CHAPTER 60: CATCHING A LOVER HAVING AN AFFAIR

"You should rest in my room," he said gently. "Just for a while. It will help you sober up."

Jian Rui hesitated, his pride resisting the suggestion. But the pressure in his temples was mounting, and Carmine’s voice was soft, persuasive. Eventually, he nodded.

The elevator ride was quiet. Jian Rui leaned against the mirrored wall, rubbing his temples, his breath shallow. Carmine stood beside him, one hand lightly supporting his arm, nerves coiled tight beneath his calm exterior. He could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on him.

When they reached the designated floor, Carmine helped Jian Rui walk toward the suite. The hallway was silent and pristine. Every room on this level had been booked under Carmine’s name, his guards stationed in the hallway. He opened the door to the suite, ushering Jian Rui inside.

Meanwhile, in the parking bay below, a sleek hovercar sat idle, its surface gleaming under the city lights. Inside, a man extinguished his cigarette and flicked it out the window. Five buds already littered the ground.

His communicator buzzed. A photo appeared. It was a photo of Jian Rui, seated at dinner, his companion’s face obscured by distance. Another message followed: Room 2547, 25th floor.

The man’s lips curled into a smirk. That man was Stannis. He should have been overseeing Vanguard recruit selections. Instead, he was here hunting Jian Rui down.

After they’d rolled in the sheets for the second time, Stannis had allowed himself a rare moment of hope. Jian Rui hadn’t pushed him away. Hadn’t rejected him outright. Maybe, just maybe, he was considering accepting him.

That fragile illusion shattered when he received word that Jian Rui had booked a hotel suite and an average-looking man had entered the room.

Stannis stepped out of the hovercar, jaw clenched, fury simmering beneath his skin. He walked toward the hotel, each step deliberate, holding back the storm gathering in his chest.

Meanwhile, Yu Xi had no idea that a firestorm was heading straight for him.

Inside the suite, Carmine gently sat Jian Rui on the edge of the bed. "I will bring you some water," he said, voice soft.

He turned to leave, but Jian Rui’s hand shot out, grasping his hair with brutal precision. Carmine cried out, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye as he was slammed against the wall.

Jian Rui leaned in, his gaze fierce, breath hot against Carmine’s neck.

"You... how?" Carmine gasped.

Jian Rui didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. With everything that had happened to his mother, he and his brothers had been trained to resist drugs, to carry antidotes at all times. In a world full of enemies, carelessness was a death sentence.

"I said," Jian Rui whispered, voice like ice, "I hate people who use despicable means."

Carmine’s eyes flared with light as he activated his guide resonance, erecting a shimmering psychic barrier meant to neutralize Jian Rui’s aura. It was a textbook maneuver precise, elegant, and utterly ineffective.

Because Jian Rui’s rank on his registration was wrong. Carmine didn’t realize it until the barrier cracked like glass under pressure. When he realised it, it was too late.

Jian Rui’s psychic attack surged forward, vicious and unrelenting. It slammed into Carmine’s core, silencing his voice before he could even scream. His body convulsed, pinned against the ground by invisible force, breath caught in his throat.

Jian Rui walked over, crouching beside him with cold precision. His gaze was sharp, disgust curling at the edge of his lips.

"You better tell me everything you know," he said, voice low and lethal, "or I will make you suffer far worse than this."

Carmine trembled, regret flooding him. He should heed Jian Rui’s warning earlier.

Meanwhile, Yu Xi heard a knock at the door. He glanced at the closed bathroom door. Amelia was still inside. Quietly, he approached, hand behind his back, fingers curled around the grip of his plasma gun.

He opened the door.

Stannis stood there, tall and composed, his smile thin and unreadable.

Yu Xi recognized him instantly. Jian Rui had made him memorize every face of power in Virellia.

Yu Xi’s voice was calm. "May I help you?"

Stannis clicked his tongue. "Tsk. May I help you?" His smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He didn’t bother with pleasantries. His eyes narrowed and his voice dropped into a growl. "Where is he?"

Yu Xi blinked. "..."

Before he could respond, Stannis shoved him aside like a curtain, storming into the suite with the fury of a raging bull. His boots thundered across the floor as he spotted the closed bathroom door. Without hesitation, he went berserk pounding on it with both fists, shouting Jian Rui’s name like a man possessed.

Yu Xi, still recovering from the shove, watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. It was like watching a dog blood drama.

The door flew open.

Amelia emerged, her expression a storm of fury. She didn’t speak, she just attacked. Stannis hadn’t expected her, and the delay in his reaction cost him. She slammed him against the wall, her aura flaring. Yu Xi quickly closed the suite door and retreated to the farthest corner, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold.

Stannis was stronger, but Amelia was slippery full of tricks, feints, and psychic misdirection.

"Aren’t you going to help?" she snapped mid-tussle.

Yu Xi shrugged. "I think you got it."

Amelia gritted her teeth and pressed harder. Then the door behind Yu Xi opened.

Jian Rui stepped in, his mood visibly sour. When his eyes landed on Stannis, it darkened further.

Amelia released her grip. Stannis, confused, turned and froze.

Jian Rui’s voice was ice. "All of you. Out."

Yu Xi raised both hands. "You don’t have to tell me twice."

Amelia didn’t hesitate. She turned and delivered a sharp kick to Stannis’s side, sending him stumbling toward the door. Without a word, she strode out, her boots clicking against the polished floor.

Stannis groaned, pushing himself up. He staggered toward the exit, hoping he could slip away and apologize later. He could smooth things over with his charm but as he tried to walk out he was stopped.

"Not you," Jian Rui said coldly, and the door slammed shut with a psychic snap.

Outside, Amelia and Yu Xi stood in the quiet hallway. The suite was soundproofed to the heavens. This was why the chaos from earlier hadn’t attracted attention. Amelia glanced at Yu Xi and asked, "Do you want to go back to headquarters?"

Yu Xi looked at the closed door. "What about him?"

"It will take a while," she said, her voice dry. "His Highness looked very angry."

Yu Xi nodded. "Okay."

Amelia led the way, her thoughts swirling. The way Stannis had barged in, it was like he expected to catch a lover in the act. But that couldn’t be. Jian Rui would never risk a relationship with an esper. He had seen firsthand how dangerous it could be. She shook her head. It’s nothing, she told herself.

Meanwhile, inside the suite, Jian Rui had Stannis pinned against the window, one hand gripping the back of his neck. The city lights glittered behind him, but his gaze was pure fury.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" he hissed.