Case Files Chapter 68: Fright Aboard the Cruise Ship (2)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Right after the tall man in the doorway finished speaking, he stared at Lu YunYang and Guan Jin with wide eyes and exclaimed, “Ah, I seem to have forgotten something, ahaha, you two continue! I didn’t see anything…” He quickly closed the door, shutting himself outside.

Only then did Guan Jin realize that besides a bath towel covering his lower body, Lu YunYang wasn’t wearing anything. The two of them were looking outside with their heads very close to each other, and matter how one looked at it, Guan Jin seemed to be cuddling with a half-naked man… Guan Jin immediately jumped away, glared fiercely at Lu YunYang, and abruptly pulled open the door.

The man at the door was pressing his ear against the wall.

“You must be my brother-in-law, hello, I didn’t even know you were here, I’m very sorry about just now.” The man nodded politely at Guan Jin, as if it wasn’t him that had been shamelessly eavesdropping just then. He immediately rushed to Lu YunYang. “Tsk tsk, YangYang, I haven’t seen you for a few days, and your figure is already better. Are you interested in coming to work part-time at my company, I promise I can put you on the cover!”

Lu YunYang smiled faintly. “I can also put you on the front cover. Renowned international model agent and designer was found naked on the shore by fishermen. Is this title exciting enough?”

The man shrunk and immediately complained, “Brother, how can you be like this, we are born of the same roots, why must we be so hasty to fry each other ¹?”

“I think that frying you will evaporate the water in your brain.” Lu YunYang nudged him towards the door. “Little Jin, this is my younger brother, Lu YunChi. As mentioned just now, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, so don’t mind him.”

“Hey, how can you say that about your little brother?”

Guan Jin frowned as he looked the brothers up and down. If he looked closely at their faces, he could see that they were indeed a little similar, but Lu YunYang was usually concealing, reserved, and elegant, whereas Lu YunChi’s facial features were more delicate and bright, sparkling like a superstar. If it wasn’t made known, no one would think they were brothers.

Lu YunYang hadn’t even mentioned that his family would be on the ship, and Guan Jin felt affronted. He suddenly raised an eyebrow and said viciously, “Lu YunYang, your younger brother is a lot more handsome than you, he’s to my taste.”

What?! Even if you two are fighting, don’t drag me into it! Alarm bells started ringing in Lu YunChi’s head, and he didn’t even have to turn around to look at Lu YunYang’s expression; if looks could kill, he would be dead by now. Lu YunChi called, “Wife~~~Come and look at the handsome man!”

In less than two seconds, some people flooded into the room, and their imposing manner caught Guan Jin off guard so that he backed up a little. Two women and a man looked him up and down with eyes like a hungry wolf’s, and two of them were actually people he knew.

“Hello, brother-in-law!” The tall woman at the front walked forward excitedly and made a heart shape with her hands.

Brother-in-law?!

“It turns out it’s Officer Guan. My cousin is so annoying, he wasn’t even willing to take me to see you.” Mu QianHe was dressed like a doll, and she winked at Guan Jin.

“This is really shocking that you’re actually a police officer. Lu YunYang’s insight is very unique.” Qin Xiao, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, didn’t look shocked at all, and his smile was still very annoying.

This was the first time that Guan Jin felt that something other than guns and knives could make someone feel uncomfortable. He took another step backwards, yet he happened to bump into Lu YunYang’s chest.

Lu YunYang, who had already put on a bathrobe, lightly placed his hands on Guan Jin’s waist and swept his gaze across the roomful of uninvited guests. “I just wanted to take a shower, how come so many people aren’t letting me do what I want?”

… 

The tall woman decisively grabbed her husband’s shirt collar and dragged him out. “Showering is very important, what bad timing.”

The husband turned back and grinned at Guan Jin. “Brother Guan, I’m Qin Se. If you’re free, come and have a chat with me~”

Mu QianHe also followed them, thinking, Wahh, men’s possessiveness is so scary.

Qin Xiao was the last to leave, and he graciously helped them close the door, though he didn’t forget to say, “You two have a nice shower.”

Guan Jin slowly removed Lu YunYang’s hands from his waist and said, “No wonder you’re a psychologist, you must be under a lot of pressure from living with so many mental patients.”

Lu YunYang backed away a little in self-awareness. “Violence is the worst way to solve a problem.”

“But it’s the fastest and most assuaging.”

“…I really didn’t know they were going to come. Before, YunChi said that he was preparing for a big show, so he didn’t have time. QianHe wanted to come, but I refused to let her. Yet that kid went back on her word and dragged the family along to mess around.”

“Lu YunYang, you don’t need to explain, do you really think that that will work on me? How do they know me, and how did you bring me up in front of them? Your spouse? Hmph, aren’t you my dad?” Guan Jin crossed his arms. He was too lazy to do anything about this, but he just didn’t want to be too conspicuous because of these people.

Lu YunYang raised a hand to show his sincerity. “They have a sense of propriety, they just like to mess around among themselves.”

Guan Jin didn’t inquire further, and he instead asked, “Right, Qin Xiao and Qin Se…”

“Qin Se is my little brother’s wife, and Qin Xiao is her little brother.”

So coincidental?

“Tell them to behave, or else I won’t be so polite anymore,” Guan Jin warned before turning to leave.

“Little Jin?” Lu YunYang called softly as he gazed at him eagerly.

Guan Jin turned back warily. “What?”

“Do you want to take a shower together?” Lu YunYang asked straightforwardly.

“You want me to give you a back massage?” Guan Jin suddenly smiled.

“…Never mind, it’s probably better if I do it myself.” Through Guan Jin’s smirk, Lu YunYang could speculate that the results of a back massage would not be very good for him, so he obediently went to take a shower by himself.

However, it was unexpected that Guan Jin hadn’t lost his temper and dropped it just like this without looking further into it. No, it wasn’t that he didn’t look further into it, it was that he wasn’t in the frame of mind to look further into it. Lu YunYang rubbed his face in the shower. Then what was he thinking about…

*****

In the evening, just before dusk, the banquet hall was already brightly lit.

Guan Jin uneasily tugged on his tie. Wasn’t this supposed to be a relaxing vacation? How could he relax with such tight-fitting attire?

“Your clothes fit very well.” Ever since Guan Jin had finished changing, Lu YunYang had been following him and scrutinizing him.

“Why would you prepare formal attire for me, is this part of some scheme?” Guan Jin had felt strange the moment he saw Lu YunYang pull out a set of formal attire specially for him.

“Don’t you know very well what I’m scheming?”

“Hmph, you seem to be very happy to admit it. Anyway, how did you know my size?” Guan Jin suddenly thought of this important question.

“I know from hugging you.” Lu YunYang drew the circumference of his waist in the air, and he seemed to be re-experiencing a hug in his mind. “Your waist is very slender.”

“…Don’t you know how perverted you look?!” Guan Jin was once again shocked by his shamelessness.

 *****

The banquet hall was very large, but there weren’t a lot of people in it. They were all gathered near the front, and there was a small orchestra playing onstage. A blonde woman wearing a V-neck black velvet dress was singing softly, and she seemed to be very proud of her finger, swaying as she sang. A middle-aged man around 35 years old was standing among the crowd, and a woman in a white fur coat was next to him, smiling happily.

“That’s Fang Sen and his wife, Zhao WanQing,” whispered Lu YunYang.

“How about the people around them?”

“That one with glasses is Tian QingLin, and that one whose saliva flies everywhere when he talks is Dong Chong. They’re both Fang Sen’s childhood friends, and they’re all businessmen now. That one who seems to be looking down on everyone yet has low self-esteem and is gloomy is a distant cousin of Fang Sen, Fang Mo. He returned from the United States and wanted to ride on Fang Sen’s coattails, but now, he only goes around with an empty nobility.” Qin Xiao, who had suddenly popped up out of nowhere, concisely gave Guan Jin some context of everyone.

“You’re quite knowledgeable about this.” Guan Jin didn’t seem to be very grateful.

“Ah, you know how it is, people always gossip with each other, not to mention there are several women around me that take pleasure in it.” Qin Xiao’s gaze drifted to Lu YunChi, Qin Se, Mu QianHe, and two other women who were chatting nearby.

“That woman that looks very demure is Jiang LingXuan, and that smug-looking one is Fang Sen’s younger sister, Fang Lin,” continued Qin Xiao.

“Who’s Jiang LingXuan?” asked Guan Jin.

Before Qin Xiao could reply, someone interrupted, “If it isn’t Second Young Master Lu ², long time no see.” A man that was around Lu YunYang’s age walked over and raised the wine glass in his hand in greeting.

“As the oldest son of the Wang family, you’re very busy, so I wasn’t able to get a chance to see you.” Lu YunYang smiled.

“You rarely come, and I clearly invite you to things all the time, but you come up with excuses to decline. I feel insulted.” Wang XuTong sighed.

“If your siblings heard your plaintive tone, I’m afraid there would be some internal disputes.” Lu YunYang laughed with him.

“Are they very close?” Guan Jin’s tone was strange.

Qin Xiao looked at him and chuckled in spite of himself. “Don’t trust what your eyes see. Jiang LingXuan is Wang XuTong’s fiance, and Wang XuTong is the eldest son of the Wang family, which works in real estate. Have you heard of them?”

Guan Jin was noncommittal, and he continued to furtively sweep his gaze around the room. The well-trained waiters were working at the dining tables, and the orchestra onstage was still performing. Around a dozen people with intricate and complicated relationships were toasting each other. Upstairs was the secretive, mysterious guest and Wen JingHan, who hadn’t shown up yet, and there were also the crew people and captain on the top floor.

He needed to figure out who Psychologist and Street Artist were among these people, find Spider, and get Hermes. Then, he had to avoid the people he knew, unite with his allies, use his peers, kill his enemy, and escape. This really was… easier said than done.