Chapter 82
Shu Ci walked out of the visitation room, keeping his head down for a while. It wasn’t until he crossed the long corridor and reached the outside that he realized Lu Wanqing hadn’t followed him.
He looked back at the corridor.
In the pitch darkness, there was only the light leaking from the corridor lamps.
When they entered, his mind was entirely on his hand interlaced with Lu Wanqing’s, so he only now realized how oppressive the atmosphere here was.
“Mr. Shu.” Director Zhou emerged from the darkness of the hallway. “Mr. Lu went to the restroom. I’ll take you to the parking lot first.”
She handed Lu Wanqing’s car keys to Shu Ci with both hands. Shu Ci took them; the keys still held a residual warmth.
“Speaking of which, does your prison have a partnership with District 7?” He put away the keys and asked with concern. “He’s been suspended, yet you’re helping him so openly. Be careful someone doesn’t use this against you.”
“…”
Director Zhou opened her mouth but didn’t make a sound. How to explain this to a family member should be his own business.
She couldn’t fathom that man’s thoughts.
He left when he said he would leave, and returned when he said he would return. If she hadn’t watched the news, she wouldn’t even have known he was one of the Twelve Generals.
A circular connecting corridor linked the three prison buildings together. The two of them crossed the small circular plaza enclosed in the middle.
The grass on the plaza had just been weeded, and the air was filled with a raw, astringent smell. Shu Ci sniffed and quickened his pace.
As his perception gradually increased, he became more sensitive to various smells. Creeping into his nasal cavity, they always reminded him of the day Gu Lanzhu tried to forcibly suppress him with that sandalwood scent.
He hated the feeling of his senses being invaded and occupied by smells. Only when he was with Lu Wanqing could he forget those feelings.
Being undefined had the benefits of being undefined.
“In a case like Gu Lanzhu’s, how long does it usually take to announce the verdict?” He rubbed the tip of his nose and asked curiously.
Director Zhou spread her hands.
“Most people in these three buildings come in for one crime, but in reality, there are other forces or cases involved behind the scenes. There are irregular interrogations during their sentence. Once there is new progress, their sentencing changes accordingly.”
So no one could say for sure what kind of punishment Gu Lanzhu would ultimately receive. It was possible that more and more crimes would be pinned on him.
“That’s really… a pity.” Shu Ci’s eyes flickered.
This rule was nothing more than an extension of the competition between the Council and the families. Whether a path of retreat was opened or blocked was entirely up to the political situation.
He looked up and surveyed the surroundings. “It feels like three buckets of water. Unless you reach in, you have no idea where the water level is.”
“In here, no matter where the water level is, it’s a fate worse than death.”
Director Zhou had spoken with Lu Wanqing beforehand. She understood Shu Ci’s concerns and simply said, “Once inside, one can completely give up the fantasy of getting out.”
After speaking, she glanced at Shu Ci again. “That said, your metaphor is quite fresh. I always felt they looked like three cigarettes.”
Driving over from a distance, it looked like three long cigarettes standing before the northwestern mountains, causing her to feel the urge to smoke one before every shift.
” ‘A ridge when viewed horizontally, a peak from the side’, that’s all. Our perspectives are different.”
“Indeed. The people inside can only see the other two buildings, so they all call this place ‘Iron Chopsticks’.”
Shu Ci stopped walking.
He turned his head and frowned. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?”
Yama has returned.
This news spread through the entire building during mealtime.
Even the new uncle serving food couldn’t help but scoop a few extra meatballs to ask who this ‘Yama’ was.
“He was that huge scapegoat in Z01. You could say he’s the only person in history to enter the Iron Chopsticks and get out again.”
“Why did he come in? Was he framed?”
“I heard from Third Master. Something about getting into a brawl at a construction site, but then he ended up being accused as the murderer in a serial killing case.”
“I think I’ve heard of that case. Wasn’t it some perverted rich second-generation kids committing crimes near the construction site at night? After being witnessed, they conspired with the site foreman to frame him.”
“Right. I forgot which listed company was involved. The details were covered up extremely well.”
“So how did the Scapegoat become Yama?”
“I heard when he first entered Z01, Third Master and the others wanted to give him a harsh welcome. But before they could make a move, he used his pheromones to pin them to the floor. They couldn’t move at all.”
“…Wearing the equipment? Used pheromones?”
The listening crowd subconsciously touched their necks.
They had all personally experienced the fear of being dominated by the electric current. This thing couldn’t be dismantled by personal strength, let alone escaping control to release pheromones.
“Isn’t that terrifying?”
“Apparently, he destroyed the equipment directly from the inside. When the guards came, he even offered to point out the loopholes to their technical staff for free.”
“The rich kid bribed the judge back then to send the Scapegoat into the Iron Chopsticks. He himself never pleaded guilty from start to finish.”
“Because of this incident, the Director at the time—Director Zhou’s uncle—contacted the Supreme Court. He believed the man’s abilities far exceeded those of the suspect in the case, and there was no need for accomplices. He applied for a retrial.”
“In the end, he was released without charge, and the real murderer came in.”
“The ‘Yama’ part came later. After he got out, he immediately turned around and took the exam for the special interrogation post here. The group in Z01 spilled quite a few secrets they’d been hiding for years under his hand.”
“You forgot to mention, he also helped improve the devices on our necks.”
“…Right.”
Inside the interrogation room, Lu Wanqing sat in the chair with calm composure, looking elegant and noble.
Returning to this old place after a long time, the life spent on knife edges and amidst humiliation seemed buried deep in memory. Digging it out with bare hands and shaking off the dust, it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
He didn’t mind Shu Ci knowing his other identities, but this one was the only exception.
He had personally chosen a dirty path, using inhumane methods in sunless days to force out those unknown secrets.
Sometimes Lu Wanqing wished he didn’t have that past. Only the revered General Lu was worthy of the sincere and pure Shu Ci.
When Gu Lanzhu entered, he met Lu Wanqing’s deep gaze.
The man who was usually low-key and silent was hidden in the darkness, emitting an aura even more dangerous than his own. Gu Lanzhu shuddered subconsciously.
“I wondered who it was.” He straightened his back, feigning calm. “Isn’t General Lu afraid of being accused of using public office to avenge private wrongs?”
Lu Wanqing casually tossed the ID card Director Zhou had given him onto the table.
—Special Interrogation Post, Five-Star Expert.
“…” Gu Lanzhu’s eyes widened, trying to distinguish if it was real or fake.
“I don’t have much time to waste words with you.” Lu Wanqing stood up, walked behind Gu Lanzhu, and pressed him into the chair.
“I ask, you speak.”
He casually pressed against the restraint device. With a “click,” the shackle on the neck was released.
Gu Lanzhu looked at him in astonishment.
Impossible. He had felt all over it. How could this thing be opened so easily?!
Before he could react, the Alpha’s fingertips pressed against the back of his neck. In that instant, Gu Lanzhu even thought he was going to destroy his gland!
But it wasn’t that at all; it didn’t even touch the definition of violence.
Lu Wanqing held him like pinching the scruff of a cat’s neck. Without releasing any pheromones, he made Gu Lanzhu dare not move a muscle.
Gu Lanzhu, who prided himself on being the ceiling for Alphas, began to doubt his life again. He couldn’t feel a trace of pheromones, yet he felt a condescending pressure that made him tremble all over and unable to breathe.
“What was the situation you mentioned earlier, about dying at 1%?” Lu Wanqing asked calmly.
Gu Lanzhu gave a self-deprecating smile. Before the smile could reach his eyes, a numbness spread across his scalp.
He felt as if his lips and tongue were no longer his own, uncontrollably spitting out the thoughts buried deep in his heart.
“My mother and my father had a compatibility of 99%. But she fell in love with an Alpha with whom she had a 1% compatibility.”
The Gu family were loyal believers in the power of bloodlines. Even Gu Lanzhu’s mother was the partner with the highest compatibility Gu Chuang could find after searching through all Omegas.
They said “found,” but in reality, it was no different from how they chose a partner for Gu Lanzhu.
That was why he never realized how absurd and unreasonable his actions were. His father’s conduct had constructed his worldview from the moment he was born.
After giving birth to Gu Lanzhu, Mother Gu met a gentle and considerate Alpha. She tried to resist Gu Yan’s control, tried to escape from this twisted and cruel family.
“And then?” Lu Wanqing looked coldly at his glazed eyes and asked faintly.
“Died.”
Gu Lanzhu seemed to have fallen into a very deep memory, or perhaps his consciousness had scattered under Lu Wanqing’s pressure. He became extremely pained, clutching his head.
“She would rather wash away the mark and start over with that person.” He pulled at the corner of his mouth. “They died together on the day of the marking.”
Because she pursued so-called true love, he lost his mother completely.
Gu Lanzhu didn’t believe in love. Only perfect compatibility could allow people to live happily.
If his mother had realized this, she wouldn’t have died.
“So, whatever you do is useless. Shu Ci is my most perfect marking target, and I am his most suitable Alpha partner.”
Gu Lanzhu raised his sweaty head and looked at him through gritted teeth.
“You can never, ever give him happiness.”
He spoke the vicious curse word by word.
His neck felt empty. Gu Lanzhu struggled to recall his consciousness. Without the restraint, he attempted to release his pheromones to counter Lu Wanqing.
However, the second he released them, Lu Wanqing slammed him back into the chair with a backhand motion, and the restraint landed back on his neck.
“Snap!” The sandalwood scent collided directly with the device.
A second-tier electric current instantly shot through Gu Lanzhu’s limbs and bones.
“Ah—!”
He convulsed and fell off the chair, curling up in pain, his arms and fingertips trembling violently.
Lu Wanqing let go, looked down at him from above, pushed the door open, and casually ordered the prison guard outside.
“Take him back.”
As soon as the words fell, he saw Shu Ci leaning against the wall outside the interrogation room with his arms crossed, looking at him with leisure.
Lu Wanqing’s gaze dodged for a second.
He used his body to block Gu Lanzhu, who was rolling in pain on the ground behind him, and quickly closed the door.
“Why didn’t you wait for me in the car?” He rubbed his fingertips inside his sleeve and walked quickly to Shu Ci. “Where is Director Zhou?”
Shu Ci raised an eyebrow. “Wait in the car? Wouldn’t I have missed your secret identity then? I told her to go do her own thing.”
“…” Lu Wanqing pressed his lips together, reaching down to try and take Shu Ci’s hand. Unsure of Shu Ci’s attitude, he wanted to hold him in his palm.
Shu Ci let him hold his hand, allowing him to wrap an arm around him as they walked out. He didn’t speak, waiting for Lu Wanqing to speak first.
This man was very good at enduring and holding things in.
He wanted to see when he would tell the truth.
Walking outside in silence, Lu Wanqing finally opened his mouth slowly. “How did you find out? I should have told them to say I went to the restroom.”
“Iron Chopsticks.” Shu Ci lifted his chin slightly. “You mentioned it casually that time we met at the hospital.”
Back then, afraid Lu Wanqing would discover his lack of common knowledge, he hadn’t asked. He searched for it when he got back but found nothing.
“Director Zhou said this is slang internal to the inmates. Staff are prohibited by regulation from leaking any internal conditions. And others never get out once they come in, so this term couldn’t possibly spread to the outside. It’s… very absurd that you would know this word.”
Director Zhou couldn’t hide it from him. After thinking it over, she decided to bring him to the interrogation room door and hand the mess over to the man himself.
Shu Ci stopped walking and scratched Lu Wanqing’s palm with his fingertips. “Ordinary employee of the Shu family, Doctor Yi’s top-student senior, the actual controller of N.O. Group, General of District 7, and an interrogation expert of Iron Chopsticks…”
Did he find a partner or an onion?
Could these layers ever be fully peeled away?
“What other surprises do you have that I don’t know about?”
Lu Wanqing took a deep breath and nodded.
Since he could hold his hand and link arms even at a time like this, it seemed there was nothing left to hide from him.
Shu Ci: “?”
He just asked casually, there’s actually more?!
“I’m afraid I can’t explain it clearly in a few words here. If you are willing, I want to…”
During Lu Wanqing’s pause, Shu Ci’s phone rang.
“Hold on, it’s Shen Lin.” Shu Ci stood on tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. “He usually doesn’t contact me proactively. It might be urgent.”
After the kiss, he answered the phone.
Lu Wanqing stared at his lips, listening to him respond with “mm-hmm” and “ah.” A moment later, his own message alert sounded.
Both put down their phones, their expressions becoming grave.
Lu Wanqing: “You go first.”
“Shen Lin is preparing to overturn the shipwreck case from back then.” Shu Ci pondered for a moment. “He asked if I could publicly reveal my identity as Song Zhiyuan’s child.”
This was within Lu Wanqing’s expectations. Shen Lin always liked to seize the rhythm of things; pressing the advantage was normal.
“With Song Zhiyuan’s influence back then, if you publicly stand beside him, you could almost stabilize the support of all Omegas,” he analyzed simply.
“I know. I said I still need to consider it.” Shu Ci looked at him. “How about on your end? Can you be reinstated?”
“Not reinstated.” Lu Wanqing took out a photo and showed it to him. “I promised Li Yi I’d help investigate his removal from the association. I found out his home was burglarized.”
Shu Ci froze, took the photo, and looked at it.
“Let’s go back. Gu Lanzhu isn’t worth wasting our time here.” Shu Ci frowned and sat in the passenger seat. “By the way, you didn’t finish what you were saying earlier.”
He reminded him, “Your secret identities can’t be explained in a few words. What do you want to do?”
Lu Wanqing closed the car door and glanced at him. “I want to take advantage of the suspension to take marriage leave. I want to take you to District 7 and tell you everything.”
Shu Ci: “…”
Is a secret identity something that must be told in District 7?
Why did he suspect this man just wanted to dangle his curiosity to incite him into taking marriage leave and going on a honeymoon???
Author’s Note: Ci, you understand your husband better and better 🙂 —— For “Iron Chopsticks,” refer to Chapter 16. For the construction site brawl, refer to Chapter 11.
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