escape, but was stopped, Bo Yueming sat alone in the living room to watch over him.

And Bo Yueming also told him on Yanshan mountain that his biological mother also left him behind his back.

From then on, Pei Yi knew that his lover was a very insecure person at heart.

With such an unexpected accident today, Bo Yueming had to force himself to stay at the shareholders’ meeting for the sake of Old Mrs. Bo and the Bo Group.

Pei Yi didn’t blame his lover for not coming to rescue him in person, because this decision was his own, but he could imagine that Bo Yueming was the one who was in the most distress and blaming himself.

Pei Yi came back to his senses, and said in a firm voice, “I want to find him, because he can only feel at ease once he sees me with his own eyes.”

They were not each other’s weaknesses, but each other’s inner armor and the card in their hand.

. . . . . .

Bo Group.

The first project review of the general shareholder meeting was over.

From the beginning until now, Bo Yueming had no intention of listening to what the shareholders were saying, and his eyes were fixed on the phone screen from time to time. 

It had been an hour, and guilt and anxiety were eroding his heart the entire time!

Bo Yueming had overestimated himself. He couldn’t last these two hours at all!

—Zizi.

The phone suddenly vibrated, and Qin Yishun’s WeChat voice message appeared on the screen.

Bo Yueming could no longer pretend to be calm, and stood up abruptly.

The solid wooden chair he was sitting on scratched the floor, causing a loud noise that drew the attention of countless shareholders.

Bo Yueming hurried away. “Everyone, I apologize. I’m stepping out for a moment.”

After speaking, he left the meeting without looking back, even forgetting about his “blindness.”

“…….”

The shareholders reacted one after another, revealing their shock. “How can Mr. Bo leave by himself?”

“His, his eyes are alright? When did this happen?”

“…….”

Everyone was astonished and delighted to discuss this. Only Bo Guancheng in the back row looked at his departing back and showed a mysterious smile—

Sure enough, you still can’t sit still? Very good, since you’ve already left, don’t think about coming back!

. . . . . .

Bo Yueming walked quickly to an empty office and clicked on the WeChat voice message from Qin Yishun.

The moment he pressed the button, a familiar voice sounded—

“Er-ge, I’m fine now, don’t worry about me. Just go and deal with that pile of scum.”

When Bo Yueming heard his lover personally report his safety, he sat down as if he had lost all his strength, and his heart hanging suspended in the air was finally able to rest.

—Swish.

Another WeChat came in.

Bo Yueming involuntarily let out a choked breath. His fingers were still trembling as he clicked on the voice message. It was still Pei Yi’s voice.

“I was too lenient in what I said just now, so I’ll repeat it again—”

“Bust that group of people in the face for me, husband~”

---

[1] His original given name is Gui (贵), which means noble, but he goes by Gui (鬼), which means ghost. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy-One <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Three

T/N: Thank you so much to ColdSnowman for donating again! Here’s your double update!

Pei Yi was woken up by a long-lost hangover headache. He tugged at the quilt and flipped back and forth, but couldn’t get rid of the pain in his head.

“Ugghh.”

Pei Yi let out a noise of discomfort, and subconsciously called out for the person he relied on the most, “Er-ge.”

Footsteps sounded from the small living room outside, accompanied by the gentlest response, “I’m here.”

Following at Bo Yueming’s feet, Inspector jumped onto the bed first.

It walked along the edge of the bed to Pei Yi’s shoulder, looking around and sniffing. “Meow-wu~”

Pei Yi struggled against the headache to open his eyes, shifting his gaze from the pet in front of him to Bo Yueming beside the bed.

The other party was wearing a very formal three-piece suit, and looked like he had risen early to get ready.

“Huh?”

Pei Yi stared at Bo Yueming in bewilderment, uttering a low question.

Bo Yueming put the warm water and pills he had prepared on the bedside table, and bent over to check his condition. “Another headache, right? Seeing you drunk like that last night, I guessed you wouldn’t feel well this morning.”

Last night, Bo Yueming had carried the drunken Pei Yi from the car to the master bedroom and washed the two of them up.

Likely because he was at the side of his closest and most trusted person, Pei Yi’s last sense of reason was overwhelmed by his drunkenness after the hot bath, and he boldly fulfilled his wild words of “I’ll eat you.”

Pei Yi embraced Bo Yueming, kissing and gnawing, and after teasing his lover, he, the “culprit,” fell asleep drunk like a rascal.

Pei Yi lightly tugged Bo Yueming’s hand. “Er-ge.”

“En?”

Bo Yueming broke free from his helpless memories of the night before.

Seeing that his lover’s face was presently screwed up with discomfort, he coaxed, “Drink some warm water and take the hangover medicine before you sleep again?”

Pei Yi accepted his fate in a well-behaved manner and struggled to get up.

He gulped down the hangover medicine that Bo Yueming had thoughtfully prepared, and drank more than half a glass of warm water to moisten his dry mouth before heaving a sigh of relief. 

“Thankfully today is Saturday, so I don’t have to go to the studio.”

The game was being watched over by the technical department in shifts, so if there was any problem, he and Li Yuan would be alerted in a timely manner. 

Bo Yueming asked, “Are you hungry?”

Pei Yi shook his head. “I don’t feel good. No appetite.”

Bo Yueming looked at the time and coaxed, “It’s just after eight o’clock, why don’t you sleep a little longer? I also cooked you hangover soup, go eat some downstairs after you’ve had enough sleep.”

Pei Yi unceremoniously fell back, his reasoning still paralyzed by the headache. “Er-ge, why did you get up so early? Where are you going?”

Bo Yueming replied, “You don’t remember? The Bo Group shareholder meeting is scheduled for today.”

The weather was cold.

Although the heating in the master bedroom was adequate, he still pulled up the quilt for his family’s kitten. “It’s scheduled for two o’clock in the afternoon, but I have to go to Grandma’s place first to arrange some things.”

Pei Yi returned to his senses, and curiosity dyed his expression. “Are you able to deal with those people today?”

“En. I had originally wanted to take you with me. Now that you’re in such a state, it’s better for you to stay home and have a good rest.”

Bo Yueming took Pei Yi’s hand and pinched the acupuncture point on his fingertip. This was a move he learned from the internet, and it was said to relieve discomfort after drinking.

His family’s kitten loved to eat and drink, but if Bo Yueming was not watching by his side, it was easy for him to get drunk, so he naturally had to think of various ways to deal with it.

“I will tell you everything that happened when I come back tonight, to satisfy your curiosity.”

Pei Yi teased with a smile, “Today is cold, la. The Bo family is about to change.”

Bo Yueming nodded slightly. “Certain people have occupied the magpie’s nest for half a year. It’s time to return what should be returned.”

“Er-ge, you need to be careful of Bo Guancheng and the others, and especially protect the Old Madam.” Pei Yi stopped joking, and considered carefully, “In case they are cornered and do something extreme.”

Bo Yueming had already considered this point. “I have already contacted Mr. Qin to strengthen the guard staff. Don’t worry.”

Pei Yi nodded slowly.

For some reason, he felt a disconnect in his mind, as if he had forgotten to explain something to Bo Yueming.

Bo Yueming didn’t know what was going on in his mind. “Okay, I’m about to leave. You sleep a little longer, and remember to message me when you wake up later.”

Pei Yi’s discomfort hadn’t stopped, so he just didn’t worry. “Okay.”

Bo Yueming leaned over and kissed his lips. “Good morning, Little Sir.”

Pei Yi stuck to him again and rubbed the tip of his nose, smiling back. “Good morning, Er-ge.”

. . . . . . .

Pei Yi fell asleep again not long after Bo Yueming left, the remnants of drunkenness still tenaciously playing its role, and he let himself sleep drowsily for a long time.

When he woke up again, the headache was gone, and only a little drowsiness remained.

Pei Yi fumbled to pick up the cell phone on the bedside table, and was surprised when he saw the time displayed on the screen—

12:50?

How did he sleep for so long unknowingly?

Uncle Kai would usually wake him up for lunch at half past twelve, so why did he not do so today?

Pei Yi also glanced at the cat nest. It was empty, Inspector nowhere to be seen.

“Strange.”

Pei Yi muttered as he got up, rubbing his temples. After seizing the time to get up and wash, he changed into a white sweater and went downstairs.

The air was filled with the scent of food.

Pei Yi went downstairs steadily, and asked as usual, “Uncle Kai?”

“……”

There was no response.

“Uncle…….”

Just as Pei Yi was about to call out a second time, he caught sight of a familiar figure laying on the dining room floor from the corner of his eye. His expression changed at once, and he immediately accelerated his pace and rushed over!

Uncle Kai had passed out at some point with his face to the ground, and there was a shattered set of dishes beside him.

Pei Yi turned him over and immediately confirmed that he was breathing. While pinching the acupoint between his nose and mouth to wake him up, he scanned him from top to bottom—

His breathing was normal, and there didn’t seem to be any external injuries. Was it a sudden onset illness?

But a housekeeper such as Uncle Kai arranged for a full set of physical examinations every year, and the other party’s body was usually sturdy, so how could he faint for no reason?

Pei Yi brainstormed quickly, and chose to call an ambulance first.

He tried his best to suppress the still-raging dizziness, and was about to move Uncle Kai when he suddenly noticed Inspector hiding beneath a cabinet from the corner of his eye.

The eyes of one person and one cat met.

“Meow-wu!”

Inspector let out a growling, stressed warning sound from its throat.

“……”

Pei Yi’s slightly raised eyes froze, and he felt that something was wrong.

The moment vigilance erupted in his innermost being, there was a strong wind behind him.

Pei Yi instinctively tried to dodge sideways, but the act of crouching and turning around helplessly made his head dizzy. Swish—

His vision suddenly went black!

It was not just brief darkness due to his dizziness. Someone had put a black bag over his head and forcibly imprisoned his hands from behind.

“Meow-wu~”

Inspector uttered a more ferocious cry.

Pei Yi’s heart tightened, but he quickly calmed down. “Inspector! Run!”

No matter how smart and capable the domesticated pet was, it had little chance of winning against someone with evil intentions.

Pei Yi still recalled Inspector’s ending in the original text, and didn’t want such a scene to happen again.

“Run quickly!”

The person behind him heard Pei Yi’s cry and sneered. “Heh, you really are a fool. Still thinking about a cat at a time like this?”

“Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and take him away!”

“……”

Pei Yi knew there was no chance of victory if he resisted fiercely now, but it would easily expose the truth of his disguise.

So before the stranger behind him could find out, he played the part of the “fool” that the other party had ridiculed him for being, struggling and shouting—

In this way, he would establish himself as a “fool” and make the other party relax their vigilance.

“Be quiet! Or else I’ll kill you!”

“Wu wu, en, en.”

Pei Yi’s mouth was covered tightly through the rough sack, and he was practically carried away.

Footsteps staggered one after another. There were two people?

Soon, a car door closed, and a voice different from the first two people rang out, “Let’s go!”

The car engine sounded.

Pei Yi confirmed his answer. There should be a third person driving the car along with the “kidnappers” who broke into the house.

Uncle Kai was likely knocked out by them while preparing lunch, but the real target was Pei Yi himself?

Pei Yi’s thoughts suddenly turned toward the the figure that had flashed by the wall of the villa the night before, and the sense of something being wrong that had been suppressed by his drunkenness finally emerged—

Right!

It wasn’t a hallucination from drinking the other night, there really was someone waiting outside the villa to keep an eye on the situation?

There was a total of two exits in front of and behind the villa.

The side back door was closed all year round, to the point that it seemed the iron chain was going to rust, and the front door had three layers of security. Unless you had the right license plate and could enter without inspection, you had to have an invitation letter from the owner of the manor.

“Wu wu wu wu!”

Pei Yi’s mouth was covered very tightly, but he still let out a flustered, foolish sob on purpose. He heard the sound of the front door being opened—

The people in this car took him out of the manor almost effortlessly.

It seemed that this was either a car for the Bo family’s own use, or they had gotten through the three levels of doormen inside and outside.

But no matter which option it was, the intentions of the people behind the scenes were obvious. Forced to hide under the black sack, the initial panic vanished from Pei Yi’s eyes, only to be replaced by an upwelling of calm sharpness—

Was it the main branch? Or Cheng Yangshan?

Today was Bo Group’s shareholder meeting. Were they afraid that they would not be able to suppress Bo Yueming, so they just decided to “find another way” and had someone kidnap him?

Pei Yi could pretty much figure out the purpose of this sudden “kidnapping,” and couldn’t help but sneer internally.

At this time, he didn’t know whether to say they were too clever, or that they had enmeshed themselves in a trap of their own devising. Knowing his importance to Bo Yueming, they wanted to use him as a check and balance?

Did they think he and Bo Yueming were easy to deal with? Was the law really just for decoration?

However, since the purpose of kidnapping him was to get a handle on Bo Yueming and take away his right to speak—

Then before the meeting officially started, the main branch or the kidnappers would certainly find a way to inform Bo Yueming about this, and they should temporarily keep him as a “hostage” until the shareholders’ meeting was over.

“…….”

Pei Yi estimated that he would be relatively safe for two or three hours, and lost the last bit of his unnecessary tension.

He had to be vigilant, but he couldn’t let his nervousness and anxiety limit his thinking.

Under such circumstances, it was very easy to encounter misfortune when it was one against three, and Pei Yi felt more and more that he should wait for an opportunity—

He couldn’t be a burden. Rather than wait for his lover to rescue him, he must save himself!

. . . . . . .

Bang!

The cup he had picked up accidentally fell back onto the table, spilling a lot of coffee.

Seeing this, Lin Zhong sitting opposite him immediately got up and took out some tissues. “Mr. Bo, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Bo Yueming wiped the coffee stains from his fingertips, feeling inexplicably uneasy, and glanced at the WeChat interface on his phone—

It was half past one.

Why was Pei Yi silent? The message he sent had not been replied to.

Bo Yueming threw the tissues into the trash can, and said casually, “Lin Zhong, will you call Uncle Kai and see if Pei Yi is awake?”

As soon as he spoke, the office door was pushed in unexpectedly.

Bo Yueming glanced over subconsciously, and a trace of displeasure welled up in his eyes hidden under the glasses.

Lin Zhong, who was about to get up and go out, reacted. “Mr. Bo, it’s the First Young Master.”

Hearing this address, Bo Guancheng sneered in displeasure. “Even if I’m not working in the group, the subsidiary company is still under the management of our main branch, yet I can’t even get the address ‘Boss Cheng’ from you?”

Encountering his wrath, Lin Zhong paused.

Bo Yueming said calmly, “Lin Zhong, you leave first.”

“Yes.”

Lin Zhong passed Bo Guancheng.

The latter approached the sofa step by step, and took a seat across from Bo Yueming without waiting to be greeted. “I really underestimated you. Your acting skills aren’t bad.”

Bo Yueming seemed to have guessed this would happen long ago, and picked up his coffee without haste. “Why don’t I seem to have seen your name on the list? Oh, that’s right, there’s a statement on the official website.”

Bo Guancheng recalled the public statement of his dismissal, and gritted his teeth. “Bo Yueming, you are the one who should have been removed from today’s shareholder list, not me!”

He thought he could rely on the old lady’s favor, conceal the news of her life or death, and join hands with the second branch again to control Bo Group every step of the way?

In his dreams!

Bo Guancheng took off his glasses, and also removed his mask of hypocritical agreeableness he always wore, revealing his original viciousness and hatred—

“You’re just a stray dog the old lady brought in from outside. What right do you have to be equal to me and the main branch?”

Splash!

Bo Yueming suddenly flicked the coffee cup in his hand, and all of the liquid in the cup was poured onto Bo Guancheng’s face and clothes without falling to the ground!

“…….”

Bo Guancheng’s expression changed at once. He hadn’t expected Bo Yueming to do such a thing.

Bo Yueming set the coffee cup down firmly. This was a trick he had learned from his little lover.

It was enough to vent his anger.

He lay down the eviction notice without a change of expression, “The general shareholder meeting is about to start. If you have time to sit and chat with me, how about cleaning yourself up?”

Bo Yueming was fuming with anger, but before he could refute, Lin Zhong knocked on the door and walked in.

They made eye contact.

Bo Guancheng caught the uncontrolled panic in the assistant’s eyes, and immediately felt that he was standing at the stage where the balance shifted toward victory. “I hope you can still laugh later.”

Just wait and see!

Once this person had a weakness, they were bound to succeed in a big way!

With this vague sentence, Bo Guancheng got up and left. At the same time, Lin Zhong hastily locked the office door.

Bo Yueming noticed his assistant’s abnormality. “What has happened?”

“Mr. Bo! I called Uncle Kai, but he didn’t answer. But just now I suddenly received an anonymous text message from an encrypted number—”

“The other party said that Little Sir is in their hands, and they will call to confirm in three minutes.”

Because of the urgency and importance of this matter, Lin Zhong had rushed back to the office in a hurry.

“What?!”

Bo Yueming’s breathing became disordered.

The call came in just as his voice fell, still an encrypted string of numbers from an unknown location.

Lin Zhong immediately passed the phone over. “Mr. Bo! Here!”

Bo Yueming suppressed his surging emotions and pressed the button to connect. At the same time, he didn’t forget to turn on the recording. “Hello?”

A hoarse voice came from the other end. “Give the phone to Bo Yueming!”

Bo Yueming got right to the point. “This is he. Where is Pei Yi?”

The other party laughed, full of malice. “He’s tied up, and his ticket might be up at any time. So, troubling Boss Bo to cooperate with us.”

“Of course, to cooperate in good faith, I’ll let Boss Bo inspect the goods first.” 

After he said this, there was a commotion on the other end of the line. “Come on! Say a few words!”

“Wu.”

A wordless whimper sounded. 

Bo Yueming recognized it right away. His hand gripped the phone with such force that his veins bulged, and an incoherent cry echoed in his ears.

It was Pei Yi’s voice, but not the way Pei Yi should be with him.

His lover was still maintaining his “foolish” appearance in front of them? And they hadn’t found out yet?

Having quickly confirmed this point, Bo Yueming said simply and firmly, “Turn on the video. I want to talk to him in person to confirm his safety.”

The person on the other end didn’t comply. “Boss Bo, aren’t you pushing your limits?”

Bo Yueming’s next request was louder, mixed with a trace of hostility. “I said, turn on the video, otherwise don’t even think about negotiating terms with me.”

“…….”

The kidnapper on the other end hesitated for a few seconds, then finally agreed with a curse.

The video was delayed for a moment, and then Pei Yi’s figure appeared on-screen—

The temperature was cold enough to snow, and the other party only wore a not-very-thick sweater. His eye sockets were red, and so was the frozen tip of his nose.

Bo Yueming gritted his teeth to keep his expression from fluctuating too much.

This group of people intended to use Pei Yi to manipulate him, and the more he showed excessive concern now, the more the losses would outweigh the gains.

The phone was briefly handed to Pei Yi.

“Fool, say a few words, hurry up!”

Probably because they thought Pei Yi was a fool who couldn’t accommodate to the circumstances, the kidnappers had only tied his hands crudely in front of him. 

Pei Yi struggled to catch the phone with both hands. When he saw Bo Yueming clearly on the screen, he at once vividly expressed his grievance and fear, calling out tearfully.

“Not Er-ge, want Brother!”

“Pei Yi?”

“Go home! I….don’t like it…..here.” Pei Yi took the opportunity to change the camera’s viewpoint slightly, but he couldn’t be too obvious due to the people behind him. “Worn out….more worn out than last time.”

Bo Yueming’s screen continued to record his lover’s message, and he cooperated sincerely, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

Facing the three pairs of eyes in front of him, Pei Yi seemed unable to listen to Bo Yueming’s comfort, and continued to talk nonsense. “T-twenty minutes, pick me up, Big Brother, I want my Big Brother, I want…..”

“Enough!”

The leader smoking a cigarette snatched the cell phone away. “You really can’t stop?”

The video was interrupted for a moment.

The leader took over speaking, and said, “Boss Bo, can we talk about cooperation? You had better withdraw immediately from today’s shareholder meeting. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that something won’t happen to this little fool.”

Bo Yueming interrupted in a firm voice, “Tell Bo Guancheng for me that what I hate most in life is being threatened. Don’t even think about it.”

At the critical moment of the general shareholders’ meeting, who else could attack Pei Yi by his side other than the rotten, stinking main branch of the Bo family?

The other party clearly heard Bo Yueming’s unwillingness to bend, and there was a hint of ruthlessness in his hoarse voice, “Believe it or not, I’ll kill the hostage now!”

Kill the hostage?

Bo Yueming’s brow twitched slightly, and he was forced to gamble with his heart. “Okay, ah, you want to give it a shot? If you intend to do this, I’ll call the police right now.”

A suffocating silence permeated the air, and Bo Yueming eventually won the gamble.

The kidnapper took a step back and changed up his words. “Just keep your mouth shut at the shareholders’ meeting, and in two hours, I’ll give you a ransom amount.”

Bo Yueming knew when to throw in the towel. He agreed.

The phone quickly cut off on the other end, leaving only the indifferent sound of a dial tone.

Lin Zhong didn’t expect that Bo Guancheng would use such tactics. “Mr. Bo, the shareholders’ meeting is about to begin. What should we do now?”

Was it necessary to follow Bo Guancheng’s arrangements and withdraw from the shareholders’ meeting or remain mute the whole time? To allow them to kick him out of his position?

Bo Yueming put down the phone as if he had lost his strength, but forced himself to rally his spirits and calm down. “It’s useless to panic now. We can’t be left to their mercy.”

His lover was so clever and trusted him so calmly, he couldn’t let him down!

In his mind, Bo Yueming stripped away the “foolish” words Pei Yi had said and sorted out the truly usable information, then quickly dialed Qin Yishun’s number.

. . . . . . .

In a dark, damp little rental house.

Pei Yi feigned terror and curled up trembling in a corner, trying to relax the vigilance of the other three as much as possible.

The words “kill the hostage” sounded scary on the phone just now, but it was clearly just a threat.

Pei Yi could tell that the leading kidnapper wanted to play both sides—

On the one hand, he took Bo Guancheng’s money and remotely helped him get a handle on Bo Yueming at the shareholders’ meeting. And on the other hand, he wanted to use the kidnapping to pry a ransom out of Bo Yueming.

Before the conclusion of the shareholders’ meeting, and before any abrupt changes occurred, it was impossible for his life to be in danger for the time being.

Pei Yi had already hidden some general information in his nonsense just now—

12:50 was the last time he saw at home, and 1:25 was the time he saw on the kidnapper’s phone.

Leaving aside the miscellaneous things that happened before and after, the time it took to transfer him from the villa to this place was at a conservative estimate only about twenty minutes.

The place he was staying now was even more worn out than the old house they trapped Lin Na in last time, plus they hadn’t changed vehicles halfway, and there were surveillance cameras at the gate of the manor and along the road—

The old house twenty minutes away from the manor could be found with a bit of investigating.

The reason Pei Yi kept yelling for his “Big Brother” in the video was because Qin Yishun’s company was the largest risk management firm in China.

Besides the police, they had a special emergency system for this kind of situation.

And another important reason was that he knew the importance of this shareholders’ meeting to Bo Yueming and Old Mrs. Bo! It was the best time to deal with Cheng Yangshan and the main branch of the Bo family!

If Bo Yueming rushed out to find him and rescue him right now, wouldn’t that make it clear that he had cast aside the shareholder meeting?

No!

Bo Guancheng and the others must not be allowed to succeed, otherwise they would only become more difficult to deal with in the future!

Pei Yi knew that Bo Yueming must be very anxious for him at this time. This was enough. Before reinforcements arrived, he believed that he had the ability to protect himself, and even find the right time to escape!

Pei Yi was in a predicament, but his heart was filled with love and trust. He secretly observed the nearby kidnappers with peerless determination—

Forget being a fucking weakness.

He would never become a burden for Bo Yueming!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Seventy <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Two