Chapter 12

Edited by: Cyndy

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the industrial zone was silent, the distant wind carrying along periodic mournful howling. Yan Hao took two steps up the ladder, and his head popped up from the edge of the roof of the vehicle. Seeing Si Nan sitting there, he asked, “What’s wrong? Come down!”

Si Nan’s shadow moved a little. He turned to glance at Yan Hao, but his expression was inscrutable.

Next, Si Nan pulled his legs in and grabbed the edge of the window that led to the driver’s compartment. He flipped backwards agilely, and slid into the driver’s compartment!

Yan Hao was momentarily amazed by the curve of Si Nan’s body. “Si Nan, hey!”

The armoured vehicle suddenly came to life. It shot through the front yard, and headed towards the back of the factory.

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Yan Hao was thrown off the vehicle, but luckily for him, he landed with a roll and came to his feet. Stunned, he asked, “He… What’s going on?”

Hot water sprayed down, and the bathroom was quickly filled with steam.

The blood on the palm was washed away, the wound paling and no longer bleeding. Si Nan gave a long exhale. He was about to turn the temperature of water down, but the door to the dormitory suddenly opened. “Are you alright? You’re injured?”

Si Nan jerked his head back. Yan Hao was standing by the door.

“You’re injured?” Yan Hao repeated, the anxiety obvious in his voice this time.

“…” Si Nan stepped back from the showerhead. “No.”

Even through the glass of the bathroom, he could feel Yan Hao’s doubtful eyes.

“You’re angry?”

“No.”

“… Then why did you run?”

Si Nan did not reply.

Yan Hao was suspicious. Through the fogged up glass, he looked at Si Nan, and suddenly felt that the person was strangely tense.

Actually, under such conditions, it was very difficult to see things clearly. But with the sound of the running water, his vision suddenly seemed to become extremely sharp, and even noticed the curve of Si Nan’s neck to his shoulder. Standing in the water, his back looked very thin, his figure very gaunt, and he did not look very aggressive.

However, his explosive strength was undeniable, probably because of his tightly contracted muscles.

In that moment, Yan Hao was a little distracted. This body, even amongst Betas, was too thin.

So what exactly was he doing before? He never talked about his past, what sort of troubled history did he have?

“… I said,” Si Nan spoke slowly. “Have you seen enough yet?”

Yan Hao, “?”

“Can you go out?”

Yan Hao, “…”

Yan Hao seemed to suddenly realise something. All the blood rushed to his head, and he turned and walked out of the bathroom, his limbs uncoordinated.

“Yo,” Zhou Rong pushed open the dormitory door with a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing Yan Hao, he mumbled, “Where is he?”

It seemed like the door to Si Nan’s single room would never get any rest. Yan Hao stood by the bed, feeling his heart beat a little faster than normal, but did not know what that strange reaction was about. He pointed towards the bathroom.

Zhou Rong tossed him half a pack of cigarettes. “Given by those idiots just now.”

He walked into the room and opened the bathroom door. “Hey you…”

Si Nan’s back was facing the door, and he thought it was Yan Hao coming in again. “Why do you…”

He turned his head, and his eyes met Zhou Rong’s.

In an instant, alarms rang in Si Nan’s head. Never before had he ever felt this aware of the differences in his gender. If there was no glass separating them, he might have already grabbed the towel and strangled Zhou Rong with it. “Get—the—hell—out!”

Zhou Rong trembled, and slammed the door closed.

“Are you a woman?!” For no reason at all, Zhou Rong had ran into a stone wall. He yelled at the door, “Also, who allowed you to use the hot water like this? Do you know how many days I haven’t showered?!”

“Is he going crazy or what?” His anger lingering, Zhou Rong pointed at the door and asked Yan Hao.

“… He was pretty gentle with me just now,” Yan Hao said slowly. “Maybe it’s because you’re surlier.”

***

“That group of people are staying here.” Ten minutes later, Zhou Rong was boldly sitting by the bed and smoking.

Yan Hao was leaning against the windowsill, a cigarette in his hand. The single room was filled with the stench of nicotine.

Rubbing at his wet hair with a towel, Si Nan studied the both of them. He did not understand. In their free time, why were they not banging each other, but instead coming over to his room in the middle of the night? However, out of habit, he did not ask, only giving a simple acknowledgement showing that he heard the message.

“Why did you run just now?” Zhou Rong frowned. “I wanted to make that fellow kowtow to you. If not, we’ll make him do it in front of everyone tomorrow?”

Si Nan replied, “No need.”

Zhou Rong and Yan Hao exchanged a look.

“… You’re angry?” Zhou Rong tested.

Si Nan, “?”

“Aren’t all Alphas like that anyway?” Si Nan said indifferently. “It’s not the first time already. What can I do about it, throw them outside and let them fend for themselves?”

Turning around, he looked into the mirror, ruffling his hair, missing the looks of consternation on Zhou Rong and Yan Hao’s faces. A moment later, Zhou Rong coughed. It seemed like he wanted to explain something, but after lifting his hand, he put it down again, swallowing his words.

“I know you don’t want them to stay here, but we can’t butcher them. If we make them leave, they’ll be a destabilising factor, and might purposely come back to give us trouble…”

Baffled, Si Nan nodded his head.

“Also,” Zhou Rong paused. “That guy is a shareholder of this fertiliser plant.”

Even Yan Hao was surprised by this. “There’s even such a thing?”

“Oh, their leader’s called Feng Wentai.” Zhou Rong mentioned the name of a very famous consortium in B City. “— He’s the young master, and he really does have investments in this industrial park. Apparently, he had seen Xiangzi before from a very far distance, and just recognised him. Immediately apologising and brown-nosing, he even took the initiative and is willing to turn over the fertiliser plant to the country to be used as a shelter.”

“Damn,” Yan Hao said, “Xiangzi is so useful.”

“On behalf of Xiangzi, this guy won’t be a destabilising factor for now.”

Treasuring the last puff of his cigarette, Zhou Rong suddenly saw Si Nan turn his head from the bathroom and look doubtfully at them. “… What does this have to do with the one who wants to be a rooster in his next life?”

“His grandfather is Guo Bai, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of State Security. He’s a proper third-generation official.” Yan Hao explained, “With the current chaos, that Feng fellow wants to kiss up to the government, and probably wouldn’t give us any trouble for now.”

Hearing Guo Bai’s name, Si Nan felt that it sounded a little familiar. However, that feeling was faint and fleeting.

He silently pondered over it, as though reconsidering Guo Weixiang as a person. In the end, under Zhou Rong’s and Yan Hao’s attention, he gave an “oh”, and as if in deep thought, “Then does his grandfather know about the thing with him and the rooster?”

***

Feng Wentai and his six bodyguards settled into the fertiliser factory. Just like Zhou Rong predicted, they did not immediately start making mischief. Instead, they were even pretty self-aware, looking for Zhou Rong the next day and insisting on offering all their… money.

Zhou Rong could neither laugh nor cry. Walking back with an armful of cash, he asked, “Are they afraid that we don’t have enough kindling for winter, or worried that we don’t have anymore toilet paper, and want us to make do and use this to wipe?”

“Great! I’ve never seen so much cash in my life before.” Chun Cao cocked her feet up, sitting on the window sill. She folded a paper plane and said admiringly, “These people are really extravagant… You say, why would they carry so much money when they’re running for their lives?”

On the side, Yan Hao was polishing the guns. He laughed, “Because no one had expected the virus outbreak to last so long when it just started. They all thought that it was limited to an area, and as long as they could escape the area, they would be able to return to civilisation. However, as e-commerce is limited in disaster-stricken areas, many people are afraid that prices will skyrocket…”

Just as he spoke halfway, Chun Cao threw the money plane. It flew out of the door, and hit Si Nan who was passing by.

“Si Xiaonan!” Chun Cao slid off the window sill. “Come come come, let’s divide some money!”

Si Nan had just come back from a run, and was dressed in a fitted black singlet and camouflage pants. On his neck was a towel soaked with sweat. Hearing Chun Cao, his feet stopped and he looked into the room.

Zhou Rong was standing by the bed, Yan Hao sitting by the table, and both of them simultaneously turned their heads towards him.

A half-second, then Si Nan nodded his head at Chun Cao and continued walking.

“Eh, Si Xiaonan!”

Chun Cao stood there stiffly, watching Si Nan’s back pulling away. She marveled, “Guys, why is he recently always like this? Did he take the wrong medication or…”

Before Chun Cao could finish her sentence, Zhou Rong had put the money down and walked out of the room. Striding through the corridor, he grasped Si Nan’s shoulder.

His actions were nimble and absolute. Si Nan turned around, wanting to comment, but before he could speak, Zhou Rong suddenly picked him up in a princess carry, lifting him easily.

“…” Si Nan was stunned. “What are you doing?”

Zhou Rong turned a deaf ear and quickly returned to the room. Under Yan Hao’s dumbfounded gaze, he tossed Si Nan onto the bed!

“You!”

Si Nan swiftly propped himself up with his elbows, but just as he burst out with a word, he saw Zhou Rong grabbing a bunch of cash, saying, “Yo ho—”

Then he scattered the money on top of him.

This action was too outrageous. Never in his life had Si Nan ever laid on a bed and had money tossed onto him. At that moment, he really did not know what to say.

His mouth opened slightly and he glared at Zhou Rong, looking a little angry.

From his profile, because of the way he propped up his body, his jutting shoulder blades, his suspended waist, as well as those slender, long parting legs, they all formed an exceptionally captivating silhouette.

— If anyone happened to see it, they would find it difficult to drag their eyes away.

However, Zhou Rong was not aware of it. He lunged onto the bed, pushing himself up and looking down at Si Nan. “Who are you hiding from? What sort of tantrum are you throwing this time?”

Si Nan, “…”

Zhou Rong wanted to continue lecturing, but suddenly, from such a close distance, he seemed to smell something. It seemed as though it wafted up from Si Nan’s skin and hair that were still dewy with sweat.

— It was difficult for him to think of words that could represent that scent. It was not just purely aromatic; if he had to describe it, it would be a scent that, despite being obscured, mysterious, and hidden, would make a person’s heart feel unsettled and restless.

But it was only for a moment.

Si Nan abruptly pushed him away, and Zhou Rong hastily stumbled a step back. Si Nan flipped off the bed, speaking coldly, “You want to fight?”

“…” Zhou Rong gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and suddenly forgot what he was about to say.

“Si Xiaonan, what was that for!” A nimble and lively figure appeared from behind, throwing an arm around Si Nan’s neck, nearly pushing him back onto the bed. Chun Cao then grabbed a fistful of money and shoved it into his arms, unrestrainedly saying, “What is there to fight about, just take this! Those fools from yesterday insist on giving us this money, how much toilet paper do you have left in your room? Make do with these.”

Si Nan looked down at the money, his mouth twitching slightly.

With Chun Cao’s interruption, Zhou Rong finally regained his lost wits. Covering his mouth with his fist, he coughed, “Alright, stop making a fuss. I’m just joking with you.”

He patted Si Nan on the shoulder, then pulled him towards him and waved at Yan Hao, smiling, “Come here, I didn’t look for you guys for fun—”

“I’ll give you five minutes to tidy up. We’ll gather at the garage in the back, and I’ll bring you guys to plunder.” Zhou Rong’s lips curved up, speaking rakishly, “Today, we’re going to have a windfall.”