30. A 5 million Yuan Bounty Reward

The homepage of the internal website of the A City Supernatural Control Center featured a newly highlighted red notice.

“Wanted | The suspect responsible for recent cases of abnormal human deaths has been identified as the Black Three-Headed Hound. It is known to be highly aggressive and often appears during the night. A reward of 5 million is offered for its capture.”

It had been a week since Qiu Rong discovered the little succubus  .

In that week, despite having received leads and the little succubus   handed to them on a silver platter, the center couldn’t even find a trace of the dog.

And now they had resorted to issuing a wanted order, calling for everyone’s participation in the dog-hunting operation.

Looking at the 5 million on the screen, no matter how you looked at it, it exuded the scent of the affluent Vampire Clan.

There was no way the center had that kind of money, and even if they did, they wouldn’t use it as a bounty.

Ninety percent of the likelihood was that the Vampire Clan was funding it.

Regarding this, Qiu Rong had only one thought in his mind: “Take it or leave it.”

The management style of the center was a complete mess. If there were no problems, it was fine, but once something happened, they couldn’t keep up with anything. They talked about establishing a special task force, but it had been half a month and it still hadn’t come to fruition. Qiu Rong’s application disappeared without a trace after he submitted it, probably left to gather dust in some corner of an office. The whole task force was probably just the Vampire Clan Prince playing a solo act.

And now, because the Prince didn’t want to do the work, he simply donated 5 million, outsourcing the job.

Qiu Rong couldn’t help but wonder where the Vampire Clan’s money came from that allowed them to fleece the Supernatural Control Center like this.

He shook his head, feeling it was unlikely. Even if his own fur was being fleeced, no one could fleece the Vampire Clan’s fur. They were vampires, after all, always the ones sucking others’ blood.

Just like that person called Huo Ye. Ha, only eighteen years old, and already sucking vampires’ blood.

Lost in thought, Qiu Rong clicked open the official website of Crescent Moon Media. He didn’t know much about the process of artists’ debut, but currently, there was no information about Daniel on Crescent Moon’s website.

Qiu Rong’s feelings toward Daniel remained complicated.

He and the Danny mentioned by Huo Ye were just too similar. Qiu Rong both wanted to know if they were the same person and feared that if they found out they were, it would be a problem.

“Why are you looking at the company’s website?” Suddenly, Yan Ling’s voice sounded from behind. Qiu Rong’s hand moved faster than his brain as he instinctively scrolled up the mouse and closed the webpage.

“…” Qiu Rong felt guilty.

“Just browsing.” Qiu Rong calmly replied, then turned around and asked, “Are you done with your work?”

Yan Ling gave Qiu Rong a meaningful look, loosened his tie, and let out an indifferent “Hmm” from his nostrils.

Yan Ling had been acting strange lately.

To be precise, ever since last week when he returned home after working overtime, the CEO had become very peculiar.

Firstly, Yan Ling became less talkative.

At first, Qiu Rong thought that Yan Ling was tired from attending too many meetings and didn’t feel like talking. But the next day, Qiu Rong went to the company as usual to pick up Yan Ling after work, and Yan Ling barely said a word during the entire journey. That night, Qiu Rong even made steamed bass, Yan Ling’s favorite dish, but he didn’t eat more than a few bites. And on that day, Yan Ling finished his grooming early, turned off the lights, and went to bed alone.

There wasn’t even a goodnight kiss.

If it weren’t for his wife allowing him to hold her, Qiu Rong would have suspected that he was being subjected to the silent treatment.

Secondly, Yan Ling’s workload increased.

Even though it wasn’t the end of the year when they needed to achieve their targets, New Moon Media seemed to have countless major issues that required the CEO’s decision. During that week, Yan Ling was working  overtime almost every day. When he wasn’t working late, he was out socializing. It seemed like the CEO didn’t really want to come home.

And now, even though it was the weekend, Yan Ling got up early and said he was going to the office.

Qiu Rong was originally lying in bed, enjoying his lazy morning. But the more he thought about it, the more something felt off. His partner suddenly became unusually cold and didn’t want to stay at home. This seemed like the rhythm of a relationship breaking apart.

Seeing Yan Ling take off his pajamas and start changing into a suit, Qiu Rong quickly climbed out of bed, washed up and got ready in three minutes. He stood next to the wardrobe, took the tie from Yan Ling’s hand, and gently said, “I don’t have anything to do anyway, so I’ll accompany you to work. I’ll wait for you in the office and won’t cause any trouble.”

Yan Ling looked up at Qiu Rong with a slight tilt of his head and suddenly asked, “Aren’t you going to the laboratory today?”

Qiu Rong paused for a moment at Yan Ling’s fingertips, pulled the tie out, adjusted the knot, and straightened Yan Ling’s collar. He replied, “No, I’ll stay with you today.”

Without saying anything more, Yan Ling tacitly agreed and allowed Qiu Rong to carry his laptop bag and accompany him to the office.

At this moment, in Yan Ling’s private rest area, Qiu Rong met the CEO’s intriguing gaze once again. Suddenly, a thought flashed through Qiu Rong’s mind… Could it be that Yan Ling found out about what happened last week when Qiu Rong said he was going to school but actually spent a long time in an upscale residential area?

Qiu Rong quickly recalled the events. He had left after Yan Ling’s car drove away that day, and he didn’t encounter anyone familiar on the way. Later, just in case, he even went to the laboratory… How did Yan Ling find out? Could it be the car’s recording device? But who would check the car’s recording device for no reason…

Apart from that incident, Qiu Rong couldn’t think of anything else that could have caused such a drastic change in the CEO’s mood.

He decided to test the waters and said, “Since it’s about time, why don’t we go out for a meal? I heard there’s a new place on Beihuai Road that serves delicious hot and sour fish. Shall we give it a try?”

Beihuai Road was the route they had to pass through to reach the residential area where the deceased person used to live.

As expected, Yan Ling reacted. After a two-hour meeting, he was feeling a bit thirsty and took a sip of water before asking, “Are you familiar with Beihuai Road?”

The understanding between the two husbands, which had been offline for a week, was back online. Qiu Rong slid his chair closer to Yan Ling and said, “I met a senior at Beihuai Road last week. He told me about it.”

“Oh.” Yan Ling was blocked by Qiu Rong and the chair, so he took a step back and leaned against the edge of the table.

Qiu Rong spread his legs, completely blocking Yan Ling’s way out on both sides, and looked up, saying, “Are you so distant recently because of this matter?”

Yan Ling held the cup in both hands, lowered his eyes, took a sip, and remained silent about Qiu Rong’s words.

Qiu Rong said with a hint of grievance, “I didn’t go directly to the laboratory that day, it’s true. Instead, I went to my senior’s place for a while. But after finishing our conversation, I went back to school at noon. Shang can testify to that.”

Yan Ling rubbed the cup’s rim, lost in thought.

At the moment, Qiu Rong was still unsure how Yan Ling found out about his visit to Beihuai Road, nor did he know how much Yan Ling actually knew. He could only try his best to stick to the facts, admitting that he had met a man, admitting that he had entered the apartment building, admitting that he stayed in the residential area until noon. He minimized the extent of the lie to make it less likely to be exposed.

It was just an early morning visit to discuss some academic matters with his senior. No need to panic.

Qiu Rong braced himself to respond to any further questions Yan Ling might ask.

Yan Ling looked at Qiu Rong, who appeared to be sincere, and thought for a moment before asking, “What does your senior do for a living?”

Qiu Rong: “…”

Why is he asking about his job?

Qiu Rong had given the title of “senior” to Zhong Lishu, who had appeared together with him. But he hadn’t mentioned how old this senior was. So it was entirely possible that the senior was still a student. Why would Yan Ling immediately ask about his job? Did he know something?

After a quick consideration, Qiu Rong decided to reveal half-truths to test the waters. He said, “He works within the system.”

Yan Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and straightforwardly asked, “Qiu Rong, do you know that someone died in the residential area you visited that day?”

Qiu Rong fell silent.

With the property management and the police involved that day, it was impossible to keep the news of a death hidden. It’s just that this time it wasn’t captured and spread online to generate public attention. However, within the city of A, quite a few people were aware of this incident.

Yan Ling put down his water cup, leaned back against the table behind him, crossed his arms, and said, “Are you still investigating the death cases in City A?”

Seeing the president’s expression turn cold, Qiu Rong didn’t dare to probe further. He leaned forward, reached out and grabbed one of Yan Ling’s hands, which were folded together, and looked up pitifully, saying, “It was just a coincidence. I promise you that I won’t put myself in danger. That day, there were so many police officers, and I really just took a look.”

Not only did he take a look, but he also happened to interrogate a little succubus   who liked to cling to people.

Yan Ling added a sentence in his mind on behalf of Qiu Rong.

Indeed, Qiu Rong’s disguise had been exposed.

Let’s go back in time to six days ago.

As soon as Yan Ling stepped into the bedroom where the little succubus   was locked up, he smelled an incredibly familiar scent.

It was Qiu Rong’s scent.

As a vampire, Yan Ling could never mistake the scent of blood. Moreover, Qiu Rong’s blood was special to Yan Ling, and he couldn’t possibly be mistaken. Even if the smell of blood in the living room was overwhelming, Yan Ling could be certain that Qiu Rong had been in this bedroom and had left not long ago.

Confirming this was simple.

As a vampire prince, Yan Ling didn’t have the intricate thoughts of a Werewolf leader. He immediately took out a photo of Qiu Rong from his phone. Without any threats, the little succubus   started “whimpering” as soon as it saw Qiu Rong’s face on the screen, revealing everything it knew like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

It emphasized how this bad brother in the picture and another fragrant brother had frightened it.

Yan Ling didn’t know that Qiu Rong had such a side.

Qiu Rong, who always smiled and cheered him up, could also scare people with a cold expression behind his back.

As Yan Ling listened, the image of the bad person described by the little succubus   and Qiu Rong overlapped unexpectedly, but it didn’t seem abrupt. Qiu Rong could be sunny and innocent, but he could also be as indifferent and imposing as the little succubus   described. Yan Ling didn’t find it strange; instead, he found this side of Qiu Rong quite interesting.

“And then?” The little succubus   stopped crying, and Yan Ling couldn’t help but ask.

“Huh?” The little succubus   didn’t understand why. “I’ve finished talking~ Then you came~”

Yan Ling: “What race was that bad brother who interrogated you?”

The little succubus  : “…”

After it said so much, was that the main point? Shouldn’t he feel sorry for it and let it go? Whimper, whimper, whimper!

Crying and answering, the little succubus   said, “Ying, ying I don’t know~!”

Confirming that the little succubus   couldn’t provide any more information, Yan Ling flicked away the heart-shaped tail secretly coiled around his leg, reopened the bedroom door, and handed the demon over to Vincent, who was waiting outside the door, to handle.

As for himself, he carried the half-shed disguise of Puppy Qiu and once again felt a strong curiosity about Qiu Rong.

Yan Ling knew that Qiu Rong was a child lacking a sense of security, which is why he longed for a peaceful, warm, and stable life. Yan Ling had always projected such an image. He was mature and considerate enough to be Qiu Rong’s reliance, and at the same time, he would also appropriately show vulnerability to satisfy Puppy Qiu’s protective instincts.

Given Qiu Rong’s preference for a stable life, it seemed unlikely and unnecessary for him to delve into a dangerous serial murder case.

With these doubts in mind, Yan Ling began observing Qiu Rong. However, the Prince didn’t realize that while observing Qiu Rong, he had also forgotten his own disguise. It was as if it was an equivalent exchange—Yan Ling learned about Qiu Rong’s cold side and inadvertently neglected to conceal the unfavorable aspects of his vampire prince nature. This caused Qiu Rong to remain on edge these past few days.

Due to Vincent being assigned to assist the little demon in finding the three-headed hound, Yan Ling’s workload had doubled in recent days. However, it didn’t hinder his thinking.

As Yan puppy anxiously spent several days without knowing what had happened, Yan Ling suddenly thought of a possibility.

The reason why Qiu Rong paid such close attention to the progress of the case and even went to the scene personally to search for clues was to protect their peaceful daily life.

Yan Ling could tell that currently, the Cerberushadn’t killed any supernaturals, and most supernaturals didn’t want to get involved in this trouble, including the Control Center. If it weren’t for the three-headed hound’s excessive killings, the Control Center would have dealt with it as they usually did—minimizing a big event and trivializing smaller ones.

But Qiu Rong had a different perspective. He wasn’t just observing as a supernatural being; he only wanted to lead a stable and peaceful life with Yan Ling. The appearance of the Cerberusposed a great threat to this tranquility.

Qiu Rong always prepared for the worst in any situation. He wanted to resolve this trouble as quickly as possible before any unfavorable outcomes arose.

Perhaps, there was also some protective instinct at play here.

Qiu Rong was a natural protector. Yan Ling believed that as a supernatural being, Qiu Rong felt obligated to protect the normal lives of humans.

Yan Ling systematically analyzed his little boyfriend’s thoughts. He found Puppy Qiu to be quite adorable and also felt a tinge of pity for him.

Maintaining harmony between the supernatural world and humans should be everyone’s responsibility. However, so far, the only one voluntarily joining the task force was the leader of the werewolves, and his motives were definitely not pure. Most likely, he wanted to cause trouble for Yan Ling as the team leader.

Therefore, the vampire prince would rather stay on the sidelines than entertain the Werewolf leader’s request to join the team.

Yan Ling recalled Qiu Rong’s downcast expression due to the negative online sentiment not too long ago. After careful consideration, he decisively allocated 5 million to the Control Center.

It was time for everyone involved in the supernatural world to step up and take action instead of idly watching. Let’s catch the dog together!

He wouldn’t let his boyfriend handle everything alone!

Having figured out the reason behind Qiu Rong’s investigation of dangerous cases, Yan Ling became curious about another matter.

“Puppy, have you ever lied to me?”

The same question had been asked by Yan Ling to Qiu Rong before due to a misunderstanding on Chunhe Road.

At that time, Qiu Rong didn’t answer directly and evaded the question.

This time, it was during the daytime, and they could both clearly see each other’s expressions. Yan Ling asked again with greater seriousness, “Qiu Rong, have you ever lied to me?”

Faced with such a direct question, Yan Ling wanted to know what choice Qiu Rong would make.

Qiu Rong was still pleading for forgiveness, not understanding why Yan Ling suddenly asked this question.

Yan Ling had been making him feel uneasy throughout the day.

Looking at Yan Ling’s earnest expression, Qiu Rong carefully gave his answer. He looked into Yan Ling’s eyes and said, “I have never deceived you emotionally.”

Yan Ling stared at Qiu Rong for a long time, so long that Qiu Rong began to doubt if he had done something wrong unknowingly. Otherwise, why would Yan Ling be so serious?

Feeling lost and uncertain, Qiu Rong was about to avert his gaze guiltily when Yan Ling freed his hand from Qiu Rong’s grasp and adjusted his face.

Yan Ling cupped Qiu Rong’s cheeks with both hands and exerted pressure to form a pouting expression.

Puppy Qiu obediently tilted his head upward, his gaze clear as he looked at Yan Ling. He allowed the CEO to pinch and shape his face without any resistance.

After almost a week of feeling off, Yan Ling finally smiled again.

Bowing his head, Yan Ling lightly pecked the pouting expression and spoke softly, “Alright, I forgive you for not daring to take risks. But this won’t set a precedent. Don’t get involved in dangerous things again. If anything happens to you, I’ll be very upset.”

Yan Ling was no longer angry, but Qiu Rong’s mood didn’t relax. He couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t take risks; all he could promise was:

“I will protect myself,” Qiu Rong said.

Yan Ling looked at the conflict in Qiu Rong’s eyes and didn’t press him further. “Alright, just remember to prioritize your safety no matter what.”

Qiu Rong nodded earnestly.

Opening up his heart, Yan Ling patted Qiu Rong, freeing him from the grip of his thoughts, and said, “Let’s have lunch, shall we? Let’s skip the hot and sour fish. Beihuai Road is too far. How about eating somewhere near the office?”

Qiu Rong slid his swivel chair back into place, closed his computer, and stood up. He said, “Sure.”

Qiu Rong was still unaware that his secret identity had been halfway exposed and then covered up again by his wife. He leaned over to Yan Ling and asked, “Um, honey, can I ask how you found out that I went to Beihuai Road?”

Yan Ling’s hand, which was tidying up a water cup, paused for a moment, and he quickly came up with an excuse. “The fuel consumption of your car was off. Going directly to the school wouldn’t require that much fuel.”

Qiu Rong didn’t fully understand, but he respected Yan Ling’s answer.

Seeing that Qiu Rong was about to ask further, Yan Ling changed the subject. “So, what do you feel like eating later? You’re not allowed to say ‘anything’ or ‘whatever.'”

Once the two of them finished organizing, they walked out of the office together. Qiu Rong was still contemplating what to eat for lunch when Yan Ling’s phone abruptly rang in the quiet corridor.

It was the sound of a reminder for a scheduled task.

Yan Ling casually tapped on it.

Yan Ling came to a halt.

Qiu Rong turned around and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Uh-oh,” Yan Ling raised his head expressionlessly, “I forgot all about it in the midst of being busy.”

Qiu Rong: “?”

Yan Ling: “Tomorrow is Miss Yan’s biannual dress-up day.”

Qiu Rong: “…”

Help, is there still time to go on a vacation to Europe now?!

Author’s note:

Auntie: Hehehe… (evil laughter)

What did we learn from this? We learned that hesitation leads to defeat, my dear readers! Look, when faced with his wife, he didn’t dare to make a move, and now he has fallen into a trap himself, hasn’t he?! (Passionate.jpg) (Disappointed.jpg)

Puppy Qiu (Half-Revealed Version): Trap? What trap?

CEO Yan (buttoning his shirt): It’s nothing, there’s no trap.