After Transmigrating into a Book, I Turned the Straight Bigshot Gay (BL) - Chapter 30

The man in the hoodie looked at Yang Zhongxu and asked, “Are you certain the people who kidnapped you that day were from the Yan family?”

Yang Zhongxu, hemiplegic and unable to speak, was desperate to reply. He could only use his eyes and neck to signal frantically toward the two portraits.

“But our men have followed them several times, and each time it was confirmed—it’s not them.”

Yang Zhongxu grew agitated. Just then, the man in the hoodie received a message on his phone. He turned the screen toward Yang Zhongxu. It was a real-time live stream on the dark web with the title: Daily Meal.

Just like last time, Shangguan Hong sat on the ground, tied up, but this time he didn’t open his mouth to eat the food offered to him. The chat was a mixture of various languages.

“Black Impermanence” pushed a basin of water over with his foot. “If you won’t eat, at least wash your face.” The voice was similarly processed through a distorter.

Shangguan Hong’s eyes were cold and calm as he silently buried his face in the water. His hair, glasses, and face were soon dripping. “Black Impermanence” waved at the camera and ended the stream. The entire process lasted less than two minutes.

Yang Zhongxu’s pupils twitched in disbelief.

“And you’re telling me this is Xie Yunshen?” the man in the hoodie asked.

Yang Zhongxu was speechless; now even he wasn’t sure. He had never actually seen the mysterious man’s face, judging his identity only by his build and the one sentence the man had ever spoken: “I didn’t expect a bonus surprise.” He had no physical evidence.

“I rescued you hoping you could help identify those two, but unfortunately, you can’t even speak now.” The man in the hoodie stood up. “Because of your misjudgment, we’ve wasted too much time. There is still no news of Shangguan Hong.”

He walked in a circle around the old man in the wheelchair. “Without Lin Jin to treat your cancer, you must be in a lot of pain.”

Yang Zhongxu understood his meaning. Instead of panicking, he calmly closed his eyes, his hands stopped shaking, and he let out a long sigh.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of your son.”

A tactical knife was driven into his heart. Before Yang Zhongxu had fully stopped breathing, two subordinates efficiently zipped him into a bag; not a single drop of the gushing blood spilled out. Even the wheelchair was quickly folded and placed into a box. Within seconds, a human being had vanished.

The bald man nearby could even see the condensation from Yang Zhongxu’s final breath inside the bag. Even coming from a professional organization, he couldn’t help but be stunned—the procedure and speed of this kill were more experienced than a BKB assassin.

The man in the hoodie made a call: “Continue tracking the mysterious man… perhaps our direction was wrong from the start. They aren’t Yan family people.”

Back at the hotel, the police had arrived. The construction case wasn’t over, and now there was a break-in by assassins in a luxury hotel, resulting in the deaths of two security firm guards. The police were overwhelmed.

Fortunately, the two assassins were still alive. The one nicknamed Black Cat, who was caught in the wire trap, had severed tendons and had fainted from blood loss; he was still in surgery. The man named Lao Qu was seriously injured; upon waking, his face was ashen, and he refused to say a word. Although both spoke the local language, they were from a neighboring country, and their IDs and passports were perfectly legal. This was a bit unexpected.

The police captain stood near the wire array Xie Yunshen had set up, looking at the large pool of blood on the floor. “Did you set this up? If it’s a pre-set trap, we might need you to come with us for an investigation,” the captain said to Xie Yunshen.

“It was them—” Xie Yunshen started to argue.

Yan Shiqi cut him off: “Protecting me is their duty. If there are any issues, please communicate with the Yan Group’s legal department.”

The Mayor of B-City even called the hotel to offer condolences, stating they would definitely get to the bottom of the assassin incident. Yan Shiqi didn’t linger; at dawn, he took Xie Yunshen back to A-City. As for Yi Wuyi, he remained in B-City to handle the aftermath.

While on the helicopter, Xie Yunshen received a message from Lin Jin: [Everything’s OK!] along with a recording of the live stream.

[Thanks,] Xie replied. He had to admit that while Lin Jin loved to show off, he was reliable when it mattered.

Back at the construction site, Xie Yunshen had felt something was off—that man wasn’t focusing on Yan Shiqi, but on him and Yi Wuyi. Sure enough, last night, Xie saw on the monitor that the assassins didn’t head for Yan Shiqi’s master bedroom first, but for Yi Wuyi’s room.

He suspected that their role in the hospital kidnapping had been discovered. Or perhaps Yang Zhongxu wasn’t dead and had been rescued by the Sect. To be safe, Xie had Lin Jin broadcast that clip last night. He didn’t know if it would work, but he had to try to clear the Yan family of suspicion in the Shangguan Hong kidnapping.

Because of the assassins, neither had slept last night, and they had been busy at the police station all morning. Upon reaching A-City, they didn’t go back to the manor but flew straight to the Yan Group headquarters to handle backlogged business.

If Xie Yunshen guessed correctly, from the night he learned about the site incident until now, Yan Shiqi had only slept for two hours on the helicopter. In two days and two nights, he had only had two hours of rest.

Xie Yunshen had at least slept for a few hours the night before, but now he was yawning incessantly on the sofa, watching Yan Shiqi work at high intensity behind his desk. He had to admit, some people were just born with high energy.

The assistant brought in documents: “Regarding the Tech-Finance Forum, the notice is out. The Yan Group has two slots. They want us to confirm the names as soon as possible.”

“Call Yan Shiying and tell him to come back,” Yan Shiqi said. For an important summit like this, the first person Yan Shiqi thought of was always Shiying.

The assistant dialed the number and put it on speaker. “What is it?” the voice on the other end said without any pleasantries.

“Young Master Shiying, it’s me. Regarding the Beiyuan Tech-Finance Forum, Mr. Yan hopes you can return to the country to participate.”

“Who told you to call? I’m not interested,” Yan Shiying replied without hesitation.

“This…” The assistant looked at Yan Shiqi awkwardly.

Yan Shiqi’s face was calm, but his words were firm: “Yan Shiying, it’s me.”

“Oh, Eldest Brother. I heard the Yan Group won the ‘Third Tier’ bid. As expected of the Head grandfather meticulously raised. Congratulations.”

“I want you to come back for the Tech Forum next month.”

“Brother, for such an important event, why don’t you ask Shizhou?”

Xie Yunshen listened, feeling speechless. If your brother actually asked Shizhou, you’d be the first one to be unhappy.

Yan Shiying was purely starved for affection. Because his mother hadn’t officially married into the Yan family when he was born, his status had always been a bit awkward. He wasn’t the legitimate eldest son like Yan Shiqi, nor was he the pampered youngest born after the marriage like Yan Shizhou. To put it bluntly, Shiying always felt like he was sneaking around like an illegitimate child.

Although his looks and height were top-tier, he was deeply insecure. When the old Master Yan was alive, he had intentionally or unintentionally looked down on this grandson from the outside. Shiying desperately craved the love of his family.

In his online chats with the heroine, he had confessed that he especially wanted his grandfather’s recognition and his brother’s attention. Now, hearing Yan Shiqi ask him to attend such an important event, he was likely overjoyed internally.

Yes—this man who would kill his own brother in the ending actually started out wanting his brother’s approval more than anything. How ironic. Was it because he was so tragic that he became the second most popular character in the book?

Because this male supporting character was so popular, even though Xie Yunshen hadn’t read the ending, he had been spoiled on Shiying’s fate by netizens. Shiying was driven to turn against his brother by the villain, accidentally killed Yan Shiqi, and committed suicide upon learning the truth.

But what the “truth” was, Xie Yunshen didn’t know. To avoid more spoilers, he had stopped reading the web version and bought the physical book instead. He regretted that now.

Yan Shiqi pressed his hand to his forehead. “The Third hasn’t matured yet.”

“Actually, I think the Third Young Master’s performance lately has been quite good,” Xie Yunshen said casually.

Yan Shiying’s voice immediately turned cold: “Who is speaking?!”

Yan Shiqi glanced at Xie Yunshen but didn’t answer. Xie Yunshen silently lowered himself and rested his head on Yan Shiqi’s shoulder.

“The first of next month… if I have time, I’ll go see.” Yan Shiying finally stopped making excuses but wouldn’t agree directly.

He even knows the date; he’s clearly been waiting for this call, you tsundere, Xie Yunshen grumbled internally.

“In any case, I’m submitting your name,” Yan Shiqi said.

“…Hm.”

Yan Shiqi hung up the phone and found Xie Yunshen nearly asleep with his head on his shoulder. He shook his shoulder slightly, trying to shake the “big dog’s” head off. Over the past two days, Xie Yunshen had been on high alert and had truly exhausted himself.

“Go sleep in the back room.”

“No… Old Five isn’t here. Who’s going to protect you if I sleep?” Xie Yunshen couldn’t open his eyes, mulling his head into Yan Shiqi’s neck. “I’m not at ease.”

Yan Shiqi didn’t speak, nor did he push him away; he simply opened another file. A hand rested on the document.

“Mr. Yan, if you keep this up, you’re really going to die of exhaustion,” Xie Yunshen said, hugging his shoulder.

Yan Shiqi: “…”

“Mr. Yan, the other matters can wait until tomorrow… Please rest first.” The assistant put away the other files, closing his eyes. It was his first time seeing someone with such powerful “insensitivity” as Xie Yunshen.

Yan Shiqi finished the file on his desk while Xie Yunshen’s head remained motionless on his shoulder. Feeling the slight movement of Shiqi’s shoulder as he signed the papers, Xie grew even sleepier. When Yan Shiqi finally closed the folder, Xie snapped his eyes open: “Are we going home?”

A trace of warmth touched Yan Shiqi’s cold face. “Let’s go.”

The driver was waiting downstairs. As soon as Xie Yunshen sat in the car, he felt a familiar sense of comfort—the “old fox” driver’s car was always safe and comfortable.

Although Yan Shiqi told him he could nap, Xie Yunshen didn’t allow himself to sleep during this sensitive time while Old Five was away. He forced himself to stay awake until he delivered Yan Shiqi to his bedroom. Like tucking in a toy, he placed Yan Shiqi on the bed, covered him with the quilt, closed his eyes, and patted his shoulder—all in one fluid motion.

Then he went to his own room, took a hot shower, and fell into a deep, world-oblivious sleep.