Under the intense scrutiny of the surrounding crowd, Yi Heye choked up again, even more at a loss for words—it was as if an invisible college entrance exam paper had been presented on a blank book, forcing him to answer even though he couldn't see the questions clearly.
“But I think now is not the time to dwell on this issue, is it?” While everyone was staring at Yi Heye, Jian Yunxian casually steered the conversation back on track. “Officer Pei, I’m here to provide clues, not to spill the beans on personal matters.”
Only then did everyone come to their senses and sit up straight, listening to him provide what he called clues.
"First of all, I can tell you clearly that Area A has not accepted any immigrants from other areas recently, so what you heard on the phone is not true."
As soon as this statement was made, someone raised a question: "How do you know?"
“Because I’m from Area A. My uncle is the director of the Area A Immigration Bureau,” Jian Yunxian said. “I believe Officer Pei can verify this at any time.”
Pei Xiangjin had seen his profile, and at the time only remembered that Jian Yunxian was a native of District A, without paying attention to what his extended family members did for a living.
Upon hearing this, he immediately checked the population system on the spot.
The moment the bloodline chart was opened, everyone held their breath, as if they were looking at a royal family genealogy.
Jian Yunxian's entire family consists of extraordinary individuals—besides his parents, who are accomplished scientists, the rest of the family includes high-ranking officials and leaders in various fields such as the military, administration, education, and medicine, each of whom is a prominent figure who frequently appears on television news.
This situation makes one feel that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire Area A belongs to the Jian family.
Jian Yunxian's resume and family background were so exaggerated that they resembled the character settings on the first page of a Mary Sue novel from hundreds of years ago. However, they knew that the security department's system information could not be faked, and this person's background was exactly like that of a novel protagonist.
Everyone present, including Yi Heye, gasped. The family tree filled the air with a sense of awe.
Clearly, Jian Yunxian himself didn't care about any of this. He casually ended the topic once again and continued, "Then, what you need to find is ISSAC Entertainment Agency in Area A."
This time, he directly gave the answer to everyone present. Because of what had just happened, no one even dared to ask him how he got the answer—after all, with his status and position, what couldn't he get?
After a brief silence, Jian Yunxian still managed to explain, "I'm not at liberty to disclose the specific source of this information, but it's absolutely reliable."
The entire office fell silent again, everyone looking at each other in bewilderment. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was at a loss, Jian Yunxian said, "That's all the information I can provide. I have some urgent business to attend to right now, so I won't say any more."
Yi Heye sensed a hint of anxiety in the man's tone, and he knew that the guy had been tracked again.
Before I could even say a word to him or figure out what he meant, we lost contact again.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was diverted by the clues brought by Jian Yunxian, and they had no time to care about Yi Heye's romantic gossip.
Faced with the current situation, regardless of the credibility of Jian Yunxian's information, the security department, which was stuck in a stalemate, decided to try anything as a last resort.
After the call ended, everyone belatedly realized that the second piece of news Jian Yunxian brought was quite explosive—nothing was more shocking than a company of ISSAC's caliber being involved in such a major criminal case.
ISSAC Entertainment is undoubtedly at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, with its mature star-making industry producing countless outstanding artists active on screen.
They occupy every available advertising space—on the streets, in supermarkets, and beside sports fields. Even people who aren't big fans of celebrities can name a few familiar names from their company.
What adds to ISSAC's legendary status is that it is the only entertainment company located in Area A. Most of the artists they sign are local residents of Area A, which means that their artists come from noble and clean backgrounds and almost completely fulfill fans' fantasies about idols.
Someone in the office exclaimed, "Holy crap, Comrade Yi is really going to become a superstar, and reach the pinnacle of his life!"
Yi Heye was still secretly angry about what Jian Yunxian had done earlier, and said with a sour face, "I don't care."
Although Yi Heye appeared determined to remain indifferent to fame and fortune and keep his achievements hidden, the group of managers behind him relentlessly continued to push this rising star into the chaotic world of entertainment.
Not long after Jian Yunxian hung up the phone, Pei Xiangjin immediately arranged for someone to reply to the ISSAC talent scout's private message, asking him about the specific details of the collaboration.
Soon, the newly popular internet celebrity, Comrade He Ye, received an invitation from the other party: "Hello, due to some confidentiality regulations, there are some issues that are not convenient to discuss online. May I ask if it would be possible to meet you offline?"
Everyone became excited—they had finally managed to infiltrate the enemy's ranks.
A moment later, the other party added Yi Heye's contact information. Seemingly afraid of exposing too much information on the Internet, they only communicated briefly like Ke Yu and Awei before arranging a time and place to meet offline.
With about half a day left before the agreed time, the task force began preparing for the operation.
Pei Xiangjin also contacted the cybersecurity department and immediately began tracking the other party's IP address again.
Just then, Yi Heye's communicator suddenly rang. Everyone subconsciously thought it was a call from an ISSAC talent scout. When everyone crowded around, they discovered that the contact name clearly read three words: Jian Yunxian.
Upon seeing these three words, Yi Heye's hand trembled involuntarily, and everyone spontaneously dispersed.
What's going on?
Yi Heye picked up the communicator and nervously got up to walk out of the corridor. He didn't know what this guy was going to do to him this time, so he could only bite the bullet and answer the phone.
"Long time no see," Jian Yunxian said.
Yi Heye said somewhat awkwardly, "Um..."
"Don't worry, no one will be listening to what we're saying now," Jian Yunxian said.
Yi Heye still didn't know what to say: "...Okay."
"I'm sorry, something urgent came up just now, and I didn't have time to explain myself clearly," Jian Yunxian said. "My presumptuousness just now may have bothered you."
It was about her ex-boyfriend. Yi Heye, who was still a little awkward, immediately hardened his fists, wishing he could reach across the phone and punch him in the face—he really wanted to tell Jian Yunxian to stop pretending, wasn't his greatest talent just making himself miserable?
Jian Yunxian said, "Because I heard that Officer Pei has been suspicious of your relationship with Mr. Sheep recently, I thought I might as well step forward to help you and take the initiative back into my own hands, so that I can explain things more easily."
So that's what it means? Yi Heye slowly loosened his clenched fist, but felt a little uneasy.
“I’m not sure if you need me to do anything, which is why I said the interpretation is entirely in your hands,” Jian Yunxian said. “I’m not afraid of ruining my reputation. You can make up whatever story you want. If needed, I can also testify as an insider that you and Sheep are not a couple.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to be associated with me, you can tell them directly that I’m referring to the fake couple relationship we played in our last mission,” Jian Yunxian said. “It’s a verifiable fact that we played a couple.”
Yi Heye fell silent—he had originally thought Jian Yunxian was teasing him again, but now that he had said that, he seemed to have no right to be angry with him.
"It's okay, let's leave it at that." Yi Heye smiled wryly and said, "I can also say that we never broke up, then I won't have any time to date SHEEP."
I don't know when it started, but Yi Heye has also started to say such things as if he were joking, but this joke didn't make the two of them laugh.
After a long pause, Jian Yunxian tentatively asked, "Is SHEEP usually too inconsiderate? Should I remind him for you?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Heye laughed and surprisingly frankly said, "There's no need. He didn't do anything to make me feel uncomfortable; on the contrary, he helped me a lot."
These words seemed to put Jian Yunxian at ease: "Don't let his usual smugness fool you. When it comes to human relationships, you can treat him like a child who is still learning. So if you think he's doing something inappropriate, be sure to tell him directly."
Yi Heye paused for a moment and then laughed, "Anyway, we're both single, so there's no such thing as being incompatible."
This question seemed to put Jian Yunxian into a brief moment of thought. He remained silent for a while before tentatively asking, "Mr. Yi?"
"Hmm?" Yi Heye said.
"Is there anything you want to ask me?" Jian Yunxian asked cautiously. "Whatever you ask today, I will answer you seriously."
Yi Heye pondered for a long time—what did he most want to ask him? Should he ask if he was SHEEP or not? Should he ask if he liked him?
Thinking of this, he gave up – he didn't want to get the answer to the former by asking, and he didn't want to know the answer to the latter.
“No,” Yi Heye said. “I have no questions to ask.”
"Can I ask you a question?" Jian Yunxian asked.
"Okay." Yi Heye agreed subconsciously, but then thought, you can ask, but I don't have to answer.
Having received a reply, the person on the other end finally asked cautiously and earnestly, "Mr. Yi... do you have someone you like?"
Having a premonition of what he wanted to ask, Yi Heye wasn't particularly surprised when he heard the question.
In the quiet room, the two people's breathing mingled softly through the microphone, but Yi Heye remained silent for a long time.
They waited until Jian Yunxian's breathing became somewhat disordered, as if he was worried that he had asked the wrong question again and hesitated to take back what he had said.
At this moment, Yi Heye spoke softly:
"Yes, I have."
Author's Note:
Ye Bao: On May 20th, I chose to completely give up on love.
Chapter 95, number 095
The two words, spoken abruptly, were like a silver needle falling to the ground, striking the quiet room with a disturbing soft sound.
After Yi Heye finished speaking, he lowered his eyes and fell silent, only the breathing that had clearly stopped and the heartbeat of someone else could be heard.
After a long while, Jian Yunxian cautiously probed, "Then you..."
"Answer only one question," Yi Heye interrupted him. "You've used up your chances."
The person on the other end was momentarily speechless, seemingly unsure whether to speak or remain silent.
Occasionally seeing him get frustrated, Yi Heye's mood would lift slightly.
“Oh, right.” Suddenly, Yi Heye spoke up, “I’m not sure if the person I like is even human.”
These words made Jian Yunxian hold his breath again, and Yi Heye's tightly clenched fists were also sweating—he was still somewhat nervous.
But he still had to put on an act of complete control; he didn't like being at a disadvantage, and he was like that in any situation.
“Of course, I don’t think he is, he just won’t admit it,” Yi Heye said. “So after this case is over, I will find him myself and prove that I am right.”
"you……"
"Thank you for the clue, it was a great help." Before Jian Yunxian could finish speaking, Yi Heye immediately interrupted him, "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. I still have work to do."
Jian Yunxian hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "...Okay."
Without a second thought, Yi Heye pressed the hang-up button.
He'd said it. Yi Heye breathed a sigh of relief—
Unless he's an idiot, he should be able to understand what I mean.
It wasn't as difficult to say it out loud as I had imagined; on the contrary, all my actions and thoughts became more open and honest.
As for Jian Yunxian's opinion of him, he didn't want to know, nor did he need to know.
This confession allowed Yi Heye to completely let go of his psychological burden, and he no longer had any distracting thoughts.
His appearance had changed so much that when Pei Xiangjin saw him again, he couldn't help but tease, "Oh? You got back together?"
Yi Heye was too lazy to find any other reasons, so he simply went along with him and said, "Let's see how he performs."
Pei Xiangjin exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap?"
Yi Heye, without blushing or skipping a beat, replied, "Mm."
After saying that, he added, "Anyway, I'm single."
This means that he and SHEEP are not dating.
Love detective Pei Xiangjin was completely baffled this time—could it really be as Yu Yili said, that he and SHEEP were simply enemies?