"Huh? I am—" He Juan looked down on himself and belatedly realized that he had only pulled on sweatpants out of habit, whereas his upper body... it was completely bare.

He Juan was struck speechless as realization dawned on him. So the reason why Mu Yuze suddenly labeled him as a pervert was this? Because He Juan had forgotten to put on a shirt? "But why...?" He wondered sadly, especially when he recalled how Mu Yuze had slammed the door so hard as if venting his rage. "It’s not like I look vulgar, right? Aren’t we both men? What I have, he has too..."

"Boss..." Chen Youzhi heaved out a sigh and somehow, He Juan could almost picture the exasperated look on his face. "Sorry for being blunt but... you indeed look a little vulgar when you are not dressed. You look like..." he trailed off, only for He Juan to urge him with a dark expression,

"What? I look like what?"

Chen Youzhi cleared his throat awkwardly, "You look just like a nightclub host. Of course, I am not saying that it’s bad!" He hastily added when he received no answer from He Juan. "On the contrary, I am praising you, Boss! It means you’re both charming and—"

"Chen’er."

"Y–Yes!"

He Juan inhaled deeply and plastered an insincere smile on his face. "You have five minutes to talk about the reason behind your call so early in the morning." He threw two more sugar cubes into his mouth and crushed it between his teeth to appease his anger.

A nightclub host? How did he look like a nightclub host?! He was clearly a respectable and dignified Alpha! He was... He Juan glanced down at his own body and began to doubt his whole life. He really did not look like a host, right?

As he was mulling over this life-changing question, he absentmindedly listened as Chen Youzhi recounted how they had decided to go to the bar in West Ring Road only to encounter an old acquaintance. "... it’s really Blue Lotus, Boss! I saw the tattoo on his arms with my own eyes! In this entire province, who would dare to ink blue lotus on their body except for that person?!"

He Juan paused while sealing back his sugar cubes package, his eyes narrowed sharply. "Blue Lotus?"

Blue Lotus – alias for the ringleader of drug distribution in Yubei Province, Shunan City included. He Juan had never made any contact with Blue Lotus before because Yubei and Jiangnan were separated by a stretch of mountains, both had their own territory to tend to. But recently, he had come to hear some... disturbing rumors. Such as how Blue Lotus started to dip his hands into illegal prostitution and human trafficking – which was connected one way or another to the organization He Juan had been hunting down.

He Juan merely wanted to set up a meeting with Blue Lotus to confirm the rumor. If it was false, then he was willing to apologize and compensate for the damage he had caused, but if it was true... then perhaps he should bring up the topic of territory expansion to Boss Xuan when they met next time.

Alas, who could have guessed that Blue Lotus would choose to hide as soon as He Juan reached out to him?

He had gone under the radar for almost two months... only to reappear in an ordinary bar in Shunan City. For what reason? "Are you sure it’s him?" He asked strangely.

"A hundred percent," Chen Youzhi answered in a heartbeat.

Alright, He Juan trusted his men. They must have confirmed Blue Lotus’ identity in some kind of way before reporting to He Juan. "Okay, tell me about the situation right now."

He grabbed the phone and started to walk back to his bedroom, pausing ever so slightly when he glanced at the closed door next to him. Sighing wistfully, he curbed his desire to knock on the door and proceeded to walk into his bedroom, tossed his phone to the bed and took out a set of three-piece suits from the closet.

"Around 11 pm last night, Blue Lotus entered the bar with two men. They should be his subordinates. He went to the second floor and has not come out until now. I have asked around, Boss. It turns out the second floor is reserved only for VIP customers. We’re not regulars, so it’s a bit hard to apply for a membership. In the end, we can only monitor the situation from outside. Right now, we are on the fifth floor of the motel on the opposite road. Old Liu is guarding the back entrance, so as long as Blue Lotus comes out, we can definitely catch him!"

"Huh?" He Juan exclaimed softly, intrigued, as he slipped the pristine white shirt over his shoulders, past his arms and buttoned it with dexterous fingers. "VIP customers, an inconspicuous bar in Shunan City and overnight stay? What do you have in mind, Chen’er?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Next was the vest and the tie. He Juan took his position in front of the tall mirror, straightened his collar before fastening the tie around his neck. He was combing his fingers through his long hair as Chen Youzhi gave a tentative reply,

"I don’t want to assume, but... I have a hunch that the bar has become a secret hideout."

"There is no need to assume," He Juan chuckled. "Whether there’s really a secret hideout or not, I just want to make a trip down to the bar for no reason. Can’t I?"

Chen Youzhi fell silent, presumably rendered speechless at how brazen He Juan was. In the end, he could only sigh, "...Of course, you can Boss. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No need—" He Juan instinctively walked to his coat hanger only to pause when he could not find the suit jacket he had often worn. It took him one full second to recall that he had lent it to Mu Yuze last night. He shook his head and chuckled at the memory of Mu Yuze buried in the oversized jacket. "Actually, I’d have to trouble you to make a trip here. There is a favor I have to ask."