Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Xie Yunshen had still been a moment too late. By the time he merged into the endless sea of traffic, he could no longer find any trace of the car from earlier.

Xie Yunshen scanned his surroundings. The sky seemed to press down on him. He lashed out, kicking at the air in frustration, hating himself for being so distraught that he hadn't memorized the license plate number.

He lowered his head, calming himself by the roadside, and rummaged through the motorcycle's storage compartment for his long-unused phone.

His mental health really hadn't been good these past few years. The doctor had advised him to leave the virtual world behind and connect more with nature. So, he only used his phone occasionally when he needed to contact someone.

Xie Yunshen turned on the phone. His fingers shook, disobeying his will, as he entered the search term.

"Yan Shiqi"

The browser immediately flooded with a massive amount of information. Fearing it might be someone with the same name, Xie Yunshen stifled his racing heart and calmly clicked on one of the links.

"Yan Shiqi, a renowned entrepreneur from Nation D, co-founder of the Yunqi Group, board member of Yunqi Finance, known for research in medical nanorobotics and financial investment strategies..."

Xie Yunshen scrolled past this bio and finally clicked on the video that had been slow to load. In that moment, Xie Yunshen felt his heart lurch and stop, failing to recover.

A cry burst from him!

It really was Mr. Yan!

It really was him!!!

Xie Yunshen couldn't conjure up an image of Mr. Yan. For these three years, he had relied solely on day after day of yearning in his mind to sketch Mr. Yan's appearance. But the imagination in his mind couldn't compare to the shocking impact of the visual.

The video was an interview clip of Yan Shiqi. That face, that voice, those eyes—they couldn't be wrong. It felt like their first meeting was just yesterday, yet also as if centuries had passed in a daze.

Xie Yunshen pulled up directions to the Yunqi Group, swung back onto his bike, and sped off like the wind down the city's main avenue.

At the Yunqi Tower, the receptionist stared, taken aback by Xie Yunshen. "Hello, are you here about a job posting?"

Blood had bloomed on his left pant leg, which was worn through, revealing a gruesome wound. One side of his clothes was also stained with grime and dust.

At first glance, he seemed to have been in an accident, but when he walked, his leg didn't seem to bother him at all.

"I want to see Mr. Yan."

The receptionist looked somewhat helpless. "Without an appointment, it's probably..."

Xie Yunshen said, "Can I wait for him here?"

The receptionist gave a faint, tight-lipped smile but said nothing.

Xie Yunshen couldn't spare any attention for anyone else. He felt anxious and weighed down. The closer he got, the more he doubted whether he was dreaming.

Xie Yunshen even began to suspect his mental illness was getting worse.

He looked up at the vast, high-ceilinged lobby, the crystal chandeliers and bright floor tiles. Because it was all too bright and dazzling, it gave him a dizzying, unreal sensation.

Was this another delusion?

At this thought, he immediately panicked, his eyes filled with anxiety. He could only pick up his phone and repeatedly click on that browser video, drawing a shred of comfort from seeing Mr. Yan's face appear on the screen.

As for what was being said in the video, he paid no attention at all.

But his strange behavior obviously made him seem even more unhinged.

Two security guards approached. "Sir, please leave this area."

Xie Yunshen looked at them, realizing he was being treated as mentally ill.

"Wait, I won't cause any trouble."

"Sorry, but your presence here might make others uncomfortable. Perhaps you could go to the restroom to wash your face?"

Xie Yunshen didn't move. If he got up to go to the restroom, Mr. Yan might enter through the main doors, and he'd miss him.

Seeing he wasn't budging, the two guards could only grab his arms to pull him out.

Xie Yunshen said, "I'll leave on my own."

He walked to the fountain outside the main entrance. Only then did he notice a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. It must have been from when he hit his mouth; the blood had dried, clinging darkly to his lip. It really did look a bit like a mental patient.

Xie Yunshen laughed at himself mockingly, cupping some water from the fountain to casually wash the blood from his face.

Xie Yunshen decided to sit right there by the main entrance and wait for Mr. Yan to return.

Just then, his phone rang. It was the president of the Bodyguard Association.

Xie Yunshen didn't want to be distracted or disturbed by anything at this moment. He hung up the call.

Waiting for Mr. Yan's appearance had become the most important thing to him. He felt that any distraction would affect the precision of this matter and would deal a fatal blow to his world.

His heart beat faster and faster. *Don't rush. Maybe Mr. Yan will appear the very next moment.*

He comforted himself with this thought.

Bodyguard Association, President's Office.

"He hung up." The president sighed and looked at the man opposite him. "Mr. Yan, I'm very sorry."

Yan Shiqi's eyes clouded with disappointment. "Three years... has it always been like this, with calls not going through?"

"It connected once a year ago. The rest of the time, it's basically been powered off."

Yan Shiqi nodded. "Could I have his phone number?"

The association president looked troubled. "I'm sorry."

"Has there been any recent news about him?"

The president raised his deep-set, narrow eyes from behind his glasses. "We cannot disclose private circumstances. And to be honest, I'm not clear either. His inner world is far more mysterious than his outward appearance..."

For the first time in his life, Yan Shiqi made a humble request. "Even if you could just tell me something about him."

The president could only explain, "Mr. Yan, I'd really like to help you. But you might not understand this industry. Bodyguards often suffer some degree of psychological trauma and are prone to making enemies. So, after retiring, bodyguards usually change their phone numbers or go into hiding, especially the more outstanding ones. Our Bodyguard Association also has an obligation to protect and assist them."

Yan Shiqi sat silently opposite him for a long time, as if unwilling to leave out of sheer reluctance. Finally, he stood up. "If his phone ever connects, please tell him that Yan Shiqi is looking for him."

"If you need one, I have other excellent bodyguards here..."

"No, I'm not looking for a bodyguard." Yan Shiqi rejected the idea without a second thought.

"Mr. Yan, wait a moment."

Yan Shiqi immediately turned to look at him.

"I know he has a house in D City. I can give you the address. But don't get your hopes up; I heard he hasn't been back for years."

Xie Yunshen kept his eyes fixed on the company's main gate and the adjacent garage exit. He waited from afternoon until night, until the lights on the building flickered off one by one, the late-shift workers gradually left, and the empty entrance grew even more desolate, with only two security guards on patrol.

Mr. Yan did not appear.

"Hey man, Mr. Yan definitely won't be coming to work today. Why don't you come back tomorrow morning?"

Xie Yunshen lowered his head in silence. "Thanks, but I think I'll wait here."

He was afraid that if he left, the world would change again. Afraid that if he left, Mr. Yan's traces in this world would disappear again. If that happened, he would go mad.

It was only one night's wait.

Yan Shiqi pushed open the gate of the standalone house, stirring up dust.

The inner door was locked; he couldn't go inside.

Yan Shiqi could only stand in the yard. His hand brushed over the pull-up bar and the rusted mailbox. Beneath his feet were stone slabs already overtaken by weeds.

Looking through the iron bars into the garage, he saw a motorcycle covered in dust.

Yan Shiqi lowered his head and closed his eyes. A wave of desolation from the world around him slowly filled his chest, his eyelashes trembling slightly in the wind.

"Help me put out a missing person notice."

"Yes, sir." The assistant behind him had already taken out a notebook.

Xie Yunshen decided to go to a nearby public restroom to clean himself up and also wash and bandage his wound.

A haggard, anxious face appeared in the mirror. Xie Yunshen suddenly realized something—if he appeared before Mr. Yan looking this filthy, would he even recognize him?

After all, the current him wasn't the Xie Yunshen from the book, but his original self. In a sense, they were strangers; Mr. Yan wouldn't recognize him.

At this thought, Xie Yunshen felt his heart ache so much it went numb.

He found a hotel next to the building and checked in using the new ID card and name the association had arranged for him.

After a thorough cleanup, Xie Yunshen barely felt like a human again before returning to the front gate of Cloud Banner Group.

From late night until dawn, from moonset to sunrise.

During this time, Xie Yunshen didn't dare close his eyes.

But fortunately, he wasn't completely alone. Before daybreak, a group of reporters arrived to stake out the place.

"Buddy, you're here so early?" a reporter squatted beside him.

Xie Yunshen was taken aback. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb. Everyone here is staking out for the first scoop, right?"

"..."

After eight o'clock, employees began trickling in to work.

"Did you see last night's news?"

"Of course, the internet exploded. I wish I were that guy."

"Yeah, dream on. Is your surname Xie?"

"I'd change my surname along with my parents' if I could."

"Mr. Yan's long-lost brother, tsk tsk. Why doesn't fate favor me? I'd be happy to be him for just a month."

"Does Mr. Yan have any long-lost sisters?"

Xie Yunshen couldn't be bothered to listen, just stared fixedly at the main gate.

Finally, a black stretch limousine appeared in everyone's view.

The reporters swarmed forward.

Xie Yunshen stood up in a daze, watching Mr. Yan surrounded by the reporters.

For a moment, he felt like he was about to faint.

"Mr. Yan! You issued a search online. Is this your real brother?"

"You promised five percent of Cloud Banner's shares to anyone providing a lead. Is that true?"

"Will this five percent be transferred from your own equity?"

"It's true. As long as he is found, I will honor all of it. I apologize for taking up public attention, but to me, he means more than anything."

The reporters wanted to ask more, but several security guards held back the crowd. Before entering the gate, Yan Shiqi paused. A figure suddenly caught his eye, causing the corner of his eye to twitch involuntarily.

Yan Shiqi sharply turned his head.

He was wearing a simple black athletic windbreaker, yet he swept through his soul like a powerful storm. No words could describe Yan Shiqi's feelings at that moment.

He stood there, looking at him with a genuine look of surprise and an inner strength. When their eyes met, that familiar and utterly real aura, like a light source, dispelled the surrounding chill.

Those eyes left no doubt—it was him.

"Mr. Yan!"

Xie Yunshen finally snapped out of his shock. He dashed toward him and threw himself into his arms, nearly knocking him over, but he instinctively caught and steadied Mr. Yan in his embrace.

A fierce, joyful sense of fulfillment coursed through his entire body, spreading to his heart.

His heart was pounding too loudly.

Yan Shiqi raised his hands and hugged him. "Finally... I found you."

The sound of shutters and the flash of cameras surrounded them.