Chapter 52

Chapter 52

While on guard duty outside the office that morning, Xie Yunshen asked Yi Wuyi, "Old Five, don't you have access to the Yan family's intel channels?"

"What's up?"

"Help me find out who that person named Bai Le Bai is."

"Bai Le Bai?"

"Haven't you seen the news? They say Black Impermanence has a fanatical fan named Bai Le Bai."

"For something like that, you could probably just look it up online."

Yi Wuyi took out his phone and made a call.

"Does Mr. Yan know about this?"

"Yesterday, on the way back in the car, he almost saw the news, but I cleverly blocked his view." Xie Yunshen said, rather proud of himself.

"You used your face to block it," Yi Wuyi stated as a fact.

"What else? I couldn't just tell Mr. Yan to close his eyes."

"Couldn't you have just turned off the news?"

Xie Yunshen: "..."

"Besides, Mr. Yan probably already knows."

Just then, the assistant came out and said, "Gentlemen, Mr. Yan is asking for you."

Inside the office.

Yan Shiqi swiveled the tablet on his desk around. Sure enough, it was playing the news from yesterday, along with a new video clip.

In the footage, Yang Qingxi was being beaten by the man in black, trembling from the blows.

Xie Yunshen didn't need to watch to know it must be that guy impersonating Black Impermanence posting a new video.

The comments below were split into two camps: one that fully believed this was Black Impermanence, and the other questioning whether he was an imposter.

"What do you think?" Yan Shiqi asked.

Xie Yunshen said, "Mr. Yan, no need to feel sorry for someone like that. If people want to beat him up, let them."

"..."

Yi Wuyi closed his eyes. This guy Xie Yunshen probably had Mr. Yan at a loss for words.

"The higher-ups were already turning a blind eye to the Yang Zhongxu matter. If we let this guy keep making waves like this, it will definitely drag you down." Yan Shiqi's gaze fell on Xie Yunshen.

Xie Yunshen was taken aback. Was Mr. Yan worried about him?

At that moment, Old Five received a phone call.

Several more videos were sent in quick succession to Yi Wuyi's phone.

"Mr. Yan, A Xie asked me to look into it this morning. This impersonator is very likely a fanatical fan of Black Impermanence named Bai Le Bai. This is the online info we found on him."

He transferred several videos to Yan Shiqi's computer.

Yan Shiqi opened one of them.

Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi both leaned in to look.

At this very moment, Xie Yunshen had no idea he was about to experience a moment of utter social death.

This looked like a replay of a livestream from a foreign site. In the footage, a masked man sat at a desk, watching a video on his computer while... jerking off...

Sites overseas are full of videos like that, nothing too shocking.

The problem was, the video he was watching was the famous livestream of Black Impermanence putting Yang Zhongxu on trial!

Not only was Bai Le Bai doing that, but he was also making strange moaning sounds!

Xie Yunshen almost cursed out loud: "Hey, what the hell is this guy doing!?"

Yi Wuyi stated honestly, "He's jerking off."

"I know, you don't need to emphasize it..." Xie Yunshen closed his eyes, gritting his teeth.

Yan Shiqi, expressionless, clicked on the next clip.

In this segment, Bai Le Bai was also jerking off, but the setting had changed from the desk to a bed, and he kept making some shameful sounds.

Yan Shiqi reached to click on a third video when Xie Yunshen pressed his hand down: "Mr. Yan, let's just stop. This is doing me psychic damage."

Yan Shiqi withdrew his hand.

Yi Wuyi said, "It's clear he really loves you."

Xie Yunshen really wanted to roll his eyes at him: "Old Five, thanks, but don't joke like that with a straight guy like me."

"What's wrong?"

"Because I find it disgusting." Xie Yunshen became uncharacteristically serious.

Yan Shiqi was taken aback.

Yi Wuyi was also taken aback: "You find homosexuality disgusting?"

Xie Yunshen, realizing belatedly, immediately explained: "Wait! Old Five! I don't mean people like you. I mean, the feeling of being fantasized about by a strange, rough guy is disgusting."

"I understand. Any normal person would find it disgusting. Especially since you're straight..." Yi Wuyi started, then suddenly seemed unsure. He looked at Yan Shiqi's gloomy face, suddenly realized something, and then looked at Xie Yunshen: "Are you... straight?"

Hearing this, Xie Yunshen began to question himself: "What did I do that seemed... not straight?"

After saying this, he looked at Yan Shiqi and also noticed the other's expression wasn't very good.

"Mr. Yan, are you feeling unwell?"

Yan Shiqi said calmly, "No, you two can go out first..."

His voice was different from usual, unusually rough and hoarse.

Xie Yunshen figured Mr. Yan was probably just as grossed out as he was after seeing those things.

After all, Mr. Yan is straight too.

That damn Bai Le Bai, better not let him get caught.

That night, Lin Jin even sent him those videos, teasing him: "Congratulations! You've got a man who wants you now."

Xie Yunshen simply read the message and didn't reply.

He suddenly realized something: the videos Bai Le Bai was masturbating to all seemed to be of him.

The segments where Lin Jin appeared in the livestream never showed up at all.

He and Lin Jin had similar builds; if they wore the same gear, it would be hard to tell them apart—even the people from Top Star Gate couldn't distinguish them.

But this guy could tell the difference between him and Lin Jin.

A chill shot straight up Xie Yunshen's spine. He got out of bed and exercised for two hours straight before he finally calmed down.

The next day, he arrived at the restaurant on time for his shift and noticed Mr. Yan wasn't in the dining room early as usual.

"Uncle Zhao, where's Mr. Yan?"

"Mr. Yan isn't feeling well. He's in the study. The doctor just went up there."

Xie Yunshen's expression grew tense. "What's wrong with Mr. Yan?"

Uncle Zhao sighed. "Probably insomnia again. If he has a sleepless night, Mr. Yan tends to get headaches. It's a long-standing problem. Usually, even with a headache, he still gets up on time. This time, it must be really severe, so..."

Before Uncle Zhao could finish, Xie Yunshen was already gone, having rushed upstairs.

Just as he entered the study, he almost bumped into the doctor coming out.

Xie Yunshen sidestepped to avoid him and saw Yan Shiqi sitting behind the desk, looking as usual.

Xie Yunshen walked over to him. "Mr. Yan, are you not feeling well?"

"A bit of a headache." Yan Shiqi didn't look at him.

Xie Yunshen knelt down. "Is it because of insomnia?"

Yan Shiqi didn't speak, which was as good as confirmation.

"Then why didn't you call me? I could've shaken the gyroscopic wrist ball for you."

Yan Shiqi finally turned his gaze to him, his expression calm. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

Yan Shiqi frowned slightly, his eyes fixed ahead, saying nothing.

Xie Yunshen remembered something and looked a bit hurt. "I get it! Mr. Yan, you must think I'm dirty now."

"What?" Yan Shiqi was completely stunned.

Xie Yunshen's eyes held a mix of doubt and grievance. "Because of those videos yesterday, Mr. Yan felt physically repulsed and thinks I'm unclean too. You've come to dislike me because of it, so even when you couldn't sleep, you didn't want to see me..."

Yan Shiqi couldn't help but laugh, leaning back in his chair to look at him.

"I'm the victim here. It has nothing to do with me." Xie Yunshen was genuinely upset now.

"A Shen, quiet down."

Xie Yunshen closed his mouth and sat to the side, propping his head on one hand, watching Yan Shiqi.

Yan Shiqi watched him too.

Maybe it was an illusion, but Xie Yunshen thought his complexion looked much better than before.

"Mr. Yan, can I speak now?"

"Hmm, go ahead."

"Is your head still hurting?" he asked.

Yan Shiqi said, "Is that important to you?"

"Of course," Xie Yunshen replied matter-of-factly.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," he said casually.

"Then you'll summon me if you can't sleep in the future, right?" Not sleeping all night, skipping breakfast, working with a headache—that could really lead to sudden death.

Yan Shiqi hesitated. "If you're that worried, you can come check on me anytime."

————

"You're saying there's no news at all?"

In the general manager's office at Yan Corporation, Yan Shiying looked at his secretary, his brow furrowed deeply.

After returning to the country, he had fully delegated the overseas insurance company to his deputy and focused on working for Yan Corporation. It had been a month now.

"We checked the ship from the water plant. There were indeed two records last month of delivering water to international waters. We also called to inquire, but they all said nothing strange happened, no unusual people or incidents."

It had been a month since they disembarked, yet there was no trace of that child, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Had something happened?

He stood up and walked to the window. Perhaps he shouldn't have let him board the water plant's ship alone back then.

"Is my eldest brother in the company today?"

For many years, the general manager position at Yan Corporation had been held by Yan Shiqi. Later, after the old Mr. Yan passed away, Yan Shiqi became chairman and also continued to serve as general manager.

After Yan Shiying took over as general manager, Yan Shiqi wasn't at the company as often as before.

"Yes, he is. There's an exclusive interview with T·A Finance today. The chairman is in his office."

Yan Shiying was taken aback. T·A Finance, the financial segment of the national station—its prestige was self-evident.

Moreover, it was said that the interviewees for this program were usually preselected on the official website, then voted on by netizens.

It seemed his eldest brother had gone viral after the livestream at the tech forum.

"There's still twenty minutes before the meeting. Should we go check it out?"

The secretary: "..."

Before Yan Shiying reached the chairman's office, he ran into Yan Shizhou in the hallway.

The two brothers exchanged a knowing glance—it seemed they were both there to watch their eldest brother's interview.

When they reached the office, sure enough, a TV crew was conducting the interview, and the door was slightly ajar.

Yan Shiqi sat on the sofa, while Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi stood by the window, watching the reporters and camera crew crowd around their boss.

The questions from the reporters mostly revolved around finance, the conglomerate, and technology.

Xie Yunshen was fighting off sleep.

It was finally winding down.

"Mr. Yan, recently, many young people online have shown a lot of interest in you. We’ve selected a few of the most popular questions and would like to pick your brain."

Xie Yunshen immediately perked up.

Questions from young people—they were sure to be juicy.

"The first question: It’s often said that the eldest brother is like a father. What expectations do you have for your two younger brothers?"

Yan Shiqi replied, "Study hard, work diligently, stay informed, and stay off shady websites."

Xie Yunshen lowered his head, biting back a laugh.

Outside the office, Yan Shizhou was about to die of embarrassment: "Who is Big Brother talking about?"

Yan Shiying covered his face, shoulders trembling.

Yan Shizhou didn’t need to look to know this dude was cracking up.

Big Brother must have known they were eavesdropping outside.

Yan Shiqi added, "Please cut out that last part when it airs."

The reporter, clearly unfazed by the situation, calmly smiled. "We can accommodate your request."