After Reuniting, My Beautiful Ex-Lover Fishes for Me Every Day - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: At the Door

Six months ago, an explosion occurred at an abandoned orphanage in south Ningcheng, resulting in two deaths after failed rescue attempts. Officials quickly intervened to investigate the cause, but rumors had already begun to swirl on the day of the incident. It was said to be a malicious terrorist attack involving a manually detonated bomb, causing city-wide panic. It became known as the “South City Explosion Case.”

As a native of Ningcheng, Wei Changli remembered it.

However, in this specific “deep dive” post—which pried into private secrets under the guise of an exposé—he found a breakdown of events that made his skin crawl.

To protect the privacy of the deceased, officials had not released their identities. But the poster claimed the victims were a kidnapped couple. Originally, it was a family of three, but the child was fortunate enough to be rescued. This family had maternal ties to the Min family, an old prestige household in Ningcheng. One of the deceased was Min Zhuozhou’s biological younger sister.

Wei Changli frowned, his finger continuing to scroll down the mouse wheel.

The post contained many seemingly logical but actually baseless conjectures, heavy with the flavor of “urban legend” conspiracy theories. Scattered comments below added supplementary material. One ID vaguely mentioned someone “being targeted,” while another left the highly suggestive name: “wei.”

The poster had specifically liked that comment and replied:

“Locals who have lived in Ningcheng for over 15 years know that the welfare home in South City was originally W-family’s territory, funded by them. It was only abandoned when the city’s construction focus shifted. Those cold-blooded kidnappers didn’t lack for ransom money, and the Min family could afford it. Everyone knows the Mins and the Ws were close a decade ago, but now the Mins are close to the Pei family… As the rising stars of recent years, the W-family felt their status was threatened and used the Mins as a ‘chicken to warn the monkeys.'”

The underground bar was dim, and Wei Changli was steeped in darkness; only his face was illuminated by the ghastly white light of the screen.

Though he never handled family business, he recalled the Wei family funding the South City welfare home. His father had proposed the charity project. In the photo albums of the Wei manor, there were pictures of the butler leading him and his brother to take photos with the orphans. And during the time of the explosion six months ago… his brother had indeed been unnaturally busy.

Combining this with the recording sent to the Pei family that went unanswered, the reaction of Pei and Min upon learning his identity, and even Min Hua silently letting go of his hand in the elevator… a chill raced up Wei Changli’s spine, climbing through his vertebrae one by one.

Beside him, the boy was still playing games carefree. Not far away, the water dispenser was bubbling. The air carried the pungent smell of fake instant noodles mixed with low-quality spicy strips. The flickering light from the computer screen pierced through the swirling white mist of cigarette ash.

Wei Changli could hardly bear to think further. His current mood was like a child who, while secretly surfing the web, accidentally stumbles upon an uncensored horror movie. A bloody seed had been planted in his heart, taking root and refusing to leave.

He logged off without a word and left through the narrow exit of the dark bar. The highway ahead opened up before him; under the bright moon and sparse stars, fresh cold air flooded his lungs.

Suddenly, his phone rang, echoing in the empty street. Wei Changli answered and heard the familiar voice he had just heard that afternoon.

“Hello, Changli. It might be a bit presumptuous to call you this late.”

Min Zhuozhou’s voice came through the receiver.

Perhaps because he had just searched for the man online, Wei Changli felt an unprovoked nervousness, like a child caught doing something wrong.

He adjusted his state of mind and asked, “Good evening, Mr. Min. Is there something you need?”

“I heard,” Min Zhuozhou began, “that you were interested in applying for a job at Zhuohua, correct?”

Wei Changli was puzzled. “President Pei already rejected me this afternoon.”

“My apologies, Zhuohua’s rejection was a bit too hasty,” Min Zhuozhou paused before continuing. “I’m calling to ask—the company has a commercial to film for the brand PERME, and we are currently short one background actor with a speaking role. I wonder if you are interested?”

Wei Changli was stunned. For a moment, he even took the online rumors as established facts and conspiratorially wondered if this call was a trap or revenge designed by the victim.

Receiving no response, Min Zhuozhou called his name again.

Wei Changli snapped back to reality and bit his lip. “Mr. Min.”

Min Zhuozhou acknowledged him, but waited a long time for the follow-up.

“Can I ask a few questions?” Wei Changli finally spoke.

Min Zhuozhou agreed.

“Why the change of heart?”

The answer from the other side was smooth: “Actually, commercials with PERME usually aren’t short of people. But the company suddenly received word that the artist originally cast was hospitalized for a severe allergy. We couldn’t find a suitable replacement on short notice, so I thought of asking if you’d be willing to help out.”

The reason sounded plausible at first, but the logic was thin upon scrutiny. Wei Changli didn’t believe it, but he didn’t expose it either.

Min Zhuozhou waited patiently for his response.

On the empty street, a faulty streetlight nearby flickered, making Wei Changli’s eyes appear to brighten and dim in turn.

“Actually,” after a moment of silence, he decided to pull out the thorn that had just pricked his heart, “I saw some things online regarding my family and you, Mr. Min. But I didn’t know…”

Wei Changli bit the tip of his tongue; for some reason, he couldn’t go on.

Whether it was psychological suggestion or not, the breathing on the other end of the line seemed to grow heavier.

In this elongated silence, Wei Changli could clearly hear his heart beating faster and faster. He unconsciously clenched his fist, only to find his palm covered in sweat.

After a long time, the man on the other side suddenly laughed. His voice even carried a hint of gentle teasing: “Changli, you actually believe what they say on the internet?”

Wei Changli’s breath, which had been tight to the point of suffocation, suddenly relaxed. His drifting heart crashed back to earth. For a moment, he could barely stand, reaching out to support himself against the lamppost.

He said, “I’m sorry, that was abrupt of me.”

Min Zhuozhou didn’t seem to take it to heart. The subsequent conversation became relaxed, like a tightly wound spring reaching its limit and then gently spinning back.

The terms Zhuohua offered for the “emergency” were generous, enough to solve Wei Changli’s temporary financial distress. While Wei Changli politely agreed, there was no smile in his eyes.

After hanging up, the youth leaned against the lamppost in silence. He tilted his head back, watching a swarm of moths and gnats, already on the brink of the cold autumn, fluttering their wings and crashing into the light source, entirely unaware they had reached the end of their lives.

There are no free favors in this world. Who possessed enough power to make Zhuohua change its mind and have a high-ranking executive call personally in the middle of the night?

And according to Pei Che, the restructuring of Shen Shuqiang’s Global Entertainment wasn’t his doing. So who was hidden in the background, dealing with that treacherous “local snake”?

Wei Changli thought of his encounter with the Yan siblings that afternoon and of Yan Xu’s unreadable eyes.

The night wind ruffled the hair on his forehead. He suddenly exhaled, pressed the button to light up his phone screen, and entered a string of numbers he had suppressed in his heart, digit by digit.

He paused on the dialing screen for a long time.

…

At the same time, Yan Xu had just finished an online meeting.

After sending a set of newly integrated bioinformatics data to the laboratory, the man emerged from his study and headed into the bathroom.

Soon, the sound of rushing water came from the room. The steam from the hot water turned the glass into a frosted texture. The phone left casually on the table suddenly lit up, flickering silently a few times—much like the struggle of the person on the other end—before fading back into darkness.

It usually took Yan Xu quite some time to manage his long hair. By the time he came out wearing a bath towel, he discovered several missed calls on his phone.

The number was unfamiliar, but the display showed it was local to Ningcheng.

His public and private numbers were strictly separated, with high security and special blocking mechanisms. General sales or advertisements couldn’t get through. It was like a silent pond surrounded by copper and steel walls. Since returning to the country, he hadn’t been bothered by external numbers for a long time.

Just as Yan Xu was about to forward the suspicious number to his subordinates for investigation, the stranger called again.

Upon answering, there was only the monotonous sound of the wind.

Yan Xu was about to hang up when the other party spoke.

That clear and cold voice said only two words:

“Open the door.”

A rare crack appeared in Yan Xu’s cold and composed expression. The light phone in his hand suddenly felt very heavy.

“Changli?” he said hesitantly.

A busy tone followed; the other side had hung up directly.

Yan Xu walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Sure enough, he saw a lean, upright figure blocked by the iron gate, unsure of how long he had been standing there.

He hurriedly grabbed a trench coat and went downstairs. He pushed open the door and saw Wei Changli in the night, bathed in the moon’s misty silver glow, the tips of his ears and nose reddened by the cold.

The man walked toward him with large strides, wrapped the youth in his trench coat, and brought him inside.

Neither spoke during this time. Wei Changli kept his head down until they were inside the house, only then looking up at him.

“I was showering and didn’t take my phone in,” Yan Xu explained.

“I’m not blind,” Wei Changli glanced at his loose black hair, then added in a level tone, “And of course, I didn’t expect you to pick up.”

The atmosphere became very subtle. Yan Xu stopped explaining, turned, and went into the tea room to find a box of tea leaves meant for dispelling cold and calming the mind. He brewed it for Wei Changli.

The boiling water poured over the curled tea leaves, scalding out a drifting, soft aroma. Yan Xu lowered his eyelashes, watching the leaves unfurl and swirl in the hot water.

His expression showed no hint of joy at Wei Changli’s late-night arrival. His dark features appeared even more peaceful amidst the swirling steam.

It was as if he had already guessed the visitor’s intent.

Even so, when Yan Xu walked into the living room carrying the tea and saw the empty space, he was momentarily stunned.

The sound of rushing water came from the master bedroom on the second floor. The bathroom he had just used was back in operation.

Yan Xu looked up. His fingertip was scalded red by the spilled tea.