Chapter 52

“What’s wrong?”

“Help me look up who this ‘Bai Le Bai’ is.”

“Bai Le Bai?”

“Didn’t you see the news? They said Black Impermanence has a fanatical fan named Bai Le Bai.”

“Something like that? You should be able to find it with a quick search online.” Yi Wuyi pulled out his phone and made a call. “Does Mr. Yan know about this?”

“When we got back yesterday, he almost saw the news in the car, but I tactfully blocked his line of sight,” Xie Yunshen said, sounding quite proud.

“By using your face,” Yi Wuyi stated flatly.

“What else? I couldn’t exactly tell Mr. Yan to close his eyes.”

“Is there a possibility,” Yi Wuyi mused, “that you could have just turned off the screen?”

Xie Yunshen: “…”

“Besides, Mr. Yan likely already knows.”

Just then, the assistant stepped out. “Gentlemen, Mr. Yan would like to see you.”

Inside the Office.

Yan Shiqi turned his tablet around. Sure enough, it was playing yesterday’s news along with a new video clip. In the footage, Yang Qingxi was trembling as he was beaten by the man in black.

Xie Yunshen didn’t need to look to know that the Black Impermanence imposter had released another video. The comments below were split: one side fully supported him, believing it was the real deal, while the other questioned his authenticity.

“What do you think?” Yan Shiqi asked.

Xie Yunshen replied, “Mr. Yan, no need to pity someone like that. If they want to fight, let them fight.”

“…”

Yi Wuyi closed his eyes. Xie Yunshen is probably the only one who can make Mr. Yan this helpless.

“The authorities were willing to turn a blind eye to Yang Zhongxu’s situation, but if this person keeps this up, it will eventually drag you down,” Yan Shiqi said, his gaze fixed on Xie Yunshen.

Xie Yunshen froze. Is Mr. Yan… worried about me?

At that moment, Old Five took a call. Several more videos were sent to his phone.

“Mr. Yan, A-Shen asked me to look into this this morning. This imposter is likely a fanatical fan of [Read on BaiLianTales]Black Impermanence named Bai Le Bai. Here is the online profile we found.” He forwarded the videos to Yan Shiqi’s computer.

Yan Shiqi clicked on one. Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi both leaned in to watch.

At this moment, Xie Yunshen had no idea he was about to face a total social death.

The video appeared to be a recording of a stream from a foreign site. In the frame, a man wearing a mask sat at a desk watching a video while… pleasuring himself.

There are plenty of such videos on the dark web, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal. The problem was that the video he was watching was the famous clip of Black Impermanence’s judgment of Yang Zhongxu!

Not only was this Bai Le Bai guy doing that, but he was also letting out strange moans!

Xie Yunshen nearly exploded in a rage: “Hey! What the hell is this guy doing?!”

Yi Wuyi said honestly, “He’s jerking off.”

“I know! You don’t have to emphasize it…” Xie Yunshen gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

Yan Shiqi, expressionless, clicked the next one. In this clip, Bai Le Bai was doing the same thing, but the setting had moved from the desk to a bed, and he was making even more shameful noises.

Yan Shiqi was about to click the third video when Xie Yunshen grabbed his hand. “Mr. Yan, forget it. This is doing emotional damage to me.”

Yan Shiqi withdrew his hand.

Yi Wuyi remarked, “It’s clear he really loves you.”

Xie Yunshen wanted to roll his eyes. “Old Five, thanks, but don’t make those kinds of jokes with a straight man like me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Because I find it disgusting,” Xie Yunshen said, becoming unusually serious.

Yan Shiqi and Yi Wuyi both froze.

“You find homosexuality disgusting?” Yi Wuyi asked.

Xie Yunshen realized his mistake and immediately explained, “Wait! Old Five! I don’t mean people like you! I mean the feeling of being fantasized about by a total stranger… it’s gross.”

“I understand. Any normal person would find it gross. Especially since you’re straight…” Yi Wuyi stopped halfway, looking at Yan Shiqi’s darkening face. He suddenly realized something and looked back at Xie Yunshen. “Are you… straight?”

Hearing this, Xie Yunshen began to self-reflect. “Do I act… like I’m not?” He looked at Yan Shiqi and noticed his expression wasn’t great either. “Mr. Yan, are you feeling unwell?”

“No,” Yan Shiqi said calmly. “You two should head out for now…” His voice sounded a bit hoarser than usual.

Xie Yunshen figured Mr. Yan was like him—physically uncomfortable after seeing those things. After all, Mr. Yan was straight too.

That damn Bai Le Bai. Just wait until I find him.

That night, Lin Jin sent him those same videos to tease him: [Congrats! You’ve got a man who wants you.] Xie Yunshen left him on read.

He suddenly noticed a detail: the videos Bai Le Bai used for his “activities” were only of the segments featuring Xie. The parts where Lin Jin appeared were completely absent. Even though he and Lin Jin had similar builds and wore identical gear, making them hard to distinguish for most, this guy could tell the difference.

Xie Yunshen felt a chill run down his spine. He got out of bed and exercised for two hours before he could calm down.

The next day, he went to the dining room for his shift and realized Mr. Yan wasn’t sitting there as early as usual.

“Uncle Zhao, where is Mr. Yan?”

“Mr. Yan is unwell. He’s in the study; the doctor just went up.”

Xie Yunshen’s gaze sharpened. “What happened?”

Uncle Zhao sighed. “Likely insomnia again. If he doesn’t sleep well, he gets severe headaches—it’s an old ailment. Usually, he’d get up on time despite the pain, so it must be quite serious this time for him to…”

Before he could finish, Xie Yunshen was already gone, racing upstairs. He burst into the study, nearly colliding with the doctor who was leaving. Xie sidestepped him and saw Yan Shiqi sitting behind the desk. He looked much like he always did.

Xie Yunshen walked to his side. “Mr. Yan, are you okay?”

“Just a headache.” Yan Shiqi didn’t look at him.

Xie Yunshen knelt down. “Is it because of the insomnia?” Yan Shiqi didn’t speak, which was a silent admission. “Then why didn’t you call me? I could have swung the power ball for you.”

Yan Shiqi finally turned his eyes toward read the original at bailiantales.com him, his expression flat. “Wouldn’t that be a bother to you?”

Xie Yunshen froze. He thought about it and said, “Why would it be a bother? I’m always willing. Seeing you fall asleep actually gives me a great sense of achievement.”

Yan Shiqi’s brow furrowed slightly as he stared ahead in silence.

Xie Yunshen suddenly felt a bit hurt. “I know! Mr. Yan, you must think I’m ‘unclean’ now!”

“What?” Yan Shiqi was completely taken aback.

Xie Yunshen’s eyes were full of doubt and grievance. “Because we saw those videos yesterday, you felt physically disgusted and now you think I’m unclean too. You’ve started to dislike me by association, so you didn’t even want to see me despite being unable to sleep…”

Yan Shiqi couldn’t help but laugh, leaning back in his chair to look at him.

“I’m clearly the victim here! That has nothing to do with me!” Xie Yunshen said, feeling truly aggrieved.

“A-Shen, be quiet.”

Xie Yunshen shut his mouth and sat to the side, resting his head on his hand and watching Yan Shiqi. Yan Shiqi watched him back. Whether it was his imagination or not, Xie thought the man’s face looked much better than it had moments ago.

“Mr. Yan, can I talk now?”

“Yes, speak.”

“Does your head still hurt?” he asked.

Yan Shiqi replied, “Is that important to you?”

“Of course,” Xie said as if it were obvious.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Yan Shiqi said softly.

“Then you’ll call me next time you can’t sleep, right?” If he stays up all night, skips breakfast, and works with a headache, he’s going to drop dead, Xie thought.

Yan Shiqi paused. “If you’re so worried, you can come check on me anytime.”

“You’re saying there’s no news at all?”

In the General Manager’s office at Yan Group, Yan Shiying looked at his secretary with a deep frown. After returning to the country, he had delegated his overseas insurance company to his deputy to focus on the Yan Group. It had been a month now.

“We checked the water company’s ships. There were two records of them heading to international waters last month. We called to inquire, but they said nothing unusual happened.”

It had been a month since they disembarked, yet there was zero news about that boy. He had seemingly vanished. Did something happen to him? Shiying walked to the window. Perhaps he shouldn’t have let the boy board that ship alone.

“Is my brother in the company today?”

For years, Yan Shiqi had held the role of General Manager. After the old Master died and Shiqi became Chairman, he continued to hold both titles. Since Shiying took over as GM, Shiqi wasn’t in the office as often.

“He is. There is an exclusive interview with T·A Finance today. unauthorized copyThe Chairman is in his office.”

Shiying was surprised. T·A Finance was the main station’s financial news segment; its prestige was immense. Moreover, the interviewees for this program were usually selected via online voting from a pre-set list on the official website. It seemed his brother had gone viral after the Tech Forum live stream.

“There are twenty minutes before the meeting. Shall we go see the excitement?”

Secretary: “…”

Before Shiying reached the Chairman’s office, he ran into Yan Shizhou in the corridor. The two brothers shared a look—both were clearly there to see their brother’s interview.

In the office, the TV crew was indeed conducting the interview, and the door was slightly ajar. Yan Shiqi sat on the sofa while Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi stood by the window, watching the reporters and photographers surrounding their boss. The questions were mostly about finance, the conglomerate, and technology. Xie Yunshen was nodding off.

Finally, it was near the end.

“Mr. Yan, many young people online are very curious about you. We’ve selected a few high-interest questions to ask.”

Xie Yunshen’s ears instantly perked up. Young people’s questions? That’s going to be pure gossip.

“First question: They say the eldest brother is like a father. What kind of expectations do you have for your two younger brothers?”

Yan Shiqi replied, “Study hard, work seriously, watch the news often, and do not browse inappropriate websites.”

Xie Yunshen lowered his head to hide his laughter. Outside the office, Yan Shizhou faced a total social death on the spot. “Who is Brother talking about?!”

Yan Shiying covered his face, his shoulders shaking. Shizhou didn’t need to look to know he was laughing. Their brother definitely knew they were eavesdropping outside.

Yan Shiqi added, “Please cut that last sentence when you broadcast this.”

The reporter, being a seasoned pro, gave a calm smile. “We can certainly do as you request.”