Chapter 460: A Tense Confrontation
by xennovel“Gao Yan? When did you get here?”
Vice President Xiao turned his head abruptly, his hair standing on end as he finally managed to exclaim.
He was already unnerved by this man’s bizarre transformation when he suddenly realized that the very person he had been describing had been standing behind him all along. The shock was palpable.
Especially when he noticed that the scrutinizing look from Lu Xin’s shoulder was actually fixed on this man—the eerie, sudden sensation intensified the shock in his mind.
He nearly burst into tears.
Firstly, what’s wrong with this Gao Yan? If he had arrived earlier, why was he just standing there listening to me talk about him?
Secondly, why did our own employee see him and not warn us sooner?
Vice President Xiao felt tormented by the collusion of these two individuals.
……
“Thump, thump, thump, thump…”
A dull set of footsteps echoed as the figure standing in the shadow by the cafeteria door slowly approached. Once he stepped into the light, Lu Xin recognized a tall, handsome man with exquisite features. With a sharp nose, striking eyes, and well-defined features, his style was impeccable—a black T-shirt paired with a silver suit and polished leather shoes accentuated his upright figure.
Good looks and a privileged background, the type of man who’d make anyone envious from birth.
The only oddity was his extremely pale complexion and a drained demeanor, as if he hadn’t slept in days.
He silently pulled out a chair by the dining table with a creak and sat across.
This simple act unnerved Vice President Xiao so much that he nearly leapt up and fled.
“I arrived the moment you started badmouthing me,”
The man named Gao Yan poured himself a glass of red wine and downed it in one gulp.
His throat bobbed, as if he were inexplicably parched.
Then he shot a sidelong glance at Vice President Xiao, a cold smile playing on his lips. “So, in your eyes, I’m that unreasonable?”
“No, no—I didn’t…”
Vice President Xiao instinctively denied, his eyes pleading for Lu Xin’s help.
“I saw him push the door open and stand by the door all along, silent and unmoving,”
Lu Xin explained to Vice President Xiao, “This is a cafeteria, so it’s normal for someone to come in—I didn’t think much of it.”
“Is it really just a matter of overthinking?”
“Anyone would find such a person peculiar, wouldn’t they?”
……
Vice President Xiao was nearly in tears. Compared to Gao Yan—who stood silently in the shadows listening to him—this employee chatting casually seemed even stranger.
Caught in the middle, he felt utterly powerless.
Reluctantly, he turned to Gao Yan and weakly explained, “I was just worried about you.”
“Your transformation has been so drastic lately; I barely recognize you—you’ve turned into someone else…”
……
“I’m still me,”
Gao Yan replied coolly, his eyes looking weak and sickly, yet filled with a serious, almost obsessive determination:
“At most, I just don’t care about you all like I used to. I no longer strive to please you.”
“So because you don’t please us, you expect someone to come after me?”
……
As he spoke, he suddenly glanced at Lu Xin, his eyes burning with cold madness and provocation.
Blue veins throbbed on the back of his hand as he gripped a fork tightly.
He gave off the aura of a madman ready to leap up and stab with a knife at any moment.
Lu Xin met his gaze with a friendly smile and a nod.
“Ah…it’s not like that…”
Vice President Xiao was momentarily choked by Gao Yan’s words and anxiously explained, “Really, I’m not out to get you. It’s just—what you did recently was too outrageous. Not only did you snatch Li Ping’s girlfriend, you actually stabbed him with a knife. We’ve been friends for ten years—how can you act so recklessly and without regard for sentiment?”
Lu Xin listened quietly on the side, observing the scene.
The fact that Vice President Xiao could mention these things in front of him only confirmed that he was speaking the truth.
Could this Gao Yan really be the kind who openly boasts about stealing someone’s girlfriend and then goes on to stab them without a word?
There’s no denying that his current demeanor made such acts plausible.
“So, what?”
While Lu Xin mulled over the situation, Gao Yan suddenly raised his voice, his neck veins writhing like snakes.
“Who does that bastard think he is, charging at me? What if I stab him?”
“Even his crappy company’s business was handed to him by me. Where does he get the nerve to curse me and swing his fists?”
……
“I know how much you usually look after him…”
Vice President Xiao grew anxious, his brows furrowed in frustration as he said, “But you practically grabbed his girlfriend right in front of him…”
Gao Yan let out a cold laugh, “When I meet a girl I like, I just pursue her. Isn’t that natural?”
“Natural?”
Vice President Xiao’s voice rose involuntarily, “How can you be so cruel…”
“I enjoy tormenting the girl I adore. What’s wrong with that?”
Facing an increasingly anxious Vice President Xiao, Gao Yan laughed coldly, seemingly more composed than Xiao:
“Besides, what exactly is torment?”
“There are countless ways to express affection—be it through hitting or insults, even creatively tormenting someone. Heh heh heh—even if it’s your first time with the girl you love, it can still hurt. Have you ever thought of stopping on a whim?”
……
“You…”
Listening to Gao Yan, Vice President Xiao
jumped up in fury and shouted, “How can you nonchalantly spout such words without any pressure?”
“You’re such a pervert—have you ever asked her opinion?”
……
Gao Yan, with an air of indifference, looked down on a frantic Vice President Xiao, a playful expression crossing his face.
“When the Security Hall came asking, she said it was all voluntary. You were there too. Do you still need to ask me?”
……
“You…”
Vice President Xiao was left speechless by Gao Yan’s retort.
In Gao Yan’s eyes, he felt as if he were being toyed with.
He stole a glance at Lu Xin and noticed that Lu Xin remained quiet, silently listening.
……
“The logic is crystal clear…”
Lu Xin absorbed every word of the dialogue between Gao Yan and Vice President Xiao.
Out of courtesy, he didn’t interrupt their conversation, merely observing. This man Gao Yan didn’t exhibit any signs of a Mental Monster or Mental Fluctuation; he didn’t appear to be suffering from Mental Pollution.
Moreover, his logic in speech was remarkably rigorous.
Many afflicted with Mental Pollution might seem logical in their own minds, but when conversing, their distorted thoughts become apparent. It was like those duped by the Technology Church who rushed off to Happy Town searching for treasures—they firmly believed treasures existed, yet outsiders quickly noticed their warped logic.
Even though it was impossible for Happy Town to have any treasures, they stubbornly believed there was.
One could easily deduce their Mental Pollution by their twisted reasoning.
But this Gao Yan was different. His meticulous thinking and clear logic left Vice President Xiao utterly tongue-tied, proving that at least in logical reasoning, he wasn’t affected by Mental Pollution.
He might simply be a pure bad guy.
There’s a huge difference between a pure bad guy and someone afflicted by Mental Pollution.
For me, that difference is simple—a pure bad guy isn’t my responsibility.
So, no matter how angry I get, I should hand him over to the Police.
……
“You…”
Utterly at a loss for words after Gao Yan’s barbs, Vice President Xiao was both frustrated and desperate—a person with a tongue tied by pent-up words. Slamming the table, he stood up and shouted, “If you truly consider me a friend, you should understand me instead of going behind my back to badmouth me…”
By the time the words left his mouth, his emotions were at their peak.
“Smack!”
No one could have guessed that Gao Yan, who had been sitting with a cold smile, suddenly grabbed the red wine bottle and smashed it onto the table.
Crimson wine spattered all over, flowing along the tabletop like thick blood.
Clutching the shattered bottle, Gao Yan stood up. His towering figure exuded an unspoken menace as the jagged bottle and splattered wine added to his dangerous aura. Biting his teeth, he coldly declared, “If you truly call me a friend, the very least you should do is understand me, instead of running around badmouthing me behind my back…”
“Since you’re slandering me and setting people against me, why on earth should I still consider you a friend?”
……
“Ah…”
Startled by Gao Yan, Vice President Xiao felt his scalp go numb as he darted behind Lu Xin.
Separated by Lu Xin, he stared at the enraged Gao Yan, his legs trembling with fear. “You…”
“What do you want?”
……
“What do I want?”
Gao Yan, his expression sickly and wild with a burning inner rage, spat, “I just fell for a woman—is there anything wrong with that?”
“You always pretend to be my friend, yet you’re plotting to hurt me…”
“If you really intend to harm me, then why should I keep you around?”
……
As he spoke, he inched closer and closer.
Vice President Xiao was trembling so badly that his teeth chattered, producing a rattling sound.
He pinned all his hopes on Lu Xin, his eyes pleading for help.
But he found that Lu Xin was lost in thought, just silently listening.
Lu Xin’s gaze eventually fell on Gao Yan’s face—his fury evident in clenched teeth and tense cheek muscles typical of a man in anger. Yet it was his eyes that captivated Lu Xin: glaring into Vice President Xiao’s, they were blood-red and teeming with swarms of rapidly scuttling insects.
The sheer number and vivid image made Lu Xin immediately feel…
…excited.
…Since he had been tainted, it was his move to take charge!