Hui Tian Ch52

Edited—

Chapter 52

Veto Power

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Bai Sheng.

He didn’t even need to look at the Evolution Identifier. Antonio recognized this terrifying S-Class at first glance.

There had always been rumors that this Bai fellow had a very ambiguous relationship with Shen Zhuo. No one knew the exact truth, but there was one thing Antonio knew very well:

He himself feared no S-Class, but no one could defy Causality.

“…We just had a small misunderstanding, but I believe it’s been cleared up now.”

Antonio took half a step back, revealing a perfectly polite smile that showed four sharp, gleaming teeth. He waved his hand to signal his men over. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bai.”

Antonio’s subordinates were clearly of far higher caliber than gangsters. They immediately poured in from outside the bar. First, they placed the dying Latino man from the pool of blood onto a stretcher, then swiftly cleared away all the gang bodyguards on the floor. They even splashed water to clean the ground and set the tables and chairs back in place.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings returned to normal, as if the bloody shootout had never happened.

“Well then, we’ll take our leave now.” Antonio casually unfastened the platinum watch from his wrist and lightly tossed it to the bar owner, who was too terrified to breathe, indicating it should serve as compensation for tonight. Then he nodded politely to Bai Sheng. “I look forward to meeting you again.”

However, before he could turn and leave, he heard Bai Sheng laugh—a lazy laugh:

“Don’t go. We just said hello and you’re leaving? That would be too impolite.”

“…” Antonio roared internally: You f***er, you still want to buy me a drink? Don’t push your luck!! Then he asked in a gentle voice, “Is there something else?”

Bai Sheng had one arm around Shen Zhuo. With a conciliatory smile, he blinked at Antonio: “Nothing, buddy. I’m buying you a drink.”

The group moved to another bar at the far end of the beach. The lighting was dimmer, the atmosphere more lively. Bai Sheng meant it when he said he was buying. He had the server take orders for all of Antonio’s men, then called for two specially mixed strong drinks. Leaning against the bar, he smiled and clinked glasses with Antonio, asking:

“We’re good?”

Antonio had suffered a big loss but could do nothing about it. He said resentfully, “We’re good.” Then he tilted his head back and downed the strong drink in one go.

Bai Sheng smiled and drank his wine, patting Antonio’s shoulder: “Have fun. Put it on my tab.” Then he set down his empty glass and turned to squeeze into the crowd.

Not far away, Shen Zhuo sat at a high table with several female Supervisors. They seemed to be discussing work matters. For some reason, the atmosphere was unusually harmonious. As Bai Sheng walked over, he heard Amatullah’s voice:

“…Why are you so interested in that Cameron from the Security Council? I know him, but Cameron should just be an alias. No one knows his real name or origins. It’s said that twenty years ago he participated in some confidential research under the Security Council, but it ended inconclusively. He changed his name and went into politics, climbing all the way to his current high position…”

At this point, she glanced at Bai Sheng and stopped: “Oh, handsome!”

Shen Zhuo turned around, and immediately a hand landed on his shoulder. Bai Sheng asked with a smile, “Why are you ignoring me, Supervisor Shen?”

The two exchanged a look. The bar’s chaotic lights fell on Bai Sheng’s profile. The corners of his mouth held a cynical smile, but his eyes were dark and deep.

Shen Zhuo smiled, pressing his palm over the back of Bai Sheng’s hand on his shoulder. He said softly in Chinese, “Not here. Come over there and I’ll have a drink with you.” Then he stood up very naturally.

The other three female Supervisors acted as if they had seen nothing, as if they completely missed the undercurrents between the two. Amatullah only tapped the table to remind: “Ten o’clock later, don’t forget.”

Shen Zhuo answered concisely: “I know. I’ll notify Antonio in a moment.”

He reached back and patted Bai Sheng on the back, like soothing a thick-furred alpha wolf.

Music thundered overhead. The dance floor was awash in lights, and the passing crowds were twisting in abandon. Shen Zhuo’s intention was to lead Bai Sheng to an unnoticed corner, but as they passed the emergency exit, Bai Sheng suddenly exerted force and yanked him out the back door, pressing him against the brick wall in one motion.

The back alley was deserted and quiet. The uneven blue bricks gleamed faintly, and from afar came the vague sound of the tide rising.

“What were you chatting about, having such a good time?” Bai Sheng trapped Shen Zhuo in the narrow space between his embrace and the brick wall, smiling as he asked.

This posture forced Shen Zhuo to tilt his head back: “The General Administration has built new high-pressure sealed vaults. They’re transferring a batch of evolutionary source meteorites, and the transport plan is very complex. Several Supervisors happen to be here, so we’re meeting at ten to discuss the escort arrangements.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Bai Sheng placed a hand on Shen Zhuo’s waist, his palm burning hot, and asked against his ear:

“What were you and that colleague laughing about before I came? Let me hear it too?”

Behind him was the hard brick wall; before him was Bai Sheng’s scorching embrace. Even their hips were forcibly pressed together.

At a distance where not even a sheet of paper could fit between them, physical changes could not be hidden, and even the pulse of blood was clearly perceptible.

“…The Latin American jurisdiction and the Asian jurisdiction have always had major conflicts of interest. Antonio has cast three veto votes against my proposals. I’ve been looking for a chance to teach him a lesson. That younger brother of his was born to his father and a mistress—there’s no affection, but it concerns his own face.”

Shen Zhuo raised his hand to press against the hollow of Bai Sheng’s solid neck, pulling him slightly closer. His deep, beautiful eyes seemed to hold water as he said softly, “Many things between Supervisors that appear on the surface actually have other reasons behind them. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

The two looked at each other from close range. After a long while, Bai Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly and finally asked what he truly wanted to know:

“When he wanted to take you away, why didn’t you call for me immediately?”

The other party was a powerful Evolutionist, but Shen Zhuo was only human. Any human in this situation should have naturally called their boyfriend over for support. The words “What exactly am I to you?” were almost about to burst out, but the S-Class’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he forcibly swallowed them back.

“I thought you weren’t here.” Shen Zhuo looked directly into Bai Sheng’s pupils. “I thought you had your own matters to attend to.”

Bai Sheng went imperceptibly quiet for a moment.

Shen Zhuo turned his head, his lips brushing the corner of Bai Sheng’s lips in a slight caress, soothingly whispering, “It’s fine now, hmm?”

“…”

Bai Sheng lowered his head to capture those cool, thin lips, and the kiss deepened, probing between his teeth. Then his hands suddenly exerted force, lifting Shen Zhuo entirely. His knee pressed between Shen Zhuo’s thighs, and one long hand could almost span half of Shen Zhuo’s waist. Using this posture, he pinned Shen Zhuo suspended against the brick wall.

He freed his other hand to grip Shen Zhuo’s jaw, his movements urgent and forceful, compelling that lofty beauty to open his teeth wider to accept the invasion.

As if he were urgently trying to prove some kind of relationship between them, or emphasize some kind of right.

Subtle friction was drowned out by breath. Saliva that had no time to be swallowed wet the corners of their lips, and when they finally parted, moonlight reflected the damp traces. Shen Zhuo panted violently, his lips wet and swollen. His entire body was off the ground, so he could only bury his face in the hollow of Bai Sheng’s neck, holding onto his shoulders to barely maintain balance.

Behind them, the bar was bustling with noise, yet they were pressed together in the silent back alley, filled with ragged breathing.

After a while, Shen Zhuo laughed hoarsely: “…Put me down, you bastard.”

The misgivings stuck in his throat were not yet resolved, but the atmosphere had at least loosened somewhat thanks to this kiss. Bai Sheng finally relented and loosened his grip. He turned his head to take Shen Zhuo’s earlobe into his mouth, then said in a low voice, “I’ll come find you tonight.”

“We’ll see about tonight. First go say hello to Amatullah and remind her to come get the transport materials from me at ten,” Shen Zhuo said lazily. “Otherwise, if it takes too long, she’ll think we’re hiding here doing something.”

Bai Sheng also smiled: “What about you?”

Shen Zhuo’s face was flushed crimson, his eyes glistening with water. He pursed his swollen lips and said succinctly: “Finding some ice.”

Bai Sheng couldn’t help laughing out loud. He lowered his head to kiss the bridge of Shen Zhuo’s nose, then withdrew and entered the bar. Shen Zhuo stood in place for a while before going back inside through the rear door to the restroom. He washed his face with cold water, wiping away the water droplets with one hand. Except for his rosy lips, he finally looked mostly normal again.

He turned and left the restroom, waved over a waiter to ask for a piece of ice, and chewed on it casually as he looked through the crowd, accurately spotting a figure preparing to leave by the bar.

Shen Zhuo raised his voice casually:

“Antonio!”

Antonio took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and turned around. Before he could organize his words to vent his full grievance, all his anger was blocked back by Shen Zhuo:

“Still sulking here?”

“That was still my f***ing brother, and the way you handled it was simply—simply—” Antonio tragically realized he seemed to have repeated this phrase many times tonight. The problem was, besides this phrase, he didn’t know what else to say.

“You cast three veto votes against me. I took one leg from your brother. Very fair.” Shen Zhuo casually propped one hand on the bar, snapped his fingers to order Antonio a drink, and raised an eyebrow: “I won’t cast a veto vote against your financial budget proposal next year. Is that enough?”

Antonio weighed this internally for three seconds and flatly rejected: “No! That’s the one born to my old man’s favorite mistress. It’ll cost extra!”

“Then have your old man’s favorite mistress make you another brother. Why get so angry?”

Antonio’s old face reddened: “What the hell are you saying? I’m a decent person, I…”

Shen Zhuo leaned in, patted his shoulder, and hooked his lips in mockery.

“We’re adults. On such a beautiful night, are you sure you want to waste it in conflict with me?”

Beside them was the reveling dance floor. The bar lights were dazzling, illuminating Shen Zhuo’s profile from below. That cold, sarcastic, stern Chief Supervisor from the council chamber now had his eyelashes slightly raised, his eyes holding a hint of a smile. Antonio could even see his own reflection in the other man’s pupils.

“…” His tongue felt a little dry, but afraid it was his imagination, his tone remained tough: “Then what do you want?”

Shen Zhuo glanced at him, smiling faintly. He didn’t speak, only took the whiskey the bartender pushed over, tilted his head back, and drank it in one go. Then he pressed a hotel room card under the empty glass and slid it across the bar to Antonio.

“!!”

In an instant, Antonio’s heartbeat skipped a beat. He stared straight at that room card, unable to utter a single word.

—Holy s***, it’s not my imagination. Is he actually interested in me?

Although this kind of thing was common at the upper levels, could such heavenly luck really fall on him? Was there some mistake?

Speaking of which, what exactly was his relationship with that Bai guy? Did he think Antonio was quite charming too? Should he accept the invitation immediately or probe a bit more?

Shen Zhuo acted as if he didn’t see Antonio’s wonderfully colorful expression. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and in the instant they brushed past each other, he tilted his head slightly. Accompanied by the rich scent of alcohol, his soft voice sounded clearly:

“Quarter past ten.”

Then he strode into the reveling crowd, the DJ music thundering.

In the distance, Amatullah cast an inquiring look from afar. Shen Zhuo calmly made an “OK” gesture, meaning he had absolutely notified everyone about the meeting.

·

They didn’t delay too long. Before nine-thirty, Shen Zhuo went to say a brief hello to the several female Supervisors. Under their teasing gazes, he left the bar with Bai Sheng.

Fortunately, he had had the foresight to book two rooms. Shen Zhuo returned to his own room, changed into a shirt, tie, and trousers, and quickly replied to a few work emails. At ten o’clock, Amatullah and the other two female Supervisors knocked and entered. They looked left and right as they came in:

“Is Mr. Bai not here?”

Shen Zhuo said skillfully and without emotion: “Evolutionary source meteorites are no different from munitions. The transport plan is a Level 1 Secret of the International Supervision General Administration. No outsiders should be present.”

“…”

Amatullah turned back and whispered behind her hand: “Now he’s an ‘outsider.'”

The other two Supervisors responded with subtle expressions that said, We know exactly what’s going on.

“Mr. Bai is in the room next door. If you want to try digging a corner from Shenhai, you can certainly try after the meeting ends.” Shen Zhuo was fully aware of what his colleagues were plotting. He stood up and handed each Supervisor several transport plan documents, saying lightly: “I sincerely wish you all the best of luck.”

Amatullah curled her lip, unconcerned. Then she suddenly remembered it was already ten past ten: “Where’s Antonio?”

“Late, I suppose.”

“He wouldn’t skip out in a huff, would he?” Amatullah wondered doubtfully.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for an instant, she felt that this Supervisor Shen seemed to have the corner of his lips slightly hooked up. But it also seemed like an illusion.

“He won’t,” Shen Zhuo said indifferently.

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, footsteps sounded in the corridor, approaching from afar. Then the visitor stopped in front of the door but didn’t knock immediately, pausing for a moment.

Amatullah: “?”

Outside the room, Antonio, who had deliberately arrived a bit early to show respect, exhaled. He silently recited three times that Eastern Mysticism was not something he could resist, finally completing his last mental preparation. Nervously, he straightened his clothes and cuffs. Then he took out the room card and tapped it.

Red light.

He tried again. Still red light.

Demagnetized?

Antonio never imagined that the card Shen Zhuo gave him was Bai Sheng’s room card from the very beginning. Excitement and nervousness had caused him to lose his usual sharpness. Subconsciously, he coughed to clear his throat and gentlemanly raised his hand to tap lightly on the door.

Knock, knock.

Inside the room, Amatullah didn’t understand what was happening and casually opened the door.

Outside, Antonio was in formal attire with a styled hairdo. In his arms was an expensive bottle of champagne. He stared blankly at a roomful of colleagues, his expression slightly dazed.

This wasn’t the most terrible part.

Everyone’s gaze fell on his hand—if he had been carrying a rocket launcher to openly murder Shen Zhuo, it might have been better. The problem was, in his hand he held a single, vividly red rose.

A deathly atmosphere enveloped the entire hotel room. After a long while, Amatullah pinched her philtrum with a sleepwalking expression.

Antonio opened and closed his mouth futilely, opened and closed it again, repeating several times without squeezing out a single word. Until Shen Zhuo coughed lightly, his tone calm and unsurprised:

“Supervisor Handbook, Global Edition, 3.26.”

“………………”

In a flash of sudden realization, Antonio already knew what he was going to say.

“When a Chief Supervisor casts a veto vote, it must be confirmed that the voter has no conflict of interest with the proposer, no personal grudge, and especially no emotional entanglement. Otherwise, their veto power shall be revoked.”

“I sincerely request all present to bear witness.” Shen Zhuo said coldly, “From now on, any veto vote cast by Chief Supervisor Antonio shall be entirely invalid against Shenhai.”

“…”

Antonio’s expression, heart, and soul all shattered into countless pieces. He glared at Shen Zhuo, wishing he were holding a rocket launcher at that moment. After a long while, he squeezed out an incredulous voice:

“All for this?!”

Shen Zhuo slightly raised one eyebrow—that was a cold, puzzled expression, meaning What else would it be?

“No, I disagree,” Antonio struggled desperately. “This doesn’t count as a personal entanglement! This doesn’t meet the sufficient exemption standard for revoking veto power!”

“Ahem,” Chief Supervisor Amatullah interrupted at the right moment, awkward but polite: “It counts. He has material evidence.”

“What material evidence?! I clearly haven’t even—”

Before Antonio could launch his soulful questioning, everyone’s gaze once again fell on that terrible red rose in his hand. The expression was self-evident.

“…”

At this moment, a click sounded as the door to the next room opened.

Antonio instantly realized something truly terrifying, but at this moment he couldn’t react at all. An arm suddenly clamped around his throat from behind—that was an unimaginably terrifying force, dragging him backwards a dozen meters, then—

Bang!

A tremendous crash shook the corridor as Antonio’s entire back slammed into the wall.

Immediately after, Bai Sheng gripped his collar with one hand and lifted his entire body into the air.

“Buddy,” Bai Sheng’s face held a smile, but his eyes were enough to make anyone feel an icy chill shoot straight to the top of their skull: “Did you want to have a private chat with me?”

For an instant, Antonio’s first reaction was humiliated fury—after all, the competitive instinct of an S-Class male ran bone-deep. But the next moment, his eyes caught the cold light flashing in Bai Sheng’s palm, and he immediately realized what it was. From head to toe, he completely sobered up.

He didn’t want to have a private chat with a wolf king whose mate had been stolen. He only wanted to politely and smoothly leave as quickly as possible.

“…Sorry. Although I’m not entirely innocent, I truly didn’t know you were his boyfriend.”

Antonio presented the rose and wine with both hands and said with difficulty under the crushing force on his throat: “A gift for you. No need to thank me. Wishing you and your boyfriend a wonderful night.”

·

Meanwhile, in the hotel room, Amatullah slowly turned to look at Shen Zhuo, her expression somewhat complicated:

“…You know that if he hadn’t brought that rose, or if he had brought any other flower, he could have argued it was normal social interaction and it wouldn’t have met the sufficient exemption standard for revoking veto power, right?”

Shen Zhuo spread his hands in a gesture of courtesy, indicating that of course he knew.

“Then why did you still…”

“Just a small gamble for fun.” Shen Zhuo was unruffled. “It’s not like I lost anything.”

Amatullah was speechless for a moment, then gave him a thumbs up.

Footsteps sounded in the hotel corridor. Bai Sheng had dismissed Antonio and returned to the room doorway.

His emotional self-control was truly terrifyingly mature. In such a short time, he had completely calmed down. From the surface, one could hardly see any emotion at all. He turned to the several female Supervisors and made a politely inquiring expression:

“Would you ladies mind…?”

Amatullah didn’t want to stay in a room with an enraged fellow of her kind. She decisively stood up: “We’ll take our leave. See you tomorrow.”

The three Supervisors filed out of the room. Before closing the door, Amatullah turned back and mouthed something to Shen Zhuo, meaning: Please keep your voices down tonight, whether you’re arguing off the bed or settling accounts on it.

The door clicked shut. The large room was left with only the two of them.

Bai Sheng placed the bottle of wine and the flower on the console table at the room’s entrance, his force control very steady. Then he turned to Shen Zhuo:

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Bai Sheng was usually always smiling, with a frivolous, teasing, or contented demeanor. When provoked, his terrifying deterrent was also very obvious—he would transmit the threat very directly and very clearly to the other party.

He rarely looked like this: not a trace of expression, like deep water with no visible bottom.

Shen Zhuo had both hands in his suit pants pockets, his lower back leaning against the edge of the desk. He had already changed into a crisp shirt and trousers, looking no different from the composed Chief Supervisor of the daytime. He pondered and studied Bai Sheng for a moment, not rashly saying something like “I thought you could tell what just happened” or “Wasn’t that obvious?” Instead, he asked in return:

“Have you always had some doubts you wanted to ask me?”

Although it was a question, his tone was flat and declarative. Bai Sheng stared at him: “Yes.”

“…”

The two faced each other, one high and one low. It was as if even the fine dust floating under the light had gone still. After a long while, Bai Sheng said in a low voice, word by word:

“At tomorrow’s award ceremony, if you’re going to publicly introduce me—what exactly are we right now?”

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