Chapter 53: Partner or Enemy
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Han Li realized that Xiao Chen’s situation was probably dangerous, but this guy refused to answer his phone. She had no choice but to take a risk.
“Mom, what are you going to do?” Xiao Yun said, “I feel like every second Xiao Chen spends outside is a risk.”
Han Li immediately made a call, “Uncle He, I need your help, urgently. I’m sending Xiao Chen’s phone number to you. Locate him immediately and bring him back to me! Tie him up, knock him out, do whatever it takes, just bring him back alive!”
After hanging up the phone, Han Li’s hands were trembling.
“Mom… What if we really made a mistake in cooperating with Eden?” Xiao Yun raised his eyes and looked at his mother.
Han Li clenched her fingers and said through gritted teeth, “You will have a healthy heart.”
At around 9:55 PM, Xiao Chen leisurely got up, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and walked across the street, pocketing his hands.
He tapped on the sign of “32 Lening Road” and walked into the alley.
At the end of the alley, there was another small road, but besides dim streetlights and scattered trash bins, there was nothing.
Xiao Chen thought, perhaps Eden, being so powerful, had noticed that he was playing along with Han Li’s plan. So, they decided not to come.
Exactly at 10:00 PM, a black SUV stopped in front of Xiao Chen. The door slammed open.
This style, it wasn’t Han Li; it was probably Eden.
Xiao Chen chuckled, pocketed his hands, and walked over. When he was about to step up, he heard a shout from behind.
“Don’t go!”
Xiao Chen laughed. Wasn’t this Uncle He, who was specifically responsible for Han Li’s dirty work?
But Xiao Chen’s shoulder was grabbed, and he was pulled into the car. He didn’t even resist. As soon as he sat down, his neck was pricked, and he fainted.
Uncle He’s car was desperately chasing on the road. They rushed out of the alley, with Uncle He and his men following closely, nearly knocking over an old lady collecting cardboard boxes.
But two streets later, another car came over, blocking Uncle He’s way. Anxious and irritated, Uncle He could only watch the black SUV disappear at the end of the road.
“D*mn it…” While Uncle He was still figuring out how to report to Han Li, police sirens came from all directions.
They were surrounded on all sides, and Uncle He and his group were taken to the police station for questioning. He would become a breakthrough in the connection between Han Li and Eden.
At midnight, a tall man carrying a plastic bag, containing several cans of beer, entered a run-down neighborhood. The doorman was yawning, tilting his head back.
The man pushed open the iron gate, walked to his door, and froze as soon as he opened it.
Because sitting on the sofa across the door was a person, facing away from the light, making it impossible to see the face.
However, a dangerous premonition surged into the man’s heart in an instant. He quickly pulled the plastic bag, and the beer fell out, splashing on the table and floor, emitting hissing bubbles.
But the person on the sofa didn’t move.
“You’re called Li Dongliang. But it seems… not very ‘Dongliang.'”
The gentle voice was like satin, but this satin was wrapped around Li Dongliang’s neck, tightening. Li Dongliang’s throat was almost strangled.
“Cough… uh…”
Li Dongliang couldn’t hold on, kneeling on one side.
“You work for ‘Eden,’ right?”
Hearing the word ‘Eden,’ Li Dongliang widened his eyes, clenched his fists, and there was a tattoo on his right hand—a snake biting an apple.
“I know, I know. You’re thinking even if you die, you can’t reveal Eden’s secrets.”
The person on the sofa finally got up, approaching Li Dongliang step by step.
He crouched down in front of Li Dongliang, and only then did Li Dongliang realize that it was a young man in his teens. The elegant and handsome features showed that he was an alpha with considerable abilities.
But the intensity of his aura and pheromones, Li Dongliang hadn’t expected that this guy was a high school student.
“But, Li Dongliang… What about your son?”
Li Dongliang’s expression, which had been resigned to death, changed immediately, “What did you do to my son? What do you want?”
“Nothing much. Just tell me every time you received goods for ‘Eden,’ where were those goods delivered?”
“I can’t say… You have no idea about Eden’s capabilities…”
“That’s because you don’t know my abilities.” The young man took out his phone, and on the screen was a video of a boy being carried onto an airplane.
Li Dongliang gritted his teeth and uttered an address.
The young man lightly tapped his forehead with his phone and said, “That’s it. You have to believe that the big bosses of ‘Eden’ are waiting for me. If you don’t speak, I can’t get on the car, and they’ll be angry.”
As the young man left with his phone, the room suddenly filled with an overwhelming scent of pheromones that made it difficult to breathe.
Li Dongliang took a deep breath, finally coming back to life.
Leaving Li Dongliang’s home, Xu Xingran’s smile slowly faded.
He opened the car door, and the driver asked, “Are you going home?”
“No, just drop me off at the intersection of Blue Star Avenue and Green Shade Avenue,” Xu Xingran replied.
“But it’s very late now.”
Xu Xingran smiled, “But my time is running out too.”
At the designated location, as Xu Xingran was about to open the car door, the driver spoke, “It’s very late, sir. Your father will be very angry if you don’t go home.”
Xu Xingran took out a note from his pocket and handed it to the driver, saying, “Give him this to read after you get home.”
“What is this?”
“It’s what I want to say to my father.” Xu Xingran blinked.
Although it was approaching dawn, there were still sporadic pedestrians and vehicles on the street.
Xu Xingran walked into an alley, which led to a street full of high-end bars. He entered one of the bars but was stopped at the entrance.
“ID.” The security guard at the entrance said in a stern tone.
Even so, many people in the dance floor and those preparing to enter the bar couldn’t help but look at him.
It had been a long time since such an outstanding alpha appeared.
“I suggest you not wear your school uniform.” The security guard checked his ID, confirmed he was of legal age, and returned it but gave him advice.
Xu Xingran smiled, pinching the zipper of his school uniform halfway down, with a teasing look in his eyes. “Really? I thought everyone liked this innocent and sexy style.”
A woman in a black dress walked over, her figure graceful. She hooked her finger under Xu Xingran’s chin and said, “Darling, if you don’t want to become a piece of fresh meat everyone wants to take a bite of, just show me the sexy part.”
Xu Xingran moved away from her hand, smiling unchanged, and followed the woman onto the dance floor.
Colorful lights flashed across Xu Xingran’s face. The men and women swaying around him looked at him with eager eyes, but he remained composed. He followed the woman into the VIP room of the bar.
The woman in the black dress was the bar’s proprietress, nicknamed “Black Butterfly.” Everyone called her “Sister Butterfly.”
“You’re a high-quality alpha.” Sister Butterfly smiled, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to Xu Xingran.
However, Xu Xingran didn’t take it. Instead, he looked interestedly at the furnishings in the VIP room.
“You’re quite cautious.” Sister Butterfly wasn’t angry; she just started drinking herself.
“I’m here to negotiate, so I need to keep a clear head before the negotiation.” Xu Xingran said.
Sister Butterfly laughed, “Little handsome brother, everyone who comes here is for enjoyment. No one wants to negotiate with a clear head.”
“I’m here for enjoyment too, that’s why I’m negotiating. Your ‘Eden’ took away my beloved.”
Sister Butterfly’s expression changed suddenly. Just as she was about to pull a gun from under the table, a subtle and intoxicating woody amber scent filled the room, making Sister Butterfly’s mind trance.
Xu Xingran calmly walked over to her, bent down, retrieved the gun from under the table, and then sat opposite Sister Butterfly.
Sister Butterfly felt her heart beating fast, with an inexplicable desire about to burst. The young man in front of her didn’t move, but his eyes and eyebrows were full of alluring charm, making Sister Butterfly feel crazy. She had never known that an alpha could give an omega such an intoxicated feeling.
Suddenly, the world trembled, and the warm amber scent spread. Sister Butterfly snapped out of it, sitting across from the young man, holding a gun pointed at her lips. “Call your boss,” Xu Xingran said.
Sister Butterfly couldn’t believe it, “Did you… did you just seduce me with pheromones? That’s impossible. I’ve already used suppressants, and… “
“Won’t have a reaction to an alpha’s pheromones?” Xu Xingran leaned a little closer, his bright eyes carrying a trace of icy cunning. “That’s because those alphas are not strong enough.”
Sister Butterfly took a deep breath. Even though Xu Xingran was pointing a gun at her, she didn’t dare to take out her phone rashly.
It wasn’t until her phone rang that she saw the caller ID: “k.”
In fact, since entering this VIP room, Xu Xingran had noticed the blinking surveillance, which meant that the big boss of this bar might have been watching him all along. Sister Butterfly dared not make the call, and if the big boss didn’t call back, this act would fall into a deadlock.
“Boss…” Sister Butterfly answered the call and then handed the phone to Xu Xingran. “My boss wants to talk to you.”
Xu Xingran smiled and took the phone, saying, “Hello, this boss. Your people have my person. Can you return him?”
On the other end of the phone, there was a rustling sound. Xu Xingran didn’t doubt that the other party was using a voice changer.
“But he’s not an omega yet.” The voice of ‘k’ sounded teasing.
“If he wants to become an omega. I will personally mark him and provide enough a plus for him. If he wants to become an alpha, I will give him my purest pheromones. What’s the meaning of being a true alpha if he only knows how to conquer omegas?” Xu Xingran played with the gun single-handedly, making Sister Butterfly nervous, as if she might become Xu Xingran’s target at any moment.
The other side applauded, “Your pheromones are indeed powerful enough to impress me. Only someone at your level would have the confidence to get anyone they want, whether omega or alpha.”
“Yes, I do have that confidence. I’ll make him what he wants to be. That’s true affection.” Xu Xingran glanced at Sister Butterfly.
Sister Butterfly’s ears immediately turned red. Despite her age, she was enticed by a young and inexperienced alpha.
“But this is a negotiation. What you want and what I want need to reach an agreement,” k’s voice sounded amused, and he seemed quite interested in Xu Xingran. “You want An Lan back, that’s fine, but… you have to compromise. Isn’t a cute omega good enough?”
“I don’t need him to become a cute omega. Let’s be direct. I consulted relevant research institutions, and what you need is my A-plus. Moreover, it’s a high concentration of A-plus, which requires me to be emotionally involved. If you turn An Lan into something unlovable, then don’t blame me for not getting emotional. Besides, collecting the pheromones of top alphas on a large scale requires the cooperation of this alpha, not something you can demand at will or by kidnapping me for years. I won’t agree to that.”
“So?” k’s voice became even more playful.
“So… I am willing to cooperate with you, provide you with enough A-plus, and even establish a long-term strategic partnership. After all… customizing an omega is quite interesting. If the Xu family wants to expand its influence, perhaps teaming up with your ‘Eden’ is a good choice.”
“Not at all. Student Xu really lives up to the diplomatic family background. A skilled negotiator. We, ‘Eden,’ never easily cooperate with others.”
Xu Xingran suddenly shrugged and laughed, “Never easily cooperate with others? Haha… this is the coldest joke I’ve heard this year…”
Xu Xingran’s attitude made Sister Butterfly on the opposite side nervous. Why was this young man so arrogant that he could even mock k?
“Oh? Why is it the coldest joke?”
“You are cooperating with the Han family, right?” Xu Xingran wasn’t sure, so he decided to bluff and see if there was any involvement from Xiao Yun’s mother.
“We are not cooperating with the Han family. Student Xu, you’re trying to deceive me.”
Xu Xingran glanced at the WeChat message on his phone, sent by Gu Liyu, indicating that Xiao Chen had been taken away by the ‘Eden’ people. Han Li regretted it and sent Uncle He to try to snatch Xiao Chen back, but they were too late. Uncle He had already been detained by the police, and now it was up to Uncle He to come up with an excuse to cover the lie.
“The Han family is panicking, with no plan or strategy. They are a cooperating party that jumps up and down. This will only expose ‘Eden’ continuously and bring troubles that outweigh the benefits you gain. And I’m different. The Xu family is not on the same level as the Han family at all. And my network of connections is not comparable to a sickly Xiao Yun. I only cooperate with the strong, and I want absolute power.”
“For the sake of An Lan, you choose to cooperate with us? An Lan’s weight is too heavy, enough to drag down your entire Xu family? I still think you’re trying to deceive me.”
“Whether to be my partner or my opponent, I give you the right to choose. My sincerity is to provide ‘Eden’ with the A-plus of top alphas, and you need to show some sincerity too, right? That sincerity is returning An Lan to me. Although beta differentiating into alpha due to alpha pheromones is special, it hasn’t reached the point of being one in a million. You can use my A-plus to find other receptors, which is both easy and trouble-free. Isn’t that good?”
“Your weight is not enough, kid.” k laughed.
“I knew you would doubt my weight, so I sent you a big gift. Still, the choice is yours, to be my partner or continue being my enemy?”
As Xu Xingran finished speaking, security guards rushed in.
“Bad news! Bad news! Special forces are rushing in — a lot of our inventory hasn’t been processed and has been confiscated…”
Outside, there was a commotion, extremely chaotic.
The “inventory” mentioned by the security guard should be the most common “green apples.”
Xu Xingran, holding the phone, remained calm. “You see, my big gift has arrived. Do you like it? Now you can still make a choice, be my partner or continue being my enemy.”
“Do you believe I can kill you right now?”
“I believe. Why wouldn’t I? But you know my father… an eye for an eye. If you kill his son, he will surely use all the power of the Xu family to make you like a mouse in the street, never having peace. Moreover, you have harmed the heir of a famous alpha family. Won’t other alpha families see you as a huge threat? When they join forces, your ‘Golden Apple,’ no matter how charming, will be like a thorn in their throat, ready to be crushed like a cockroach at any time.”
The sound of the door being pounded on echoed.
Sister Butterfly and the security guards looked at Xu Xingran. The high school student remained calm and composed; everything seemed like a game to him.
“You don’t have much time to consider.” Xu Xingran said, “If you make a mistake today, you’ll never get my A-plus.”
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