TCFGBH Chapter 62

The two chatted casually for a few minutes, and during their conversation, the police finally arrived. Wu Qin released his grip and handed the drunkard over to the officers, who put handcuffs on him.

As involved parties, both of them were required to go to the police station to give statements.

The officer receiving Xia Yan was the Alpha woman who had questioned him the last time. She recognized him and asked a few concerned questions about his situation.

Xia Yan answered truthfully.

Since the drunk was incoherent, many details would have to wait until he sobered up for questioning. The police could only register their statements for now and advised the two parties to keep their phones available, as they would likely need to return later.

Xia Yan agreed to everything.

After all the fuss, it was already midnight.

He had lost the items Wen Changming had given him while running, and the police said they would help look for them. However, it didn’t make sense to search for Shen Wenqing, so he decided to tidy up and prepare to head back to the hotel.

Wu Qin: “I’ll take you back.”

“You don’t have a car.”

“I’ll share a taxi with you,” Wu Qin insisted. “It’s too dangerous for a Beta like you to be alone.”

Xia Yan: “No need.” He wasn’t a fragile glass doll!

Wu Qin didn’t say anything, seeming to give up, but when the ride-sharing car Xia Yan ordered arrived, he quickly opened the door and got in first.

“…”

The man looked at him innocently: “Aren’t you coming?”

The young man slowly curved his lips, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes: “I really dislike it when someone repeatedly disobeys me.”

The surrounding air became slightly tense, and the driver, who was about to urge the customer to get in, immediately fell silent.

“Do I look weak?”

“?” Wu Qin keenly sensed something was off. He looked like a dog caught red-handed after knocking over the furniture, shaking his head in disbelief, his cool demeanor completely shattered.

“No.”

That was the truth.

Xia Yan was beautiful in a strikingly sharp way. Every feature of his was exquisite, with perfectly matched brows and eyes that were vibrant and eye-catching. His figure was tall and slender, with a thin layer of understated muscle covering his waist and abdomen.

—Cough! He accidentally touched it that day.

He could be a graceful big cat, a soaring raptor, or a thorny bud, but he would never be a fragile rabbit or a lily that could be easily picked.

“Then what are you doing?” The young man raised an eyebrow, presenting a soul-searching question.

“…”

“Get out.”

Wu Qin, dazed, got out of the car and watched helplessly as the young man walked past him and got into the yellow taxi.

Thinking they were a couple arguing, the driver didn’t immediately accelerate but slowly started the car, giving Wu Qin time to react.

“Wait.”

“?”

The young man didn’t speak, just gave him a look that seemed to ask—what else do you want?

“I’m going to the hotel too.” Wu Qin’s mind raced. “The dorm closes at 10:30 PM, and I can’t go back. I just helped you; let me share the taxi ride.”

He blurted out that whole sentence without a pause, speaking rapidly, fearing the young man would leave him behind.

“…” Xia Yan: “Get in.”

“Thank you.”

Wu Qin quickly got into the car, beaming. “Driver, let’s go.”

“Okay!”

In the late-night city of Shanghai, the traffic had noticeably decreased, and there was no congestion. The trip from the police station to the hotel took about ten minutes. Wu Qin only relaxed after seeing Xia Yan walk into the hotel.

He gave the driver his home address and asked him to drive.

He hadn’t lied; the dorm had indeed closed. Since he couldn’t get in and had not been home for nearly a week, he figured he might as well go back and check on things.

When he got out, he gave the driver a 200 yuan tip as a reward for speaking up for him.

His family lived in a large villa, with strict security measures. A pebbled path led from the garden to the front door, and Wu Qin walked slowly, his mind filled with the young man’s earlier words.

Why did he follow him?

Because he was worried.

Why was he worried? Was it because Xia Yan was weak?

No.

It was because he cared about him, which naturally made him concerned, unrelated to his strength.

Finally sorting through his thoughts, Wu Qin hurriedly opened the door only to find his health-conscious parents still awake.

“What’s going on?”

The crystal chandelier was lit in the living room. His father, still handsome despite being over forty, and his gentle-looking Omega mother sat together on the couch, both looking troubled.

Seeing Wu Qin come home, they forced a smile: “Xiao Qin is back. Are you hungry? I can ask Aunt Fang to make you a late-night snack.”

“I’ve already eaten,” Wu Qin shook his head and asked again, “Mom, why aren’t you and Dad asleep?”

“This matter… sigh!”

“?”

His mother continued, “Changming doesn’t know what got into him today. He wants to halt the experiment project in North America.”

“The experiment project went wrong?” Wu Qin guessed.

“No, everything is fine; it’s just a few months away from completion,” Mother Wu said, clearly distressed. “Your dad and I also invested some money into it.”

“Of course, money isn’t the issue; it’s mainly the attitude,” she continued. “Investing isn’t like buying a villa—you can’t just decide to buy it whenever you want. Now that he’s made it like this, even the board members have issues with him.”

If Wen Changming hadn’t been an only child, and if his past decisions had been good, leading the company to greater heights, the Wen family would have already been in an uproar.

Although Wu Qin was still young, he was raised as a successor and knew little about the family business. He understood just how important the North American project was; it was said to be a precursor to a new era.

“Mom, what exactly are they researching over there?”

Mother Wu opened her mouth, hesitated momentarily, and then thought of her son’s occasional foolish behavior, opting not to say anything: “It’s not the right time for you to know. It’s getting late; you should rest early. I’ll ask your cousin to come over for dinner another day.”

“Okay.”

Wu Qin nodded, his response lackluster.

—

After Xia Yan returned to the hotel, the first thing he did was charge his phone.

After prolonged use, the phone seemed to become a bit laggy, often freezing on a page. After waiting for a while, he finally managed to open WeChat.

[I’m at the hotel, going to sleep. Good night.]

Although it was an extremely superficial reply, he received a gentle response from the man: [Good night, see you tomorrow.]

Xia Yan was taken aback: “Is it over? Aren’t you going to scold me?”

He counted—Shen Wenqing had called him 36 times and sent 57 messages, expressing deep concern for him through his words.

He had deliberately ignored him and delayed responding until now.

Yet, the other party didn’t even ask a single question.

What a devoted boyfriend!!!

Xia Yan tilted his body and lay on the bed, sighing, feeling a twinge of guilt and unease.

On the other side—

In the apartment Xia Yan rented.

A tall Omega tossed the menthol cigarette he was holding into the trash can. His expression was blank as he scrolled through his phone screen, his eyes bloodshot.

After some time, he pressed the elevator button and left the place.

—

That night, Xia Yan didn’t sleep soundly.

His dreams were bizarre and filled with shattered, bluish fragments, every corner emblazoned with the word Halda. Despite having rested all night, he woke up feeling as if he had run a marathon, utterly exhausted.

[What you think about during the day will appear in your dreams at night.]  The young man spat out mouthwash, the cold water splashing on his face helped him wake up a bit, [I shouldn’t have searched for Halda before sleeping last night.]

The system offered some comforting words.

Xia Yan dried his face with a towel, looking at himself in the mirror, perplexed. This company felt completely unrelated to the plot!

What was going on?

Stepping out of the bathroom, Xia Yan opened the system panel. He noticed that after his visit to S University yesterday, his dislike value had risen to 89, nearing one-tenth of the total.

There were two missed calls from unknown numbers on his phone. Since he had put it on silent to avoid Shen Wenqing’s calls yesterday, he had forgotten to switch it back, missing them.

However, he had a hunch about who they were from.

When he called back, as expected, it was from the police station. A strange man spoke formally, “Is this Mr. Xia?”

“Yeah.”

“The police have discovered some important clues and hope you can come in.”

“Sure.”

“Oh! By the way,” the man added before hanging up, “we found the items you left behind yesterday.”

Xia Yan sincerely thanked him and arranged a meeting time. As a Chinese national, he felt a natural sense of trust towards the police.

The police station wasn’t far; it took about twenty minutes by car during the day.

He decided to have lunch first.

—He had woken up too late and missed breakfast.

Afterwards, he took a taxi to the police station. When he arrived, they were handling other cases, and the officer assigned to his case wasn’t there yet, leaving him to sit quietly and wait.

Unfortunately, the young man’s striking appearance and strong presence made him seem like he had come home rather than the police station, exuding an utterly captivating nonchalant ease.

Even though it was an unconscious act, he remained unaware of how it affected those around him.

The two people who had been arguing over the division of liability for an accident gradually lowered their voices and softened their tones, leaving the weary officer astonished.

Amidst the crowd’s gaze, someone finally made a move.

“Sir, would you like some water?” A handsome Beta approached with a cup of warm water.

The young man glanced at his phone without lifting his head, casually nodding: “Hmm, thank you.”

The Beta was undeterred, leaning in closer. Upon seeing the word ‘Halda,’ he racked his brain for a topic: “Are you interested in this company? I have a senior from high school who’s a manager there.”

“Oh.” The young man perked up, looking at him.

The Beta, feeling nervous, felt a sweat bead at the tip of his nose, and quietly said, “He works in the sales department and has access to many unreleased new products. If you’re interested, we can add each other on WeChat.”

“The sales department, huh…”

That had nothing to do with the laboratory.

The young man sighed, looking disinterested once more.

Just as the Beta awkwardly searched for another topic, a male voice interrupted them.

“What are you two doing?”

“Wu Qin.” Xia Yan looked up. “What are you doing here?”

“The police notified me to come in.” Wu Qin sat down next to the young man, his gaze briefly scanning the handsome Beta.

The Beta looked at Xia Yan and then back at Wu Qin before suddenly bending down. “Sorry for interrupting.”

Once he finished speaking, he disappeared, leaving Xia Yan puzzled about what had just happened.

Wu Qin seemed to understand that the other party had misunderstood but didn’t bother to explain.

—

At 1:56 PM, the officer in charge of the case returned. Upon seeing Xia Yan, he was first struck by his stunning looks, then showed a look of realization.

“No wonder…”

Xia Yan: “?”

“Come in,” the tall Alpha man said, opening the office door. After they sat down, he took out some documents and said seriously, “Mr. Xia, you are in a dangerous situation right now.”

“Is it… a stalker?”

“The situation is somewhat complicated. We can’t guarantee that they are the same person, but it’s highly likely,” the officer stated carefully. “Take a look at this.”

Xia Yan took the documents.

As one of the involved parties, Wu Qin leaned in to look as well.

Their bodies were close enough to smell each other’s scent, causing Wu Qin to feel a momentary flutter, but he quickly brushed aside those useless thoughts.

The Alpha who attacked Xia Yan yesterday was named He Lun, a 27-year-old man from a wealthy family, known for being a party-loving playboy. He had met Xia Yan at a bar a month ago and subsequently developed feelings for him.

To pursue Xia Yan, He Lun had given many presents.

The prices ranged from thousands to tens of thousands.

When Xia Yan got a boyfriend two days ago, all his suitors suffered heartbreak. They had agreed to drown their sorrows in alcohol, and while drinking, tempers flared, and each boasted about what they would do to Xia Yan.

He Lun had been the most boastful. With his tall stature and muscular build, he appeared intimidating.

In a drunken stupor, someone from their group anonymously shared Xia Yan’s real-time location, urging them to act on their words and go to…

Wu Qin abruptly shut the file, veins popping on his forehead.

To be honest, he felt like killing someone.

“I haven’t finished reading.” Xia Yan turned to him, his expression flat. “Open it back up.”

“…Oh.”

In any case, due to various reasons, He Lun had drunkenly taken a taxi and stumbled upon Xia Yan. Fortunately, he looked fierce but was actually a coward.

When he saw Xia Yan, he hesitated to take action and could only cry, which prevented any harm from coming to the young man.

“Look at this section.” The police officer flipped to the chat records. “Someone anonymously tagged He Lun and kept provoking him, urging him to find you.”

“This person is very familiar with the situation on the scene and might have been watching you the whole time.”

The man’s calm and steady voice in the cramped office sent shivers down their spines.