Ongoing Translation
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
HOYSE CHAPTER 91
Chapter 91 — 6X
After Xie Jisheng was sentenced to prison, the old Master Xie seemed to have much of his strength drained all at once. Xie Zhanhong wheeled him into the sun, where many fellow patients greeted the old man.
He was practically a fixture of the sanatorium. Most people knew the elder who lived in the deluxe suite on the top floor. He had been in a coma for several years and had only recently woken up to get some air.
Once, when the old man went out, a few caregivers gossiped that this must be the last flare of life before the end. The old man only smiled and even teased, “Then let the sun shine on me for a few more days.”
Anyone who heard him could tell his breadth of mind. He was clearly a man who had weathered great storms. Whether it was the warm, wise way he sometimes looked at people or the weight behind his words, he inspired respect.
Xie Zhanhong had finally shaken off the shadow of being poisoned. After his health returned, he hurried over to see the old master.
He parked the wheelchair under a patch of shade and put on the Yue Opera “In this scene, he’s listening/watching to
a melancholic, emotional opera performance.
One that’s very dramatic and heart-wrenching. Yu Ji.
Rong Jing was different. He would even reply and tease back. So much more fun.
In the sunlight, a remarkable man approached. His hair was dark as ebony. His features were not especially delicate, but together they made for a breathtaking kind of allure.
Wu Hanqi bowed and paid his respects. “It has been a while, Master Xie. You still look vigorous and bright.”
TheZhanhong never got involved in disputes and had long grown used to being kept out of certain conversations. He nodded to Wu Hanqi and left, sending a crying emoji to Rong Jing on the way. When Rong Jing asked what was wrong, Zhanhong felt suddenly warm inside.
Why want an Omega? In this family, only their Alpha could be this comforting.
“What wind blows you here?” the old man asked, pressing pause amid the martial music.
“It has been a long time. I missed you,” Wu Hanqi said, sitting casually on the low edge of the flowerbed. There was nothing ceremonious about him. It felt like a family chat.
It was like Rong Jing ordering hotpot when they ate together. Wu Hanqi always knew how to make the person he was speaking to feel at ease. His way of entering a topic was natural and hard to notice.
Back when Wu Hanqi, a beta, took the Wu family through its most turbulent transition of power, the old master had already noticed how deep his mind ran. Most importantly, he could endure and he had a plan. The older he got, the harder it was to read him.
Fortunately, Wu Hanqi did not invest himself too deeply in most matters. The Wu, Xie, Ke, and Ji families had therefore maintained a delicate balance.
“You are not the type to waste effort. With a dying old man like me, what can you not say,” the old man said lightly, eyes half-closed, as if he might fall asleep again.
Wu Hanqi nodded. “I can give up 60 percent of the profits on our joint projects. For the next ten years.”
Their collaborations were enormous undertakings. A decade-long term made the sums involved hard to imagine.
When a calculating man offers a price beyond reason, you can be sure what he wants in return is even greater.
In the old man’s clouded eyes flashed a sharp glint. “What do you want?”
“I want Rong Jing.”
“Explain.”
“I think very highly of him, but leaving Wu Corp to A-Yu does not set my mind at ease. I want to cultivate one more.” Reasonable enough. Everyone knew Wu Fuyu was not cut out for the role.
As his son liked to say, playing with a bug and playing without one are two different experiences. If you are going to play, keeping it under your nose is more exciting.
“I remember that in your family, every head of house used to carry the title ‘Godfather,’ and those who inherited the mantle were ‘Godsons.’”
“You make me laugh. The Wu family is not what it used to be.”
“These past years, you’ve done a thorough job cleaning house, but whether you’ve truly cut ties with the past… only you know.”
The old master’s tone shifted.
“So what’s this now? You spoiled Ji Jiongjie, and now you’re trying to raise yourself a new weapon? You certainly think highly of yourself, Wu Hanqi. I don’t care how powerful you are out there, stirring up storms wherever you go. As long as the Xie family is still the Xie family, this old man has the final say.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You think just because he wasn’t born here, I’d be willing to sell off a child? Rong Jing came to us clean. He won’t be tainted by anything else.” Staying indoors did not mean he knew nothing.
“Master Xie, you misunderstand.”
“Get out.”
The Alpha aura of the old master flared as he slapped the wheelchair armrest. Far off, Xie Zhanhong jumped out of his skin.
So the talk had fallen apart. Wu Hanqi rose. “What if he is willing?”
The old man calmed at once. “Then it will depend on your own ability.”
Wu Hanqi nodded, as placid as ever.
Watching him go, Xie Zhanhong came over. “Dad, what on earth were you talking about?”
The old master thought it was business and did not know that the man he spoke with was the worldly face of heaven itself.
He had not exploded like that in a long time. The effort left him a little weak. “Go tell Rong Jing to avoid Wu Hanqi as much as possible. If he cannot, the Xie family will stand behind him.”
Zhanhong stammered in shock. “What, he wants to marry Rong Jing or is it to be married??! That shameless old—”
He suddenly remembered that as a beta, the roles could be switched. Another kind of thrill.
The old master’s breath caught. After a long moment, he sighed.
Night fell. Rong Jing had just returned from a Xie subsidiary.
The strangest one today had been Xie Zhanhong. For some reason he was at the subsidiary too, and he spent the whole day casting odd looks at Rong Jing. At the end he told him never to believe the sweet talk of men because it was all lies.
Was that not you talking about yourself?
Rong Jing finally managed to send his stepfather off. When he got back to the hotel, the place was in chaos, as if something had happened.
He steered clear of it. In the elevator he ran into someone he knew but did not know well, Wu Fuyu’s assistant, a very beautiful male Omega.
The shoot this time was short, so production had not booked out a whole floor.
“He is staying here too?” Rong Jing asked.
The assistant thought of his boss’s beloved white moonlight and could only nod.
Rong Jing asked for the room number. When he heard it, he gave a cold snort.
He did not pay much attention to Wu Fuyu’s schedule. He could not control even that.
He took a shower and tried to read, but he was too wired. His mind kept drifting back to Gu Xi’s note.
What are you thinking. Gu Xi only asked you to come over. You cannot get ahead of yourself.
You agreed to take it step by step. You cannot jump three levels at once.
He spaced out for half an hour and then jolted back to himself.
He headed for Gu Xi’s room. The number was on the note, and in truth he had memorized it when the luggage was delivered that morning.
The corridor was unusually quiet. If the lobby had not been noisy, you would think there were no guests at all.
After making sure there were no paparazzi around, he knocked.
Gu Xi had been waiting behind the door for a while. He counted down from ten before opening with reserve, cool-eyed. “I thought you got scared.”
Rong Jing looked away. “What would I be scared of.”
Gu Xi tugged his shirt hem and backed up step by step, drawing him inside. His eyes were liquid light, as if they could speak.
They had barely taken a few steps when a sharp knock sounded outside.
Before Gu Xi could speak, Rong Jing had already slipped into the inner room on instinct. Gu Xi’s face said it all. This looked familiar. Only the roles were reversed.
Annoyed, Gu Xi opened the door. He had nearly lost his public persona earlier, and thank goodness he had fainted quickly. Rong Jing had almost forgotten the incident by now. Gu Xi planned to make him forget it completely tonight. At such a crucial moment, who had to show up?
At the door stood Director Liu Yu and the assistant director, with two uniformed police officers behind them.
“What happened?” Gu Xi asked.
Liu Yu explained that someone had leaked the hotel guest list. A moment ago, an Alpha had been found hiding in an Omega’s room. A disaster had nearly happened. They had called the police.
According to the Alpha, he had thought that room belonged to Gu Xi and had gone to the wrong one.
Mistake or not, the whole thing was chilling.
So they were here to check his room as well, in case any fish had slipped through the net.
Gu Xi’s heart clenched. “Impossible. There is no need to check. There is nothing here.”
“You are an Omega. That is dangerous. We will only feel at ease if we check. You are in our crew. We are responsible for you,” Liu Yu said.
While he spoke, the officers had already stepped inside.
They sniffed the air and seemed to catch something. When it looked like they were about to move from the living room to the bedroom, Gu Xi dashed over, glanced around, and suddenly planted himself in front of the wardrobe.
“The closet is my private property. I refuse a search.”
“But we seem to sense an Alpha’s scent.”
“Since when do we rely on ‘seeming.’ Should I also ‘seem’ to say you are Alphas?”
Faced with Gu Xi’s firm refusal, the officers could only withdraw for now.
After he finally saw that bothersome group out, Gu Xi rushed back, flung the doors open, and found the wardrobe empty.
He called for Rong Jing in a panic. No answer.
Where had he gone?
Where was he? In the room next door. How did he get there? He followed the path along the exterior wall.
He had already learned the room number in the elevator, so when the search was about to land on him, he changed locations.
Do not try this unless you are highly trained. It was far too dangerous.
Wu Fuyu had just gone to bed. Ever since he had said goodbye to his nightlife, he kept early hours.
The hotel belonged to a rich second generation he knew, and since he was also an investor, it was easy to find out where Rong Jing was staying.
But taking the room next to Rong Jing would have been asking for death, so he had taken the one beside Gu Xi instead. Anyone with a brain knew he had zero interest in Omegas like Gu Xi.
If Gu Xi wanted to have a taste of monk’s flesh, he did not mind arranging a little explosion.
A breeze brushed his face. The gust poured in loudly.
Wu Fuyu’s eyes flew open. The balcony door had opened at some point. The gauze drapes billowed.
Everything looked normal, but he had grown up being tormented on a military base. His senses were keener than most.
“You better come out on your own or do not blame me for dragging you out.”
Silence.
So quiet that only his voice could be heard.
His sharp gaze locked on a patch of shadow. There.
He lashed out with a kick. The intruder dodged with startling speed. Clearly he had no intention of fighting head-on.
The man moved fast, angling for the door.
Trying to run, are you? Wu Fuyu’s vertical leap was terrifying. He sprang like a starving tiger, tackling the man to the floor.
“Let us see where you run now,” he sneered.
He reached to call the bodyguards he had sent off. Then a familiar hint of orange blossom barrier spray brushed his nose. Faint, but familiar enough to make his heart pound.
That smell…
While he was stunned, the phone that had fallen during the scuffle lit up.
It was a video call from his father. Wu Fuyu answered on reflex.
The screen’s glow fell across the face of the man he had pinned. Finally he saw clearly. He was so excited he could not speak.
Only when Wu Hanqi’s voice came through did he snap out of it.
“About to sleep?”
“Just… about to.”
Dad, do you know who is in my room?
The point is I am on top of him.
A little excited and cannot control myself.
“Other than the drowning incident, during this period on set, has Rong Jing shown any other behavior outside the norm?”
At the time, there had been something interesting. The first time they used confinement, there had been a bit of resistance. You could feel the bug’s soul fighting back, but the second time, it was as if the bug had lost all attachment to this world and submitted to being confined until the time limit released him.
If it went on like that, what fun was there in this game.
Rong Jing knew he was in the wrong, so he did not punch the fish on top of him.
He had intended to explain why he was here, but then he heard something unexpected.
He stared at the glowing phone in the dark. From the study on the screen, Wu Hanqi lazily turned pages and chatted idly with his son. Leisurely, as if nothing on earth could surprise him.
Drowning. Outside-the-norm behavior…
Why would Wu Hanqi bring those up? Who would even mention such things?
Ah.
Was there something he had overlooked? Like 6X.
So-called 6X was what readers of the original novel called the character who, apart from the five scumbag gongs, was the most popular.
Because of his looks and bearing, fans often called him “Beauty Qi.”
In the original, he appeared mostly as someone who helped Gu Xi. His conduct was strange and mysterious. He handled things smoothly, and was extremely objective and rational, moving through the world with a jaded air.
Rong Jing’s mind rang like a bell. Fear, excitement, unwillingness, and other odd emotions flooded together.
When Zhanhong had said that he saw Wu Hanqi visit the old master at the sanatorium today and afterward the old master had told him to watch himself, Rong Jing had not thought much of it. Wu Hanqi had always been courteous and had treated him like an elder would.
He had gone through every scumbag and none seemed to fit. Even Wu Fuyu was not that convincing. But he had overlooked the Wu Hanqi who was practically a background board in the original story.
Thinking back, perhaps Wu Hanqi had said something that made the old man issue that warning. In fact, there had already been a detail that puzzled him when they ate hotpot.
In the novel, Wu Hanqi did not eat spicy food.
No one in this world would know that, but it had to be true. How could he suddenly eat spicy without batting an eye?
Rong Jing had not brought it up then, only filed it away.
Had something changed in Wu Hanqi’s senses?
Each question proved nothing alone. But if you strung them all together, one answer pressed close.
In the dark, Rong Jing shifted his gaze from the phone to Wu Fuyu.
Of all things, he had not expected the fish in front of him to be the key.
You wore out your iron shoes searching only to find it here.
For the first time, the investigation into Heaven had an obvious breakthrough, and it came so abruptly.
Author’s Notes: Drawing 100 sweethearts from the comments for red envelopes, muah.
Fish: I am going to die. Do I eat this meat pie head-on, from the side, or swallow it whole?
Xi: Eat sh*t!
Comments
Post a Comment