The room erupted with the violent sound of shattering glass as another tumbler met the wall, exploding into a thousand jagged shards.
"You still haven't found them?! I gave you a simple order! Find out who the hell started the rumor that I'm illegitimate!" Jin Rou screamed, his chest heaving with a mix of exhaustion and pure, unadulterated rage. He grabbed a crystal decanter from the side table and sent it flying after the glass, watching the liquid spray across the wall like a bloodstain.
"We are doing everything we can, sir. I will order more men to scour every corner of the city, and investigate thorougly," the subordinate said, bowing his head so low his chin almost touched his chest, desperately trying to maintain a calm facade while his knees shook.
"You'd better," Jin Rou growled, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone. "If your men can't find the one responsible for this stain on my name, don't bother bringing me excuses. Kill all of them. I'll replace you with someone who actually knows how to get results."
"Yes, sir. I understand perfectly," the man said, backing out of the room with frantic haste.
"Go! Get out of my sight!" Jin Rou dismissed him with a sharp wave. He stood in the center of the room, like a vengeful man—not like he's a man. 'Whoever you are, once I find you, I'm going to tear you into pieces. I'll make sure you regret the day you were born.'
"What on earth is this mess?!" a sharp, feminine voice cut through the air.
Jin Rou's head snapped toward the door. "Mother?" He immediately smoothed his disheveled hair and hurried over to escort her to the only intact velvet chair in the room. "What brings you here in such a state?"
"Don't even start with me, Jin Rou," his mother snapped, her face a mask of cold fury.
"Something must have happened. Something bad," Jin Rou murmured, his own frustration momentarily eclipsed by her intensity.
"Of course it's bad! It's a catastrophe!" his mother roared, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Your father has gone and engaged your younger brother to the Gu family! He bypassed you entirely!"
Jin Rou froze, his blood turning to a boiling water. "What? Qixian is being engaged to the Gu family? To G-Nex? Why would Father choose to give him that kind of power? That alliance is on par with our own company! Why wasn't I the one chosen?!"
"I have told you a thousand times to best him no matter what! Look at the mess we are in now!" she complained, her eyes flashing with resentment. "Qixian is clever. He's the one who knows the truth—he knows you're illegitimate! If your father ever truly starts believing those whispers, my reputation is finished! We will be thrown out onto the streets!"
Jin Rou's eyes narrowed into slits as a realization hit him like a physical blow. "Right... it has to be him. He's the only one with enough malice and inside knowledge. He's the one who spread those rumors to destabilize me." He stood up abruptly, his movements stiff and dangerous. "I have to go now, Mother. I have business to attend to immediately."
"Business? What could possibly be more important than fixing this engagement?!" she demanded, clutching her pearls.
"Finding Qixian," Jin Rou said, his voice dropping to a terrifying, hollow whisper. "Once I track down where he's hiding, I'm going to show him exactly what it means to mess with me. I'm going to show him a hell so dark, so agonizing, that he'll wish he had stayed silent. Spreading rumors was his first mistake. Thinking he could survive my retaliation will be his last."
_______________
The air in the clinic was practically vibrating with the aftershocks of two different internal explosions. On one side of the room, Qixian was aggressively stressing, his movements are fueled by a silent rage as if he's a tsunami that is ready to destroy everything it could swallow. On the other, Yichen sat like a cold statue, his arms crossed over his broad chest, staring out the window with a gaze so sharp it looked capable of shattering the glass.
"Are they still at it?" Sihan whispered, leaning toward Haoran in the small kitchenette.
"Ever since they walked through the door," Haoran murmured back, eyeing the two men with a mix of genuine worry and hidden amusement. "I've never seen Qixian this... frantic. And Yichen looks like he's ready to declare war on the sun itself."
Deciding to break the tension, Haoran spoke up nonchalantly. "Hey, you two! Dinner's ready. Come and get it before it gets cold."
The sound of Haoran's voice snapped Qixian out of his spiraling thoughts. "Ah... right. I'll get the table ready," Qixian said, abandoning his cleaning to prepare the plates and utensils with excessive, nervous energy.
"Hey, Yichen, let's eat," Sihan said, waving a hand back and forth in front of Yichen's face to get his attention.
"What is even wrong with him?" Qixian asked, glancing at Yichen's dark expression.
"I'm engaged..." Yichen murmured. The words were so low he didn't even realize he'd spoken them aloud until he felt three pairs of eyes snap toward him in a suffocating silence.
Sihan was the first to break it. "Engaged?!" he shouted, his jaw dropping. "Why on earth would your family pull a move like that now? Without even telling you?"
"Is it really that bad?" Haoran asked carefully, sensing the volatile energy coming off the Alpha.
"Not just bad... I'm engaged to a complete stranger. Someone I've never even spoken to," Yichen said, letting out a long, weary sigh that seemed to drain the color from his face.
'He's engaged too?' Qixian thought, his heart beginning to hammer against his ribs. 'Wait... engaged? Why does that sound so suspiciously familiar? I'm sure I just heard about this...'
"So it's an arranged marriage? Does your father honestly think we're still living in the middle ages?" Haoran said, shaking his head. "No wonder you're reacting like this. It's insane." Haoran said truthfully before joining the others on the table.
Qixian felt a cold sweat break out across his neck. "Wait... Yichen," he started, his voice trembling slightly as he prayed the answer wouldn't be what he expected. "Who... exactly... are you engaged to?"
"To the second son of the Zhou family," Yichen said flatly, staring at his empty plate.
"The... the second... the second son???" Qixian stammered. The shock hit him so hard that the spoon he was holding slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a loud, ringing clink.
'He's engaged? To me? To... ME?!!!' Qixian's mind raced at a thousand miles an hour. 'That's... there is absolutely no way!'
"Why the huge reaction?" Yichen asked, his eyes narrowing as he grew suspicious of Qixian's sudden paleness.
Qixian stiffened, realizing he'd let his guard slip way too far.
"What else?" Sihan shrugged, a mischievous smirk returning to his face. "He's clearly jealous because his 'darling' is engaged to someone else."
"What?! I'd rather die than marry him!" Qixian snapped, his fight-or-flight response kicking in as he tried to cover his tracks.
"Oh, sure. If that's the case, then why did you look like you just saw a ghost?" Sihan teased. Yichen and Haoran both leaned in, waiting for an explanation.
"I'm just shocked! Isn't the Zhou family's group one of the most powerful companies besides G-Nex and yours, Sihan?" Qixian blurted out, desperately grabbing at the first logical reason he could find.
"Well, you're right about that," Yichen confirmed, his suspicion lingering but slightly dulled.
"They're dirty," Qixian said, a bitter taste filling his mouth. "Is that really how high society works? It's so old-fashioned and pathetic. They think they can just sign a piece of paper and sell their child off to some corporate partner to expand their borders. It's a joke. A desperate play for control." 'Of course they are,' he added silently. 'I've lived in that world for twenty-one years. They are much worse than just dirty.'
"You're right. It's so frustrating," Yichen said, his voice hollow. "Honestly, if you were in my shoes right now, you'd probably rather bury yourself alive than live through this."
'Yeah I know that feeling' Qixian thought to himself agreeing with Yichen.
"So, are they going to announce it at the Masquerade Gala at the end of the month? The whole city is buzzing with rumors that the Gu and Zhou families are planning something big there," Sihan suddenly asked trying to at least ease up the tension.
"Yeah, I assume so," Yichen let out a harsh, dry huff. "The audacity to call this 'something big' when it's just to show control."
"Well, you won't have to worry about the actual announcement for another three weeks, right?" Sihan said, trying to ease Yichen's brewing headache. "You have time to find a way to cancel it."
Yichen let out a low growl that made the water in the glasses on the table vibrate. "They're planning a funeral if they think I'm walking onto that stage to be sold."