Chapter 10

Lian Yu thought he was vigilant enough.

"Mr. Lian?"

Uncle Zhang's ears twitched and he turned around. The trunk door of the van behind him was wide open, and the heavy woven bag had been unloaded from his shoulders and was now lying quietly in the trunk.

"Is there something wrong?" Uncle Zhang looked alert.

Lian Yu keenly caught a hint of pungent smell of smoke in the air.

He smiled, took out a cigarette from his pocket, took out a cigarette and handed it to Uncle Zhang: "Come out for a walk, I'm not good at dealing with children."

Lian Yu himself does not have the habit of smoking, but it is undeniable that smoking and drinking are also a way of socializing, and in this case they can indeed help him open up topics.

The cigarette hung in the air for a long time. Finally, Uncle Zhang withdrew his gaze from him and grinned, "I didn't expect you to be afraid of children. In fact, children are like cats. They will behave well if you coax them."

As he spoke, Uncle Zhang reached out to take the cigarette—

Almost in an instant, Lian Yu grabbed his wrist and lifted the faded cuff with his thumb.

A row of scabby scratches was revealed.

Lian Yu stared into Uncle Zhang's eyes, his smile still lingering:

"So, is this the cat's fault, or the child's?"

Being held like this, Uncle Zhang's eyes flashed with ferocity for a moment, but it quickly subsided.

"Mr. Lian, you're a very observant person, but you know, I'm just a handyman. It's normal for me to scrape here today and rub there tomorrow."

There was a silent confrontation, and the atmosphere became tense.

Suddenly, Lian Yu's hand loosened, and he handed over the fire with a smile. The flame flickered, and he said, "So that's how it is. It seems I was overthinking it."

Uncle Zhang also laughed: "So what did Mr. Lian come up with?"

Lian Yu smiled but said nothing.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn't know who the message was from, but Lian Yu didn't have time to think about it. He twirled the lighter between his fingers, thinking about his next move.

Ding-a-ling!

The high-volume incoming call rang out, and Lian Yu frowned.

But this time the message didn't come from his phone.

Uncle Zhang gave an apologetic smile and fumbled to pull out his broken cell phone from his baggy trouser pocket. The screen of the phone was greasy, but Lian Yu could see the name of the caller at a glance.

Seeing Uncle Zhang fumbling with his fingers to hang up the phone, Lian Yu quickly pressed the button.

The call was connected.

"Uncle Zhang! Did you see Xiaoguang when you left? Xiaoguang is gone!"

Qin Yi's panicked voice came from the loudspeaker.

Xiaoguang is missing?

This was completely unexpected news. Lian Yu clenched his fists and stood up to go back, but suddenly realized that someone was watching him.

He turned around.

As if he had been caught, Uncle Zhang hastily averted his gaze, put on an anxious face and shouted into the phone: "I remember seeing Xiaoguang taking a nap in bed before I left. Don't worry, I'll go back and help you find him."

A long cigarette butt was thrown on the ground without even being stepped on.

Once the guess is formed, my heart starts beating wildly.

Seeing Uncle Zhang running away, Lian Yu quickly walked to the trunk.

The woven bag lay lifeless on the dirty mat, so wide that it could accommodate a child's small body.

His chest heaved, his fingertips were wet with sweat, and it took him several tries to finally get the zipper open.

The zipper slid, and the big mouth of the woven bag opened little by little, revealing the pale and thin body in the body cavity.

"Xiao Guang!"

Lian Yu hurriedly picked up the child in the woven bag. He thought he had seen and heard enough in the past eight hundred years, but his hands were still shaking.

Fortunately, I detected breath.

His tense spirit suddenly relaxed, Lian Yu's shoulders went limp, and he almost fell down.

Holding the bicycle frame with his hands, Lian Yu gasped exhaustedly.

He hugged Xiaoguang tightly in his arms.

Lian Yu thought about telling Qin Yi and quickly took out his phone. But then, he stopped moving again.

That pungent smell appeared again. Was it smoke?

Lian Yu concentrated and tried to distinguish them.

No, that's not right. He had thought it was the smell of cigarettes, so he passed the cigarette to Uncle Zhang, but now after taking a closer look, this smell... is more like gunpowder -

despair.

Lian Yu's back stiffened.

At this moment, the cold muzzle of the gun was against his lower back.

"You're really lucky."

Uncle Zhang's voice was completely devoid of the previous humility and respect:

"It's also my fault that my homemade rifle wasn't working well. I missed the target that time. I was aiming for the head, but I only hit the shoulder. If I had known you were going to ruin my plan again, I should have fired a few more bullets!"

"Why?"

Lian Yu made sure that his figure completely blocked Xiao Guang, trying to delay time:

"I shouldn't have met you at that time, right? Why did you want to kill me?"

"Because you want to take them all away! These are all my angels, and you insist on coming here to get funding. What right do you, an outsider, have to sabotage us? And that brat Lian Yang keeps saying that omegas have human rights too. He's corrupting these kids!"

The muzzle of the gun stabbed Lian Yu fiercely:

"To be honest, I was planning to plot against Qin Yi and that brat back in the warehouse. I knew you and Qin Yi were having an affair, and if you'd caught them having an affair, wouldn't you have immediately stopped funding them? I don't believe any man, any alpha, could have tolerated that! But who would have thought it would be you who walked into that warehouse! You've ruined my paradise!"

"Really?" Lian Yu's anger calmed him down. He sneered, "I guess it's just because of me that I've delayed you from doing whatever you want with these kids, right?"

"Shut up!"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and all around was silent.

"Zhang Qiang, don't resist, you are under arrest."

The police officer forced Uncle Zhang to kneel on the ground and fastened the shiny handcuffs in just a few seconds.

Everything happened so fast that Lian Yu himself couldn't explain what happened in between.

It was not until a female police officer took Xiaoguang from his arms that Lian Yu realized his legs went weak.

"Xiao Guang!"

Not far away, Qin Yi broke free from Lian Yang's control and ran over hurriedly.

Lian Yu took a step back and leaned against the wall, chuckling as he watched Qin Yi rush over and nervously check Xiaoguang's condition.

"Don't worry, Xiaoguang is fine. He was probably just drugged."

"What about you?" Qin Yi's eyes were filled with tears. "Why did you act alone? Why didn't you tell me? He almost hit you just now!"

A tear spilled from the corner of Qin Yi's eye, and Lian Yu raised his finger to wipe it away.

A little hot.

"You will come to save me anyway, right?" Lian Yu shrugged with a relaxed tone.

“But I will also be sad and afraid.”

Qin Yi didn't follow the atmosphere Lian Yu deliberately created to relax. He frowned and placed his palm on the wound on Lian Yu's side that had not yet fully healed.

"I don't want to experience the fear of losing you again. So please, for my sake, don't get hurt."

Lian Yu looked at Qin Yi.

This was the first time in eight hundred years that he had heard someone say this to him, as if he really had something to care about in this world.

It's just an illusion.

Lian Yu reminded himself not to believe it, and not to have any expectations. This world is no different from any previous world. It is just one of his many tasks.

Yes, mission.

Lian Yu curled the corners of her lips: "Don't say anything against your will. I know that what you really want is for me to die."

"Why?" Qin Yi widened his eyes.

"Because you hate me. I forced you so many times and made you undergo glandular reconstruction surgery. Shouldn't you hate me?"

The air was stagnant.

Qin Yi was stunned, her beautiful eyes widened in a daze, tears welled up little by little, like shattered sunlight.

"Yes, I hate you. I hate you for doubting me, for misunderstanding me, and for ignoring my sincerity."

Qin Yi had lost control, his misty eyes glared as he cursed viciously:

"Lian Yu, I hate you!"

Lian Yu was stunned by this series of confessions.

He opened his mouth, but after a long while he could only managed to say "I'm sorry".

"I'll apologize later."

A female voice echoed from behind, disrupting the atmosphere between them without a word. Lian Chenglan strolled over, observing with interest.

"Xiaoyu." Lian Chenglan paused amid the chaotic noise of police lights and voices. "Why don't you explain the current situation?"

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.

The only sound in the air was the chaotic footsteps of three people, as if they were participating in some strange walking competition.

"Mom, we just caught a criminal, it's nothing—"

Lian Chenglan, walking in front, strode with great speed, his long legs effortlessly covering half a meter with each stride. In the corner of his eyes, Qin Yi struggled to keep up at a trot, so Lian Yu changed the subject:

"Mom, can you walk slower?"

Seeing Lian Chenglan's scrutinizing gaze, Lian Yu smiled wickedly: "You know, I'm old."

Lian Chenglan stopped in response.

"Thank you, Mom," Lian Yu said without feeling embarrassed. "Mom, you really respect the elderly and love the young."

"Get out."

Lian Yu blinked, looked at Qin Yi for a few seconds, and then pointed at herself hesitantly: "...Me?"

"I left my bag in the car. Go get it for me. There's a check in it."

"Cheque?

Halfway through his sigh, Lian Chenglan glanced over, as if asking, "Any opinions?"

Lian Yu's throat choked and he shook his head hurriedly.

Still a little worried, Lian Yu looked at Qin Yi:

Can you do it alone?

——Qin Yi understood Lian Yu’s lip movements, so he smiled at Lian Yu and nodded.

Lian Chenglan saw all these interactions.

When Lian Yu's figure disappeared outside the reception room door, Lian Chenglan chuckled.

This is definitely not an easy woman to deal with.

Qin Yi retracted his gaze and bowed to Lian Chenglan: "Boss Lian, I'll go get you a glass of water."

"Need not."

Lian Chenglan sat down calmly, legs crossed, looking over her territory with the arrogance of a lioness. She propped up her chin and surveyed the shabby things in the reception room.

"It seems that the light rain has not completely changed the financial difficulties here—"

"You still need money."

Lian Chenglan shared his observations with a smile.

Qin Yi pursed his lips and did not answer. He couldn't figure out Lian Chenglan's purpose.

But he soon understood.

Lian Chenglan stared at him:

"I'll give you 10 million."

[What is Xiaoyu thinking about?]

At this moment, Lian Yu was squatting on the curb, holding Lian Chenglan's bag and staring blankly.

The sound of Tutu brought Lian Yu back to his senses. He flicked the foxtail grass growing in the cracks of the rocks and muttered, "Tutu, tell me, what is hatred?"

Tutu was silent for a moment, then asked:

[Why does Xiaoyu ask this?]

Why?

Lian Yu thought of those eyes again. Those moist and bright eyes like black jade were filled with emotions that Lian Yu could not understand.

He spoke with hatred in every word, his teeth clenched so tightly, but why were his eyes so sad?

[Hate is an isomer of love.]

Tutu suddenly spoke.

Lian Yu was stunned.

What kind of big model did the Administration connect to the system?

Lian Yu scratched his head, "Does he... still hate me?"

[……]

The sound of electricity swept through Lian Yu's mind. He thought Tutu was checking the value, but after a while, Tutu spoke:

[I think he doesn’t hate you anymore.]

Lian Yu was overjoyed: "The resentment value has dropped?"

Tutu hummed softly.

"Then I can leave?!" Lian Yu stood up suddenly. The long squatting position had caused him to lose some blood in his brain. His vision went dark and he barely held onto the fence. He calmed down, "But if I leave suddenly, will the value go up again?"

[It's very likely! After all, from the perspective of the protagonist, Xiaoyu's departure is just Xiaoyu's sudden disappearance. If the protagonist misunderstands something, the resentment value is likely to explode again!]

Lian Yu was silent.

That would be all in vain!

"We have to think of a way." Lian Yu murmured in a low voice.

Suddenly, a faint smell of smoke drifted through the air.

Lian Yu became alert instantly.

Could it be that Zhao Qiang has come back again?

By the time the brain reacted, the body had already rushed out towards the source of the smoke.

"Hi."

Smoke floated between his fingers. The boy, dressed in a white shirt and a knitted vest, looked like a well-behaved student. He smiled and waved at Lian Yu. "Hello again, President Lian."

Lian Yu stopped in his tracks: "It's you!"

"It's a good thing Mr. Lian still remembers me." The boy's smile remained, but his eyes became ambiguous. He slowly glanced at Lian Yu and said, "It was obvious that you were susceptible to the fever that day."

"Why are you here?" Lian Yu took a step back warily.

"I came here to accompany my aunt," the boy smiled and raised his voice, "Isn't it okay?"

"Aunt? Which aunt?" The echo spread.

"Guess." The boy opened his voice.

"What?" Lian Yu shouted back in a higher voice.

At this time, the two of them were separated by a huge distance.

The boy clenched his fist and took a deep breath. Unable to bear it any longer, he quickly approached Lian Yu: "Is there a landmine buried next to me? Why are you hiding so far away?"

"Don't come over here!"

Lian Yu put one hand in front of him and hurriedly took a few steps back.

"Our pheromones are too compatible, so it's better to keep some distance."

The boy stopped and smiled playfully:

"You don't think that your loss of control that time was due to our compatibility, do you?"

The air was still.

Until a sound in the distance broke the silence, Lian Yu put down the hands that were covering her chest and looked at the boy with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you ever doubt the inhibitor that person gave you?"

The boy asked.