Chapter 372: Waiting for You

After Bai Mu Yun left, Yang Yichen took Ying Duo to a secluded corner; when two cups of coffee were brought over, he decided to start by asking the most basic question.

"Is what's written on that wanted notice… true?"

His gaze swept the sides of the corridor, confirming no one else was eavesdropping,

Ying Duo tilted his head, his golden eyes looking at him, "Which one?"

"All."

"Basically they're all true," Ying Duo nodded approvingly, showing no intention of denying it.

"You…" Yang Yichen, choosing his words carefully, felt a familiar headache flare up again, "How did you do it?"

Ying Duo blinked, "Just press a button?"

Yang Yichen forced down the urge to hit him, "Do you know what these charges add up to?"

"I know," Ying Duo's tone remained flat, sounding a bit indifferent, "The Church and the Dome have always been opposing forces; at most they just haven't openly clashed yet."

He looked at Yang Yichen, his golden eyes showing no ripple.

"I just became a pawn set up for them; isn't that perfectly normal?"

Yang Yichen opened his mouth to rebut, but found there really was nothing to argue against.

The Dome and the Church's relationship has always been superficially peaceful, while secretly stabbing each other.

His brother's current situation, in the grand backdrop of this world, is indeed quite normal; at most he's just overly active.

Fine.

Yang Yichen decided to skip this topic for now.

His gaze fell on Ying Duo's hair, then he exhaled a long breath, his tone carrying a relieved sense of gratitude.

"Good thing you didn't actually dye your hair Ying Guang Lu."

Ying Duo's movement paused for a moment.

He looked up at Yang Yichen, a subtle flicker passing through his golden eyes.

"Is it possible that my current black is the disguise?"

"... Are you serious?"

Ying Duo nodded.

Yang Yichen suddenly recalled the brother in the real world, perhaps still sitting in front of a computer.

His brother in this world sported a head of Ying Guang Lu, blew up the Black Stone Mountain Range, blew up the Air Train, triggered a Mutation in Tianmian City, and became a top wanted criminal.

Yang Yichen closed his eyes, then opened them again.

His brother's choice of favorite color is his own freedom.

What's wrong with Ying Guang Lu?

Aside from being a bit dazzling, it's not a big issue.

Yang Yichen silently convinced himself.

Wait, if the Yang Yixie of this world likes Ying Guang Lu.......

Would the real‑world Yang Yixie also.......

Yang Yichen's thoughts began to drift.

Then he made a decision: after returning to reality, he would definitely buy his real‑world brother something Ying Guang Lu.

Hats, clothes, scarves, keyboards, mice, headsets—

Anything Ying Guang Lu, he'll buy a set for him.

After all, by that comparison, his real‑world brother is just too well‑behaved.

Ying Duo watched Yang Yichen perform a Sichuan opera face‑changing act before him; he knew that his brother's past facial expressiveness had made him feel quite inferior.

Yang Yichen was about to ask something else when he heard footsteps slowly approaching.

Ying Duo's golden eyes narrowed slightly, and Yang Yichen also put away his wandering thoughts, his gaze cautiously turning toward that direction.

A man stepped out from the corner and stopped in front of the two.

"Excuse me," his voice was gentle and courteous, as if greeting an old friend after a long separation, "May I boldly ask whether you two are interested in attending tonight's banquet?"

Yang Yichen subconsciously frowned, "Banquet?"

"Yes," the man nodded.

"Tonight at nine, a small banquet will be held in the observation hall on the airship's top deck; every passenger on the airship may attend."

He pulled two elegant invitations from his coat, handing them to the two, "If you wish to come, please bring the invitation. Of course, the invitation is only for some small games during the event; you can still enter without it."

Yang Yichen took the invitation, his eyes quickly scanning its contents.

The lettering was hot‑stamped gold, the patterns delicate; the signature bore a crest he hadn't seen before—a thrush surrounded by a six‑pointed star.

The man, seeing the invitations delivered, gave a slight nod.

"Then, I won't keep you any longer; I hope to see you both at tonight's banquet."

Having said that, he turned and left at a relaxed pace, soon disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Yang Yichen stared at the two invitations, silent for a moment.

"They must be from the high‑level organizations on the airship," he whispered to Ying Duo, his tone carrying a non‑chalant indifference.

"I've encountered this kind of airship a few times; officially it's 'free participation,' but in reality it's just a social venue for the well‑connected."

He paused, his gaze landing on the invitation's signature.

"That crest belongs to the Windsor family, a noble house that fell into decline long ago."

Honestly, Yang Yichen finds life in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs somewhat tough.

His colleagues at the ministry are all adept at reading people; just from someone's accessories on a given day they can guess the mood of that day's guests.

Simply memorizing the crests of those old‑line aristocrats and emerging powers is already exhausting, but fortunately his assignments stay within his capacity, and his superior looks out for him, so he's doing fairly well.

Ying Duo listened as Yang Yichen started to give him a rundown of the twists and turns here; he just lowered his head, toyed with the invitation in his hand, and gave no reply.

He then turned it over; on the back was a tiny slip of paper.

The slip's material was completely different from the invitation, as if torn casually from somewhere, its edges a bit ragged.

The writing on it—

Ying Duo stared at the dog‑crawl‑like characters and fell silent.

The characters looked as if a drunken mosaic had smashed together; every stroke trembled, every turn twitched, like a horde of drunk spiders crawling over them.

Untranslatable

Untranslatable

Wait for you

Below there was also a tiny smiley drawn in the same font.

Yang Yichen kept babbling on without pause, "If you don't want to go, you can stay away; this kind of gathering is indeed boring, and—"

"Brother."

Ying Duo cut him off.

Yang Yichen stopped speaking and looked at him.

Ying Duo raised his hand and slipped the tiny slip into Yang Yichen's hand.

Yang Yichen took it, glanced at it, and fell silent on the spot.

Some memories he didn't want to recall were resurfacing.

"...... What is this?"

Ying Duo thought for a moment and gave a candid assessment.

"A duel."

Yang Yichen ignored his words and recalled the man who had just delivered the invitation.

He had a pair of affectionate, peach‑blossom eyes, and exuded a relaxed playboy aura.

Not the greasy type of playboy, but the sort who constantly frequents upscale venues and chats merrily with various socialites and noble ladies.

Yang Yichen's mind rang alarm bells instantly.

This kind of person, this kind of setting, this 'wait for you' slip—

doesn't feel right.

Very wrong.