Love at First Sight

He looked around, careful not to let his gaze linger too long on that devil, but when it swept over a certain blue-haired figure at the very front, he inevitably paused.

It was as though the drab, gray world had suddenly brightened for an instant.

He couldn't look away.

He even felt an instinctive urge to follow.

By the time he realized it, he had already walked up to Shen Yu, and everyone present was watching what was happening.

Jiang Qianyu stepped in front of Shen Yu.

Lu Changfeng also turned slightly, his entire body like a beast poised to strike. At the slightest suspicious move, he would pounce and bite this fool who had approached them to death.

The scar-faced young man stared blankly at Shen Yu, who simply sat there, looking at him without expression. The look he gave a stranger stung him deeply, even though they were strangers to begin with.

Shen Yu watched him draw closer and closer, his hand slowly reaching for his waist beneath his clothes.

This person had appeared here out of nowhere and said a whole bunch of things. He was obviously the mastermind behind it all... Should I just kill him?

The young man had already come to his senses. He hadn't missed the fierce killing intent in Shen Yu's eyes, but he couldn't feel the slightest anger. Instead, he made excuses for him: He doesn't know me. Right now, I'm just a bad guy threatening his life. Isn't it perfectly normal for him to want to kill me?

But he didn't want things to be this way.

He wanted to get to know Shen Yu and stand openly by his side.

So, as everyone focused intently on what this man was planning, Lu Changfeng crooked a finger, and the bodyguards hidden in the crowd quietly moved closer, ready to seize him the moment he made a move. Meanwhile, Jiang Qianyu subtly shifted position, blocking the man's undisguised, burning gaze.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed twice. Like a boy confessing his first love, his face reddened, warmth creeping up to the tips of his ears. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear him clearly.

"I... My name is Yuanxiao. Can I get to know you?"

Jiang Qianyu: "?"

Jiang Qianyu's face darkened. "No!"

But Yuanxiao ignored him, stubbornly looking at Shen Yu.

Even Lu Changfeng was surprised. The blush on Yuanxiao's face didn't look fake, and the two didn't seem to have met before. In other words... this man had taken one look at Shen Yu and already had his soul stolen?!

The people around them were even more baffled, their CPUs practically burning out. No one had expected that, after hurling threats and intimidating them, looking every bit like a madman who had been wronged and had staked his entire fortune and life on revenge, this man would now eagerly approach the blue-haired boy like an innocent young man who had fallen in love... and look a little shy.

It was a truly bizarre scene.

"Why are you ignoring me?" There was a hint of grievance in Yuanxiao's voice.

Lu Changfeng couldn't bear to watch. He waved a hand, ready to have him seized.

But Yuanxiao saw through their intentions and dodged the fist Jiang Qianyu suddenly swung at him. He grinned, the blush still lingering on his face, but he had returned to his mocking manner, in control of the whole scene. Even his voice rose, filled with the pleasure of revenge. "Don't even think about trying to kill me or control me. Since I dared to appear here, of course that means I have a backup plan!"

He happened to step straight back into the arms of a bodyguard moving in. The bodyguard seized both his hands and twisted them behind his back.

But a tremendous boom came from above, and immediately afterward, the smoke alarms at the Jinglan Imperial Residence rang out.

Lu Changfeng sprang to his feet and met Shen Yu's equally anxious gaze. He sent someone downstairs to check on Lu Xianchang.

Everyone looked up in panic. The tiers of nearly vertical galleries winding around the fountain locked them inside like an exquisitely crafted cage.

"Aren't you going to let me go?"

Light flashed across Yuanxiao's face, though the scars on it truly marred its beauty.

"Do you have an accomplice?"

Yuanxiao's eyes lit up at the first words Shen Yu had spoken to him.

What a pleasant voice.

He felt much more comfortable all over.

"Yep, I do. As long as you do anything that threatens me, he'll detonate a bomb in a randomly chosen room. The first floor isn't excluded, either. If you lay a hand on me or can't find the culprit, you'll all be buried with me."

Shen Yu lowered his eyes and reached out to touch his cheek, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the red, scabbed scar. "You want to get to know me?"

Yuanxiao rested his face in Shen Yu's palm and nuzzled it like a young beast. "I do. I really, really do."

Jiang Qianyu watched, gnashing his teeth.

Damn green tea.

Shen Yu had never even touched his face.

One corner of Shen Yu's mouth lifted slightly. His sapphire-blue eyes suddenly drew close to Yuanxiao as he looked him over from top to bottom.

Yuanxiao was utterly stunned by the surprise. Watching Shen Yu's flawless, tofu-white skin draw close and feeling his hot breath spill across his neck and shoulder, his breathing grew uneven.

Then he heard the person before him speak in a seductive, soul-stealing voice. "Do you like me?"

Yuanxiao nodded instinctively.

"Tell me who the culprit is, and I'll give you a chance to pursue me."

After all that buildup, Shen Yu finally stated his objective.

Since he couldn't stop this bunch's favorability toward him from maxing out anyway, he might as well put it to good use. All it took was a crook of a finger and a few words. That was much less trouble than solving the case step by step and scheming.

This matter concerned every one of their lives and fortunes. It was so quiet that even the sound of a mosquito beating its wings could be heard clearly, as everyone waited for the man who controlled the Jinglan Imperial Residence to answer.

Yuanxiao was torn.

His main purpose in coming here was to make the devil who had ruined his life experience terror and panic, and the helpless despair of being exposed, before personally sending him to hell and ending his sinful life. Only that would do justice to what he had done to him.

But... he could pursue Shen Yu.

He had given up his entire next life for this one chance at revenge. Was he really going to say his name just like that? Wasn't the whole point to have that man gradually exposed by the people familiar with him and thrown before him like a dead dog?

I can pursue Shen Yu.

He...

I can pursue Shen Yu.

Yuanxiao felt there was something truly wrong with him. His revenge was clearly within reach, just one step away from completion, and all his years of patience and planning were about to succeed, yet at this moment he wanted to throw caution to the wind and say that person's name.

And then seek this man's consent, for nothing more than a chance to pursue him!

Was he crazy?

Seeing him distracted, his gaze darting about as he wrestled with his thoughts, Shen Yu held the side of his face and turned his gaze back toward him. Those eyes seemed capable of seeing through a person's heart. His red lips parted. "You're not willing?"

Yuanxiao couldn't make out what he was saying. All he could see were those red lips opening and closing.

If I kissed them, they'd surely be very soft, very sweet... very delicious.

Then he thought again.

I've really fallen for him.

If he had to choose between pursuing Shen Yu and tormenting the culprit, Yuanxiao found that he actually wanted to choose the first!

He was going to send him to hell anyway. If worst came to worst, he could personally use a few little methods on him. Though it would dirty his hands, he could pursue Shen Yu!

Thinking about it that way... wasn't he actually coming out a little ahead?