Song Wangzhuo lowered his eyes and said indifferently, “I saw those two sneaking around and followed them. Didn’t expect it to be you.”
It was a lucky coincidence.
But Shen Yuqing couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The system had said those two had followed them from the bar entrance but Song Wangzhuo had been inside the bar at the time. How could he have seen them?
He frowned slightly, sensing that Song Wangzhuo was hiding something.
Song Wangzhuo’s expression remained unchanged, but he was indeed lying.
He had been inside the bar the whole time and hadn’t seen those two scoundrels at all.
The reason he had followed them out was because of a dream he’d had the night before.
It sounded absurd, but he had dreamed something inexplicable.
In the dream, not far from their bar, in a dim alley, an Omega had been assaulted by two alphas and ultimately died there. The incident had been horrifying, drawing widespread attention in the dream. The two perpetrators had fled immediately after the crime and weren’t caught until much later.
But the Omega could never come back.
He remembered the news report saying the Omega had been raised by his grandparents after his parents died in an accident. His grandparents ran a noodle shop and had worked hard to put him through school.
The boy had taken a shortcut after class that day, wanting to get home early to help his grandparents with whatever he could.
Song Wangzhuo recalled that the incident in the dream had happened today.
During the day, he hadn’t paid much attention to it, dismissing it as just a dream. There was no need to go out of his way to verify it. But when he stepped into the bar that evening, his mind had been restless.
As the time from his dream drew closer, his unease grew, and in the end, he had decided to go check.
It wasn’t far anyway. He’d just take a look if nothing was happening, he’d go back. But as soon as he stepped out, he spotted two alphas lurking suspiciously behind someone with a backpack.
The lighting was dim, and he couldn’t clearly see who the person with the backpack was, but his heart had skipped a beat. Grabbing two empty bottles, he had followed them.
He hadn’t expected it to be Shen Yuqing not the Omega from his dream.
But whoever it was, they wouldn’t be making headlines tomorrow.
Song Wangzhuo’s heart eased slightly.
He turned to head back to the bar, but Shen Yuqing followed.
Unable to hold back, Shen Yuqing asked, “If you’re this good at fighting… then why did you…?”
He couldn’t quite finish the sentence, but Song Wangzhuo understood.
If he could fight like this, why hadn’t he resisted when they bullied him before?
Song Wangzhuo glanced at Shen Yuqing from the corner of his eye. The other man seemed to be carefully choosing his words.
Thinking back to how Shen Yuqing had stood up for him in the bar, he decided to humor him with an answer. “There was no need.”
No need?
Was there no need to fight back when they bullied him?
Shen Yuqing pressed, “Why was there no need?”
As they spoke, they emerged from the alley.
The bar’s neon sign glowed in the distance, while footsteps sounded from the other side.
They turned to see a boy with a backpack approaching. He wore black-framed glasses and froze for a moment when his gaze landed on their faces.
They’re so good-looking, he thought involuntarily.
But when he noticed the clothes Song Wangzhuo was wearing, he quickly lowered his head.
Grandpa said this bar was a mixed bag of shady characters, and he always avoided it to steer clear of trouble. They were just ordinary folks who couldn’t afford to offend anyone.
And as an Omega, he had even more reason to keep his distance.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he felt an odd sense of security here.
Shrugging off the strange thoughts in his head, he quickened his pace and dashed into the alley. He still had to hurry home to help his grandparents with chores.
Song Wangzhuo’s expression stiffened slightly when he spotted the child. So… the dream was real.
He glanced at his watch—9:00 p.m. sharp.
The news had mentioned it happened around this time without specifying the exact moment, so Song Wangzhuo had arrived early to confirm.
Shen Yuqing noticed his unease and asked, “Do you know that kid?”
Song Wangzhuo snapped out of his thoughts. “No.”
If you don’t know him, why were you staring so intently? Your whole demeanor changed.
Shen Yuqing muttered inwardly before hearing Song Wangzhuo ask, “What are you going to do about those two?”
“Oh,” Shen Yuqing replied, “I’ll have someone investigate tomorrow and then hand them over to the police.”
Song Wangzhuo simply gave him a look. “I’d advise acting now. If they slip away, you’ll never track them down.”
With that, he strode toward the bar.
This time, Shen Yuqing didn’t follow but called after him, “Hey, thanks for today.”
[Blackening Value: 60 | Favorability: -45] Oh-ho!
Shen Yuqing’s eyes lit up. An unexpected bonus!
His gaze grew even more fervent as he watched Song Wangzhuo’s retreating figure. Nice!
The system chimed in: [The male lead is really something!]
For once, Shen Yuqing agreed. [Yeah.]
Song Wangzhuo was surprisingly upright.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Yuqing re-entered the alley, this time swaggering in without a trace of fear.
After just a few steps, his phone finally rang. Lin Sui asked, “When did you leave?”
Shen Yuqing rolled his eyes. “Just now.”
The noise on Lin Sui’s end was still loud as he drawled, “Ohhh. What did you call me for earlier?”
Omitting Song Wangzhuo’s involvement, Shen Yuqing summarized the incident in a few words.
“Damn! They’ve got guts! You okay? Hold on, I’m coming over right now,” Lin Sui said hurriedly.
“Don’t bother. They’re already gone,” Shen Yuqing replied. “I’m not hurt.”
Only then did he remember he’d forgotten to ask if Song Wangzhuo was injured. But given how effortlessly he’d handled things, there probably wasn’t any damage.
His tension eased slightly.
“I’ll hang up now. Got other things to deal with.”
Since Song Wangzhuo had warned him, he needed to act fast. Those two were clearly seasoned troublemakers time to do society a favor!
After ending the call, Shen Yuqing scrolled through his contacts and found the person who usually handled the original owner’s dirty work. Once he relayed the task, he reached the end of the alley.
He turned left, lifted a brick, and retrieved a hidden phone beneath it, the source of the earlier alarm.
Brushing off the dust, Shen Yuqing sighed in relief. Good thing I always carry a spare phone. Who knows what would’ve happened otherwise.
He put his phone back in his bag, reached out to hail a taxi, and after giving the address, he slumped into the seat with relief.
By the time he got home, it was almost ten o’clock.
Only the lights in the living room were on Pei Yiyan and Xiao Zhao had probably already gone to their rooms to rest.
He changed into slippers and headed to his own room, where only the bedside nightlight was on. Pei Yiyan was already lying down, asleep.
Shen Yuqing let out a sigh, went to the walk-in closet to grab some clean clothes, and then stepped into the bathroom.
He took off his shirt and pants. Earlier, he hadn’t noticed, but now that he was undressed, he could feel the dull ache from his injuries flaring up again.
Especially his legs today’s bruises seemed to have darkened further. He bent down and pressed on them. It didn’t hurt too much, but he wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to fade.
I’ll ask Xiao Zhao tomorrow if he has any bruise ointment I can use.
He took a hot shower, feeling every pore in his body relax.
Shen Yuqing closed his eyes, letting the hot water cascade over him.
A question surfaced in his mind.
Why is Song Wangzhuo so skilled in fighting? Those moves they weren’t something you could master in just two or three tries.
Song Wangzhuo… really is a mystery.
