Chapter 62: Investigation

Chapter 62: Investigation

Su Zhiyu replied to Liu Mian in the group chat, and Yang Yichen immediately popped up: 'Send me the address, I'll come pick you up. I was just about to head out anyway.'

Su Zhiyu instinctively looked at Qin Yan: "Maybe I should just go by myself?"

Qin Yan waved his hand: "No need. Just send it. Liu Mian and the others don't know I live here. If they ask, just tell them you moved."

"..."

Fine.

Su Zhiyu did as he was told.

Sure enough, the moment it was sent, Jiang Yizhou popped up: 'Zhi Yu, you moved? Didn't you live over by XX? Why is it in the opposite direction?'

Su Zhiyu wasn't good at lying. He agonized over it for a long time without knowing what to say.

Qin Yan took his phone directly and typed a reply for him: 'Yeah, I moved.'

And just like that, only Yang Yichen was shocked.

He started blowing up Qin Yan's DMs again.

Qin Yan didn't check his own phone. Jiang Yizhou asked again: 'Hey, Zhi Yu, is this your WeChat? Last time I tried to add Qin-ge, but it looks like I added your account instead?'

Qin Yan snapped his head toward Su Zhiyu, eyes narrowing: "He actually tried to add me?"

Su Zhiyu nodded silently: "Yeah, I didn't pay attention."

"Alright." Qin Yan didn't ask further and continued replying in the group chat in Su Zhiyu's tone: 'Probably got it mixed up. This is my account.'

Yang Yichen also chimed in to help: 'Yi Zhou, how can you not even tell the avatars apart, hahaha.'

Jiang Yizhou started doubting himself, but it was just a minor blip—he quickly brushed it off and got back to work.

After they set a time with Yang Yichen, Qin Yan finally handed the phone back to Su Zhiyu and reminded him: "Yang Yichen might seem like a flake, but he's trustworthy. They all see you as a friend. Don't be so nervous."

Su Zhiyu stared at Qin Yan, dazed.

Qin Yan touched his own face: "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Or... are you just stunned by how good-looking I am?"

"You..." Su Zhiyu quickly looked away, but the tips of his ears, hidden under his hair, started to burn.

Qin Yan leaned in and looped his arms around him: "Su Zhiyu, admitting you're into a good-looking guy isn't shameful. Take me, for instance—I really like your face. It's handsome, good-looking—prettier than any Omega I've ever seen."

"?"

With a buzz, Su Zhiyu's head went blank. How could this guy just say stuff like that so casually?

Wait.

All Omegas—so that doesn't include Alphas, does it?

Su Zhiyu's racing heart suddenly calmed. He looked up at Qin Yan, his eyes darting away again and again: "And Alphas?"

Qin Yan blinked: "Huh? What Alphas?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

Su Zhiyu pushed Qin Yan away, and no matter how much Qin Yan pressed, he refused to say another word.

The two of them went back and forth in the living room until Yang Yichen showed up, and Su Zhiyu never asked a second time. Qin Yan had no choice but to let it go.

He'd ask again later.

Yang Yichen stepped through the door, clicking his tongue: "You two are really good at keeping secrets, huh? How did you two end up living together without saying a word? When did this happen? And you hid it from me—are we friends or what?"

Su Zhiyu's face flushed bright red, too embarrassed to raise his head.

Qin Yan shot him a glare and made up nonsense without batting an eye: "Su Zhiyu ran into a shady landlord who totally screwed him over. I'm being a good Samaritan and letting him crash here for now."

Yang Yichen clearly didn't buy it. He leaned in to ask Su Zhiyu: "Zhi Yu, is Yan-ge telling the truth? Did you really run into a shady landlord?"

"..." Su Zhiyu glanced at Qin Yan and nodded quietly. "Yeah, it's true."

Even Su Zhiyu said so, so Yang Yichen actually bought it.

He widened his eyes: "Really? Why didn't you say something earlier? I've also got an apartment in the city. How about you move—"

Before he could finish, he felt the intense murderous aura radiating off Qin Yan next to him. He immediately shrank back and changed the subject:

"Oh wait, I just remembered that place isn't renovated yet. Too bad. Otherwise, you could've moved in there, Zhi Yu."

Su Zhiyu smiled politely: "It's fine. I'm already looking for somewhere."

"Good, good. Oh right, let's hurry up and go. Yan-ge's swamped, so we'll go have fun ourselves and leave him behind."

Yang Yichen stepped right past Qin Yan to grab Su Zhiyu. Su Zhiyu stared at Yang Yichen's outstretched hand in alarm, almost instinctively about to pull away.

But when he looked up and met Qin Yan's eyes, that frantic resistance suddenly melted away.

Yang Yichen was reliable. He was trustworthy.

They were friends.

Su Zhiyu slowly let his guard down and let Yang Yichen sling an arm around his shoulder, leading him past Qin Yan.

"Hey." Qin Yan stood there with his hands in his pockets, grinning recklessly. "If Su Zhiyu loses a single hair, I'll shave your head clean."

Yang Yichen clicked his tongue: "Bullshit. Zhi Yu's my friend too. You've got some nerve threatening me. Get the hell out of here."

"Hey, you—"

"Later, dude."

Before Qin Yan could blow up, Yang Yichen grabbed Su Zhiyu and bolted.

Su Zhiyu looked back at Qin Yan worriedly. There wasn't a trace of anger on his face—even though he was baring his teeth, his eyes were full of laughter.

Go on.

That's what his lips seemed to be saying.

Su Zhiyu was taken away by Yang Yichen, and the smile in Qin Yan's eyes faded.

The butler, who had witnessed the whole scene, silently looked up at the sky. Tsk. The young master and Mr. Su were getting more and more shameless these days, flirting right in the living room in front of everyone.

Absolutely shameless.

"*Cough.*"

Qin Yan coughed, and the butler immediately scurried over obsequiously: "Young master, are you alright? Are you coming down with a cold? Should I call a doctor?"

"Yeah, right."

"Uh..."

"Next time when Su Zhiyu and I are in the living room, you get the hell out of here, got it?"

All that staring, on and on—if it weren't for this third wheel of a butler, he'd have found a chance to lean in and kiss Su Zhiyu already.

The butler shrank back silently. Why was the young master so irritable today? Wasn't it you who kicked Su Zhiyu out...

"Go, tell the driver to get the car ready. I'm going out."

"Right away."

The company location was picked earlier, and the startup phase is the hardest. He needed to get a handle on it quickly—once the show ended, he'd be throwing himself fully into business.

And then there was the Qin family business.

Qin Yan had to investigate it himself, without letting Qin Mo's people interfere or him find out. That quietly ramped up the pressure and difficulty.

As for the Qin family affair, he'd start with the folks back in the countryside.

Last time, he'd made a point of getting an old man's son's number. Maybe he could reach out to him.

Qin Yan dialed the number saved in his phone.

A young man answered. Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar number, it took two attempts before he picked up.

"Hello?"

Qin Yan lowered his voice: "Hi, I'm from your hometown. I have something important I'd like to discuss with you—paid. Can we meet up for coffee sometime?"