The castle interior was brightly lit.
Sui Yuye walked ahead, with Mian Guanfei trailing slightly behind. His gaze drifted downward, initially just observing the small glimpse of ankle, but was soon drawn to the leather shoes beneath the black trouser cuffs.
The flash of red soles was particularly striking, appearing and disappearing with each step.
Mian Guanfei’s fingers lightly tapped against the edge of his suit pants pocket.
As soon as Sui Yuye entered the side hall, the voices of several young people reached his ears:
“Do you have hot ice cream?”
Sui Yuye: ?
“Fruit milk tea, but without the tea.”
Sui Yuye: ?
“Strawberry smoothie, but without the ice.”
Sui Yuye: ?
Just who were these three “geniuses”? Sui Yuye turned to look—three young men whose appearances and auras radiated youth. They had the kind of looks that seemed gifted by the heavens, with striking features that gave off an air of being both expensive and unattainable.
The waiter looked troubled, but the young man who had asked for hot ice cream waved a hand. “Just kidding! Go on, we’ll look around ourselves.”
The waiter wiped his sweat and left.
One of the young men spotted Sui Yuye, his eyes lighting up. “What a coincidence? You’re here too? This must be our third time meeting, right?”
Sui Yuye: “Third time?”
“We first saw you in the elevator at Venus, and the second time was on the cruise ship, watching you play the piano,” another young man explained.
Sui Yuye finally remembered.
Mian Guanfei stood behind him, arms crossed, fingers lightly tapping against his arm. His gaze swept over the three young men, clearly not giving them any regard.
The young man asked, “Is Mian Guanfei your employer this time?”
Sui Yuye shook his head. “No, I’m here tonight on behalf of the Fu Family.”
“The Fu Family…” The questioning young man drew out his words, exchanging a glance with the other two before murmuring quietly, “Why does it have to be those two lunatics?”
Sui Yuye turned to Mian Guanfei. “I’m going to meet up with Fu E and Fu Zhong. I’ll head off first.”
Mian Guanfei: “Mm.”
Sui Yuye took two steps, then turned back, quickly slipping something into Mian Guanfei’s hand before hurrying off, as if afraid the other might question him.
Mian Guanfei looked down—it was a small box. Opening it, he found a simple, elegant crown necklace.
He blinked, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.
The three young men watched Sui Yuye disappear from view. One of them twirled a silver fork in his hand, tilting his head slightly. “What a shame. I thought we’d have more time to interact this time.”
“What’s the rush? He’ll be ours for the next month,” said the young man eating ice cream, licking cream from the corner of his mouth.
“True. He’ll be coming to White City soon.”
They exchanged knowing smiles.
“Sui Yuye? Why are you here?” Fu Zhong exclaimed in surprise, while Fu E’s expression also stiffened slightly.
“What’s wrong? Not happy to see me?” Sui Yuye joked, striding toward them.
“No,” Fu Zhong replied, his voice urgent and lowered. “We clearly didn’t ask you to come.”
“Then it must have been someone else in your family who made the request.”
Fu E glanced around before casually pointing to a bodyguard. “You switch with Sui Yuye. You stay inside, he goes to the outer area.”
“Yes, Mr. Fu.”
“Wait, what does that mean? You don’t trust my skills?” Sui Yuye nearly lost his composure. His professional abilities were top-notch, and he even had a precognitive ability—why were they suddenly dismissing him?
In the end, Sui Yuye was still sent outside.
Patrolling the outer courtyard, though it did make slacking off easier.
Passing by the bushes, Sui Yuye heard rustling sounds.
Thinking it might be some small animal, he was about to go take a look when a figure suddenly rushed out from the bushes and crashed into his arms.
“Bodyguard… you’re a bodyguard, right?!”
It was a beautiful boy, his face full of panic, his voice cracking with desperation. He clung tightly to Sui Yuye’s clothes: “Please! I beg you… take me away from here, please!”
Sui Yuye could tell at a glance that the boy was mentally unstable and needed Rom’s help.
But the boy was wearing a Collar around his neck—clearly, this Cub had a partner. He couldn’t give instructions to help adjust his state.
“Where’s your Rom? Is he here? I can help you contact him,” Sui Yuye asked, supporting him.
“He’s not! He wants to harm me! He wants to play me to death!!” The beautiful boy sobbed: “My leg… it’s broken… he ruined it… I can’t run fast anymore…”
“Hey, buddy, I advise you not to get involved,” a passing bodyguard warned.
“What?” Sui Yuye asked.
“Don’t bother with this person. His owner will probably come soon. If you meddle, you’ll just get into trouble.” The bodyguard’s expression was wary, not joking.
The boy couldn’t stand steadily due to his leg, his body sliding downward. Sui Yuye half-crouched to support him.
The boy’s clothes looked expensive, clearly carefully dressed. If not for his claim that his leg was broken, it would be hard to tell he had been abused.
“Tap.”
Footsteps suddenly sounded.
Sui Yuye looked up. A figure in a crisp suit emerged from the darkness into the moonlight.
A cigarette was held between his fingers, pressed to his lips. Smoke blurred his eyes and brows. A rope dangled from his other hand, swaying with the movement of his suit pants. His leather shoes stepped slowly and deliberately on the ground, making a sound.
The tall figure drew closer, the sense of oppression growing stronger.
The boy in his arms seemed to sense the newcomer, shrinking and trembling. “Save me… save me…”
Quan Wangcheng stopped in front of Sui Yuye, moving the cigarette away from his lips.
His slightly tousled hair hung down, his eyelashes veiling deep pupils. His arched brows pressed over his eyes, their corners slightly elongated. His features were somber yet endowed with a violent aesthetic, the intense visual impact dizzying.
Below his pupils, on the lower eyelid, was a black mole. It didn’t add charm but instead made him appear even more dangerous.
He should have been looking for the lost person, but Quan Wangcheng didn’t glance at the boy. Instead, he quietly watched Sui Yuye, making Sui Yuye’s hair stand on end.
As if it wasn’t the boy he was looking for, but him.
Quan Wangcheng leaned down, his back to the moonlight, his voice low and pleasant: “My puppy got lost. Thank you for watching over him.”