WT Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Maiden’s Prayer Still haven’t found your brother…

Chapter 4 Maiden’s Prayer Still haven’t found your brother…

Inside the spacious black car, the man in the back seat remained silent, his brow lightly furrowed.

“He’s really not here, I’ve searched everywhere.” Chen Jiale’s voice came from the phone, sounding slightly breathless: “I saw Uncle Jiang Yan’s alpha, but I didn’t see Wen Shixi.”

“Check the garage.” Jiang Quanyu held the phone, his voice as commanding as ever: “Shixi’s car is a pearlescent white Bentley.”

In the entire Jiang family, apart from Wen Shixi, the unemployed adopted son, no one would drive such a frivolous color.

Chen Jiale quickly arrived at the underground garage and immediately spotted the Bentley Jiang Quanyu mentioned among the rows of black business cars.

“The car’s here.” Chen Jiale scratched his head: “But where’s the person?”

In the silent radio communication, Jiang Quanyu didn’t speak.

A few seconds later, just as Chen Jiale was about to ask, the call ended.

Chen Jiale: “…”

Jiang Quanyu really has no manners.

At the same time, Jiang Quanyu’s gaze was deep as he looked at the old house gate not far outside the car window.

The assistant in the front seat turned around at the appropriate time, looking at Jiang Quanyu’s face as calm as water, his eyes questioning.

Jiang Quanyu instructed: “Call Director Yang and have her double-check the accounts of all the subsidiaries, see if anything unusual has happened recently.”

–

In a downtown hotel suite, the sweet incense was just right.

A headache pulled at his neurons, and a cramping discomfort spreading from his stomach gradually awakened the unconscious body.

Wen Shixi opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar and dim room.

After a few seconds, the memories from before he fell asleep gradually surfaced.

He drank the tea poured by his uncle in the conference room, listened to his uncle’s conversation with that man, and gradually felt very sleepy. When he tried to get up, apologize, and leave, he felt weak all over, his vision gradually blurred, and then he remembered nothing.

Wen Shixi looked around the room. The luxurious decorations exuded an expensive aura, adorning every corner of the room.

The bedside lamp cast a gentle light, illuminating a small area around the edge of the bed.

The fragrance in the air was both sweet and intense, entering his body with each breath.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, neon lights glittered everywhere.

Wen Shixi was slightly puzzled, and then looked at himself.

On the clean bed, apart from his windbreaker being missing, he was still wearing the black suit he had worn when he went out. Only his tie was slightly messy, and even his gloves hadn’t been removed.

Wen Shixi propped himself up, but as soon as he straightened up, his vision blurred and he fell back down.

In Wen Shixi’s experience, it seemed his low blood sugar had acted up again.

At this moment, a soft, panting sound came from the shadows on the other side, with a hint of teasing.

Wen Shixi snapped back to his senses and turned to look at the quiet figure sitting not far away.

Alpha…

The atmosphere froze for a moment. Wen Shixi looked at the stranger in front of him and asked simply.

“Kidnapping?”

The man was sitting in a single sofa by the bed, holding a wide-mouthed wine glass in his hand. The ruby-like liquid flowed slowly, its color bright and alluring.

The man looked very young, probably in his early twenties, dressed in expensive clothes, but with a very dark expression, making him difficult to read.

“Of course not kidnapping.” He said with a smile, frankly: “What, don’t you recognize me anymore?”

Wen Shixi frowned, thinking quietly for a moment.

Soon, Wen Shixi said, “…Who are you?”

The man’s smile sharpened at the edge of his lips.

Ling Xiao, the young master of the Ling Group, who grew up surrounded by attention, was being forgotten like this for the first time.

“That’s really heartbreaking, Wen Shixi.” Ling Xiao said: “I went to every one of your performances, whether it was a solo, concerto, or opera accompaniment… I’ve been following you for a long time, and you’re saying you don’t know me?”

Wen Shixi said calmly: “If you like my performance, you can continue to buy tickets when I accept performance invitations. But kidnapping an idol to a hotel is far beyond the scope of a stalker.”

Ling Xiao shook his head and smiled gently: “Strictly speaking, your family sent you here. I really didn’t kidnap you.”

Wen Shixi was silent for a moment. It was already completely dark, and he couldn’t tell how long he had been unconscious, nor could he deduce where he was from the vague night scene outside the window.

Thinking of what happened before he passed out, Wen Shixi frowned slightly.

He raised his hand, slowly reaching into his pocket as he asked, “What’s your relationship with my uncle?”

Ling Xiao shook his wine glass, looking very pleased: “To be precise…”

As Ling Xiao spoke, he raised his hand and drank the last bit of liquid in the glass.

The expensive wine was fermented to perfection. After Ling Xiao savored it carefully, he looked at Wen Shixi’s eyes, which were reflecting the light.

“Tonight.” An extremely blatant taste of appreciation emerged in Ling Xiao’s eyes, and he said concisely: “He sold you to me.”

Wen Shixi was stunned for two seconds, feeling that Ling Xiao’s words were too outrageous: “…What did you say?”

“Is it hard to understand?” Ling Xiao asked: “Did you think that everything you’ve received since you were a child, all the top-notch education, the generous monthly living expenses, all of this comes without a price?”

Hearing this, Wen Shixi’s palm clenched slightly.

Wen Shixi: “I played Jiang Yan’s son well.”

“So you’re expensive.” Ling Xiao said: “The Ling family gave up 2 billion on the largest commercial land in Linggang, allowing the Jiang family to win the bid at an impossibly low price.”

Ling Xiao explained, but his expression gradually became perfunctory, as if he didn’t want to waste time with Wen Shixi on this issue and wanted to get to the point quickly.

He thought for a moment, smiled softly, and asked: “So, what should we start with on this long night?”

In the silence, Wen Shixi’s expression was extremely cold.

“Don’t you think what you’re saying is ridiculous?” Wen Shixi asked.

Ling Xiao lowered his eyes and looked at Wen Shixi’s long fingers hidden under his gloves, and said to himself: “We can start with what you like, Beethoven, Chopin, or Liszt?”

As Ling Xiao spoke, he smiled gently: “You hate Steinway and like Bösendorfer, right? I specially prepared one for you. Uncle Jiang said you are very smart and know how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Even if you’re unhappy at first, you will definitely listen to me obediently after recognizing the situation. So, if you are really willing to please me, we can just talk about music today.”

Wen Shixi frowned, not saying a word.

Ling Xiao “ah-ed” softly: “Oh, that’s right—I want to hear you play it again, that Maiden’s Prayer you played at the Bedoste Theater last Christmas.”

In the warm light of the bedside lamp, Wen Shixi listened to the person in front of him talking to himself, and soon, he inexplicably revealed a bit of a smile.

Wen Shixi realized that when people are speechless, they really do smile.

Wen Shixi spoke, sarcastically, “If Badarzewska knew that her masterpiece was liked by someone like you, she would be so angry she’d come back to life.”

Ling Xiao smiled and commented: “It’s a very suitable piece for you, Wen Shixi is also like a maiden.”

At least from the outside, the young man on the bed was young and clean, and there was no hint of matching the scandalous rumors.

“It’s a bit much to use ‘maiden’ to describe a twenty-five-year-old adult.” Wen Shixi got up, and after a rustling sound, he stood up from the edge of the bed.

In the slight dizziness, Wen Shixi gently supported the wall.

The constant temperature air conditioner in the room was very dry, driving the heat and impatience in his body.

Wen Shixi thought for a moment, stood by the bed and took off his slightly wrinkled suit jacket, revealing the black shirt inside.

The shirt stretched slightly, and was then bound to the skin by the pants, outlining his slender waist.

He stood quietly against the wall for a few seconds, thinking for a moment.

Jiang Lian’s assessment of him was very objective, but it wasn’t accurate.

He wasn’t seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, he just felt that there was no need to make things difficult for himself for something inexplicable.

Then, Wen Shixi asked.

“Where’s that Bösendorfer? Take me to see it first.”

–

In the magnificent and bright hotel lobby, several men walked in.

Jiang Quanyu didn’t show his face to attend Rong Yalan’s memorial service, but the news that the Jiang family heir had suddenly returned to China had quickly spread.

He had been busy all day, meeting many different people, and finally returned to the hotel where he was staying.

There happened to be a gala at the hotel today, a masked ball held by an art troupe.

As Jiang Quanyu brushed past many dancers wearing exquisite masks, he listened to his assistant’s low voice report.

“We still haven’t found your brother.” The assistant said in detail: “But Director Yang just sent a message that your father bought a piece of land at an unbelievable low price at the beginning of the month. In addition, the accounts of other subsidiaries also have problems, but they are all within the normal fluctuation or within the scope we know.”

Hearing the word “father,” Jiang Quanyu’s expression faltered, and he raised his hand, his blue veins slightly bulging, and pulled at his tie.

The displeasure and alienation on his body reached a peak at this moment, filled with a tough and oppressive aura, which paused for a moment, spreading a chill.

“Who were the bidders at that auction?” Jiang Quanyu asked.

“Many, but the only one who bid to the end was the Ling family, a long-established company in the real estate industry.” The assistant said: “If it’s the Ling family, they couldn’t possibly not know the true value of that land.”

Jiang Quanyu: “The difference of two billion should be that the Ling family and my father have reached other cooperation.”

So, what were the terms of the cooperation?

“The Ling family…” Jiang Quanyu recalled the past and frowned: “Is his youngest son called Ling Xiao?”

The assistant nodded: “Ling Xiao graduated from the Hans Eisler School of Music in Berlin this year, and should have just returned to China recently.”

Jiang Quanyu frowned, remembering a very short figure.

Because they were family friends, Ling Xiao always followed his father to the Jiang family’s old house since he was a child.

Ling Xiao liked to play the violin. One time when he came, he bullied Wen Shixi into playing the piano as accompaniment, wanting to perform together in the garden.

Wen Shixi didn’t dare to refuse, meekly acting as a playmate for guests in his own home. When Jiang Quanyu came home, he saw Wen Shixi squatting alone by the flower bed, his face aggrieved.

In the end, Jiang Quanyu came forward and thought of some ways to quietly make the annoying Ling Xiao disappear completely from Wen Shixi’s sight.

Hadn’t he already warned Ling Xiao? Could it be that after so many years, Ling Xiao was causing Wen Shixi trouble again?

–

In the outer room of the suite, a wooden-colored piano stood quietly in the center of the room.

Wen Shixi walked to the piano and gently stroked the smooth body of the piano with his gloved fingertips.

The simple and rich Makassar ebony color, with just the right texture, filled with a sense of stability and solemnity.

Wen Shixi’s expression moved slightly: “This is… that antique piano from the last century at the Berlin auction last year.”

If only the value is considered, it is even more expensive than his customized Julius.

Ling Xiao stood not far behind Wen Shixi, his voice filled with lingering satisfaction, and gently ingratiated himself: “The first time I saw it, I felt it was very suitable for you, isn’t it?”