PE Ch44: Something More Extreme

“Let’s go, I’ll take you back.” Huai Yu spoke, breaking the tense silence.

Pan Yinchuan nodded and followed him to the car.

Yan Xue showing up at Pan Yinchuan’s home couldn’t possibly bring as much excitement to Lin Shaoyan as this scene did.

Suddenly, Lin Shaoyan turned towards Pan Yinchuan and said, “I can’t live a relaxed and broad life. My identity has been exposed, and Yan Xue shares responsibility for it. He has to dispose of me to absolve himself of the negligence charge.”

Pan Yinchuan paused in his steps and turned back.

Before he could speak, Yan Xue sneered and said, “Yes, I have to deal with you. Even if I don’t kill you, you’ll be sent to an A-level prison…”

Pan Yinchuan sighed helplessly, interrupted Yan Xue, and met Lin Shaoyan’s gaze. “You won’t let yourself end up in such a situation, right? The Lin Shaoyan who grew up orphaned, raised by his grandmother, with no family left in the world, might have. But the Lin Shaoyan before me now wouldn’t.”

Lin Shaoyan’s breath caught.

He probably realized that showing weakness wouldn’t work on Pan Yinchuan, so he didn’t make any unnecessary movements or expressions.

Even after Pan Yinchuan got into the car and the door closed, Lin Shaoyan remained still.

“I didn’t expect Little Pan to reject you,” Yan Xue spoke, with a tone of venting his frustration.

Lin Shaoyan remained silent.

The more he stayed silent, the more Yan Xue couldn’t help but continue mocking, “In the end, how many times have you actually met him? The Pan Yinchuan you think of is just an idealized and imagined version after a few brief encounters…”

Finally, Lin Shaoyan spoke, “Only after deep interaction did I realize he’s even better than I imagined.”

Yan Xue’s voice abruptly stopped, and after a moment, turned into an angry shout, “Are you insane? He rejected you!”

“He wouldn’t be Pan Yinchuan if he didn’t reject me,” Lin Shaoyan turned his face slowly. “He’s different from your Alphas. He’s not governed by pheromones or driven by desire. I believe that when he nods and makes a choice, it’s genuine love from his heart.”

Lin Shaoyan paused and asked back, “If you could have such love, who would care about the occasional affection of an Alpha?”

Yan Xue choked up, unable to respond, before finally sneering, “Too bad he’s with Huai Yu now.”

As Yan Xue said this, the sound of his grinding teeth was audible with jealousy.

Lin Shaoyan’s teeth were also audibly grinding as he retorted, “I believe he won’t like Huai Yu.”

“Just because you believe he won’t, he won’t? He could reject you, reject Yu Jia’an, but not Huai Yu…” Yan Xue mocked.

“That’s because Huai Yu’s status and power make it impossible for him to refuse! He dares not refuse!” Lin Shaoyan said darkly, his tone even changing in the conversation.

The car returned to the unit building.

“Mr. Pan,” Assistant Zhang stood there, surprised to greet Pan Yinchuan.

They went out for a drive so quickly, and even took a round of wind before returning?

He smiled and continued, “Should we cancel the hotel reservation?”

“No need to cancel,” Pan Yinchuan replied.

Assistant Zhang immediately adjusted his expression, discreetly assessing Huai Yu’s demeanor first and then looking at Pan Yinchuan again.

So… they didn’t reconcile?

“Goodbye, Assistant Zhang,” Pan Yinchuan politely nodded at him, then went straight upstairs.

“Huai Yu, this…” Assistant Zhang turned to Huai Yu.

Huai Yu remained seated in the car without moving.

Assistant Zhang quickly opened the door and got in. “Mr. Pan’s attitude just now…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed something unusual. “You’ve taken suppressants?”

No wonder… he could watch Pan Yinchuan leave so calmly.

At that moment, a figure approached slowly.

Without even looking, Huai Yu spoke calmly through Assistant Zhang’s slightly stern expression, “Jian Yan, it seems Ros State can no longer accommodate you.”

Jian Yan heard this but didn’t change his expression. Instead, he relaxed a bit and asked, “Where does Sir plan to send me this time?”

Assistant Zhang frowned, but quickly relaxed again. “Are you hoping for Pan to pity you? And if he does, what then?”

“Jian Yan’s tone was somewhat self-deprecating but also somewhat triumphant. ‘Pan Yinchuan’s favor only goes to the weak. It’s a pity that Mr. Huai is too high and mighty, too powerful. If it weren’t for the compulsory binding, Pan Yinchuan would never spare a glance at Mr. Huai for the rest of his life.’

“Jian Yan!” Assistant Zhang angrily interrupted.

Huai Yu turned expressionlessly. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“Even when reminded, can you resort to feigning distress?” Jian Yan shook his head. “Unfortunately, you possess too much.”

Assistant Zhang frowned, feeling that Jian Yan was asking for trouble.

“Don’t forget how you got to where you are today…”

“I would die for Huai Yu, and it doesn’t conflict with my liking for Pan Yinchuan,” Jian Yan suddenly interrupted.

Pan Yinchuan’s voice unexpectedly came from above, “Could you discuss elsewhere and not block my building?”

Jian Yan and Assistant Zhang immediately fell silent.

Assistant Zhang looked up and saw Pan Yinchuan standing on the balcony, frowning slightly and not looking pleased.

“Drive, to the hotel,” Huai Yu ordered.

The driver immediately pressed the accelerator.

At this moment, Jian Yan dared not provoke Pan Yinchuan further and obediently walked away.

Back in the living room, Pan Yinchuan faced Pan Yue Shan’s stunned and bewildered gaze, murmuring, “He… still listens to our son.”

“When he was courting, he didn’t know how to behave, isn’t that why he’s wifeless?” Wang Xiu interjected.

Pan Yue Shan nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, you’re right. But… how do you know our son wants to be someone’s wife? That Lin is an Omega. If Yinchuan likes Lin, then Lin will be Yinchuan’s wife.”

Wang Xiu calmly stated, “That Omega’s aggressiveness is much stronger than Yinchuan’s.”

Pan Yinchuan: ?

—

Meanwhile, Huai Yu arrived at the hotel, shortly followed by Yan Xue.

Assistant Zhang asked, “Where is your wife?”

Yan Xue turned to Huai Yu. “Where is your wife?”

A suffocating silence filled the room.

After a while, unable to contain his curiosity, Yan Xue asked again, “Didn’t Pan go home with you?”

“I was just sending him home,” Huai Yu replied.

Yan Xue’s mouth twitched, finding it hard to accept when had this person started acting like a gentleman.

“Did you do anything else?” Yan Xue persisted, then changed tack. “You’re not exactly a refined and easygoing person. You can’t keep pretending like this forever, right? I see Pan has a broad mind. When it’s time to accept fate, he accepts it. Why don’t you just take him back to Central City…”

“I have another idea for you,” Huai Yu calmly interjected.

Yan Xue leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me.”

“Simply lock up Lin Shaoyan on espionage charges.”

“But… won’t everyone in the world know I married a spy?”

“There is another way. For instance, you could turn back now and shoot him dead. That way, no one would know he was toying with you.”

“…” Yan Xue’s expression froze. After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence, “That… that wouldn’t be good. If I killed him with my own hands, I’d remember him for the rest of my life.”

Huai Yu leaned against the armrest of his chair and looked at Assistant Zhang, “Then how about this: Zhang Xing will help you with the execution.”

Yan Xue: “…”

He wasn’t stupid, so he quickly responded, “You keep pretending in front of Xiao Pan. Pretend I never said anything. You can take him back to Central City whenever you want.”

Huai Yu looked at him, his eyes devoid of emotion, “See, you can’t deal with Lin Shaoyan, and you’re targeting Pan Yinchuan. How pointless.”

“Aren’t you also thinking about killing Lin Shaoyan?”

“Do I want to? I don’t. I’m just giving you some advice… Lin Shaoyan made it very clear. The part of him you like is just a facade. Before he used the gene editor, he wasn’t even an Omega. Do you really like him? You chased him here just because you can’t accept it.”

Yan Xue fell silent.

After a while, he said, “Isn’t your interest in Xiao Pan also just because you can’t accept it?”

“No.”

“No? You…”

“If it was just about not being able to accept it, when the glass shattered in the café, I would have walked in and killed Lin Shaoyan, then, as you said, without notifying anyone, I would have taken Pan Yinchuan directly back to Central City… No, from the beginning, he would never have left that estate.”

If it was just about not being able to accept it.

He would have done something even more extreme.

For example, when Pan Yinchuan’s parents were looking down from the balcony, he would have pressed Pan Yinchuan down and kissed him.

Or even earlier, he could have let someone hear them having s*x over the phone, completely stripping away his dignity.

He could have used tactics to make everyone here push Pan Yinchuan towards him, begging him to return.

He could have made Pan Yinchuan completely isolated, deprived of all social contact, with the only thing to look forward to each day being their intimate encounters.

He could have locked him up, erasing all light from the room. Only when he was by Pan Yinchuan’s side would there be a glimmer of light. Driven by a human’s need for light, Pan Yinchuan would quickly crave meeting him every day and having intimate relations.

…

These complicated thoughts flashed through his mind; they were indeed tempting. But he could resist.

“…” Yan Xue was speechless.

Assistant Zhang was also a bit stunned.

He took a deep breath and sincerely suggested to Yan Xue, “Major Yan, it’s not too late to go back and capture Lin Shaoyan now.”

What Mr. Huai couldn’t bear to do to Xiao Pan, Yan Xue could do.

Yan Xue was silent for a few seconds, then finally said with a dark face, “…We fought.”

Assistant Zhang was taken aback, “What?”

Huai Yu wasn’t surprised, “After all, he’s from the military. To be able to infiltrate your side, besides the training targeted at your preferences, he obviously received training on how to subdue you as well.”

Yan Xue felt somewhat ashamed and annoyed: “Didn’t subdue him! Didn’t subdue him! We just fought…”

“And then he escaped from the encirclement?”

“That’s because I had ordered not to shoot… otherwise…”

Assistant Zhang touched his chin and said, “You could have shot him in the leg.”

Yan Xue’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

At this point, Huai Yu lost interest in chatting about other people’s spouses. He opened his laptop and began handling business matters.

Assistant Zhang immediately gestured for Yan Xue to leave.

Yan Xue stood up and said, “Lin Shaoyan still has some Alpha traits deep down.”

“Hmm?”

“He has a desire for and possessiveness over Xiao Pan.”

Huai Yu’s thoughts remained unchanged, and he simply said, “Then you better hope Lin Shaoyan doesn’t do anything extreme, or your spouse will end up being sent back to you in a box of pieces.”

Yan Xue choked up and, feeling stifled, walked out in large strides.

So even if he kills his spouse, he firmly refuses to forcibly take Xiao Pan away?

–

With neither Jian Yan nor Lin Shaoyan around, Pan Yinchuan had a rather peaceful night, and his complexion was rosy and glowing.

He received a sudden call from his boss, needing him to accompany him on a business trip. So he hurriedly packed his luggage and left.

It was Sunday, and many neighbors were home.

The previously quiet building was bustling today.

“Brother Pan, when are we going to have your wedding candies?”

“There were quite a few people here yesterday… aren’t they all your suitors?”

“Yeah, yeah, how come they all showed up?”

“Those people were quite fierce.”

“One even looked a lot like Yan Xue, haha, but Yan Xue wouldn’t come to our little 18th-tier city, right?”

Pan Yinchuan paused, seeing his father sweating heavily, and he also started to sweat a bit.

But he was in a rush to leave, so he couldn’t turn back now and could only continue walking as if nothing had happened.

At the entrance of the building, there was a card table set up. In the summer, this floor was always cool, so the neighbors would gather here to play cards and chat to save on air conditioning costs.

Sometimes, when there wasn’t enough seating, they would sit on the stairs, one person every two steps.

Today, the stairs were full.

Just yesterday, the hallway had been quiet.

“Oh, Xiao Pan, when did you come down? I didn’t notice!” a neighbor spotted him.

Pan Yinchuan forced a natural smile: “Good morning, uncles and aunts.” “Dad, I have to go on a business trip.”

Before Pan Yue Shan could respond, the other neighbors chimed in: “Business trips are good, business trips are good.”

Their comments made Pan Yue Shan pull his son aside and ask, “Are you really going on a business trip?”

Pan Yinchuan: ?

Pan Yinchuan: “Is there a fake business trip?”

“Oh, then it’s nothing. You can go.” Pan Yue Shan was relieved.

Pan Yinchuan finally exited the building, but soon ran into Aunt Cheng and her daughter returning from grocery shopping.

Aunt Cheng’s daughter looked at Pan Yinchuan and tilted her head, saying, “Impressive.”

Now Pan Yinchuan was sure that although the building had been quiet yesterday, the neighbors hadn’t missed any of the excitement.

Pan Yinchuan didn’t dare think about how his reputation might have taken a hit. He quickly headed to the station to meet his boss.

“This is Xiao Yu,” the boss introduced. “He’s from the Operations Department. You haven’t met him before, but he’s coming with us to discuss a project.”

Hearing the surname “Yu,” Pan Yinchuan felt a bit of PTSD.

But this time, Yu Jia’an should really be dead, and given his life experience, he couldn’t work in the Operations Department of a new energy company.

Later, Pan Yinchuan learned from his boss that Xiao Yu’s surname wasn’t the same “Yu” as Yu Jia’an’s.

His full name was Yu Tong, and although the boss called him Xiao Yu, he was actually seven or eight years older than Pan Yinchuan.

This was much more reassuring.

Jiuhe City didn’t have an airport, so they took a train to a neighboring city.

Jiu’an City was the most prosperous city in the state. To boost the local economy, the governor had organized an investment promotion conference.

Pan Yinchuan’s boss was there to promote the company and hopefully secure larger orders.

Pan Yinchuan’s role was to step in when the boss had a sudden health issue.

The conference was so popular that the hotels had stopped taking reservations online. After getting off the train, they had to find a vacant room three kilometers from the event location.

There were only two rooms.

Yu Tong immediately said, “No problem, I can share a room with Xiao Pan.”

The boss said, “That’s not acceptable. Xiao Pan has to stay with me. The reason I hired him is for this.”

“Huh?”

“He needs to monitor my health condition at all times.”

“Oh, right, right.”

Although the boss was an Alpha, his pheromones weren’t strong and posed no threat or pressure to those around him.

So Pan Yinchuan didn’t mind.

After checking in and dropping off their luggage, it was already mealtime.

Meanwhile, the neighbors chatting in the stairwell fell silent and all turned to look at the Omega entering the building.

Lin Shaoyan faced their gazes nonchalantly and said to Pan Yue Shan, “Uncle, I’m here to see Yinchuan.”

“He went on a business trip out of town.”

“A business trip?” Lin Shaoyan was stunned. Was his first reaction that he was avoiding me? No, was he avoiding us?

Yan Xue, seeing Lin Shaoyan enter the building, sat in Huai Yu’s car and gritted his teeth, saying, “He sure is bold, coming here again.”

Huai Yu looked down at the files on his lap, not even bothering to reply with an “mm.”

“Mr. Huai, do you trust Xiao Pan that much?”

“What do you want me to do?” Huai Yu looked up, a hint of coldness in his expression. “I’d love to kill Lin Shaoyan, but you won’t take my suggestion.”

“Out…” Yan Xue suddenly said.

Huai Yu looked up and turned his head.

Lin Shaoyan walked out of the apartment building.

“Pan Yinchuan is not home,” Huai Yu said, frowning slightly, “and he’s out of town.”

“Yes, otherwise with Lin Shaoyan’s personality, how could he leave so easily?” Yan Xue said sarcastically.

Huai Yu glanced at Assistant Zhang, who immediately understood and turned his head to make a phone call.

“They’re at Rose Hotel in Jiu’an City, checked in with two others, one is his company’s boss, the other a colleague,” Assistant Zhang said after putting down the phone.

“So fast? …You had someone watching him?” Yan Xue’s expression was peculiar, “Aren’t you unwilling to hurt little Pan at all?”

Huai Yu said lightly, “How is this hurting him? I’m just keeping an eye on him. I need to keep an eye on him.”

He then asked Assistant Zhang, “Anything else?”

“Uh, little Pan and his boss are sharing a room,” Assistant Zhang’s voice lowered.

Yan Xue’s breath caught as he looked again at Huai Yu’s expression.

“His boss…is an Alpha,” Huai Yu said softly.

Assistant Zhang echoed in a low voice, “Yes.”

“You even know that? Investigated little Pan before coming?” Yan Xue interjected, “Aren’t you going to catch them now?”

Huai Yu didn’t respond. He reached out his hand, “Give me the phone.”

Assistant Zhang immediately handed it over.

Then Huai Yu personally called the governor.

“That’s it? It’s over?” Yan Xue felt unbalanced being the only one agitated, “You’re really not going over? Just staying here?”

What is this? A lovesick man waiting downstairs?

Putting this on Huai Yu was simply ridiculous…

Otherwise?

Huai Yu lowered his head. The files were on his lap, but he did not turn a page for a long time.

Otherwise, go to the hotel, break that boss’s leg, and drag Pan Yinchuan to the car to…?

…This thought was also very tempting. Huai Yu pinched his fingertips, suppressing the surging emotion in his throat, suddenly feeling maybe another shot would be better.