Chapter 76 part 1
The night breeze saw off the last line of passengers at the port. The sea surface shimmered with rippling light as the city’s silhouette gradually receded into the distance.
With police present for an investigation, Jiqing Road was free from the disturbance of onlookers and reporters. Seizing the moment while no one was staking out the area, Shu Ci and Lu Wanqing took their simple luggage and embarked on the journey to Dragon Spine Island.
“I have to say, this operating company you chose is really reliable. They even prepared late-night snacks.”
Shu Ci walked into the lounge, hung his hat on the hook by the door, and glanced back to see exquisite tea and pastries placed on the table by the window.
“Wow, osmanthus tea jelly.” He leaned down to sniff it, then turned his head.
“Stop looking at your phone. You’re not a workhorse; you don’t have to keep grinding every second. You’ve been suspended, so why not take this chance to actually rest?”
Shu Ci knew the suspension was a necessary move on the chessboard, and that Marshal He likely couldn’t let Lu Wanqing truly let go of everything, but he couldn’t help but complain.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he paused.
Wait, that was a bit too sentimental.
Didn’t he sound exactly like a spouse acting coquettish? No, he had to hold his ground.
“What workhorse?”
Lu Wanqing, who had been looking down at his phone, raised his head at the words. His peripheral vision swept over, watching Shu Ci walk toward the suitcase.
Shu Ci unlocked it, took out clothes, and began hanging them one by one in the closet.
Aside from his comrades in arms, Lu Wanqing hadn’t really lived with anyone else. He didn’t know if every Omega was like Shu Ci—packing several sets, or even more, of clothes just for a few days on a boat.
“I’ll do it.”
He reached out and took over, organizing them neatly for him, then bent down to place the suitcase on the rack on the other side.
When he straightened up, Shu Ci was standing right in front of him unbuttoning his shirt. The collarbones, previously hidden by the jacket and shirt, became clearly visible.
Lu Wanqing: “…”
His eyelids twitched violently twice.
This wasn’t their first voyage together, but Lu Wanqing had to admit that whenever he was with Shu Ci, he couldn’t control his thoughts.
He would think of those flushed cheeks during the seven-day heat, and he would remember that night, fluid as water, when he lost his self-control and planted that light kiss.
Now, every word and every movement from Shu Ci was like a wildfire rushing toward the withered roots deep in his heart, threatening to burn everything to the ground in a heaven-scorching blaze.
“You finish packing. I’ll go find those two.”
Avoiding the scorching gaze behind him, he turned in a panic, crossed the long corridor, and knocked on the door of the lounge on the other side of the cabin.
Shu Ci watched his retreating figure and blinked.
Too cute.
Suddenly, he really wanted to bully him.
“Holy crap, it’s freezing! Senior Brother, did you turn on the heat?”
Yi Xingshui rushed in, shivering after blowing in the sea breeze on the deck. Abandoning all image, she burrowed into the cabin and pulled the quilt over herself.
“…It’s on, but we have to wait a bit.” Li Yi had just finished packing his luggage. He looked up and saw Lu Wanqing standing at the door.
He turned back, exchanging a glance with Yi Xingshui.
“Senior Brother Lu.” Yi Xingshui threw off the blanket and pulled out a chair for Lu Wanqing. “What on earth is going on with Little Shu? It’s all so mysterious. Can you give us a straight answer?”
Only a few hours after leaving Jiqing Road, they had been picked up in the middle of the night and put on a boat. If it weren’t someone they trusted, they would have thought they were being kidnapped.
Lu Wanqing sat down, his gaze landing on Li Yi.
“You were removed from the research center last month. When Junior Sister Yi contacted you before, you weren’t actually going to attend a conference, were you?”
Yi Xingshui was stunned. Hearing Lu Wanqing’s unquestionable tone, she slowly turned to look at Li Yi, her voice trembling slightly.
“Is that true, Senior Brother?”
Li Yi dropped his hands dejectedly and twitched the corner of his mouth. “I guess that’s expected of one of the Twelve Generals. You can even find that out.”
Yi Xingshui looked at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Do you know how many exchange spots Senior Sister gave up for you back then? It was because she hoped you would go further than any of us!”
“Little Shui, that wasn’t my decision to make,” Li Yi said with a gloomy expression. “I wanted to go that far too, but they wouldn’t let me.”
Lu Wanqing looked at him calmly. “Because of the new research approach regarding Pheromone Disorder Syndrome that you mentioned to Shu Ci, correct?”
Li Yi met Lu Wanqing’s gaze.
He had always viewed this man as a professional rival, but seeing him again years later, he realized they had never been on the same track.
Lu Wanqing was far more meticulous than him.
“…Yes,” Li Yi said with difficulty.
“An idea sufficient to overturn the entire academic consensus, opening up a new direction of research. I deduced it many times using data and interviews. I told the professor with such eagerness, thinking I would get support. But…”
“But it wasn’t that they didn’t see the path; it was that they cut off your path.”
Lu Wanqing interrupted him, took two pieces of paper from his pocket, and placed them in front of the two.
“There is currently a research project that requires researchers with knowledge in biology and medicine. Two unemployed drifters with no conflicts of interest behind them—after a comprehensive assessment, you are our most trusted choice.
“The benefits of joining the project are listed there. In addition, we will support your planned personal research to completion.”
After Shu Ci confessed that there were Purple Pomelo mines on the island, the research materials left by Shu Changze were also incorporated into the military research institute’s cooperative project.
However, the research on mutated creatures had consumed too much manpower, and the project to send people to the island had not yet been launched.
Shu Ci’s temporary plan coincided perfectly with Marshal He’s. Lu Wanqing appeared to be suspended, but in reality, he was still working tirelessly for his superiors.
Yi Xingshui moved her lips and tried to argue, “Who says I’m an unemployed drifter? I… at least I managed to get into the university infirmary.”
“Compared to the salary the family business and Gu Lanzhu offered you, can sitting in an infirmary cover the cost of your downtown loft? I heard that’s your cousin’s property, and he’s about to start charging you rent?”
“…”
Yi Xingshui, who had never experienced the hardships of the world, hadn’t been able to save any money after angrily cutting ties with her family.
Life’s difficulties were laid bare by Lu Wanqing in just two or three sentences. She held her head in pain. “Senior Brother, stop tearing me down, I beg you.”
Li Yi frowned. “And if we don’t agree?”
Lu Wanqing raised his chin, gesturing slightly toward the window and the side of the ship. “No problem. You can go down right now.”
Yi Xingshui shrank back.
“You’re not serious, are you? Does Little Shu know?”
“What do you think?”
Lu Wanqing asked back coolly. Li Yi, meanwhile, looked at the contract in front of him, took a pen from his jacket pocket, and scrawled his signature on the duplicate copies.
“I accept.”
Li Yi put down the pen, pressing his hand on the paper so Lu Wanqing couldn’t take it yet.
“But please tell me first, what specifically is the research? If it violates the most basic principles and ethics of scientific research, I’d rather jump off before we reach the destination.”
Lu Wanqing glanced at Yi Xingshui. She huffed lightly and signed her name as well.
Once both contracts were signed, Lu Wanqing spoke slowly. “Shu Ci’s father left behind research regarding Disorder Syndrome.”
Li Yi looked up abruptly. However, Lu Wanqing simply lowered his eyes, collected the contracts, and turned to leave.
Li Yi watched Lu Wanqing’s back, and after a split second, chased after him.
The Alpha stood in the shadows, stopped, and looked sideways.
Li Yi took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “You knew?”
Lu Wanqing raised an eyebrow. “Knew what?”
“Shu Changze.” Li Yi stared at him fixedly. “Last month, after I was removed from the institute, I received an anonymous letter. The letter gave me a foreign address and told me to pick up an item there and find Mr. Shu, saying he could allow my research to continue.”
Moonlight flowed into the ship, and Lu Wanqing’s gaze rested on Li Yi’s face. He had walked through time and heard countless lies; he knew Li Yi was not lying.
“But Shu Changze is dead.” Lu Wanqing parted his lips, seemingly realizing something. “No wonder you disliked me so much, yet still agreed to come with Junior Sister Yi.”
“That’s all in the past.” Li Yi lowered his eyes helplessly. “And you? How did you know I had an interest in Shu Changze?”
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