Chapter 199: Catch Him

Upon hearing the news that Ling Wu had returned safely to Beidu City, Chu Yi came knocking; Xi Huaizhi and Shi Yu were out on a mission, and the entire villa was quiet, with the rustling of wind through the tree shade audible.

The doorbell rang.

Ling Wu saw it was Chu Yi through the peephole and opened the door: "Why are you here? Is there new intelligence?"

He stepped aside after speaking.

Chu Yi followed the momentum and entered; his hair was slightly longer, with stray locks vaguely obscuring the area below his eyebrows, and the eyes he revealed were very calm: "Can't I come to see you if it's not about the cooperation?"

After learning the news of Ling Wu's disappearance at the Snow Mountain, he had felt remorse and self-reproach in his heart, filled with fear and anxiety; fortunately, the person was fine.

After the two had parted on bad terms that day, Chu Yi felt he had been too impulsive, so he apologized: "About that night, I was in the wrong. I'm sorry."

Ling Wu had just taken a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them by his feet; looking up, he saw Chu Yi with his head bowed, looking very guilty and remorseful, like a well-behaved student who had done something wrong and was waiting for the teacher's punishment.

He let out a "pfft" and laughed.

Ling Wu patted Chu Yi on the shoulder, his tone casual: "What is it? I stopped holding a grudge long ago, why are you still dwelling on it?"

"Don't be so serious."

Chu Yi: "Mm, I know."

Chu Yi changed into the slippers and followed behind Ling Wu into the living room; his nose caught that familiar citrus scent again, and he looked first at the position of the ashtray on the coffee table, where there were a few cigarette butts.

He said nothing and quietly shifted his gaze away.

Chu Yi glanced toward the direction of the upstairs, seemingly feeling it was a bit empty and quiet: "Are they not home?"

"Mm." Ling Wu explained briefly: "They went to execute a mission."

Chu Yi was very tactful and did not ask further; for the rest of the time, he and Ling Wu chatted intermittently, with him initiating the topics, first asking about the time at the Snow Mountain, then talking about how he returned to Beidu City, and Ling Wu told him a mix of truth and lies, making the atmosphere quite harmonious.

During the conversation, Chu Yi seemed somewhat distracted.

His eyes kept falling on the ashtray.

As if carefully pondering something.

Chu Yi rested his arms on his thighs, leaning slightly forward, then tilted his head a little to look in Ling Wu's direction, before straightening his back: "Ling Wu, is there any cola at home?"

"Yes, if you want to drink some, I'll go get it for you." Ling Wu: "Room temperature or iced?"

Chu Yi answered without hesitation: "Iced."

"Alright."

Ling Wu put the throw pillow on the sofa, then shuffled in his slippers toward the refrigerator.

Chu Yi watched Ling Wu's back leave the living room; as he pulled the door, his upper body was quickly obscured by the opened refrigerator door, and then he reached his hand inside. While Chu Yi observed his movements, he pinched the cigarette butts in the ashtray with his index finger and thumb, and took the opportunity to put them into his pocket.

By the time Ling Wu returned, he had smoothed everything over, as if it had never happened.

【What is the villain doing with the cigarette butts from the ashtray?】

【The camera gave a close-up, is there some deep meaning?】

【???】

【Could it be that Chu Yi noticed something wrong with the cigarettes? He is very sharp-minded; back in the early stages, he asked why the male supporting character smoked but had no trace of cigarette smell on him. You have to know that someone who carries cigarettes with them couldn't possibly have no smell. Later, when at the Fu family, Chu Yi asked a similar question again. Although it was brushed off, I always felt he noticed something.】

【I think the one above is right, otherwise there's no motive to take the butts.】

【Don't forget the villain is a male ghost with a dark and damp heart. He lived in the Slums for over a decade and has seen every vice—prostitution, gambling, and drugs. How could he be some pure college student? He just likes to play the part of being well-behaved... He even realized that Ming Tan had changed his core after the fact; it's terrifying!】

【Is he suspicious?】

Chu Yi took the canned cola from his hand and asked: "Aren't you drinking?"

"Drinking iced cola in winter is a bit too cold. I've been focusing on health preservation lately, so I drink more tea and plain water." Ling Wu pointed to the can of cola in his hand and said: "This seems to be what Xi Huaizhi and Shi Yu bought back from the supermarket."

Chu Yi smiled: "I..."

"Ding!"

A string of phone ringtones interrupted Chu Yi's words; he pointed to his phone and then said to Ling Wu: "I'm going to take a call."

Ling Wu moved his legs, clearing a path for Chu Yi to go out, but perhaps because of his height and long legs, Chu Yi still inevitably brushed against Ling Wu's calves as he passed; the muscles pressed tightly against each other through the fabric for an instant, the pant legs rubbing together to create a faint sound, which felt somewhat ambiguous in the empty villa...

Yet both of them were calm and composed.

Their bodies brushed past each other.

Ling Wu watched him standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window taking the call, his gaze sweeping over the ashtray and then locking onto the pocket of Chu Yi's jacket; he quietly picked up his teacup, brought it to his lips, and took a shallow sip, the hot steam instantly blurring his features.

Did he take his things?

Why do that?

After Chu Yi finished the call and just sat down on the sofa, he heard a few cold words emerge from Ling Wu's throat, which had been warmed by the hot tea: "Chu Yi, the preserved plum candies I just put on the coffee table are gone. Did you see them?"

The two looked at each other with tacit understanding.

Both understood what was being referred to.

But no one was willing to pierce the window paper; both were waiting for the other to confess voluntarily.

A normal person would definitely answer "I saw them" or "No," but Chu Yi clearly gave a third type of answer; his tall and upright body pressed down, and he grabbed Ling Wu's hand and placed it on his chest, guiding his fingertips to wander: "Ling Wu, do you want to search for them on my body yourself?"

"It's very likely I took your candy."

Ling Wu's slender fingertips were held in his hand, guided to slide over the muscles of his chest; the space between them was cramped, eyes met, breath sprayed, and the restlessness continued to rise to the peak, just like boiling spring water bubbling up, bursting in the air, with water mist permeating...

"It's just candy." Ling Wu calmly withdrew his finger and spoke to Chu Yi in a very friendly tone: "Remember to tell me next time you want to eat some."

Chu Yi nodded: "I will."

As if he had suddenly remembered, he asked Ling Wu: "Are you very busy lately? If you have time, could I occupy half a day of your time?"

"Lately...?" Ling Wu thought seriously for a moment; the Research Institute didn't need him recently, so he spoke: "I have time lately, but I changed to a new card, so I can only contact you with this phone number for now."

"What do you want to do?"

Chu Yi suddenly stood up; his handsome face looked unusually gentle against the fur collar, and he raised his phone: "It's a secret for now, we'll contact each other by phone when the time comes."

After leaving the villa, Chu Yi sat in the car, one hand on the steering wheel, looking straight ahead, and dialed a call to Huo Xi: "General, I have something; I'll trouble you to send it to the Identification Department to test the ingredients inside."

Huo Xi's voice came from the receiver: "Your Highness, I will send you the test report once it comes out."

"Fine."

Yin Huaiyu had lost the chance to keep Ling Wu permanently imprisoned, and at the same time, he understood that there would be no possibility of it in the future; he sat in the unlit room, his gaze falling upon that solitary swivel chair, where for those few days, Ling Wu had sat so quietly and obediently reading.

He felt a bit of nostalgia for those times, but unfortunately, he hadn't held onto them tightly.

The pristine white bedsheets were covered with the personal items of Ling Wu that he had confiscated: a coat, a mobile phone, a lighter, a Cigarette Case... and those two knives.

He believed that as long as these things existed, there would surely be a connection with Ling Wu again; the two of them could not possibly be parallel lines that never intersected.

For the past few days, Yin Huaiyu had vaguely felt as if he were being watched; at first, he only thought it was a coincidence.

Today was a day of torrential rain, and the entire Beidu City was drowned in a haze; the windshield wipers swung back and forth, causing an inexplicable psychological oppression, and Yin Huaiyu had gone out of the city, passing by the vicinity of the Lower City District on his way back, intending to go to the company to hand over a new project.

Because of the heavy rain and the fact that it was night, there was basically no one on the streets; this area was a bit remote, and because it was close to the Lower City District, it was filled with mud and mottled walls everywhere.

The air was permeated with the smell of rust and muddy water.

It was a bit unpleasant, more like the sour stench of the poor.

Yin Huaiyu did not like this smell, but fortunately, this stretch of road was short, so he increased his speed.

At this moment, a car pulled out of the pitch-black alley with premeditation, crashing into Yin Huaiyu's Bentley, and the tires skidded across the rain-slicked ground, forcing it to a stop.

Yin Huaiyu cursed under his breath, his brows and eyes filled with malice.

He opened the car door and stepped out, only to notice an eerie silence on the street; there was damp moss in the mottled corners of the walls, and the pattering sound of rain fell, hitting the ground, yet there was no one in sight.

Yin Huaiyu saw the car that had hit him blocking the intersection, and he instinctively looked toward the road behind him, only to hear the sound of a vehicle braking sharply.

"Screech!"

The SUV door was opened, and the headlights illuminated the area; a bodyguard stepped out from the driver's seat, opened a black umbrella, and stood by the door.

Soon, a pair of long, well-proportioned legs stepped out from inside, perfectly wrapped in well-tailored suit trousers; the red-soled leather shoes landed steadily on the brick ground, powerfully and forcefully crushing the reflection of the distant neon lights in the puddles, and as his gaze pierced through the rain curtain, Yin Huaiyu saw Ling Wu's increasingly cold face clearly.

Ling Wu stood under the black umbrella, his entire demeanor set off by the rainy night as gloomy; he tucked one hand into his trouser pocket: "Long time no see, Young Master Yin."

This was by no means a simple greeting; Yin Huaiyu sensed the danger in it, but at this moment, seeing that face he had longed for day and night, he still felt a momentary lapse in focus: "Ling Wu..."

"It's me."

The corners of Ling Wu's mouth lifted slightly, the slender shape of his brows making him look very gentle, but when a flash of lightning streaked across that cold, pale face, casting a small triangular shadow, his expression instantly switched to indifference, and he gave the order, unmoving: "Grab him."

"Yes, Boss!"

The people Ling Wu brought were quite skilled; Yin Huaiyu was no match for them, and soon his arms were twisted behind his back, and he was pressed down into the muddy ground.

Yin Huaiyu's face was pressed against the old brick ground.

An intense sense of humiliation attacked from all sides; no matter how much he liked Ling Wu, he was still a man with a very strong sense of pride who had lived in luxury, and being treated like this, it was inevitable that he couldn't handle the provocation for a moment.

He struggled to lift his head, looking in the direction of the person in the main position: "Ling Wu, you're crazy! Daring to grab me in broad daylight in Beidu City, aren't you afraid of exposing your identity?"

Yin Huaiyu knew that Ling Wu had anger in his heart, and since the person had run away, there was no possibility of catching him a second time; he had intended to wait for things to calm down before going to coax him, and whether he was beaten or scolded, he would have accepted it willingly.

But he clearly forgot that Ling Wu was also a man, and would not allow others to threaten or trample on his dignity.

Now, the revenge had come.

Ling Wu snatched the umbrella from the bodyguard's hand, half-squatted in front of him, and grabbed Yin Huaiyu's hair, admiring the sight of the dirty muddy water sliding across his face: "What do I have to be afraid of? It's just tit for tat."

Yin Huaiyu looked at the person who had appeared within arm's reach, and the secret emotions hidden deep in his heart kept bubbling up; his violent urge to ravage reached its peak again.

This person, Ling Wu, was like an addictive poison.

"Tsk."

Ling Wu let go of his hair and stood up, holding the umbrella handle, looking down at him from above, and stepped on his shoulder with the tip of his shoe: "How pathetic."

"Do you regret it? When you dared to provoke me, did you ever think there would be a day like this?"

Yin Huaiyu was also a tough nut to crack; as he lay on the ground, looking up from below, Ling Wu's legs looked even straighter and longer, and his waistline even more graceful and sexy; he curled his lips in self-mockery: "Regret? I, Yin Huaiyu, don't even know how to write the word 'regret'!"

There was a wicked intensity in the depths of his peach-blossom eyes: "Oh, no... if I must say I regret something, it's that when I had you trapped, I didn't manage to fuck you until you couldn't leave me!"

Ling Wu was in a position of absolute superiority and advantage, possessing the power to do as he pleased, and he looked upon this behavior of winning through words with utter disdain: "Break one of his legs."

The rain fell in torrents.

This empty street was as eerie as hell.

"Yes."

Yin Huaiyu was iron-willed and not afraid of such petty tricks at all; he dug his fingers into the mud: "Ling Wu, I know you have resentment; even if you break my leg, I, Yin Huaiyu, will accept it."

"But I am determined to have you!"

Ling Wu's gaze did not even fall upon Yin Huaiyu, leaving him only with a proud and cold profile.

An iron rod smashed fiercely onto Yin Huaiyu's left leg; he gritted his teeth hard without making a sound, the veins on the back of his hands and temples bulging from the pain, his fingernails digging into the ground until they nearly broke, and he crawled forward two steps, trembling as he raised his hand to grab Ling Wu's trouser leg.

It was pitiful that he had once actually thought this person was kind and easy to bully.

He had never felt that kind side; he could only see Ling Wu's back, cold...

"Ling Wu... you are truly ruthless."

Yin Huaiyu's pain followed him closely like a maggot on a tarsal bone, and as he was submerged by the surging waves, he felt as if a part of his body were being forcibly stripped away; like a dull drumbeat, it struck his nerves again and again, and without waiting for him to have a chance to catch his breath, the iron rod followed one after another.

"Don't beat him to death; he's still useful."

Ling Wu was noncommittal to his words; he turned his body slowly, and as if bestowing a favor, let his gaze fall upon him: "Yin Huaiyu, we have plenty of time to verify whether your bones are harder, or my methods are."