Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of Shen Yuan's furious tapping echoed behind the bathing screen. He sighed for the nth time for the night and flumped his head into the steaming water, blowing bubbles to the surface.
He never felt so irritated just from not being able to spend his time with someone. All he wanted right now was to run straight to where the pulse called for him. What was he? A kid?
To make things worse, he hadn't figured out Zhou Yi's identity this time yet. From previous patterns, there was a high chance he was related to Ji Zhixuan in some type of way. He did consider asking Ji Zhixuan about him earlier, but he couldn't bring himself to after rejecting his invitation.
Believe it or not, he felt bad…
"Agh, damn it!" Shen Yuan ruffled his hair into a tangled mess.
Since when had he ever let feelings interfere with his work? He had no doubt Ji Zhixuan would tell him anything he wanted to know, however upset he was about it.
"…"
That thought alone made him feel worse.
What was this? Was he being affected by his setting as a catalyst? Considering Zhou Yi was an S-grade power user, it wasn't impossible for his neural space to take control of him to some degree.
Yeah. That must be it.
Then, fighting against it would only be a waste of energy. Right now, he had to accept he was a ball of troublesome, pain in the ass, emotional little kid, so he had to make his plans around it, or else his logic would be too busy fighting his emotion that his brain wouldn't function as he wanted to.
What he wanted the most right now was to spend time with Ji Zhixuan as much as possible. With this state of mind, he wouldn't be able to seduce Zhou Yi with a 'sincere' heart. There would be cracks in his act.
He could think of one way to hook Zhou Yi with the least amount of contact while still being able to stay with Ji Zhixuan, but a memorable first encounter was still required.
Wait. If Ji Zhixuan was a prominent figure in the city, then he might be well-known among the locals. Why else would he empty an entire tea house for himself?
And if he was well-known, Zhou Yi could also be known to some degree.
Shen Yuan jumped out of the tub and threw on the bathrobe haphazardly before calling in the servant personally assigned to him, "Yang Mo!"
The door promptly opened, and the young, teenage servant hurried inside. Seeing Shen Yuan in a half-damp white robe clinging to his chest, his face flared bright red, and he quickly covered his eyes.
"Y-Young Master, y-your robe! You should wear your robe properly!"
Shen Yuan flumped on the chair, couldn't care less how he looked right now. He covered his chest with his fan and overlapped his legs impatiently, exposing his fair, slender leg. "Tell me everything about Ji Zhixuan."
"Young Master Ji…?" Yang Mo glanced up to see Shen Yuan's appearance got even more improper and could only continue talking to the floor.
"Is he someone well-known?"
"Of course. Young Master Ji is the only son of the prime minister. He's currently a scholar at the Imperial Institute and owns several businesses. He will most likely be the next prime minister when his father retires."
"Is he acquainted with a man named Zhou Yi?"
"That is…General Zhou's son's birthname, isn't it?" Yang Mo tilted his head in hesitation. "Rather than 'acquaintances', they're more like rivals—or perhaps archenemies. Their disdain towards each other is infamous here, in Hua City. Young Master should never mention their names in front of each other or Young Master will get in a lot of trouble." He looked up hesitantly. "Why is Young Master asking about them?"
"I encountered them in my stroll earlier during the day and became curious." Shen Yuan smiled without reaching his eyes. "Of course, I trust you won't tell anyone of my inquiries?"
Yang Mo shuddered and bowed until his back aligned with the floorboards, cold sweats dampening his back. "Of course, Young Master!"
"Do you know where Young Master Zhou usually takes his break?"
"He's usually in his post in Liang Road. Other than that, I'm not quite sure. He's rarely seen taking leisure in the city."
"Post?"
"He is the commander of the civil guard. Their headquarter is in Liang Road."
"I see…" Shen Yuan tapped on the armrest for a while and decided to check the area tomorrow. He threw Yang Mo a silver ingot. "Here. Buy yourself some midnight snacks."
"Yes, Young Master! Thank you very much!"
Once Yang Mo was gone, Shen Yuan got up to his feet and walked to the window, overlooking the street below in thought. Not only Zhou Yi was no longer related to Ji Zhixuan, he wasn't stepped over anymore and had enough power to be feared as well.
They were becoming equals. Without a certain resentment, he would have to make one along the way. Strong enough to trigger bloodlust.
If they were in constant rivalry, an opportunity would appear.
Catalysts and activators…
Now that he thought about it, he didn't see for sure how many diamonds Ji Zhixuan had on his back, but it should be more than 6. For someone as powerful as him, he should be struggling to find a catalyst that could accommodate him.
Zhou Yi as well.
Then, a 5-star catalyst should be something worth fighting for, shouldn't it?
***
The next morning, Shen Yuan struggled with his hair for an hour until he gave up. However he tried to stick the hairpin in, it wouldn't hold his hair.
Since it was a custom, he could only send Yang Mo to buy him a ribbon and braid his hair to his side instead. He wanted to tie it up to a ponytail, but his hair was too slippery and the ribbon couldn't hold it firmly in place.
Unfortunately for him, hair cuff—whatever it was called—could only be worn by activators. By far, this was the most troublesome world.
Braiding his hair wasn't all that bad though. His head became lighter and there was no excess hair blocking his nape from the fresh breeze. He might stick to this style.
Yang Mo sent him out and told him the directions to Liang Road. It was the opposite way from the tea house yesterday.
As he was ready to leave, low exclamations ensued across the street, and the people scuttled aside. A familiar bespectacled man and his aide—which he found to be called Wang Ren—unhurriedly trod the path cleared for them. Ji Zhixuan smiled when their eyes met.
"What a coincidence, Young Master Shen." Ji Zhixuan went to Shen Yuan's side and looked at the inn. "Do you perhaps stay here?"
Shen Yuan chuckled, knowing for sure there was zero ounce of coincidence involved. Still, he didn't expose Ji Zhixuan and played along. "Indeed. Does Young Master Ji pass by this street often?"
Ji Zhixuan narrowed his eyes at Shen Yuan's chuckle. No doubt, he was laughing at him. He must've known.
As he thought, this person wasn't simple.
"No, I had some errands around the area. Are you just about to start your day?"
"The day of the unemployed begins late."
Noticing the different hairstyle, Ji Zhixuan traced his gaze down the braid and couldn't help but ask, "What happened to your hairpin?"
"…It's fine." Shen Yuan looked away. He flicked his fan open to cover the lower half of his face though failing to hide the resentful embarrassment in his eyes. "I'm not very good at it. I guess."
Ji Zhixuan felt a tug at his heartstrings, and his throat silently bobbed. He fixed his gaze on the blushing man and pushed up his glasses to get a clearer view.
Cute.
How could such a simple weakness cause a person to be this cute? He never liked incompetent people, but right now, he hoped Shen Yuan had many other weaknesses. The more the better.
Shen Yuan stared at Ji Zhixuan in suspicion. "You just thought of something inappropriate, didn't you?"
"It seems that I haven't fixed my impression completely yet. How about I show you around the city today?" Ji Zhixuan smiled without guilt.
"Unfortunately, I already have a plan. Perhaps, some other day."
"Is that so? What do you have planned?"
"It's a personal matter," Shen Yuan dodged the question and turned to leave. He should get away from Ji Zhixuan before his heart got swept away. "Until we meet again, Young Master Ji."
Ji Zhixuan nodded and watched Shen Yuan leave until he was out of sight before shifting his attention to Yang Mo. The tenderness in his eyes disappeared like an extinguished flame, almost making Yang Mo squeak.
"Speak," Wang Ren ordered.
"Liang Road! Young Master Shen plans to go to Liang Road!" Yang Mo blurted with tears in his heart.
How could he choose to lie to the son of the prime minister over exposing an unknown young master? The answer was obvious. He didn't want to die!
Ji Zhixuan's face darkened. "Tell me everything."