Chapter 47 Hatred and Honesty (Part Two) Yan Ceyan is the stupidest person in the world...

"Alright, Yan Ceyan, explain yourself." Yan Quan, his ears also burning, glanced away and continued, "Why are you here?"

"You shouldn't be on a date with..." Yan Quan's tone became slightly unnatural when she said "on a date with Ji Yao" at the end of her sentence: "Are you on a date with Ji Yao?"

Mentioning "dating" made Yan Ceyan subtly annoyed: "Yan Quan, I want to know the answer to that too." His words unconsciously carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Fu Duannian invited you to a place like this, and you agreed? You even went so far as to find an excuse to send me away just to come here?"

"Yan Quan, aren't you usually so shrewd? How come you were so careless this time? You almost..."

Yan Ceyan felt a surge of anger: if he hadn't arrived in time, Yan Quan would have been... well, you know... by that bastard Fu Duannian.

"Just because that guy surnamed Fu has something on you—that you're actually an illegitimate child and from Baisha Street?"

Because of Yan Ceyan's casual words, the gloomy childhood memories of living with her mother in a narrow alley once again deeply stung Yan Quan's proud self-esteem.

"...So, you already knew." Yan Quan pursed her lips bitterly, then said with a sense of resignation:

“You should have seen Baisha Street by now. It’s a slum, a den of crime and depravity. This whole area is full of undocumented immigrants… I…” Yan Quan paused, his teeth almost drawing blood, “I was undocumented before too.”

"Am I supposed to expose everything? My mother is a pathetic woman who climbed the social ladder by having a child, and I am an illegitimate child of unknown origin."

"We two used every trick in the book to get in touch with the Yan Group, but Yan Zhengdong still treated us like bargaining chips and toys, playing us like fools..."

These heavy thoughts had weighed on Yan Quan for so long that when he finally spoke them, his chest felt a mixture of excruciating pain and relief, as if it had been crushed.

"Right now, the entire Yan Group is being held up by me alone. If I were to have even the slightest negative news at this critical juncture... then everything would be over."

“The exorbitant debt, the compensation, everyone asking me for money... and, and... Mom.”

“My mother threatened to kill herself if I went back to Baisha Street. I also have a younger brother…he’s only in first grade…”

"It's not that I didn't consider that Fu Duannian wanted to use me for personal gain, and I also guessed that this date was risky, but..."

Yan Quan finished speaking in one breath, her voice trembling at the end: "It's come to this, Yan Ceyan, do I have any other choice?"

"..." Yan Ceyan listened quietly to Yan Quan's outburst of words, his dark pupils fixed on Yan Quan, motionless.

“It’s always been like this, Yan Quan.” After a long silence, Yan Ceyan finally spoke: “You were like this seven years ago.”

"You only believe in yourself."

"They treat everyone else like fools or burdens. Whenever they encounter trouble, the first thing they do is 'push' others aside."

Push me away...

"You never believed in me, did you, from beginning to end?"

As Yan Ceyan spoke these words, he felt as if his heart had been split in two, one half resenting and hating Yan's past actions, and the other half feeling heartache for the scars that had made Yan Quan so hard and twisted.

"I..." This time, Yan Quan was speechless, the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't say a single one.

Yan Ceyan stared intently at Yan Quan: "Do you know when I discovered Baisha Street?"

"..." Yan Quan bit her lip lightly, "After things were exposed, I fled to the A Federation. With so many spies you've planted, you must have been able to find out about the phone records between Mom and me..."

"Ha... Yan Quan." Upon hearing this answer, Yan Ceyan laughed mockingly, his deep voice sounding bitter.

"I was here seven years ago."

“You can let Fu Duannian spread the news that you came from Baisha Street, because he has no evidence to prove it.”

"All the case files, student records, household registration addresses, surveillance videos, including your mother's old police station records of her illegal and criminal acts... I destroyed them all seven years ago. I personally watched those data being permanently deleted from the system terminal."

“But Fu Duan Nian clearly…” Yan Quan’s eyes widened in astonishment as she suddenly recalled the documents Fu Duan Nian had sent her.

Whether it's the so-called official letter, the video recording, or the group photo, they can't stand up to scrutiny at all... or rather, they're all forgeries designed to lure the snake out of its hole!

"Have you figured it out now, Yan Quan?" Yan Ceyan's gaze was fixed on Yan Quan.

"...I've figured it out." Yan Quan closed his eyes, feeling somewhat exhausted, and belatedly realized how foolish he had been to "rush into Fu Duannian's scheme without verifying the facts."

"Only one last question, Yan Ceyan."

"Seven years ago, what made you start to doubt my origins on Baisha Street?"

"hand."

Yan Ceyan suddenly lowered his head and took Yan Quan's hand in his—Yan Quan's slender fingers were slightly red. They were the kind of very subtle, easily overlooked fine lines.

"Yan Quan, when I was eighteen, I really liked you..."

I like you so much that I notice and remember every single one of your sensitive or uncomfortable feelings.

"Your fingers are always red, and when they touch something cold, you always pull them back and then subconsciously rub them."

“I was worried that this might be related to your allergic reaction, so I specifically asked the doctor about the symptoms.”

"The doctors said it's because I had chilblains on my hands before. Even though they've healed, they're still more sensitive than normal."

"Frostbite..." Yan Ceyan suddenly uttered a very soft sound, the bitterness that welled up in his heart seemed to overlap with the self he was seven years ago, gazing at the desolate Baisha Street.

"They say that only children who are often soaked in cold water in the dead of winter will get frostbite."

"But Yan Quan, even if you are an illegitimate child, how could you possibly have something like this on your hand if you had even the most basic material living conditions?"

"And what kind of place would be unable to even provide hot water in winter?"

"Yan Ceyan..." Yan Quan's slender fingers trembled slightly as she suddenly realized that all her words were stuck in her throat again.

"So, you already found out by following the trail?"

"yes."

"Then you must have understood long ago..." Yan Quan found himself suddenly unable to continue the conversation.

The more you talk about it, the more rusty and heartbreaking the deception from seven years ago becomes.

"You knew all along that my getting back together with you and getting close to you was for ulterior motives..."

Yan Ceyan finally forced a stiff smile and said, "Yes."

Ha... This time, Yan Quan rubbed his trembling eyelashes and let out a very low sneer: Yan Ceyan, you really are the stupidest, most stupidest, most stupidest idiot in the world.

Just then, a police car with a deafening siren squeezed into the street, its loud blare almost touching the street. The glaring blue and white lights cast heavy shadows on the gray cement brick walls of Baisha Street.

“I have to go out.” Yan Ceyan stood up. “There are real rapists waiting to be dealt with outside.”

Yan Ceyan's gaze lingered for a moment on the mottled, crisscrossing red hickeys on Yan Quan's body, then he quickly looked away, his ears burning slightly: "You're wearing this."

"Whoosh—" Suddenly, Yan Quan's head was covered by Yan Ceyan's oversized jacket that he had just taken off. Yan Ceyan was very tall and big, and the jacket completely covered Yan Quan's upper body.

"Thank you..." Yan Quan opened her mouth to say thank you, but then she remembered that her clothes had been "torn" by Yan Ceyan. So she quickly stopped herself and shut her mouth.

"I'll go outside and check the situation first. You can go out later."

Yan Ceyan had only taken half a step to the door when he hesitated, his hand resting on the lock, and didn't open it: "Um..."

Yan Quan had already put on Yan Ceyan's coat, wrapping herself up like a dumpling. Hearing this, she asked with some confusion, "What is it...?"

However, Yan Ceyan's words came to an abrupt end, and the room fell into a brief silence.

The two sat facing each other in silence, and those three or four seconds felt like an eternity.

"Now that you're back, I'll reluctantly let bygones be bygones regarding your past with that Alpha in Federation A."

These words were almost spat out one by one, as if Yan Ceyan had gone through a considerable internal struggle, and he spoke with extreme gritted teeth:

"Yan Quan, do you still have my temporary mark on the back of your neck?"

"If you dare to date any other Alpha during the rest of the show's recording, I'll..."

Yan Quan poked his fluffy head out from under the high collar, looked up at Yan Ceyan seriously, and said, "You are what..."

Yan Ceyan stared into Yan Quan's innocent, watery, peach-blossom eyes for a few seconds, and his tense, fierce aura immediately relaxed. "Never mind..."

"Anyway, you're not allowed to date other Alphas."

After saying those words, Yan Ceyan's tall figure vanished into the shadows behind the doorway.

With a "bang," the door closed, and the room returned to its stagnant stillness.

The temporary mark on the back of her neck was still faintly warm. It gathered into tiny streams of warmth, gently tickling a soft spot in Yan Quan's heart.

Yan Quan shrank back, burying his head in the collar of his coat, and murmured softly.

"Idiot, Yan Ceyan."

*

A bright orange sunset hangs high above the rows of utility poles that pierce the Baisha Street.

"Command center, Patrol Team 03 has arrived at the reported location."

The car door slammed shut, and three police officers got out of the car swiftly. "Fu Duannian, is that right? We received a report from Mr. Ji that you are suspected of committing a crime. We are now issuing you a verbal summons in accordance with the law. Please come to the police station to cooperate with the investigation and explain what happened here tonight."

With his hands and feet bound together, Fu Duannian sat sprawled on the ground, twisting his limbs in an attempt to break free.

"Why are you accusing me of [illegal activities]? I haven't done anything yet!"

Fu Duannian's gentle and refined gentlemanly facade vanished completely. His eyes were slanted, his hair disheveled and hanging loosely on his nose, as he desperately tried to justify himself:

"There's a camera in the room. If you don't believe me, you can check! Yan Quan put it there himself! Isn't that tantamount to him admitting to seduction?"

"I think the real rapist is someone else. Who knows, Yan Ceyan was carrying Yan Quan inside for so long, and he wasn't doing something else..."

"Bang—" Before Fu Duannian could finish speaking, the last syllable was stuck in his throat... Yan Ceyan's taut, protruding arms, tense with anger, gripped Fu Duannian's neck tightly.

"Um..." Fu Duannian's face suddenly turned ashen, and his lips parted uncomfortably: "I..."

Yan Ceyan forcibly turned Fu Duannian around, placing one hand skillfully above Fu Duannian's elbows, which were twisted together behind his back—"Shut up."

"Please cooperate and come with us now." The three officers stepped aside to make way for Yan Ceyan, who was controlling Fu Duannian, and got into the police car. "Please, Mr. Fu."

As the police car door closed, Yan Ceyan turned his head and glanced at Ji Yao, who was controlling the camera crew behind him: "Ji Yao, I'll leave the cleanup here to you."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yao nodded slightly, and while speaking, gave Fu Duannian the middle finger, "Sentence this guy to death."

Yan Ceyan: ...How am I supposed to explain to you that the police station doesn't handle sentencing?

"Command Center, Patrol Team 03: Suspect Fu has been verbally summoned and taken away from the scene. He is returning to the F District Police Station. Please notify the Criminal Investigation and Technical Teams to intervene in the scene investigation as soon as possible. Over."

*

Two or three police officers were about to rush into the house to examine the evidence at the scene when Yan Quan took the opportunity to put on Yan Ceyan's coat and came out of the house.

“Ji Yao…” Yan Quan’s eyes caught sight of the long, black, waterfall-like hair, and he instantly understood: “Sure enough, you came together.”

Ji Yao, however, froze upon seeing Yan Quan. Her bright, beautiful eyes were filled with shock: "Holy crap..."

"This...is Yan Ceyan's coat, right?"

Before Yan Quan could reply, Ji Yao jumped up in a fit of anger, her long, straight black hair flying wildly in the air—as a fellow omega, Ji Yao keenly detected the scent of Yan Ceyan's pheromones on Yan Quan.

It was a pheromone scent that Ji Yao found extremely repulsive, the kind that lingered after a temporary AO mark.

"Good heavens, no wonder that bastard Yan Ceyan stopped me from going in at first."

"So you were thinking of following one after another, continuing the story in a fragmented way."

Yan Quan: ...This four-character idiom is not used like this.

"Beep beep beep..." Ji Yao's long black fingernails slammed against the phone screen. "Hello, is this 110?"

You've arrested too few. That guy in the police car, surnamed Yan, is also a shameless rapist!

Before Ji Yao could even utter the words "call the police," Yan Quan reached out and deftly snatched the phone from Ji Yao's ear.

"Beep..." Before the call even connected, Yan Quan quickly pressed the quick hang-up button.

“Ji Yao. I know you’re worried about me.” Yan Quan reached out and opened the phone in his palm, handing it to Ji Yao with sincere eyes: “But I’m fine now, really.”

You call this 'nothing'?

Ji Yao gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, because Yan Quan's words, translated into Ji Yao's ears, meant: "Although Yan Ceyan and I were temporarily marked, it was voluntary on my part."

What's the difference between this and an official announcement?

What's the difference between this and openly declaring oneself a loser?

"Yan Quan." Ji Yao pursed her lips and stared at Yan Quan for several seconds, the downward curve of her lips appearing forced.

"Yan Ceyan is different, right?"