Ye Zhizhou didn't get to eat the nutritious meal from the Elemental Pavilion, but he did manage to bruise his arm.
"Sigh..." Lou Yi said in a perfunctory manner while applying a cold compress to Dongfang Shu's bruised arm. He sighed with concern, "Bro, you won't win anyone over by acting like this. You need to get to know each other first, show genuine care, and gradually capture the heart of the person you're interested in. You won't get anywhere by rushing in for hugs and kisses. Luckily, Mr. Ye is patient and didn't call the police; otherwise..."
Dongfang Shu glared at him, and his psychic power threatened him near his neck.
Lou Yi quickly shut his mouth and, after packing up the cold compress, handed the list that Shao Feng had given him to Dongfang Shu. He reminded him cautiously, "Mr. Ye has encountered some trouble recently... When pursuing someone, you should cater to their interests and address their immediate needs. Bro, think about it carefully."
After saying this, Lou Yi picked up the tray with the ointment and hurried away.
Dongfang Shu glanced at the list and sneered, "Trouble, huh?"
After leaving the hospital, Ye Zhizhou realized that his communicator was still ringing. He hurried to a corner, adjusted his expression, and answered the call. "Senior, what do you need?"
"I have some leads on your background," Fang Yixing said, looking him up and down. He frowned and asked, "Why did it take you so long to answer the call, and your face is unusually red... Did you encounter trouble at the hospital?"
"No," Ye Zhizhou patted his face to suppress the guilty feeling rising in his heart and replied vaguely, "I just woke up from a nap... Senior, where are you? I'll come to find you, and we can discuss my background in person."
Fang Yixing became even more suspicious but didn't press the matter further. He nodded and said, "I'm at the research institute. I have some matters to attend to right now. Is it convenient for you to come here?"
"It's convenient."
"Then, see you at the research institute."
After ending the call, Ye Zhizhou looked back at the hospital's inpatient department, shook his head, and brushed off the lingering thoughts. He cursed himself for lacking self-control and then hailed a taxi to the research institute.
The Ren family was one of the older families in the Federation, specializing in pharmaceuticals. They had enjoyed a period of great success about three generations ago, thanks to an enhancement serum. However, subsequent generations didn't live up to the legacy. No powerful new drugs were developed, and the emergence of competing pharmaceuticals in the market gradually diminished their status.
"The Ren family used to be a significant player in the pharmaceutical field of the Federation. They had their own researchers, special research funding from the Federation, and a large number of talents they nurtured from their student days," Fang Yixing said, sighing with regret as he looked through Ren's basic information. "But unfortunately, the previous family head was incompetent. Instead of focusing on research, he pursued celebrity researchers and tried to get involved in politics. In the end, he achieved nothing, upset the higher-ups, and offended many researchers, resulting in the loss of many core projects."
Ye Zhizhou furrowed his brows. "What does this have to do with my background?"
"It has everything to do with it," Fang Yixing said, giving him a meaningful look. "When the Ren family made those mistakes, they almost disappeared from the Federation. However, they still hold a position today. Can you guess why?"
Ye Zhizhou gave him a puzzled look. There were still Ren family's psychic stabilizers on the market, a significant source of income for the family and a crucial asset for business negotiations. It was these stabilizers that kept the Ren family afloat in the Federation.
Fang Yixing seemed to read his thoughts and continued, "Exactly. It's because of the psychic stabilizer. It's highly effective, of high purity, and reasonably priced, far surpassing other stabilizers in terms of cost-effectiveness. The Ren family relies on it!"
Ye Zhizhou crossed his arms and looked at him, waiting for the revelation.
Fang Yixing ignored his unfriendly gaze, leaned in, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you know who developed this psychic stabilizer?"
He genuinely had no idea about this, and his curiosity was piqued. "Who?"
"I don't know either," Fang Yixing admitted.
Ye Zhizhou's hopes deflated, and he rolled his eyes at Fang Yixing's nonchalant response. "Then why bring it up?"
"But we can find out," Fang Yixing said confidently, patting his shoulder and taking out a Ren family genealogy. He fanned it out. "I suspect that the person who developed the stabilizer is someone within the Ren family itself. The Ren family is a large clan, and it's easy for them to hide illegitimate children, hidden heirs, or less popular distant relatives. We'll need to spend some time investigating."
Ye Zhizhou pondered Fang Yixing's words, surprised. "Are you suggesting that my background is related to the person who developed the stabilizer for the Ren family?"
"It's a reasonable suspicion and conjecture," Fang Yixing nodded, and with a dramatic flair, he pulled out a stack of documents. "Well, let's start working on the family tree. The Ren family has complicated relationships, with numerous illegitimate children, hidden heirs, and less prominent relatives. We need to analyze each one."
Ye Zhizhou still didn't quite understand how Fang Yixing connected these dots. He asked for clarification, "Can you explain what you mean by 'reasonable suspicion'?"
"The power of genetics is strong," Fang Yixing said with a deep expression, tapping his own head. "You are exceptionally talented, and your parents must be above average. However, the Ren family's last two generations publicly behaved like idiots. So, I reasonably suspect that there are hidden talents within the Ren family... talents like the one who developed the stabilizer."
"Are you really that sure the person who created the stabilizer is from the Ren family?"
"Who else could it be? Only someone from the Ren family would provide such a lucrative product to them. I haven't heard of anyone else in the market with that level of talent."
Ye Zhizhou sighed and reluctantly took the pen Fang Yixing offered. "Fine, let's work on the family tree..."
Fang Yixing grinned. "Great! But first, let me tell you some gossip."
Ye Zhizhou's face contorted as he began to consider how long the research institute would remain standing.
"What's with that expression? I'm just trying to help you! Your blood test results were too superficial. With my investigation, I now know for sure that you and Ren Qiao are definitely cousins, with very close blood ties. This rules out a lot of distant relatives from the Ren family!"
Ye Zhizhou had no words and pulled out another sheet of paper. "Let's start drawing the family tree..."
The two of them struggled until midnight to barely finish drawing the family tree. They then circled five potential candidates who could be Ye Zhizhou's father or mother. Since it was too late, they decided to conduct a detailed analysis of these five individuals tomorrow.
By the time they arrived home, it was almost 1 a.m. Ye Zhizhou let out a big yawn and rummaged in his bag for his keys.
"Why are you coming back so late?" The voice that had just become familiar in the afternoon was quite memorable. His somewhat drowsy brain suddenly cleared up, and he turned his head to look down the dark hallway.
Dongfang Shu, holding a small box, emerged from the darkness and stopped beside him. "Open the door; you need to rest as soon as possible."
Ye Zhizhou took a step to the side, maintaining a distance from him, and discreetly put the keys back into his bag. He chuckled, "Mr. Lou, what are you doing here? Haha, what a coincidence, meeting here..."
"I always get headaches," Dongfang Shu said, turning to look at him with a piercing gaze. "There are also signs of instability in my psychic power. These symptoms may be the aftermath of taking x2. As the developer of x2, you should take responsibility for me."
Ye Zhizhou was shocked by his shamelessness. "But this afternoon, you said everything was fine!"
"The aftermath appeared after you left."
"...Why don't you just say it appeared after I kicked you?"
Dongfang Shu agreed readily, "It appeared after you kicked me."
"Please leave my doorstep, thank you."
Dongfang Shu stared at him deeply, then sat down on the ground, completely abandoning his image as the young master of the Lou family and a high-ranking officer in the military. With a calm expression, he shamelessly said, "Your kick affected my recovery, and I need compensation."
Ye Zhizhou was dumbfounded.
"You can call the police, but they definitely won't accept your case."
Ye Zhizhou felt an itch on his foot and considered kicking something.
"I promise the events of this afternoon won't happen again."
Dongfang Shu looked up at him, his pale and handsome face looking perfect like a painting under the dim hallway light. "Xiaozhou, I like you, and I'm pursuing you."
Bro, you're clearly stalking and harassing me!
"The neighbor to your right has been peeking at us through the peephole in her door."
Ye Zhizhou immediately turned his head to look at the door of the house on his right.
"The neighbor to your left has been secretly filming us since I arrived. She's clever, using a miniature camera, but filming without consent is illegal. I hope you can talk to your neighbor and ask her to delete the videos and photos. If she doesn't, the Lou family will send her a lawyer's letter."
Ye Zhizhou was in complete disbelief and then, in the doorframe of his left neighbor's house, he spotted traces of the hidden camera.
"I have a headache," Dongfang Shu leaned against the box and reached out to tug at his trouser leg. "You need to take responsibility."
"You... get up first!"
Dongfang Shu stared straight at him, sitting firmly on the ground.
Ye Zhizhou took a deep breath, took out his keys from his bag, opened the door, and unceremoniously pulled him inside. Then, he called Lou Yi on his communicator. When the call was answered, he shouted, "Your brother came to my place and is acting crazy! Also, my neighbor has been peeking and secretly filming your brother. You deal with it yourself!" He hung up the call, entered the apartment, and slammed the door, feeling exasperated.
Ye Zhizhou's apartment wasn't large, just a simple two-bedroom and one living room setup. One of the smaller bedrooms had been converted into a study.
Dongfang Shu put down the box, turned towards Ye Zhizhou, who entered with a gloomy expression, and opened his arms with a smile. "Xiaozhou, welcome home." He had imagined Ye Zhizhou's true appearance countless times and sketched out in his mind the places where Ye Zhizhou had grown up. However, imagination was just imagination. This moment, being there in person, surpassed all the times he had longed and waited.
The anger in Ye Zhizhou's heart suddenly dissipated. He stared blankly at the gentle smile on Dongfang Shu's face and suddenly turned his head to drop his backpack directly at him. "Even so, I'm still angry, you jerk!" He had only met this stranger once, and he was clearly a ruffian. How could he smile so... shamelessly! Something must be wrong with his brain!
Dongfang Shu caught the backpack that was thrown at him and pretended not to notice the moment when Ye Zhizhou's eyes reddened. He approached and ruffled his hair, then pointed to the direction of the bathroom, taking a step inside. "I'll go prepare a bath for you. It's quite late, and you should rest as soon as possible."
Ye Zhizhou wiped his eyes randomly with his hand, turned to look at Dongfang Shu's back as he went into the bathroom, and fished a small mirror out of his pocket. "Tongtian, he's such a jerk, isn't he... Oh, why did I call you Tongtian..."
The little celestial crane hovering above his head flapped its wings cheerfully and transformed into psychic energy, merging into his psychic energy sea.