Chapter 11#

Xie Wenci#

Ye Sheng looked down at the torn ticket on the steps, feeling a bit unreal.

After Butler Li closed the passenger door, the black sedan started quickly, speeding like a stream of light towards the end of the brightly lit street, disappearing into the depths of the night in the blink of an eye.

On a summer night in late June, the wind was still biting. Ye Sheng stood alone on the wide street, his figure thin. He looked back at the guesthouse of the Non-Natural Bureau, his eyes pitch black, no one knowing what he was thinking.

After a long while, Ye Sheng suddenly laughed, his voice sounding pleased.

He rarely laughed, but when he did, he looked very good.

The expression at this moment was heartfelt, a relief like waking up from a nightmare, whispering: “It’s over.”

No derailment, no changes.

Ye Sheng pulled his suitcase, walked down the steps, and headed towards the road.

Even though he had lived for seventeen years and never left Yinshan, he just felt that he and Ning Weichen should know each other.

Although the only vague memory was when he was four or five years old, burning with a low fever until he was delirious.

Did they know each other then?

Forget it, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Anyway, they really won’t see each other again.

These short three days could be called a train thriller, or a romantic encounter.

Ye Sheng turned on his phone intending to hail a car.

Suddenly, a strong light dazzled his eyes.

After a honk, a white sedan stopped in front of him.

Ye Sheng was slightly stunned.

The car door opened, and soon a driver came down and said, “Are you Mr. Ye Sheng?”

Ye Sheng nodded.

The driver took the initiative to take his suitcase, saying with a smile: “I am the driver arranged by Butler Li for you, responsible for taking you to the Yuecheng Hotel near Huaian University. Butler Li has already booked a room for you at the Yuecheng Hotel. He said it is currently curfew time at Huaian University, and you might not find a place to go, so you can rest there for the night.”

When Ye Sheng watched him put his suitcase into the trunk, he subconsciously looked back at the street in the opposite direction.

Seeing this, the driver asked with a smile: “Is there anything else, Mr. Ye?”

Ye Sheng: “Nothing.”

“If there’s nothing else, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

He had discovered when he just opened the ride-hailing app that it was difficult to get a car here.

It was late at night, no need to make things hard for himself.

The sedan sped through the neon lights.

When Ye Sheng arrived in front of the gorgeously decorated Yuecheng Hotel. Inside the magnificent lobby, the manager was already waiting for him.

The manager in a suit and leather shoes took his suitcase with a smile and said politely: “Hello, Mr. Ye, your room is on the top floor, please follow me. According to Butler Li’s instructions, we have prepared some food for you, which will be delivered to your room later. Considering your recent throat discomfort, the meals have undergone some special processing. If the taste is different, we hope you can understand.”

Ye Sheng: “…”

Ye Sheng: “……”

Is this Ning Weichen’s butler?

Considering it was dark and hard for him to catch a taxi;

Considering the curfew meant he couldn’t enter the dormitory;

Considering he hadn’t eaten since getting off the car;

Considering his sore throat meant he couldn’t eat solids.

Attentive to every detail, careful in everything.

If Ning Weichen grew up in this kind of environment, it’s not strange why he initially felt Ning Weichen was “fragile and precious”. After all, with such an exquisite butler and a private doctor on standby beside this young master, how could he not be precious?

…It really must have been hard for the young master to suffer with him on the train.

Ye Sheng was not used to being received so warmly, nodding throughout the process without speaking.

After entering the room and turning on the light, Ye Sheng realized that this top-floor suite was surprisingly large.

There were four rooms on the east and west sides, including a master bedroom, guest bedroom, bathroom, study, and bar, everything one could need. The gallery was hung with various artist-signed paintings, and collectibles filled a whole wall of glass cabinets. The ceiling adopted a high design, making the interior spacious and bright. There was also a sightseeing terrace outside, overlooking the entire brightly lit city.

Ye Sheng didn’t want to use any other function of this suite except for sleeping. After the hotel staff brought the food, he ate a few bites and went directly to bed to sleep.

The hotel bed was soft and comfortable, even with a faint sleep-aiding incense, but Ye Sheng couldn’t sleep. He turned on his phone, looked at that blood-red eye, and softly recited that name in the darkness.

“ENIAC.”

In front of the data of every anomaly, there would be a section it belonged to. The Corpse Monster, Fetal Girl, and Corpse Stitcher all belonged to the Story King, while ‘search’ belonged to ENIAC.

If he remembered correctly, the name of the first general-purpose computer invented in the world was ENIAC.

Full name, Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer.

So what does ‘section’ mean? Ye Sheng was in pain and distracted in the conference room at that time, only vaguely catching a few names, “Forum”, “Section”, “Empire”. He heard these words for the first time, yet strangely felt a sense of familiarity.

Forget it.

He tapped the app with his finger, warning: “I won’t use you anymore. Once I have money, I’ll change my phone. You behave yourself during this time.”

‘search’ seemed to understand his meaning, angry enough to want to bite him again. Before it could launch an attack, Ye Sheng had quickly turned off the screen and threw the phone aside.

The next day, Ye Sheng had his own biological clock and got up at seven in the morning. After waking up, he immediately started preparing for his university life.

The chat software that had been silent for many days in his phone was finally used by him again. First, contact the counselor to handle the check-in procedures, then go to the dorm manager to get the key.

When Ye Sheng left with his suitcase, the manager handed him a document about Huaian University with a smile on his face, which contained a very clear and complete map.

Huaian University has four campuses, covering a wide area, with several campus buses. This document not only pointed out all bus routes but also marked the names and functions of every teaching building for him.

“…”

Ye Sheng nodded to the manager and said “Thank you”, then turned and left, non-stop ending this dreamlike short time as a young master.

Leaving the crystal revolving door of the hotel, the brilliant sunshine outside fell on his face. The summer sky was clear, and the scent of magnolia came in the breeze. Ye Sheng looked up, shielding his eyes with the arm holding the school materials. He looked directly at the sun, sweeping away the gloom of these days.

Ye Sheng was relatively lucky. The dormitory was very close to the school gate, and the Academic Affairs Office was not too far away, so he handled the check-in easily.

At the end of June, most majors had finished their final exams, and there were few people on campus. He glanced at the map, basically knowing the whole school, and threw away the materials as soon as he entered the school.

When getting the key from the dorm manager, the aunt saw how good-looking he was and jokingly asked if he had a girlfriend.

Ye Sheng shook his head. He didn’t plan to fall in love or get married, but because of this sentence, his mood became very good.

Because it seemed like the beginning of a beautiful life.

The boys’ dormitory area was planted with camphor trees, and the air smelled of laundry detergent. Ye Sheng walked to Building 4, carried his suitcase to Dormitory 404. A four-person room, bed on top and desk below. The seniors who graduated last term had already emptied the place. Ye Sheng chose a bed at random and started cleaning. He worked very quickly. When cleaning the desktop, a card fell down. It was left to him by the previous owner of the bed. The scrawled handwriting like a dog’s crawl read:

[Junior! You must fall in love in your freshman year. Senior’s bloody lesson, men become less valuable as they get older TUT!]

Ye Sheng paused slightly, unable to hold back a smile.

But his good mood all the way was immediately interrupted by a phone call.

——Huang Yiyue.

Ye Sheng raised his eyebrows, put the card in the drawer, and walked out to the balcony.

“Hello? Shengsheng? Have you arrived in Huaicheng?” On the other end of the phone was Huang Yiyue’s somewhat ingratiating voice.

Ye Sheng was too lazy to explain to her about the train arriving early, his tone calm: “Where are you, I’ll find you now, give me the things.”

Huang Yiyue smiled awkwardly on the other end of the phone: “I… Shengsheng, do you really not want to chat with mom that much?”

Ye Sheng repeated expressionlessly: “Address.”

Huang Yiyue took a deep breath and said: “Shengsheng, I can’t get away right now. You go find your brother first, I’ll let him bring you to the Xie family. We’ll talk about the rest face to face. I’ll give you his phone number and address.”

Huang Yiyue quickly sent a string of numbers and an address.

The address showed the name of a bar.

Huang Yiyue said: “Tonight is the birthday of one of your brother’s friends.”

Ye Sheng said indifferently: “Wasn’t he born in winter?”

Huang Yiyue was silent for a long time, then said: “Your other future brother, Xie Wenci.”

Ye Sheng already had his hand on the hang-up button.

Huang Yiyue spoke quickly, raising her voice: “Shengsheng! When your grandmother gave me the things before she died, she repeatedly instructed that I must give them to you! She said it contains something very important to you!”

Ye Sheng moved his hand away, his eyes dark, and whispered: “Huang Yiyue, are you threatening me?”

Huang Yiyue was a bit awkward, putting on a fake smile: “Shengsheng, I’m not threatening you. I just, I just don’t know what way to use to see you again.”

Ye Sheng ignored her hypocrisy, hung up the phone, and started searching for that address on his phone.

Xinghai Bar is in the famous gold-spending district of Huaicheng, a paradise for rich second generations to have fun, several kilometers away from him.

He just wanted to quickly draw a clear line with Huang Yiyue, picked up the key, and went out directly.

*

Night in Huaicheng, Xinghai Bar.

“Heard you’re going to have another brother.” On the sofa, a slightly chubby rich second generation sat down next to Xie Wenci with a wine glass, winking and saying: “Is your family really planning to let that mistress’s son in?”

“Get lost.” Xie Wenci was slightly drunk, his face flushed, his delicate face full of disgust: “That bitch’s son isn’t worthy of shit. It’s just a show to send him to that old man from the Qin family to ward off bad luck.”

Fatty got interested: “Then is he willing?”

Xie Wenci swirled the wine glass in his hand and sneered: “How could he not be willing. I think the little bitch should kneel down and kowtow to me in gratitude. Do you know where that bitch is from? Yinshan.”

Fatty gasped: “Yinshan, that poorest and most remote Yinshan in the country?”

Xie Wenci nodded: “Yes, if I hadn’t given this opportunity to him, he would have been that poor and sour all his life.”

Fatty laughed: “It seems we should ask Old Man Qin if he is willing. A little hillbilly from Yinshan, can Old Man Qin stomach him? Although Old Man Qin is seventy and impotent now, his standards are high.”

“Hahahahaha.” Xie Wenci also thought this was an interesting joke, amused by him: “Come on, Old Man Qin is suffering retribution for doing too many bad things now, listening to superstition to find someone to ward off bad luck. Once he enters the Qin family, they probably won’t care about him.”

Fatty was instantly unhappy: “Damn, isn’t that letting that little bitch off cheap?”

Xie Wenci said with malice in his eyes: “How could it be. Won’t we have an extra plaything for amusement at every banquet in the future?”

Fatty sighed: “Old Man Qin has lived so long, why isn’t he willing to die yet? The head of the Qin family also accompanies him in this nonsense. To be honest, marrying into the Qin family is a big deal in Huaicheng, if the partner wasn’t a seventy-year-old old man who stepped down long ago.”

Thinking of this, a layer of anger appeared in Xie Wenci’s eyes, his scallion-white fingers almost crushing the wine glass.

Fatty turned his head to look at Xie Wenci’s delicate pink and white face, knowing that the person he liked was Qin Heyu, the current third young master of the Qin family, so he said: “Why didn’t Old Wang invite people from the Qin family for his birthday this time? He started bragging a few days ago, saying he had a good relationship with the Third Young Master Qin, but in the end, hehehe, they didn’t even give him a glance.”

Xie Wenci also poked the sofa gloomily. He had specially dressed up today, but it turned out to be all for nothing.

Xie Wenci said irritably: “Old Wang said something happened to the Qin family recently.”

Fatty was surprised: “What? What happened?”

Xie Wenci said: “Don’t know, seems like someone came.”

Fatty: “Huh? Someone came? Who came? Their whole family is waiting to welcome them?”

“Yes.”

Just as Xie Wenci wanted to speak, his phone lit up. He was a bit drunk, taking the phone with blurry eyes, but the moment he saw the message, he sobered up.

His back straightened, and he laughed out loud with his delicate face.

“Fatty, our fun is here.”

Fatty: “What?”

Xie Wenci held the phone and said: “The mistress asked her little bitch son to come find me.”

Fatty slapped his thigh, crazy with joy: “Damn, has that bumpkin ever been to a bar? Do you think he still has patches on his clothes?”

Xie Wenci said: “That’s why I said the fun is here.”

He stood up, revealing a malicious smile, and walked towards tonight’s birthday star.

*

When Ye Sheng was sitting in the taxi, the driver was listening to the radio.

“Hello everyone, it is now 8:30 PM Huaicheng time. Welcome to Little Mouth Tells Stories, I am your good friend Little Mouth.”

“Tonight, Little Mouth will continue to bring you all kinds of bizarre, funny, wacky, and interesting stories. Thank you for listening.”

“Tonight we received the first submission. The submitter is a college student, let’s call him Student Li.”

“Student Li said there is a lake in their school called Lover’s Lake. There is an abandoned bridge on the lake called Truth Testing Bridge. There is a legend on campus that if a couple confesses to each other in the middle of the Truth Testing Bridge at midnight, if they tell the truth and love each other deeply, they can walk safely through the second half of the bridge. But if one of them lies, the person who lies will hear someone calling their name from behind, and then be pulled into the lake by a water ghost. Student Li said his girlfriend didn’t believe him and insisted on dragging him to walk this Lover’s Bridge. Last Friday…”

The driver was waiting for a red light, grumbling and changing the station, muttering: “What the hell is this, the more I listen, the creepier it gets.”

Ye Sheng was expressionless, drooping his eyes to catch up on sleep.

He had swallowed an A-level anomaly alive in his stomach. Now listening to these urban legends felt like child’s play.

But even if it was child’s play, he didn’t want to listen to anything related to the supernatural anymore.

The driver changed to a new station.

This time the female anchor’s voice was moving and gentle. After a burst of romantic and lyrical light music, she spoke.

“Okay, so our Little Ya Worry-Relieving Emotional Hotline has received another call from a lady. Hello, can you hear me, Miss Huang?”

“Hello, Little Ya.” Miss Huang’s voice with electric current came from the radio, her tone muffled: “Little Ya, my best friend and my boyfriend quarreled. I’ve been caught in the middle for the past few days, not being a person inside or out. I’m so annoyed, what should I do.”

Little Ya: “Oh? Can you tell Little Ya what happened?”

Miss Huang said: “It’s like this, they have been in a cold war for three days. My best friend scolded my boyfriend for being a scumbag and tacky and looked down on him. My boyfriend said my best friend is a plastic green tea bitch and seduced him. Oh my god, Little Ya, whose side should I take?”

Ye Sheng: “…” You should stand aside.

——This is not as good as listening to the Lover’s Lake water ghost.

Fortunately, the driver arrived at the destination quickly, and Ye Sheng stayed away from this mental torture.

After paying, he got out of the car in a hurry. Looking painfully at the balance reduced by another twenty yuan, it seems he will have to contact Xia Wenshi tomorrow to work in the haunted house. Ideally, solve Huang Yiyue’s matter tonight.

Ye Sheng walked in only to find that Xinghai Bar was booked out tonight.

“Sir, are you a friend of Young Master Wang?”

Ye Sheng got out of a taxi, so the security guard stopped him immediately.

But seeing the clothes on him that looked very expensive at first glance, he was stunned again and asked a question euphemistically.

Although Xinghai Bar is written as a bar, it is never open to the public. It is a private club for rich second generations. Especially tonight, it was booked by Young Master Wang, and idlers were not allowed to enter.

Ye Sheng said indifferently: “I’m looking for Xie Wenci.”

Seeing him report Xie Wenci’s name so directly, the security guard hesitated for a while and sent someone in to ask. Soon someone came out and let Ye Sheng pass.

Ye Sheng was busy from morning to night and had no time to change clothes. He was still wearing the outfit prepared by Butler Li at the reception center. He just wanted to solve his grandmother’s matter quickly, his expression cold, striding fast.

Completely ignoring the amazed and surprised gazes of bystanders along the way.

After his figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

A male receptionist suddenly whispered: “Did you see the clothes he was wearing?”

Another female receptionist with curly hair and red lips looked up: “What?”

The male receptionist whistled and grinned: “I know that brand, a niche brand created by a famous Swedish designer, only for fixed customers. The price is extremely high. Just that outfit he had on—at least thirty.”

The female receptionist was surprised: “Thirty thousand?”

The male receptionist said: “Yes. US dollars.”

The female receptionist: “…Damn.”

Ye Sheng walked through the long corridor and heard the noisy band sound before pushing the door open.

For his birthday, Wang Gaoyang specially invited a popular band to perform. The singer on the stage sang passionately, but the rest of the people sat in their seats looking at the entrance as if watching a good show.

Xie Wenci was young, arrogant, and good-looking, and had always been a group favorite. He had an account with one million fans at night, playing the persona of a spoiled and pretentious young master. But people who knew him knew how vicious this little young master was.

Fatty was itching with curiosity: “Can he find the way?”

Wang Gaoyang said: “Someone will bring him in.”

Fatty laughed loudly: “I haven’t seen a living bumpkin here yet. I heard that people in Yinshan are so poor they can’t get enough to eat. How tall do you think this person is? Is he 1.6 meters?”

Xie Wenci took a sip of wine and said with a smile: “Who knows? Record a video of me and him later, I want to upload it to the internet.”

Fatty instantly understood what he meant. A lovely and precious young master like a little swan and a cramped and inferior dwarf from the mountains, a sharp contrast no matter how you look at it. If Xie Wenci wrote in the caption that this was the stepmother’s son, he could play the kind person persona again.

At this moment the door opened.

Xie Wenci smiled maliciously, put down his wine glass, and intended to welcome this “new brother”.

Amidst the noise of the full venue, a group of rich second generations who didn’t mind the excitement were waiting full of expectation to watch a good show.

The next second, a cold and pleasant voice came, piercing through this gorgeous and impetuous world.

“Xie Wenci.”

Xie Wenci stopped halfway, stunned.

Everyone present was also stunned.

The door opened, and a tall and slender boy walked out of the light and shadow.

The expensive light coffee-colored thin shirt brought out the boy’s cold white skin and exquisite collarbone. The black trousers had a unique design at the waist, binding the perfect waistline. The changing laser lights were colorful, but they couldn’t melt the hostility and coldness on that outstanding face.

A bewitching face looked up coldly like this, looking at everyone, the voice also suppressing displeasure and indifference.

“Xie Wenci, I’m looking for you.”