Pain.
That was the first thing Yu Li Xin felt when he came to a throbbing, pulsing headache that made his world tilt sideways.
The second thing he felt was cold grass under his sleeves.
And the third was....fear.
Because when he blinked his eyes open, vision still foggy from cheap liquor, he finally realized where he was.
Hidden behind the trimmed hedges of the private garden of The Phoenix Global Entertainment Group's headquarters.
That's too at night and dressed in all black, carrying a mini spy cam strapped inside his padded jacket fortunately!
Li Xin groaned and pressed a palm to his temple.
"Oh no… no, no, no—how the hell did I get here again?!"
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to replay his memory, but it only hurt more. Fragmented flashes came in tidbits.
From taking the wrong bus, drinking because he was stressed and walking maybe...somewhere?
And then… nothing! Why?!
His chest tightened because this wasn't just trespassing.
This was suicide.
Why?
Because inside this building was the one man Li Xin never wanted to see again in his life.The one man he should've stayed miles away from. The one man he feared more than the police, the mobs or the world,
Qi Yunlan.
His fingers trembled. A soft, nervous whisper escaped from his lips,
"Please Lord… not today! Just… don't let him find me this time. I'm done if he sees me! I swear I can't survive it again…"
His breath hitched.
He looked annoyed, terrified, and pathetically regretful of getting drunk on the wrong night of his life.
"No! I have to leave!"
Before his determined self could even crawl out of the bush, a deafening ALERT exploded through the garden.
Red lights, sirens and security announcements echoing across the building.
"All personnel be advised — lockdown initiated! Unauthorized individual detected near the back perimeter!"
Li Xin froze.
His heart dropped into his stomach.
"Me?" he whispered, horrified. "Are they talking about me—?!"
Yes.
Of course they were talking about him.
Because his stupid drunk self had walked straight into the most protected agency in Asia and unfortunately on the same unfaithful night when something dangerous had already happened inside.
"No, no, no—this can't be real!"
He staggered to his feet, body swaying, and slipped between the shadows, taking advantage of the chaos inside the building. Staff were running. Alarms kept screaming. No one was looking at the garden or he thought so.
Great chance maybe but terrible timing.
He hurried toward the old back gate, the one trainees used to sneak out for late-night snacks and climbed the fence.
Or tried to.
His drunk foot slipped, making the metal clanked loudly behind him. Li Xin stopped for a heartbeat before turning back and BOOM!
A guard snapped his head toward him.
"There! Back gate! Someone's climbing!"
Shit!
Li Xin let out a broken curse as panic surged through him but he ran.
Or more accurately stumbled, tripped and ran. Then again fell, got up and ran again.
"Stop running!"
"Catch him!"
"Don't let him escape!"
"He should not exit the main entrance!"
He could hear at least four guards chasing him, their boots hammering on the pavement and voices getting closer.
"Please—please don't do this to me—!" Li Xin almost begged with a shaking voice no one could hear but all in vain.
A strong arm wrapped around his waist, another grabbed his wrists and then his ankles.
He struggled violently, adrenaline making him stronger than usual but within five seconds, they had him pinned to the ground, soon tied around his wrists and ankles with security-grade restraints. Ceasing his all ways of resistance.
One guard cursed while another reported on the walkie-talkie:
"Sir, we have caught the intruder. Just bringing him in."
Li Xin went pale.
"No—no, please, you can't take me inside! I can't—please! Don't let me see him—don't take me inside—PLEASE!"
They ignored him.
He was dragged across the polished floors, wet shoes squeaking, his heart beating in painful, uneven pulses.
He was taken straight into the grand and luxurious 89-storey building, The Phoenix Tower. Straight into The Phoenix's owner and CEO's private office.
Li Xin sighed. Having no option left, he wished that the CEO must be a reasonable person and he would let him go before that hateful man sees him but seemed like luck was truly not on his side that night.
Because there were three person waiting in the room already.
Jiang Zhixian, the youngest CEO and owner of The Phoenix Global Entertainment Group (TPEG) which is Asia's topmost entertainment corporation that trains and produce boy groups, girl groups, actors/actresses, soloists, singers and dancers across all over Asia.
Second person was the tall and young refined man, Shen Minqi with striking sharp features and somewhat maddened expression. He was undoubtedly the assigned bodyguard of the nation's favourite actor, Han Shuilin, the darling of everyone's eyes.
And then, there was him. The man standing near the desk with super cold and deadly calm eyes, dressed in all black with gloves. His sharp jawline and handsomely elegant presence should've been enough to fall for him if only Li Xin had not seen his dark side.
But unfortunately, he did and he knew about the not so tiny secret of the globally famous idol, Qi Yunlan, and now he was doomed.
Li Xin's pulse stopped. His stomach flipped painfully while his body went numb. All the warmth seemed draining from him, leaving him unable to breathe or even twitch.
Because the man advancing toward him was the last person on earth he ever wanted to face.
His nightmare in human form.
The door shut behind him with a heavy thud.
That sound alone made Yu Lixin jolt as if someone had struck him across the back.
His breathing came shallow and uneven. The ropes around his wrists dug deeper with every tremble, the rough fibers rubbing his skin raw. He didn't dare lift his head as his every instinct screamed that lifting his gaze only meant certain death.
He heard the footsteps getting closer until it stopped across him.
Yu Lixin's entire body stiffened—knees pressing into the cold floor, back scraping against the chair leg he was tied to. He tried to shrink himself, to turn invisible, to dissolve out of existence right then and there.
"Look at me." Qi Yunlan's voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be but yet successfully pierced straight through him.
Yu Lixin squeezed his eyes tighter, shaking. "Please… I didn't come here on purpose—"
"Purpose?" Qi Yunlan let out a short, sharp breath, something between a laugh and disbelief. "You want me to believe you just happened to appear inside my agency during a blackout?"
Yu Lixin flinched.
Qi Yunlan crouched down in front of him, his shadow falling over Lixin like a threat, cutting off the little light the room offered. The scent of his cologne, clean but cold, flooded the small space, tightening the air.
He reached forward, gripping the edge of the black mask Lixin wore.
"Don't—!" Yu Lixin jerked his head back, desperation cracking his voice. "Please don't—"
Qi Yunlan didn't even pause. Just one sharp tug and the mask slid off. Yu Lixin's horrified gasp filled the silence.
Qi Yunlan froze.
His expression twisted. It was either softness nor relief, but a dark, crushing confirmation. A sickening truth finally exposed.
"It is you," Qi Yunlan whispered, his tone dropping into something dangerously calm.
"Of course it is."
His eyes narrowed, anger pulsing beneath every controlled breath.
"Haven't I warned you before already," he said softly, too softly, "never to appear in front of me again?"
Yu Lixin trembled violently, struggling against the ropes. "Yunlan, please… I swear I didn't!"
"Every time," Yunlan continued, each word slow and tight, "every place I told you to stay away from… you showed up. Coincidentally. Accidentally. By mistake. Isn't that what you always say?"
He leaned forward, eyes burning with hatred Lixin couldn't run from.
"You think I'm stupid enough to believe you again?"
Lixin shook his head desperately. "I'm not lying—I didn't come for you—"
"Didn't come for me?" Yunlan's lips curled in a humorless smile. "Then tell me why you're here. In my building. During a blackout. Wearing a mask. Carrying a camera in your jacket."
Yu Lixin's heart plummeted.
He hadn't even realized they'd found the mini cam.
Qi Yunlan exhaled slowly—too slowly—like he had been holding that breath for hours, for days, for all the times he had seen Yu Lixin appear where he shouldn't have.
"You were warned," Qi Yunlan whispered. "You were given chances. And still you decided to try me."
He stood abruptly, his chair scraping back.
"Now, you're done."
"N-No!" The helpless man shook his head but the next order came way too sharply,
"Put him in my car, he's going straight to the mansion.".
The guards immediately stepped forward. Yu Lixin, tied and terrified, jerked back as they grabbed his arms.
"No—wait—please—listen to me—I'm not who you think—Let me go!"
His voice broke as they forced him upright.
"I didn't come for him—please—someone hear me—I didn't—LET ME GO! NO!"
But panic drowned his words. His breath hitched, tears falling freely as he kicked uselessly against their grip. Soon the black tape was slapped across his mouth, making his screams turn into muffled sobs.
The guards dragged him out of the office somehow. Li Xin's shoes scraping the floor helplessly before the door closed behind them.
Qi Yunlan stayed still for a long moment, chest rising and falling too steadily, like he was forcing himself not to erupt.
Only then did he notice the two other presence, staring intently at him. His two best friend, Jiang Zhixian and Shen Minqi and both of them looked equally stunned and confused.
Zhixian frowned. "Yunlan…what the hell was that? Who is he?"
Minqi stepped forward, brows drawn. "You seem to know him pretty well, right?"
Qi Yunlan lifted his gaze slowly.
Something cold, sharp, and deeply frustrated glinted in his eyes.
"Yes," he said darkly.
His voice was low but firm.
"He isn't just anyone."
He paused, jaw clenched so hard his teeth clicked faintly.
Then he delivered the words that froze the room,
"He is Yu Lixin…"
He inhaled, steadying the fury rising in his throat.
"and might be the same person we've been warning about."
"You mean your..." Zhixian didn't know if he should continue or not when Minqi finished with a darkening tone,
"....stalker."
The room fell silent.
An ominous, suffocating silence.
Qi Yunlan didn't look away.
"But this time," he added, voice turning even darker,
"I will make sure he never gets away from my cage to stalk anyone again."
.
.
.
To be continued...
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