Chapter 21

Chapter 21: 021 – Is It a Heartbeat?

Fu Yan Shi had been dragged out at the last minute. He was still in the formal outfit from the awards ceremony, only without the suit jacket—just a simple white shirt, sleeves neat, collar open.

On someone else, it would’ve looked ordinary. On him, it looked expensive.

“Brother Shi,” his friend said, already halfway into another drink, “that one from the research institute is in the Capital. Want to go meet her?”

“Who?”

“The one from the Yan Jing Tan family.” His friend lowered his voice, as if saying it quietly could make it more likely. “Maybe she knows where Wu Yin is.”

Fu Yan Shi sat back in the sofa, the shadows swallowing the lines of his face. The moment he heard the name Wu Yin, something flickered through his expression—gone so fast it could’ve been imagined.

His long fingers, resting loosely on his trouser leg, shifted. Without realizing it, he rubbed at his knee.

“I’ll go tomorrow,” his friend continued. “Some hope is better than none.”

He didn’t say more. Over the years, Fu Yan Shi’s old injury flared up whenever it felt like reminding him it existed. They’d finally found medicine that could ease the pain, keep it from driving him into cold sweats.

But no one dared take the case.

And the one person who had dared… had vanished completely four years ago.

On the black web bounty list, the top two had stayed unchanged for years.

One was a one-billion drug-making commission.

The other was Wu Yin’s whereabouts.

Four years. And no one had taken either.

Fu Yan Shi’s fingertips moved slowly over his knee, the pressure light but relentless, as if he could grind the pain out with sheer will. His eyes were dark enough to feel bottomless.

This time, Third Miss Tan was out in the open. They’d likely sent plenty of people to protect her in secret. Special-grade personnel, under the higher-ups—her status alone was a warning.

And her value might run deeper than it looked.

“I’m not going to threaten her,” his friend said, casual as ever, missing the undercurrent entirely. “I’m going to meet her openly. It’ll be fine.”

Fu Yan Shi didn’t answer. Deep down, he understood what his friend refused to say out loud: the chances were slim. Back then, even the Old Master had used private power, and still couldn’t force an answer out of anyone.

Four years ago, Wu Yin had contacted Third Miss Tan exactly once. That was the one time Fu Yan Shi had obtained the only medicine that eased his suffering.

After that, Wu Yin disappeared.

And Third Miss Tan went into seclusion with the research institute.

“I’ll go try,” his friend said, voice tightening around something like desperation. “For my mom’s sake, Miss Tan should be willing to meet me once.”

His mother was from Yan Jing. Back then, she’d been something like half a best friend to Madam Tan—the woman who’d once shaken the entire social scene.

Pity. Beautiful women so often had thin fates. Otherwise, Third Miss Tan’s story wouldn’t have ended the way it had.

Fu Yan Shi didn’t stay long. In his view, tomorrow wouldn’t bring good news. But he wasn’t going to crush his friend’s last scrap of hope either.

“Happy birthday,” he said instead. “I already had A Lang deliver the gift to your place.”

His friend blinked, then grinned. “All right. You’re officially forgiven for being impossible to drag out.”

Fu Yan Shi turned toward the door.

“You drank,” his friend called after him. “Want me to have a driver take you home?”

Fu Yan Shi had driven here himself. He’d been yanked out before he even made it home.

But with alcohol in his system, he wasn’t touching the steering wheel.

“I’m going back to the old residence,” he said. “I already notified the driver.”

His friend froze. Fu Yan Shi barely went back to the old residence all year. And now, this late?

He sobered by half a degree. “Are those people acting up again?”

Fu Yan Shi paused in the doorway and glanced toward the window. The blinds were down. He couldn’t see the first-floor frenzy anymore, but his gaze looked as though it could cut through walls and glass and distance.

“I want…” His voice dipped, low and heavy. “…to confirm something.”

The music behind him surged. His friend caught only the first three words.

“What?”

Fu Yan Shi didn’t turn back. He opened the door and walked out.