Chapter 164: The Night Banquet Incident

Chapter 164: The Night Banquet Incident

Wan Chenghan paused, silent for a moment.

Outside, the only sound was the running water. After a while, Wan Chenghan finally spoke, "I've done everything you asked me to do. Don’t forget what you promised."

Chen Yin let out a soft chuckle, "Aren’t you worried Shen Zhixue might hold this against you?"

"He’s unaware," Wan Chenghan replied, frowning. "Besides, this is my affair, and it doesn’t concern him. I never intended to hurt him."

Chen Yin leaned back against the cold wall, "Honestly, I find it odd. Why you?"

"That’s not your concern," Wan Chenghan turned off the faucet, pulled a few sheets of paper from the side, and dried his hands. "Let’s get out of here. Lingering too long could draw attention."

Chen Yin didn’t respond and walked away.

Wan Chenghan lingered for a moment before leaving.

Shen Zhixue let out a relieved sigh, stood up from Jiang Huizhou, and walked out.

Jiang Huizhou’s eyes crinkled as he noticed the faint blush on Shen Zhixue’s ears, whispering, "That was a surprise."

Shen Zhixue nodded, "I didn’t expect it either. The one we’ve been chasing for six years was right under our noses."

"Zhi Zhi still gets flustered over things like this," Jiang Huizhou reached out and pinched Shen Zhixue’s ear. "We’ve been intimate more than once. I figured you’d be past this by now."

Shen Zhixue: "..."

He knew this guy couldn’t keep a straight face for long.

After Wan Chenghan left, Shen Zhixue and Jiang Huizhou also exited the restroom. Chen Yin and Jiang Xingliu stood side by side, drawing curious looks from the banquet guests.

Jiang Xingliu was now a rising star in the Empire's military, while Chen Yin's background was unknown to most. It was only known that she was a child adopted by the Jiang family from an orphanage, with no blood relation to Jiang Xingliu.

Now grown, Chen Yin had matured into an elegant young woman. While she didn’t outshine everyone, she complemented Jiang Xingliu perfectly.

Jiang Xingliu overheard the whispers around him.

"Is the Jiang family grooming a child bride?"

"It looks like it... That illegitimate child of the Jiang family was thought to be dead, but now he's back in good health, even becoming the adopted son of Commander Qiu Ying. The entire Jiang family is under his control now... When Shen Zhixue married him, how much ridicule did he endure? Who would have thought he'd end up with such a bargain!"

"Who would’ve guessed a cripple could rise so high? If I had known, I would have married my daughter to him!"

"Enough with the hindsight. If Jiang Huizhou had been in such a position back then, your daughter wouldn’t have had a chance anyway..."

"If you’ve got a granddaughter, setting her up with the Jiang family’s young master wouldn’t hurt. He's sixteen now, in a couple of years he'll be an adult, ready for marriage..."

"But isn’t there already a Chen Yin by his side?"

"That’s just speculation. Who knows what the Jiang family’s really planning? It's worth a try..."

Jiang Xingliu frowned as he watched the women approaching him with wine glasses.

He wanted to turn and leave, but he stood his ground, unmoving.

Chen Yin had disappeared for a while earlier. Jiang Xingliu guessed she must have met her behind-the-scenes contact in the military. Shen Zhixue and Jiang Huizhou were also nowhere to be seen. He needed to keep Chen Yin in check for now.

Soon, they were surrounded by the crowd.

Jiang Xingliu, despite his young age, handled social situations smoothly, with ease and precision. Chen Yin was naturally forced to follow him, mingling with a group of noblewomen without any chance to slip away.

However, even without her, this wouldn’t go wrong.

After Shen Zhixue and Jiang Huizhou came out, they saw Lu Qingyan standing alone among the guests. Seeing Shen Zhixue, he walked over to them.

"Looking for someone?" Lu Qingyan followed Shen Zhixue's gaze and scanned the surroundings. "What’s up?"

"Where’s Wan Chenghan?" Shen Zhixue quickly asked. "Isn’t this his event? Why isn’t he here?"

Lu Qingyan replied calmly, "It’s normal for the host to be late. Why are you looking for him? He’s likely swamped today. If you’re planning to wish him a happy birthday, he might not have the time."

Jiang Huizhou leaned against the side, head lowered and silent, but when he glanced up, he saw Jiang Xingliu dragging Chen Yin not far away.

Chen Yin’s expression was unreadable.

But this shouldn’t be the case. She risked a lot to meet the mastermind—there must be something major going on.

What exactly is Chen Yin’s goal? Could that person behind the scenes really be Wan Chenghan?

Their conversation was unclear, and it seemed as though Chen Yin deliberately kept it vague.

"I have something I need to ask him," Shen Zhixue said.

Lu Qingyan nodded. "Why the rush? After the party, you’ll have plenty of opportunities, won’t you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Shen Zhixue’s serious expression, which didn’t seem like a joke.

"He’s likely upstairs in the bedroom," Lu Qingyan said in a low voice. "I think I saw him coming out of the bathroom earlier. Is something wrong? Need my help?"

Shen Zhixue shook her head and turned to head upstairs.

Jiang Huizhou stepped forward, grabbing Shen Zhixue’s wrist, and said in a deep voice, "Go up alone and be careful."

Shen Zhixue was momentarily stunned. "Did you figure it out?"

If it wasn’t for something crucial, Jiang Huizhou wouldn’t have let him act alone. Moreover, if Wan Chenghan was indeed Chen Yin’s trump card, this could be very risky.

The fact that Jiang Huizhou was so willing to let him go find Wan Chenghan could only mean... Jiang Huizhou had an idea, and in his plan, Wan Chenghan was safe.

"Not necessarily," Jiang Huizhou pursed his lips. "So you need to be careful. If I’m wrong, I hope we can fix it."

Shen Zhixue cut straight to the point. "What do you want me to do?"

"Find Wan Chenghan and stick with him," Jiang Huizhou glanced at Chen Yin, quickly dropping this sentence before leaving.

Shen Zhixue always trusted Jiang Huizhou’s instincts when it came to danger. Moreover, with Jiang Huizhou’s mind, no one could outsmart him.

He turned and headed to the bedroom on the second floor.

Lu Qingyan followed behind him. "Wait, what’s happening? Why are you looking for Wan Chenghan? Isn’t the purpose of this birthday party to find the person hidden in the military?"

"Earlier, in the bathroom, we overheard Wan Chenghan and Chen Yin talking. It seems Wan Chenghan is the one behind the scenes helping Chen Zhe," Shen Zhixue explained in a low voice as they walked. "The mastermind must be very powerful to quietly obtain so many corpses and even help Chen Zhe cover up the existence of that underground lab. They might have even been involved in Chen Zhe’s plan to abduct young, undifferentiated children for experiments."

The more he spoke, the colder he felt.

In their eyes, Wan Chenghan was someone without any schemes, even straightforward to the point of being naive. If all of this was his doing, it would be truly terrifying.

Lu Qingyan paused, incredulous. "Wan Chenghan? He has the brains for this?"

Shen Zhixue: "Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover."

"Perhaps others can’t be judged by their appearances, but Wan Chenghan—you can see through his thoughts at a glance," Lu Qingyan said. "I’ve known this guy since birth, from elementary school to university graduation. We attended the same school. I’ve watched him go from being a fool to an even bigger fool."

Shen Zhixue: "..."

"Well, that’s something."

"Don’t let his usual bragging fool you; he hasn’t had many relationships. The only serious one was with Yexue, who’s been in prison for ten years now."

Shen Zhixue: "..."

He suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Yeah, ten years. Is Yexue getting out soon?"

Lu Qingyan thought for a moment: "Seems like it. What she did back then wasn’t really a big deal; no one died, at least not openly. She was supposed to serve six or seven years, but you know how Chief Qiu always hated her, so... she got a heavier sentence. But it’s been ten years now, so she should be about to be released."

Shen Zhixue frowned, his pace quickening.

Things were more complicated than he’d realized. Looking back at the conversation between Wan Chenghan and Chen Yin, it didn’t seem like a conspiracy. Instead, it felt like Chen Yin was being deliberately vague, steering them to suspect Wan Chenghan.

She’d known they were in the back room the whole time!

"Wan Chenghan might be in trouble," Shen Zhixue said, breaking into a sprint and bolting to the lounge. Without hesitation, he kicked the door!

The special metal alloy was tough, and Shen Zhixue’s kick barely made a dent.

Lu Qingyan, though not entirely sure what was happening, could see Shen Zhixue’s urgency. Wan Chenghan might really be in danger.

Without a second thought, he followed Shen Zhixue’s lead and kicked the door.

Being a top-tier Alpha, the ruler of this planet, he instantly kicked open the previously unmovable door.

Wan Chenghan appeared at the door, bewildered: "...What the hell? I was just about to open it. Have you lost your minds?"

Shen Zhixue finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw Wan Chenghan, but then Yexue’s face appeared behind him.

Seeing Shen Zhixue’s gaze fall on Yexue, Wan Chenghan quickly explained: "Zhi Zhi, don’t get the wrong idea—nothing happened between us! It’s just... Yexue said she had something to tell me, so I let her in!"

Shen Zhixue frowned.

Chen Yin deliberately shifted their suspicion to make him realize Yexue was back by Wan Chenghan’s side?

If Wan Chenghan wasn’t the mastermind, then the real one must still be hiding somewhere at this banquet!

Without wasting a second, Shen Zhixue demanded, "What did you do to help Chen Yin?"

Wan Chenghan pursed his lips, stunned: "How... how did you know?"

"Speak, what did you do for her?"

"I just... helped her meet Chen Zhe," Wan Chenghan said.

"If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me?"

Wan Chenghan pinched his fingers, cautiously glancing at Shen Zhixue: "Because she told me not to tell you—she was afraid you’d find out she was still hung up on Chen Zhe... I thought it made sense, so I kept quiet."

Shen Zhixue, exhausted, rubbed his forehead: "Great job. Maybe leave the thinking to someone else next time."

Wan Chenghan pouted, looking aggrieved: "What’s the big deal? This young master was only looking out for you!"

Shen Zhixue reached out and pulled Wan Chenghan over, looking at Yexue standing by the window, and sighed as she spoke, "You've tricked this fool again, haven't you?"

Yexue reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked much thinner, but there was something in her eyes that Shen Zhixue couldn't quite grasp.

Although he didn't know how Yexue had spent the past ten years in prison, his gut told him that the person before him seemed even more dangerous and unhinged than she had been ten years ago.

Wan Chenghan spoke up, "Fooled me? Didn't you come today to ask me about Wan Chong's situation?"

"Yes," Yexue murmured, "I've spent ten years in prison. My own flesh and blood, he was only eight years old when I left him. Now, he must be an adult, right?"

Wan Chenghan pursed his lips and said, "Wan Chong has found very good adoptive parents. He should be living a decent life now. If possible, I hope you won't disturb him."

"You don't really think of him as your child, do you?" Yexue chuckled lightly, "Actually, I don't care at all how he's doing now. He was just a bastard I had to have to keep you around. Since he couldn't keep you, he's of no use to me. I couldn't care less if he lives or dies."