He Juan had never felt so angry before – or at least, that’s what he thought.

However, this rage settled easily within him like a missing piece of puzzle found, simmering like a burning coal, tucked safely into the corner of his heart where it could be summoned at will in the future. His Alpha let out a threatening growl, but it did not lash out to attack, much to his own surprise. Instead, it whispered to him, ’Later. You will get your revenge later.’ A promise that would return everything ten folds.

And in this way, He Juan was able to regain a semblance of composure. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, again and again, until his body no longer shook from the force of his rage. And when he opened his eyes again, the crimson had receded to become calm and serene silver.

He returned his gaze to the phone screen, saved the video and typed back, [When will we meet?]

[I will inform you later ^^] the other person replied.

He Juan assumed that the enemies would definitely send him a time and location at the very last moment so that he would be caught unprepared. So that he would not be able to formulate any plans against them. The corner of his lips curled in distaste. Were they that cautious toward him? Good, then it meant that he used to have a high prestige and reputation. It also meant that Jia Molei would remain safe and sound until then.

Forcing himself to stop thinking about his best friend’s condition, He Juan returned to the guest room where he kept his belongings. First, he consumed his medicine and rested for a while until the dull throb on his head subsided. He had no idea whether he was allowed to consume these pills after this detoxification process today but... whatever. He could not think clearly with this headache pounding on his skull and he needed his mind sober, for now.

Next, he dug into his bag and took out the laptop and notebook.

He Juan found an unread email from Principal Wei, sent a day ago when he was still confined in the ICU ward. Warmth permeated He Juan’s chest as he read the reply that was suffused with kindness.

Ever since the first time he discovered his horrible past in Su Xieren’s apartment, He Juan had conveyed his intention to resign from the job toward the Principal. He wanted to prepare for the day when he would be summoned to the police station – which did not happen because Su Xieren insisted on taking two photos related to He Juan out from the stack of evidence – and he would not be able to live with the guilt for missing the classes so often.

At first, Principal Wei refused his resignation letter. She even wanted to pay He Juan a few months’ wage in advance because she thought that he was in debt. But after He Juan convinced her that no trouble had come knocking on his door and he simply had another important reason for doing so, Principal Wei finally agreed with a heavy heart. This email notified He Juan that his resignation letter had been processed and Principal Wei wished him luck for his future endeavors.

From now on, He Juan was no longer a teacher in Geming High School.

He Juan pursed his lips tight and suppressed the loss that surfaced in his heart. Even though he had not been working for long, he genuinely enjoyed guiding young teenagers on their thought process. Alas, there was no use crying over spilled milk. He told himself that this was the best. If... If something happened to him later on, then at least Geming High School’s reputation would be spared. He did not want the school to be affiliated with a criminal.

Turning away from the laptop, He Juan grabbed his notebook, pulled open the leather cover and took out a stack of name cards and receipts hidden inside. He was grateful for his fussy habit of storing things. Now it benefited him greatly because he found the name card Han Shan had given him there.

It was a simple yet elegant name card. Gold letters were printed on the black surface. It had Han Shan’s name, his phone number and his email. He Juan deliberated over calling him but when he saw that it was already close to midnight, he finally curbed that intention and went for email instead. No matter how impatient he was, he should not bother other people’s rest.

He carefully entered Han Shan’s email address. Then, his fingers hovered over the keyboard and he started to type,

[Good day, Mr. Han. I apologize for sending this message to you at such a late hour. I am He Juan...]

He paused. Last time, Boss Han had referred to him as ’Mr. Xiu’ so perhaps... he might not know He Juan’s real name? Taking a deep breath, He Juan finally deleted the last two Chinese characters and replaced it with three alphabet letters.

[I am XIU.]

He Juan ignored the strange feelings in his heart as he finished the email and added his phone number in the end. Not because of how unfamiliar it was. On the contrary, typing the words ’I am XIU’ gave him a sliver of relief, as if he had finally found another missing part of himself. And that was weird because it was mostly his instinct speaking, just like how he had recoiled in disgust once he heard of Xuanlong.

Sending out the email, He Juan switched to the browser and gingerly typed into the search bar — [Xuanlong XIU] The results came out in 0.5 seconds and He Juan’s eyes widened in shock when he saw that there were... more than a hundred articles?! About XIU alone?!

Just what kind of person XIU was...?

Speechless, He Juan moved the cursor to the uppermost article, intending to spend the rest of the night perusing all he could get from the internet. The title was labeled in bold letters, sounding both provocative and mysterious, and it was published seven years ago. [XIU’s disappearance marks the downfall of Xuanlong?!]

He Juan’s heart started to race. Whether the article stated the truth or not, at least he would be able to know a little bit more about himself. Alas, before he could even start reading, his phone rang with an incoming call. He Juan set the laptop aside in a hurry, thinking that it might be Su Xieren bearing news about Mu Yuze because he was the only person who could possibly contact He Juan in his new phone. But then, what he saw on the screen was a string of unknown numbers that looked quite familiar. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He Juan blinked. He glanced at the name card on his notebook and turned his gaze to the phone screen again. The numbers were exactly the same.

The response... wasn’t it a little too fast??