24. Ghost Festival Night

Fifteen years ago, on a summer night, eight-year-old Qiu Rong sat in the study, feeling drowsy. His little head was getting heavier and heavier, but he made an effort to open his eyes and study the array diagram his older brother had drawn.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a pile of cryptic symbols.

The lines in front of him gradually distorted and detached, and Qiu Rong tilted his head and bumped into his brother’s arm.

The clean and neat lines went askew for a long stretch, making Gu Zheng chuckle. He set down the pen in his hand, lowered his gaze, and rubbed the top of the little kid’s head, whispering, “Xiao Rong, if you’re sleepy, go to bed first.”

Qiu Rong grumbled twice, rubbing his head against his brother’s arm, then sat up straight suddenly. He rubbed his soft little face, still half asleep, and said, “I don’t want to sleep. I want to wait for Mom and Dad to come home.”

After saying that, he leaned against Gu Zheng again.

Gu Zheng couldn’t do anything about it, so he scooped him up in his arms, thinking of coaxing him to sleep first and then secretly putting him in bed later.

The little rascal in his arms was like a little stove. Kids at this age grow up fast. Gu Zheng shook the little stove in his arms and felt that Qiu Rong had gotten a bit heavier.

The couple who were the leaders of the Werewolf Clan were known for their affection. Last week, the leader specifically cleared a week of his schedule to take his wife on a self-driving trip, leaving the two brothers at home to fend for themselves.

Fortunately, Qiu Rong had always been well-behaved since he was little. Even at the age when cats dislike dogs, he was still like a little tail, sticking to his big brother all day long, so Gu Zheng didn’t have to worry too much.

His palm rhythmically patted Qiu Rong’s back, and Gu Zheng raised his head to look at the clock hanging on the wall, furrowing his brow slightly. According to the schedule, their parents should have returned by now.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Ghost Festival, was not a good day.

A round full moon hung in the sky, bright and clear.

Just as Qiu Rong was about to fall into a deep sleep, the distant sound of a Werewolf howl reached his ears—the call of an alpha Werewolf.

Half-awake and half-asleep, he imitated his father and howled a couple of times. Qiu Rong squinted his eyes and softly asked, “Has Daddy come back?”

The frozen blood in Gu Zheng’s body began to flow again, and he lifted Qiu Rong, swiftly and steadily walking towards the bedroom.

Gently covering his younger brother’s eyes with his palm, Gu Zheng spoke in a gentle tone, “Brother is going to pick up Mom and Dad now. Xiao Rong, be a good boy and go to sleep at home. Don’t wander around.”

Qiu Rong’s long eyelashes brushed against Gu Zheng’s palm, and he mumbled, “Xiao Rong wants to go too.”

Placing his younger brother on the bed and tucking him in with a thin blanket, Gu Zheng gently touched his forehead and said, “Listen to me. If Mom sees that Xiao Rong is still awake this late, Brother will get scolded.”

“Mom would never…” Nestled in the soft bed, Gu Rong couldn’t resist sleep and fell into a dream.

When he woke up again, it wasn’t his parents’ embrace that greeted little Gu Rong, but the relentless pursuit of his uncle Meng Jiadong, who harbored ambitious intentions.

“The previous leader of the Werewolf Clan, Meng Jiadong, reported to the Central Authority that the Gu couple had an accident on their way home. Eldest son Gu Zheng rushed into the scene to save his parents but unfortunately died in a secondary explosion,” Zhong Lishu said.

“He fabricated the scene,” Qiu Rong said coldly.

Since their meeting, Qiu Rong had been cautious of Zhong Lishu due to the lack of information, but Zhong Lishu had always been friendly towards him.

After seeing the official license plate, Qiu Rong had a rough guess about Zhong Lishu’s identity.

Being able to obtain various documents and have access to all the information about the case, Zhong Lishu was most likely a supervisor sent by higher authorities.

The A City’s Supernatural Control Center had been inactive for years and managed to maintain a semblance of peace when there were no major incidents. However, recently, there had been dozens of consecutive cases with no effective measures taken, allowing the situation to escalate. It was only a matter of time before they attracted attention.

This time, Zhong Lishu didn’t play coy and implicitly confirmed Qiu Rong’s speculation.

With the confirmation of the other’s identity, Qiu Rong’s guardedness began to dissipate.

In reality, there was something about Zhong Lishu’s demeanor that could make people calm down. Coupled with his non-threatening appearance, he easily gained the trust of others, just like Liu Li.

Only Qiu Rong would be so wary of him.

But now Qiu Rong chose to temporarily trust Zhong Lishu. He said, “A few years ago, I contacted the Merfolk clan and asked them to help with time regression to see the scene from that year.”

The black bat wings unique to vampires dripped with dark red blood at their tips. On the side of the highway, there lay the bodies of his parents, fallen together.

His brother held the vampire’s neck with one hand, and in his crimson eyes surged an overwhelming hatred.

The slender hands were covered in Qiu Rong’s parents’ blood. The vampire tightly held Gu Zheng’s fingers, struggling to maintain his breath.

Qiu Rong saw his brother draw an array behind him, and at the moment the final stroke was completed, the vampire released Gu Zheng’s hand.

Seemingly delicate fingers pierced through Gu Zheng’s chest in an instant.

Qiu Rong struggled to wake up from the illusion of the Merfolk clan.

“The incident was too long ago, and the Merfolk clan can only recover limited information. All I could see was that the vampire had a wingspan of over five meters and appeared to have the body of a young boy,” the contents of the illusion were still vivid in his mind. Qiu Rong closed his eyes and said, “That vampire was also injured. The array my brother drew at the time was a sealing array. I can’t be sure if the vampire was ultimately sealed or escaped.”

In that year, when they heard the angry and painful howl of the alpha Werewolf, it was the brother of Qiu Rong who arrived first. By the time the others arrived, everything had already ended, and that Vampire Clan had disappeared without a trace.

Qiu Rong’s uncle, Meng Jiadong, immediately realized that this was a heaven-sent opportunity. The Gu family was left with only one young son, and if this young son were to die as well, the position of the clan leader would be within his reach.

After that came Qiu Rong’s twelve years of living in hiding.

“After becoming the alpha of the Werewolf clan, I contacted the Special Management Bureau to request a reinvestigation of the incident from back then, but the Bureau insisted that it was a normal car accident,” Qiu Rong recalled with a cold tone, remembering three years ago. “The Vampire Clan also approached me. They sent me a fake invitation letter, and the person who showed up at the scene was just an ordinary assistant. They gave me a record sheet, claiming that the Vampire Clan didn’t have any heavily injured individuals back then. Moreover, Vampire Clans with a wingspan exceeding five meters are few and far between, and those few were all perfectly normal, with no instances of sudden disappearance and recovery from injuries.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Lishu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Qiu Rong caught his change in expression and furrowed his brows, asking, “Do you know something?”

“Fifteen years ago, there was a case related to the Vampire Clan that occurred at the A City Supernatural Control Center, but it was not reported to the Bureau. Now it seems that this matter may also be related to your Werewolf clan,” Zhong Lishu said. “I need time to verify the specific details.”

“Don’t worry, besides quickly resolving the recent series of murders, we will also reopen the investigation into the events from that year.”

“If I receive any information, I will contact you immediately.”

In the end, Zhong Lishu didn’t reveal any further information to Qiu Rong. He instructed Qiu Rong to keep their encounter confidential and not mention it to anyone.

Soon, Qiu Rong received a self-investigation report from Huo Zhixing and reapplied to join the special task force.

The encounter with Zhong Lishu was just an accident, and Qiu Rong had no intention of changing his original plans.

Perhaps sensing Qiu Rong’s bad mood, on Thursday night, Yan Ling suddenly brought up, “It seems like we haven’t gone out together for a long time?”

Qiu Rong sat on the sofa, reading a book, and glanced at Yan Ling, who was holding a laptop on the other side. He closed his book, changed his position, and reclined on Yan Ling’s legs.

Yan Ling quickly lifted the laptop, lowered his head to look at Qiu Rong, who seemed listless, and chuckled, “These past few days, I’ve noticed that you haven’t been in a good mood. Did you not do well on your exams?”

Qiu Rong shook his head, turned his face, and half-encircled Yan Ling’s waist. Muffled, he said, “Just annoyed.”

Closing his laptop and setting it aside, Yan Ling reached down to ruffle Qiu Rong’s hair, recalling the day the Vampire Clan driver mentioned that Qiu Rong was discussing the recent cases with his classmates and even reminded each other to stay safe.

Yan Ling asked, “Is it because of what’s happening online?”

The internet frequently reports on heinous incidents, which can easily affect one’s mood. Especially for someone as emotionally sensitive as Qiu Rong, it could trigger uncontrolled empathy.

In such situations, various confusing rumors can deepen the anxiety of ordinary people.

There were certain things that Qiu Rong couldn’t talk to Yan Ling about. Burying his face in Yan Ling’s abdomen, he nuzzled against it and casually replied, “I’ve been spending too much time on my phone lately. It’s nothing, I’ll uninstall all those messy apps tomorrow.”

At this moment, Yan Ling once again became the protective elder, pinching the back of Qiu Rong’s neck and gently stroking it, saying, “Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by those complicated events. Focus on the world in front of you and live a more relaxed life. What do you think?”

Qiu Rong looked up, easily seeing his entire world. He reached out and placed his hand on the back of Yan Ling’s head, lifted his head, and the president, who spoke warmly and comfortingly, received a kiss from Qiu Rong. Sitting up, Qiu Rong hugged Yan Ling and nuzzled against his neck like a cat, sweeping away his melancholy, and said, “We haven’t gone out for a long time. How about going on a date this weekend?” They hadn’t been out together for a while. Yan Ling had been away on a business trip the week before, and last week Qiu Rong was busy with exam preparations. Now, Yan Ling’s work was busy again, so they hadn’t had time to go out for nearly a month.

Seeing Qiu Rong regain his spirits, Yan Ling relaxed slightly. He reopened his laptop and showed it to Qiu Rong, saying, “I’ve made a reservation at a restaurant. Tomorrow evening after work, you can come pick me up, and then we can go together?”

Yan Ling had asked Luo Haoxuan, and he believed that good food could bring happiness to people.

“Of course, it’s your choice, my dear.” Qiu Rong nodded, listening to Yan Ling’s words. He pushed aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind and focused on the present moment.

Friday evening.

Except for the medical school, most of the exams at A University had ended, and students were gradually leaving campus for their holidays.

Yuan Shangzao had already decided to stay on campus during the break, and Ruan Sijia chose to stay as well to participate in summer internships with their group, as her relationship with her family was not very good.

Qiu Rong came out of the lab and took the opportunity to find Ruan Sijia to confirm that nothing else had happened in the past few days.

“There’s no major event…” Ruan Sijia hesitated, “but there are more and more people checking in on the official website’s anonymous report…”

Ruan Sijia added, “Now there’s a long list of ‘wow’ comments.”

“And even quite a few werewolves are following the ‘wow’ trend.”

Knowing what Qiu Rong was concerned about, Ruan Sijia added, “There’s not a single comment in the Vampire Clan’s notice.”

Qiu Rong remained silent.

“Forget it, it’s not important,” Qiu Rong said, a little speechless. “If there’s anything important, let me know.”

Ruan Sijia obediently nodded. “Okay *da.”

*onomatopoeic sound to portray playfulness and affectionate tone, similar to a light kiss.

Qiu Rong, “?”

“Oh.” Ruan Sijia covered her mouth. “Sorry, clan leader. I’ve gotten used to talking like that when chatting with people.”

Qiu Rong remained silent.

What were they talking about?

Qiu Rong reminded, “Chat all you want, but don’t lie too much.”

Ruan Sijia nodded obediently again and silently compared in her mind.

It felt like the clan leader lied to CEO Yan more.

He was just pretending to be an innocent young boy in front of Teacher Luo. How could that be considered lying? He was naturally innocent.

Hmm.

On the way to New Moon Media, Qiu Rong passed by a flower shop and saw that the flowers displayed outside were in good bloom. He got out of the car and bought a bouquet, placing it on the passenger seat.

The SUV parked downstairs at New Moon Building. Qiu Rong looked at himself in the rearview mirror, tidying up his soft and flowing bangs. He imitated Ruan Sijia’s look and wore a cute and harmless smile.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Qiu Rong shook his head, feeling a bit disdainful of his own actions.

Ruan Sijia’s laughter made him look like a little lamb, but behind that smile was a big bad Werewolf in sheep’s clothing.

Whether he was obedient or harmless, Yan Ling couldn’t be more aware.

A little dog acting cute usually wants to get treats from the kitty.

After finally finding some time to spend a romantic evening together, with the long night ahead, the sweet-toothed little dog wasn’t in a hurry.

After dinner, perhaps they could go to the riverside with Yan Ling and enjoy the evening breeze together, holding hands and taking a leisurely stroll. It would be very pleasant.

Before his thoughts drifted away again, Yan Ling finally came out of the company building.

President Yan had tidied up a bit when he left this morning. His bangs, which were usually swept up with a 70/30 ratio, were partially let down today, softening his sharp and dominant CEO aura, making him look gentle and refined.

His spouse still looked radiant today.

But… why was there a pink-haired person following the CEO?

Author’s Note:

This pink-haired person is not the same as the other pink-haired person (/doge face).