Chapter 46: A Thorny Encounter

The mother and son locked eyes from a few meters apart.

“Mom…”

But Ye Anxian’s panic and shock lasted only seconds.

For a moment, her eyes gathered a look of barely restrained tears, but her lips moved, and in the end, she said nothing. The expression in her eyes gradually faded, and her gaze at Guan Qing grew increasingly unfamiliar.

She smiled at Guan Qing and Xie Xu with polite detachment, covering her mouth with a fan as she chatted quietly with her husband and slowly walked away.

She wore a well-tailored qipao, with meticulous makeup, her posture graceful and elegant, like a wealthy matron. Of course, she was originally born into a scholarly family; it was only after her family declined and her judgment of people failed her that she ended up in that situation.

Guan Qing’s expression went blank for a moment.

Xie Xu encircled him from behind, silent and steadfast. His hand patted Guan Qing’s back intermittently, helping him calm down.

Xie Xu said quietly: “Honey, don’t rush… the situation is a bit complicated, I’ll tell you later.”

Guan Qing, dazed, nodded.

Suddenly, the headwaiter stormed over, glaring at Guan Qing, and without a word, dragged him downstairs: “Didn’t they emphasize this to you?! How many times have I said it? Madam is coming today, and you, a bellboy, still dare to—”

His wrist was suddenly seized.

The hand holding his didn’t seem to exert much force, only loosely resting, yet the headwaiter felt as if his hand was clamped by iron pincers.

A strange panic and tremor surged in the headwaiter’s heart. He looked up and saw that the slouching waiter was watching him with an ambiguous smile, one hand in his pocket, standing in his usual nonchalant manner, yet his demeanor was not at all like that of a hooligan:

“Talk if you want to talk, why get handsy?”

The headwaiter trembled, his previous anger mostly frightened away. He stammered, “He, he… is on duty.”

Xie Xu looked down at him, twitching the corner of his mouth: “He’s not on duty now.”

The headwaiter was confused.

…Then, who’s on duty?

As if reading his mind, Xie Xu removed the name badge hanging on Guan Qing’s chest and slapped it onto the headwaiter’s shoulder, saying without explanation: “You.”

Headwaiter: “…”

Xie Xu took the small booklet from his hand, turned the headwaiter around by the shoulders, pushed him, and said: “Go.”

Only when the headwaiter reached the door did he suddenly realize: why was he listening to that waiter?!

He ripped off the name badge from his chest and turned angrily to leave, but suddenly heard a commotion in the distance.

It wasn’t noise; on the contrary, the entire building was extremely quiet, but countless footsteps sounded, including the faint clatter of cups and plates. The sound was very uniform, heralding the arrival of something, the arrival of someone—

A stretch Lincoln slowly drove in from the entrance.

The headwaiter had no choice but to bow and stand properly.

As it passed the entrance, the car suddenly stopped, and the rear window slowly rolled down.

A hand wearing a black silk glove extended from the window. The headwaiter and another bellboy didn’t understand. The driver opened the door, got out, and carefully lifted the decorative bouquet of roses from the entrance to the rear window.

That gloved, pale, and thin hand uprooted the roses, then crushed them bit by bit. So forceful was the grip that the bulging veins of the arm were visible through the soft, fitted glove.

Deep red petals fluttered down like rain, creating a kind of mournful beauty.

“I don’t want to see this kind of thing again.”

The person in the car said slowly.

Her voice was low and hoarse, like a curse.

The window slowly closed, and the stretch Lincoln drove forward, into the estate, into an unknown mist.

The wind at that moment turned cold and sharp again.

One wondered when this winter would end.

Meanwhile, Guan Qing and Xie Xu had walked to a corner when a phone vibration interrupted them. They had to take out their phones to look.

[Scott Electronics Co., Ltd. declares bankruptcy.]

Guan Qing read the entire message, locked the screen, and frowned at Xie Xu.

Xie Xu, however, seemed unsurprised. He shrugged: “You know my dad… He thinks that since running a company invites others’ coveting and scheming, making life uneasy every day, it’s better not to run it. Anyway, as long as we have enough money, not having a company means he can take Chris out to play.”

Guan Qing frowned and shook his head: “It’s not that simple.”

Xie Qing’s company’s main direction has been favorable in recent years, and its development prospects are good. This company is also the fruit of years of hard work by Xie Qing and Chris; there’s no reason to just give it up.

There must be some hidden reason, some difficulty, or…

“No.”

Xie Xu seemed to read his thoughts. He shrugged and smiled. “It’s just a trade-off. I don’t see this giving up as escape, nor do I think there’s anything wrong with it.” He turned around, and in the gradually fading light, Xie Xu smiled calmly: “You know, if it were me, if I had to choose between you and everything else, my choice can only be one… I want you.”

Guan Qing was not surprised.

The two met eyes. Guan Qing’s lips curved slightly into a smile. He was about to say something when a commotion interrupted.

A group of waiters hurried over. Xie Xu glanced at them and said to Guan Qing: “Go hide in that small room earlier. I’ll settle this matter within today—”

“No.”

Guan Qing interrupted without hesitation.

Xie Xu was taken aback, frowning. “Honey, this is not the time to be stubborn.”

“I…”

Guan Qing stepped forward two steps.

The bellboy and waiter uniforms were very similar, barely distinguishable without close inspection. Guan Qing naturally tagged along at the end of the group of waiters, looked back at Xie Xu, and mouthed: “Trust me.”

He pointed at his phone. Xie Xu frowned, took out his phone, and saw a text from Guan Qing: [Go do what you need to do. I can take care of myself.]

Xie Xu rushed forward two steps to grab him, his expression faintly angry: “Don’t mess around, you—”

“Hey, what are you doing?! Fighting?!”

Two patrolling security guards happened to pass by. They were white alphas. Seeing Xie Xu and Guan Qing’s postures, their sense of justice instantly surged, and they walked over to block Xie Xu.

Xie Xu was helpless, unable to break free for a moment, and watched as Guan Qing said something to the waiter beside him and showed him the headwaiter’s booklet. Somehow, the waiter stopped questioning and let him join.

The group of waiters soon disappeared from sight.

Xie Xu: “…”

After finally dealing with the situation here, Xie Xu tried to look for Guan Qing, but was completely confused by the intricate layout of the European-style estate. He called Guan Qing, but his phone was off.

He was both angry and anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

****

Guan Qing followed the waiters through the corridor and arrived at a place like a restaurant.

The waiters began to work in an orderly fashion. Someone handed Guan Qing an apron. He accepted it a bit confusedly and joined in the busy work.

But he roughly knew what was happening. This winery, that painting, Mother…

“Take this and dispose of it.”

A bouquet of red roses was thrust into Guan Qing’s hands.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Madam; she suddenly said today she doesn’t want to see red roses anymore. Heaven knows, the most abundant flower in this winery is the red rose.”

Guan Qing looked at the bouquet in his hands. Every bloom was in full glory, delicate and tempting, still bearing dewdrops. In this season in Czech, roses are not easy to grow, let alone such beautiful ones.

A thought quietly emerged in his mind.

The sound of high heels tapping on the marble floor rang out. The sound wasn’t crisp, but somewhat muffled, slow and steady.

Before Guan Qing could even dodge, he met the person’s gaze head-on.

The newcomer wore a black silk dress, cinched at the waist, with a black hat and high heels. Honestly, she looked pale, thin, and somewhat lifeless, but she had applied aggressive makeup, her lips bright red, showing an eerie vitality.

——Wang Yun.

She looked at Guan Qing, opened her mouth, and slowly revealed a surprised yet knowing smile, which quickly turned cold. She said: “I said I don’t want to see this kind of thing again.”

She pointed at the roses.

One of the people nearby, upon hearing this, almost knelt: “Madam, this…”

“Mr. Guan.” She didn’t dwell on the roses but lifted her chin toward Guan Qing. “Being a waiter really is an insult to you.”

Guan Qing stepped forward half a pace, holding the roses, and bowed: “No, it’s my honor.”

Wang Yun lowered her eyes, Guan Qing raised his. They exchanged an ambiguous glance across a short distance.

A thought flashed through Guan Qing’s mind.

He lowered his eyelids, pulled out one rose from the bouquet, and bent down in a gentlemanly bow to present the flower to Wang Yun: “Beautiful roses, for… you.”

Guan Qing couldn’t see Wang Yun’s expression, but it must not have been pleasant.

Because… she reached out and, with the strength belonging to an alpha, crushed the entire flower, petals and stem, into pieces.

A petal was secretly tucked into Guan Qing’s sleeve.

“What good does angering me do you?”

The next second, Guan Qing’s collar was grabbed, and he was dragged forward by Wang Yun’s people without any explanation.

They entered a resplendent indoor room. Waiters moved about on both sides of a long table, but only a few people sat at the table.

Among them was… Ye Anxian, wearing a well-tailored qipao.

“Mr. Guan, please sit.”

Wang Yun twitched the corner of her mouth.

Guan Qing was pushed into a chair, forced to look up at Wang Yun. Wang Yun’s expression was cold and insane. She picked up a towel offered by a servant to wipe her hands, saying in a low voice: “Vile betas…”

“All deserve to die.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you all died?”

A woman in her forties, yet she tilted her head like a young girl and asked with a sinister tone. Guan Qing, looking at her clearly abnormal eyes, felt a chill run down his spine.

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