“Now you get it, right?” The bodyguard who had spoken up earlier leaned in, gesturing with his eyes toward the direction Quan Wangcheng had disappeared.
Sui Yuye nodded, not asking further about Quan Wangcheng, and instead chatted with the bodyguard, gaining a slightly clearer understanding of the Fu Family’s background.
The Fu Family operated in the gray zone, though the specifics were unknown. Their foundation wasn’t clean, and the old man was bedridden and nearing the end, urgently trying to pass the family business to his two sons. He was rushing them to attend a training center.
Sui Yuye: “So tonight’s banquet is to let them step into the spotlight and take over the network of connections?”
“Exactly. And the Fu Family has plenty of rivals. In White City, there’s another family with twins, surnamed Jiang, who’ve been fighting the Fu Family for a while.” The bodyguard took a drag of his cigarette: “With so many bodyguards hired to stand guard, the Jiang Family shouldn’t cause any trouble, right?”
“Bang!!”
A piercing sound suddenly echoed from inside the castle.
Bodyguard: “Holy shit! Something really happened?! Damn, I jinxed it.”
The earpiece instantly erupted into chaos. The bodyguard received a notification and rushed over, only to find Sui Yuye had already vanished.
Sui Yuye ran upstairs. As he turned the corner, his nose and mouth were suddenly covered, and he was dragged into darkness.
He broke free the moment he was pulled through the doorway, but it was too dark to see anything. He could only lean against the wall.
“Kneel.”
Rom’s command was accompanied by a low male voice. Instead of kneeling, Sui Yuye threw a punch toward the source of the sound. “Stop pretending to be my grandpa!”
“Haha, so you’re not Cub? Then you must be Rom?”
A hand suddenly grabbed Sui Yuye’s shoulder from behind. He was pulled forward and pressed onto a table, his hands quickly pushed backward but restrained and held in place.
Sui Yuye’s eyes widened.
There were two people here.
“Guess which one I am?”
“Guess my ass! Let go of your filthy hands!”
“Such a bad temper.” The man sounded displeased. “Are bodyguards allowed to swear?”
“What are you trying to—” Before Sui Yuye could finish, he felt his shirt garter snap, the elastic band hitting his body. The hem of his shirt was pulled out from his waistband, pushed up to reveal his back.
A white light flashed as a flashlight beam shone on his exposed lower back.
Sui Yuye tried to turn his head to see their faces, but a hand pressed down on his head, preventing him from looking up.
“Don’t move,” the other man said.
“…Wait! What are you drawing on me?!” Sui Yuye stiffened as something was drawn on his lower back.
He realized the two didn’t seem intent on harming him, but what was the point of drawing on him?!
“It’s a shame you’re not Cub. That would’ve been more fun.”
“Marking you works too. If we had more time, we could’ve drawn a pattern on it.”
The two Roms holding him down had similar voices and tones. Sui Yuye could clearly sense their malicious amusement. Those attending this banquet were either from influential families or high-ranking officials. He couldn’t figure out which family these two belonged to.
“Done.”
“We’ll see you in White City.”
The pressure holding him down loosened. Sui Yuye straightened up, but the space behind him was already empty.
The third floor was in disarray. Just as Fu E was about to pull the trigger, the attacker was suddenly kicked in the side of the neck and collapsed.
Seeing Sui Yuye land after retracting his leg, Fu E was momentarily stunned, quickly hiding the gun in his hand behind his back, and said helplessly, “Didn’t I tell you not to come in?”
“But it’s fine now, everything’s taken care of.” Fu Zhongyang clapped his hands.
The bodyguards around them were handling the scene.
“Seriously, causing trouble at a time like this. Can’t the Jiang Family stand to see us doing well?” Fu Zhong muttered.
“As long as you’re all right,” Sui Yuye said. “It’s still a bit chaotic outside. I’ll go check the situation.”
Noticing a bodyguard crouching to tie his shoelaces, Sui Yuye averted his gaze and walked past him. Suddenly, the bodyguard stood up and headed toward Fu E’s back.
Fu E reacted swiftly, but the bodyguard was too close, leaving no time to dodge.
“Watch out!!”
The blade grazed Fu E’s chest, leaving only a bloody scratch. Nearby was a staircase, and the bodyguard was knocked down.
But Sui Yuye also fell.
It felt like a slow-motion scene, perhaps lasting only a few seconds. Sui Yuye felt nothing beneath him, his body slamming heavily against the steps before finally crashing onto the ground.
“Ugh…” A dull pain spread throughout his body, and the sharp ache in his right ankle made his vision go dark for a moment. He struggled to get up.
Where was the bodyguard he had knocked down? The knife might still be in his hand.
“Bang—!”
The gunshot was deafening.
Sui Yuye froze abruptly.
A bloody hole appeared on the bodyguard’s forehead, and he collapsed right in front of Sui Yuye, blood pooling on the floor.
Sui Yuye’s pupils trembled as he slowly looked up.
Fu E was holding a pistol, smoke still curling from the barrel. In that single moment, the atmosphere around them shifted entirely. The refined elegance brought by their luxurious suits vanished, replaced by a cold, ruthless brutality, their faces devoid of any warmth.
They hurried down the stairs, the sound of their leather shoes on the steps gradually fading away.
They crouched down in front of Sui Yuye, wanting to touch him but hesitating.
“Sui Yuye, don’t move just yet. Tell us where it hurts?” Fu Zhong asked urgently, his brows furrowed with worry.
“Is it your right leg? Besides your leg, are you hurt anywhere else? Does your body ache?” Fu E reached out to check his shoulder.
Sui Yuye flinched backward.
Fu E and Fu Zhong paused.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, Sui Yuye felt his ankle being grabbed.
“Isn’t your leg injured?”
Fu E gripped that ankle, pulling the uninjured leg back effortlessly. Sui Yuye couldn’t even muster strength in his other leg, leaving him unable to resist.
“In this state, where do you think you’re going to run?” Fu Zhong’s expression was blank. “Are you afraid of us?”
Dragged back in front of them, Sui Yuye noticed their eerie transformation.
Their demeanors seemed to have swapped. Fu E, who rarely smiled, now wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, while Fu Zhong, usually expressive, showed not a trace of a smile on his face.
“What is this?” Fu E looked down.
An anklet encircled the slender ankle, creating a visual effect that felt off.
“And what is this?” Fu E glanced at his waist.
Due to being dragged, Sui Yuye’s shirt had ridden up significantly, revealing a section of his waist. Near his hip, a black mark was visible.
Before Sui Yuye could speak, he was flipped over and hurriedly said, “Wait! Don’t look!”
He tried to pull his jacket down to cover it, but both his hands were pinned down by the two men.
They saw the words on his lower back, and their faces instantly darkened.
Double Jiang.
Fu Zhong immediately bristled, widening his eyes: “You met those two from the Jiang Family?! When? Did they touch you?!”
“Who?” Sui Yuye was momentarily confused.
Fu E: “Where else did they touch you?”
“No… By the way, what did they write?”
Fu E said coldly, “Nothing. We’ll handle it. If they dared to touch you, they’ll pay the price.”
Fu Zhong gritted his teeth: “Those two actually dare to provoke us.”
As they spoke, their attention shifted away from the writing, drawn elsewhere.
His waist, which could easily be encircled by one hand, was firm and strong, while his perky buttocks strained against the fabric of his suit pants, stretched taut and gleaming, leaving deep creases at the root of his thighs.
His hands were pinned back at his sides, his shoulders arching in a fragile curve, lying on the ground unable to escape—
As if inviting them to mistreat him.