Chapter 35: It Seems Like His Passenger Seat Should Be Occupied by Jian Ruochen.

Chapter 35: It was as if the passenger seat was reserved for Jian Ruochen.

Jiang Hanyu’s palm scraped painfully against the ground, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

Tears welled up in his eyes from the pain, yet the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile. He sat huddled by the roadside, gently blowing on his palm, his voice trembling as he whispered, "It hurts so much."

As the words fell, the tears in his eyes finally spilled over, shattering on the ground.

Jian Ruochen raised an eyebrow.

Well, well, Jiang Hanyu actually learned his lesson this time.

Last time, he’d deliberately unbuttoned his collar, rubbing his hands and claiming to be cold, but Guan Yingjun and Teacher Li hadn’t bought it.

Knowing those two weren’t easily fooled, he’d switched tactics this time, putting on a show for the passersby.

Jian Ruochen said softly, "What a pity, times have changed."

Jiang Hanyu: ?

What did that mean?

Jian Ruochen slowly crouched in front of Jiang Hanyu, waiting for him to shed two more tears before smiling, his gaze clear and piercingly cold. "Jiang Hanyu, everything you have now was given to you by me."

Jiang Hanyu was stunned, almost unable to keep up with Jian Ruochen’s abrupt shift in thought.

Veins bulged on his fair neck. "What did you say?"

He clenched his fingers, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

Jian Ruochen smirked, looking at Jiang Hanyu’s pale, strained face. "I don’t need a father, I don’t need wealth, I don’t need the adoration of fair-weather friends, and I certainly don’t want Lu Qian."

"All this filth—I didn’t want them, so you were able to pick them up. Understand?"

Jiang Hanyu’s face darkened.

Pick up? He actually called the things Jiang Hanyu had worked so hard for "picked up"?

Jian Ruochen reached out and lightly patted Jiang Hanyu’s cheek. "How dare you spread rumors at school that I’m Jiang Mingshan’s illegitimate child? In a place like Hong Kong, where second and third wives are legal, non-marital children have the same inheritance rights as legitimate ones."

"If it comes out that I share a blood relation with Jiang Mingshan, half of everything you’ve inherited now will belong to me."

Jiang Hanyu trembled all over, feeling as though the two light pats on his cheek were like two sharp slaps, making his face swell and itch.

He stared wide-eyed in horror.

Lately, he’d been living it up after using the 800 million yuan to secure Lu Qian’s support, and he’d become careless. He’d only thought about tarnishing Jian Ruochen’s reputation but hadn’t considered that the label of "illegitimate child" could actually entitle Jian Ruochen to half of the inheritance!

Jiang Hanyu’s lips quivered, but no words came out.

Jian Ruochen said, "But I don’t care for the Jiang family’s dirty money. You can keep it and go count it yourself."

As he spoke, he gripped Jiang Hanyu’s chin, forcing him to look up, and stared directly into his tear-reddened eyes. He let out a short, harsh laugh. "Jiang Hanyu, Jiang Mingshan is your father alone. Understand?"

"I don’t want to hear those rumors at school anymore."

Jiang Hanyu was utterly panicked.

Something felt wrong about all of this.

Being Jiang Mingshan’s only son, inheriting the Jiang family’s wealth, receiving Lu Qian’s love—

These were the very things he wanted most.

He had them now, so why didn’t he feel happy?

Jian Ruochen released Jiang Hanyu’s chin with a flick.

Jiang Hanyu’s face turned to the side from the momentum.

He looked up, and before he could turn back, he met a wave of complicated gazes.

Those eyes were filled with pity, indifference, confusion, and sympathy—but none of the admiration they once held.

Jian Ruochen stood up and, in passing, helped the dazed Jiang Hanyu to his feet.

Voices instantly flooded in from all directions.

"Is that Jiang Mingshan’s son?"

"Yeah, how tragic to have a father like that."

"But he gets to inherit all the Jiang family’s wealth. He must be secretly thrilled."

"Jiang Mingshan got the death penalty, right? Serves him right—after all the evil he’s done."

"Organizing robberies and rapes… how disgusting. Did you see the trial reports? It took over three minutes just to read out all of Jiang Mingshan’s crimes!"

"Though the sins of the father shouldn’t fall on the children, Jiang Hanyu grew up enjoying ill-gotten gains too…"

"Jiang Hanyu can't be all that innocent, can he?"

Jiang Hanyu felt as if he’d been plunged into an ice cellar, his face losing all color.

He took a step forward. "Actually, I’m not—"

Actually, he wasn’t Jiang Mingshan’s biological child!

Jian Ruochen reached out and pressed down on Jiang Hanyu’s shoulder. "Think carefully."

"Do you know what will happen if you admit you’re not a child of the Jiang family? You’ll lose all the Jiang family’s assets. Without wealth, no matter how much Lu Qian likes you, he won’t marry you."

Jiang Hanyu’s hair stood on end, and he turned his head in horror.

He understood what was wrong now.

Jiang Mingshan was notorious, and his son would share the disgrace. But if he renounced Jiang Mingshan as his father, all the wealth he’d gained would vanish.

At this moment, it wasn’t that he wanted to be Jiang Mingshan’s son.

It was that Jian Ruochen was forcing him to be Jiang Mingshan’s biological son!

He had no choice…

The last traces of daylight vanished behind the gray buildings surrounding Hong Kong University. At the same time, the streetlights and the decorative lights left over from Christmas suddenly flickered on.

Startled by the sudden brightness, Jiang Hanyu let out a sharp cry.

He took a step back, stumbled over the curb of the roadside flower bed, and just as he was about to lose his balance and fall, Jian Ruochen reached out and pulled him back.

Jiang Hanyu steadied himself and jerked his hand back nervously, a "thank you" stuck in his chest, unable to be spoken.

They had already torn off all pretenses, so why did Jian Ruochen still help him up?

Jian Ruochen said, "Now that you've gotten everything you wanted most, are you happy?"

Scattered lights fell on Jian Ruochen's hair, illuminating his face like a mountain spirit or apparition. His features, which looked extremely beautiful in the daytime, now suddenly revealed a breathtaking, almost mesmerizing allure.

Jiang Hanyu flinched and stepped back. He used to envy Jian Ruochen's beauty, but now he felt that face was like an alluring yet sinister apparition, terrifying and too frightening to look at directly.

Guan Yingjun's gaze fell on Jian Ruochen, unable to look away.

Jiang Hanyu finally couldn't hold back, biting his lip tightly as real tears finally fell.

Thinking back now to those two drops of tears he shed while sitting on the ground, he felt nothing but extreme embarrassment.

No wonder no one came to comfort him then, no wonder Jian Ruochen said times have changed.

Jian Ruochen averted his gaze and said to Guan Yingjun, "Let's go. Who did you want to take me to meet?"

Guan Yingjun looked at the smile on his lips and said, his voice hoarse, "My colleague. We're having dinner together."

Jian Ruochen took a few steps, then seemed to remember something. He turned back to remind him, "Remember, I don't want to hear any more rumors. Make sure you set the record straight."

After saying this, he didn't wait for a response, waved at Jiang Hanyu, turned and walked alongside Guan Yingjun, heading toward the school gate briskly.

As if the person who had just confronted Jiang Hanyu wasn't him at all.

Guan Yingjun watched Jian Ruochen's hair ruffled by the wind, his throat tightening.

After knowing him for so long, he still couldn't figure out what kind of person Jian Ruochen really was.

Smart and lively, charming and adaptable, his acting skills effortless, his emotions steady, decisive and bold—and today he showed a side that was almost ruthlessly decisive.

"Why do you want to be a police officer? Besides wanting to see a peaceful and just society, do you have any more personal wishes?" Guan Yingjun picked up Jian Ruochen's backpack and casually carried it.

Jian Ruochen glanced at him. "Are you digging into my personal business?"

Guan Yingjun replied frankly, "Yes."

"A more personal wish... would be to see Jiang Hanyu and Lu Qian brought to justice." Jian Ruochen sighed.

Honestly, he'd wanted to arrest them even when he first read about them.

"And a slightly more personal one would be to legally get revenge, to make Jiang Hanyu and Lu Qian taste... the suffering they inflicted." Jian Ruochen omitted the part about the original owner, opened the Toyota's door and got into the passenger seat. "Huh? The side mirror got fixed?"

Guan Yingjun said, "It was fixed ten days ago. You were too focused on studying to notice."

Jian Ruochen took a closer look. It seemed like a brand-new mirror had been installed.

So new that it stood out sharply against the rest of the car body, looking a bit out of place.

"Detective Guan, why do you want to be a police officer?" Jian Ruochen pulled the passenger seatbelt and buckled up, still talking. "Is it because your uncle is the Commissioner?"

"I also want revenge," Guan Yingjun said casually. As he listened to the sound of conversation filling the car, he slightly curved his lips, and the irritability of something being out of his control suddenly vanished.

It felt like the passenger seat was meant for Jian Ruochen.

Guan Yingjun's thoughts suddenly halted, feeling like something was off about himself.

He released the handbrake and killed the already ignited engine.

Guan Yingjun lifted his eyes and glanced at the person beside him.

Jian Ruochen was enveloped by this intense, slightly scrutinizing gaze, as if pinned under mountain peaks.

He narrowed his eyes and reminded, "We were just chatting. I wasn't trying to fish for information."

Don't let your suspiciousness kick in again.

Guan Yingjun: "Hmm."

His intense gaze fixed on Jian Ruochen's face, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Jian Ruochen felt his fingers tingling from the stare and pulled his feet back under the car seat.

Unable to guess Guan Yingjun's intention, he could only look up to observe the other's expression. Unfortunately, it seemed Guan Yingjun had anticipated this—his face was deliberately blank, showing neither joy, anger, nor sorrow.

Jian Ruochen simply slouched in his seat.

Whatever. It's fine.

The older men get, the more easily their hormones get out of whack. There are always a few days like this every month.

Detective Guan is already 26, pushing thirty—it's perfectly normal.

After a full day of exams, his eyes were aching and sore. Jian Ruochen blinked, then simply closed his eyes and waited.

As he waited, the fatigue accumulated over half a month swept over him.

He fell asleep.

Guan Yingjun: ...

That carefree?

Not a hint of guard up.

Guan Yingjun reached out and brushed the strands of hair aside, which were sticking to Jian Ruochen's cheek. The hair felt cool and smooth, like fragile silk.

He quickly pulled his hand back.

...

Jian Ruochen slept comfortably. When he woke up, the Toyota had already entered the subsea tunnel.

He glanced back at Guan Yingjun, who was driving silently, then quietly leaned against the window to observe the structure of the subsea tunnel.

The Eastern Harbour Tunnel was built in the 1780s. The tiling along the walls of the tunnel looked a bit aged.

After watching for a while, Jian Ruochen suddenly murmured, "Where do you think Lu Qian moved the shipment? Could they already be out of West Kowloon?"

Just like them, passing through the subsea tunnel to other areas of Hong Kong.

"He won't give up on the West Kowloon market. The prices are higher there." Guan Yingjun tossed the pack of wet wipes into Jian Ruochen's lap. "Clean your face and wake up. We're almost there."

Jian Ruochen took one out from the plastic packaging, unfolded it, dabbed his face, and wiped roughly, dampening his bangs before he was done.

Guan Yingjun: ...

With such a refined face, he washes his face like a soldier.

He drove out of the tunnel, and Jian Ruochen was suddenly hit by bright light, reflexively squinted, his eyes growing moist.

Usually, closing his eyes would help, but this time, he saw slight double vision. No matter how long he kept them shut, it felt like something was flickering.

Jian Ruochen raised a hand to rub his eyes. Guan Yingjun glanced sideways, reached out with his right hand, and caught Jian Ruochen’s wrist. "Don’t rub them. What’s wrong with your eyes? Overworked?"

Jian Ruochen blinked blankly. "Not sure. I’ll go to the hospital sometime to get it checked."

How strange—he never had this problem in his past life, even when studying intensely.

Guan Yingjun turned onto a side road. "Don’t put it off. After dinner tonight, we’ll stop by the hospital on our way back."

At 8:30 p.m., Guan Yingjun's Toyota pulled up in front of Dragon Court Bar.

Jian Ruochen stared silently at the four large characters for "Dragon Court Bar."

Dinner at a bar?

"Who else is having dinner here?" Jian Ruochen asked, keeping pace with Guan Yingjun.

"Liu Qishang from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Ji Bailou from the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, and one of my informants, Huang Youquan," Guan Yingjun replied, glancing back outside to make sure no one was following before pulling Jian Ruochen closer.

"This is our meeting point. The layout inside is pretty complicated—stay close to me."

He released him after just a brief hold.

A faint, elusive scent of grapefruit lingered in the air, making his chest itch.

Guan Yingjun lowered his gaze, expressionlessly rubbed his fingertips.

Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, he reached down and grasped Jian Ruochen’s wrist through his sleeve. "We’re here to discuss the corrupt police."