Chapter 152: Don’t Want to Live

Chapter 152: No Will to Live

Ye Siling frantically searched for gauze, completely oblivious to Song Yuqing’s gaze.

"Clean this up," Song Yuqing finally spoke again, his voice still flat and unruffled, yet imbued with an undeniable aloofness. "Then leave."

After a brief pause, he added, "Don’t return to the lab until you’ve learned to control your emotions."

Ye Siling’s movements faltered.

Song Yuqing was not easily deceived; he wouldn't readily believe Ye Siling’s previous excuses.

Song Yuqing now suspected him, no longer trusting him.

Because of his concealment, what began as being denied access to core data had escalated to Song Yuqing’s complete intolerance, a clear intention to expel him entirely.

This realization filled Ye Siling with a profound dread—far more unbearable than any tangible punishment.

Ye Siling looked up, meeting Song Yuqing’s calm gaze directly.

The next second, he seized Song Yuqing’s wrist and pulled him away, not releasing him until they reached the lab’s rooftop.

The high altitude was vast and empty, with only the whistling wind.

In the distance, the brilliant yet cold lights of the Central Zone illuminated Song Yuqing’s excessively pale profile. A few sparse snowflakes, carried by the wind, happened to alight on the young man’s slightly reddened, cool eye corners.

Ye Siling stared at Song Yuqing’s face, finally making a decision.

He didn’t want to leave Song Yuqing.

He couldn't endure Song Yuqing’s coldness, couldn't bear Song Yuqing’s distrust.

"I wasn’t entirely clear before…"

"About a year ago, someone started contacting me, trying to turn me against you."

"I don’t know who he is, but he’s definitely not from Xinzhou."

Song Yuqing looked at Ye Siling, his tone light. "Wrong, he is from Xinzhou."

Ye Siling paused momentarily, then heard Song Yuqing add softly, "A traitor of Xinzhou."

An old acquaintance?

Ye Siling’s mind went blank for an instant, before a completely ill-timed jealousy seized him, almost overwhelming his rationality.

Song Yuqing knew that bastard who had been constantly trying to subvert him.

But Song Yuqing didn’t seem particularly bothered by Ye Siling’s displeasure, speaking slowly, "Go on."

Ye Siling: "He wanted me to cooperate with him. He said he could eliminate Pei Huai, Xiao Jinshi, even Qi Zhengqing, leaving you with only me as your alpha."

"He said he could erase all your information, make you solely my wife."

Just his wife, not shared with anyone else.

Song Yuqing tilted his head to look at Ye Siling, a faint smile gracing his lips. "You believed him?"

Ye Siling: "No, I didn’t agree to it."

"Not a complete fool, then," the young man uttered, his lips parting slightly.

"Let me make this clear—I would never favor anyone who betrays me. No matter the degree of betrayal, I won’t tolerate it."

For a moment, Ye Siling felt a wave of fear, as if narrowly escaping disaster. Had he made one misstep, Song Yuqing would have abandoned him without hesitation.

Ye Siling’s face paled. "What should I do now? Pretend to be swayed by him, or sever ties with him?"

He quickly added, "I brought you out here because I was afraid our conversation might be overheard indoors."

Ye Siling’s reasoning was simple: since he had already confessed everything to Song Yuqing, he should play along with the plan—it was the most logical course of action.

Song Yuqing found a spot to sit down, lifting his gaze to watch the dense, falling snow.

"What kind of person do you think he is?" Song Yuqing suddenly asked.

Before Ye Siling could respond, Song Yuqing continued, "Remember that time we went to the seaside?"

"I shot him and kicked him into the ocean. I regret not killing him."

"Ye Siling, if he caught me, what do you think he’d do to me?"

These were events Ye Siling had never known about. Hearing Song Yuqing say this now made him realize even more clearly what consequences his wavering would have brought upon Song Yuqing.

With such deep-seated animosity, he would have pushed Song Yuqing into an abyss.

Ye Siling stood in front of Song Yuqing, shielding him from the wind and snow. "I’m sorry."

Ye Siling’s apology was simple and direct—no flowery words, no promises, just a plain sentence.

Song Yuqing reached out, and Ye Siling took his hand.

Song Yuqing pulled Ye Siling down.

Ye Siling hadn’t expected Song Yuqing to pull him so directly. Leaning forward, he quickly steadied himself with his other hand on the railing behind Song Yuqing. The distance between them instantly closed, their breaths almost mingling.

"Next time, just ask me directly. Don’t speculate and guess on your own," Song Yuqing’s voice sounded by his ear.

"I don’t like it when fools get clever ideas."

Ye Siling lowered his gaze, staring at the young man’s pale, snow-like cheek. His heart fluttered along with Song Yuqing’s dark, trembling eyelashes. For a moment, he didn’t even think to refute Song Yuqing calling him a fool.

Compared to Song Yuqing, he truly was a fool.

Incurably foolish.

"Qingqing, what should I do now?"

Ye Siling’s gaze remained fixed on Song Yuqing’s profile, his heated breath almost brushing Song Yuqing’s face.

Song Yuqing tilted his head slightly, released Ye Siling’s hand, and pushed him away. "You should go back and focus on your drawings. Don’t waste time. Go to my office, retrieve the data and run projections, and see how dire the current circumstances are for Xinzhou."

Ye Siling felt he shouldn’t be working on blueprints, but Song Yuqing said he should.

So… he should go work on blueprints, right?

He had nearly caused irreparable harm to Song Yuqing. He thought he should listen to Song Yuqing.

Before leaving, Ye Siling asked again, "Should I continue feigning cooperation on his end?"

Song Yuqing nodded slightly.

Playing along with their scheme?

Song Yuqing didn't think they could play along with the plan. That dog Hakimi, an alpha with more tricks up his sleeve than you can count—playing along might just end up trapping themselves.

This was also why he had kept Zheng Kaiji, that spineless fence-sitter, by his side from the very beginning, knowing full well he wasn’t some useless coward.

If Hakimi wanted to play mind games, then let’s see who would come out on top.

The black boxes that were sent back were all locked away by Song Yuqing in the warehouse.

Stacked layer upon layer, they looked less like sealed psychic energy and more like urns filled with ashes, filling the entire warehouse with a silent, oppressive atmosphere.

88: "Qingqing, what do you plan to do with these things?"

Song Yuqing: "Not for now."

Someone else would want to deal with them more than he did.

"Let's go. Xiao Jinshi has caught Xiao Lin." Song Yuqing lowered his eyelashes and spoke softly, "Let’s go see how we should deal with Hakimi’s close associate."

Somewhere in a hidden, abandoned factory in Xinzhou.

The air was thick with the smell of rust and dust. A figure nimbly vaulted through a broken window, landing without a sound.

Before Xiao Lin could even get his bearings, the overwhelming pressure of an Alpha’s pheromones enveloped him like a physical cage.

"You really dare show your face in Xinzhou?" Xiao Jinshi’s voice was icy. "Where’s Hakimi?"

"Hand him over, and I’ll let you go."

The "him" Xiao Jinshi referred to was, of course, Su Quan.

Xiao Lin smirked. "No clue. I don’t know where Hakimi is."

"You actually gave him the name Hakimi."

"That dumbass would be furious if he knew Song Yuqing couldn’t even remember his name."

Xiao Jinshi’s eyes turned colder. "If you’re not going to talk, then you’ll die."

"Don’t be so quick to kill him." A tall, slender figure emerged slowly from the shadows, revealing the faint outline of Song Yuqing’s upright and aloof form.

Xiao Lin’s gaze fixed entirely on the suddenly appearing Song Yuqing. He sneered, "Mr. Song must have a lot of free time."

"Or do you have no confidence in this useless Xiao Jinshi?"

Xiao Lin hadn’t expected someone as "insignificant" as himself to warrant Song Yuqing’s personal appearance.

It was just as that dumbass Su Quan had said—Song Yuqing cared about Su Quan, considering him a threat.

Xiao Lin raised his hands, his tone wheedling. "Song Yuqing, help me kill Xiao Jinshi, let me return to Xinzhou to take over the Xiao family, and I’ll tell you all of Hakimi’s plans. How about that?"

"It doesn't matter who you use. Using me or Xiao Jinshi makes no difference. Whatever Xiao Jinshi can do, I can do too."

Xiao Jinshi still didn’t turn around, completely exposing his back to Song Yuqing, as if certain Song Yuqing wouldn’t harm him.

But Xiao Lin kept his eyes fixed on Song Yuqing, watching as Song Yuqing raised his gun, pointing it toward Xiao Jinshi’s back.

For a moment, Xiao Lin’s breath nearly stopped from excitement.

The next second—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Accompanied by the sound of gunfire, several bullets slammed into his body.

Knees, arms—every joint precisely struck by bullets. Instantly, blood splattered, and the pain robbed him completely of his ability to move.

"Why?" Xiao Lin gasped with difficulty, each word tugging at his wounds, bringing excruciating pain. "Is his life more important than Su Quan’s plans?"

What pained Xiao Lin wasn’t his body being riddled with bullets by Song Yuqing, but Song Yuqing’s choice—a perplexing, inexplicable choice.

Song Yuqing slowly lowered his gun, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. He cast a cold glance at Xiao Lin, whose face was growing pale and dim from blood loss. "You’re not worthy."

Song Yuqing looked at Xiao Jinshi. "Take him away now. Don’t let him die."

But Xiao Lin’s emotions suddenly surged. "What do you mean, not worthy? Song Yuqing, it was you and Xiao Jinshi who schemed to take everything that belonged to me."

"Made me scuttle around like a rat."

"Do you really think you’re Xinzhou’s untouchable ideal? That you’re clean? That you rose to power through merit? Do you think Xiao Jinshi is truly loyal to you? He just wants to screw you. You’re just a whore anyone can screw—"

Before Xiao Lin could say more, another crisp gunshot rang out.

The pain abruptly cut off Xiao Lin’s frantic rant and the even filthier words about to follow.

Song Yuqing coldly stared at Xiao Lin. "If you really don’t want to live, I can give you release right now."

Xiao Lin desperately tried to find any hint of hesitation in Song Yuqing’s eyes, any sign that he still had value.

But there was none. He found no trace of Song Yuqing wanting him to live.

In that moment, Xiao Lin clearly realized Song Yuqing was serious.

One more word, and Song Yuqing would end him right here.

The primal fear for his life, his primordial survival instinct, overwhelmed his crazed hatred and resentment, leaving Xiao Lin completely cowed.

Song Yuqing offered no further words, tilting his head slightly toward the alphas, signaling them to take Xiao Lin away.