Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The back of his neck was nuzzled, a nose sniffing his scent, exhaling heavy, rough, hot breaths against him.

Lin Ze couldn't suppress his trembling.

"I... I have to go to school tomorrow..."

No response.

Lin Ze was terrified this would prevent him from leaving. He timidly called his name: "Xiujin..."

Something as large as a goose egg suddenly pressed against him...

Lin Ze shivered with shame.

"If what happened last time happens again..."

Lin Ze's face was wrenched around, forced to press foreheads with the alpha.

The alpha chuckled darkly, "I'll go straight in."

Lin Ze woke up, and the person was already gone.

When he went downstairs for breakfast, the servant said, "Sir, why do you look so pale? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"That bad?" Lin Ze forced a smile.

The servant nodded. Then, as if remembering something, she smiled and asked in a hushed tone, "Sir, could it be... you're pregnant?"

"Don't... don't talk nonsense."

"This isn't nonsense. He used to leave early and return late, sometimes not even coming home at all. Now he's starting to get up late. Fu Zhi said the General has been late several times this month. Actually, getting pregnant early would be a good thing, that way you could have several more children."

Lin Ze hurriedly left before finishing breakfast.

While standing and training the children, the insides of his thighs burned, a fiery pain. Just from using his legs... if it were...

Thinking of their first time, although his mind was muddled due to the heat, the feeling of being absolutely suppressed, violently invaded, and possessed was still deeply etched into his soul, making him tremble with fear every time he remembered it...

He couldn't work with Lu Mo anymore.

After finishing the training, Lin Ze secretly contacted an officer.

Back when he was still a colonel, Lin Ze had connections with many officials, and this person was the only one who didn't cut ties with him after the incident. However, because of Lin Ze, his position hadn't been promoted for many years.

After Lin Ze stated his request, the other party quickly gave an affirmative reply.

Then Lin Ze contacted Lu Mo again.

That evening, he waited anxiously for news and for Li Xiujin's return.

The skin on the insides of his thighs was chafed raw, slightly bleeding. Even the friction from his pants made him gasp in pain. If he still wanted to use his legs for his release tonight...

Just thinking about it made Lin Ze tremble slightly...

He tossed and turned in bed, but Li Xiujin didn't return all night.

Lu Mo sent a text message in the early hours.

- Colonel, that rich kid is dead.

Dead.

Lin Ze's mind buzzed.

From Liu Guang, to Ji Ran, to the rich kid...

Someone was eliminating the clues they found one by one...

An exceptionally strong dread surged in Lin Ze's heart. Such lawlessness meant the other party was either desperate or someone with immense power.

Outside, the sky gradually brightened. Lin Ze hadn't slept a wink all night. He ate a little something and went to school as usual. As usual, the driver turned on the radio to the morning news.

"It is reported that the only son of Liu Qun, chairman of Yuchen Chemical, died suddenly early this morning. No traces of foul play were found at the scene, suspected to be suicide."

"General, your grandfather called. He said there's an important matter and wants you to come home."

In the high-level office, the news played over and over.

Li Xiujin stared at the screen, where several doctors in white coats were carrying a body out of the villa.

Seeing he didn't answer, Fu Zhi also looked at the screen. "What a coincidence, dying just one second before Colonel Lin's subordinate arrived."

"Liu Qun only has this one son. He'll probably be devastated. But there's no helping it. Working for that kind of person is like living on the edge of a knife."

Li Xiujin suddenly asked coldly, "What do you think he'll do?"

Fu Zhi pondered for a moment. "Given Colonel Lin's loyal and righteous character, he'll definitely continue the investigation."

"Earlier, when threatening Liu Guang, there was a line in Colonel Lin's testimony: 'I have nothing left to worry about.' That probably refers to Lin Zhuo. After the incident, Colonel Lin didn't make a move for seven years, essentially waiting for Lin Zhuo to grow up and become capable of living independently."

The screen started playing the next news item.

"Today, Su Wang officially assumed the position of Supreme Military Commander."

Fu Zhi: "Looks like things will be troublesome from now on..."

Li Xiujin closed his eyes with an inscrutable expression.

In the afternoon, Li Xiujin returned to the old mansion.

*

Li Zhi and his wife were also there. Seeing him was like mice seeing a cat; they greeted him nervously and flustered. Li Xiujin ignored them, and they awkwardly retreated to the living room with forced smiles.

Li Xiujin went straight into the tea room. An old, frail man sat in a wheelchair.

"Are you keeping someone outside?" Li Tingyuan asked, coughing with a fist pressed to his mouth.

Li Xiujin smiled a cold, insincere smile. "What's it to you?"

"You!"

"Don't disgrace the Li family!"

Li Xiujin lit a cigarette, looking at him coldly.

Li Tingyuan felt a flicker of dread and got down to business. "Are you targeting Su Jingyuan? Do you know his older brother, Su Wang, came to see me specifically about this yesterday?"

"Oh? And then?" Li Xiujin was dismissive.

"Su Wang is a big deal now. Have you considered how he might retaliate against us if you oppose him?"

Li Xiujin scoffed. "Whether you live or die is none of my concern."

Not just theirs—the fate of the entire world meant nothing to him. He couldn't care less.

Except for one person...

"Li Xiujin!" Li Tingyuan was seized by a violent coughing fit. "You monster! Back when you were kidnapped, I shouldn't have paid that ransom. I should have let them strangle you!"

"I wish you had done exactly that," Li Xiujin replied with a slow, cold smile.

As Li Xiujin reached the door, he suddenly paused. "Oh, by the way, I have some good news for you.

"I'm married."

He pushed the door open to find Li Zhi and his wife lurking outside, looking shifty. "We... we were just bringing some fruit for the old master..."

Once they confirmed Li Xiujin had left, Meng Yang muttered, "Husband, did I hear that right? Did he just say he got married?"

"It seems to be true."

"How can someone like him get married? Isn't that just dooming someone else?" Meng Yang said bitterly.

"Isn't it a good thing if he's married? Maybe it'll change his temper."

Meng Yang snorted contemptuously.

When Li Xiaoyang was little, he idolized his uncle and would pester Li Xiujin to play every day. Li Xiujin was extremely impatient and even once deliberately pushed Li Xiaoyang into the water.

Her son had nearly drowned.

She had held onto that grudge all these years, and now she finally saw a chance for revenge.

*

The lead was broken.

Lin Ze couldn't even eat lunch, constantly scouring the related news.

Yet the few available pieces of information were drowned out by reports about Su Wang's appointment as Supreme Commander.

Rubbing his temples wearily, Lin Ze pondered what to do next.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Professor Lin, there's a package for you."

An Omega walked in and placed a square box on Lin Ze's desk.

"Are you sure it's for me? I haven't ordered anything recently," Lin Ze said.

"But it's got your name and info right on it."

After thanking her, Lin Ze opened the box and found several bloody photographs inside.

Thinking it might be a student's prank, he was about to discard them when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a child's face, only four or five years old. On impulse, he picked it up and examined it closely—a very familiar, yet very young face.

Afraid he might be mistaken, Lin Ze searched for childhood photos of the Alpha. It was indeed an exact match.

The child in the photo was Li Xiujin.

Immediately, Lin Ze's expression turned grave.

Because in the photo, Li Xiujin, his face covered in blood, was holding a gun, its barrel trained on a bound man and woman.

Lin Ze looked at the next photo. The man and woman were drenched in blood. A child lay unconscious on the ground, while several middle-aged men nearby laughed and drank.

"Do you know how his parents died? He did it."

That sentence resurfaced in his mind.

Lin Ze immediately checked the shipping label on the package, trying to see who had sent it.

It showed "Unknown."

He tried searching online for the origin of these photos but found nothing.

Who sent them to him? And what was the meaning behind sending them?

Lin Ze couldn't process this information immediately. He remained silent the whole way home. Upon arriving, he saw Li Xiujin was already back, waiting for him at the dining table. He paused for a moment before walking over.

Li Xiujin studied his face. "Not feeling well?"

Lin Ze shook his head.

"Why do you look so pale?"

"I didn't sleep well last night."

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

Worried Li Xiujin would find out what he'd been up to, Lin Ze said softly, "I didn't know when you'd be back..."

"You were waiting for me?" Li Xiujin's gaze on him intensified.

"Yes..."

Li Xiujin's throat went dry.

Even though he knew Lin Ze was lying to him, it still stirred something in him.

At night, after confirming Li Xiujin was asleep, Lin Ze opened his eyes and held his breath as he scrutinized his face. Although he was now an adult, his features were the same. The child in the photo was undoubtedly him. But why were there such photos? What exactly happened back then? Was what Li Xiaoyang said true?

Lin Ze typed out a text message, then deleted it.

For the first time in his life, he felt so indecisive.

He and the Alpha were only contractual spouses. Even if Li Xiujin really had killed his own parents, it had nothing to do with him. He just needed to pretend he knew nothing.

But another voice inside him whispered...

He wanted to know what really happened in Li Xiujin's childhood...

Why he always suffered from insomnia, why he never celebrated his birthday...

Outside, the sky was gray and overcast, as if it was about to rain.

In those photos, it seemed to be raining too.

Lin Ze closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and sent the text message.

—Send me Li Xiujin’s information.

*

A rumble of thunder echoed outside.

It began to drizzle.

Fu Zhi closed the window tightly and drew the curtains. “Sir, how are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell?”

Li Xiujin swallowed two tranquilizers and continued working expressionlessly.

Fu Zhi didn’t leave immediately but reported in a low voice, “The bodyguards following Colonel Lin said that yesterday, Colonel Lin received a package. It was sent by Meng Yang, and it contained only a few photos.”

Li Xiujin paused, a flicker of brutality crossing his face.

*

Lu Mo acted quickly.

Soon, Lin Ze received a file.

Holding his breath, Lin Ze opened it. First, he saw a photo of Li Xiujin at five years old, his face rounded with baby fat, looking somewhat displeased into the camera. He wasn’t as gloomy as he was now—in fact, he could even be described as handsome and adorable…

On either side of him stood a man and a woman. The man wore a suit and looked stern, while the woman was beautiful and elegant, smiling gently.

They were the man and woman tied to a tree—Li Xiujin’s parents.

“On his fifth birthday, he went out with his parents for a trip. On the way, they encountered kidnappers who abducted them. For their own amusement, the kidnappers threatened him to shoot and kill his parents. His parents chose to dash their heads against the tree and die instead. Afterward, he was tortured by the kidnappers for two days before being rescued…”

Lin Ze’s heart tightened.

He had thought Li Xiujin really killed his parents, but he… was clearly a victim too.

Lu Mo sent another file.

—Colonel, this is what I’ve gathered in the meantime.

Lin Ze opened it again.

There were many photos of Li Xiujin, almost all of them showing him bruised and battered, with the hostility in his eyes deepening as he grew older.

—After the incident, Li Xiujin’s grandfather believed that his son’s death was caused by Li Xiujin. Under the pretext of training, he frequently abused him. Beatings and confinement were routine.

—This life continued until Li Xiujin turned sixteen and differentiated into an S-class alpha, and Li Tingyuan fell ill.

—At eighteen, Li Xiujin joined the special forces, was promoted to general at twenty-one, and retired at twenty-three.

From five years old until sixteen…

Lin Ze covered his eyes.

For some reason, waves of pain washed over his heart.