Part 2
“What do you mean ‘boundary-less’?” Jiang Chenyan’s brow furrowed. He didn’t understand. What kind of madness was Jiang Xuanshen throwing?
“Normal concern between friends—why has it changed flavor when it gets to you?”
The notification sound rang out again, and Shen Shiyue’s name clearly jumped onto the screen.
Jiang Chenyan lunged forward without thinking. Just as his fingers caught a corner of the device, Jiang Xuanshen’s entire palm covered it, gripping both his hand and the device together.
Jiang Chenyan could clearly feel the warmth and force of the other’s palm, as well as the sensation of the guangnao vibrating frantically between their fingers.
“The one making a scene for no reason is you.” Jiang Xuanshen leaned down, his breath nearly hitting Jiang Chenyan’s forehead, his eyes dark. “Early love at such a young age—do you think it’s appropriate? And with an Alpha.”
Jiang Chenyan tried forcefully to pull his hand back. His nails accidentally scraped the back of Jiang Xuanshen’s hand, leaving several red marks.
The device kept vibrating. Every time Jiang Xuanshen hung up, Shen Shiyue called back…
“What’s wrong with us chatting? What right do you have to limit us?”
“I said you are not allowed to answer.” Jiang Xuanshen’s voice was icy, and the gloom in his eyes was nearly overflowing.
“Why do you care so much?” Jiang Chenyan struggled against his gripped wrist, drawing a sharp breath from the pain.
Which eye had seen that he was in an “early love”?
Staring fixedly at Jiang Xuanshen’s dark face, his other hand suddenly grabbed the back of the other’s hand. “I’ll say it one last time. Let go. That is my friend.”
“Is that so?”
No emotion could be heard in Jiang Xuanshen’s voice. Just as Jiang Chenyan was gripping the device and about to explain, the weight on his wrist suddenly lightened; the other had actually let go.
Jiang Chenyan thought the other had finally used his brain and understood. “It’s just an ordinary friend. You just now…”
The words “threw what kind of madness” were still stuck in his throat when Jiang Xuanshen suddenly took a large stride toward the window.
Jiang Chenyan’s heart tightened. Just as he was about to chase after him, he saw the man raise a hand to push open the window. With a forceful swing of his arm, the guangnao flew from his fingers, tracing a short arc in the air before falling straight down.
They were on the twentieth floor.
Jiang Chenyan’s mind went blank. It took several seconds to find his voice. “Jiang Xuanshen! Are you mad?”
“Come back to the office area with me now. I’ll assign you some other tasks.” Jiang Xuanshen withdrew his gaze from the window and gave Jiang Chenyan a cold glance. “You’re just too idle, that’s why you have time to ponder over these matters of love and affection. I’ll have someone get you a new device; treat this as a small lesson.”
Jiang Chenyan stared at the spot where the device had fallen. He didn’t even have the energy to curl his lips. “No need. Don’t bother with a new device. Right now, I only want to be far away from you.”
“Then go back and stay in the villa.” Jiang Xuanshen’s tone didn’t soften in the slightest, as if he hadn’t heard the resistance in Jiang Chenyan’s words. He simply gave the command, “Don’t make me say it a second time.”
Rage rushed straight to his head. Jiang Chenyan’s face was dark. “No need for you to say it. I know.”
His stomach churned, his fingertips trembled slightly, and the warmth in his eyes cooled bit by bit.
Even if he were in a relationship, it had nothing to do with Jiang Xuanshen.
What exactly did Jiang Xuanshen want to do?
Not arguing further with his younger brother, Jiang Xuanshen raised a hand and pressed his communicator. “Xites, come here. Take him back to the villa.”
A respectful response came from the other end of the communicator. Within seconds, Xites appeared at the end of the hallway.
Jiang Chenyan looked up and frowned. Wasn’t this the steward who had run into him at the basement entrance yesterday?
Xites’ gaze swept over Jiang Xuanshen’s cold and dark face. He first bowed slightly as a signal, then turned to Jiang Chenyan. “Little Young Master, let’s go.”
“…”
Absurd and suffocating. Jiang Chenyan let out a low curse under his breath and followed Xites.
Reaching a corner, he suddenly stopped and stared at Xites’ back to ask: “The matter of me going to the basement entrance a few days ago—did you tell Jiang Xuanshen?”
Xites’ pace didn’t stop, his tone remaining steady and rippleless: “I’m sorry, Little Young Master. I have no comment.”
Jiang Chenyan raised an eyebrow. He took a step forward, reached out, and gave Xites’ tie a light tug, forcing the other to turn his head. A few hints of a smile hung on his lips: “Alright. You’re quite loyal to him.”
Xites’ tie was pulled slightly askew. His eyes darkened as he raised a hand to lightly brush off Jiang Chenyan’s hand and straightened his tie. “I am merely fulfilling my duties as a steward, Little Young Master.”
“Mhm, whatever. Anyway, in your eyes, there’s only Jiang Xuanshen.” Jiang Chenyan let out a soft laugh, no longer making things difficult for the worker.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xites moved half a step back without a sound, putting an arm’s distance between them.
Jiang Chenyan fell silent.
…
For the next few days, the atmosphere in the villa was quite poor. The servants were all trembling with fear, not knowing why.
Jiang Chenyan sat on the terrace sofa, holding a breakfast he had barely touched. If he looked up, he could see Jiang Xuanshen handling work in the living room; the two had zero communication the entire time.
He didn’t make a fool of himself either.
Jiang Chenyan went back to his room. His fingertips repeatedly swiped through the villa floor plan on the screen, marking the location of the basement entrance with a red circle.
There were three days left before he returned to school. He had to figure out what was down there.
Opening his toolkit, his fingers typed a string of code on the keyboard, simulating the attack trajectory of a Dark Web IP. He calculated in his mind: first, hack the four surveillance cameras in the basement hallway and elevator entrance, then disguise the intrusion records as evidence of work by Jiang Xuanshen’s commercial or military rivals.
He was just going to verify whether there was actually someone behind that door. Once confirmed, he would come up immediately. The whole process would take ten minutes at most; nothing would happen.
During these few days, Jiang Chenyan also explained the situation of that day to Shen Shiyue. Shen Shiyue said he could understand. “It might be that he’s used to controlling you. He wants to bind you firmly.”
Jiang Chenyan frowned. “Isn’t that perverted?” Does a normal brother bind his younger brother that tightly?
Shen Shiyue fell silent for a moment on the other end before advising: “Don’t say that. He’s your brother after all.” He paused, then added, “But to be honest, it truly is perverted.”
Jiang Chenyan stared at the screen, his fingertips hanging over the input box for a long time without falling.
Jiang Xuanshen might not be a pervert; he was a typical product of “Chinese-style education.”
Suppression + complete control + zero tolerance for resistance + PUA.
After ending the chat with Shen Shiyue, Jiang Chenyan tossed the device onto the bedside table and stared at the ceiling in a daze. The irritability in his heart had dissipated a bit, and he wanted to stay quiet for a while.
In the afternoon, he fell into a groggy sleep. When he woke up again, the sky outside was completely dark. Large raindrops hit the glass, making a pitter-patter sound.
The weather had been very abnormal lately.
When he went downstairs for dinner, he scanned the empty seat at the head of the table and asked casually. Xites respectfully replied: “The Master is busy with many affairs tonight and will not be returning to the villa for the time being.”
Jiang Chenyan’s hand holding the chopsticks paused. Jiang Xuanshen was away, and it was pouring rain.
Tonight might be an opportunity.
…
Late at night, the storm hammered against the villa roof. Thunder wrapped in lightning split the night sky and quickly fell back into darkness.
Jiang Chenyan sat up without a sound. He pulled out a mini-light hidden under his pillow and skillfully turned on the dim light mode. Barefoot, he stepped onto the rug and walked along the corner of the wall toward the direction of the first basement floor.
The sound of his footsteps was swallowed clean by the rain. Only the sensation of his fingertips stroking the wall reminded him that he was getting closer and closer to that security door.
Finally standing before the door, he stared at the gap at the bottom. He pulled out a drone the size of a glass marble from his pocket and pressed the switch. The micro-camera had long been calibrated, and the drone slid through the door gap silently. Gripping the controller, the images from inside gradually came through on the screen. The dim space was very wide, with only the emergency lights emitting a faint glow.
Suddenly, a bolt of thunder struck, lighting up the villa as bright as day.
The image on the screen brightened accordingly, and Jiang Chenyan’s pupils shrank abruptly.
The light from the emergency lamp happened to fall on a corner. A pair of exquisitely beautiful eyes were looking straight at him through the screen.
When the lightning struck again, Jiang Chenyan saw the silhouette of that figure. The shoulders were extremely narrow, and the frame was thin, as if a gust of wind could blow it over.
…
There was an Omega hidden inside.
Jiang Chenyan’s fingertips dug hard into his palm, the sharp pain bringing him instant clarity. He quickly withdrew the drone, stuffed it into his pocket, and turned to run back up the stairs.
Since Jiang Xuanshen knew he was suspicious, how could he not have moved the person?
Including all the previous coincidences, they were nothing more than a trap.
There was only one outcome: waiting for the prey to fall into the net. And that prey—
Was himself.
His heart was beating so fast it was about to burst from his chest. From the first step he took with his plan, he had already walked into the trap Jiang Xuanshen had set. Luckily, he hadn’t let his speculation disturb his mind earlier and hadn’t wasted time trying to pick the lock.
There was still time. As long as he could return to his room immediately and pretend nothing happened…
Jiang Chenyan stepped up the stairs. His nose already caught the damp scent of the rain outside, and half of his hanging heart relaxed.
Just as he was about to quicken his pace and step out, he froze in place. A black figure was standing at the top of the stairs.
Boom—
Thunder struck, the pale light instantly illuminating the stairwell.
Jiang Xuanshen stood at the junction of light and shadow. The water droplets on his black uniform glinted with cold light. He was looking down with those emotionless eyes, staring at him coldly.
The air froze abruptly. The sound of the pitter-pattering rain was stripped away, leaving only a deathly silence to shroud the area.
The rain kept falling, soaking Jiang Chenyan’s hem, but he had no time to worry. He only felt that the person before him didn’t look like a living person, but rather like a vengeful ghost seeking a soul.
His throat tightened, and his brain worked frantically, searching for a way to break the situation.
Jiang Xuanshen took a step forward. Jiang Chenyan instinctively took a step back.
The leather shoes stepping on the stairs made a dull sound. The words Jiang Xuanshen spoke were extremely eerie, “I was just about to go in. Let’s go together.”
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