"Sir, I believe we're being followed," the driver reported, his eyes flicking sharply toward the side mirror.
Yichen glanced at the rearview mirror, his expression hardening into a mask of cold disdain. "All drivers for the Gu family are elite. How can some brainless humans think they have the skill to tail me? Shake them off," Yichen ordered, a grim in his eye. "Let's see if we can trap a few mice."
Responding to the command, the driver executed a sudden, screeching turn into a sprawling, shadowed underground parking structure.
The tailers didn't hesitate, swerving into the darkness after them. However, as soon as they breached the entrance, Yichen's expensive car seemed to have vanished into the dark. Confused, they pushed deeper into the structure, searching every row until they reached a grim, lightless dead end. Just as they shifted into reverse to retreat, a set of blinding headlights flared to life, and Yichen's car slid into place, effectively sealing their only exit.
"That's... Mr. Gu's car..." one of the men in the trailing vehicle whispered, his voice trembling. "Damn it! Why are there so many guards appearing?" the driver snarled as dark figures began to emerge from the shadows, surrounding them. "Wait, maybe we can bluff our way out. We'll just tell the guards they're blocking a public thoroughfare!"
"You're right! Act natural!" another tailer urged. They threw open the doors and stepped out, ready to shout their way to freedom—but they were silenced instantly as the guards moved in, striking with brutal, trained like knights.
Yichen stepped out of the backseat, the door clicking shut with a finality that echoed through the garage.
"What is wrong with you people?! Why are you attacking us?!" one of the bruised tailers yelled out, clutching his side.
"Once you've finished, bring them to me and make them kneel," Yichen said, ignoring the outburst. He leaned casually against his car, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "You followed me all this way. How remarkably noble of you—let's all have a round of applause for your mediocrity for walking right onto my private property." He took a slow drag and blew a cloud of thick smoke toward them.
"This... this is Gu family property?!" one of the men stammered, his eyes widening in horror as he realized they weren't in a public garage.
"Finish this up," Yichen sighed, flicking ash onto the concrete. "I don't enjoy wasting my breath on people without a brain."
The guards delivered a final round of discipline until the tailers were broken, voluntarily collapsing onto their knees in front of Yichen.
Yichen dropped his cigarette onto the floor stepping on it. "You actually dared to follow me?"
"We're sorry, Mr. Gu! We were only following orders from our master!" they cried out in unison, their bravado completely shattered.
"Master? Do tell me who is foolish enough to order a tail on the heir of the Gu family," Yichen said, looking down at them with a gaze that promised nothing but pain.
The men looked at each other, hesitating, their loyalty towards the eldest son of the Zhou family warring with their survival instincts.
Yichen didn't wait. He unleashed a surge of his Monkshood pheromones, the scent heavy and laced with a paralyzing, poisonous edge. It was enough to make the men tremble, their lungs seizing as their bodies weakened under the sheer pressure of an Enigma's power.
"It was the second son! Please, spare us, Mr. Gu!" one of them shrieked, gasping for air. "I was just following the orders of the second son of the Zhou family!"
"The second son?" Yichen repeated to himself, his brow furrowing. "It seems he is also quite opposed to our engagement. But how pathetic that he would resort to such a clumsy, amateur stunt." He turned his back on them, opening his car door.
The tailers let out a collective breath of relief, thinking they had bought their freedom with the truth. But before the door clicked shut, Yichen spoke one last time, his voice devoid of any mercy. "Dispose of them."
"Wait—Mr. Gu! No!" the men screamed, lunging forward, but the heavy door shut and the tinted windows rolled up, sealing them out. Yichen's driver shifted into gear, and the car glided away, leaving the screams behind in the dark.
________________
"Sir, the situation is spiraling out of control. The rumors are going rampant across every social circle and news outlet. What should we do?" the assistant asked, his voice trembling as he clutched a tablet displaying the latest headlines.
"What else?! Of course, you find that brat Qixian and bring him here to fix the mess he started!" Jin Rou yelled, his face contorting with a mix of desperation and fury.
"But sir... we can't track him again," the assistant said, his voice dropping to a terrified whisper.
"What?! What do you mean you can't track him?!" Jin Rou asked, his voice rising to a frustrated roar that shook the ornaments on his desk.
"We... we've completely lost contact with the team of trackers we sent after Mr. Gu," the assistant admitted, bracing himself for the explosion he knew was coming.
"You've lost contact?! How do you lose an entire team of professional trackers in broad daylight?!" Jin Rou screamed, lunging forward over his desk.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it seems highly likely that Mr. Gu found out we were tailing him and... dealt with them," the assistant said, swallowing hard.
Jin Rou's fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. "Gu Yichen... why?! Why does he keep protecting that Qixian?! What could he possibly gain from shielding a runaway?"
"I'll order another team to tail him immediately, sir," the assistant offered, hoping to appease his master.
"You already know what he just did to the first team and you want to send more into that psycho? Have you lost your mind?!" Jin Rou bellowed. In a blind fit of rage, he grabbed a heavy porcelain vase from his desk and hurled it at the assistant's head. Luckily, Jin Rou's aim was off, the vase shattered against the doorframe, though a flying shard sliced the assistant's cheek, leaving a thin, bleeding wound.
"Find out where he is going through other means! Infiltrate the Gu family's staff if you have to! Use every contact we have in the city!" Jin Rou yelled, pointing a shaking finger toward the door. "Now get out! Get out of my sight!"
The assistant scrambled out of the room without looking back. Once the doors slammed shut, Jin Rou let out a guttural scream of pure, unadulterated hatred. "Zhou Qixian! I'll fucking make you pay for every second of this humiliation!"
_________________
"Where were you? The executive meeting was about to start, and your seat was empty," Yichen's father scolded, his voice booming with the authority of a man used to total obedience. He stood in the hallway, his face a mask of disappointment and simmering rage.
Yichen didn't even flinch. He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, a dark, mocking smirk playing on his lips. "I was attending to business, Father. Specifically, the kind of messy, complicated business that you clearly can't handle yourself," Yichen said, his tone dripping with cold condescension.
"You arrogant—!" His father's face reddened as he stepped forward, his hand clenching into a fist, but he was abruptly cut off by a frantic senior assistant.
"Sir, please, the board members are waiting. We must head into the meeting room immediately," the assistant urged, looking nervously between the two powerful men.
His father drew in a sharp, controlled breath, smoothing his suit jacket with trembling hands. He leveled a final, icy glare at his son. "You better fix that toxic personality of yours, Yichen, before it destroys everything I've built," he warned, his voice a low hiss.
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and marched toward the conference room. Yichen stood in the hallway for a few moments, the silence stretching around him, before he followed at a leisurely, arrogant pace, looking like a predator entering his own territory.
________________
Only a minute had passed since Jin Rou's study was filled with the sound of breaking porcelain, but the silence that followed was even more oppressive. He sat in the center of the wreckage, his head throbbing with what felt like a hot flame, fueled by an anger he couldn't quite vent on the people who truly caused it.
"Sir!" The heavy oak doors were flung open as the assistant burst back into the room, gasping for breath.
"What now?!" Jin Rou roared, his voice cracking with impatience. "I just told you a minute ago to get out of my sight and infiltrate the Gu family! Do you have a death wish, or are you just that incompetent?"
"We... we actually got a lead, sir!" the assistant stammered, holding a glossy piece of paper with trembling fingers. "A solid one."
"What? Where is he? Tell me!" Jin Rou stood up so abruptly that his heavy leather chair skidded across the hardwood floor with a harsh screech.
"One of our high-level informants just reached out. Someone matching the description was spotted at this location." The assistant gingerly handed over a high-resolution photo.
Jin Rou snatched the image, his eyes scanning the frame. It was a grainy shot, but the silhouette was unmistakable—the same sharp jawline and defiant posture that had haunted Jin Rou's pride for years. His lips curled into a slow, terrifying smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"A clinic? My 'genius' brother is playing doctor in a slum?" He let out a low, guttural laugh as he grabbed his tailored wool coat from the rack, his eyes flashing with an unrecognizable light. "How pathetic. He's traded a throne for a stack of bandages."
He moved toward the door, the air around him thickening with a dark, suffocating intent. "Qixian. I hope you've enjoyed your little vacation. Prepare for some total destruction."