Chapter 26 SJC

 Chapter 26: Investigating the Truth

“Looks like you, my ass.” Shen Jinnian subtly leaned back on the couch, putting more distance between himself and Gu Yan. “I said one question. You’ve asked it. Now let me go.”

Gu Yan didn’t press the issue any further. Instead, he suddenly stood up.

Shen Jinnian was seated directly acrossfrom him, and Gu Yan’s tall, broad frame cast a shadow that swallowed him whole. The pressure was suffocating.

“What are you doing?” Shen Jinnian’s voice trembled slightly. His eyes were wide and clear, but under his clothes, one hand quietly curled into a fist.

Gu Yan looked at Shen Jinnian deeply for a long time. Just when Shen Jinnian thought he was about to be cornered and forced to reveal the truth about the child—

Gu Yan blinked. “Can I?” he asked, completely out of nowhere.

“...Huh?” Shen Jinnian froze.

It took him a few seconds to realize Gu Yan was twisting his words again, pretending to be clueless—and now, he was shamelessly flirting.

F**k you big headed ghost

“Gu Yan!” Shen Jinnian grabbed the throw pillow next to him and hurled it at Gu Yan’s chest with everything he had.

It was a pity that the pillow was soft and there was no threat when it hit Gu Yan. It was like a couple quarrelling with each other.

The absurdity of it all left Shen Jinnian speechless.

He knew Gu Yan was this kind of person. He knew he shouldn’t have come over. He’d practically served himself up on a silver platter just to be teased and embarrassed.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

He got up, stormed around Gu Yan, and made a beeline for the door.

Gu Yan realized he’d stepped on a landmine and quickly wiped the grin off his face, trailing after him. “I’m sorry, Jinnian. What I said just now… I went too far.”

“The best apology you can give is staying away from me.” Shen Jinnian snapped without looking back.

Gu Yan wanted to chase after him, explain himself, maybe make amends—but Shen Jinnian was faster. He yanked the door shut behind him with a loud thud.

The heavy metal door boomed as it closed, the dull impact rattling Gu Yan’s ears and completely cutting off his line of sight.

By the time he rushed outside, Shen Jinnian had already gotten into a cab.

All Gu Yan could do was pull out his phone and send a message through a video app they both used:

 “I’m sorry. I was out of line just now.”

Shen Jinnian saw the message, didn’t reply, and immediately closed the app.

Thank goodness he reacted quickly and used the perfect excuse to storm out of Gu Yan’s place.

Not only was his “performance” convincing and smooth, but he also managed to turn the situation around and catch Gu Yan off guard.

Otherwise, with how relentless Gu Yan could be, he definitely wouldn’t have let this go.

Shen Jinnian was very pleased with himself.

Until a text popped up on his phone from an unfamiliar number:
“Can I treat you to dinner as an apology?”

He stared at it.

had to be Gu Yan.

It But… how did he get my number?

Gu Yan had been missing for a few days. He must’ve gotten tons of calls. How did he pinpoint his number out of the pile?

Gu Yan replied almost immediately:
“I don’t have any other friends whose number ends in four 6s.”

To be precise—only someone as flashy and flamboyant as Shen Jinnian would buy a number like that.

Shen Jinnian: “...”

Too flashy for my own good.

He tapped into his phone’s blacklist settings, ready to block Gu Yan—only for the screen to flicker twice just as a call came through.

Even more annoying.

He hadn’t wanted to talk to him in the first place. Now Gu Yan was calling?

Pissed off, Shen Jinnian answered with a bite in his voice:
“Gu Yan, you’re like a goddamn leech. If you really want to apologize, stay the hell away from me. There’s nothing more to say. I’m not having dinner with you.”

The other end of the line was completely silent.

Only a couple of soft breaths could be heard… faint and steady.

Just as Shen Jinnian was about to hang up, a confused voice came through the line:
“Is this Mr. Gu, Gu Yan?”

Shen Jinnian froze, then quickly glanced at the number on his screen.

Sure enough—it was identical to the one Gu Yan had written on that note.

He scrambled to compose himself and let out an awkward laugh. “It’s me. I was… rehearsing a play just now.”

“My apologies for disturbing you,” the voice replied politely. “Mr. Gu, I’ve organized your past three years of records. Would you prefer I send them to your email directly, or deliver a printed copy tomorrow?”

Shen Jinnian didn’t hesitate. “Email is fine.”

“Alright, I’ll send them over immediately.”

After expressing his thanks, Shen Jinnian ended the call.

Everything about Gu Yan vanished from his mind in an instant—his full attention was now on the records from the past three years.

The file wasn’t very large. In less than half a minute, it landed in his inbox.

Staring at the bold three-character email title, Shen Jinnian’s fingers trembled. He hesitated, clutching his chest and taking three or four deep breaths before finally mustering the courage to tap away the little red notification dot.

The file He Yu sent had already been neatly formatted and organized.

Shen Jinnian followed the timeline from top to bottom, reading every single line three times, carefully retracing the moments recorded in the document. As he read, he combed through his memories, trying to recall everyone he’d interacted with during that period.

He spent the entire night sorting through the data and piecing together his memories.

But when he finally reached the conclusion, Shen Jinnian’s pupils contracted in shock.

He slumped against his chair, gasping for breath.

Refusing to believe it, he read it again.

...

The results were clear.
There was no record of him having had any physical relationship with any Omega or Beta in the past three years.

In other words, the child had… appeared out of thin air.

The result was both expected and completely unexpected.

The final summary felt like a Chinese ghost story whispered in the dark—each word was enough to make his skin crawl and send cold sweat down his spine.

After a few minutes of calming himself, a terrifying, bold theory sprouted in his mind.

Shen Jinnian retrieved an old bagua mirror hidden under his bed for years. Moving quietly, he tiptoed to the nursery.

The baby and the nanny were already asleep.

He didn’t even turn on the lights. Like a thief, he crept over and gently placed the palm-sized mirror over the baby’s chest, softly chanting a few lines of an incantation he had just Googled.

A minute passed.

The nursery remained eerily still.

 Nothing happened.

Shen Jinnian breathed a sigh of relief—looked like the baby really was from the land of the living. That ruled out his earlier theory.

Just as he was about to pack up his “props” and leave, the nanny suddenly woke up.

She saw a shadow hovering by the crib in the darkness and was so startled she nearly screamed.

Thankfully, Shen Jinnian quickly switched on the light, revealing his ridiculously handsome face to her just in time to calm her down.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she asked weakly, “Mr. Shen, what… what are you doing?”

“I was exorcising evil spirits for the baby,” Shen Jinnian blurted without missing a beat.

“You shouldn’t be doing that yourself,” she said seriously. 

“It could have the opposite effect. You need a professional. I actually know an old master—he’s amazing. Not only can he expel spirits, he can also read a baby’s fortune. Just one glance and he can tell you the baby’s entire past and future.”

Shen Jinnian’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“My granddaughter saw him once. When she was three months old, she had a high fever and was delirious. It was thanks to the old master’s guidance that she made it through.”

Shen Jinnian found it all incredibly fascinating. A new idea bloomed in his mind.

Maybe if science couldn’t explain it, metaphysics could.

He turned to the nanny. “Auntie, can you give me that master’s address?”

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Lmaooo Shen Jinnian is really trying everything~ 

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Thank you for supporting me MC-san~

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🌸 Announcement 🌸

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