Chapter 76: Powerful Connections (2)
Gu Luhan slowly rose to his feet the moment Wenzhi entered the room.
Wenzhi was dressed entirely in black, his dark wavy hair slightly damp from the rain outside while those dull grey eyes remained fixed calmly ahead.
There was something more rough hewn around him tonight.
Gu Luhan’s lips curled into a sneer but he hid it behind a smooth sip of his cocktail.
Then he walked toward him.
Wenzhi casually pulled the lollipop from his mouth as the other guide stopped in front of him.
"Hello, Lin Wenzhi," Gu Luhan greeted lightly.
The contempt was still there despite the smile on his face. Hidden carefully beneath polished civility.
Wenzhi found it amusing. "I’m surprised to see you here," he admitted.
Gu Luhan smiled faintly, brushing a few strands of brown hair away from his forehead.
"Well, I have a new Esper now," he said casually. "I’m sure you know him. His former guide died in the Red Zone."
His gaze sharpened. "The same Red Zone everyone assumed you died in too."
Wenzhi scoffed softly. "Oh."
Recognition clicked instantly. "Wang Chenxi."
Wenzhi cursed at himself. He probably should have investigated Zhaohe’s so-called ’connections’ more thoroughly before agreeing to any of this.
But meeting them face-to-face told him far more than files ever could.
"I heard this gathering is supposed to be life-changing," Gu Luhan continued, taking another slow sip of his drink. "And somehow both you and Shao Xinyuan have decided to reveal your location despite being wanted by both the CEA and the Old Blood faction."
His eyes narrowed. "Do you really trust everyone in this room?"
Wenzhi raised a brow lazily. "Who said anything about trust?"
Gu Luhan studied him silently for a moment before nodding slowly. "Is Shao Xinyuan coming tonight?"
There it was.
The real question.
Wenzhi ignored it completely.
Instead, he walked past Gu Luhan toward the far side of the room where Duan Ze and Ru Yi immediately spotted him.
Ru Yi practically launched herself at him first.
Wenzhi looked genuinely caught off guard as she wrapped her arms tightly around him while Duan Ze laughed beside them, the large guide towering over almost everyone nearby.
Gu Luhan’s grip around his cocktail tightened. Then, almost instinctively, his gaze lifted upward toward the second floor.
An Esper stood there silently against the railing. Watching.
He had golden hair and calm hazel eyes, his expression unreadable as he observed Wenzhi, Ru Yi, and Duan Ze below.
Then suddenly, his eyes flashed faint gold.
The glow reflected sharply for only a second before his gaze slowly shifted toward Gu Luhan instead.
They held eye contact across the room. And Gu Luhan’s smile disappeared completely.
A second later, he turned and walked away.
~°~
Ru Yi remained attached to Wenzhi’s arm as they walked.
"Your hair got longer," she said, blinking up at him. "Do you want help cutting it?"
Wenzhi glanced at her before smiling faintly. "I don’t think I want to cut it anymore."
"You don’t seem surprised to see her here," Duan Ze pointed out from beside them.
That made Wenzhi finally look at Ru Yi properly.
"I wouldn’t say surprised," he admitted. "But why are you here?"
Ru Yi puffed her cheeks.
"I told Duan Ze and Kaiwen I wanted to come." Her expression softened afterward. "I was worried about you. And I missed you. Besides, whatever you’re planning clearly matters if it needs a gathering like this."
The way she looked at him made it painfully obvious she still hadn’t gotten over him.
Wenzhi looked away first and shifted his attention toward Duan Ze instead. "What about Pei Luo?"
The atmosphere dimmed immediately.
"No sign of him?" Wenzhi asked.
Duan Ze’s expression darkened. "No."
Ru Yi pressed her lips together.
"I still have people looking for him," she said softly. "But he left the CEA after that night. The night his family died."
Guilt twisted unpleasantly inside Wenzhi’s chest.
Before the silence could settle too deeply, Duan Ze suddenly spoke up. "So what exactly are we doing here?"
He crossed his arms.
"You ignored all our calls and messages for weeks and now suddenly we’re gathered in some secret building like we’re planning a revolution."
"Well..." Wenzhi crunched the lollipop between his teeth. "You’ll see."
He turned his head and spotted a golden-haired Esper watching him from across the room with hazel eyes and a sharp smile.
The moment their eyes met, the Esper’s smile widened directly at him.
Wenzhi ignored him completely.
A few minutes later, everyone gradually began moving toward the main lounge.
The atmosphere shifted immediately the moment Wenzhi stepped inside.
Xinyuan was already there and he stood out too much.
Dressed entirely in black with his dark hair tied into a neat man bun, the sharpness of his features became even more striking beneath the dim lighting.
He sat calmly among the other Espers with one leg crossed over the other, his expression serious and unreadable.
This version of Shao Xinyuan felt completely different from the Esper who slept wrapped around Wenzhi every night.
The difference was almost jarring.
Here, he looked exactly like what he truly was.
A powerful, cold, untouchable disaster-class Esper. And yet the moment those warm brown eyes lifted and landed on Wenzhi, they brightened instantly.
The change was immediate enough to make several people nearby notice.
Wenzhi frowned at him in return before calmly pulling another lollipop from his pocket, unwrapping it, and placing it into his mouth.
Then he walked further into the room.
There were twelve people gathered altogether.
Most of them, Wenzhi recognized. Including Wang Chenxi, who stood silently near the wall with a dark expression shadowing his face.
Even with Gu Luhan beside him now, the grief over Suye’s death still clung visibly to him.
One by one, everyone settled into their seats.
Zhaohe dropped onto the chair beside Xinyuan casually, crossing one leg over the other while Zhiyao and Chenxi remained standing nearby.
Silence slowly spread across the room.
Then Xinyuan spoke. "There’s an imposter among us."
The entire room stilled instantly.
Wenzhi’s eyes snapped back toward him.
But Xinyuan was already looking directly at him while speaking.
"Reveal yourself," he said calmly. "Or I’ll expose you myself."
