The car door slid open. The very first thing Shen Yanzhou inhaled upon entering the vehicle was the scent of tobacco mixed with the rum-flavored pheromones of an Alpha.
The odor was a bit too pungent; he didn’t like it.
The lighting inside the chassis was dim. The moment Fu Sihan entered the car, he stripped off his suit jacket, leaving behind only a black silk shirt of exceptional quality. The collar was open all the way down to the lower edge of his pectoral muscles, exposing a large expanse of honey-toned skin that leaked the rigorous edge of a refined scoundrel. The lines of his arms were exceptionally superior; along with the movement of drawing on his cigarette and flicking the ash, the veins across his forearms bulged like winding tracks. A string of Buddhist prayer beads was wrapped around his wrist.
“Got in?” Fu Sihan lifted his eyelids, his focus cutting nakedly toward Shen Yanzhou through the swirling veil of smoke.
“Eldest Master Fu certainly harbors great zest, drawing so fiercely even inside a vehicle,” Shen Yanzhou stabbed back coldly, extending a hand intending to roll down the car window.
Yet his wrist was suddenly snapped in a tight grip.
Fu Sihan’s hand strength was terrifyingly massive, his palm scalding hot and rough, entirely covered in calluses left behind by years of handling firearms and blades. With a slight exertion of his fingers, he yanked Shen Yanzhou’s entire frame half an inch closer to his side.
“Dodoing what?” He drew close, staring at that beautiful face which had flushed slightly from the smoke, the corners of his mouth hitching into a malicious smile. “Long time no see.”
“Thin.”
The hand holding the cigarette slid upward along Shen Yanzhou’s wrist, delivering an exceptionally frivolous pinch to his waist through the suit fabric.
The waist was truly narrow.
Shen Yanzhou forcefully flung his hand off. “Eldest Master Fu, the media can’t glimpse the interior of the car. Drop the act we aren’t close.”
Aside from catching sight of each other a handful of times at the high-society banquets of Hong Kong, they hadn’t even properly exchanged greetings. How close could they possibly be? “If there’s nothing else, I’m exiting the vehicle. The firm still has a massive mountain of business to process.”
He attempted to push the door open, but Fu Sihan was faster than him, locking the car door dead.
“What’s the rush.” Fu Sihan crushed the cigarette butt out inside the built-in ashtray, leaning his torso forward. The rum-flavored pheromones instantly enveloped Shen Yanzhou, the sense of oppression so potent it left one suffocated. He pointed toward the media who were still frantically pounding against the glass panels outside, smiling like a complete bastard:
“That pack of Hong Kong media outside was raised on human flesh and blood. If you slam the door and stomp off with a dark face right now, what do you think tomorrow morning’s headlines will read? The Shen and Fu family alliance plays out to a dead end?”
“You…”
“Sit properly.” Fu Sihan leaned back against the backrest again, looking at Shen Yanzhou exactly like a predator staring at a sparrow that couldn’t escape. “It was the Old Man of your house, along with my father who spends his days chanting sutras and praying to Buddha, who absolutely forced me to come pick you up.” His tone wasn’t pleasant, leaking a trace of irritation from being forced into an arrangement. “Claiming that since the marriage hasn’t finalized, we must cultivate our feelings first.”
“Speak up, where do you want to go?”
Shen Yanzhou didn’t dodge his gaze, instead meeting that rum-flavored oppression head-on as the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile devoid of any warmth. “Since Eldest Master Fu grants me a choice, why don’t we head to the Peninsula?”
Fu Sihan hitched a brow, his focus playful. “The Peninsula Hotel? So eager to book a room with me?”
Shen Yanzhou was thoroughly astounded by his brazen shamelessness, pulling away to widen the distance between them. “Eldest Master Fu overthinks.”
“I am merely curious about what kind of heaven-defying skills that pair of twins possessed last night, allowing Eldest Master Fu to tunnel into a room the split second he stepped off the flight, turning his bones entirely to mush. After all, that’s the very location where Eldest Master Fu battled last night; I simply want to go inspect whether those bedsheets have dried yet.”
Hearing this thorn-laced statement, Fu Sihan didn’t turn wrathful, letting out a low chuckle. “Tracking me?” He narrowed his eyes, his focus turning a full circle across Shen Yanzhou’s face.
“I hadn’t expected that while Master Shen claims we aren’t close, you’ve actually mapped out my itinerary so cleanly behind my back. Do you care this much about who I sleep with at night?”
Shen Yanzhou wanted to counter, but Fu Sihan gave him zero opportunity to open his mouth. Before Shen Yanzhou could even fasten his safety belt, he slammed the accelerator to the floor, rotating the wheel with a single hand.
“Since Master Shen desires to view the crime scene this much, I’ll take you to take a look at exactly how I lived in pure luxury last night.”
An hour later.
The Rolls-Royce didn’t stop at the Peninsula Hotel, instead slowing to a stop before the Ying Yuet House in Tsim Sha Tsui. It was the most highly renowned old-brand teahouse in Hong Kong; normally, securing a single table was an impossibility, and those passing through were entirely celebrities and wealthy tycoons.
The exact instant the vehicle stabilized, the manager who had been staking out the spot for a long time led two rows of attendants forward to greet them. Respectfully sliding the car door open, they bent their waists in salute, not even daring to draw a heavy breath. “Eldest Master Fu, Master Shen.”
Fu Sihan ignored the manager’s diligence, cutting directly around to the adjacent side to lock onto Shen Yanzhou’s wrist with extreme dominance, yet using his palm to block the car roof like a gentleman to prevent him from bumping his head. The actions were so contradictory it left one unable to decipher them.
“This is a hotel?” Shen Yanzhou looked at the antique rosewood sign before him, asking back.
“You’ll know once you walk in.” Fu Sihan hooked an arm around his shoulder, leading him through the grand hall lined with carved beams and painted rafters.
The entire second floor had been cleared completely. The teahouse, which was supposed to be rowdy, held only the sounds of the Victoria Harbour waves outside the windows. Several bodyguards dressed in black suits kept guard outside the privacy screen; catching sight of Fu Sihan, they lowered their heads in unison.
Fu Sihan led Shen Yanzhou to sit at the primary seat by the window. The view here was superior, capable of capturing the entire nightscape of Victoria Harbour.
“Sit.”
The manager tremblingly presented the menu over, but Fu Sihan didn’t even glance at it, flatly spitting out two words: “As usual.”
Shen Yanzhou surveyed the surroundings. The space was elegant and aristocratic, the air floating with the scent of expensive Pu’er tea, making it completely impossible to connect the location to the “debauched party” in the photos. “This is the room you booked last night?”
“What, disappointed?” Fu Sihan tapped a cigarette from his case but didn’t light it, simply holding it within his fingers to toy with. He leaned his torso forward, his bottomless eyes staring at Shen Yanzhou with a half-smile. “The moment I stepped off the flight last night, I sat right here for the entire night.” He pointed toward the opposite position. “Met with two disobedient triad faction leaders right here. I forced them to spit back the funds they swallowed down.”
“If they couldn’t spit it out, they spit out fingers.”
“The scene was a bit messy, feared it would frighten you, so I had people replace the carpet overnight though the air still seems to carry a touch of a bloody scent.”
Shen Yanzhou’s heart leaped. Though the man spoke lightheartedly, the bloody aura buried beneath his refined skin couldn’t be masked regardless. “Then the twins you mentioned…”
Fu Sihan looked at him, suddenly letting out a low laugh, a flash of malicious mischief crossing his eyes.
Right on cue, an attendant walked up carrying a steamer basket, tremblingly lifting the lid. As the steaming white mist dispersed, it exposed two plump, white, exquisitely cute double-egg-yolk lotus seed paste buns inside.
Fu Sihan picked up one of them, using the tip of his chopsticks to exceptionally slowly pierce the bun’s white, tender outer skin. The scalding golden custard filling instantly spilled out, flowing across the white porcelain plate.
“This is the ‘pair of twins’ you were searching for.” He looked at Shen Yanzhou’s pale face, his frame leaning back lazily against the backrest as his fingertips toyed with the prayer beads around his wrist, speaking slowly: “The master chef here possesses decent craftsmanship, particularly with this pair of twins soft skin and generous filling.”
“Last night, I ate two in a single breath.” He placed the unpierced bun into Shen Yanzhou’s dish. “Master Shen should sample it too.”
Staring at the two steaming lotus seed paste buns oozing golden oil inside his dish, Shen Yanzhou suddenly smiled.
The two voluptuous Omegas in the photos Jiang Xu sent were fake? The shirtless Fu Sihan was also fake? What does it count as? Playing with him?
This person’s face was flawlessly handsome, but his personality was unbeatably bastardly.
“Eldest Master Fu certainly harbors great zest.” Shen Yanzhou pushed the dish a distance away, leaning back against the seat. “Using this kind of object to make an analogy does Eldest Master Fu believe I am very idle, or believe I am very easy to fool?”
“I do not possess the energy to accompany Eldest Master Fu in playing this game of calling a stag a horse.”
The smile on Fu Sihan’s face faded a fraction, the prayer beads at his fingertips halting their rotation. He truly had stayed right here for the entire night last night, catching zero sight of any twins. If one had to bring it up, those were matters from a long time ago; there were far too many people wanting to crawl into his bed, and he held zero interest and was too lazy to remember them. However, he was also too lazy to explain.
Shen Yanzhou lifted his eyes. “Compared to these two buns, I hold more interest in an alternative matter.”
“Word is that not long ago, a disobedient Omega crawled into your bed, and the result was that when his person was carried out, that patch of flesh on his nape was completely gone.”
“They claim… you personally sliced the person’s gland out?”
Hearing this, zero annoyance from having his brutality exposed appeared on Fu Sihan’s face. The manager standing nearby, however, was sweating frantically from the tension. He had personally witnessed Fu Sihan’s methods; though he also knew Master Shen wasn’t one to be crossed, he completely hadn’t expected that while Master Shen appeared as fragile as a dodder flower, he was actually a character covered entirely in thorns.
“There was such a matter,” Fu Sihan admitted with absolute openness.
“Why?” Shen Yanzhou looked at him, a chill rising along his spine. “Simply because he crawled into your bed?”
“Because he was filthy,” Fu Sihan’s brow furrowed with intense distaste. “That low-quality perfume scent mixed with the musk of a heat cycle left my head throbbing.” He lifted his head, his deep brown eyes leaking cruelty. “Though speaking of this person, I actually hold a bit of regret.”
“Since he desired this much to be marked, desired this much to be played with… back then I should have tossed him into that pack of bodyguards, letting people take turns playing him to death.”
Shen Yanzhou thoroughly understood now this fellow was a complete madman possessing zero moral compass and zero empathy. The Hong Kong media was still far too merciful to him, actually utilizing a playboy persona to whitewash his brutality. Being locked onto by a madman like this left a thoroughly unpleasant taste in his heart.
“Since Eldest Master Fu loves to play this much, and dislikes taking responsibility this much, why undergo an alliance with me?”
“I imagine you also know my pheromones are damaged, my legs are also flawed, and the Shen family hasn’t been mixing well these past few years.” Since his father had taken over the family estate, determined to sever several decades of underworld connections, these syndicates had all flipped their faces faster than flipping a book, turning right around to approach the Huo family across the street. These past few years, the Huo family had made absolute fortunes relying on shady illicit goods, while the Shen family firm suffered increasing losses this was long zero secret across Victoria Harbour.
“Master Shen is a clever person,” Fu Sihan leaned back against the seat, flipping his lighter while smiling. “Since you are a clever person, you should know that though the Shen family’s ship is on the verge of sinking, the dock it berths at remains.”
“Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, deep-water berths number seven through nine.”
With every term Fu Sihan voiced, Shen Yanzhou’s back stiffened a fraction. This fellow had indeed performed total groundwork before coming to hunt.
“Furthermore, those three chartered shipping licenses held in the Shen family’s hands no matter how the cards are reshuffled, they’ve been gripped in your hands for a century.”
“The Fu family has been expanding ocean logistics lately, exactly lacking a springboard.”
“Rather than spending effort to re-apply for licenses and bicker with that pack of old-timers at the Hong Kong Government, it’s highly efficient to directly acquire the person along with the ship and those licenses as a package deal.”
“You…” Shen Yanzhou laughed from extreme rage. “It turns out you want to devour the entire estate.”
“It’s resource restructuring,” Fu Sihan corrected him, his gaze cold. “Five billion to purchase the licenses and docks in your hands this price is highly fair. As for Master Shen—”
“According to Hong Kong’s Shipping Law, chartered licenses are non-transferable, unless it is spousal joint property.”
The map was unrolled, exposing the dagger.
“I can comprehend your desire for those chartered shipping licenses; after all, the Fu family wants to do ocean logistics, and that’s an admission ticket. But—” Shen Yanzhou’s tone shifted, his focus turning sharply piercing. “If it’s merely ordinary commercial logistics, the Fu family’s existing fleet is entirely sufficient; there is absolutely zero need to traverse those few deep-water routes of the Shen family that are exempt from customs inspection.”
Hearing this, the movement of Fu Sihan rotating the lighter in his hand finally ground to a halt.