Face Blindness (34)

Getting married next month would have been too rushed, so they ultimately decided to get engaged first.

Xin Hexue knew news of the Xi Group heir's engagement would spread quickly, but he hadn't expected it to spread so soon.

Qiu Yuan said, "The Gong Group is a vassal of the Xi Group. Ordinarily, according to the Xi Family's custom, the Xi Group heir would have started a family with one of the Gong Family's children. After news of the engagement came out, the Gong Group's stock price fluctuated and fell. They'll look for a chance to get rid of you."

Xin Hexue couldn't help asking, puzzled, "Why are you so sure?"

A Beta, with no family or connections to speak of. The Gong Group wouldn't believe that the Xi Family heir had fallen head over heels for a Beta, so getting rid of Xin Hexue was the quickest way to put everything back on track.

That made sense, but Qiu Yuan seemed to know more about what was going on.

Qiu Yuan smiled mysteriously. "Someone from the Gong Group went to Black Snake and hired a killer. You're the target. Black Snake outsourced the job to Spark, and I have a bit of a connection with those mutants."

Xin Hexue had thought Black Snake was merely an underground organization entrenched in the Sixth District. But from what Qiu Yuan said, its presence in the Sixth District might only be the tip of the iceberg. It was even connected to the Spark Organization, which was made up of mutants.

What about Qiu Yuan? What role did he play in all this?

Xin Hexue thought that understanding the purpose behind everything Qiu Yuan did might be the key to earning all his Affection Points and Heartbreak Value.

Qiu Yuan said, "I know the mutant in charge of this job. I can guarantee he won't make a move against you before the engagement."

"Not until the day of the engagement banquet. You should have had your fun by then, right?" Qiu Yuan met Xin Hexue's gaze through his sunglasses. "How about I offer you a perfect plan to fake your death?"

By then, the filming assignment would be over too.

Pei Guangji's Heartbreak Value was already past halfway.

As for Xi Zhengqing, things had only just begun.

Qiu Yuan said, "That way, you can get away unscathed before they go crazy."

Xin Hexue pressed his lips into a smile, the moonlight filling his face.

Get away unscathed?

But he wanted to drive them crazy.

The crazier, the better.

"I think I'm starting to understand what you meant about Yi Si taking a desperate risk." Xin Hexue turned to Qiu Yuan and asked, "Do you have a cigarette?"

Xin Hexue didn't touch cigarettes.

Perhaps he'd had a sudden whim to experience what Yi Si felt, so he could fit the role better.

Qiu Yuan took a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his side pocket. "Don't get the wrong idea. I haven't smoked in a long time. These are spares for the props department."

Xin Hexue awkwardly held a cigarette between his fingers and lifted his eyes, looking pointedly at Qiu Yuan.

His eyes were beautifully shaped, the curve of his upper lids just right, his lashes fanning out from the inner corners to the outer edges like a dove's feathers.

Moonlight sprinkled over them like salt.

Qiu Yuan flicked the lighter.

The rustling of the windbreak drowned out the low sound of the flame springing to life.

The flame licked the end of the cigarette. After a tiny spark came the smell of nicotine.

They were close, the kind of distance only lovers would share.

Qiu Yuan watched Xin Hexue hold the cigarette, its end gently touching his lips.

His lips were perfectly shaped and pale, betraying a listless pallor.

His thin lips parted slightly.

The next second, however, the cigarette turned and was shoved into Qiu Yuan's mouth.

Only when Qiu Yuan choked on it did Xin Hexue break into a delighted laugh.

"As if I'd touch that stuff." Xin Hexue wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. "You can have it back."

It was unclear whether he meant giving the cigarette back or getting even with Qiu Yuan for making him cough after breathing in the cold air.

Qiu Yuan had been outmaneuvered, and he was still too captivated to know which way was up.

He tossed the cigarette on the ground, ground out the ember beneath his shoe, then picked it up and threw it into a tin trash can a few steps away.

All that talk about helping Xin Hexue experience the role of Yi Si so he could portray him better had been a pretext.

In truth, Qiu Yuan had only wanted a chance to spend time alone with Xin Hexue.

He supposed it could be called a date.

Qiu Yuan checked the time.

He'd done his research. At ten tonight, there would be a meteor shower that came only once a decade.

He looked up at the night sky and returned to Xin Hexue's side.

But he found the young man already asleep against the back of the bench.

His eyelashes lay still against his cheeks, and Qiu Yuan's jacket covered him.

It was only ten. He was going to sleep this early?

Was he a plush kitten that shut down the moment its batteries ran out?

Qiu Yuan called someone to bring a car over.

It was so late. Xi Zhengqing wouldn't get the wrong idea if he took Xin Hexue home, would he?

Xin Hexue was still wearing his jacket, but Xi Zhengqing was an Alpha about to get engaged. He shouldn't be so jealous.

A look of triumph appeared in Qiu Yuan's eyes. Just then, Xin Hexue's communicator lit up on the bench.

He glanced at it casually and found himself raising an eyebrow.

[Pei Guangji: Can we meet?]

[Pei Guangji: Sorry, my chat history is gone, and I haven't obtained the key to the backup server yet. I'd like to learn more about what happened between us before.]

[Pei Guangji: I want to talk to you.]

Qiu Yuan swiped the screen.

He discovered that Xin Hexue's communicator wasn't locked.

Chapter 34: Face Blindness (34)

Xi Zhengqing made several calls in a row.

"Beep, beep—beep, beep—"

No one answered.

Yangnan Bay was secluded, far from the city center. There were no towering concrete-and-steel buildings or dazzling neon lights, and the night beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was a deep blue-black.

The clock showed that it was already ten thirty.

Normally, Xin Hexue would have been back long ago, and there was no way he wouldn't answer his phone.

Something had to be wrong.

The first person Xi Zhengqing thought of was Pei Guangji.

Who knew what that guy might do?

Even though Pei Guangji had lost his memory, the way he'd looked at Xin Hexue in the restaurant that day had clearly been off.

Couldn't he stop coveting someone else's fiancé?

Xi Zhengqing took a sip of water and set the glass on the dining table. He got himself ready, changing out of his loungewear.

More than Pei Guangji trying to win Xin Hexue back, Xi Zhengqing worried that Xin Hexue might rekindle his old feelings for Pei Guangji.

Afraid Xin Hexue might forget his coat and catch a chill on the way, Xi Zhengqing snatched a trench coat from the standing coat rack in the entryway and draped it over his arm as he went out to look for him.

Still unwilling to give up, he kept calling as he turned the door handle to the right.

A familiar ringtone happened to sound at the door.

Xi Zhengqing stopped abruptly.

He stared at the scene outside. When he met Qiu Yuan's eyes, his own showed not a trace of emotion.

The young man was asleep on the Alpha's back, his cheek resting against the Alpha's shoulder. The collar of the jacket he wore had folded down, revealing his snowy-white neck. His dark hair had perhaps been tousled by the night wind on the way, and a few fine, soft strands hung messily against the line of his neck.

Qiu Yuan flashed a grin and deliberately lowered his voice. "Good evening. Won't you invite me in for a glass of water?"

Without a word, Xi Zhengqing took Xin Hexue into his arms. Mindful that Xin Hexue was asleep, he warned Qiu Yuan quietly, "Keep an appropriate distance from other people's fiancés."

Xi Zhengqing placed particular emphasis on the word "fiancé."

Qiu Yuan shrugged. "We just got off work late tonight and had a normal work-related discussion. He fell asleep, so I brought him home. You're reading too much into it."

The door slammed shut in Qiu Yuan's face.

It nearly hit his nose.

After a while.

The door opened again. Light from inside spilled out, stretching Xi Zhengqing's shadow. His face was dark.

A hunting jacket was thrown out and nearly fell to the ground, but Qiu Yuan stepped forward in time to catch it.

"Careful. I only had this custom-made last month."

Qiu Yuan made his complaint, but the door had already shut tight again.

There was really no talking to a jealous man.

He picked up the jacket by the collar with two fingers and slung it over his back. Thinking about how Xin Hexue had worn his jacket tonight, he felt pleased for a moment, then left, humming a tune with an easy air.

Qiu Yuan had snooped through his communicator.

Though his deliberate removal of the screen lock made the communicator look like a trap, Qiu Yuan had lived up to his expectations.

It seemed an octopus's curiosity was quite strong too.

Xin Hexue had been pretending to sleep at the time, but Qiu Yuan had held his communicator for quite a while. Perhaps he had seen the messages Xin Hexue had previously sent Pei Guangji, messages Pei Guangji shouldn't have known about yet.

There was no telling how long it would take Pei Guangji to recover the chat history and discover them himself. It would be a shame if he missed the engagement banquet.

For an occasion as grand as the Xi Family heir's engagement, all the major media outlets would be present, and prominent figures from every walk of life would be invited. How could Xin Hexue let everyone come for nothing?

So he needed to borrow Qiu Yuan's strength to give things a push before the engagement banquet arrived.

For now, they could be called temporary partners—or accomplices?

Qiu Yuan should understand his hint, right?

Otherwise, this man's eight secondary brains and the main brain atop his head were just for show.

By the time his thoughts reached this point, Xin Hexue had earned fifteen of Qiu Yuan's Affection Points in one evening and was utterly exhausted.

According to his body clock, he should have been asleep at ten.

After Xi Zhengqing put him on the bed and bent over to help take off his shoes and socks, Xin Hexue rolled over and burrowed under the covers.

Xi Zhengqing straightened and placed Xin Hexue's communicator on the bedside table. He was about to leave and wash up when he heard a very soft voice say, "Guangji..."

That single name set off an alarm in Xi Zhengqing's mind. He immediately tensed and grew alert. He pulled back a corner of the covers slightly; Xin Hexue was fast asleep, as though those words spoken in his sleep had been nothing more than Xi Zhengqing's imagination.

It wasn't his imagination.

Xi Zhengqing's heart sank.