With every grain of sand that fell, the atmosphere in the room grew a fraction heavier.
A buzzing sound from someone’s communicator shattered the dead silence.
“I am begging you, President Chu. I have elderly family members and children at home. I cannot, I cannot…”
“Charge out! What are you still waiting for!”
“What accompanying someone to the grave? We have no grievances, so why should we…”
Various voices rose and fell. Chu Yanyan sat quietly in the chair, taking in all the commotion while simply lifting his leg and shifting into a more comfortable posture.
Propping his chin in his hand, his gaze rested quietly on the hourglass.
The grains of sand pattered down, and outside the golden lines stood the panicked employees scrambling blindly.
Was this what Ying Yu wanted to see? It certainly fit the madman’s morbid sense of humor.
The final grain of sand silently struck the bottom, and a series of ear-piercing screams rang out. Chu Yanyan remained seated in his original spot, his fingertips resting lightly upon his cane.
“I said there is no need to be anxious.” He lowered his eyes and let out a low laugh, his voice very soft, yet it instantly brought the chaotic situation to a standstill.
Nothing happened.
A few people slumped onto the floor from sheer exhaustion, panting heavily and looking at each other in bewilderment, unable to understand what had just happened.
Chu Yanyan’s tone was gentle, and his gaze was like the frost beneath a window eaves. “Presumably, President Ying was simply joking with everyone. Furthermore, President Ying himself died unclearly, so how could he possibly have the energy to torment you employees who worked so wholeheartedly for him?”
He stood up, his slender fingers gripping the hourglass, and slowly turned it upside down.
His assistant opened the door for him. Chu Yanyan glanced at the hourglass with a smile that did not reach his eyes, walked with a calm stride over to the fallen manager, bent down, and patted his shoulder. “Keep doing whatever you were doing when President Ying was here. You do not need to come and ask me.”
After getting into the car, Chu Yanyan closed his eyes. The smile on his face vanished abruptly, and he leaned against the window with a blank expression, appearing to rest with his eyes closed.
“President Chu, just as you thought, the people we left outside checked once more. There really are no traces of any explosives, and also…” Chu Yanyan’s assistant, Chen Ke, turned around from the front seat and reported in a low voice while pressing his earpiece.
Chu Yanyan did not open his eyes, merely uttering a single affirmative sound to signal Chen Ke to continue.
Before coming here, he had already had people inspect every corner of the building. After all, it was a place where Ying Yu had spent time, so being careful was always a good idea.
“The surveillance footage has been completely destroyed. Do you want to continue investigating?”
Only then did Chu Yanyan open his eyes, his gaze sinking. “Investigate. Ying Yu sent such a huge gift to me, so why wouldn’t I investigate?”
“A gift? This. What do you think that madman Ying Yu is trying to do? Just to scare us? That is far too boring. He refuses to rest in peace even after dying.” Seeing this, Chen Ke lowered his voice and complained softly.
Heavy snow began to fall outside the window once more, and ice pellets struck the car windows, emitting a muffled groan.
Chu Yanyan stroked the beast head on his cane, gazing at the trails of water winding down the glass without speaking.
Because of this delay, Chu Yanyan arrived late for his evening social gathering.
The guiding manager brought Chu Yanyan to the door and silently stepped back. Chu Yanyan pushed open the door, and harsh rock music blasted into his ears.
Most people had already arrived, chatting in twos and threes around the bar or the sofas. Several young people were gathered around a billiard table playing pool, accompanied by a few attractive men and women. Upon seeing Chu Yanyan, they all straightened up and called out a respectful President Chu.
Chu Yanyan was close in age to these idle second-generation heirs, and unexpectedly lacked airs, making it easy for him to mingle with them. Hearing that Chu Yanyan had returned to planet Theta and happened to be in the first district, they had organized a gathering to welcome him back. Chu Yanyan had delayed for a while with excuses before finally agreeing to meet today.
“President Chu, long time no see. You must drink two cups before leaving.” Zhang Rongtian lay indolently on the sofa, then straightened his body, holding a wine glass and shaking it toward Chu Yanyan.
A pretty Beta bent down, in the middle of lighting a cigarette for him.
The smell of this cigarette was clearly abnormal at a single sniff.
The other second-generation heirs in the group also began to chime in. “That is right. President Chu actually arrived late today. That is far too rare.”
Chu Yanyan coughed twice, took off his coat and handed it to Chen Ke beside him, sat down in a chair, and spoke with casual nonchalance. “Young Master Zhang is here as well. I suddenly had some matters to attend to just now, so I will punish myself with three cups.”
“That will not do. If we drink, we drink together.” Zhang Rongtian threw an arm around Chu Yanyan’s shoulder. “Why are you always coming alone? Do you really not touch Omegas at all?”
Chu Yanyan shrugged, his peripheral vision sweeping past the Beta beside Zhang Rongtian. “I have been too busy and simply have not had the time.”
Zhang Rongtian pursed his lips and used his wine glass to point at the row of people opposite them. “Perfect. They are all people I newly met. Let President Chu make some new friends.”
Chu Yanyan propped his chin with a smile on his lips, leisurely appraising these young and pretty faces. Many of the people who could enter this circle of second-generation heirs were figures of some standing in the outside world as well.
For instance, he spotted a minor celebrity he had seen in a movie just a few days prior.
The Omega locked gazes with Chu Yanyan and stepped forward to pour him a drink.
Amidst the clamorous music, Zhang Rongtian blew out a cloud of smoke and complained about his old man’s behavioral style, drawing waves of agreement.
“I already said there was no need to waste effort on that plot of land in the second district. Ying Yu is thoroughly dead, so what kind of waves can the people who used to follow him kick up? Do they really think it is still the era where Ying Yu ruled supreme? He simply had to make me run a trip out there, completely idle. Don’t you agree, President Chu?”
Amber liquid rippled at the bottom of the cup, and the Omega bent over to deliver the drink to Chu Yanyan’s lips. Chu Yanyan swallowed the wine and smiled as he raised his chin. “I could never guess the mind of your esteemed father.”
“You are President Zhang’s only Alpha son, so President Zhang naturally cares more about you,” another scion buttered up.
“It is just because he dislikes me casually marking Omegas outside again, telling me to settle down.” Zhang Rongtian pulled the Beta beside him close and kissed him. “This darling of mine is a Beta, so he cannot possibly say anything now. I am certainly not the kind of rigid Alpha who only likes Omegas.”
Someone nearby immediately chimed in. “That is true as well. As long as they know how to serve people, it is fine. I heard the Empire still allows Alphas to marry Alphas and Omegas to marry Omegas nowadays. Truly terrifying.”
“Speaking of which, President Chu brought back a slave this time around? Do you not find it dirty?” The second-generation heirs always had information circulate exceptionally fast in these areas, and they jeered, “Why not bring him out for us to see? Someone able to catch President Chu’s eye must be quite something.”
Chu Yanyan unhurriedly took another sip of wine. “Let us wait a while. We are still teaching him the rules right now, so I will not bring him out to make a fool of himself.”
“It is fine, we all understand President Chu’s rules.”
Chu Yanyan tapped his cane with his fingers in genuine amusement. “Oh?”
The Omega smiled brightly as if receiving tacit permission, took a mouthful of wine into her mouth, and leaned down wanting to transfer it into Chu Yanyan’s mouth.
However, Chen Ke understood Chu Yanyan’s true intent, stepping forward and blocking her path with outstretched hand just as he always did.
With this movement from him, the second-generation heirs watching the fun lost a bit of face.
“President Chu, Miss contacted you earlier. It seems to be an urgent matter.” Chen Ke looked around the surrounding people with an indifferent gaze and spoke rigidly.
Chu Yanyan raised his eyes, turned slightly sideways, and took the communicator from Chen Ke’s hand. There was only a single line of text, accompanied by several exclamation marks.
“Chu Yanyan! That slave of yours has run away! Are you going to deal with it or not!”
Chu Yanyan remained unruffled, tossing the communicator back to Chen Ke. He rose with the support of his cane, smiled apologetically to everyone present, and said, “Something came up at home, so I will go handle it first.”
The heavy door closed gently, cutting off the deafening music outside. Chu Yanyan furrowed his brows slightly and dialed Chu Yanqi’s number. “Tell me, how did he escape?”
“I interrogated him a few times, but he kept fainting. The doctor prescribed him calming medication, and he secretly hid the pills and hid in the restroom. Ah Qing thought something happened to him and went in to check, only to be knocked unconscious from behind. He changed into Ah Qing’s clothes and escaped through the small window. You recently replaced a batch of personnel who did not recognize him, and seeing the passcard swipe open the door, they paid no attention.” Chu Yanqi gritted her teeth.
Chu Yanyan pulled up the surveillance footage on the virtual screen and raised an eyebrow at the calm figure walking out the door on the screen. “Four hours have already passed, Xiaoqi. Have you still not found him?”
Chu Yanqi hesitated for a moment. “All the roads have been sealed off. Originally, I did not want to disturb you, thinking that your ghost town is all mountains anyway and he would not get far with injuries on his body. But…”
The moonlight outside the window stretched Chu Yanyan’s shadow into a cold, slender strip. He let out a soft laugh, and the tone of Chu Yanqi on the other end instantly weakened considerably.
“I am sorry, Brother.”
“Xiaoqi, the person you should be apologizing to is not me.” Chu Yanyan paused. “There is a chip installed in the shackles on his feet with positioning functions. I will send you his current real-time location. As for how to resolve things next, that is up to you.”
With that, Chu Yanyan put on his earpiece.
He narrowed his eyes, gazing at the slowly moving red dot on the virtual screen. It was indeed a decent hiding spot, and it was unclear whether he had prepared in advance or found it in a short amount of time.
Chen Ke, guarding to the side, observed Chu Yanyan’s unsightly expression and only spoke cautiously upon hearing Chu Yanyan utter the words, “As long as he is alive.”
“President Chu, with such a major event happening, should we alter our subsequent schedule and return early?”
“Alter it for what? There is no need to alter it. Just return on schedule.” Chu Yanyan pressed the blocking key on his earpiece and suddenly let out a cold laugh tinged with self-mockery. “Do you know why this slave’s right hand was smashed and broken?”
“Ah?”
“When he tried to escape for the last time, a guard died under unclear circumstances, though there was no evidence it was his doing.” Chu Yanyan gazed at the starlit night sky. “Later on, the guard’s family paid a hefty sum to buy off one of his hands.”
“Tell me, with such persistence, where is he trying to run off to? Did Ying Yu actually give him any instructions?”
Chu Yanyan turned sideways, pulled the sheet of letter paper out of his pocket, and in the night, his originally blue eyes resembled a deep sea, growing almost pitch black.