Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Xie Yunshen saw Yan Shixin standing at the door of the study on the second floor.

He picked up the child with amusement. "What's a little one like you doing up so late?"

Yan Shixin lowered his gaze and pointed inside the study.

In the pitch-black study, the door was slightly ajar, revealing a glimpse of a Rubik's cube.

So the cube had rolled in there.

Kids are afraid of the dark. Xie Yunshen pushed open the study door and retrieved the cube.

Mr. Yan had probably already gone to rest.

The study was filled with a tense, dark silence.

Brrring! Brrring!

Just as Xie Yunshen was turning to leave, a startling ring suddenly cut through the darkness.

He turned and saw it was the old-fashioned telephone on the bookshelf.

It had rung once before, but Mr. Yan's attitude toward it had been a bit peculiar.

Xie Yunshen walked over to the telephone, relying on his excellent eyesight.

He was curious about who could be calling. He reached out toward the vintage gilded receiver but paused.

Mr. Yan's previous attitude made it clear that it was better for him not to touch this phone.

Xie Yunshen left the room, handed the cube to Yan Shixin, then hurried across the corridor and up the stairs.

He arrived at Yan Shiqi's room on the third floor.

Yi Wuyi's junior apprentice, Xiao Ding, was standing guard at the door. Seeing him, he stepped aside to make way.

Xie Yunshen didn't push the door open directly as he usually would.

"Xiao Ding, is Mr. Yan asleep?"

The young man's name was Xiao Ding. He was Yi Wuyi's junior apprentice and shared an uncanny resemblance to his senior's demeanor.

Xiao Ding was taken aback, looking a bit nervous. "I... I don't know..."

"Alright." Xie Yunshen pushed the door open a crack. The bedroom was dimly lit and quiet. It seemed Yan Shiqi was indeed asleep. He shouldn't disturb his rest.

He was about to turn and leave.

Xiao Ding stood at the door for a moment, astonished at how Xie Yunshen had suddenly appeared from the doorway to the bedside.

Did he use a flash step?

"Can't sleep."

"I just heard the telephone ring in your study, that very old one."

In the faint light, Xie Yunshen saw Yan Shiqi's brow furrow. The lines of his face tightened, and his gaze, hard as iron, shone with an intense, startling brilliance in the darkness.

This made Xie Yunshen realize the situation was serious.

"Go call Lao Wu. We're going out." Yan Shiqi began unbuttoning his pajamas with one hand.

Xie Yunshen walked into the corridor, hesitating between Yi Wuyi's bedroom and Yan Shizhou's annex, unsure where to find him.

"Xiao Ding, do you know where your senior brother is?"

Xiao Ding was momentarily stunned. "Brother Xie... can't you just call him?"

Xie Yunshen: "...I forgot."

He took out the new phone Yan Shiqi had given him and dialed Yi Wuyi's number.

"Lao Wu, Mr. Yan needs to go out."

Yi Wuyi responded in a low voice, "I'll be right there."

Xie Yunshen thought to himself, what an icy guy.

Just before hanging up, Yan Shizhou's voice came through the line.

So late, and Yi Wuyi was still with Yan Shizhou. Were the two in the honeymoon phase?

However, judging by Yan Shizhou's recent attitude toward Yi Wuyi, it seemed their relationship had thawed a bit.

While thinking this, Yan Shiqi, now dressed, came out. The two of them took the elevator directly to the garage.

The driver was already in the driver's seat. The car pulled out of the garage, and Yi Wuyi was waiting at the gate.

From the time Yan Shiqi woke up to them leaving the main gate, only five minutes had passed.

Xie Yunshen was a bit puzzled. If it was about that phone call, why didn't Yan Shiqi just call back instead of leaving immediately?

The car sped along the highway for over an hour, finally stopping in a suburban area outside City B.

Throughout the journey, Yan Shiqi's expression was heavy and complex.

They stopped at a wooded park. Yan Shiqi got out of the car, with Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi following behind.

Xie Yunshen lowered his voice. "Lao Wu, are we here to make contact?"

Yi Wuyi: "I don't know either."

Even Lao Wu didn't know. This must be a critical moment for meeting with spies or undercover agents.

Xie Yunshen felt an inexplicable surge of excitement.

Between one and two in the morning, the park was deserted except for them and a few stray cats.

Mr. Yan walked along the stone path by the river.

The moon reflected on the river's surface like a gently stirred egg yolk.

Xie Yunshen watched as Yan Shiqi sat on a bench by the riverbank, waiting and waiting.

The night quietly passed.

There was no masked spy jumping out to give a secret signal as he had imagined, nor any note or evidence left by a long-suffering undercover agent.

The morning mist clung to his hair, tiny dewdrops beading on the shoulders of his gray coat.

Xie Yunshen could feel that Yan Shiqi’s mood was somber and heavy.

His tightly furrowed black brows were damp with the morning mist, his eyes reflecting the morning sun, always steadfast and alert as they gazed ahead.

He remained like this until nine in the morning.

Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi stood behind him.

Yan Shiqi sat on the chair, bent over low, head bowed, one hand covering his face as he let out a long, suppressed sigh.

"Let's go." He stood up and walked on ahead, head down, as if the coat on his back had grown heavier from the dew.

Xie Yunshen was worried about him but didn't dare ask what had happened.

He glanced at Yi Wuyi, hoping to get some information from him.

He could tell Yi Wuyi's expression wasn't great either—he probably knew something.

"Maybe someone died."

"Who?"

"As far as I know, a lot of important information was passed on by a senior, but I don't know who. Only Mr. Yan knows."

Xie Yunshen was taken aback.

The original story didn't seem to mention this.

On the way back, Yan Shiqi leaned against the seat with his eyes closed, brows tightly knitted.

By the time they returned to City A, it was already noon. Yan Shiqi went straight to the company, and for lunch, he just made do with a rushed meal—he barely drank half a bowl of soup.

Xie Yunshen asked the secretary to place a carton of milk on Yan Shiqi's desk, but it remained untouched all afternoon.

Fortunately, there wasn't much work today. By a little past four in the afternoon, Yan Shiqi called it a day.

His expression had returned to its usual calm, but his eyes remained deep and somber.

The news playing in the car happened to be about Ai Linghui's father's case.

"A reversal in the case of Ai Linghui's father: due to a lack of strong evidence, online discussions continue to heat up. The General Supervision Team will take over the case."

"Authorities have yet to detail the public's various doubts. Due to widespread attention, the trial has been postponed to November 23. The suspect's status has changed from under investigation to released on bail, awaiting the court hearing."

Xie Yunshen watched the news—was this a kind of phased success?

Ai's mother, who had been staying at the Yan residence, had received advance notice yesterday. After thanking Mr. Yan, she went to the police station to pick up Ai's father.

Outside the police station building, people were still live-streaming from a distance.

Ai's father, in his forties, already had graying hair and a gaunt face. He shed tears several times, repeatedly expressing gratitude to the netizens and the Yan family for their help.

Xie Yunshen couldn't shake the feeling that the current victory was just an illusion. The more celebratory things were online, the more a sense of dread crept in.

"I still don't understand why he admitted to all the charges," Xie Yunshen murmured, watching Ai's father on the screen.

"Maybe he was threatened, or maybe he just wanted to repay a debt of gratitude," Yan Shiqi said.

"That venomous snake Shang Guanhong is truly vicious..."

Yan Shiqi looked at him. "Someone as clever as Shang Guanhong probably assumed Black Impermanence had some connection to that girl. Choosing her father as the suspect, from an outsider's perspective, does seem both reasonable and motivated. But he underestimated the power of modern networks."

His tone sounded no different from usual, but Xie Yunshen could detect a hint of low spirits in his voice.

Today's sun was unexpectedly harsh, streaming through the car window and falling on Yan Shiqi's profile. The fine hairs on his forehead glowed with a faint silver light.

The sunlight lingered on Mr. Yan's eyelashes, forcing him to frown and squint.

Xie Yunshen wanted to pull down the sunshade, but this luxury car's curtains had one drawback—they were too effective. Once drawn, they blocked the view completely, inside and out.

Xie Yunshen smiled and sat beside him, leaning slightly toward him to block the sun.

He was glad to see Yan Shiqi's eyelids relax, his dark eyes turning to look at him.

"How about that? Not so bright now, right?" Xie Yunshen grinned as if he'd discovered the eighth wonder of the world.

The usually tight line of Yan Shiqi's lips lifted slightly. "Yeah."

"Mr. Yan... you..." Xie Yunshen looked at him, hesitating.

"I'm fine," Yan Shiqi said, seeing the concern in his eyes.

"I was going to ask, are you hungry?"

Yan Shiqi replied, "Not hungry."

Xie Yunshen paused, the milk he was about to offer still in his hand.

Feeling a little deflated, he simply tilted his head back and drank the milk himself. He crumpled the carton, put the cap back on, rolled it into a Swiss roll shape, and stood it by the window, watching it sway slightly.

Not knowing how to comfort Mr. Yan made him feel utterly useless.

"A-Shen," Yan Shiqi suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?" Xie Yunshen quickly responded.

Yan Shiqi reached out and ruffled his hair.

Xie Yunshen's surgical wound had been neatly stitched, and his hair had grown back to nearly a centimeter.

The hair was coarse, short, and resilient, prickling slightly to the touch.

"Is it a bit prickly? It'll be better once it grows out a bit more."

As he spoke, Xie Yunshen lowered his head slightly. He never shied away from physical touch from others, but only from those within his circle.

Like Old Five and Mr. Yan.

Old Five was someone he'd forcibly dragged into his circle, while Mr. Yan occasionally took the initiative to ruffle his hair—something Xie Yunshen enjoyed, as it felt respectful and well-boundaried.

Others, he wasn't as keen on. For example, Lin Jin couldn't just sling an arm over his shoulder.

So Lin Jin often felt inexplicably discriminated against by Xie Yunshen.

Yan Shiqi withdrew his hand, and Xie Yunshen tilted his head, resting it on Yan Shiqi's shoulder and nuzzling against it.

The short, coarse hair brushed against Yan Shiqi's cheek and ear.

It was like a big dog comforting its owner.

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Author's Note: Actually, someone like Xie Yunshen is quite interesting to observe. Usually, he's as clueless as a block of wood, completely ignoring any flirtatious glances from others, never engaging in or responding to ambiguous relationships. But once he recognizes his own feelings, confirms the relationship, and gains that awareness of being in love, he transforms into an enthusiastic, clingy dog for his partner. He has great stamina, knows how to protect people, provides emotional support, and never gives anyone else a chance to interfere. Being his partner is an absolute delight. [Laughs out loud]