Chapter Forty
The four of them stood in the corridor.
After coming out of Jiang Ying's room, Cao Xi kept his head lowered, exposing a somewhat pointed chin made more prominent by his thinness. He was so quiet, it was as though he had lost the ability to speak.
The brightly lit walls around them peeled away in flakes like scraps of wastepaper, exposing the filthy blackness beneath.
Ye Nanxun seemed to return to his days at the He Household in his previous life.
But back then, unlike now, he was not dressed in refined clothes, standing tall in a brightly lit corridor as an invited guest at the He family young lady's birthday party.
He had merely been an "object" deprived of freedom, dressed in filthy, disordered clothes and bound by hard, icy chains in a dark, damp basement—a possession imprisoned by He Yiming and the others.
He had not been the only such "object." In that pitch-black basement, soft sobs had continued without end, day and night.
The omega imprisoned with him back then had been named Cao Xi.
"I was tricked into coming here by my mentor. His connections are powerful; I had no way out..."
"I thought that as long as I, as long as I met those demands of his, it would be enough. I never expected to be locked up here."
"There's no way out. He ruined my glands with his experiments, and my body is failing too."
"I don't want to die. I just wanted to graduate and find a stable job. What am I supposed to do? If my mother can't find me, what will she do...?"
"If only, if only I hadn't agreed to go with Jiang Ying to Miss He's birthday banquet that day..."
His heart twitched faintly. The darkness receded like a tide, and bright light enveloped his entire body.
"Professor Jiang," Ye Nanxun said.
Jiang Ying maintained his proper smile. "Professor Ye, would you like to come in and have some fun? Xiao Xi is here too."
Professor Jiang spoke up. "Professor Jiang, Nan Xun is my cousin. I'll take care of him."
Ye Zhineng's attitude toward Jiang Ying could not be called polite. He stepped forward and blocked Ye Nanxun, clearly meaning to protect him.
"Mm, Xiao Xi and I got carried away." Jiang Ying swept a bland glance over Ye Zhineng, a faint, wintry chill showing at the corners of his narrow eyes.
Jiang Ying and Cao Xi entered the room. Ye Zhineng immediately turned to grab Ye Nanxun's arm. "Nan Xun, do you know Jiang Ying?"
Ye Nanxun took two steps forward. Ye Zhineng grabbed at empty air and failed to touch his arm.
Still stunned, he heard Ye Nanxun say, "We both work at the Scientific Research Institute, so we're colleagues."
Ye Zhineng's voice rose slightly. "You work at the Scientific Research Institute? Didn't you never go to school before?"
"You can study at home too. Lots of schools offer online courses now." Ye Nanxun truly could not be bothered to explain too much to Ye Zhineng, so he replied perfunctorily, "I have a research project at the Scientific Research Institute. I usually don't have much interaction with Professor Jiang."
Suppressing his surprise, Ye Zhineng lowered his voice in a cautionary tone. "Jiang Ying has a decent reputation outside, but he's a deeply calculating man, full of bad intentions. Keep an eye on him. Don't get too close to him."
Ye Nanxun found that rather amusing.
Ye Zhineng looked as though he genuinely considered him his cousin now.
Still, that did not stop Ye Zhineng from leading Ye Nanxun toward the room full of alphas.
With one hand on the doorknob, Ye Zhineng quietly reminded him, "Once we're inside, don't wander too far. Don't drink any alcohol or beverages given to you by strangers."
Ye Nanxun did not reply, and Ye Zhineng took it as a sign that he was obediently listening.
Before entering, he glanced once more at Ye Nanxun's nape. A pale blue pheromone-blocking patch was stuck to his fair skin.
A question suddenly surfaced in Ye Zhineng's mind. What did Ye Nanxun's pheromones smell like?
As the two heavy, ornate doors were gently pushed open, a chaotic mix of pheromone scents rushed over them. Even Ye Zhineng, a top-tier alpha, instinctively frowned.
He looked back at Ye Nanxun. Ye Nanxun still appeared neither warm nor cold, unaffected by the messy pheromone scents.
"Hey, Young Master Ye, who's this?"
The moment Ye Zhineng entered, quite a few people near the door noticed the omega following behind him.
Black hair, skin like snow, and a pair of clear, luminous pale green eyes—he seemed especially out of place amid the loud, extravagant decadence, yet he was exceptionally eye-catching.
Ye Zhineng said, "This is my cousin, Ye Nanxun. He's Lan Xue's friend and came to attend the birthday banquet."
As soon as those words came out, many people nearby showed regret in their eyes, though that did not stop them from raising their glasses and coming over to greet him.
But they had only just stood up and taken a couple of steps when a tall alpha roughly shoved them aside.
"Well, look who showed up too. Here to play the piano?"
A teasing, low chuckle hid in that improper voice. Zhu Shixin tilted his head and grinned at Ye Nanxun.
Ye Nanxun acted as though he had not heard him and turned his head to survey the room.
This room was larger than the other one filled with omegas. The side by the windows connected to a balcony, and the faint sound of water came from outside. There was probably a swimming pool below.
Ye Nanxun did not see Jiang Ying, nor did he see Cao Xi.
A thin layer of sweat seeped into his palms, and Ye Nanxun looked toward the balcony again.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf or something?"
Being so blatantly ignored by Ye Nanxun, Zhu Shixin's expression darkened. He strode over and reached out to grab him.
Coldness seeped into Ye Zhineng's expression as he caught Zhu Shixin's hand. "Don't touch him."
Zhu Shixin shot Ye Zhineng a cold glance and was about to speak when a low warning stopped him.
"Zhu Shixin, today is Lan Xue's birthday."
He Yiming leaned against the balcony railing, his hair damp and a bath towel wrapped around his waist, exposing sharply defined abs. His dark gaze fell on the omega hiding behind Ye Zhineng before shifting away expressionlessly.
"Tch—"
Zhu Shixin violently shook off Ye Zhineng's hand, his frivolous gaze drifting over Ye Nanxun. He casually grabbed an omega nestled in another alpha's arms, then turned and left.
"Don't be afraid. Zhu Shixin wouldn't dare do anything reckless." Ye Zhineng turned back and offered a few words of comfort.
Ye Nanxun gave a perfunctory "Mm."
He Yiming, Zhu Shixin, Ye Zhineng, and Jiang Ying were all here.
He did not see Xu Wenyan.
"Nan Xun, do you remember me? I'm really sorry about what happened at the art exhibition last time." A young alpha dressed in luxury hurried over, his eyes filled with eagerness.
Ye Nanxun remembered him. "William."
The alpha whose name had been called smiled until his eyes narrowed. After briefly exchanging a look with Ye Zhineng, he offered to take Ye Nanxun around and assured Ye Zhineng that he would keep him safe.
William's family owned many art businesses on Dream Star. The gallery they had visited before was merely one of them, and Ye Zhineng intended to get involved.
Ye Zhineng had only called and brought Ye Nanxun here because he had promised William. Handing him over to William now meant he had completed his task.
Yet when Ye Nanxun's emerald-green eyes looked at him with a trace of innocent inquiry, Ye Zhineng froze for a moment and did not speak for quite some time.
William urged him from the side, "Young Master Ye, don't you trust me?"
Ye Zhineng came back to himself and said with a smile, "Nan Xun, stay with William for now. I'll go get us two drinks."
Ye Nanxun hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. "All right."
A smile remained on Ye Zhineng's face, but as he turned away, it gradually faded.
He had clearly secured the partnership with William and smoothly opened up the Dream Star market, yet he did not feel as happy as he had imagined.
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