Chapter 58

Chapter 58

That day, Yi Wuyi sent him a link online.

"That impersonator of yours is live-streaming again."

Lately, there had often been people claiming to be Black Impermanence posting videos online to chase clout.

But because of their poor imitations, most were called out by netizens, and some were even hauled in by the authorities for investigation, only to be found talking nonsense.

Xie Yunshen clicked the link.

The man claiming to be Black Impermanence had started the live stream on an overseas platform.

He was wearing that black hoodie, black mask and goggles, along with protective finger sleeves. Even his build was almost identical.

The chat was filled with support:

"Oh my god, Black Impermanence is here."

"Now we can prove that Ai Dad isn't Black Impermanence, right?"

"Say something, bro, we're going crazy waiting."

The main reason many believed this was the real Black Impermanence was that the background he stood in was the room where Yang Qingxi was killed.

The man stared at the camera in silence for a long while, letting the comments scroll by.

"Just thinking that the master might be watching my stream makes my heart go *thump-thump-thump*."

As soon as he spoke, it was a voice run through a voice changer.

He was speaking in the language of Country C, but "thump-thump-thump" was an onomatopoeia.

However, that line alone proved he wasn't Black Impermanence.

Xie Yunshen: Speechless.jpg.

The chat exploded with screams:

"??????"

"Oh my god! So it's a die-hard yandere fan!"

"Sorry, but I'm laughing..."

"Hahaha, maybe Black Impermanence really is watching the stream."

"Just thinking that the real Black Impermanence was probably scared out of his mind has me cracking up."

"That *thump-thump-thump* is really intense, hahahaha."

Lin Jin immediately sent a message to congratulate him—Congrats! You've got an admirer now!

Xie Yunshen left it on read.

————

"Old Five, long time no see."

In the group corridor, outside the office, Xie Yunshen put his arm around Yi Wuyi's shoulder, gazing at the sky nostalgically.

After a two-week break and two full days of bugging Yan Shiqi, Xie Yunshen was finally back on duty.

"We saw each other this morning," Yi Wuyi said calmly.

"It's different. This morning we met as gym buddies. Now we're colleague buddies, slacker buddies," Xie Yunshen said with a serious face.

Yi Wuyi: "..."

Today for lunch, Yan Shiqi decided to eat in the cafeteria.

Yan Group's benefits were among the best in Southern Province, including the food in the employee cafeteria.

Last time, when reporters from the main network came for an interview, they made an unannounced visit to the cafeteria. As a result, it unexpectedly went viral.

If you just looked at the variety of dishes or nutritional balance, while Yan Group was indeed very good, it wasn't really viral material.

What made it viral was mainly...

"..."

The cafeteria manager must have had OCD. Every dish, every piece of bread, or every bowl of soup had to be stacked into a pyramid.

The spacing between each dumpling, each sparerib, was so precise that Xie Yunshen suspected they used a ruler to measure each one.

Every bowl and plate sparkled so brightly that when the camera entered, the entire place looked resplendent, as if they had entered an anime world.

Actually, employees often teased the cafeteria about this OCD.

But netizens really ate up these neatly arranged dishes and stacked pyramids, finding them adorable.

It was said that even a janitorial position at Yan Group was fiercely competitive, just to eat at the cafeteria.

Since Yan Shiqi almost never ate in the cafeteria, it was also Xie Yunshen's first time there.

After tasting the food, he was stunned for a moment: "So the cafeteria food is this delicious? It's as good as that restaurant on the ship."

Instantly feeling like he had missed out big time.

Suddenly, he remembered something and glanced at Yan Shiqi.

The fact that Mr. Yan couldn't taste anything made Xie Yunshen feel a bit guilty every time he recalled it, so he avoided talking about the taste of food.

Yan Shiqi was holding a cup, drinking water, as if he hadn't noticed his gaze.

It seemed he truly harbored no resentment over losing his sense of taste.

Noticing Xie Yunshen's recent restraint during meals, Yan Shiqi put down his cup: "No need to mind me."

Xie Yunshen was taken aback: "How could I not mind?"

After saying that, he even picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for him: "Mr. Yan, try this. Maybe it's so delicious it could stimulate your taste buds."

Yan Shiying and Yan Shizhou were also sitting at the same table with them.

Yan Shizhou still didn't know about his eldest brother's "complete loss of taste" and said flatly, "I remember Big Brother doesn't like sweet things."

Yi Wuyi, sitting beside them, looked up, waiting to see how Yan Shiqi would get out of this.

But Yan Shiqi picked up that piece of vibrant-looking meat and put it into his mouth.

He didn't say a word.

Yan Shizhou was stunned... what did this mean?

Xie Yunshen was also taken aback. Perhaps Mr. Yan didn’t want others to know about his impaired sense of taste.

After a while, Xie Yunshen’s expression suddenly turned grave. "Wait… something doesn’t feel right…"

Everyone looked at him.

Yi Wuyi thought to himself, *Finally… A Xie is finally about to discover that Mr. Yan has been lying to him.*

Though he shouldn’t be enjoying the show, he was genuinely curious about how Mr. Yan would explain himself.

But even at this moment, Mr. Yan remained composed.

Yan Shiying was also waiting.

Xie Yunshen picked up the plate of sweet and sour pork, his eyes sharpening. "Was poppy shell added to this? Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly taste this good."

“…”

Who knew whether the cafeteria chef would laugh or cry if he heard this.

Yan Shiqi smiled faintly and turned to Yan Shiying. "How is Li Bin’s situation?"

Yan Shiying replied, "The lawyer said the death penalty is almost certain. He’s already locked up. The company has recovered some of the funds. His wife took the children and fled abroad. The house and luxury goods he bought for his mistress have also been seized. No one visits him in detention now. I heard he’s acting a bit deranged."

According to the original storyline, Li Bin, though down on his luck later on, would still have been better off than most ordinary people. He never should have ended up like this.

Of course, his current fate is entirely his own doing—he brought it upon himself.

As they were talking, Xie Yunshen’s phone on the table rang.

Xie Yunshen didn’t even glance at it and casually hung up.

During this lunch, he had already hung up two or three calls.

Yan Shiying looked at him and smiled. "Business is booming today."

Ever since Xie Yunshen was injured and hospitalized while saving Yan Shiqi, Yan Shiying’s attitude toward him had completely changed.

Yan Shiqi asked, "Why aren’t you answering the calls?"

“Unknown numbers aren’t worth listening to. I’ve always had a strong awareness against scams,” Xie Yunshen replied, lowering his head to eat.

His attitude was uncharacteristically awkward.

A moment later, the phone on the table rang again.

Xie Yunshen clicked his tongue and was about to turn it off when Yan Shiqi suddenly reached out.

Xie Yunshen paused for a moment, then handed the phone to him.

Yan Shiqi answered the call.

“Hello, Mr. Xie Yunshen. Have you considered the matter we discussed last time?” The voice on the other end was gentle and elegant—a woman’s voice.

Yan Shiqi’s gaze was fixed on Xie Yunshen as he casually replied, “I'll think about it some more.”

“Well, regardless, please come visit our company. If you’re unsatisfied with the salary and benefits we mentioned last time, the Qin family can double it. In any case, it will definitely be better than what you’re currently receiving at the Yan family.”

Yan Shiqi narrowed his eyes. It was actually the Qin family from the Northern Realm.

The others at the table were also surprised. The Qin family was a prestigious clan in the Northern Realm—they shouldn’t lack professional bodyguards.

Why would they go to such lengths to poach Xie Yunshen?

“Hello? Mr. Xie, what are your thoughts? If you’re willing, we can send a plane to pick you up right now.” The gentle voice on the phone kept pushing.

It felt like a barrage of temptations—wine, women, wealth, and fame—being thrown at him one after another.

“Wait a moment. I’ll ask him,” Yan Shiqi said, his voice calm but far from friendly.

The other end paused, realizing something, but remained very polite. “Alright. You must be Patriarch Yan, right? Thank you.”

Xie Yunshen was stunned. They figured it out just like that?

Why did it feel like everyone here except him was a shrewd person?

Over the past two days, the Qin family had indeed been trying to poach him, but he hadn’t agreed.

Who knew they could be so persistent?

Yan Shiqi placed the phone on the table and said nothing.

Xie Yunshen felt even more awkward.

“Mr. Yan, I didn’t agree to their offer,” he said cautiously.

“I know,” Yan Shiqi replied.

Yan Shiying said, “I’m curious. What conditions did the Qin family offer before?”

Xie Yunshen glanced at Yan Shiqi, feeling it was inappropriate to discuss this in front of his current employer.

“Go ahead,” Yan Shiqi said.

“Well, they basically offered to double all my current benefits.”

Yan Shiying exclaimed, “Wow, so when she said they could double the previous offer, does that mean quadruple? No wonder they’re the top family in the Northern Realm.”

“Then why didn’t you agree?” Yan Shizhou also asked.

Xie Yunshen lowered his head into the shadows, saying, “Because I was too embarrassed to tell them that I’m actually paying to work at the Yan family.”

“…”

“…”

“Whether it’s double or quadruple, I’d only be losing money,” Xie Yunshen grumbled, full of resentment.

Everyone lowered their heads and chuckled.

Except for Yan Shiqi, who looked thoughtful.

Of course, Xie Yunshen wasn’t actually paying to work at the Yan family—he had just never checked his salary card statements.

He said all that just to reassure Yan Shiqi.

In the afternoon, Yan Shiqi's secretary suddenly handed Xie Yunshen a new phone.

"But my phone is practically new."

"This one has a new number. Mr. Yan said your old number gets too many spam calls, so it's better to switch."

Xie Yunshen took the phone in silence.

"..."

Sure enough, he was still hung up on his rival trying to poach his people.