Chapter Sixty: An Even Better Event

At the headquarters of the Northeast Military District of Huaxia, in the commander’s office, Xue Xiwen sat with his brows tightly knitted, staring at the data curve displayed on his computer screen. His expression was as cold as ice.

Sitting across from him was a man in a light blue suit, gold-rimmed glasses glinting under the office lights. This was none other than Xue Xiwen’s fourth brother, Xue Xiquan, the Wolf King of the Wolf Pack and their chief instructor.

At that moment, even Xue Xiquan’s brow was furrowed, his face grave as he addressed Xue Xiwen. “Big brother, are you certain? You’re saying that in the past two days, plenty of people have been searching for Xiao Ai’s forged file here in Huaxia?”

“Yes, just this morning. A lot of people tried to locate Xiao Ai based on the information registered in our system, but only one search request managed to pinpoint a location. The rest failed to identify any precise address. This is the first time in years the curve has shown such fluctuations.” A faint worry clouded Xue Xiwen’s face as he spoke.

“Where did the accurate search come from?”

“The police bureau in Beiyang City, Northeast. If I’m not mistaken, you sent that lone wolf, Xia Shuxiao, to serve as director there, didn’t you? Can you check with him?”

“That’s unexpected.” Xue Xiquan blinked, surprised by the location, then quickly pulled out his phone and called Xia Shuxiao.

The call was answered almost instantly, and a respectful voice came through the line, “Good day, Instructor Xue!”

Clearly used to Xia’s deferential tone, Xue Xiquan wasted no words and got straight to the point. “Shuxiao, do you know that Sirius has returned to Beiyang?”

“I do, Instructor. Last night, I saw Brother Sirius at the precinct,” Xia Shuxiao replied succinctly.

That response caught both Xue Xiwen and Xue Xiquan off guard—Sirius had been at the police station the previous night? What had happened?

Anticipating further questions, Xia Shuxiao quickly added, “Please don’t worry, Instructor. Brother Sirius got into a fight with a few thugs last night and was brought in by that little Shen Xinyi from our department. I’ve already let him go.”

“Alright. If he gets into anything unusual, let me know immediately.”

“Understood!”

With that, Xue Xiquan hung up and turned to his elder brother. “It must have been that little girl who brought Xiao Ai in who checked the information.”

“Seems likely. But why would Xiao Ai get into a fight with street thugs the moment he’s back? Those fools have no idea who they’re dealing with.”

“They’re probably just petty punks. Don’t worry about it, big brother. What concerns me is, what about those other search attempts that failed to pinpoint a location? Could this be related to the Qin family? To Qin Mengxue?”

“I don’t know. I just hope nothing’s amiss.” Xue Xiwen sighed softly, closing the curve display on his computer.

“Even if something’s brewing, with Xiao Ai’s abilities, I’m confident nothing can faze him. He was already stronger than me at fifteen.” A trace of pride curved Xue Xiquan’s lips. “If he returned to the Wolf Pack now, calling him Wolf King would be no exaggeration.”

“Don’t even think about luring Xiao Ai back to the Wolf Pack!” Xue Xiwen’s tone turned sharp and severe.

“Alright, alright. Since our father has said as much, I won’t push. But, big brother, I have to admit, your move to buy out the organizer’s seat for the Yang University bidding conference was a stroke of genius.” Xue Xiquan grinned mischievously.

“How did you know about that?” Xue Xiwen was clearly startled. He’d only acquired the organizer’s position last night and hadn’t even released the bidding notice yet. How could his fourth brother have caught wind of it so quickly?

“Don’t underestimate the Wolf King’s intelligence network!” Xue Xiquan adjusted his glasses with a smug air. “So, big brother, who are you planning to award the contract to? Your daughter-in-law, or to Hairuo?”

“Hmph, who says I have to let either of them win? Fair competition—do you understand?” Xue Xiwen’s face flushed, his brother’s teasing undermining any semblance of the district commander’s gravity.

“Hahaha, you can say what you like, but when the time comes, let’s see how you handle it. There’s only one slot—who will you give it to?” Behind his lenses, Xue Xiquan’s eyes had narrowed into slits of laughter.

“Hmph, that’s none of your concern! I have my own plans.” Xue Xiwen lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

“Either way, it’s like giving your son a pile of money, no matter who wins.” Xue Xiquan slapped his thigh and stood, tossing in one last jab.

At that moment, Xue Xiwen happened to be taking a deep puff. Hearing his brother’s words, he choked, coughing violently. “Cough—cough—get out! I don’t want to see you!”

“Heh, did I hit a nerve? So stingy!” Xue Xiquan laughed as he left the office.

Once outside, his demeanor shifted instantly, the playful air vanishing, replaced by a cold, steely seriousness. He dialed another number, his voice frosty as he issued an order, “Investigate—thoroughly!”

Meanwhile, Xue Xiwen slowly regained his composure in his office, exhaling a long plume of smoke that shrouded his face, obscuring any trace of his true expression. He sat quietly for a while, then reached for the phone and made a call of his own.

…

At that same moment, on the nineteenth floor of Menghua Group’s tower in Beiyang City—the floor housing the Foreign Affairs Department and Gan Bingning’s office—Xue Tian’ai had just hung up the phone. He stood by the giant floor-to-ceiling window, gazing across the street with a look as cold and deep as the sea.

He hadn’t wanted to answer the phone, but after several attempts to ignore it, he finally relented and took the call from his father, Xue Xiwen. The conversation had been brief—a simple inquiry about last night’s fight, followed by the information that his details had recently been the focus of numerous searches.

Hanging up, Xue Tian’ai immediately recalled the chilling aura he had sensed when he stepped out of Qin Mengxue’s car that morning. The presence had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, so expertly concealed that he knew instantly the person behind it was no ordinary figure.

Though his expression was solemn, there wasn’t a hint of fear inside him. For Xue Tian’ai, anyone brazen enough to threaten a woman of his would have to pay the ultimate price, no matter who they were.

As he stood lost in thought, a small hand reached out from behind, lightly tapping him on the shoulder. “Tian’ai, what are you looking at?”

He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. In the entire Menghua Group, only Gan Bingning—who had declared her intention to be his lover just last night—ever called him Tian’ai.

“Admiring the view, what else?” he replied with a faint smile, turning to her.

“See anything worth looking at?” Gan Bingning’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at him, her heart already in turmoil.

All night she’d tossed and turned in bed, mortified by her own bold words from the evening before. She feared Xue Tian’ai’s response had only been perfunctory, and so she’d arrived at work distracted and restless. Unable to resist, she’d gone looking for him, only to find him at the window, lost in thought.

The moment she saw Xue Tian’ai, joy flooded her heart, and she hurried over to tap his shoulder.

“Of course. Isn’t there a beautiful woman standing right in front of me?”

Her cheeks flushed at the compliment. Who doesn’t like to be flattered, especially by the man she liked?

“You’re such a smooth talker. But what brings Assistant Xue to my floor today?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I came to see a beauty. Or is President Gan not happy to see me? If you’re not, I’ll leave right now.” He grinned, his eyes roving over her figure without restraint. Today, Gan Bingning wore a light gray suit with black stockings, exuding a sensual elegance.

“How could I not welcome you? I wouldn’t dare offend Assistant Xue. I only wish I could welcome you more warmly.” Her heart swelled with a touch of pride at his attentive gaze.

“Yet you’ve left me standing outside your office, not even inviting me in. Seems you’re not all that pleased to see me after all. Oh, how heartbroken I am—I’ll be going, then.” He feigned hurt, dabbing at imaginary tears.

“Alright, alright, come in. I’m inviting you!” She hurriedly took his arm, half pushing and half pulling him into her office.

Once inside, Xue Tian’ai sprawled on the sofa as if at home, exhaling a long breath. Gan Bingning watched him with a shy smile. “Shouldn’t you be working in the president’s office right now? What brings you to my floor?”

“I missed you, of course. Just thinking about your lovely face, Bingning, and I can’t focus on anything else. So I came to see you.” He lounged lazily on the sofa.

“I suspect President Qin chased you out.” Gan Bingning sat beside him, laughing behind her hand.

“Hey! How did you know?” Xue Tian’ai looked at her in surprise.

“Women’s intuition…” That hint of disappointment flickered in her eyes. She’d only been joking, but it turned out to be true. She would have preferred if he’d said he came just to see her. Still, the disappointment was fleeting. She knew she’d fallen for him, but Xue Tian’ai didn’t seem to reciprocate—after all, he was still married. The road ahead would be long, but she was willing to wait. He had been her first in every sense, and her heart was set. Whether this love was right or wrong, she couldn’t say.

“Women’s intuition is a scary thing,” Xue Tian’ai mused, half envious.

“So, how exactly did you get chased out?”

“Can’t you guess with your intuition?”

“Do you think intuition is that reliable?” She huffed, leaning closer to him.

“I was kicked out for playing games… By the way, Bingning, do you have any games on your computer? I want to play a bit.”

She was caught off guard by his sudden change of topic. But after a brief pause, she reached out with her delicate hand, taking his, then wrapped herself around him like an octopus, licking her lips mischievously.

“Compared to computer games, I think there are better things the two of us could be doing right now.”

Feeling her softness pressed against him, seeing the seductive glint in her eyes, and hearing her provocative words, a fire ignited instantly in Xue Tian’ai’s chest, his eyes glinting with a hungry, wolfish light.