“Mr. Zong.”
Lu Yuteng hurried out of the room and happened to spot Zong Xian near the corner of the stairs. With a sudden rush of steps, he accidentally tripped over his own feet and tumbled straight into Zong Xian’s arms.
Zong Xian did not move, standing in place like a wooden figure, with no intention of even reaching out to help him up. “Stand up straight.”
Lu Yuteng hurriedly put some distance between himself and Zong Xian. “I am sorry, Mr. Zong. There is news from my father’s side: the Jiang family is making moves abroad.”
Zong Xian’s expression grew noticeably solemn. He was well aware that the Jiang family was restless, but most of their previous actions were just under-the-table petty tricks that posed no real threat. For them to attract the attention of the equally wealthy and powerful Xu family, it was clear the Jiang family had made significant new progress. “Send the report to my email.”
His gaze quickly shifted beyond the stair railing, from which Yan Guanbai’s bedroom door could be seen clearly.
Lu Yuteng clearly noticed the direction of Zong Xian’s gaze. “Mr. Zong, do you still need me to monitor his movements?”
“Just like before. Report every single thing he does at school to me. As for the villa, I will naturally keep watch myself.” Zong Xian did not spare Lu Yuteng even half a glance.
He had bought Lu Yuteng at an auction; to him, the person was merely a tool that could be utilized. Aside from the exchange of benefits, he and Lu Yuteng had no excessive private contact, and rescuing him from the hands of thugs was merely fulfilling a transaction.
The Xu family’s resources and connections, along with Lu Yuteng’s surveillance, were all part of his trade items.
“Madam Zong wants to postpone the engagement ceremony. Do you still need to go discuss the dress with the designer this afternoon?”
Zong Xian’s gaze finally locked onto Yan Guanbai, who had just appeared on the first floor.
“Why wouldn’t we?” He suddenly smiled. “The engagement has to happen anyway.”
At noon, Gui Wen went out to pick up the white cat from the pet shop. The cat had grown increasingly lazy in its old age, showing no intention of greeting its owner. Instead, Gui Wen ended up feeding it cat food and wiping it down, truly becoming the cat’s servant.
Just as he watched the cat crawl into its bed, someone suddenly knocked on Gui Wen’s bedroom door.
Opening the door, he found Zong Xian standing outside, someone he hadn’t interacted with for several days. Gui Wen couldn’t read any emotion from Zong Xian’s expression, but he himself wore his awkwardness for all to see. “Brother Zong Xian.”
“This afternoon, we are going to look at dresses. The driver will wait for you downstairs.”
“I need to look at dresses?” Gui Wen’s tone carried the vibe of someone suddenly called on by a teacher during class.
Zong Xian didn’t seem to understand Gui Wen’s reaction either. “As my family member, what is wrong with dressing decently?”
Gui Wen couldn’t find words to retort. After a quick grooming of his appearance, he went downstairs and got into the black sedan. Zong Xian had not ridden in the same car as his fiancé, Lu Yuteng; instead, he was already waiting inside the car that came to pick up Gui Wen.
Since their unhappy parting at the beach last time, Gui Wen couldn’t find the right way to start a conversation, and the entire ride passed in complete silence.
Tailoring for clothing, including formal wear, is usually handled by specialists coming directly to the residence for measurements, so Gui Wen wasn’t surprised when the car stopped near Zong Xian’s seaside villa. What he couldn’t understand was why Zong Xian didn’t schedule the appointment at their current living quarters. Choosing a villa that remained vacant most of the time made it feel as though he were hiding some precious treasure, unwilling to let outsiders catch a glimpse.
As soon as Gui Wen stepped inside, he saw that Lu Yuteng was already having his measurements taken.
Lu Yuteng clearly noticed Gui Wen’s gaze, but deliberately chose to turn a blind eye. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Gui Wen pointed at the design sketches in Lu Yuteng’s hands and asked if he could take a look.
“Mr. Zong.” Instead of answering directly, Lu Yuteng cast his gaze toward Zong Xian, as if seeking his permission.
Zong Xian took the sketches from Lu Yuteng and handed them to Gui Wen. The drawn suit style looked extremely minimalist; Gui Wen stared at the sketches hard enough to almost burn a hole through them, yet he couldn’t see any difference between this formal wear and ordinary business attire.
In contrast, as a family guest, the moment the design sketches reached Gui Wen’s hands, he could instantly tell that many details were exquisite, right down to the specially customized brooch.
“Do you like it?” Without letting the designer handle it, Zong Xian personally measured Gui Wen’s dimensions.
Following instructions, Gui Wen raised his arms, letting the tape measure wrap around his chest. “It looks great.”
Zong Xian was clearly satisfied with his reply. After taking the final set of measurements, he recorded the data and handed it to the designer.
Unsure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, as the designer organized the patterns, Gui Wen caught sight of a wedding dress design sketch.
“What is it?” Zong Xian noticed Gui Wen spacing out.
“It’s nothing.” Gui Wen didn’t take it to heart, assuming the designer had come in a hurry and accidentally grabbed the wrong sketch. “Are we heading back now?”
Zong Xian swept his gaze over Lu Yuteng and the designer. The two opposite them seemed to catch the hint, stood up, and left through the villa’s front door.
“I am going abroad for a while.” Zong Xian met Gui Wen’s gaze.
Before Gui Wen could reply, Zong Xian shoved him onto the bed in the room, pulling down his collar to expose the skin on his shoulder where the bite mark left previously had almost faded.
He bit down hard into Gui Wen’s skin, using enough force to draw blood.
“Do not go mingling with others carrying my mark,” Zong Xian licked the blood clean, ignoring Gui Wen’s gasp of pain, “unless you want me to bite you until you are covered in blood.”
Looking into Zong Xian’s eyes, Gui Wen couldn’t help swallowing hard. The look the other man wore at this moment made him suspect that Zong Xian genuinely wanted to tear him apart and devour him.
“Did you hear that clearly?”
“I heard it clearly.”
Zong Xian straightened his clothes for him. Gui Wen panted heavily, looking like someone who had been deprived of oxygen for a long time and finally managed to breathe.
What on earth is going on?
His adoptive parents boarded a flight bound abroad, and Zong Xian left the villa at almost the exact same time.
Under pressure from his parents, Lu Yuteng temporarily moved back to the Xu family’s main residence.
Gui Wen watched from the windowsill as Lu Yuteng was picked up by the driver. The O0O system chime rang out at that exact moment. The system declared, “Host has triggered a new mission: Deceive the protagonist and head abroad.”
The plot had already deviated from the original development, yet the system still issued the mission mechanically. It asked, “Is there still a chance to set things right?”
Whether it was Gui Wen’s imagination or not, the already chilly O0O mechanical voice sounded even colder now. “Who knows? Host, you have already messed up beyond control, so you might as well just try your luck.”
Gui Wen thought to himself, what kind of nonsense is this?
He confirmed the timeline of the original plot: Yan Guanbai would trick Lu Yuteng into going abroad on the eve of the engagement, which was a week from now.
When Zong Xian rushed back from abroad to hold the engagement ceremony, his adoptive parents would also attend as scheduled. The most suitable time to disrupt the engagement ceremony would be right before Zong Xian arrived at the venue.
By the time Zong Xian returned to the country, Lu Yuteng had to board the flight heading abroad.
Gui Wen specifically inquired about Zong Xian’s flight details, choosing to drive to the Xu family’s main residence a few hours before the plane landed.
Hearing that Gui Wen was waiting downstairs, Lu Yuteng initially insisted on refusing the meeting, until Gui Wen repeatedly emphasized that it was an urgent matter, forcing him to come out.
“Yuteng,” under the influence of the system buff, Gui Wen’s expression appeared exceptionally anxious, “Brother Zong Xian has had an accident abroad.”
“What is going on?” Lu Yuteng furrowed his brow instinctively.
“I do not know. Someone called me and told me to rush over to see him,” Gui Wen grabbed Lu Yuteng’s hand. “Could it be something really serious? I am afraid that if I am late, I will never see him again.”
“Do not be afraid. I will have someone contact over there first to check.” When one’s fiancé meets with an accident, logically speaking, the most unsettled person should be Lu Yuteng; yet at this moment, the person being comforted was actually Gui Wen.
“I am afraid it will be too late,” Gui Wen gripped Lu Yuteng’s wrist tightly, stopping him from making the phone call. “Let us go to the airport first, okay?”
“Classmate Yan, do not be impulsive.” Lu Yuteng let out an imperceptible sigh.
“Let me go,” Gui Wen applied more force with his hands. “Just consider it giving me peace of mind. I want to see for myself that he is okay.”
Unable to find a way to deal with him, Lu Yuteng finally gave in and got into the front passenger seat of Gui Wen’s car.
Even Gui Wen himself wouldn’t have imagined things turning out this way. Anxiously, he set the destination to the airport, started the vehicle, and drove forward.
In the car, Lu Yuteng operated his phone, attempting to use his connections to confirm Zong Xian’s situation, only to be interrupted by Gui Wen with various excuses time and time again.
Turning the next intersection brought them right to the airport. Just as Gui Wen manipulated the steering wheel, a car suddenly bolted out from a side road, cutting him off forcefully.
If he hadn’t slammed on the emergency brakes just in time, a traffic accident surely would have been triggered.
Just as Gui Wen was about to step out to negotiate with the driver, the person exited the driver’s seat first, walked over to his car window, and struck it heavily.
“Get out of the car.” Zong Xian’s voice crashed unceremoniously into his ears, accompanied by a continuous barrage of slaps against the glass.
“Brother Zong Xian?” Gui Wen rolled down the window. “Why did you come back a few hours early?”
“If I did not come early, how would I catch you, darling?” Zong Xian struck the car door hard once more, making Gui Wen half-fear that the man might smash him and the car to pieces. “I will say it again: get out of the car.”
“I… I am getting out. Stop hitting it, it is going to break.” Gui Wen immediately opened the door. Lu Yuteng gave him a reassuring look, signaling that he would drive the car back to the villa.
The moment Gui Wen stepped out of the vehicle, his waist was grabbed tightly, and Zong Xian practically tossed him into the back seat of the car.
“Where are you taking him?” Instead of getting into the driver’s seat, Zong Xian pressed down on top of Gui Wen, grabbing his wrists. “Every time you tell me you will be obedient, when have you ever actually behaved?”
“I… I was taking him to find you.” Gui Wen struggled twice, but it was all in vain.
“I do not want to see him. I want to see you,” Zong Xian’s lips hovered almost against Gui Wen’s ear. “If he had not sent me your location, I would not have known you could be so disobedient.”
“You mean…”
“I was the one who bought Lu Yuteng, and I was the one who found his biological parents. What reason does he have not to work for me for the rest of his life?”
The back of Zong Xian’s hand pressed against Gui Wen’s cheek.
“It was me who told him not to approach you.”
Gui Wen tried hard to push away the other man’s chest, but instead had his collar yanked open by Zong Xian once more, exposing the bite marks on his shoulder.
“What, you do not want me to get close to you?”
Zong Xian’s tongue grazed heavily over the bite mark, as if reminding Gui Wen whose brand had been stamped onto him.
“What a pity, my newlywed husband, you simply cannot fight me.”