Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Lan Yexing’s unintentional words were so alluring that Qiao You decisively swept him into his arms and carried him to the bay window. He lingered, holding the boy until he was flushed and feverish, before slowly releasing him and letting him go.

Even after Lan Yexing had descended the stairs, Qiao You remained by the window, elegant and unhurried, his gaze fixed on Lan Yexing’s retreating form. Once Lan Yexing vanished from sight, Qiao You calmly pulled out his phone, expertly opening the monitoring and tracking app linked to Lan Yexing’s device. He watched with keen interest as the red dot representing Lan Yexing moved across the screen, all the while listening to the sound of his breathing, punctuated by footsteps, coming through the connection.

A satisfied smile finally graced Qiao You’s lips.

......

Completely oblivious to all this, Lan Yexing swiftly bypassed surveillance and scaled the wall to re-enter the campus.

By midday, news of Qiao You’s disappearance from campus had spread like wildfire. This, along with the campus music festival scheduled for the following day, became the most talked-about topic among students.

The school’s closed-campus policy made it easy to detect unusual movements, especially since Qiao You was a key figure of interest for both the school and many clandestine individuals. His absence from morning club activities, his failure to appear in class all morning, his empty dorm room, and his unreachable phone naturally caused a significant uproar.

For a time, undercurrents surged both within and beyond the campus, with many secretly mobilizing to ascertain Qiao You’s whereabouts.

Even Qiao You’s cheerful alpha friend made a special trip to Lan Yexing’s specialized class, asking if he had seen Qiao You.

Lan Yexing maintained an innocent and sincere expression, feigning concern as he shook his head.

Indeed, those who rarely lie are often more convincing when they do. The alpha even reassured Lan Yexing not to worry too much before departing.

Only after the alpha left did Lan Yexing finally exhale in relief.

When the alpha arrived, Lan Yexing had just finished a specialized class. After dismissal, all the other students had gone to lunch. For some reason, someone had come to Jian Si’s home and called him away, leaving Lan Yexing as the sole occupant of the classroom.

He relaxed slightly and sent a message to the elder at home—this situation couldn't be concealed, so Lan Yexing simply explained the facts and reassured him not to worry about Qiao You.

The elder asked no questions, merely replying with a swift "Good," and urged them to stay safe, assuring them not to worry about him, as he would also mediate with the royal family on their behalf.

Lan Yexing gazed at the message, a profoundly gentle expression softening his features.

He then set aside his phone, adorned with golden stars, and began to mentally organize the clues he had gathered over the past few days. He gently looked at the watch face on his right wrist:

Xiao Song remained perfectly still and quiet, careful not to disturb his thoughts.

Lan Yexing covered the watch face, his expression slowly hardening:

The Host’s and the King’s positions diverged more significantly than he had anticipated.

The Host should be aware that his current objective is to help Qiao You draw out the true Song Wen. It should also know that once the real Song Wen is revealed, Qiao You will undoubtedly kill him.

Song Wen was likely a crucial asset to the King. Without him, the King’s future endeavors would undoubtedly face constant obstacles. Yet, the Host appeared to have no intention of saving Song Wen.

He considered two possibilities: first, that for the Host, the King’s future and Song Wen’s life were equally inconsequential, and thus, it coldly chose not to inform the King; second, that it deliberately withheld the information, allowing them to eliminate Song Wen to weaken the King’s power…

In fact, he had begun to suspect that the ease and incongruity with which he uncovered Qiao You’s background were suspicious… It was almost as if the Host had been manipulating events behind the scenes, using the King to deliver the "Extract Syringe" to him, and the new mental ability he and Xiao Song acquired at that time happened to be "Source Analysis"...

If his hypothesis was true, what was the Host’s ultimate goal?

If the core of the King’s elaborate schemes revolved around Qiao You, and his aim was to acquire the next "Precognitive" by any means necessary to secure his and his family’s rule, then what about the Host? What was the Host plotting?

Or, what was the true nature of the Host?

And was the King himself aware of the Host’s concealment and defiance? If he knew, what actions would he take?

...

One conspiracy seemed to be nested within an even larger one. There were too few clues at present to discern the truth. Lan Yexing sighed softly, lowering his head slightly and closing his eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

During this brief interlude, Jian Si, who had been called away by his family, returned. He, too, looked weary as he settled into the seat beside Lan Yexing.

Feeling comfortable with a trusted friend, Jian Si unhesitatingly slumped onto the table, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, almost a whine, and irritably ran a hand through his curly gray hair.

Lan Yexing paused, then looked at him gently, asking softly, "What’s wrong?"

Jian Si was silent for a moment before muttering, "The conflict between my family and the royal family is deepening. My dad’s secretary came to remind me to be careful recently."

Having already started, Jian Si, believing this information might help protect Lan Yexing, simply divulged everything: "Recently, my father and other families have united to demand that the royal family re-evaluate and redraft the dividend agreements that these families have been providing to the royal family for generations."

Jian Si continued: "One of the reasons the royal family enjoys such a good reputation among the public is that their public funds rarely come from taxes. But what no one knows is that they, along with all the larger mental power families, have a secret dividend agreement. Our families secretly hold a near-monopoly on many industries in this country, extracting unimaginably high profits from countless ordinary people. Yet, because of that secret agreement, the vast majority of these riches actually flow directly to the royal family—which is far more ruthless than simply collecting taxes openly."

"Of course, my dad’s ambitious old foxes won’t be satisfied. I believe our greedy and ambitious ancestors would never have been content with this either. But strangely, before my dad’s generation, no family ever dared to defy the royal family."

At this point, Jian Si seemed to recall that terrifying childhood encounter with the King. His body trembled, and he mumbled in a muffled voice, "...I don't know where my dad's generation found the courage to resist."

In fact, the conflict wasn't limited to this ancient dividend agreement. When he and that group of noble scions entered this university, those families had already clashed with the royal family once. Even now, he didn't understand why Qiao You was so important—so important that his father would rather defy the royal family than force him into this university to win him over.

Thinking of this, he clicked his tongue, a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "Even though he clearly knows I'll be in danger, my father still won't allow me to leave this campus. He even thinks Qiao You's disappearance now is a prime opportunity to win him over. He wants me to mobilize my family's connections and resources to find him, save him, and seize the opportunity to get close to him."

"The old guys who share my dad's ideas also strictly forbid their children from leaving here. How utterly cold-blooded—perhaps, cold-bloodedness is simply the inherent nature of us mental power users."

Jian Si sighed in annoyance: "And my father says it so lightly—"

Trying to get close to someone as terrifying and annoying as Qiao You (his rival in love) was harder than making him stop liking literature, and even more painful than killing him.

Perhaps too troubled, the gray-haired, blue-eyed omega simply hugged Lan Yexing’s arm tightly again, intimately pressing his face against the boy’s arm, skillfully coaxing: "Xiao Xing, don't push me away, let me hug you, recharge, okay? Otherwise, I really won't have the energy to get through the day."

Lan Yexing, who had been listening quietly and whose body stiffened the moment he was hugged, ultimately did not pull away. He lowered his gaze to gently look at the omega in his arms, and raised a hand to gently pat the omega's back in a comforting gesture.

Jian Si’s eyes curved like a little fox who had just tasted sweet grapes, and he closed his eyes in contentment.

When his eyelids reopened, the omega’s peripheral vision swept towards the hideous tooth marks on the back of Lan Yexing’s neck, which he had noticed during class—those tooth marks completely revealed a terrifying possessiveness. Jian Si’s clear blue, cold eyes darkened: How unwilling… that kind of guy got Xiao Xing…

He understood that Lan Yexing likely knew where Qiao You was.

But he would never inquire about Qiao You’s whereabouts from him—he also had the determination and self-respect to absolutely never exploit Lan Yexing for anything.

Even if he couldn't have Lan Yexing, he would still strive to be the best friend to Lan Yexing.

Thinking this, he simply temporarily set aside those heavy and troublesome worries, and said with a smile, "Xiao Xing, the school's music festival starts tomorrow evening, and I'm participating. Will you go?"

Lan Yexing blinked, about to agree, then suddenly remembered something and said apologetically, "Sorry, Xiao Jian, I have something I need to do and can't go."

He had promised Qiao You that he would go home to see him every day.

Jian Si let out a disappointed "Eh?" and asked, "Why?"

Lan Yexing’s face inexplicably flushed, his expression incredibly gentle. He lightly "coughed" and said, "Because I promised, I can't be irresponsible and abandon him."

Jian Si looked inexplicably confused: "...?"

Lan Yexing looked at him, more apology appearing on his face: "Anyway, I'm sorry."

Jian Si was startled, but then smiled with relief and sweetness. He hugged the boy’s arm again and said, "Okay. Then let me recharge a little longer."

Lan Yexing looked out at the clear and bright autumn sky, a hint of subtle longing in his light-colored eyes, wondering who he was thinking of. He gently patted his friend’s back.

......

After lunch, the afternoon classes quickly finished, and the sky was soon filled with the sunset.

Lan Yexing walked through the campus with his canvas bag as usual. He passed King’s Lake, walked past the sculpture fountain in the central plaza, and headed towards the cedar forest from which he often climbed over the wall to exit.

However, as he brushed past someone, he suddenly halted, his expression slowly turning cold:

"Song Wen" and Yan Min had just passed him.

Yan Min merely glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, saying nothing, and intentionally or unintentionally obstructed "Song Wen’s" line of sight.

And "Song Wen" didn't seem to notice him, or at least didn't trouble him.

This one should be the new "Song Wen." He showed no signs of having been Extracted, and his expression and walking posture were very mechanical, looking no different from the clones he had seen before—at least on the surface, this "Song Wen" was also a clone.

The previous "Song Wen" who gave him the Extract Syringe and was then Extracted by Qiao You—he didn't know what had become of him.

In short, the situation seemed to be that the Extracted Song Wen could no longer function, so the royal family sent a new "Song Wen" to take over his work. Anyway, they all looked exactly alike and behaved in the same way, so neither school staff nor students would suspect anything.

Lan Yexing’s light-colored eyes grew colder:

How would this new clone "Song Wen" (if he really was a clone) handle Qiao You’s disappearance and the fact that he hadn’t administered the Extract Syringe as instructed?

These clones didn't seem to be well-trained and would likely struggle with such complex logical problems.

So, when would the King send out the real Song Wen?

Lan Yexing pursed his lips and continued walking forward.

Upon reaching his destination, he nimbly climbed over the wall, avoided surveillance, and quickly returned to the temporarily rented secret house.

As soon as he entered, his two wrists were possessively gripped by a large hand, and then his body was violently pressed against the wall. An invasive lime scent rushed into his nostrils. The golden-haired youth, like a terrifying evil dragon, fiercely kissed Lan Yexing’s lips, domineeringly and coldly plundering all the oxygen from the boy’s mouth.

With a soft "thud," Lan Yexing’s canvas bag fell to the ground. Lan Yexing let out a muffled sound. Even though he was almost breathless from the kiss, he reached out his arms to embrace the youth’s neck, pulling himself deeper into the other’s embrace.

In the dim room, a satisfied and cold smile appeared on Qiao You’s face. His half-closed green eyes surged with terrifying emotions—just one day without seeing Lan Yexing, and his body was filled with uncontrollable hostility...

What’s more...

Qiao You’s other large hand clenched fiercely, mercilessly "Extracting" all the scents of other people clinging to Lan Yexing—including that annoying omega’s.

After all the annoying scents were "Extracted," that large hand reached into the boy’s disheveled clothes from his recent movements, pressing firmly against the boy’s slender waist. The warm, smooth feel under his palm deepened his gaze...

Still being kissed, Lan Yexing’s eyes widened, his cheeks burning hot. He let out another muffled sound, stimulated by that cool hand, and instinctively struggled a bit, but was pressed harder against the wall by the youth...

After a long while, the kiss ended. Qiao You smiled as he caught Lan Yexing’s completely softened body, holding him possessively in his arms.

Lan Yexing gasped for air in the youth’s embrace, unable to speak.

Qiao You, however, still didn't let him go. With ill intent, he pressed his lips to the boy’s burning ear, his hoarse, low voice filled with dangerous jealousy: "Recharging, huh?"

Lan Yexing was startled, staring at him with wide eyes: This person was listening to his phone again! And, could it be that he had only done this boring thing all day?

Lan Yexing twitched his mouth, still trying to explain: "That’s just between friends—"

Qiao You lowered his head, biting the boy’s lip slightly with no mercy. His smile deepened, and he reached out a large hand to forcefully cup the boy’s jaw. His green pupils swirled with extremely dangerous possessiveness: "Oh, friends. So, does your friend know that the property you absolutely cannot abandon will really have his ugly paw chopped off the next time he touches you?"