Ordinary flyers could not obtain nighttime flight permits, so the entire sky remained solitary and silent. The estimated return journey took considerably less time than when they had arrived.
Chu Yanyi rested his forehead on his hand as he replied to messages on his communicator. Zhang Rongtian was playing an increasingly dangerous game—to prevent his father from getting wind of it, he had gone outside specifically to borrow money, secretly mortgaging a good portion of his personal assets.
Chu Yanyi instructed his subordinates to help cover it up, while informing the manager of another group that did not nominally belong to him: if Zhang Rongtian came over, they must receive him warmly, satisfy his demands as much as possible, and keep loan interest rates at their absolute minimum.
“After all, Young Master Zhang shares a bit of history with me,” he typed out unhurriedly. “How could we possibly stand by and watch?”
Drunkenness gradually crept up on him. Closing his eyes, Chu Yanyi asked out of nowhere: “How was your luck so good in that final hand?”
He knew the Beta by Zhang Rongtian’s side was a casino veteran who rarely made mistakes; otherwise, Chu Yanyi wouldn’t have commissioned her to keep an eye on Zhang Rongtian. He had witnessed Zhang Rongtian’s card swapping as well, and had never genuinely planned on winning that last round—winning was ideal, but losing wasn’t a loss either.
Yet Zhou Yi had actually won.
Chu Yanyi didn’t know how Zhou Yi had accomplished it. At the time, he was merely curious if Zhou Yi would do something, which was why he had deliberately brought up Zhou Yi’s right hand.
Zhou Yi froze for a moment, looking around before realizing Chu Yanyi was asking him. Shaking his head, he raised his hand to make several gestures.
He “said”: “It was the good luck you gave me.”
Chu Yanyi didn’t seem inclined to dwell on the matter either, speaking in a thoroughly relaxed tone: “Fine then, consider it given by me. But Zhou Yi, do you know how capable you are now? They were all quite startled by you.”
Before his words landed, a tall bodyguard knocked and stepped inside.
“This was sent over from Young Master Zhang’s side, claimed to be today’s prize,” he placed a document before Chu Yanyi with utmost care, raised the suitcase in his hand, and glanced over at Zhou Yi. “And this… is for this…”
He swallowed hard, unsure how to address this man of special status to satisfy Chu Yanyi.
Chu Yanyi rubbed his temples, waving his hand gently: “His name is Zhou Yi.”
“Mr…. Zhou?” the bodyguard hesitated. Seeing no change in Chu Yanyi’s expression, he immediately turned to Zhou Yi: “Shall I leave Mr. Zhou’s belongings right here?”
Zhou Yi froze on the spot, his lips trembling unconsciously. His waist bent slightly as if to reach out and take it, only to snap straight again immediately.
He nodded slowly, as if trying his best to restrain his emotions.
The corners of Chu Yanyi’s mouth curved as he scanned the document: “You may all step out. Only Zhou Yi stays here.”
“Sign this,” Chu Yanyi rose leaning on his cane, waving the document in his hand.
Zhou Yi asked no questions, nor did he even glance at the content. Using his left hand, he signed his name directly on the spot pointed out by Chu Yanyi’s finger.
His left-handed writing was a far cry from what it used to be. Perhaps due to the intentional guidance of the practice materials Chu Yanyi had found, his signature carried sharp, sweeping strokes this time.
Chu Yanyi liked it very much.
“Signing without even looking—aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you off to someone else?” Chu Yanyi chuckled pleasantly.
The pen in the Alpha’s hand visibly trembled.
“Don’t go signing papers casually for others outside in the future. Remember, you are a citizen of the Empire holding legal identity; your signature now carries legal weight,” Chu Yanyi let out a soft sigh, patting Zhou Yi’s shoulder. “Rest assured, I have no right to sell you. This document is what you earned tonight. Take a look—can you read it?”
Zhou Yi opened the first page of the document in confusion. The next second, his pupils constricted abruptly, and the fountain pen in his grip let out a crisp snap.
He scanned the entire transfer agreement rapidly. If he wasn’t mistaken, the value of the assets inside was enough to purchase hundreds of himself.
“Looks like you can read it,” Chu Yanyi pulled the fountain pen from Zhou Yi’s hand, letting out an unreadable smile. “You haven’t forgotten everything after all.”
Only then did Zhou Yi realize he truly shouldn’t understand these things, nor did he possess any memory of ever studying them, yet those concepts felt rooted deep within his brain, firmly established.
He felt confused, lowering his head in faint lingering fear to secretly observe Chu Yanyi’s reaction.
As if failing to see the complex emotions in Zhou Yi’s eyes, Chu Yanyi continued discussing how to handle these assets with him as pleasantly as before—commissioning a professional to manage them? Or simply converting everything to cash? Or did he have other ideas?
He sat back in his seat, stroking the top of his cane as he spoke eloquently, until Zhou Yi stepped up before him, hesitantly bending his waist to offer the document to Chu Yanyi with both hands.
“What?” Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow, using his pen to press against Zhou Yi’s chin, forcing him to raise his head and look at him. “Wanting me to decide for you?”
What he met was a pair of earnest, crystal-clear eyes. Zhou Yi’s lips moved slightly, mouthing word by word: “Thank you. I want to give all of these to you.”
Chu Yanyi fell silent for a moment, while Zhou Yi maintained his posture, meeting Chu Yanyi’s gaze.
The cold body of the pen tapped against the side of Zhou Yi’s face. The drunkenness in Chu Yanyi’s eyes had yet to fade as he let out a soft sigh: “Zhou Yi, oh Zhou Yi… I’m truly afraid that if I’m not around one day, you’ll be swindled out of even your undergarments.”
Zhou Yi smiled instead. Dropping to half a kneel before Chu Yanyi, he clasped his hands together—one hand possessed long, elegant fingers, while the other held twisted, extraordinarily unsightly fingers.
“I get it, I get it,” Chu Yanyi tilted his head back, resting his arm over his eyes as he chuckled. “I’ll open an overseas account under your name for you. If I ever need it, I’ll use the money inside. But on ordinary days, I’ll trouble you to hold onto it for me.”
Zhou Yi cupped his hand over the pen in Chu Yanyi’s grip. He wanted to stay together with Mr. Chu just like this continuously; he thought to himself that he didn’t care about being swindled at all.
The alcohol gradually took effect as Chu Yanyi closed his eyes absently.
However, the alcohol served at the reception possessed little lingering potency. Even if Chu Yanyi’s tolerance was poor, his drunkenness had largely cleared up by the time they approached the manor.
The suitcase held Zhou Yi’s anklet. Before Chu Yanyi’s eyes, Zhou Yi locked the shackle back around his ankle, then pointed at the collar around his neck.
“No rush; you can return it to me after we get home,” Chu Yanyi toyed with the military knife in his hand, cold glints flashing in his eyes. “Remember to bring this knife back—I said it’s a gift to you. Tonight, we both return with a full harvest.”
Chen Ke was waiting on the other side of the landing platform with a group of people.
Stepping off the flyer, Chu Yanyi saw him leaning sideways against a vehicle in a thoroughly improper posture.
“Mr. Chu, brought it back for you from the exchange! The people responsible for transport were all extra arrangements made by me personally—take a look, not a single scratch on it,” Chen Ke approached with a beaming smile to claim credit before Chu Yanyi.
Chu Yanyi scanned the vehicle. Even under dim lighting, the body shimmered with a subtle luster like obsidian, its lines sleek and elongated—neither as high-profile as a sports car nor as dull as a commercial vehicle, radiating a sense of power amidst elegance like a wild beast crouching in the dark.
Back at the wedding of the former Governor’s daughter, this was the very car Zhou Yi had driven as the chauffeur, and also one of Ying Yu’s favorite vehicles—a customized model, the sole one in the entire galaxy.
Never expecting it to actually appear in an Imperial exchange.
The moment his eyes landed on the car, Zhou Yi’s pupils shrank violently, his breathing turning erratic in an instant. An indescribable sense of familiarity and agitation flooded every corner of his heart, to the point where he felt himself trembling uncontrollably.
“Do you like it?” Chu Yanyi turned his head, smiling subtly. “Still remember it? As I said, if you performed well tonight, I’d give you a reward. How about I give you this—want to step up and give it a try?”
Zhou Yi didn’t even know how he managed to restrain himself. He stared off at the car in a daze, as if beholding a precious treasure.
At the same time, his sixth sense told him that Chu Yanyi wasn’t as pleased as he appeared—at the very least, not pleased with his current reaction of being drawn to this car.
Chen Ke off to the side was still adding fuel to the fire: “My vacation was shorter than everyone else’s just to hunt down this car, seriously…”
Chu Yanyi tapped Chen Ke’s knee with his cane: “So talkative. It’s not as if I didn’t pay you overtime.”
“Then I want a car too!”
“Pick whichever one catches your eye, talk to Little He directly, and put it on my personal account.”
“For real? Mr. Chu, put it in writing first.”
“Three, two, one—only one chance. Fine, if you don’t want it, forget it.”
“How can you be like this! I didn’t even have time to react!”
The sound of Chu Yanyi chatting with Chen Ke struck his eardrums in a blur. Zhou Yi snapped back to reality, looking abruptly toward Chen Ke, who was gesturing animatedly in front of Chu Yanyi, and at the indulgent smile on Chu Yanyi’s face.
Moths wandered beneath the streetlights like rumors and gossip. As if making up his mind, he stepped between Chu Yanyi and Chen Ke.
He shook his head, indicating he didn’t want this car.
“Don’t want it?” Chu Yanyi raised his brows slowly. “Then what do you want? Tell me.”
Zhou Yi took a deep breath, his left hand tucked behind his back tightening its grip on the military knife as he stepped forward abruptly.
Chu Yanyi looked down at him slightly; the heel of his shoes today was higher than Zhou Yi’s, creating a bit of a height difference out of nowhere.
Zhou Yi met his eyes for a second, then tipped his toes slightly, pressing his lips against Chu Yanyi’s in a feather-light touch like a dragonfly skimming water.
Chu Yanyi’s pupils constricted, and the hand he had subconsciously raised dropped back down. Yet as if making a firm resolve, Zhou Yi leaned in to kiss him forcefully once more.
Chen Ke covered his mouth in shock, uttering a curse from his hometown.
Did this slave use being drunk… to forcibly kiss his boss in front of so many people?
Chu Yanyi narrowed his eyes, stepping back half a pace, scanning Zhou Yi up and down as if getting to know him anew. Zhou Yi dropped his eyes, biting his lip.
With so many people present, he had truly gone mad.
Yet another voice in his head told him clearly: “You did very well.”
“So this is what you wanted?” He heard Chu Yanyi’s voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Don’t go regretting it when you sober up tomorrow.”
Countless stars hung overhead. Chu Yanyi pinched Zhou Yi’s chin, letting out a soft sigh before kissing him back. Without needing much effort at all, he pried open Zhou Yi’s teeth, and the Alpha’s tongue even tangled up quite cooperatively.
However, Chu Yanyi seemed to catch a faint scent of a strange, unfamiliar Alpha’s pheromone—fleeting and gone in a flash, so much so that he didn’t even have time to capture the specific aroma.
To distinguish the smell of this pheromone, Chu Yanyi took a step back after a moment, tapping Zhou Yi’s moist lips in a frivolous gesture: “Goodnight, sweet dreams. See you tomorrow.”