Chapter 895: I Who Exist for You 31

May I ask who you're looking for?

Yishen opened the door, saw it was an unfamiliar stranger, and felt a bit wary.

Ah… hello.

The young man checked the door number again, confirmed he hadn't gotten lost, then smiled at Yishen and said, "I'm looking for Jin Chen. Is he home?"

Yishen didn't answer right away, only asking, "May I ask who you are?"

I'm a colleague of Jin Chen's, here to discuss some matters with him.

Colleague.

Jin Chen had indeed said before that he now works at a detective agency.

Yishen's doubts eased a little: "He's not home. If you have something to say, I can pass it along for you."

Not home…

The young man suddenly fell into thought, pushed up his glasses, his tone slightly solemn, "Did you meet with Yixi?"

Never mind, it's the same either way; relaying Yixi's message wouldn't be wrong either.

He muttered to himself, seemingly unaware of Yishen's changing expression, "Then I'll take my leave, sorry for the disturbance."

Having said that, he turned and walked away, still muttering something under his breath.

Yishen felt something odd and followed after him.

At the stairwell corner, he saw the young man place a phone call.

"Jin Chen has already met with Yixi; there shouldn't be any mistake, after all, cooperating with our Exchange benefits him only."

Yishen stood on the stairs above, hearing those words clearly, his brows knitting tight as he instinctively gripped the railing.

Who's collaborating with the Time Exchange… Jin Chen?

How could that be possible.

"When we seized the Fortune Value earlier, wasn't Jin Chen secretly sabotaging us? Otherwise, how could we have obtained it so easily?"

"Yes, I'm heading back now."

The young man hung up, and when he put his sunglasses back on, he looked like a different person.

Yishen's breath hitched, his pupils constricted.

It's that… Number One from the Time Exchange.

He had seen him before.

How could this…

After the person left, a small USB drive remained on the ground, as if it had fallen from a pocket.

Yishen hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the USB drive for a long while, then went to pick it up, watching the retreating figure downstairs, his gaze dark and inscrutable.

Yishen locked the door tightly, inserted the USB drive to check its contents, and found only a single video inside.

In the video, Jin Chen and Yixi chatted happily, discussing nothing but their cooperation and matters related to the Time Exchange's Fortune Value.

There was no confrontation; in fact, the atmosphere was harmonious, with candles lit on the table.

Yishen's hand on the mouse slowly tightened, a faint dark light flickering in the depths of his eyes.

Actually, he didn't care what they were talking about; he hadn't intended to believe it anyway.

Number One abruptly showed up, spouting a bunch of nonsense; given the vigilance of Time Exchange members, it was impossible for them not to notice his tailing.

Number One had deliberately let him see this video.

But Yishen couldn't accept it—Yixi was poorly imitating him, even using that to banter happily with Jin Chen.

He and Yixi bear no resemblance at all, so many say only one of them is biologically related, while the other's parentage is obvious.

But aside from his anger, Yishen also noticed a certain word.

Huacishu.

He of course remembered this person—the kind netizen who had compiled most of the evidence.

But hearing Yixi's words in the video, Huacishu actually being a member of the Time Exchange…

Yishen saw the video's progress bar reach the end, a chill rising from within.

He couldn't help but admit one thing.

His life had already been entangled in secrets and schemes, as if everyone wanted his life, ready to leap from the darkness at any moment and bite him.

Yishen called Jin Chen.

One… three.

Jin Chen didn't answer.

Yishen gripped his phone tightly, closed his eyes, and lay back onto the sofa, almost sinking into it.

He pinched his brow, feeling uneasy inside.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Jin Chen; his mind was in turmoil, and he didn't even want to imagine Jin Chen and Yixi chatting amicably.

After a moment, Yishen changed his clothes and decided to go out to find Jin Chen.

The private room's decor in the video was distinctive, the table bore the restaurant's logo; this city isn't large, so accurately locating that Western eatery isn't difficult.

——

Overcast rain drenched the whole city; stepping out of the taxi, Yishen glanced at his phone's map navigation, his slightly curled hair falling at his temples, expression serious.

Yo, isn't that Yishen?

Yishen heard the voice, glanced sideways, then immediately averted his gaze, somewhat helpless.

Move aside.

"Hey," the several people exchanged glances, their smiles full of mockery, "How long has it been since we last saw the great talent Yishen?"

"After graduating from university, the time we meet face to face has only been getting less and less."

I heard you were recently exposed for plagiarism, hey… I don't know who was acting all high and mighty back then.

Several people chatted back and forth, and in the course of talking they had already blocked Yishen, not letting him leave.

Yishen listened to their noisy chatter, put his phone back into his coat pocket, and refused to continue communicating.

If you keep blocking the way, watch out for a traffic accident.

His tone was calm, seeming like just a friendly reminder.

But these few people used to be Yishen's roommates, so of course they knew about his strange ability.

They immediately stepped aside, but insistently blocked Yishen in a spot where vehicles weren't allowed to pass, only then feeling relieved.

Old classmate, long time no see, let's grab a meal.

The leader made his request with a carefree air, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, giving off the vibe that if Yishen didn't agree, he wouldn't be leaving today.

I'm busy, move out of the way.

Yishen simply found it utterly baffling—normally he never sees them at all, yet today he runs into three of them at once.

Just then, something even more baffling appeared.

Who are you? What are you doing, bullying people on the street?!

A young man rushed over, wearing earphones around his neck, full of a sense of justice, and holding a stick in his hand.

He shielded Yishen behind him, waving the stick back and forth at the three.

Hurry up and get out of here! Otherwise I'll beat you!

Yishen watched helplessly as the few people who had just been fierce and menacing, as if having received some order, turned and ran, as fast as they could.

Are you okay? Don't be scared, I've chased them all away.

Yishen: ……

He tilted his head, glanced at the three who had run off, then looked at the righteous person, and finally at the damp street scene, speechlessly gazing up at the sky.

This is just too much like a plot from a novel.

The protagonist encounters a baffling threat with no logic, then somehow a complete stranger inexplicably volunteers to come to the rescue.

Or maybe it's just a melodramatic novel.

When he used to write, how did he not notice how speechless this scene makes one?

'Friend, meeting is fate—let's grab a meal together. I'm really glad to meet you; I'm Zhu Yan.'

The young man stretched out his hand, his smile warm.

Yishen's brow twitched slightly, his gaze shifting to the man's face.

Zhu Yan.

'You and Huaci…' 'I am Huaci Shu.'

Zhu Yan quickly took over the conversation.

Yishen: ……

It's getting more and more baffling.

He glanced at the western restaurant at the end of the street corner, pursed his lips, then met Zhu Yan's smile that obviously hid a secret.

'Good.'