The sun was already high in the sky the next day by the time Xie Yunnian finally showed up at the Bureau.
Stealing a glance at him, Qiu Nan noticed he looked thoroughly exhausted, which instantly brought to mind the candlelight dinner from the night before last.
I guess whoever he invited to that dinner didn’t like him very much. Unrequited love must really suck, huh?
At this thought, Qiu Nan’s own mood suddenly took a nosedive.
Sigh, the director is such a good person. I feel genuinely bad for him!
Xie Yunnian spent the entire morning assessing the situation and coordinating with the relevant departments. In the afternoon, the mandatory mission debriefing went ahead as scheduled.
His voice sounded calm and composed, his speaking pace neither too fast nor too slow—he appeared no different from his usual self. Yet, Qiu Nan could somehow just feel that he was deeply unhappy. Could this be some sort of lingering emotional link caused by the permanent mark?
“Captain Qiu.”
Hearing someone call his name, Qiu Nan snapped to attention, offering a hasty response as he followed the source of the voice.
Zoning out during a meeting—look at you, so professional!
It was Lan Mingliang calling on him.
“Captain Qiu, please recount the circumstances of yesterday’s discovery of NB-422 for everyone.”
This was standard protocol.
Qiu Nan accurately detailed the sequence of events, including how he had analyzed the shadow beneath the river surface, how he immediately notified the Bureau’s dispatch room, and how he found a way to stop the tourist boat from advancing.
As he spoke, Xie Yunnian listened with absolute focus, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Qiu Nan’s thin, soft lips as they moved.
This intense scrutiny caused Qiu Nan’s voice to grow softer and softer. The moment he painfully concluded his report, he quickly grabbed the mineral water on the desk to take a gulp.
Why does he have to keep staring like that?
Although Xie Yunnian’s rapt gaze could pass off as showing profound respect for the speaker, Qiu Nan found it thoroughly disconcerting.
To the side, Wu Jiada suddenly piped up, “Hey, Captain Qiu, what exactly were you doing over at the Wave-Calming Tower anyway?”
Qiu Nan answered, “Having dinner.”
Wu Jiada was genuinely shocked. “Yo, living large, aren’t we? I didn’t realize your consumption level was that high!”
Qiu Nan fell silent.
The entire South Cavern Bureau knew he was pretty broke. This really didn’t fit his profile.
He shot a helpless, pleading look at Xie Yunnian, a look that practically screamed: Director, can we talk about this?
After all, getting stood up wasn’t exactly a badge of honor. He couldn’t just casually expose his boss’s shortcomings!
Sensing his gaze, Xie Yunnian cleared his throat. “I was the one who invited Captain Qiu out. We had dinner together.”
Swish! Every single pair of eyes in the conference room locked instantly onto Qiu Nan. There was astonishment, shock, deep contemplation, and utter confusion.
Qiu Nan: “!!!”
What the hell? What does this have to do with me? Why are you tossing the hot potato back into my lap? Spell out the whole story, Daddy!
Believing the director was close to sealing the deal while Qiu Nan was still putting up an act, Mi Zhu took advantage of his proximity to lean in and whisper, “Qiu’er, you didn’t mention a thing this afternoon about being alone with the director last night. And yet you were swearing up and down that you were going to get the mark washed off—was that real or fake?”
Flustered and angry, Qiu Nan kicked Mi Zhu under the table. “It was just a coincidence! It’s completely different from what you’re thinking!”
His defensive retort was a bit too loud, carrying clearly across the entire room.
Xie Yunnian narrowed his eyes, smoothly chiming in, “Yes, it started as a coincidence. But later, Captain Qiu drank a bit too much, so we opened a room at the hotel.”
The massive conference room plunged into a sudden, dead silence where a pin drop could be heard.
A few seconds later, sharp gasps erupted from various corners of the room.
After all, Omegas were incredibly scarce these days, and Betas mostly stuck to themselves, so a romance between two Alphas wasn’t exactly unheard of—it just wasn’t legally recognized.
Looking at Captain Qiu—whose face was so flushed he looked ready to crawl under the table—and then at the director’s perfectly serene composure, the field team colleagues could only feel that the situation was entirely surreal.
They began shooting glances at one another that only they could decipher, while others resorted to outright whispering.
Seeing that the situation was on the verge of spinning out of control, Chief Lan hastily tapped the table, pulling the focus back to the agenda. “Alright, the process is clear. Captain Qiu was exceptionally alert, which significantly mitigated public damage. Very good. Next.”
Qiu Nan didn’t hear a single word of whatever came after that.
He simply couldn’t comprehend it!
Why did the director have to tell half-truths and deliberately mislead everyone at the end? Even if he wanted to cover up the embarrassing fact that he had been stood up, he shouldn’t just throw his subordinate out to take the hit!
Couldn’t he hear the rumors flying around the room? Didn’t his conscience hurt?
Wait a minute.
Actually, doesn’t this perfectly validate Mi Zhu’s previous theory? Director Xie doesn’t value him at all, using him as a meat shield without a shred of hesitation!
This is a good thing!
As for those gossiping colleagues.
As long as he and the director didn’t feed them any more ammunition moving forward, they would completely forget about it in two and a half days!
The more he rationalized it, the lighter his mood became. He even let out a faint smile, causing Xie Yunnian—who was currently delivering his concluding remarks—to cast another glance his way.
Throughout the following week, Qiu Nan did everything in his power to keep his distance from Xie Yunnian, and life seemed to return to its peaceful routine.
On Saturday, his rest day, he prepared a massive haul of gifts, packing his trunk to the absolute brim before driving over a hundred kilometers to Tianwu Town according to plan.
Tianwu Town was a dilapidated little place. Not many residents were left; anyone with a shred of capability had long moved into the city.
In recent decades, the monster population had gradually surged. Although they rarely stampeded into human settlements, a remote mountainous area like Tianwu Town was bound to experience the occasional accidental skirmish.
Nandong City had allocated funds to install monster disruption equipment and stationed relevant departments here for protection, but the results were thoroughly lackluster. The area was sprawling and sparsely populated, making it impossible to defend effectively.
Qiu Nan parked his car right in front of the orphanage gates.
Having received word of his arrival well in advance, the orphanage gates stood wide open. Two children who were squatting by the entrance playing immediately sprinted inside to spread the news the moment they saw Qiu Nan’s car approaching.
Shortly after, the director emerged to greet him alongside two volunteers, followed by a trail of children ranging from toddlers to teenagers.
“Director!” Qiu Nan greeted warmly, waving his hand at the two volunteers. “Xiao Ye, Zhuozhuo!”
The silver-haired director stepped forward to wrap him in a warm embrace. “You’re back, Xiao Nan!”
The children behind him chimed in with enthusiastic cries of “Big Brother!”, jumping up and down with genuine, unadulterated joy at his return.
While the two volunteers made back-and-forth trips to carry the supplies from the trunk into the building, Qiu Nan walked with the director into the office, chatting as they went.
The elderly director poured him a cup of water. Setting it aside without drinking, Qiu Nan pulled a bank card from his pocket. “Director, here is the living allowance for this month.”
Deeply moved, the director said, “Xiao Nan, it’s not easy for you out there on your own either, and you still have to—”
Qiu Nan waved his hand with a smile, cutting him off. “Director, this place is my home, and those kids are my brothers and sisters. Please stop being so formal with me!”
“I really, Xiao Nan, you’re working far too hard!” The director paused briefly. “Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you then. A couple of days ago, Yang Shuo presented his presentation. The doctor said his glands aren’t developing very well, so he needs proper nutrition, and he might even require supplemental medication.”
Qiu Nan froze for a fraction of a second.
He asked with a smile, “What gender did he differentiate into?”
As he spoke, he retrieved his phone, pulled up the director’s profile, and initiated a digital transfer.
“An Alpha!” Speaking of this, a genuine smile finally broke across the director’s face. “Once Yang Shuo grows up, he’s going to make something great of himself!”
Qiu Nan’s expression dimmed for a fleeting moment, but he swiftly masked his low spirits, nodding with a smile. “Of course! He’s my brother; he’s bound to make it big!”
Still immersed in the joy of the orphanage gaining an Alpha, the director’s phone suddenly chimed with a message notification. He looked down, freezing instantly. “Xiao Nan, why did you—”
“Director, buy whatever medicine is needed, and make sure he eats well. Once we get Yang Shuo’s gland properly nourished, he’ll be able to make something great of himself in the future!”
The director opened his mouth to say something more, but in the end, it all dissolved into a heavy sigh.
Taking advantage of the moment, the director was wiping away his tears, Qiu Nan stole a quick glance at his bank account balance. Not only did he want to sigh, but he also felt a sudden urge to wail.
Another step further from getting the mark washed off!
Now, his only beacon of hope was the doubled year-end bonus.
When he had walked down the outdoor corridor earlier, Qiu Nan noticed that moss was growing along the tops of the pillars and the paint on the ceiling was cracking. He told the director he was going to buy some paint to give the place a fresh coat, but the moment he stepped out of the office, he was instantly swarmed by the children.
The kids absolutely adored him. Every time he visited, they would drag him into their games, usually refusing to let him head back to the city until evening.
Left with no alternative, Qiu Nan decided to save the painting for tomorrow and focus on playing with them today.
Being tall, agile, and an incredibly accurate shooter, the kids naturally loved playing basketball with him.
Since there weren’t many children tall enough to play properly, they organized a simple three-on-three pickup game on the orphanage’s small court.
The midday sun was a bit intense. Qiu Nan stripped off his jacket, leaving him in a simple white crewneck T-shirt as he sprinted back and forth across the court with the energetic rascals. Beads of sweat rolled down from his hair, tracing glistening lines down his cheeks before soaking into his collar. In no time, his snow-white shirt was completely drenched.
The younger children lined up along the sidelines to cheer them on, throwing in the occasional playful heckle, throwing the entire court into a chaotic symphony of laughter and shouting.
In the midst of this harmonious bliss, a convoy of black SUVs approached from the distance, pulling up right in front of the orphanage gates.
Qiu Nan turned his head to look. He spotted Xie Yunnian leaping down from the driver’s seat of the lead vehicle. As if he had locked onto him long ago, the director didn’t even head toward the main entrance; instead, he strode straight to the edge of the basketball court, staring at him through the chain-link fence with a look of pure fury.
I’m dead.