CHAPTER 33: Revealed by moonlight

"What?!" I uttered, completely unable to believe him.

What was this bastard even talking about? Did the lack of oxygen to his brain from when I choked him earlier mess with his mind?

The corner of his lips tugged upward. "Yeah, so I can make full use of your services. I'm paying you a pretty high salary, after all," he said, giving a light shrug.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You bastard! Do you feel like what I did to you earlier wasn't enough? Do you want me to use a rope around your neck next time?" I threatened him.

"Neo, why are you so against living with me? Remember, you are my personal assistant and I am the one paying your debts, so you should follow whatever I tell you to do," he said in a serious tone, completely devoid of any sarcasm, as if he genuinely expected me to obey him.

My eyebrow arched at his statement. "Hey, I’m just your personal assistant, not your property, get it? Ha?!" I snapped back at him.

"Hey, stop it, you two. This might turn into another fight," Stephen suddenly cut in between us, sounding like a parent scolding his children.

"Besides, Yuan, why would you even want Neo to live in your condo? Aren't you scared he might actually end up killing you for real?" Jeno asked, full of confusion.

"Yeah, bro, you're suffering from insomnia. It might be even harder for you to sleep thinking about whether you'll wake up alive the next day," Alejandro added.

The corner of Yuan's lips simply tugged upward as he shot me a provocative look. "Don't worry, guys. If I happen to die, you already know who to put behind bars."

I threw a fierce glare at Yuan. "Do you really think I'd leave any evidence behind? You're mistaken. Once you're six feet under, no one will ever find out what I did to you," I delivered a long tirade through gritted teeth.

He simply crossed his arms at my words, and we locked eyes in a tense stare-down.

"Why do you even want Neo to live in your condo unit anyway, Yuan?" Alejandro asked out of nowhere.

Yuan merely scoffed. "Well, aside from wanting to make full use of his services, I just can't stand the thought of my personal assistant living in some pathetic apartment," he explained.

My brow furrowed at what he said. " What did you say? What do you know about my apartment?" I said, fuming with anger.

"I found out where you live—in an apartment that looks like it's one step away from collapsing due to how old it is," I saw the teasing glint in his eyes. "It's surrounded by dilapidated houses, practically stacked right on top of each other.

The alleyway is narrow, and there are clothes hanging everywhere outside. It's practically a slum area," he said, obviously criticizing the place I lived in.

"Woah! Just hearing you describe it makes me not want to go there," Marcus chimed in. "You really should move out of there, Neo."

I merely rolled my eyes at Marcus’s suggestion and turned my glare back to Yuan.

"How did you find out where I live?" I asked, still glaring daggers at him.

He gave a casual shrug. "Well, I tried to find out where you live, just in case of an emergency. Naturally, as my employee, I should know where you reside. So, I followed you home, but once I reached the alley, I didn’t go all the way to your apartment because the surroundings were extremely cramped and smelled awful. I just looked it up on G****e Maps instead," he explained at length, the disgust evident on his face as he talked about my place.

"Eww, it's a miracle you didn't get dizzy there."

"I almost did."

My brow arched. "Are you telling me you stalked me?"I snapped in frustration.

"Yeah? Why, is that forbidden? Like I said, you're my employee, so I should know everything about you, including where you live."

"Hey, I'm just your assistant, and you have no right to stalk me, you bastard."

"Chill. If I hadn't followed you, I would have never known you were living in a slum," he said.

"So move out of there already."

I gritted my teeth at his words. What right did he have to care about where I lived? What was the problem with my apartment anyway?

"You're not the one living in my apartment, so why do you care where I stay?"

Yuan shook his head at me, looking disappointed by my answer. "The problem with you, Neo, is that you feel like I'm meddling whenever I say anything," he said suddenly in a blunt voice. "But that's not my intention. I'm just concerned about you."

"Concerned? What does that have to do with moving me into your condo?" I asked, my brow knit in confusion.

"I don't feel like you're safe in that place. There are way too many loiterers around, something might happen to you. Plus, the houses are packed closely together. What if a fire breaks out there? Every house would get dragged down with it," he explained thoroughly.

The corner of my lips curved into a smirk. "You're just overly paranoid. So what if a fire breaks out there? I don't give a damn."

"Neo, you're my assistant, and as my assistant, I want you to serve me for as long as you live. That's why I want you to live a long life, because I want you serving me even when I get old."

I shot him a lethal look and was about to lunge at him again when Stephen and Marcus suddenly held me back.

"Hey, that's enough! Calm down, both of you, okay?" Stephen scolded.

I thrashed against their grip, but they wouldn't let go, so I just glared fiercely at Yuan. "In your dreams that I'll ever do that!" I shouted at him

The corner of Yuan's lips simply curled up. "Of course you will. Remember... the money?" he said while raising one of his eyebrows.

I struggled to break free from the two sets of hands holding me back, and the moment they released their grip, I didn't move forward to punch Yuan again. Instead, I turned around and headed straight for the exit door. I didn't stop myself from attacking him because I accepted what he said, but because I was afraid of myself—afraid that I might lose control again like I did earlier.

So while I still had a thread of patience left, I chose to just leave the room. But before I could step out, I heard Yuan speak up.

"Don't be stubborn, Neo. Move into my condo tomorrow."

I froze at his words, then turned back around just enough to raise my middle finger high at him. "Fuck you!" I barked before completely exiting the private room.

What did he think of me ? That just because I didn't have my wealth anymore, he could meddle in my life however he pleased? Ha! Keep dreaming.

With quick, heavy footsteps, I headed toward my motorcycle parked in the club's parking lot, started the engine immediately, and decided to ride straight back to my apartment.

On the way, I couldn't help but reflect. It was true that the location of my apartment wasn't great. The houses were crammed together, it was noisy from the constant traffic, full of loiterers who did nothing but gossip, and the apartment itself wasn't much to look at either—no living room, no kitchen, just a small bedroom on the second floor. That was why I couldn't stop feeling irritated by what Yuan had said to me earlier, talking as if I were living in a literal garbage dump when he told me to move out.

He was literally a jerk.

After a few minutes, I arrived at my apartment and parked my motorcycle not far from the building. Even now, the rage I felt hadn't subsided at all; if anything, it seemed to be getting worse. Because of that, I decided to light another cigarette and pop it into my mouth.

While shaking my head, I walked toward my apartment.

When I reached the front of the building, I came to a sudden halt. I caught sight of a silhouette of a person standing there. The surroundings were pitch black, with only the moonlight serving as illumination, making it impossible to clearly identify who was standing in front of my apartment. All I could make out were his sneakers and pants, while his face remained shrouded in darkness.

I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth. "Who's that?" I asked in a firm voice.

Suddenly, the figure took slow steps toward me. I remained calm because I wasn’t scared of whoever this was. I could defend myself; if anyone should be afraid, it wasn’t me, but this person.

As the person standing in front of my apartment stepped forward, the light hit his face, allowing me to get a clear look at him. Before me stood a tall man wearing a black cap, a dark t-shirt, and baggy jeans. When he took off his cap, his slightly wavy, dark brown hair tumbled down to his neck. He looked at me with the corner of his lips tilted up, and his greyish eyes seemed to gleam as they caught the moonlight.

When I recognized the man standing before me, I couldn't stop my lips from parting in shock.

"Helios?"