Chapter 54
The air stagnated for a few seconds. Shu Ci met Shen Lin’s gaze directly, not flinching in the slightest. Soon, the other man looked away first.
“Take a seat. I need to go to the study for a moment.”
Shen Lin lowered his eyes slightly, the light reflecting off his glasses and instantly masking his expression.
Shu Ci watched his retreating figure thoughtfully.
If he wasn’t mistaken, for a split second, those brilliant golden eyes had brimmed with tears.
The young, smiling politician seemed to have indulged in a brief moment of emotional vulnerability.
“I… didn’t mean to keep it from you,” Shen Ti said, standing slightly behind Shu Ci. Unaware of his brother’s unusual behavior, he examined Shu Ci carefully. “You’re not angry, are you?”
Shu Ci turned, ruffled Shen Ti’s hair, and shook his head.
“I’m not angry. He’s the head of your family; could you even defy his arrangements?”
Shu Ci could roughly guess why Shen Lin wanted to see him, but he was more concerned about this Alpha’s attitude towards him.
In the original book, Shen Lin had no power or influence, yet he gave his heart and soul to the original host without reservationāso much so that Gu Lanzhu was driven mad with jealousy. But that was just the author’s touch, a one-sided account.
He had no way of knowing what Shen Lin felt for the original host, but based on those few seconds of eye contact, Shu Ci couldn’t detect any of the distinct sexual tension typical between an Alpha and an Omega.
The worry was real, and the faint tearfulness was real too. But rather than romantic love, it seemed more like the concern of an elder.
…Wait, an elder?
The video Shu Changze left behind suddenly flashed through his mind.
āThe last thing isn’t particularly important. You aren’t my biological son, you know?
A shiver ran down Shu Ci’s spine, and he whipped his head around to look at Shen Ti.
No way, right?
“Don’t be nervous. My brother doesn’t eat people. Sit.”
“…”
Full of questions, Shu Ci was pulled into a seat by Shen Ti. He took out his phone and checked himself from left to right using the front-facing camera.
He looked neither like Shen Lin nor Shen Ti.
His full head of red hair and cyan eyes bore no genetic resemblance to the Shen brothers.
“Shen Ti.” As the two chatted, a gentle voice spoke up. Shen Ti turned around. “Several madams have sent over belated wedding gifts. Let my assistant take you to see them.”
He was trying to send him away.
Shen Ti instinctively glanced at Shu Ci with some concern.
However, his brother’s gaze was sharp, allowing no room for argument or refusal. Shen Ti fell silent for a moment, then nodded and walked out.
Shu Ci watched him close the door to the reception room, then turned his gaze back to Shen Lin. Seeing the man holding several black folders, his face once again calm, Shu Ci understood.
He could have easily asked an assistant to fetch the documents. His excuse to leave was likely just to compose himself.
“Councilman Shen, if you have something to discuss, you can come to me directly. Beating around the bush like this will only make Ah Ti unhappy. I don’t want him to hesitate because of me.”
Shen Lin didn’t mind the distant form of address. He simply raised an eyebrow slightly and admitted frankly, “Shen Ti said you were a kid with character. I was afraid if I approached you directly, you’d refuseājust like you refused my driver last time.”
Shu Ci narrowed his eyes. “So there really was no shuttle service? You went there specifically to find me that time?”
Shen Lin clasped his hands on his knees and nodded. “To be precise, I was looking for the heir of Dragon Spine Island.”
“Care to share the reason?” Shu Ci tilted his head. “As far as I know, my entire process was confidential. How did you find out that I inherited…”
Shen Lin pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “I’m investigating an old case, and the clues stopped at Dragon Spine Island. Over the years, I’ve kept a close watch on that island.
“But you don’t need to worry about the island’s confidentiality. In my channels, no one knows about your inheritance except me.”
Shu Ci was stunned.
He wanted to press further, but seeing that Shen Lin didn’t intend to elaborate, the man changed the subject. “Let’s put that aside for now. I asked you here today for another matter. I need to trouble you with something.”
Shen Lin pushed the documents toward Shu Ci. As Shu Ci picked them up, he said, “If it’s to help you put on a show, forgive me… What is this?!”
The pages were filled with densely packed screenshotsāwebpages, social media platforms, chat logs… Each page was marked with the source and pseudonym.
āI thought it was an audition. Not long after I got there, I felt weak all over.
āIf I knew that chatting with someone would end with me becoming someone else’s plaything, I would never trust anyone again.
āThe matchmaking platform my friend recommended is terrifying. I finished the compatibility test as required, but I never expected that I would almost be kidnapped the day the results came out!
Between the lines were accusations familiar to Shu Ci.
Every word wept blood.
“Victims of the Omega Bride Selection Project,” Shen Lin said, articulating each word clearly. “Shen Ti told me about it. You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with this.”
Memories of leaning helplessly against a phone booth in the dead of night, lonely and desperate, flooded his mind. Shu Ci’s emotions fell into disarray.
“The bait Councilman Gu Yan cast takes various forms. Those with high compatibility are controlled until the next Omega with even higher compatibility appears. Although none of them ever get the chance to meet Gu Lanzhu, they suffer plenty of torture while under control.”
Shu Ci nearly crumpled the document. “Has… has no one reported this?”
Shen Lin glanced at him sideways.
“Even I have only been able to slowly contend with Councilman Gu in the last two years. For years, major media platforms have been controlled by them. Countless voices were deleted, facts were distorted to accuse these Omegas of defamation. Even these were saved only after I went through immense trouble.
“Shen Ti said you wanted to use evidence of this matter to sue Gu Lanzhu. To be honest, it’s very difficult. They are far better at exploiting legal loopholes than you are.”
Shu Ci lowered his eyes, admitting that Shen Lin had a point. He flipped through the screenshots and images page by page, his heart sinking bit by bit.
“Are you trying to tell me that my strength alone isn’t enough, but if there are many people with similar experiences, the odds of winning will be greater?”
“You also need a spokesperson who can speak for youāsomeone with a louder voice and more power.” Shen Lin took out an invitation and handed it to him.
The words “Charity Cruise” were prominently displayed on the invitation. The texture was even more high-end than the admission ticket Wen Yuan had shown him.
Shu Ci’s vision went black for a moment.
Is there no escaping the cruise ship plot line no matter what I do?
Shu Ci: “This… what do you need me to do?”
“According to my investigation and speculation, the actress Jin Li, who recently retired, is also a victim of the Gu family’s Omega selection. She has very high national recognition. If you can establish a connection with her and get her to speak out together with you later, the chance of a case being filed will be far greater than the possibility of posts being deleted.”
Shu Ci’s fingertips rested on the invitation, but he didn’t pick it up for a long time. He took a few extra looks at Shen Lin. “I have a question.”
“Please, go ahead.” Shen Lin nodded gently.
“Do you genuinely want to help these victimized Omegas, or do you simply hope this incident will become a political achievement for you to completely bring down Councilman Gu?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt Shen Lin’s gaze sharpen as it met his eyes.
“I’ve always been a direct person. Rather than patronizing me with high-sounding excuses, it’d be more refreshing to just hear the truth.” Shu Ci curled his lips, meeting Shen Lin’s gaze neither humbly nor arrogantly.
“Those things you said can’t exactly be called lies; they are just hypocritically virtuous benefits.”
Shen Lin stood up, walked closer, and stopped in front of Shu Ci.
He lowered his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice, “The truth isāif possible, I hope the Gu family dies out completely.”
The suppressed voice added a rasp to his gentle tone, as if he was straining his soul to prevent himself from spewing even more, truer malice.
Shu Ci’s pupils trembled. This sentence was jarringly disconnected from Shen Lin’s campaign speeches, yet it felt more genuine than any public statement.
He inexplicably believed that this was what the blond Alpha truly thought in his heart.
He lowered his guard against Shen Lin slightly.
As long as you also want to ruin the life of a criminal who thinks he’s above the law, then we are good friends.
Seeing Shu Ci’s solemn expression, Shen Lin couldn’t help but feel nervous. He understood that making a choice took time, especially since… agreeing to him meant standing on the same front as him to some extent.
He could make his own decision, but that didn’t necessarily mean he could make Lu Wanqing’s decision. Shen Lin admitted there was still some calculation on his part at this momentā
If General Lu Wanqing could also take the opportunity to stand on his side.
Shu Ci quickly ran through the charity cruise plot in his mind. Aside from the tangled grievances between Bai Yue and Gu Lanzhu, he didn’t remember exactly what other passengers were there.
That retired actress was completely unheard of in the original book.
Ding-ding-ding-dingā
His phone notification sound rang abruptly. Someone had sent him a series of messages.
“Sorry, forgot to mute it.” Shu Ci awkwardly took out his phone. It felt like receiving spam calls during a meeting with the boss.
“It doesn’t matter. Relax a bit; you’re at home,” Shen Lin said gently.
He brazenly opened the notification bar, and his eyes widened in the next second.
Lu Wanqing sent a message???
Shu Ci almost jumped off the sofa. He hurriedly opened the chat box and saw one picture after another being sent over.
The sea surface, the sky, cloudy days, sunny days.
There were especially many pictures of the starry sky.
Where is he? Has he been kidnapped and can’t speak, or… what’s the situation?
Shu Ci narrowed his eyes, trying to find clues in these pictures.
When he frowned, Shen Lin also lowered his gaze.
Shu Ci looked through the pictures one by one and suddenly stopped at a particular one. He looked at it a few times more, then glanced at the background image on the invitation. Comparing the two, the angles seemed strikingly similar.
He put down the phone, pointed at the background image on the invitation, and asked Shen Lin, “What is the route of the cruise? Is this place a famous scenic spot?”
“It’s the classic North-South route. This picture is a long-distance view of the archipelago in the northern waters.”
Does that mean Lu Wanqing is nearby?
Shu Ci pondered for a moment. “I can agree to socialize on the cruise ship, but please ensure my safety.”
Shen Lin said decisively, “Naturally.”
Shu Ci nodded, slowly picked up the invitation, toyed with it in his fingers for a while, and slowly put it away. “Besides that, I have one more condition.”
He took out his phone and found the photo taken of the courtyard wall on Juqing Road.
“This is graffiti on the outer wall of my house. It’s suspected to be the Gu family crest. Please help me investigate what exactly is going on here.”
Author’s Note:
Director Shu’s fear of the original plot ultimately couldn’t outweigh his concern for a certain General š
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