TIMO - Chapter 77
Chapter 77
This person, who looked like a high school student, was Sheng Yun.
At Shen Caiwei's reminder, Fu Zhao realized this fact, yet she felt dazed and somewhat at a loss.
She had never seen Sheng Yun before, so she had no idea what he looked like.
But she truly couldn't have imagined that the formidable president of Sheng Corporation would look so young, with a harmless demeanor and a gentle, mellow voice, seemingly devoid of any of the aggression that came from an Alpha.
And he wasn't cold at all.
She clearly remembered that in the novel she had read from Shi Nan's perspective, Sheng Yun was described as a cold and taciturn, domineering CEO. But looking at him now, the person before her hardly fit the description of a domineering CEO at all.
As if hearing her thoughts, Shen Caiwei leaned close to her ear and explained in a whisper, “Didn't Sheng Yun go to another planet to mine ore a couple of years ago? I heard something happened, and when he came back, he was a completely different person. He stays at home all day, as gentle as a house-trained puppy.”
“I don't know why we ran into him today.”
So that was it.
Following Shen Caiwei's words, Fu Zhao glanced over at Sheng Yun. The handsome young man also gave her a slight nod and slowly took off his rimless glasses.
He stood up, showing an inclination to walk toward them.
Shen Caiwei instantly shot up and switched positions, blocking Fu Zhao's front. She stared warily at Sheng Yun as he approached step by step. “What are you coming over here for? We're not close. A greeting is enough; there's no need to talk this close.”
Sheng Yun sat down opposite them as if it were his own table. Hearing her words, he chuckled, the dimples by his mouth deepening, adding to his gentle air. “Since it's a greeting, this distance is more appropriate.”
“What do you think, Island Master Fu?”
Fu Zhao's gaze flickered slightly. She pulled down Shen Caiwei's arm that was blocking her and nodded calmly. “Hello, President Sheng.”
“Since the greetings are done, you may do as you please.”
“I don't think we're familiar enough to sit at the same table and eat peacefully.”
“Why not?” Sheng Yun casually looked up and pointed at Shen Caiwei. “As far as I know, I should be in the same position as Shen Caiwei. Why can she, but I can't?”
It was actually a very easy question to answer.
But Shen Caiwei felt that Sheng Yun was being provocative, so she slammed her hand on the table in anger, her face fierce and her eyes wide. “Sheng Yun, are you sick in the head? What does the two of us eating have to do with you?”
Fu Zhao patted Shen Caiwei's shoulder reassuringly, then looked up at Sheng Yun and calmly gave her answer. “Because she's cute.”
The implication was that Sheng Yun was not cute.
Sheng Yun clearly understood Fu Zhao's meaning. He was only slightly taken aback before his lips curved into a smile again, his tone gentle.
“Clearly, to be able to give such an answer, Island Master Fu is the cutest one of all. I was originally very happy to meet you…”
“But since the ever-so-cute Island Master Fu doesn't find me cute, I'll take my leave first, so as not to spoil your mood for dinner.”
After speaking, Sheng Yun gave another slight nod, stood up, and left the tavern.
Appropriate, proper, and perfectly courteous.
Fu Zhao's gaze lingered on Sheng Yun's retreating figure for a moment. Today was her first encounter with Sheng Yun, and it was completely different from what she had imagined. There was no tense confrontation, no war of words.
Just a polite greeting.
This Sheng Yun was far more unfathomable than she had imagined.
After this encounter, she didn't believe that the president of Sheng Corporation, who could turn the world upside down with a flick of his wrist, was truly as gentle as he appeared. Nor did she believe that Sheng Yun showing up at a tavern near Shi Nan's home was a mere coincidence.
And…
“Anyway, you need to be careful of him.”
A crisp voice sounded by her ear, interrupting Fu Zhao's thoughts.
Fu Zhao came back to her senses and turned to look at Shen Caiwei. “What did you just say? I was a bit distracted…”
“I just said all that and you didn't hear me?” Shen Caiwei took a sip of water, her mouth dry. Meeting Fu Zhao's dazed eyes, she gave up and put down the empty glass, launching into a tirade about Sheng Yun as if a floodgate had opened.
“You weren't on RT Planet before, so you don't know. That guy, Sheng Yun, is much more dangerous than you can imagine.”
“In middle school, he caused a stir by killing his cousin. I heard it was because his cousin said something like 'a Beta isn't fit to be the heir,' and then he ended up dead in his room. But the Sheng family suppressed the incident back then. Oh, right, his pre-differentiation test also came back as Beta, but for some reason, he later differentiated normally into an Alpha at eighteen.”
“Wasn't it a delayed differentiation?” Fu Zhao frowned as she listened.
“No.” Shen Caiwei shook her head. “I don't know what happened, but anyway, he later differentiated normally into an Alpha.”
“After differentiating into an Alpha, that guy Sheng Yun didn't tone it down. If anyone ever brought up that his pre-differentiation test was Beta, they'd be dead the next day. And if he saw an Alpha with a higher dynamic level than him, he'd even dig out their glands and feed them to his family's dogs.”
The more Shen Caiwei spoke, the more disgusted her expression became. “It wasn't until he came back from that mining planet this time that he seemed to have become a different person. He changed his personality, and no new horrifying rumors have surfaced.”
“I hope he's really changed, and isn't just hiding something and planning something big.”
As Shen Caiwei spoke, she noticed that Fu Zhao beside her had gone silent. She shook Fu Zhao's arm. “What's wrong? Why are you spacing out?”
Fu Zhao was silent for a moment, her gaze falling on the two water glasses in front of her. One was about three-quarters full, with only a sip taken; the other was empty, its contents already drunk by Shen Caiwei.
“Shen Caiwei, what's your dynamic level?” she asked, calmly wiping away the cold sweat that had appeared on her forehead.
Shen Caiwei stiffened for a second, her face calm but her tone light. “A-class, why?”
“What about Sheng Yun?” Fu Zhao turned to look at Shen Caiwei, her gaze burning.
“Him…” Shen Caiwei smiled, her eyelashes lowering as her fingertips tapped lightly on the table. “I hear he's S-class.”
Fu Zhao nodded lightly, pushed her water glass away, and stood up, speaking gently. “I have something to do, so I'll be heading back first.”
“That's not very nice.” Shen Caiwei blinked, her voice drawing out lazily. “You finally came to RT Planet. It would be wrong of me not to treat you to this meal, don't you think?”
Fu Zhao stuck her hands in her pockets and smiled with composure.
“No need. I can't afford to accept your invitation.”
As soon as she finished speaking, all the “patrons” in the tavern gathered around them. The flickering shadows made her a little dizzy.
It must have been because of that sip of water she just drank.
Shen Caiwei took out a handkerchief to wipe her fingertips, then looked up at Fu Zhao, her eyes curving into a gentle smile. “Why did you suddenly ask about my dynamic level?”
“I thought you would let your guard down and drink the whole glass of water.” She tossed the handkerchief onto the table and stood up, sighing as if in regret. “I didn't expect you to find out.”
“How did you find out? Tell me.” Shen Caiwei closed her eyes, her tone as relaxed as ever.
Fu Zhao leaned on the table, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She slowed her rapid breathing. “The things you just said… with the Sheng family's methods, they could have completely covered them up so no one would know. So why do you know?”
“I don't believe the Sheng family would let such a scandal leak. Since you know, it means others might know too. But why haven't I heard about this from anyone else?”
“Unless-”
“Unless…” Shen Caiwei interrupted her, her eyelashes fluttering and a distracted smile playing on her lips. “I was the one who did all those things, and it was my family who helped me cover them up.”
“Unless I'm the one who killed my cousin and likes to dig out Alpha glands.”
Fu Zhao closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Shen Caiwei, why are you doing this?”
“Instead of harming others, you should be correcting your own flawed views. Didn't you say you liked your wife very much? Why would you do something like this?”
“Why?” Shen Caiwei stared at her, her eyes filled with confusion. “When those people were mocking me behind my back for being a Beta, saying I wasn't fit to be the heir, did they ever think about why?”
“When they judged that I could never become an Alpha for my entire life based on a single pre-differentiation result, did they ever think about why?”
“When my father, because of that pre-differentiation result, gave everything that should have been mine to that useless cousin of mine, did he ever think about why?”
“You Alphas, before you do these things, have you ever thought about why?”
“You Alphas?”
Fu Zhao shook her head. Her blurring vision was making her dizzy, and the vertigo was getting worse. She couldn't focus her thoughts, but she still caught that key point.
Shen Caiwei looked out the window nonchalantly. “As you can see, I'm not a complete Alpha yet.”
“Because I didn't differentiate into an Alpha. I just 'borrowed' some pheromones from others.” She paused, a slight smile touching her lips. “But as long as I dig out your gland and compare it with the previous experimental samples to extract the key molecules, if it's successful, I will become a complete and whole Alpha.”
Fu Zhao sneered, staring at Shen Caiwei expressionlessly. “A complete and whole Alpha, is that what you want?”
“Of course!”
Shen Caiwei roared, slamming the table and staring at her, her voice hoarse. “Don't give me any of your grand principles. You're not me. You're living happily on Nanke Island, where no one says you're not fit to be the Island Master. It's just a mere delayed differentiation; you can never empathize with me.”
“All you need to do is obediently offer up your gland to me.”
Fu Zhao stared at the enraged Shen Caiwei, knowing that nothing she said would get through to her. Her hand gripping the edge of the table turned white. She steeled herself and bit her tongue hard. The pain replaced the dizziness, and after catching her breath, she decisively pulled the steak knife she had hidden from her pocket, spun around, and yanked Shen Caiwei toward her, instantly pressing the knife to Shen Caiwei's neck.
“Let me out.”
Fu Zhao warily eyed the crowd that was closing in, threateningly moving the knife in her hand. The sharp blade cut the skin, and blood trickled down her fingertips. “Otherwise, you'll be the one to die before I do.”
Shen Caiwei hadn't expected Fu Zhao to have this move. She lowered her eyes and smiled, her gaze turning sharp as she looked up. “You all move aside. Let her go.”
At her words, the surrounding crowd parted, watching Fu Zhao's movements vigilantly.
“Be careful, don't cut me,” Shen Caiwei sighed lightly, her voice drawing out lazily. “Otherwise, it'll be hard to tell if it's self-defense or intentional injury.”
Fu Zhao glanced down, pressing the knife a little closer to the neck, and began to step carefully toward the door. “The fact that I haven't slit your throat already is me being merciful.”
“Pfft-” Shen Caiwei burst out laughing, almost crying with laughter. “A little steak knife like this could never slit my throat.”
“You really are so naive and innocent.”
Fu Zhao didn't respond to Shen Caiwei. The dizziness was getting worse; she needed to conserve her time and energy to get out of the tavern.
“Why aren't you talking?” Shen Caiwei continued, chattering on endlessly like before. “Actually, there really aren't many Alphas like you. Right, I've said it before, you're as pure as a blank sheet of paper…”
“I quite like you.”
Fu Zhao ignored Shen Caiwei, keeping a vigilant eye on the others who were following as she walked out the tavern door. Several teams of men in black suits surrounded them. The leader wore sunglasses and an earpiece. He gave her a slight nod and took out his credentials.
“Island Master Fu, we are the bodyguards Miss Shi Nan arranged for you.”
Bodyguards?
Fu Zhao bit her tongue to clear her head. Right, Shi Nan had indeed said she would arrange bodyguards for her. It seemed these were the people.
“How can you prove it?” To be safe, she still asked.
The bodyguard calmly took a phone from his pocket and held it to Fu Zhao's ear. “A call from Miss Shi Nan.”
The cool phone pressed against her ear, and Shi Nan's voice came through, filled with worry and urgency. “Fu Zhao, are you okay?”
It was really Shi Nan.
Fu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She shook her head, which was growing heavier, and softened her voice. “I'm fine. It was Shen Caiwei.”
“We'll talk about the rest when we meet.” Shi Nan's breathing also slowed, her voice becoming much softer, laced with worry and lingering fear. “It's good that you're okay. For now, hand her over to them to handle.”
“I'm in the car now. I'll come find you in a bit.”
“Okay,” Fu Zhao replied softly. She looked up at the impassive bodyguard, her voice tinged with a lingering tenderness as it slowed. “See you in a bit, then.”
The call ended, and the bodyguard took back the phone.
“We'll handle this person,” the bodyguard said, reaching out a hand.
Fu Zhao glanced at Shen Caiwei. The person being held was far more nonchalant than she had expected, seemingly unconcerned about the situation. She felt uneasy and gave a few instructions before letting go. “You must keep a close eye on her-”
Before she could finish, a strong force struck her from the side of her waist.
She recoiled in pain, and the steak knife suddenly fell from her hand. Before she could even react, a sharp, needle-like pain shot through the gland on the back of her neck, as if something had pierced it.
A cold liquid was rapidly injected from her gland into her bloodstream.
With the help of the bodyguards, she forcefully pushed Shen Caiwei away, enduring the pain to pull out the syringe stuck in her gland. Only a little of the transparent blue liquid remained inside; most of it must have been injected into her.
In an instant, she felt much of her strength drain away, and her blood began to surge.
It felt as if fire was erupting from all over her body, but it had no outlet, only raging tumultuously through her organs.
The pressure was painful, and the dizziness grew more intense.
Everything before her began to blur, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
A screaming Shen Caiwei was restrained by the bodyguards, but a smile still hung on her lips. “I told you, there aren't many pure Alphas like you left. I actually really like you.”
“And I really like your gland.”
“What a pity, it's been destroyed now.”
“Oh, by the way, it's not just your gland. You, as a whole, have been destroyed. I really have to thank Lu Jingmo for that drug she threw away. I hear it's her latest research achievement. What a shame she didn't succeed in her research, and I ended up picking it up. And to think the first person to use it would be me…”
The nauseating voice entered her ears, yet every word was incredibly clear, making her feel increasingly top-heavy. Still, she tried her best to concentrate and assess the situation.
Did being destroyed mean she would die, or something else?
She couldn't figure it out right now.
But the one thing she knew for sure, she already knew.
Fu Zhao stared at Shen Caiwei being dragged away by the bodyguards. She tremblingly raised a hand to cover the back of her neck. A scalding liquid was continuously gushing from it, flowing down her neck, drop by drop, splattering on the ground and blooming into crimson stains.
A bodyguard tried to help her up. Someone was screaming. Someone came closer, calling her name.
There were people all around. Fu Zhao used all her strength to stand up, not sparing Shen Caiwei another glance, and pushed away everyone in front of her.
Stumbling, she ran in the direction she remembered.
Resentment, injustice, disgust- all such emotions were suppressed by a single one.
She needed to see Shi Nan one more time.
To tell Shi Nan that she loved her very much.
To tell Shi Nan that this time, she had no regrets.
To tell Shi Nan not to have any more regrets because of her.
She had to tell Shi Nan. There was still so much she wanted to say.
She desperately, urgently wanted to see Shi Nan one more time.
What if, what if, there really was no chance this time?
They had promised to see each other in a bit.
The trees on both sides of the road swayed gently in the wind. The air grew cold. It was not long past noon, and the sky was still bright. Fine snowflakes began to drift down from the sky, fluttering down onto the surrounding trees and buildings, and onto the pedestrians hurrying along the road.
Two people stood in the middle of the road.
One was dressed in black with black hair, tall and aloof.
The other was in red with red hair, exuding a lazy charm.
A stumbling figure approached them, covered in blood, with more blood continuously pouring from the back of her neck.
Such a person walking down the street attracted many gazes.
But not a single one of those gazes rested on the two people in the middle of the road.
Until the staggering person, running through the swirling snow, passed right between the two figures, as if she hadn't touched anything at all, and continued running forward.
The figure passed, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
“I thought you would feel sorry for her.” The woman in black glanced coolly at the woman in red. “At least help her get where she needs to go, so she doesn't have to suffer so much and waste her energy on the road.”
“I don't.” The woman in red lowered her eyes, her gaze lingering on the bloodstains on the ground for a moment. After a slight flicker, her eyes regained their calm. She leaned against a tree with her arms crossed and smiled. “She's a grown-up. What's there to feel sorry about?”
The woman in black glanced at the figure already distant. A person covered in blood running through the snow was a tragic and sorrowful scene for anyone to behold. She withdrew her gaze, her tone as light as the snowflakes drifting from the sky. “That's a lot of blood. It must hurt a lot.”
“Let it hurt. It's better if the pain wakes her up. This is the price one must pay for wanting to undo regrets.” The woman in red no longer looked at the retreating figure. She closed her eyes, her voice drawing out lazily. “What… don't tell me you're starting to feel sorry for others?”
The eyes of the woman in black that looked over were calm. “When I died, I bled much more than just this.”
“I almost forgot.” The woman in red lazily glanced up at the sky. “Compared to how you and I died, this is just a small scene. But really, after all these years, I've never seen anyone die a more gruesome death than you.”
“Let's go.” The woman in black didn't answer the woman in red's words, only glancing at the snowflakes falling from the sky. Her clear, mellow voice created ripples in the air. “It's time to clean up.”
“You've already given them the reminders they needed. If you break the rules again…” The woman in black turned back, looking at the woman in red behind her with a scrutinizing gaze. “It won't just be you. Feng Jian will also be punished.”
“It's been so long. It's about time they woke up.”
The woman in red's eyelashes fluttered, and her dangling fingers twitched.
The snowflakes falling from the sky grew much larger, swirling and dancing in the air. In an instant, a thin layer of snow covered the ground, blanketing it in white and concealing the bloodstains Fu Zhao had left behind.
“I just wanted to keep things as they were.” The woman in red shrugged and spoke softly, as if in casual conversation. She draped an arm over the black-clothed woman's shoulder, her gaze unconsciously settling on the bouquet of white peonies on the other woman's chest. “Then it's settled. You go pick up Shi Nan for me.”
“I'm tired. I don't want to pick up two people, and I don't want to repeat myself. Going over the same things again and again like at the very beginning is exhausting.”
“Besides, Shi Nan is so suspicious. I'm afraid if she sees me, she'll charge at me with a knife after just a few words. Even if she can't hurt me, explaining would be a huge pain.”
Snowflakes drifted down but didn't settle on the two of them.
The woman in black looked over, her hands in her pockets, her expression blank. “I can also go pick up Fu Zhao for you. She seems much easier to get along with than Shi Nan.”
The expression on the red-clothed woman's face froze for a moment, and she glared at the woman in black with deep resentment. “Didn't we already say you won? Do you really have to make me admit that I truly can't bear to part with her?”
“I don't need you to admit it.” The black-clothed woman's gaze fell on the snowflakes drifting in the sky. After a moment, she spoke softly, “This snow is proof enough. After all, you've never made it snow for anyone else.”
She withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes, and said nonchalantly,
“It has never snowed on Nanke Island.”
“Isn't that right, Fu Yunqi?”
Author's Notes
It's a HE (Happy Ending)!!
Don't forget Shen Caiwei is a double film queen, her acting is very good! And her deliberate attempts to get close before were also very obvious.
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