PE Ch23: Mr. Huai, why don’t you speak?

The physical fitness of Alphas is indeed outstanding among humans. Huai Yu’s movements were nimble, and the old building posed no more difficulty to him than flat ground.

In a flash, he landed steadily, reached out, and took a new coat from the bodyguard’s arm, putting it on.

The bodyguard secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “You could go back to the military academy now and still win first place in a speed climbing competition.”

The coldness in Huai Yu’s brows had disappeared, and he even smiled mildly at the bodyguard.

“Get in the car,” he said.

The special convoy quickly left the alley.

“Are we going straight to the banquet?” the bodyguard asked.

“Back to the hotel.”

The bodyguard instinctively glanced in the rearview mirror. At a glance, he saw that Mr. Huai’s clothes inside were wrinkled, and even his hair was a bit messy. It was clear he hadn’t freshened up.

Didn’t Mr. Pan even let Mr. Huai wash up before he left?

Suppressing his curiosity, the bodyguard turned onto the road back to the hotel.

Huai Yu turned his head, staring at the rows of trees flashing by outside, his expression unclear.

It had been out of line.

Not Pan Yinchuan, but him.

Huai Yu returned to the hotel, washed up, and changed clothes. By the time he was done, there was only half an hour left before the banquet. He called the bodyguard over and said, “Send a new buffer to Qin Weiwen.”

The bodyguard hesitated, nodded, and was about to go.

“Have him change clothes and come to the banquet with me,” Huai Yu added.

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, Qin Weiwen arrived, well-prepared in a white suit he had ready.

“Mr. Huai.” Qin Weiwen approached and then froze, “How did your hand get hurt?”

Huai Yu lowered his eyes.

There were deep bite marks on his index and middle fingers. Though the blood had been cleaned, the marks looked quite fierce at a glance.

…Strangely, it didn’t make him feel angry.

On the contrary, he unconsciously pinched his fingertips, the warm sensation from when Pan Yinchuan licked his knuckles still lingering.

The vivid memories were rekindled a bit.

“Get a pair of gloves,” Huai Yu instructed the bodyguard.

The bodyguard quickly fetched a pair of white gloves and handed them over. Huai Yu stared at the gloves, squinting, and more colorful memories popped up in his mind.

“Forget it,” Huai Yu said.

The bodyguard stood there in astonishment; it was the first time he had seen Mr. Huai so capricious.

“Let’s just go,” Huai Yu got up, took his cane, and walked ahead slowly. Qin Weiwen didn’t get a response from him for a while, so he had no choice but to follow.

So, how exactly did the injury happen?

…It looks like a bite.

Did Mr. Huai call Pan Yinchuan over again after he left last night?

Qin Weiwen could only think of this possibility.

But it was hard to imagine that the usually silent Beta would dare to bite Mr. Huai’s hand so fiercely.

No wonder Mr. Huai decided to bring him along today. …Is Pan Yinchuan falling out of favor?

The banquet was held at an old, historical restaurant in Jiuhe City, built along the river view, with a bridge arching over the river, connecting two different areas.

When Huai Yu arrived, the governor quickly came out to greet him. But when he saw Qin Weiwen, the governor hesitated, unable to fathom Huai Yu’s preferences.

The banquet process was dull, with people coming to curry favor one after another.

Huai Yu leaned by the window, gazing at the river view, unconsciously rubbing the wound on his finger. The wound seemed to be healing, making his bones itch, and a thought kept popping into his mind—

Grabbing Pan Yinchuan, rubbing him hard, seemed to be the only way to deeply suppress that itch.

Qin Weiwen sat stiffly beside him, feeling that Mr. Huai’s mind was not here at all…

He couldn’t help but move his lips, just about to speak up.

“Mr. Huai.” A middle-aged man walked ahead; it was the president of Dongsa Trading Company, Wei Youfeng, who was the first to toast Huai Yu at the welcome party.

And following behind him was a burly Alpha, whose suit seemed ready to burst from his muscles.

“This is the president of the Qinglong Society,” Wei Youfeng introduced, pointing to the burly man.

The burly man slightly bowed, squeezing out a smile for Huai Yu: “Mr. Huai, it’s a great honor to meet you, thanks to Mr. Wei.”

Huai Yu asked directly, “You lend money at high interest rates in Jiuhe City?”

The burly man was stunned, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Generally, when someone from above asks this question, it implies that he should learn to “offer tribute,” and the next topic would be about profit sharing.

But Mr. Huai is not an official of Jiuhe City; he came from the central city. Is this a hint? Or an interrogation?

“You’re still playing the game of nine out of thirteen,” Huai Yu lightly sighed.

The burly man sensed that this tone was not right. He took half a step back and lowered his voice, “Mr. Huai, that’s not true. We’re doing legitimate business, and we’re not the only ones in this business.”

“Are you trying to say that the law does not punish the majority?”

“…” The burly man dared not speak. He knew that in front of someone like Huai Yu, any thought was seen through clearly.

“You! You’ve done something you shouldn’t have!” Wei Youfeng sighed beside him.

“What do you mean?” The burly man’s face turned pale, instinctively sensing trouble.

Wei Youfeng patted his shoulder, “You’ve lent high-interest loans to Mr. Huai’s little lover’s house, quite a gutsy move.”

The burly man instantly understood, there’s no law not punishing the majority here; today, he’s the only one to be punished!

His chest ached, a primal fear towards a more powerful Alpha. But even so, he quietly raised his hand, placing it on the gun at his waist.

“Do you have a subordinate named Brother Jiu?”

The burly man halted his movement, looking at Huai Yu in astonishment, instinctively answering, “Yes, we do…” He then roared, “Was it Lao Jiu who dared to commit this crime?! I’ll have someone bring him here right away!”

His entire back was drenched in cold sweat, but he breathed a sigh of relief internally. It’s good if there’s someone to blame. The real fear was that Mr. Huai wouldn’t ask anything and would directly crush them all; in front of the regular army, they, the local thugs, were nothing.

Brother Jiu was actually just a middle-ranking member in Qinglong Society, so he didn’t even qualify to attend such a banquet.

When he received the call, he was stunned for a good while, then suppressed his inner joy and swaggered into the restaurant.

“Big Brother!” Brother Jiu greeted from afar, walking briskly, only to find his big brother standing in front of Mr. Huai.

Could it be that they’re going to introduce me to Mr. Huai? How could I deserve… “Thud,” Brother Jiu was firmly pinned to the ground by the bodyguards.

Caught off guard, his mouth hit the tiled floor, splitting his lip, with blood slowly seeping out.

The Qinglong Society leader, hearing Wei Youfeng mention “Mr. Huai’s little lover’s house,” saw Qin Weiwen beside Huai Yu, and immediately pointed at Qin Weiwen, angrily scolding Brother Jiu: “How dare you offend Mr. Huai’s person? Do you have enough lives for that? Apologize! If you can’t make amends, you can forget about keeping your life!”

Brother Jiu’s back went cold; he struggled to lift his head but was dumbfounded the next moment.

Qin Weiwen was equally stunned.

“Big Brother, I… I don’t know him! Really don’t know him!” Brother Jiu shouted in panic.

Qin Weiwen realized they had offended Pan Yinchuan?

“You still dare to lie?” The burly man’s face darkened, his temples throbbing, looking like he was about to strike.

Huai Yu asked, “Who is Lao Yu?”

Brother Jiu froze, instantly understanding. So it’s for… for the Pan family! He recalled the troops that had stormed to the Pan family building before.

“Lao Yu’s full name is Yu Shengli; the boss knows him too. He’s the right-hand man of our boss.” Brother Jiu’s teeth chattered, hurriedly saying, “I… I even tried to persuade him before…”

Brother Jiu’s words were cut off by the burly man’s gnashing teeth: “So it was Lao Yu who took you to do private work and messed up.”

Lao Yu, carrying a basket of strawberries, had just walked into the Pan family’s house when his phone rang.

Facing him were the surprised Pan family couple, who asked, “Lao Yu, how come you have time to visit again today?”

Looking down, he saw a call from his boss.

Lao Yu smiled at the Pan couple first and said, “Isn’t it because I’m still thinking about Xiao Chuan?” As he spoke, he handed over the strawberries. Without waiting for them to refuse, he answered the phone.

“Come to Huiyun Restaurant.”

“Isn’t Mr. Huai attending a banquet today? Am I…qualified to go?” Lao Yu was a bit pleased but also felt regretful. He wanted to figure out what was unusual about Pan Yinchuan before continuing with the Pan family.

“You are my right-hand man. Why wouldn’t you come? Mr. Wei from Dongsa Trading Company will be there too; he can introduce us to Mr. Huai.”

Lao Yu was tempted and said, “Alright.”

After hanging up, he apologized to Pan Yueshan and his wife, “Sorry, I wanted to have a good chat, but the company is urging…”

Pan Yueshan and his wife vaguely heard something about Mr. Huai… Is it the one from Central City?

“It’s good for you to attend the meeting. Go ahead, we’ll talk another day.”

Lao Yu didn’t leave immediately but smiled and said, “By the way, Xiao Chuan’s plan to study in Nanta City is off. He can’t stay at home all the time. How about coming with me to the banquet to broaden his horizons?”

“How can that be?” Pan Yueshan was stunned. “What if he causes trouble for you…”

Lao Yu affectionately patted his shoulder, saying, “What’s our relationship? No need to be so polite.”

After that, he walked to the door of Pan Yinchuan’s bedroom.

The bodyguard’s mouth twitched.

Take him to broaden his horizons?

But in the end, he didn’t stop him.

Lao Yu raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Pan Yinchuan had just sent Huai Yu off and was thinking of going back to sleep… He slowly sat up, his head about to explode, feeling as if he had been on a strict diet for ten days.

But he was worried his parents might need something… So he dragged his exhausted body, but wait, he looked in the mirror first. Sure enough, there were finger marks on his cheek.

Pan Yinchuan quickly grabbed a mask and put it on before opening the door. He weakly coughed twice, “I caught a cold. Don’t get too close.”

Lao Yu’s eyes flashed, and he grabbed Pan Yinchuan’s wrist, “You should go to the hospital then. I’ll take you there.”

Lao Yu was an Alpha, but his pheromones weren’t aggressive. Pan Yinchuan didn’t shake off his hand.

But the bodyguard on the side stared deathly at this rude old man, thinking this had to be reported to Mr. Huai.

“Lao Yu, it’s not necessary…”

“Don’t worry. Let’s hear what Xiao Chuan thinks. Xiao Chuan, I want to take you to a banquet later. The big shot from Central City will be there too. It’ll be good for you to see. What do you think?”

The big shot from Central City? Mr. Huai?

Pan Yinchuan thought he must be clashing with Huai Yu today.

He stared at Lao Yu for a long time and softly said, “Sure.”

Pan Yueshan and his wife couldn’t stop him and could only watch Pan Yinchuan wash his face and brush his teeth before leaving with Lao Yu.

A bodyguard followed them from a distance.

“Xiao Chuan, you made a lot of friends this time out,” Lao Yu sighed.

“Not bad.”

“I remember back in high school, you only had Jia An as a friend. Now you have many friends.”

The “Jia An” Lao Yu mentioned was his son, also a Beta.

Pan Yinchuan perked up a bit and said, “Not just him. Besides Jia An, I had another friend back then. By the way, Jia An has been in Ross State for a few years now. When is he coming back?”

Lao Yu laughed, “Who knows? He’s very career-minded.”

“That’s a good thing.” Pan Yinchuan said and then closed his eyes again, looking very tired.

Lao Yu frowned and half-jokingly said, “Does that friend of yours like you?”

Pan Yinchuan’s brain short-circuited and didn’t catch on, “Who?”

“The one who’s been following the car,” Lao Yu pointed out.

Oh, he meant Mr. Huai’s bodyguard.

Pan Yinchuan, still reeling from the shock earlier, nearly jumped again.

“A regular friend. Where did you get that idea?” Pan Yinchuan shook his head.

At this point, the car stopped.

Lao Yu took Pan Yinchuan straight out. A doorman was there to guide them, so they entered smoothly.

“He’s here. Lao Yu is here,” the burly man said in a low, trembling voice.

Everyone looked up and first saw the young Beta beside Lao Yu.

Pan Yinchuan and Huai Yu’s eyes met.

Then Pan Yinchuan silently pulled up his hood.

He was wearing a hoodie today, with a large hood that covered most of his face. With the mask, it was almost completely covered. He then glanced around and saw Qin Weiwen sitting next to Huai Yu.

…Oh, one after another.

Alphas really don’t need rest, huh?

Pan Yinchuan sighed from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Huai Yu followed Pan Yinchuan’s gaze and remembered Qin Weiwen.

In an instant, Huai Yu’s mood became extremely complicated, and he clenched his hand resting on his knee.

Qin Weiwen was equally shocked.

Why did Pan Yinchuan come with that Lao Yu?

Am I the caught third wheel?… Probably not. We’re all lovers; who’s nobler than whom?

The air was dead silent.

“Mr. Huai?” the burly man weakly called out.

Lao Yu sensed the atmosphere was off and first bowed, “Mr. Huai, it’s an honor to meet you.” As he spoke, he tugged Pan Yinchuan’s sleeve, “Come, give Mr. Huai a big bow.”

Pan Yinchuan’s hand slipped from his pocket, exposing a wrist. There were still marks on it, left by Huai Yu.

Huai Yu’s eyelid twitched, feeling an inexplicable sense of irritation and displeasure.

Brother Jiu was very dissatisfied, wondering why Lao Yu wasn’t immediately taken down.

“Mr. Huai! This is Lao Yu!” Brother Jiu emphasized loudly.

Why aren’t you saying anything, Mr. Huai?

____________

Author’s Note:

At this moment, everyone was very nervous. [Except Xiao Pan.]