Chapter 90: Messing with the Mind – Encounter at the Bar
Didn’t you say you don’t know them? Xiao Zeyu narrowed his eyes. Lying to me?
Kai Lan didn’t want to talk with Ariel anymore, so he was a bit hurried as he pulled Jiang Chenyan to leave.
Ariel hurriedly gave chase. He was faster and blocked their path.
His gaze inevitably fell on Jiang Chenyan. The orange hair glowed softly under the lights, and his looks were on the delicate side, belonging to the type that wouldn’t provoke repulsion at first glance.
“Who is he?”
He seemed a bit familiar, yet he couldn’t quite say.
Kai Lan turned his face away unnaturally. “It has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with me?” Ariel raised an eyebrow. “Why do I feel your relationship isn’t ordinary?”
The more he looked at this orange-haired guy, the more suspicious he became. Kai Lan had mentioned before that his favorite hair color was this kind of orange. Could this person be a… partner Kai Lan found?
As soon as this thought appeared, Ariel’s face darkened several more degrees.
Being stared at by Professor Ariel’s blunt and scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Chenyan felt his spine turn cold. What kind of look is that? He’s making it seem like we’re having an affair.
Jiang Chenyan lowered his voice and explained, “We are just ordinary friends.”
Ariel frowned. Why is this person’s voice so unpleasant? It was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing together. Kai Lan surely wouldn’t find someone with such an unpleasant voice. He forcibly suppressed the restlessness in his heart and spoke to Kai Lan with patience: “I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Who cares about arguing with you?” Kai Lan said, “No matter what, I won’t go back.”
Xiao Zeyu stood to the side, listening to the three people’s dialogue that had no beginning or end for a long time, and his brow also gradually furrowed.
He spoke in a deep voice: “This is a ward, and patients need rest. Can you be quiet?”
However, the three acted as if they didn’t hear him, continuing to go their own way.
Ariel took a deep breath and grabbed Kai Lan’s sleeve. “Let’s talk.”
“No need.” Kai Lan shook off Ariel’s hand, his attitude firm. “I don’t want to talk. No one can change what I’ve decided.”
He turned his head to look at Jiang Chenyan beside him. Without any extra words, just a gesture, Jiang Chenyan understood and silently followed. The two intentionally bypassed Ariel and walked out.
Ariel didn’t stop the two again, his gaze gradually growing dark, especially when looking at Jiang Chenyan’s back.
Xiao Zeyu saw everything. His fingers gripped the report tightly, the paper being crushed into fine wrinkles. It was time for his rounds; he couldn’t delay official business.
…
After leaving the hospital, the night grew thicker and the evening breeze blew with a chill. Kai Lan’s mood was depressed to the extreme, and he instinctively wrapped his scarf tighter.
The professor’s words were still echoing in his ears, hoping he would return to a normal life…
Jiang Chenyan didn’t know how to comfort Kai Lan for a moment. After hesitating for a long time, he suggested: “Do you want a drink? Maybe having a drink will make you feel better.”
Kai Lan paused his steps, a flash of exhaustion in his eyes, and then he nodded: “Mm, a drink. I know a place, not far from here.”
At this moment, only alcohol could temporarily numb his nerves and help him escape those annoying matters. Drowning sorrows in wine was probably the best method right now.
The two arrived at a hidden bar and pushed the door open.
Inside the bar, the lights were blurred and the music was soothing. the air was filled with a thick scent of alcohol and a faint scent of perfume.
This place counted as one of the more expensive ones in the city district. Thanks to Shen Shiyue’s financial help, the two of them had more star coins than they could spend, and they didn’t need to care about the high consumption here.
A waiter brought two drinks and set them before them. The amber liquid swayed gently in the crystal glasses.
Fine beads of water condensed on the walls of the glasses, sliding down slowly and dripping onto the dark tray.
Kai Lan picked up his glass. He didn’t add ice and tilted his head back to take a large gulp. The pungent liquid instantly sliced through his throat with a scorching pain, burning all the way to his stomach. the stinging pain in his body made his confused brain clear up a bit.
After the liquid entered his throat, it left a faint aroma of malt and smoke, lingering on the tip of his tongue.
“It tastes pretty good,” Kai Lan commented.
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyan curled his lips into a smile but said nothing.
He reached out and fished a cigarette pack from his pocket, pulled one out, and held it between two fingers. With his other hand, he pulled out a lighter. With a click, a ghostly blue flame surged up, reflecting the faint light in his eyes.
Jiang Chenyan lowered his head slightly, brought the cigarette to his lips, and took a puff. Smoke slowly spilled from between his lips and teeth, rising and swirling under the lights.
Kai Lan leaned in slightly, bringing his face close to Jiang Chenyan’s, and asked, “Brother Ba, why do you like smoking and drinking?”
Jiang Chenyan turned his head, the smoke slowly puffing out from his nostrils, forming circles of faint smoke rings.
He was silent for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head. “I don’t know. I just smoke when I want to.”
What kind of question is that?
The two talked for a bit longer. The alcohol began to go to Kai Lan’s head, and he grew distressed.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.” Kai Lan let out a bitter smile. “This era isn’t good at all.”
What exactly were they, as Omegas, supposed to do?
The cigarette between Jiang Chenyan’s fingers burned to its end, and the ash fell lightly onto the bar.
Looking at Kai Lan’s trembling shoulders, he reached out and patted his back. “Sometimes, changing the status quo requires sacrifice. Only through bloodshed will there be results.”
Kai Lan looked up, his eyes red and his face still bearing undried tear marks.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, Alphas stand at the top, enjoying all privileges, while Omegas are in a weak position. Survival doesn’t depend on intelligence alone; it also requires force.
Kai Lan gradually grew quiet. He held his glass and took small sips, his gaze hollow as if he were thinking about something.
Suddenly.
With a loud bang, the heavy glass door of the bar was pushed open forcefully from the outside, and a burst of noise came from the entrance.
Behind the bar, the manager and several busy waiters instantly froze. After exchanging glances, they hurriedly ran toward the door.
Jiang Chenyan had been looking sideways at Kai Lan, but now he also gave a faint glance toward the door. There was no expression on his face; he didn’t care much for the noise.
He withdrew his gaze, looked back at Kai Lan, and picked up his own glass, lightly clinking it against the other’s. “Ignore them. We’ll just have our drinks.”
There were always many people making trouble in bars; it wasn’t something worth paying attention to.
Kai Lan nodded lightly and took a sip of wine.
The peace didn’t last long. In just a few minutes, a waiter walked over quickly and said carefully to Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan: “Gentlemen, I’m sorry to bother you. This place… this place has been booked out. Would you… be able to leave?”
Jiang Chenyan was silent.
The entire bar? That person must have a mine.
Kai Lan was both angry and helpless. “Who is it?”
The waiter’s face was pale, and he hurried to explain: “Gentleman, the boss said… he will give you compensation. Double the consumption amount. Please bear with us.”
Since it was like this, the two didn’t plan to stay. Just as they got off their seats, the sound of footsteps came from near the bar entrance. Over a dozen men in black walked in neatly. Every one of them was expressionless, like a black wall.
However, the two who walked in last were different.
Their temperament and status were obviously different.
They were half a head taller than the men in black in front of them. Their sharply tailored black suits outlined broad shoulders and narrow waists. There was no expression on their faces, only an undiluted gloom.
The guests in the bar who were still whispering noticed this strange atmosphere, and their expressions suddenly turned ugly. They realized these were people they couldn’t afford to provoke.
Someone quietly stood up and hurriedly left the scene with their head lowered before the two completely blocked the exit.
The movements of Kai Lan and Jiang Chenyan froze simultaneously. Their steps stopped in place.
Once they saw the two faces clearly.
Kai Lan’s pupils shrank abruptly, and his voice was extremely low. “How can it be…”
Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian.
Jiang Chenyan’s face also darkened. A flash of coldness passed through his gray eyes but was quickly hidden.
The two looked at each other, seeing gravity in each other’s eyes, yet they didn’t stop their steps. They continued to walk toward the door as if nothing were wrong.
Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian also noticed Jiang Chenyan and the others at this time. They only gave a hurried glance and didn’t recognize them.
The remaining customers in the bar couldn’t help but secretly lower their voices and whisper.
“What’s the situation? Why would those two come here?”
“Don’t worry about it. Those two have had terrible tempers lately, and no one knows why.”
“Anyway, let’s be careful and leave first.”
Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan had good psychological quality. No trace of abnormality showed on their faces, and even their gazes didn’t wander.
The system had already exploded, howling frantically in excitement.
[Host, I’m so panicked, aaaaaa.]
Jiang Chenyan suppressed the system’s noise without changing his expression and continued walking toward the door.
Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian were still lingering at the entrance; it was hard not to notice the two of them.
They were clearly just wearing an ordinary brown overcoat with a simple style and nothing special about it—unremarkable among the crowd.
The closer they got…
The more uncontrollably their hearts pounded.
Jiang Chenyan’s fingertips even quietly clenched.
“Wait.”
A cold voice sounded from above them, like a winter wind that could freeze the surrounding air.
Jiang Chenyan’s steps paused, but he then continued walking forward. He instinctively thought this “Wait” was calling someone else. After all, people were coming and going at the bar entrance, and the disguise he and Kai Lan wore was extremely thorough; even their mothers might not recognize them.
One second before stepping out of the bar entrance, Jiang Chenyan’s wrist was suddenly grabbed by a powerful force.
Mu Sian’s fingers were icy, like iron clamps, almost crushing Jiang Chenyan’s wrist. “I am calling you.”
Jiang Chenyan, “…”
Kai Lan stood to the side, his scalp feeling numb and his hair standing on end. He was even more nervous than Jiang Chenyan, his palms drenched in fine cold sweat. He wished he could fly out immediately.
Once our identities are exposed, we are dead.
Jiang Chenyan took a deep breath and slowly turned around, his face still maintaining that calm.
“What is it, sir?”
Even though he had confidence in his disguise, a hint of unease still passed through Jiang Chenyan’s heart.
Mu Sian’s gaze grew deeper. He said nothing, just quietly staring at Jiang Chenyan. Those bottomless eyes held no emotion, like an invisible net.
Time passed second by second, each one feeling as long as a century.
Jiang Chenyan’s face gradually grew stiff. The bit of fluke in his heart was crushed bit by bit, and he felt an impulse to just “break the jar” (let whatever happens happen). At worst, he would be recognized.
What would he do after being recognized?
Slap Mu Sian a few times and then run…
Finally, Mu Sian moved.
He slowly raised his other hand and opened his palm. Inside was a silver cigarette pack.
“You dropped your cigarette pack.”
With that, Mu Sian handed the cigarette pack toward Jiang Chenyan.
Jiang Chenyan was stunned. He instinctively lowered his head to feel his overcoat pocket. His fingertips touched only soft fabric. He then looked at the cigarette pack in Mu Sian’s hand, confirming it was his.
“Thank you.” Jiang Chenyan reached out and took the pack, his fingertips inadvertently brushing Mu Sian’s palm.
Mu Sian didn’t look away the entire time. Those bottomless eyes stared fixedly at Jiang Chenyan’s fair, slender hand as he watched him shove the cigarette pack into his pocket.
Jiang Chenyan didn’t dare to stay any longer, pulling the already-stiff Kai Lan to leave.
On the other side, Xie Huaijin had long been waiting impatiently and urged Mu Sian: “Hurry up. Are you done yet?”
He glanced casually toward the door and happened to see the backs of Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan leaving.
For some reason, an inexplicable irritability arose in Xie Huaijin’s heart, as if something had been triggered. The words were almost blurted out: “Who is he? Tell that person to stop.”
The moment the words fell, Xie Huaijin himself was stunned for an instant.
He clearly didn’t recognize them, yet he instinctively wanted to call them back.
Unfortunately, Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan had already walked quickly out of the bar entrance. Once outside, they no longer cared about disguising themselves and ran as fast as they could.
In the alley, Kai Lan slumped against the cold wall, his chest heaving violently. The aftereffects of the wild run hadn’t passed yet, and his fingertips couldn’t stop shaking.
“I thought it was something major. it was just a pack of cigarettes.”
Mu Sian, do you have to mess with our minds like that?
There were almost no pedestrians on the street. the streetlamps cast dim yellow glows, forming light circles on the cold ground.
the cold wind was like a knife, swirling up the dust and fallen leaves on the ground with a rustling sound.
Jiang Chenyan wrapped his overcoat tighter. the pocket was very deep; how could that pack of cigarettes have fallen out?
And that man just had to stop him and stare at him for so long, just for a pack of cigarettes? Or… did Mu Sian really notice something?
Inside the bar, the noise had long since dispersed.
Mu Sian leaned against the bar, a cigarette between his fingers that hadn’t been lit. His expression was unreadable.
Xie Huaijin stood not far from him, his hands in his suit pockets, questioning him impatiently: “Why didn’t you stop that person?”
Mu Sian slowly turned and looked at Xie Huaijin. An meaningful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and there was no warmth in his eyes. “What? Are you trying to find another body double for him?”
As for who “him” referred to, there was no need for words; both of them understood.
Xie Huaijin’s expression was ugly. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Mu Sian lit the cigarette in his hand and took a puff. Smoke slowly spilled from between his lips and teeth, blurring the man’s refined features. “Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, you know it in your heart.”
It was rare for it to be Xie Huaijin’s turn to be silent. He turned and walked to the other side of the bar, pouring himself a drink and downing it in one go.
The pungent liquid scorched his throat yet still couldn’t drive away the pain and confusion deep in his heart.
Regret.
This was the first time Xie Huaijin had experienced this emotion.
In the past, no matter what he did, he could always find a reason to convince himself.
Now it was different.
That reason was gone.
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