《Villain: I Quit Being A Good Guy After Reincarnation》 Chapter 1 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Tianming¡­¡± The young girl¡¯s tender pale hands gripped the hem of her dress, and her lovely petite face was filled with panic and nervousness. Fragments of blue and white porcelain lay quietly on the ground. At this moment, the ostentatious study room was extremely quiet. It was as if one could hear the girl¡¯s careful breathing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ I was just a little curious¡­¡± The girl lowered her head, not daring to look at Chen Tianming. ¡°The God-level Villain System has been successfully activated and bound to host Chen Tianming.¡± ¡°The young lady, Jiang Lianlian, has broken a blue and white porcelain vase worth several million yuan. Host, please make your choice.¡± ¡°Option 1: Forgive her magnanimously and bear the consequences yourself. You will lose millions of yuan and gain Jiang Lianlian¡¯s favorable impression +1.¡± ¡°Option 2: Insist on direct compensation. You will receive several million yuan and lose Jiang Lianlian¡¯s favorability -100.¡± ¡°Option 3: ¡®Naughty little piggy, you don¡¯t want others to know about this, right?¡¯ Reward: Jiang Bei Company¡¯s trade secrets.¡± ¡­ A second ago, Chen Tianming was forced onto a rooftop by debt collectors, and he fell off the roof when he lost his footing. The next second, Chen Tianming realized that he was reborn. He was back when he was still a super-rich second-generation heir. He¡¯d invited his good friend Jiang Bei to his house as a guest, but Jiang Bei¡¯s sister, Jiang Lianlian, accidentally broke a million-yuan porcelain vase. Looking at the delicate girl before him, Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t help but sneer in his heart. If he hadn¡¯t experienced a past life of being homeless, he would smile warmly and tell her, ¡°It¡¯s okay. How can I ask Lianlian to pay for this little bit of money?¡± Unfortunately, Jiang Bei had kicked him when he was down in his previous life, and Chen Tianming remembered every second of it. After his family was framed and went bankrupt, all his so-called friends changed their tune. His family and Jiang Bei¡¯s were old friends, and he had even dated Jiang Lianlian for a while. In the end, when he came to borrow money, Jiang Bei asked him to finish the food in the dog bowl at the door before he would lend it to him. Angered, Chen Tianming flung his hands and turned to leave when Jiang Bei ordered his men to hold him down and forced him to eat the dog food. Jiang Bei laughed out loud as he watched. He even recorded it and posted the video to the upper-class social circle. After the shaming act, Jiang Bei stingily threw 2000 yuan at him! And let¡¯s not forget Jiang Lianlian. When they were dating, Chen Tianming would grant all her requests. He still gave her a breakup fee even after she cheated on him with various other men. He didn¡¯t expect Jiang Lianlian to use his identity card to borrow money from loan sharks, making things worse for him. Chen Tianming would never forget their humiliation! Since the heavens had given him a second chance, morality was a thing of the past to Chen Tianming. ¡®What good is morality? Who does she think she is to use emotional blackmail on me?¡¯ he sneered. This time, he would pay them back for everything he suffered! ¡°Of course, I choose the third option!¡± Chen Tianming said without hesitation. Of what use were Jiang Lianlian¡¯s favorable impression points? It would only increase by 1 point if he spent millions on her, but if he made her lose money, her favorability would drop by 100 points. Besides, Chen Tianming had yet to settle the score with this woman for cuckolding him. Moreover, with his current wealth and status, even a hundred Jiang Lianlian wouldn¡¯t be worthy of him. A million yuan was dispensable to Chen Tianming now. He didn¡¯t care about this bit of money at all. However, the third option¡­ Jiang Bei Company¡¯s trade secrets? Chen Tianming may have been ignorant and incompetent in his previous life, but because he hung around with a lot of riffraff, he knew about some scandals concerning the Jiang Bei Company. However, without conclusive evidence, his knowledge was useless. Now a great opportunity lies before him, so why not? Jiang Lianlian was still looking at Chen Tianming miserably. The corners of Chen Tianming¡¯s mouth curled up. He knew Jiang Lianlian well; this was just her usual act. Utilizing her beauty, she pretended to be a white lotus. Tsk tsk, her name matched her quite well. Just as Chen Tianming was about to speak, he was interrupted by a male voice. ¡°Chen Tianming, why are you making things difficult for a girl like Lianlian? She already apologized. Why are you being so aggressive? Your family¡¯s rich enough anyways.¡± Chen Tianming turned around and realized an unruly youth was standing behind him. Chen Tianming licked his lips and couldn¡¯t help but laugh. The youth was another old acquaintance. Duan Fei was Jiang Lianlian¡¯s future husband and Jiang Bei¡¯s future brother-in-law. When the two married, Chen Tianming gave them a betrothal gift of 520,000 yuan, but Duan Fei and Jiang Lianlian used his ID card to borrow cash from loan sharks and ran off with the money! ¡®Trying to guilt-trip me?¡¯ Chen Tianming sneered. ¡®Emotional blackmail is useless when one doesn¡¯t care for morals!¡¯ Chen Tianming laughed coldly, ¡°What do you mean, aggressive? I haven¡¯t said anything yet. You were the one implying Lianlian should compensate me.¡± ¡®Stepping on me to save the damsel in distress? Why don¡¯t you take a look at your status?¡¯ Duan Fei couldn¡¯t refute Chen Tianming¡¯s comeback because Chen Tianming hadn¡¯t said anything yet. It was Duan Fei himself who was too anxious to make a good impression. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you meant? Stop pretending; all you rich people have the same attitude!¡± Although he was being unreasonable, Duan Fei still deliberately placed Chen Tianming on a pedestal; so long as Chen Tianming wanted to maintain his good image, he definitely won¡¯t have Jiang Lianlian pay him. If they took the opportunity to praise his generosity, they could pretend that the whole thing never happened. Chen Tianming¡¯s lips curled up. Did they still think he was the same foolish sucker back then? Since Duan Fei went through so much trouble, it would be impolite not to make a move. Chen Tianming expressed deep sorrow, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lianlian to reimburse me in the first place, but thanks to you, Duan Fei, I now know how you see me in your heart.¡± Just when Duan Fei thought he was going to say, ¡°Forget about the compensation,¡± Chen Tianming changed course and said with a smile, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case; Lianlian, the original price of this vase is 3.6 million yuan. As our families are close friends, you only have to pay me 3 million.¡± ¡°Initially, I didn¡¯t want you to repay me, but I couldn¡¯t disappoint Duan Fei¡¯s expectations.¡± Chen Tianming crossed his arms and smiled at them. Chapter 2 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Three million?!¡± Jiang Lianlian exclaimed with wide eyes. Three million yuan was a significant amount. Even though the Jiang family was wealthy, three million wasn¡¯t something she could just ask for! Jiang Lianlian glared at Duan Fei. Tianming would never have asked her to compensate him if he hadn¡¯t opened his big mouth! Duan Fei lowered his head and didn¡¯t dare to speak. After all, the Chen family wasn¡¯t a nouveau riche that emerged overnight like his family. It wasn¡¯t unfeasible for the Chen family to casually place a vase worth three million yuan in the study. However, he didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to be so unpredictable! How dare he trouble Lianlian over such a small amount of money! At the thought, Duan Fei began to feel indignant again. ¡°Chen Tianming, you crossed the line. You don¡¯t lack this money, so why make things difficult for Lianlian?¡± ¡®He still hasn¡¯t given up on playing the knight to save the damsel in distress,¡¯ Tianming Chen glanced at him and smirked. ¡®You should take a piss and have a good look at yourself.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s fine if Lianlian doesn¡¯t want to pay,¡± Chen Tianming shrugged his shoulders, acting nonchalant. ¡°Duan Fei, since you think it¡¯s a small sum, you can foot the bill for Lianlian.¡± Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes lit up with hope again. She looked at Duan Fei with gleaming eyes. Duan Fei was caught off guard by Chen Tianming. Three million! How could he afford three million? Duan Fei avoided Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes. He stammered and couldn¡¯t say a word. It was immediately clear to Jiang Lianlian that Duan Fei was just paying lip service. It was understandable; Duan Fei¡¯s family wealth wasn¡¯t even comparable to the Jiang family. He was merely the son of a nouveau riche. A trace of disgust and contempt flashed in Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes, ¡®He¡¯s such a pauper. Tianming wouldn¡¯t have asked me to pay up if it weren¡¯t for him!¡¯ However, Jiang Lianlian knew she couldn¡¯t show her disdain, so she forced a smile, ¡°Duan Fei, thank you, but this matter is between Tianming and me. Please give us some space to deal with it.¡± Since Jiang Lianlian had directly requested it, Duan Fei did not have the gall to stay. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t shell out 3 million yuan. However, he still tried to salvage his image. He glared at Chen Tianming and warned, ¡°If you dare to touch Lianlian, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Tianming Chen¡¯s mouth twitched. He didn¡¯t understand how he became friends with someone like Duan Fei. Seeing Duan Fei leave, Jiang Lianlian quickly approached Chen Tianming and looked up piteously. ¡°Tianming, don¡¯t tell me you want Lianlian to pay for the vase.¡± As she spoke, Jiang Lianlian grabbed Chen Tianming¡¯s shirt and gently tugged at it a few times. Jiang Lianlian was indeed good-looking, the archetype of the girl next door. Chen Tianming suddenly had some lustful thoughts. ¡°Lianlian,¡± Chen Tianming feigned a troubled look. ¡°Three million is quite a sum¡­¡± As he spoke, Chen Tianming glanced at Jiang Lianlian¡¯s blossoming bosom. She was already an adult, so how could Jiang Lianlian not understand his implications? Her face instantly turned red, and she covered her chest in embarrassment. ¡°Tianming¡­¡± Chen Tianming slowly retracted his gaze and said expressively, ¡°Lianlian sure has grown¡­¡± Jiang Lianlian could hear the double meaning in his words. She didn¡¯t expect the usually honest and gentle Chen Tianming to say something like that. She looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief and exclaimed, ¡°Tianming!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chen Tianming looked at Jiang Lianlian with a smile. He didn¡¯t seem to care about the tears welling in her eyes. As a villain, it was fine as long as he was happy. After all, being a gentleman in his previous life didn¡¯t stop him from being cuckolded. Jiang Lianlian was speechless. Eyes slightly red, she took a few steps back. Chen Tianming looked at her with amusement and said slowly, ¡°Lianlian, do you know what I want?¡± Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes reddened as she sobbed, ¡°You pervert! I will tell my brother!¡± ¡®Hey, hey, hey, how old are you? You¡¯re still resorting to tattling to your family?¡¯ However, when Jiang Bei was mentioned, Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes darkened. The corners of his mouth curled up. He was looking forward to seeing his good buddy from his previous life again! Chen Tianming shrugged his shoulders and appeared troubled as he said, ¡°Lianlian, if you want Jiang Bei to repay your debt, I won¡¯t force you to do anything.¡± Just as Chen Tianming finished speaking, Jiang Lianlian covered his mouth with her tender, soft hand. This also shortened the distance between them. Chen Tianming pulled Jiang Lianlian into his embrace and caressed her waist with one hand. He coaxed in a low voice, ¡°Lianlian, let me kiss you as compensation. What do you think?¡± Jiang Lianlian blushed. Even though she had countless admirers, she never had intimate contact with men. She wanted to back away, but she was restrained by the hand on her waist. Jiang Lianlian could neither retreat nor advance. If she called for help, Chen Tianming would make her pay three million yuan. If she didn¡¯t call for help, would she really have to kiss him? She would be giving away her first kiss! Jiang Lianlian¡¯s heart was beating fast. The strong sense of shame and anger she felt made her ignore some of her instinctive impulses. ¡°I¡¯m not kissing you on the lips!¡± Jiang Lianlian finally managed to eke out after some time and effort. Tianming Chen raised his eyebrows. ¡°So you¡¯re fine with a kiss on the face?¡± Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes darted a little erratically. Chen Tianming had dated her in his previous life, so he knew that her current expression meant that he had a chance, but he needed to ease her into the idea. ¡°If Lianlian is afraid that I will do something else, Lianlian can initiate the kiss.¡± Tianming Chen pretended to back down and even looked a little depressed. ¡°I truly like Lianlian. Three million yuan in exchange for Lianlian¡¯s kiss is not a loss.¡± Jiang Lianlian wasn¡¯t prepared for Chen Tianming¡¯s sudden words of love. Three million for her kiss? Did such a romance plot just happen to her? Jiang Lianlian suddenly became a little shy. ¡°Alright then,¡± she said playfully. Chen Tianming looked at her coy expression and wanted to laugh. PUA was indeed a well-tried and tested method. Jiang Lianlian looked at Chen Tianming bashfully and steeled her heart. ¡®It¡¯s just a kiss on the cheek. That¡¯s nothing!¡¯ Thus, Jiang Lianlian closed her eyes and leaned closer to Chen Tianming. Jiang Lianlian only opened her eyes in a daze when she felt a soft touch on her lips, followed by something slippery plunging straight in and entangling with her small tongue, chasing each other back and forth. Chen Tianming watched as the girl¡¯s enjoyment turned into shock. His eyes curved into a smile as he grabbed Jiang Lianlian¡¯s waist and deepened the kiss. Jiang Lianlian struggled with all her might, but she was forced to endure it because of the disparity in strength between a man and a woman. She could only try her best to match Chen Tianming¡¯s rhythm. However, she was gradually immersed as he ravaged her mouth¡­ Chapter 3 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming unhurriedly observed Jiang Lianlian¡¯s facial expression. Seeing her absorbed in their interaction, Chen Tianming suddenly broke off the kiss and stepped back. He crossed his arms and looked at Jiang Lianlian. He even took a tissue to wipe the lipstick stain on his lips. Jiang Lianlian didn¡¯t expect him to release her suddenly, so she fell limply to the ground. Her legs had gone weak from the kiss. Chen Tianming had no intention of helping her up. Instead, he stood quietly and watched Jiang Lianlian kneel on the ground. She looked up at him, dazed. Chen Tianming lowered his eyes and looked at her with an unreadable countenance. Jiang Lianlian slowly realized what she had just done. How could she get so engrossed in Chen Tianming¡¯s kiss? This realization made Jiang Lianlian extremely ashamed and angry. However, her legs were so weak that she couldn¡¯t stand up. Chen Tianming smiled and whistled before saying, ¡°Lianlian is quite sweet, but I have things to do. You can continue to pay your debt next time.¡± ¡°Next time?!¡± Jiang Lianlian blurted out involuntarily. Her petite face was filled with disbelief as she continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that a kiss would be considered enough compensation?¡± ¡°I only said it can be compensation; I didn¡¯t specify a number.¡± Chen Tianming grinned, ¡°Three million for Lianlian¡¯s kiss, but not for one kiss.¡± Jiang Lianlian was utterly dumbfounded. She didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to be so shameless. She was furious at being teased, but Chen Tianming revealed, ¡°I forgot to tell Lianlian that there are surveillance cameras in my study room. Lianlian should be careful she doesn¡¯t say something she¡¯ll regret.¡± Jiang Lianlian choked on her anger; how did Chen Tianming know she would tell Jiang Bei that he molested her? And why was there a surveillance camera in the study room?! Anything she said will hold little water. She was the one who took the initiative to approach him just now! Jiang Lianlian¡¯s visage changed completely. Her eyes were filled with tears as she cried, ¡°You b*stard!¡± ¡°That¡¯s music to my ears,¡± Chen Tianming smiled indifferently. ¡°I have something else to do. Lianlian, please help yourself.¡± Chen Tianming turned around and left just in time to see Jiang Bei walking up the stairs. Jiang Bei¡¯s face should be most familiar to him, but now Chen Tianming found it entirely unfamiliar. ¡°Tianming, where¡¯s Lianlian?¡± Jiang Bei smiled and came over. ¡°Duan Fei said that you two are together though he remained secretive about why. What have you two been up to?¡± Jiang Bei narrowed his eyes and looked at Chen Tianming. ¡°You don¡¯t have a crush on my sister, do you?¡± ¡®Jiang Bei, will you still be able to smile when you find out the truth?¡¯ Chen Tianming chuckled at the thought. He looked at Jiang Bei and said frankly, ¡°Lianlian is so cute. Who wouldn¡¯t like her?¡± ¡°Atta-boy!¡± Jiang Bei grinned and punched Chen Tianming. ¡°She¡¯s our family¡¯s treasure! We will be even closer if you end up together with Lianlian.¡± Chen Tianming looked at him and suddenly laughed. ¡°Is that so?¡± The treasure of the Jiang family? She was indeed their treasure. How could the Jiang family prosper without Jiang Lianlian stealing business secrets from him all those years? ¡°But Lianlian is still young; we¡¯ll discuss this later.¡± Jiang Bei whispered in Tianming¡¯s ear, ¡°I¡¯ve organized a get-together this week. The school belle, Zhou Qingyue, will also be there. What do you think I should do to win her over?¡± It seemed like an ordinary question but in reality¡­ Chen Tianming sneered. In his previous life, he was the sucker who paid for all of Jiang Bei¡¯s dating expenses, and this time was no exception. However, Chen Tianming had a good impression of Zhou Qingyue among Jiang Bei¡¯s many girlfriends. Zhou Qingyue, who had always been cold and distant, somehow got together with Jiang Bei after this party. However, her attitude was still aloof and after two months of dating, Jiang Bei got sick of her. Then, nude photos of Zhou Qingyue were leaked, and Jiang Bei broke up with her. Zhou Qingyue also dropped out of school. The last time Chen Tianming saw her, she worked as a waitress in a KTV bar. Chen Tianming had gone to borrow money, but he had been forced to drink too much by his riffraff ¡®friends¡¯ and passed out at the entrance of the KTV. Zhou Qingyue poured him a glass of warm water and sent him to the hospital. She even paid for his medical expenses. Chen Tianming still remembered her chilly and indifferent gaze, as if she cared for nothing in the world. However, she went out of her way to thank him for his help. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t remember what aid he¡¯d provided her, but Zhou Qingyue had given him some comfort in his difficult life. Looking back, it seems that Jiang Bei had much to do with Zhou Qingyue¡¯s downfall. ¡°Option 1: Pay Jiang Bei¡¯s expenses. Tell him that the night¡¯s expenses will be covered by his pal, Chen Tianming! Lose a million yuan.¡± ¡°Option 2: Participate in Jiang Bei¡¯s plan. Villainy +1 and monetary loss of two million yuan.¡± ¡°Option 3: I¡¯ll take that; she¡¯s mine now! Reward: a copy of Jiang Bei¡¯s criminal evidence.¡± Chen Tianming licked his lips. There¡¯s no doubt about it; he had to choose the third option! ¡°No problem. As your wingman, I will create an opportunity for you.¡± Chen Tianming patted Jiang Bei¡¯s shoulder and smiled meaningfully, ¡°Be sure to use it well!¡± Smiling, Jiang Bei nudged him and said mysteriously, ¡°My goal is to get with her within a week!¡± Jiang Bei then switched to a troubled look. ¡°But I don¡¯t have enough money for this month. Tianming, could you¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll book a smaller KTV.¡± Chen Tianming continued as if he hadn¡¯t heard the hint in Jiang Bei¡¯s words. ¡®He still wants to use me as an ATM? He should be thankful that I¡¯m not asking him to return the money I lent him for his past pursuits.¡¯ Of course, Jiang Bei wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. His eyes were dark, and the emotions within them were obscure, but he maintained his smiling facade. ¡°Tianming, how can you be stingy with money when picking up girls? Aren¡¯t you my best bro?¡± ¡®Oh, so now we¡¯re best bros? What happened to ¡®best bros¡¯ in my previous life?¡¯ Chen Tianming almost snickered out loud. He looked at Jiang Bei and raised his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m short of money this month too. After all, I just lost three million yuan, and I¡¯m still sad about it.¡± When she reached the stairway corner, Jiang Lianlian, who had just come out of the study, heard the conversation between Chen Tianming and Jiang Bei. She gritted her teeth and appeared behind Chen Tianming with a sweet smile. ¡°Hey bro, what are you talking about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking to get you a sister-in-law, but I¡¯ve been a little tight on money recently, so I was chatting about that with Tianming here.¡± Jiang Bei beamed, hinting at Jiang Lianlian to help him get the money from Chen Tianming. Jiang Lianlian¡¯s face froze. They had done this before; as long as Jiang Lianlian requested it, Chen Tianming would usually agree for her sake. However¡­ Jiang Lianlian bit her lips, hating herself for coming out now. Chapter 4 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Jiang Lianlian heard Chen Tianming clearly when he grumbled he had lost three million yuan, and she was worried that he would tell Jiang Bei that she was the cause. Now, Jiang Bei was asking her to act coquettishly toward Chen Tianming. The guy had just taken advantage of her; she didn¡¯t think she had the nerve to speak up. Jiang Lianlian noticed Jiang Bei was still winking at her, but when she raised her head and saw Chen Tianming¡¯s half-smile, she felt so guilty that her scalp went numb. She dared not disobey Jiang Bei, but Chen Tianming had leverage on her, and Jiang Lianlian feared offending either side! ¡°Is there something you want to say, Lianlian?¡± Chen Tianming spoke first, smiling at Jiang Lianlian. Jiang Lianlian shivered and stuttered unintelligibly before she turned to her brother and finally squeezed out, ¡°Jiang Bei, I have classes in the afternoon, so I gotta go.¡± She left like a bat out of hell before they could react. Chen Tianming laughed and ignored Jiang Bei¡¯s dark expression as he patted his shoulder. ¡°I have something later, so I¡¯m leaving too,¡± Chen Tianming said and went downstairs without any care for Jiang Bei¡¯s emotions. ¡®What¡¯s next on the agenda?¡¯ Chen Tianming narrowed his eyes and looked at the warm sunlight outside the house. Noting his intention, the butler quickly asked, ¡°Which car would you like to drive today, Young Master?¡± Chen Tianming turned around and looked at his mansion as he asked, ¡°When are my parents coming back?¡± ¡°Master and Madam went on a trip. They plan to return in a month,¡± the butler answered respectfully. ¡°Okay, sign me up for a business management training course, the best one. Also, I¡¯ll be taking the champagne-colored Maserati.¡± Everything finally felt real to Chen Tianming at this moment. Being reborn gave him the freedom and ability to control his fate and live without regrets. The Chen family¡¯s fall was due to internal and external problems. Back then, he was ignorant and incompetent and only knew how to spend money. Therefore, when his parents passed away unexpectedly, he was a mess when he took over the Chen Corporation; he couldn¡¯t turn the tide and manage the corporation at all. Even with the shallow experience from his previous life and the support of the Villain System, Chen Tianming still planned to improve himself. After all, he wanted to bring the Chen Family to a higher level. The butler quickly handed the car keys to Chen Tianming. He rubbed the markings on the keys and let out a long sigh of relief. This was the beginning of his new life. Chen Tianming got into the car. Where¡¯s he heading off to, you ask? Why, going out and experiencing the joys of life, of course! Chen Tianming was traumatized by those dark days, so he couldn¡¯t help but have a revenge-spending mentality. He drove to the biggest shopping mall in A City and started his shopping spree. When he saw anything he liked, he would swipe his card and buy it! Before he knew it, Chen Tianming had arrived at a clothing store. As soon as he entered, he saw a group of ¡®old friends¡¯ surrounding an even more familiar person. It was Duan Fei and his rabble; they had someone trapped within their circle. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying to the captive before the group burst out laughing. As mentioned, the poor captive was also Chen Tianming¡¯s old acquaintance. He was Du Qiao. In his previous life, Chen Tianming met Du Qiao for the first time when he saw Du Qiao being bullied at school. Helping him was a casual thing for Chen Tianming, and he didn¡¯t expect Du Qiao would be the only one willing to lend a hand when he was in trouble. At that time, Du Qiao was starting his own business and didn¡¯t have much money, but he gave all he had, 3,000 yuan, to Chen Tianming. Chen Tianming would remember this kindness for the rest of his life. Perhaps it was because he had changed his fate, but now he met Du Qiao ahead of time. However, the system didn¡¯t prompt him to choose like it did before. Regardless of the system reward, Chen Tianming would help him anyway. Chen Tianming smiled, ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Young Master Duan?¡± Duan Fei¡¯s family was just a nouveau riche and was viewed as an upstart by high society. Chen Tianming was mocking him by using that appellation. But Duan Fei was a one-track-minded person. He thought the title ¡®Young Master¡¯ was a sign of recognition, so he puffed out his chest. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Shopping,¡± was Chen Tianming¡¯s curt response. He looked at Du Qiao, who had his head lowered and was wearing a shop assistant¡¯s uniform. He raised his eyebrows and greeted, ¡°Du Qiao, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Chen Tianming spoke so naturally that everyone thought he knew Du Qiao. Even Du Qiao was shocked. He could tell that Chen Tianming, dressed head to toe in luxury brands, had a higher social status than Duan Fei, who sported a mix of authentic and fake brands. How could someone like Chen Tianming know him? ¡°Hello, have we met before?¡± Du Qiao asked tentatively. Chen Tianming smiled. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve met, but you might have forgotten.¡± Chen Tianming looked at Duan Fei and the others behind him and asked curiously, ¡°Why are you guys still here? Are you shopping for clothes?¡± Chen Tianming laughed at his own words and continued disdainfully, ¡°But I¡¯m afraid the clothes here aren¡¯t what Young Master Duan can afford.¡± Duan Fei¡¯s face paled and then reddened. Chen Tianming was right; a piece of clothing here was priced in the ten thousand. He was here to make trouble for Du Qiao. Duan Fei had asked Du Qiao to bring out a bunch of clothes in the guise of trying them on just now, but he didn¡¯t buy anything. The female shop assistant only looked on coldly from the side. She didn¡¯t defend her colleague Du Qiao; instead, she was brown-nosing Duan Fei. Chen Tianming took in the entire scene. Noticing Chen Tianming¡¯s expensive outfit, the female shop assistant immediately came over, almost fawning as she said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll be the one to serve you.¡± Chen Tianming smiled and shook his head, pointing at the clothes that Duan Fei and the others had touched, ¡°These, these, and these¡­¡± Under the waiter¡¯s expectant gaze, Chen Tianming slowly spat out three words, ¡°None of them.¡± The female shop assistant¡¯s face scrunched before quickly smoothing out. Just when she thought Chen Tianming was a penniless poseur, he spoke up again, ¡°Ring up the rest for me.¡± ¡®Whatever, as long as he¡¯s buying.¡¯ The female shop assistant beamed with joy. Just as she was about to pack the clothes for Chen Tianming, he suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you; I¡¯m asking Du Qiao to ring up my order.¡± In luxury stores like this, shop assistants would receive commission once they made the sale, so Du Qiao will gain quite a sum from completing Chen Tianming¡¯s order. Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t a philanthropist; he just wanted to help Du Qiao discreetly. The smile on the female shop assistant¡¯s face froze. She had already picked up a piece of clothing and tried a more forceful approach. ¡°It¡¯s okay; it¡¯s all the same anyways¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the clothes you¡¯re holding either.¡± Chen Tianming said coldly. Chapter 5 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation The shop assistant didn¡¯t expect to encounter someone like Chen Tianming, who was even more assertive than her. Coincidentally, she had taken the most expensive item to compete for sales. The store manager came over at some point during the altercation and witnessed the female shop assistant standing rooted to the ground after being caught off guard, the expensive article of clothing held in her hand. The store manager glared at her fiercely before quickly walking up to Chen Tianming, all smiles, and said, ¡°Sir, apologies for our staff¡¯s poor service standard. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Chen Tianming looked at her from head to toe and said nothing. The atmosphere filled with unease before he smiled and drawled, ¡°With how things were going, I thought the manager wasn¡¯t here.¡± His words were full of sarcasm aimed at the store manager. She didn¡¯t show up when Du Qiao was bullied, so why bother coming forward now? Everyone present was smart enough to decipher Chen Tianming¡¯s meaning. However, no one dared to challenge him. After all, Chen Tianming could get a million yuan with a wave of his hand. The store manager smiled awkwardly. ¡°I was busy just now; apologies for being remiss.¡± ¡°Then your store looks like it needs a major overhaul,¡± Chen Tianming said bluntly; he saw no need to be polite to these snobs. ¡°I thought it was just the shop assistant¡¯s quality that needed to be improved, but now it seems that she was just following the example set by her superior.¡± His words undoubtedly wiped the floor with the manager¡¯s and shop assistant¡¯s faces. As no one spoke up, Chen Tianming nodded at Du Qiao. ¡°I¡¯ll say this one last time. I want him to oversee my order; I don¡¯t want any of you to touch it.¡± The store manager looked at Du Qiao in a different light. She thought Du Qiao was just a poor kid without any background. She didn¡¯t expect him to have such a wealthy friend. Du Qiao was at a loss when he realized he had everyone¡¯s attention. He quickly adjusted his glasses and went to package Chen Tianming¡¯s order. ¡°Record this under his sales performance.¡± Chen Tianming knew some people could be disgusting and two-faced as they feigned compliance, so he decided to be straightforward. Chen Tianming headed directly to the front desk and tore a piece of paper from the ledger. He wrote down his phone number and address and handed it to Du Qiao. ¡°Deliver the order to my house and have your manager reimburse the fare.¡± Du Qiao accepted the paper with both hands and said solemnly, ¡°Thank you.¡± Chen Tianming smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m Chen Tianming, a finance student at A University. We¡¯ll meet again.¡± And with that, Chen Tianming turned to leave. When he passed by Duan Fei, he raised his eyebrows and jibed, ¡°What? Does Young Master Duan plan to buy all the clothes you tried on?¡± The eyes of the store manager and the female shop assistant lit up again at those words, and they looked at Duan Fei eagerly. Naturally, Duan Fei wouldn¡¯t buy the clothes. He was just here to make trouble for Du Qiao. He didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to know the guy and even had a good impression of him. How unlucky! But he definitely couldn¡¯t lose face in front of his underlings. He spat venomously at the ground and gritted, ¡°Who wants to buy clothes from the same store as you? Let¡¯s go!¡± Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t be bothered with the poor guy. Duan Fei¡¯s IQ was so low that Chen Tianming didn¡¯t want to make the first move. With his current resources, he could make vermin like Duan Fei suffer all the pain he suffered in his previous life without much difficulty, but Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t let him off so easily. Duan Fei fled, afraid that he would have to buy that pile of clothes if he stayed for another second. Chen Tianming waited for Duan Fei and his posse to arrive at the door before leisurely pressing the car key button. The lights of the Maserati parked near the entrance flashed, and Duan Fei¡¯s eyes almost popped out. This was a Maserati! Even if his family was wealthy, his father only bought him a motorcycle that cost a few hundred thousand yuan. It couldn¡¯t compare to this! Duan Fei turned his head to look at Chen Tianming with a face of disbelief. Chen Tianming unhurriedly spun the car key ring and let the car key twirl a few times between his fingers. Then, he slowly got in the car under everyone¡¯s gaze and drove off. The others were dumbfounded. It was obvious who was better when one compared Duan Fei¡¯s motorcycle with Chen Tianming¡¯s Maserati. Besides, Duan Fei¡¯s arrogant attitude, as if he was the world¡¯s greatest, had rubbed many in their small group the wrong way for a long time. They were willing to follow him only because Duan Fei¡¯s family was rich, and he was generous with his money. However, it never occurred to them that Duan Fei¡¯s wealth was nothing compared to Chen Tianming¡¯s; they weren¡¯t even on the same level. Moreover, a lot of the money that Duan Fei had used to treat them came from Chen Tianming! A boy from a well-to-do family took the lead in the group and said, ¡°Um, Duan Fei, I have something in the afternoon. You guys go ahead and have fun.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Duan Fei¡¯s response and left immediately. Following his lead, the others also found excuses to leave one after another. In the end, only Duan Fei was left on the spot, gnashing his teeth in anger. However, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know about this. He only knew one thing: how cool it was to flaunt and act tough! He felt pity for the young Tianming of the past who mistakenly set being a good person as his goal in life. With the wind blowing in his face, Chen Tianming felt that his life was great as he traveled 40 miles per hour. Although he helped Du Qiao today, he knew that it wasn¡¯t enough to repay Du Qiao¡¯s kindness in his previous life. He had to think of a way to help Du Qiao achieve his ambitions. After a whole day¡¯s fun, Chen Tianming was tired, so he went home. Too much had happened in one day. He lay on the bed, physically exhausted, but his mind was hyperactive. He didn¡¯t even dare close his eyes, afraid this was just a dream before he died. He feared he would wake up in the cold morgue or the bridge hole that leaked wind and rain. Unable to fall asleep, Chen Tianming took out his phone and browsed short videos. He was boredly scrolling through videos of beautiful women when a familiar face suddenly appeared before him. The girl in the video was wearing a tight-fitting dress and kept twisting her curvaceous hot body. She had dazy eyes, and her cheeks were flushed red. Her small tongue licked her lips seductively, and she showed off her generous cleavage. Chen Tianming recognized her; after all, he had been Liu Xixi¡¯s simp for three years in his previous life. He spent a lot of money on her, but it turns out Liu Xixi had used his money to hook up with countless men. She became pregnant with someone else¡¯s child and even wanted Chen Tianming to be her scapegoat, her convenient sucker daddy. Chen Tianming was a retard back then. He supported Liu Xixi for six months until she gave birth. In the end, he became a big joke in A City¡¯s upper-class social circle. Chapter 6 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t help but sneer at the recollection. Seeing that Liu Xixi¡¯s profile status showed she was live-streaming, he clicked on it without hesitation. He couldn¡¯t forget how Liu Xixi went to one of her lovers with her newborn baby and spread rumors that Chen Tianming forced her into an improper relationship with him. She even stole the Chen Corporation¡¯s tender documents, causing the company to lose a billion yuan project, and the company stock plummeted. Chen Tianming remembered all these ¡®debts¡¯ clearly. Now, the ¡®debtors¡¯ had come knocking at his door. Alright, he would let them experience what he went through in his previous life. When Chen Tianming entered Liu Xixi¡¯s live stream, a VIP golden special effect appeared. Chen Tianming had almost forgotten that he spent a lot of money on Liu Xixi to support and make her famous. Due to his expenditure, he successfully topped the leaderboard and became the most outstanding member of the platform. That achievement netted him the dubious honor of having a special effect soaring across the screen every time he entered a livestream. It looked like his plan to keep a low profile was a bust, but Tianming didn¡¯t intend to speak up in the stream. Liu Xixi dressed even more skimpily in the livestream than in her short video. She was wearing a spaghetti top and sexy shorts. It left so little to the imagination that she might as well wear her birthday suit. However, it had to be said that Liu Xixi was good-looking. She was different from Jiang Lianlian¡¯s pure and simple charm. Liu Xixi was flirty and sl*tty to the bone. She could seduce a man¡¯s soul with her eyes alone. Notified of Chen Tianming¡¯s arrival, Liu Xixi immediately said sweetly, ¡°Hello, Tianming!¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s user ID was also very down-to-earth; it was ¡®Destiny Can Be Defied,¡¯ as his name ¡®Tianming¡¯ meant Destiny. ¡°Tianming hasn¡¯t come to see Xixi for a long time,¡± Liu Xixi said with an alluring smile. She leaned closer to the camera, giving the audience an eyeful of her bust. ¡°Tianming! I want to see a Ferrari stream gift!¡± Liu Xixi pouted and cried out, her voice pitching high and low in a coy tone. In the past, Chen Tianming¡¯s phone would have started to smoke from the number of stream gifts he sent out. But today, Chen Tianming felt that she was highly pretentious and had no merits besides her pretty face. ¡°Option 1: Give Liu Xixi gifts. Lose 1,000,000 yuan and gain 0.5 favorable impression points from Liu Xixi.¡± ¡°Option 2: Ignore Liu Xixi and exit the livestream. Liu Xixi¡¯s favorability points -100.¡± ¡°Option 3: Reclaim the gifts you sent her previously. Reward: Liu Xixi¡¯s diary.¡± You had to admit; the system sure knows its stuff. Chen Tianming chose the third option without hesitation. Come on, who cared about her favorable impression points? The Chen Tianming of before may have been interested in her. However, when he thought about how Liu Xixi had slept with countless men in his past life, he lost all instinctive desires for her. With her sexual history, no one knew if she had a clean bill of health. If only he had known earlier, Liu Xixi wasn¡¯t the only beauty in the world after all. In the past, Chen Tianming would have already taken the initiative and sent a request to voice chat, but he was awfully quiet today. Liu Xixi thought that this human ATM of hers was still reloading. Liu Xixi wondered how many gifts Chen Tianming would give her this time, and she called out more energetically in her excitement. ¡°Tianming ~ Liu ¡®er wants ~ a sea of roses ~¡± ¡°Tianming ~ Liu ¡®er wants ~ a luxurious ship gift ~¡± Chen Tianming watched as Liu Xixi got more involved in her performance and opened his gift list without pause. Because he had bought so many gifts, he now had 500,000 heart gifts given to him by the livestream platform for free. Such a gift is only worth one cent to a streamer. If Chen Tianming weren¡¯t gearing up for his show of nonsense later, he wouldn¡¯t have let Liu Xixi earn even a single cent from him. Chen Tianming tapped his fingers on his phone, and a golden dragon appeared on the screen with his ID. ¡°[Destiny Can Be Defied] gifted a heart.¡± Just like that, the notification floated along the screen plainly and unadorned. Liu Xixi abruptly became silent and froze briefly, but she then feigned a fake smile. ¡°Tianming, are you joking with Xixi?¡± Chen Tianming almost laughed out loud. Liu Xixi was truly thick-skinned to be able to endure this. However, the climax has yet to come. Chen Tianming slowly typed a line of words and posted it onto the Live Comments tab. ¡°The thing is, I¡¯m a little short of money recently, Xixi.¡± Liu Xixi was an intelligent woman; she immediately assumed a caring demeanor and smiled gently. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Tianming. If Tianming needs anything, you can tell Xixi. Xixi will be happy to help where she can.¡± Everyone knows how to play a role these days; Liu Xixi was just paying lip service and acting as per her public persona. She wasn¡¯t the charitable type. As expected, her fans in the livestream began to praise Liu Xixi for her beauty and kindness. This was precisely what Chen Tianming planned. He set up the scene just now, knowing that Liu Xixi would use any means possible to enforce her perfect image. Things went as Chen Tianming intended; it wouldn¡¯t be long before Liu Xixi would be dragged down by her very own facade. Chen Tianming laughed mockingly. He unhurriedly typed out his response and sent it without hesitation. ¡°Then, can Xixi return the gifts I sent you previously?¡± Liu Xixi stiffened; she nearly lost control of her facial expression before remembering she was still live-streaming. ¡®What the hell? It won¡¯t be easy to return Chen Tianming¡¯s gifts; that¡¯s a lot of money. Besides, part of it went to the platform as dividends, so I didn¡¯t receive the entire figure. Even if I had the full sum, I wouldn¡¯t return it.¡¯ Liu Xixi¡¯s live stream was quite popular, and the viewers in the Live Comments were in an uproar. ¡°No way! What kind of person asks for their gifts back?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Xixi also has to split her earnings with the platform, so how can you ask that of her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not cool, bro. If you don¡¯t have the money, don¡¯t pretend to be rich and spend so generously in the first place.¡± ¡°Hey hey hey, you say you want your gifts back? Man, your manipulations turn me off!¡± ¡­ Tianming only spared a glance at the comments. ¡®That¡¯s right; I am a scheming pauper. So what will you do now?¡¯ Chen Tianming carefully observed Liu Xix as he again commented, ¡°Xixi, you don¡¯t have to pay me back the original sum. Just return the amount you got after the platform had its cut.¡± Liu Xixi still maintained her fake smile. She looked at her phone as if she was thinking for a short while. Then, she typed something on it and beamed. ¡°Okay, but Tianming might have to give me time to gather the money. But it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m thrilled to be able to help Tianming.¡± ¡°Tianming, I¡¯ll contact you after I finish my live stream! Let¡¯s not waste everyone¡¯s time now,¡± Liu Xixi said with a sweet smile, acting as if she was indeed going to return his money. Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows. Something¡¯s not right. This was definitely not Liu Xixi¡¯s style! And sure enough, the administrator kicked Chen Tianming out of the livestream. Chapter 7 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows and almost laughed out loud. Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t worried when he was kicked out of the live stream. He had the whole conversation recorded. He turned off the screen recording and went back to Liu Xixi¡¯s live stream using another account. The viewers there were still cursing Chen Tianming with righteous indignation. Liu Xixi gave a pitiful and strained smile. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t be mad at Tianming. We¡¯re all students here; I¡¯m sure you guys are understanding. And Tianming has always taken care of me in real life; we¡¯re friends. It¡¯s normal for friends to help each other.¡± ¡°Tianming must be short of money. He¡¯s a finance student; they usually try their hands at investing on the side; it¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°Xixi is fine with it, but Xixi has signed an agreement with the company, so Xixi doesn¡¯t have so much money on hand; if my fans here are able to, please support Xixi! I love you all!¡± If Chen Tianming hadn¡¯t returned on another account, he would never have known how manipulative Liu Xixi was. She readily agreed to his face but immediately acted pitiful and stabbed him when he turned his back. Although she seemed to be speaking up for Chen Tianming, she also revealed a lot of his private information: he studied finance at her school, A University. The only thing she left out was his name. He had to admit; she was good at mind games. However, Chen Tianming shook his head; he hoped she wouldn¡¯t regret her actions in the future. Chen Tianming has classes tomorrow. He looked at the time, put down his phone, and slept. Liu Xixi finally got off her live stream in the wee hours of the morning. She rubbed her sore neck and sent a message to Chen Tianming on WeChat. ¡°Why are you suddenly asking me to pay back the money, Tianming?¡± ¡°Xixi doesn¡¯t have that much money right now.¡± Liu Xixi waited for Chen Tianming¡¯s reply, but there was no news from him. ¡®Is he serious about the money, or is this a test?¡¯ Liu Xixi knew that Tianming¡¯s family was wealthy. He had been pursuing her for half a year, but she had also strung along a few CEOs. She didn¡¯t think much of Chen Tianming, who could only ask for money from his family. Therefore, she was only interested in his money. Liu Xixi knew that a serious relationship with Tianming would get her nowhere; the waters of an influential family like the Chen family were too deep for a girl like her. But¡­ maybe Chen Tianming loved her so much that he was willing to fight his family for her. Perhaps he was testing her feelings for him? Liu Xixi became excited at the thought and quickly sent another message to him. ¡°Tianming, Xixi is not a materialistic woman. If you¡¯re in trouble, Xixi will help you! Why don¡¯t we meet at noon tomorrow?¡± Liu Xixi waited for his response for a long time before she couldn¡¯t stay awake anymore and went to bed. Tianming only saw her messages the following day. Chen Tianming was annoyed by the string of inconsistent messages. ¡°That Liu Xixi acts like a f*cking bootlicker.¡± ¡°A meeting? I guess that¡¯s fine.¡± Chen Tianming also wanted to meet this old acquaintance, and he had nothing else to do. He simply replied, ¡°Okay.¡± Meanwhile, Liu Xixi was thrilled. Even though she didn¡¯t have classes that morning, she got up early to pick out her clothes and put on her makeup. ¡°Which outfit will he like? If this is a test, I¡¯d better wear something demure.¡± Liu Xixi was certain Chen Tianming was testing her, so she picked a white dress from her closet and tried it out. She considered her image in the mirror and shook her head in dissatisfaction. This did not suit her at all. She wasn¡¯t that ghost in white, Zhou Qingyue, and white wasn¡¯t her color. After much thought, Liu Xixi finally took out her winning blue outfit; it made her look provocative and pure. Liu Xixi was finally satisfied after going through her get-up with a fine-tooth comb. She smiled confidently; she would have Chen Tianming under her thumb after today! Chen Tianming, on the other hand, simply put on a white t-shirt and black shorts. He didn¡¯t even bother to run a comb through his messy hair. It was early morning, and he was only going to class. What was there to dress up for? Tianming headed straight to the classroom in slippers. As soon as he arrived, the students started whispering to each other; some even took photos of him. Chen Tianming narrowed his eyes, feeling a little displeased. A guy with a creepy smile got so close to Chen Tianming that his phone almost touched his face. Chen Tianming looked at him coldly and took the offending phone. He smashed its screen on the corner of a table. The screen shattered into pieces and leaked fluid Chen Tianming threw the broken phone before the man and said unpleasantly, ¡°Haven¡¯t you learned to respect your betters?¡± When the guy realized what happened, he was so angry he flushed red. He wanted nothing more than to punch Chen Tianming, but Chen Tianming just crossed his arms and looked at him; he didn¡¯t seem nervous at all. Chen Tianming then made a phone call and ordered, ¡°Zhang Ming, deliver a new phone to me in ten minutes.¡± He ended the call and scanned the classroom. Many had already put away their phones, though quite a few people were still recording. Chen Tianming looked at them and sneered, ¡°Those who took photos and shot videos, I advise you to delete them. If anyone in this classroom leaked videos or photos of me today, everyone here will receive a court summons.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, it¡¯s your call. My family has plenty of money to file the lawsuits.¡± Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t exaggerating; he hated these people. If he didn¡¯t put his foot down today, they would think he was weak and easy to bully. Most students lowered their heads and fiddled with their phones, deleting said data. The Chen family was very wealthy; they funded the building of a teaching block, a swimming pool, and a dormitory just because this young master complained that there was no air conditioning in the classroom, the dormitory environment was subpar, and he lacked a pool to swim in. Chen Tianming had made his threat clear, and seeing the broken phone, no one dared to continue taking photos. They didn¡¯t want to risk their futures just for some gossip material. The owner of the now-defunct phone suddenly fiercely growled, ¡°Pfft! Stop faking it! Why are you still pretending to be rich? Didn¡¯t you corner a streamer on their live stream and asked them to return your gifts?¡± Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows. So that¡¯s how it is. He had forgotten that Liu Xixi had revealed a lot of his personal information yesterday, and now her fans had managed to hunt him down in real life. Chen Tianming approached the guy and looked down at him with a contemptuous smile as he said, ¡°Am I pretending?¡± ¡°At least I have the money to do so. And you? Trash.¡± Chapter 8 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming¡¯s words successfully angered the boy. He was so angry he was about to attack Chen Tianming, but his classmates held him back. He instead cursed at Chen Tianming angrily, ¡°All you have is money. Scumbags like you are cancer to society!¡± Chen Tianming laughed derisively and looked at him with pity. ¡°Look around, and you¡¯ll see the difference between you and me.¡± ¡°Your friends stopped you from hitting me because they know my family is rich and powerful. I¡¯m not someone you guys should offend.¡± ¡°As for me, I didn¡¯t worry about any consequences at all when I smashed your phone.¡± ¡°What else can you do other than criticize me from the moral high ground? However, mere words are most useless against me.¡± Chen Tianming sneered, ¡°Why are you so eager to be someone¡¯s tool?¡± Everyone was silent. No one spoke. He¡¯s right. Why would they risk offending Chen Tianming to help a woman they didn¡¯t know? They had unwittingly participated in cyberbullying¡­ At this moment, a boy carrying a helmet entered the room. He locked onto Chen Tianming¡¯s position in the crowd and ran over. ¡°You¡¯re a real slave driver, waking me up at this time.¡± Zhang Ming ruffled his hair, which was as messy as Tianming¡¯s, and grumbled as he handed over his delivery, ¡°My Kawasaki is smoking from how fast I had to go!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay for your motorcycle modifications next week,¡± Chen Tianming accepted the new phone from Zhang Ming and said with a smile. Zhang Ming immediately smiled, ¡°Young Master knows best!¡± Chen Tianming smiled, ¡°You can head back now, take care!¡± Zhang Ming looked at Tianming as if he had seen a ghost. Tianming actually told him to be careful? Did the sun rise from the west today? Chen Tianming looked at Zhang Ming¡¯s back as he left and recalled his previous life. If Du Qiao was the one who gave him help in his time of need, then Zhang Ming was his stalwart best friend. However, Zhang Ming¡¯s family had long planned to send him overseas to study, so it wouldn¡¯t be long before Zhang Ming went abroad. The second year after Zhang Ming left, news came from abroad that he had died in a car accident due to drunk driving. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t believe it. Zhang Ming was allergic to alcohol and was a teetotaler. How could he have been driving under influence? However, he couldn¡¯t refute the results of the forensic examination. It wasn¡¯t something that a rich playboy like Chen Tianming could intervene in. However, soon after, he received a timed email from Zhang Ming¡­ Zhang Ming¡¯s death wasn¡¯t an accident! Chen Tianming clenched his fists, and his eyes darkened. This time, he would protect those close to him! However, he had to deal with the problem at hand first. Chen Tianming placed the new phone, the latest Fruit X, on the table before the owner of the broken phone. He then took out 1,000 yuan from his wallet and said to him, ¡°I don¡¯t have much cash. Take it and see if you can repair the original phone and transfer the important data over to this phone.¡± ¡°I stick to what I said. If even a single video or photo of me today gets leaked, everyone here will get a letter from my attorney.¡± Confident that his point was made, Chen Tianming sat in the front row. The professor happened to arrive at the classroom at this time. Looking at the quiet classroom, he adjusted his glasses and asked, ¡°Hey, why is everyone so quiet?¡± The others hurriedly returned to their seats. Everyone had the same thought in their hearts. ¡®I wish it was my phone he smashed just now! That Fruit X model was worth more than 10,000 yuan!¡¯ Chen Tianming had decided to study hard, but he realized that he had forgotten to bring his books, but that didn¡¯t trouble him much. Chen Tianming finally got through the class. He stretched his sore neck and leisurely walked out of the classroom. Liu Xixi was already bombarding him with messages. ¡°Tianming, is class over?¡± ¡°Tianming, what kind of food do you like to eat?¡± ¡°Tianming, where shall we meet?¡± ¡°Tianming, I¡¯m heading out now.¡± ¡®She¡¯s so annoying,¡¯ Chen Tianming scowled. He was even more irritated when he thought about how Liu Xixi had brought so much trouble to his life. At this moment, Liu Xixi called. Chen Tianming frowned but still answered it. ¡°Tianming, where are we going for lunch?¡± she asked, voice saccharine sweet. Tianming tilted his head and thought for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the cruise restaurant with delicious crab stew.¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s voice was filled with joy as she exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Tianming! How did you know that I like crab stew?¡± ¡®I know sh*t about your food preferences,¡¯ Chen Tianming thought expressionlessly. ¡®I just felt like eating crab stew.¡¯ Tianming hailed a taxi and left. He didn¡¯t forget that his primary purpose was to collect his debt. Soon, Chen Tianming arrived at the restaurant. Liu Xixi informed him she was still on her way. Chen Tianming smiled. ¡®She¡¯s probably late on purpose.¡¯ Liu Xixi liked making others wait for her, and she wanted Chen Tianming to book a table for her. Chen Tianming was too lazy to cause a fuss over such trivialities. He flashed his supreme VIP black card and was shown to his private dining room. Sure enough, not long after he entered the private room, Liu Xixi sent him a message. ¡°Tianming, I¡¯m here. Which room are you in?¡± ¡°The Platinum Room, come on up,¡± Tianming replied. The waiter arrived and asked, ¡°Mr. Chen, would you like to order now?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll call when I¡¯m ready to order.¡± Tianming only asked for a glass of ice water before sending the waiter away. When Liu Xixi came up, she met the waiter as he left the private room. She smiled confidently. Just as she thought, Chen Tianming was just testing her. He had even ordered her favorite dishes before she showed up. Liu Xixi immediately raised her head and strutted arrogantly with her nose in the air. She called out coyly as she pushed open the door, ¡°Tianming ~.¡± Chen Tianming shivered at the tone. He didn¡¯t understand why he liked Liu Xixi in the past; she was even worse than Jiang Lianlian. Liu Xixi bent down as she sat opposite Chen Tianming, all but pushing her cleavage in Chen Tianming¡¯s face. Chen Tianming looked at her but didn¡¯t think much of it and said, ¡°Do you have it?¡± Liu Xixi was taken aback by his question, but she still smiled and said, ¡°What are you talking about, Tianming?¡± Chen Tianming gave her a confused look and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would return the money to me after you got off the live stream? Are you planning to go back on your word?¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s smile froze on her face. She took a deep breath and told herself this must be part of the test. ¡®Girl, you gotta endure it, you must!¡¯ Liu Xixi collected herself and smiled as she said considerately, ¡°Did Tianming encounter some difficulties recently? Please tell Xixi so Xixi can help ~.¡± Chapter 9 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°You can help by returning all the money I spent on your gifts,¡± Chen Tianming drawled. Liu Xixi couldn¡¯t control herself any longer. It seems that this b*stard was determined to get his money back. Chen Tianming had a pained countenance as he continued, ¡°Xixi, you haven¡¯t heard, but my project recently lost more than three million yuan; my heart aches at the loss! If I don¡¯t get more money, this¡¯ll be the end of my life!¡± Liu Xixi finally understood that this wasn¡¯t a test. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°So, you¡¯re just short of money?¡± Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows, ¡°What else did you expect?¡± Liu Xixi clenched her teeth so hard in her anger they nearly cracked. It was clear to her now. There was no test or true love; it was just her wishful thinking! Her eyes were red as she looked at Chen Tianming with anger and hatred. Chen Tianming was mystified. ¡®I¡¯m just asking for my money back, miss. Why are you looking at me like that?¡¯ She looked as if he¡¯d cheated her of money and love! ¡°Is this why you made me look bad in the live stream?¡± Liu Xixi said with reddened eyes. ¡°Ah?¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t understand and was even shocked. He barely did anything, yet in her eyes, it was like he¡¯d committed a sin. ¡°I don¡¯t believe your family can¡¯t afford to pay this pittance. Why are this you asking me for the money?¡± Liu Xixi continued slowly, looking like she was on the verge of tears. ¡°I was worried that you might have encountered some problems, so I came to ask if you needed help. I didn¡¯t expect you to make things difficult for me just because of this paltry sum. Tianming, I misjudged you.¡± Chen Tianming was again bewildered by her thought process. ¡®Miss, with your reasoning capabilities, I think you have a talent in network marketing.¡¯ ¡®If you think this is a small amount of money, then why don¡¯t you just give it back already?¡¯ ¡°Do you really want to fuss over this little bit of money?¡± Liu Xixi continued aggressively. ¡°Option 1: Forget the money and continue being a cuckold and a patsy. Reward: End of cyberbullying.¡± ¡°Option 2: Make her return the money. Reward: A slap from Liu Xixi and being blacklisted from all her contacts and social media.¡± ¡°Option 3: Tell Liu Xixi you won¡¯t bother her about the money if she performs a strip dance for you at the KTV tonight. Reward: an adult video of Liu Xixi.¡± ¡®Don¡¯t mind if I do!¡¯ Although Chen Tianming was no longer interested in Liu Xixi, as a netizen, he was still interested in the adult video. ¡®Ah, I mean, how could I bear to let Liu Xixi return the money?¡¯ Chen Tianming chose the third option without hesitation. He wasn¡¯t worried about the cyberbullying, although he was curious about who was so bold as to bark up his tree. ¡°Quit your nonsense,¡± Chen Tianming interrupted Liu Xixi¡¯s tirade. ¡°I just want the money. Don¡¯t talk to me about anything else.¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s face paled, ¡°Chen Tianming, what kind of man are you?! How can you ask for a gift back when you¡¯d given it away?¡± ¡°Okay, okay, whatever you say,¡± Chen Tianming replied impatiently, ¡°So where¡¯s the money?¡± Liu Xixi was speechless at his attitude but pushed on and said, ¡°Well, what if I don¡¯t return the money?¡± Chen Tianming sneered, ¡°You can try. It¡¯s a piece of cake for the Chen Family to handle an internet celebrity.¡± Liu Xixi instantly felt the pressure of dealing with a superior like Chen Tianming! The sudden awareness made Liu Xixi break out in a cold sweat. Chen Tianming had never put on airs when he pursued her; she had almost forgotten that he was one of those born to be in the center of power. Tianming tilted his head and smiled. ¡°Why the sudden silence from our internet super idol?¡± ¡°Not only did you take so much of my money, but you also revealed my personal information in the live stream yesterday. What do you think I should do with you?¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s face paled in fear. She stammered and could not say a word. Chen Tianming saw that he¡¯d almost broken through Liu Xixi¡¯s defenses, so he continued, ¡°So, return my money.¡± ¡°Tianming, I don¡¯t have that much money right now¡­¡± Liu Xixi minced her words, hoping that Chen Tianming was just joking with her and didn¡¯t honestly want her to repay him. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to pay the money,¡± Chen Tianming chuckled. ¡°Come to the Imperial Grand¡¯s VIP room 666 tonight and do whatever I say, then I won¡¯t ask you about the money anymore.¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s ¡®do whatever I say¡¯ had Liu Xixi¡¯s imagination running wild, and her face turned red at the implication. She made up her mind; it wasn¡¯t the first time she sold her body anyway. At most, Chen Tianming would discover she wasn¡¯t a virgin. So what? Moreover¡­ Chen Tianming was handsome, and he came from wealth. It was not a loss to be his girl¡­ Even if he was just in it for fun, she had countless ways to get money from Chen Tianming. And with that thought, Liu Xixi agreed without hesitation. Looking at Chen Tianming shyly, she said, ¡°Tianming, so that¡¯s your goal? You¡¯re such a bad boy ~.¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Liu Xixi¡¯s behavior gave Chen Tianming goosebumps. ¡®What is she doing? Why is she acting like a pervert? Her moods turn on a dime.¡¯ Now he¡¯d lost his appetite. Why did he like such a crazy person before? Chen Tianming looked at her with disdain and said, ¡°Alright, you can leave now.¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s smile froze on her face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to treat me to a meal?¡± ¡°What gave you that idea?¡± Chen Tianming looked at Liu Xixi in bewilderment and quickly downed his glass of water. The next second, Liu Xixi stood up and grabbed the glass he had left on the table, ready to pour water onto Chen Tianming¡¯s face! Unfortunately, the glass was empty. Chen Tianming sighed. Luckily, he had the foresight to finish his drink. Liu Xixi gritted her teeth and glared at Chen Tianming before she grabbed her bag and left. As soon as she walked out, Chen Tianming ordered a table of delicious food. He took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the steaming crab stew. ¡®Ah, this is the dream life.¡¯ Liu Xixi gritted her teeth; the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She couldn¡¯t understand how Chen Tianming had changed into a different person in just a few days! Her face darkened in thought, but then, she bumped into someone. Chen Tianming finished his meal and was about to return to school when he saw Jiang Bei and his so-called friends sitting in a milk tea shop. Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t expect Jiang Bei to frequent milk tea shops with his gang. A bunch of guys sitting in a milk tea shop; didn¡¯t that sound like something only crazies would do? Chen Tianming wanted to ignore them, but Jiang Bei spotted him and waved at him excitedly, ¡°Tianming!¡± ¡®How embarrassing,¡¯ Tianming thought silently. However, Tianming still had to ¡®play nice,¡¯ so he smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have classes in the afternoon?¡± Chen Tianming stood at the entrance of the milk tea shop. He had no intention of entering. Jiang Bei winked at Chen Tianming. He even ran to the entrance and pulled Chen Tianming in, gesturing as he said, ¡°Tianming, take a look.¡± Chapter 10 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming looked in the direction he was pointing at and saw the back of a girl in simple work clothes. Her hair was tied up in a low bun, and her thin figure was busy working at the counter. ¡°What, did you lose interest in Zhou Qingyue and decide to pursue someone else?¡± Chen Tianming asked with a smile. ¡°No, take a closer look.¡± Jiang Bei then pushed Chen Tianming into the milk tea shop. Chen Tianming finally saw the milk tea girl¡¯s face. She was a cold beauty with slim and gracefully arched eyebrows. When she noticed him entering the shop, her bewitching fox-like eyes looked up at Chen Tianming. Together with her pink and tender cherry-red lips, she was breathtakingly beautiful, even without makeup. She was Zhou Qingyue, the top school belle of A University. Chen Tianming was stunned at her beauty. Zhou Qingyue said calmly, ¡°Hello, what can I do for you?¡± Her clear voice pulled Chen Tianming back to reality. It also reminded him of that cold rainy night when he was forced to drink and was humiliated by those people. In the end, Zhou Qingyue supported his swaying form when he stumbled out. Her cold eyes were calm, and that clear voice said, ¡°Hi, is there anything I can do for you?¡± She was a good girl. Chen Tianming suddenly didn¡¯t want to stand beside Jiang Bei. ¡°A glass of lemonade.¡± Chen Tianming returned to the present and added, ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhou Qingyue politely responded, ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Please wait a moment.¡± Chen Tianming nodded and went to the second floor of the milk tea shop with Jiang Bei. ¡°It¡¯s like I said, she¡¯s a bombshell, right?¡± Jiang Bei chatted with Chen Tianming excitedly. The rest of Jiang Bei¡¯s posse burst into laughter. Chen Tianming frowned, ¡°Aren¡¯t you increasing her workload by coming here with such a large group?¡± He had noticed Zhou Qingyue¡¯s fingers were slightly swollen from constantly being soaked in water. She seemed to be the only worker in this small milk tea shop. ¡°Come on, since when did our Young Master Chen start to care about the sufferings of the common folk?¡± Jiang Bei said sarcastically, and the rest of the guys started laughing. ¡°Aren¡¯t you sweet on her? How can you bear to let her work hard?¡± Overcome with emotions, Chen Tianming asked. ¡°Nah, Tianming, I just want to date her. What¡¯s there to overthink?¡± Jiang Bei laughingly said, and then he smacked his head. ¡°But now that you mentioned it, I¡¯ll make sure she resigns when we get together. I don¡¯t want my woman to be a milk tea girl.¡± For some reason, Chen Tianming felt sympathy for Zhou Qingyue. However, since he¡¯s reborn, he wouldn¡¯t let Jiang Bei mess with her again. After all, part of the villain¡¯s role is to snatch the protagonist¡¯s woman. Chen Tianming sent a message to Zhang Ming, ¡°Help me purchase the ¡®First Love¡¯ milk tea shop.¡± Zhang Ming was bewildered and quickly replied through text. Zhang Ming: ¡°What¡¯s this all of a sudden? Tianming, what¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Chen Tianming: ¡°I don¡¯t want Jiang Bei to bother the school belle.¡± Zhang Ming: ¡°So you want to be the one bothering her instead?¡± Chen Tianming: ¡°Get lost.¡± Zhang Ming: ¡°But I don¡¯t like Jiang Bei either. You can count on me, Young Master Chen.¡± Zhang Ming and Jiang Bei had always been at odds with each other. In his previous life, Chen Tianming was blind to make them get along. Chen Tianming sighed; he was swamped. He was so preoccupied with worrying about others that he hadn¡¯t been able to enjoy his second life. Soon, Zhou Qingyue came over with the lemonade. Tianming thanked her softly. Jiang Bei whistled and grinned. ¡°Hey Qingyue, won¡¯t the beauty of A University do me the honor of coming over to my birthday this week? If you come, we promise we won¡¯t bother you at this shop anymore.¡± Zhou Qingyue glanced at him indifferently and didn¡¯t say anything. She was about to turn and leave when Jiang Bei interrupted, ¡°Don¡¯t be like that.¡± He laughed, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to harass you every day, do you? Do me a favor.¡± Chen Tianming was shocked by his shamelessness. ¡®This kid is acting more like a villain than I am,¡¯ Chen Tianming thought as he rubbed his chin and shook his head. Zhou Qingyue paused and turned to Jiang Bei. ¡°You mean it?¡± Jiang Bei nodded with a smile, ¡°I do.¡± Zhou Qingyue nodded, ¡°Send the address to my phone.¡± ¡°Jiang Bei, I hope you keep your word and stop pestering me,¡± Zhou Qingyue coolly said and left. Jiang Bei rubbed his chin and smiled. He waited until she was far away before muttering, ¡°B*tch, acting all chaste and too good for anyone.¡± Chen Tianming frowned, ¡°You honestly won¡¯t pester her if she went to the birthday party?¡± Before Jiang Bei could say anything, one of his lackeys smiled ambiguously, ¡°No way, man! Jiang Bei has always been unscrupulous in order to achieve his goals. He always gets the girl he fancies, no matter what.¡± Jiang Bei glared at the lackey, reproaching him for talking too much. The lackey chuckled and didn¡¯t say anything else. Chen Tianming slowly finished his lemonade before he checked the time and said, ¡°I have something to do in the afternoon, so I¡¯ll be going. You guys have fun.¡± Chen Tianming stood up and walked to the front desk. ¡°The bill, please.¡± ¡°Sir, that¡¯ll be 13 yuan.¡± Zhou Qingyue was straight in her business and only counted Chen Tianming¡¯s drink, which coincided with Chen Tianming¡¯s intentions. He wouldn¡¯t let that scum get a penny from him. Tianming took a 20 yuan note and his name card from his wallet. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Call me if they cause you trouble.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s your change, 7 yuan.¡± Zhou Qingyue acted as if she hadn¡¯t heard him and placed the name card and the cash in the drawer. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t say anything else. Since he had sent a message to Zhang Ming to acquire the shop, Zhou Qingyue would soon understand what he meant. Chen Tianming held the cash she handed him and smiled. He stuffed them into the lucky cat piggy bank on the counter and left. ¡®He seemed different from Jiang Bei and the others,¡¯ Zhou Qingyue thought and glanced down at the black and white business card in the drawer. ¡®Chen Tianming.¡¯ The lackey who had shot his mouth off saw Chen Tianming paying at the counter and thought he¡¯d paid for the group¡¯s orders as well, so he couldn¡¯t help but tease, ¡°Chen Tianming is truly a walking ATM. Jiang Bei, can¡¯t we tell him our plan?¡± ¡°Tell him my ass. Keep your mouths shut.¡± Jiang Bei looked at him coldly as he said, ¡°He¡¯s from a proper wealthy family; he can¡¯t stand such shady methods.¡± Jiang Bei impatiently looked at the time on his phone, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s leave after we finish our beverages. I have an appointment in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Oh, so who¡¯s the pretty lady you invited to do the horizontal tango with you tonight, Jiang Bei?¡± The lackey said, and the others laughed along. Chapter 11 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°F*ck off.¡± Jiang Bei kicked his lackey with a smile and stood up, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Hence, the group noisily descended from the second floor. Jiang Bei stayed at the back of the group for no other reason than he didn¡¯t want to wait at the door. He arrived at the cashier and was about to raise his eyebrows at Zhou Qingyue when she called, ¡°Jiang Bei.¡± Jiang Bei could not help but smile. ¡®Ha, women are all the same; she¡¯s just playing hard to get.¡¯ Jiang Bei flicked his hair in what he thought was a suave move and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you want me to stay for a while longer?¡± Zhou Qingyue looked at Jiang Bei expressionlessly and said, ¡°No. Jiang Bei, you haven¡¯t paid for your table¡¯s orders.¡± Jiang Bei was stunned and didn¡¯t know what to say. He took a while to recover and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Chen Tianming pay the bill just now?¡± Zhou Qingyue continued to look at him expressionlessly as she answered, ¡°Mr. Chen paid his bill.¡± She was implying that since he didn¡¯t consume those drinks, why should he be the one to pay for them? Jiang Bei¡¯s face turned red and white, and he was again speechless. He gritted his teeth. ¡°How much is the bill?¡± Zhou Qingyue¡¯s slender fingers quickly tapped on the keyboard and reported, ¡°A total of 250 yuan.¡± ¡®What? Seriously?!¡¯ He scanned the WeChat QR code, and the cashier machine chimed, ¡°250 yuan received on WeChat.¡± Zhou Qingyue nodded and didn¡¯t look at him again, sending him off with a polite, ¡°Hope to see you again.¡± Jiang Bei gritted his teeth and left with his ragtag friends. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with Chen Tianming? Why is he becoming more and more stingy recently?¡¯ Chen Tianming didn¡¯t care what Jiang Bei thought of him. He was busy preparing for his meeting with Liu Xixi tonight. Zhou Qingyue was tidying the tables when the shop owner suddenly called her. ¡°Hello, Miss Zhou. The shop will have a new owner soon, but you don¡¯t have to worry. The new owner said that everything will be the same as before, and he will let you temporarily take over as the manager. He will discuss a new salary with you, and you can communicate with the new boss later about everything else.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Zhou Qingyue was dumbfounded. It had only been a short while, so why did the shop suddenly change hands? ¡°By the way, the new owner said he had just gone to the shop to inspect it. He said you did well and even gave you his name card.¡± Name card? Zhou Qingyue immediately remembered the name card that Chen Tianming had handed over with the 20 yuan. That¡¯s what his strange remark meant. Zhou Qingyue suddenly had mixed emotions. What was Chen Tianming¡¯s motive? She didn¡¯t believe that someone would treat others well for no reason. She pondered for a while, then removed the name card from the drawer and added Chen Tianming¡¯s WeChat. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t reply to her WeChat. ¡®Perhaps he¡¯s busy,¡¯ Zhou Qingyue thought, forced herself to stop thinking about it, and sat down to study at the cashier. Chen Tianming was indeed busy. He had called someone to drive his red BMW over, and as soon as he got into the car, he found several files on the passenger seat. He opened the first file and pulled out the documents within. A quick read-through revealed that they were Jiang Bei Company¡¯s trade secrets. To be precise, the company belonged to the Jiang family, as Jiang Bei hadn¡¯t yet been given complete control over it. The information contained details on a project that would rake in a lot of money in the future! It seemed like this was the first reward. Chen Tianming had been so busy dealing with those clowns for the past few days, he had forgotten to ask the system for his rewards. The first reward was a pleasant surprise. Chen Tianming thought it would be data about some core technology, but this information was much more valuable and useful to him. The heavens had served this opportunity on a silver platter; now he only needed to put it to good use. Tianming then opened the second file. If he remembered correctly, it was a record of Jiang Bei¡¯s criminal activities. The comprehensive list of the criminal acts Jiang Bei had committed in his previous life filled dozens of pages, and there was even a USB flash drive included. Chen Tianming glanced through the list and noticed many familiar names. Judging by the timeline, Jiang Bei¡¯s next crime involved Zhou Qingyue. In his previous life, he drugged and raped the young Zhou Qingyue and took videos and erotic photos of her to threaten her into being his girlfriend. When he got bored of her, he widely spread her private pictures, causing her to lose her reputation, and she was reduced to working as a lowly barmaid. It was just as he expected. Chen Tianming frowned. Zhou Qingyue was a well-known figure in school. She was the top scholar in Province X before she got accepted into A University and still firmly maintained her top scores within the institution and even won various awards. Her beauty was just icing on the cake; she was the aspiring queen of the finance department. But in the end, she became a KTV barmaid¡­ Chen Tianming sneered, ¡®Jiang Bei was a f*cking brute!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t that Chen Tianming was a saint, but as a man, he wouldn¡¯t ruin someone¡¯s life in such a way. He would take revenge owed to him, but he wouldn¡¯t destroy someone for his selfish desires. In a sense, Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t a villain. He was reborn with hatred but would repay those who had helped him. This was why the system chose him to be its host. ¡®This time, Jiang Bei wouldn¡¯t succeed!¡¯ Chen Tianming sneered as he looked at the other names on the document. The third folder was thick and heavy. He opened it and saw two thick pink notebooks. ¡®These must be Liu Xixi¡¯s diary,¡¯ Tianming thought. He casually flipped through two pages and found that the earliest record started when Liu Xixi entered university. He didn¡¯t know Liu Xixi had a habit of keeping a diary, but wouldn¡¯t she suspect something if her diary went missing? Chen Tianming then noticed a line of small blue words on the folder: ¡°This reward is a clone and will be updated according to the target¡¯s actions.¡± ¡®Good heavens, it even has an up-to-date function; talk about high-tech!¡¯ However, Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t interested in reading Liu Xixi¡¯s diary now. He moved on to the fourth file. The fourth file only held a USB flash drive. It was probably Liu Xixi¡¯s adult video. Chen Tianming offhandedly stuffed the USB flash drive in his pocket. Since the system was so gracious, Chen Tianming must also pull his weight! He immediately called the manager of the Imperial Grand KTV. ¡°Hey Wong, I¡¯m coming over tonight. Remember to get someone to install a few cameras in my private room.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want pinhole cameras; I want high-definition cameras.¡± ¡°What are you thinking? I just want to help my friend shoot something!¡± ¡°What? How many do I want?¡± Chen Tianming tilted his head and thought for a while. Then, he smiled and said, ¡°Eight cameras would do for a start!¡± Chapter 12 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation After he arranged everything, Chen Tianming went home to sleep. Meanwhile, Liu Xixi was off in her fantasies once again. From what Chen Tianming had said, he probably had some X-rated activities in mind. Liu Xixi blushed at the thought. If that were the case, she would have to show off her impressive figure¡­ Liu Xixi decided to make an appointment for a full-body spa. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to hook Chen Tianming with sex. After all, he had wealth and status. Soon, it was nighttime. The alarm clock roused Chen Tianming. He scratched his messy hair and thought, ¡®How annoying!¡¯ He turned off the alarm clock and went back to sleep, heedless of the night¡¯s appointment. Liu Xixi had wanted to put on airs and was purposefully late by an hour and a half. She gracefully got out of the taxi and walked to the front desk. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m a friend of Mr. Chen Tianming.¡± The receptionist was informed that Chen Tianming would come today, but he hadn¡¯t shown up for some reason. However, since she was Chen Tianming¡¯s friend, the receptionist immediately smiled and said, ¡°Hello, this way, please.¡± Liu Xixi strode along confidently as she fantasized about how she would seduce Chen Tianming until he begged for more. However, she was dumbfounded when she arrived at the private room. Aside from a few cameras placed before a leather sofa, the room was empty. The steel pole in the middle of the room was particularly eye-catching. Liu Xixi goggled, ¡®That man! For an honest-looking guy, Chen Tianming has an interesting fetish!¡¯ ¡®He plans to record it¡­ What does he want to do on the steel pole¡­¡¯ Liu Xixi shyly smiled; she even got a little worked up. ¡®It¡¯s going to be an exciting night!¡¯ ¡®But where is Chen Tianming?¡¯ Although the private room was big, it was also very empty. She couldn¡¯t have missed Chen Tianming¡¯s 1.9-meter tall form. ¡°Where¡¯s Tianming? Has he gone to do some preparations?¡± Liu Xixi asked, confused. ¡°Do you mean Mr. Chen? He reserved a private room for today, but he hasn¡¯t come yet,¡± the waiter replied with a smile. ¡®He¡¯s not here? He dared to stand me up?¡¯ When had she, the department belle, ever waited for anyone! Liu Xixi¡¯s expression changed. However, people were still around, so she couldn¡¯t throw a tantrum. She smiled and lifted her chin arrogantly as she ordered, ¡°You may leave now.¡± Tonight was her and Chen Tianming¡¯s private time. The waiter retreated with a big smile and even thoughtfully closed the door behind him. But once he left, the waiter couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes. ¡®What the hell? ¡®You may leave now.¡¯ Who does she think she is, the queen?¡¯ Liu Xixi was very lightly dressed today; she even wore one-piece stockings. And yet, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t bother to show up. She suppressed her anger and called him. Chen Tianming picked up after a long wait. ¡°Hello?¡± came Chen Tianming¡¯s sleepy voice. He also sounded a little impatient. ¡®He¡¯s still sleeping at this time!¡¯ Liu Xixi fumed. ¡°Tianming, are you here yet?¡± Liu Xixi masked her anger and said coyly, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for quite a while.¡± ¡°Then you can wait a while longer. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Chen Tianming said impatiently, then turned around and went back to sleep. ¡®What¡¯s with her? I¡¯m the one who is owed money, so why is she the one in such a hurry?¡¯ In his previous life, Chen Tianming had often asked Liu Xixi out. Liu Xixi loved to put on airs and made him wait for her countless times. Did he ever say anything about it back then? He only had her wait for him once, and she was already peeved! ¡®Who cares? Let¡¯s get more sleep!¡¯ Fortunately, Tianming woke up at 11 pm and was in high spirits after a long nap. He then got on his Durant and rode to the KTV entrance like the wind. Chen Tianming went straight to his private room. When he opened the door, he saw Liu Xixi, red-faced and panting on the sofa. ¡®Huh?!¡¯ Chen Tianming was bemused, but he wasn¡¯t desperate for an answer. After all, it was all caught on camera; he could watch the video later. When Liu Xixi saw that Chen Tianming had arrived, she clung to him like an octopus and breathed into his ear, ¡°Tianming, why are you so late?¡± Her soft hands wandered across Chen Tianming¡¯s body as she spoke. Thankfully, Chen Tianming was an upright man! He didn¡¯t push Liu Xixi away. Instead, he calmly said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Liu Xixi was ecstatic. At the same time, her face flushed red. ¡®We¡¯re starting right now? Was there no foreplay? Or should I take the initiative? Jeez!¡¯ ¡®Well, then I¡¯ll do as I please!¡¯ Liu Xixi¡¯s hands were getting bolder, and they squeezed his member. Chen Tianming pushed her away and looked at her strangely. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Liu Xixi faltered and then looked incredulous. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we can start?¡± Tianming was dumbstruck before he swiftly realized that Liu Xixi had misunderstood. He didn¡¯t want to ¡®get down¡¯ with her. He didn¡¯t fancy contracting STDs. ¡°No, I invited you here to pole dance.¡± Chen Tianming pointed at the steel pole in the center of the room and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s face turned pale. ¡®What the hell! He just wanted me to dance?¡¯ Liu Xixi recalled her fantasies and expectations before he arrived and was furious! Chen Tianming gestured, ¡®Well, duh!¡¯ Liu Xixi gritted her teeth and said, ¡°As long as I dance, you won¡¯t ask for your money back, right?¡± Chen Tianming nodded. He never expected to get the money back from Liu Xixi anyway. Liu Xixi quickly considered it; Chen Tianming¡¯s intentions were obvious. He wanted to record a video of her. However, nothing prevented her from revealing that Tianming had threatened her tonight. After all, news of Chen Tianming asking her to return his gifts in her live stream had gained attention. As long as she added some embellishments when she shared the story on her live stream, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if Chen Tianming threatened her with the video. Liu Xixi resolutely chose to dance; she had been ready to perform even wilder activities tonight, so it wasn¡¯t a difficult decision. What surprised her the most was Chen Tianming was unmoved by her seduction! This was undoubtedly an insult to her! Liu Xixi felt indignant but still walked to the pole in front of the cameras. Chen Tianming randomly picked and played a piece of music, and Liu Xixi immediately displayed her professionalism as a thirst trap streamer. Her expression became suggestive and seductive as she twisted her body, showing off her shapely figure boldly and sexily. Chen Tianming sat on the sofa and stared at her intently. ¡®Tsk tsk tsk, I¡¯m just looking; she was my muse a lifetime ago. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that!¡¯ Chapter 13 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Despite what she thought, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t intend to make things difficult for Liu Xixi. He did all this to get the system¡¯s reward; he was too lazy to deal with a stupid woman like her. Liu Xixi left after the dance. Chen Tianming transferred the footage from the cameras to his phone straight away. He had only wanted to see how the recording went, but he didn¡¯t expect there to be something even more shocking! The scene made Chen Tianming¡¯s blood run hot with passion. He didn¡¯t expect Liu Xixi to be so sl*tty. No wonder she looked so spaced out when he entered the room. No wonder she kept flirting and teasing him! Liu Xixi probably didn¡¯t know that the cameras had commenced shooting when she entered the room. Therefore, the poses she made on the pole and even the way she masturbated were recorded. Chen Tianming was speechless. He didn¡¯t mean to record something like this, and he didn¡¯t know that Liu Xixi was such a tramp. On the other hand, Liu Xixi was furious. She didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to be just a pretty-faced limp noodle. Could it be that he couldn¡¯t get it up? Liu Xixi couldn¡¯t just go home without getting her itch scratched, so she simply called a male model. Why suffer when she had the solution, even at the expense of others? In the end, she had a great romp in bed. The next day, Liu Xixi live-streamed with her eyes red and swollen. It was obvious that she had been crying for a long time before she forced herself to start the live stream. ¡°It¡¯s like this. I¡¯m sorry, my darlings. Due to some mishaps yesterday, I couldn¡¯t come on time for the live stream.¡± When Liu Xixi said this, she even choked and coughed a few times, and the Live Comment section was instantly flooded with text. ¡°Xixi, what¡¯s wrong? Why are your eyes so swollen? Did someone hurt you?¡± ¡°Xixi looks so miserable and pitiful! Who did this?!¡± ¡°Hey, fellas, do you remember that loser turn-off who asked Xixi for money? Maybe he bullied Xixi?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The netizens seem to be dawdling their feet! Why else is scum like that still alive and well!¡± When Liu Xixi saw her fans¡¯ comments turn to Chen Tianming, a sense of pleasure flashed through her. She then pretended to panic and dodged around the subject. ¡°No¡­ It wasn¡¯t¡­ Everyone, stop speculating.¡± The more she acted like this, the more people believed their guesses were accurate. ¡°What did this b*stard do? He made our Xixi so sad!¡± ¡°This person is a trust fund baby from a very wealthy family. He¡¯s also arrogant. I saw him around in school and knew he wasn¡¯t a good person. He used to pester our muse Xixi!¡± ¡°What a disgusting man!¡± Liu Xixi pretended she couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore as she covered her face and cried, ¡°I¡­ Someone coerced me and I shot a video I wasn¡¯t proud of. I¡­¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s words came to an abrupt stop. She didn¡¯t say anything further, but her silence caused an even more considerable commotion in the comments section. The people in the comments section were indignant and declared that they wanted to avenge Liu Xixi! Chen Tianming woke up to find that he had fallen victim to network violence. To be precise, he was rudely awakened by non-stop harassing calls. Chen Tianming turned off his phone and went back to sleep. When he woke again, countless numbers were still calling him when he turned his phone back on. He simply took out the SIM card and turned on his hotspot to see the latest news. Many of his WeChat friends had sent him messages, asking him what he had done. The sleazier ones even asked if he could share Liu Xixi¡¯s video with them. Chen Tianming was confused, ¡®What was going on? How did everyone know about the video?¡¯ Knowing he could probably find his answer online, he went on a short video platform. After some searching, he discovered that Liu Xixi had revealed in her live stream that she was forced to film an indecent video, and she even hinted that Chen Tianming was the perpetrator. ¡®Unbelievable,¡¯ Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know what else to say. He thought Liu Xixi was just a little dumb, but now he understood she was a complete idiot. Chen Tianming was pissed; he had planned to let Liu Xixi off easy, but she kept pushing his buttons. ¡®More like she hammered it in. Fine, it¡¯s your funeral.¡¯ Since that was the case, the gloves were coming off. He immediately logged into his Weibo. His account ¡®Chen Tianming Refuses to Accept His Fate¡¯ had an orange V tag, indicating his info had already been verified; he had celebrity status on the site. His Weibo posts, where he shared his life, were filled with abuse and insults. His private messages were also bursting with similar content. Chen Tianming immediately opened a fans-only comment section and quickly made a Weibo post. ¡°Chen Tianming Refuses to Accept His Fate v: I must speak up about Miss Liu Xixi¡¯s lies. I didn¡¯t want to do anything to hurt her because I once loved her. I just wanted her to return some of the gifts. Since things have come to this, I must show everyone what kind of person she is. I hope all of you can open your eyes to the truth.¡± Next, Chen Tianming posted the chat history between him and Liu Xixi and the full video of Liu Xixi¡¯s stay in the private room yesterday. He also included the adult videos of Liu Xixi with different men that the system previously gave him. Chen Tianming¡¯s account was already very popular due to his wealth and status. The recent cyberbullying storm and the involvement of the internet celebrity Liu Xixi caused his Weibo post to go viral. The authorities didn¡¯t even get the chance to delete some of the unsavory videos. Chen Tianming then contacted the Chen family¡¯s lawyer and stated, ¡°File the lawsuit! How dare they! This is online abuse!¡± Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t let this go. D*mn it; a stupid woman instigated an online manhunt against him twice! ¡®I¡¯ve had enough of such humiliation!¡¯ Chen Tianming suddenly remembered that he had Liu Xixi¡¯s diary! Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he spent money to make himself a trending topic and slowly read Liu Xixi¡¯s diary. Liu Xixi didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to be so bold as to release yesterday¡¯s video. She sneered; fortunately, she had already played the victim in her live stream. Otherwise, she would have been stabbed in the back by him. She still didn¡¯t grasp the facts; the truth was, if she hadn¡¯t backstabbed Chen Tianming first, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered attacking her at all. Liu Xixi was lying in the arms of the male model; he had served her well yesterday. Were her eyes red from crying because she was bullied? Of course not; they were red from a night of wild sex. That was why Liu Xixi called on him again today. The two just finished a round under the sheets. The male model was gearing Liu Xixi up for another round. She laughingly stopped him but allowed his hands to roam. She began to watch Chen Tianming¡¯s video as she wanted to see how her dance turned out yesterday. The video started with the staff turning on the lights in the private room. Then, she and the waiter appeared at the door. After a while, she heard her own voice ask, ¡°Is Tianming not here yet?¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and her temples throbbed non-stop; she had a bad feeling, so she slid the video¡¯s progress bar, and the footage jumped forward. She was instantly dumbfounded at what she saw. Chapter 14 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation On the screen, Liu Xixi was before the pole, moaning in ecstasy as she masturbated. She was alone in the private room; Chen Tianming didn¡¯t even show up. Her actions were clearly of her own volition. The male model beside her thought Liu Xixi herself recorded the video. He leaned in and breathed in her ear, ¡°Baby, you¡¯re so sexy; I love it.¡± Liu Xixi gritted her teeth so hard that they were about to shatter. ¡®F*ck off! That traitor, Chen Tianming, had been recording the entire time!¡¯ With just this footage, Chen Tianming already had her beaten to the ground, but he posted another video. Liu Xixi didn¡¯t believe he had anything else on her, so she wanted to see what he had on hand! On the screen, the clip showed the unsightly scenes of her having sex with a catalog of men. The content was very explicit and shown in high-definition; even the Japanese AV industry would find it impressive. The male model¡¯s mouth turned dry as he watched; more than ever, he wanted to tumble in bed with Liu Xixi. However, Liu Xixi wasn¡¯t in the mood right now. She felt her entire body turn cold as if falling into an ice cave. There was only one thought left in her mind. This was the end for her. Her life was completely ruined. Everything she had worked so hard to build was destroyed. At this moment, Liu Xixi¡¯s manager began calling her non-stop. When Liu Xixi picked up the call, Miss Xiang started cursing at her; ¡°Liu Xixi, what have you done? Why did you offend Young Master Chen?¡± Liu Xixi felt wronged and didn¡¯t dare to speak. ¡°I¡¯m worried¡­¡± ¡°About what?¡± Miss Xiang¡¯s loud voice continued, ¡°Who shot these? Why were they leaked?¡± Liu Xixi had no idea who the perpetrator was. How did they record every hookup she had with her sugar daddies? Fortunately, the sugar daddies¡¯ faces and certain body parts were censored. After all, this was between Chen Tianming and Liu Xixi; Tianming couldn¡¯t care less about the others. Right now, the male model under Liu Xixi was busily pistoning in and out of Liu Xixi. She couldn¡¯t help but moan, which was soon noticed by Miss Xiang. Miss Xiang¡¯s tone was filled with disappointment and disdain as she said, ¡°Liu Xixi, are you truly that sex-obsessed?¡± Liu Xixi opened her mouth to explain, but she couldn¡¯t stop her cries and moans. ¡®What a skank!¡¯ Miss Xiang cursed under her breath, and then scolded, ¡°Liu Xixi! Think of a way to resolve this matter yourself! Don¡¯t get the company involved!¡± Miss Xiang hung up the phone before Liu Xixi could react. Liu Xixi threw her phone to the side and continued to ride the model. At this point, she might as well enjoy the present moment. If Miss Xiang were to witness this, even she would have to admire Xixi¡¯s brazen attitude. Although Miss Xiang had said that Liu Xixi would have to settle the issue herself, the interests of many parties were involved, so she couldn¡¯t just ignore it. She logged into Liu Xixi¡¯s Weibo account and posted a statement. ¡°Liu Xixi v: I have the right to lodge a complaint against the false statements about me on the Internet and the negative impact on my reputation caused by the images created through video editing and synthesis technology!¡± Attached with the announcement was a picture of an attorney¡¯s letter. This caused heated discussion among the public, ¡°They brought up face-swapping technology? Who is telling the truth?¡± Experts soon joined in and confirmed that the videos weren¡¯t edited or synthesized, but Miss Xiang insisted the videos were fake. There was a constant debate on the Internet about the videos¡¯ authenticity, while Chen Tianming was immersed in the shock brought by Liu Xixi¡¯s diary. ¡®Wow, she has quite the guts to put everything down in her diary! From her bullying acts in school to the interactions with her sugar daddies, it¡¯s all here written by her own hands!¡¯ Chen Tianming took photos of several pages within the diary; these would deliver a devastating blow to Liu Xixi following the videos he released. She mentioned the women she hated and all that nonsense in her diary. To sum it up, Liu Xixi didn¡¯t like anyone prettier than her. Chen Tianming got someone to contact Liu Xixi¡¯s alma mater after he finished taking photos of the two diary notebooks. As they say, money talks, and soon, Chen Tianming got the contact information of Liu Xixi¡¯s entire class. According to her diary, Chen Tianming found the victims bullied by Liu Xixi in school; two girls and a boy. Chen Tianming proceeded to contact them. When he mentioned Liu Xixi, one of the girls broke down and even screamed for Chen Tianming to go away! Let¡¯s refer to the girl as Xiao Nuan for now. She was the one who bore the brunt of Liu Xixi¡¯s abuse. Liu Xixi bullied and beat her up; she even hired others to sexually assault Xiao Nuan and recorded it to threaten her. In the end, Liu Xixi only let her go after she got pregnant from the assault and transferred to another school. Liu Xixi was a famous beauty in high school, and no one would believe Xiao Nuan¡¯s words when she said she was assaulted on Liu Xixi¡¯s orders. Everyone thought Xiao Nuan got pregnant due to her own indiscretion and wanted to frame Liu Xixi. Chen Tianming quickly calmed her down and introduced himself to Xiao Nuan, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. My name is Chen Tianming. Recently, I¡¯ve also been a victim of a cyber manhunt incited by Liu Xixi. I¡¯m reaching out to you because I hope you can provide me with some evidence to shut her down. I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you.¡± Xiao Nuan noticeably hesitated for a moment, and the sound of a keyboard typing came from the other end of the phone. ¡®She must be looking up my details online,¡¯ Tianming surmised. Chen Tianming patiently waited for her to access the information. He couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy for her. Xiao Nuan¡¯s nervous voice came through the phone, ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Chen Tianming suddenly felt a little bitter. At this moment, he seemed to understand why the system asked him to start over. Maybe it wasn¡¯t just for him to change his terrible life, but also to help the people who had their lives ruined by vermin like Liu Xixi and Jiang Bei. ¡°Option 1: Use her victims to destroy Liu Xixi¡¯s reputation.¡± ¡°Option 2: Help the victims seek justice. Liu Xixi will go down fighting and hire someone to ambush you.¡± ¡°Option 3: Help Su Xiaonuan go to court and send Liu Xixi to jail. Reward: Unknown.¡± ¡®An unknown reward?¡¯ Tianming became very excited; this was the first time the system had given him an unknown reward. The previous rewards were clearly defined. Did this mean the reward would change due to his decisions? But even if the system did not provide him with a reward, he would still choose to help this poor girl. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve already contacted the other victims. I just need you guys to testify.¡± Chen Tianming hesitated briefly before continuing, ¡°But considering your unique situation, I can provide you with legal aid.¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s voice softened, and though it was gentle, it was also motivating, ¡°I hope you can find justice for yourself.¡± Chapter 15 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation On the other end of the phone, Su Xiaonuan was so touched that tears welled in her eyes. She sniffled and held them back. ¡°Please add me on WeChat. That way, we can talk in detail.¡± Su Xiaonuan knew that her top priority was to help Chen Tianming solve the cyber violence against him, but she still thanked him from the bottom of her heart. Chen Tianming hung up, added Su Xiaonuan on WeChat, and they chatted more. From their conversation, Chen Tianming learned that Liu Xixi¡¯s family had some wealth, and Liu Xixi used her family¡¯s influence to keep the assault quiet and then pushed the blame onto Su Xiaonuan. In the end, Su Xiaonuan still received a lot of discrimination after transferring schools. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t help but feel a little depressed when he heard that. However, he could deal with it easily. The high school incident only occurred a few years ago. As long as he had money, there was nothing he couldn¡¯t do. He called Du Qiao straightaway, ¡°I need something investigated.¡± Du Qiao was speechless at the sudden demand. After the tireless efforts of Du Qiao¡ªthe jack of all trades¡ªthey finally found the hospital examination results and some of the police evidence photos concerning the assault in a pile of old case files. Chen Tianming looked at the photos Du Qiao sent him and felt they offended his eyes. In one photo, Su Xiaonuan looked sweet; her pure and innocent beauty would have made her a popular crush for teenage boys. Du Qiao said that it was a photo from her school records. In the following picture, her face was haggard, and she was as thin as a stick, but one could see that her abdomen bulged slightly. Her exposed limbs had distinct bruises and sores, and she had long scar wounds that looked even more hideous after they scabbed. She was only in her teens and already carrying a little life in her womb. Just looking at the photos on his phone made Chen Tianming¡¯s heart ache, let alone Su Xiaonuan, who personally experienced it. The school ruled that Su Xiaonuan¡¯s pregnancy resulted from her own indiscretion, and the punishment was expulsion. Liu Xixi¡¯s name was never brought up. Chen Tianming hesitated for a long time before he typed out and sent the question, ¡°Did you give birth to the child?¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t want to reopen old wounds, but judging from the photo, the child was already formed, and it would be dangerous to abort. Chen Tianming waited as Su Xiaonuan kept deleting and retyping until she finally sent a message after a long while. ¡°I gave birth to him.¡± Chen Tianming had mixed feelings; perhaps he¡¯d intended to use them to destroy Liu Xixi¡¯s reputation when he searched out Liu Xixi¡¯s victims in the first place. However, with Su Xiaonuan, all he felt was sympathy. He didn¡¯t know how much courage a teenage girl like her needed to give birth to this child. ¡°Thank you for your concern. He¡¯s doing very well now. He¡¯s already in kindergarten. I also took the adult college entrance examination and got a good grade.¡± ¡°The child himself is innocent. Since he chose to come to this world to accompany me, I will care for him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very grateful that you¡¯re willing to help me.¡± Chen Tianming was amazed at Su Xiaonuan¡¯s perseverance; he didn¡¯t know what to do with her gratitude. After pondering for a moment, he called the Chen family¡¯s senior lawyer. ¡°Mr. Zhang, I have a case on hand that I need you to win with a hundred percent certainty.¡± Since Chen Tianming had spoken, no one dared to refute him. Mr. Zhang was considered the top lawyer of the Chen Corporation. He usually handled big cases worth hundreds of millions. He was a little unused to being suddenly responsible for such a dispute. After Chen Tianming gave the order, he utilized the Chen Corporation to release all the evidence he gathered. School bullying was already a sensitive subject, and in addition, Liu Xixi and Chen Tianming¡¯s popularity had been high for the past few days. ¡°School Bully Liu Xixi¡± became a trending topic in no time. Now that the evidence was public, Liu Xixi¡¯s popularity dropped drastically. After all, the evidence was conclusive. Then, Chen Tianming asked Lawyer Zhang to draft a complaint as Su Xiaonuan wanted to reopen her case and sue Liu Xixi. Since Su Xiaonuan had decided to seek justice, it was inevitable that she would be exposed to the public, and she would have to tear open her bleeding wounds for others to see. If Liu Xixi¡¯s involvement in school bullying was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, Liu Xixi fell into a bottomless abyss after Su Xiaonuan¡¯s incident was exposed. This was not simple school bullying; she had committed a crime. Chen Tianming was reading the hot topics on the Internet when Liu Xixi suddenly called. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t immediately answer the call; he waited until the ringing was about to stop before he unhurriedly answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Chen Tianming! You lunatic! Why are you doing this to me!¡± Liu Xixi¡¯s heart-wrenching screams came through the phone clearly, and they hurt Chen Tianming¡¯s ears. Chen Tianming sneered, ¡°Why? Liu Xixi, you¡¯re so forgetful. If you didn¡¯t whip up a cyber manhunt for me in your live stream, would I have done anything?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re really vicious. I thought you were just a b*tch before, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so malicious,¡± Chen Tianming sneered and said bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m vicious?¡± Liu Xixi cried in despair, ¡°You ruined my life, you f*cking demon!¡± ¡°What about you? Did you repent when you destroyed someone else¡¯s life?¡± Chen Tianming was infuriated. ¡®So now she¡¯s angry her life was ruined? What about back then? Did she ever regret ruining Su Xiaonuan¡¯s life? Did she regret ruining my life in the past?¡¯ She didn¡¯t; she wouldn¡¯t. Liu Xixi would only scorn the lowly lives of the worthless masses from above. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t think he had anything to say to this crazy woman, but Liu Xixi¡¯s curses were still ringing in his ears. Tianming smiled. ¡°What¡¯s the point of all this talk?¡± ¡°What can you do to me? Liu Xixi, don¡¯t think too highly of yourself. I¡¯ve already told you I don¡¯t need to lift a finger to crush you.¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t lie. He had initially intended to wait until Liu Xixi entered the entertainment industry¡ªlike she did in his previous life¡ªbefore he started to make a move against her. However, Liu Xixi insisted on testing his boundaries and danced on the razor¡¯s edge. He would think of it as removing a cancer from the entertainment industry. Liu Xixi¡¯s mind imploded, and her thoughts went blank. She understood that she had hit a wall this time. At this moment, her mind flashed back to when she had Chen Tianming eating out of her hand; he pandered to her every whim and frantically tried to gain her favor. She also remembered the Chen family¡¯s ranking on the Billionaires List. Liu Xixi was filled with regret, and she begged him like he was her last lifeline. ¡°Tianming, Tianming, I know you love me! You can¡¯t bear to see me suffer, right? Please, help me. I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Chapter 16 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming smiled, ¡°Anything?¡± Liu Xixi thought that Chen Tianming was tempted by her offer. She quickly said, ¡°Yes, anything.¡± ¡°My body and my being, it all belongs to you.¡± Liu Xixi kept talking as if trying to remind Chen Tianming of their past. ¡°Tianming, you love me, right? You still remember all the times we spent together, right?¡± ¡®Of course, I do,¡¯ Chen Tianming sneered. He remembered the days when he was a simp and a cuckold. He had to admit that Liu Xixi was good at hitting nerves. Those days when Chen Tianming chased after her were beautiful memories to Liu Xixi, but to Chen Tianming, it was a shameful past. ¡°Liu Xixi, you¡¯re so cheap.¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t understand why he fell in love with such a woman. Chen Tianming hung up the phone and blocked Liu Xixi¡¯s number. Now, he only needed to leave the rest to the professionals. ¡°Special reward unlocked. You have helped Su Xiaonuan and received a high-quality secretary.¡± ¡®What?! What kind of strange reward was this?¡¯ ¡®A secretary?¡¯ Chen Tianming rubbed his chin in thought. At this moment, Uncle Wong¡ªthe butler¡ªcalled Chen Tianming. ¡°Young Master, didn¡¯t you want to sign up for some classes? The master heard about this and asked his special assistant, Mr. Liu, to find a secretary for you. He said that she can help you inherit the company and that you can trust her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent you her information. Let me know if you¡¯re satisfied.¡± After speaking happily, Uncle Wong quietly added, ¡°She¡¯s a stunning girl.¡± Chen Tianming had just hung up the phone when he received an email from Uncle Wong. He opened it and saw a familiar face. The girl in the photo was smiling at the camera, and the camera captured her most beautiful moment. The information listed her name as Su Xiaonuan. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t get his head around it. After a long while, he finally remembered what Su Xiaonuan had said: ¡°I passed the adult college entrance examination and got good results.¡± Chen Tianming knew that Mr. Liu was one of the top talents in the industry; anyone he approved of and handpicked wouldn¡¯t just merely have good grades. ¡®Was this the special reward the system mentioned?¡¯ Nevertheless, since his father suggested it, Chen Tianming could accept it without worry. However, Uncle Wong¡¯s comment about trust was interesting. It seemed that his father already knew something fishy was going on within the Chen Corporation, but he was waiting for an opportunity. Chen Tianming smiled. At this moment, Jiang Bei called. ¡®I hope he¡¯s not calling to plead for Liu Xixi¡¯s sake.¡¯ Chen Tianming picked up the call, and Jiang Bei greeted him with, ¡°Tianming, today¡¯s the big day! You better not have forgotten!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the occasion?¡± Chen Tianming had been so busy dealing with Liu Xixi that he forgot about Jiang Bei for a while. ¡°Bro, how could you forget? I¡¯ve been reminding you about this for a long time.¡± Jiang Bei became anxious and said, ¡°Zhou Qingyue, remember?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my birthday tonight. The party will be at the Imperial Grand KTV, don¡¯t forget!¡± Chen Tianming finally remembered and looked at the time. It was already Saturday¡ªJiang Bei¡¯s party was happening tonight. Chen Tianming asked as if it had suddenly occurred to him, ¡°How are you so confident you will get together with Zhou Qingyue tonight?¡± Jiang Bei paused for a moment before he laughingly replied, ¡°No lady can resist my charm, naturally! What else would I need?¡± Chen Tianming sneered, ¡®What kind of sh*t charm does an idiot like you have? If you truly are charismatic, why would you resort to such underhanded methods?¡¯ Chen Tianming found Jiang Bei annoying, but he had to attend the party because this concerned Zhou Qingyue. ¡®Dear heavens, I feel like I¡¯m beginning to resemble a mother hen instead of a villain.¡¯ Chen Tianming unwillingly mumbled an agreement and ended the call. He looked at his lethargic form in the mirror and decided to take a nap. He had learned his lesson this time. He sent a message to Zhou Qingyue telling her to wait for him at the shop after she got ready for the party. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know what tricks Jiang Bei would pull, so he decided to go together with Zhou Qingyue to be safe. He was the safest choice among Jiang Bei¡¯s group of friends. Although Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t understand why Chen Tianming suggested it, she could sense his good intentions. Soon, it was nighttime. Chen Tianming drove a red Bentley straight to the milk tea shop. Zhou Qingyue was already waiting at the door. Her hair flowed to her waist, and she was dressed in a long white dress, like a pliant willow swaying in the wind. She was as beautiful as a painting, standing there with her cold and distant demeanor. Tianming drove up to her and slowly rolled down the window. ¡°Get in the car,¡± Chen Tianming said concisely. Zhou Qingyue wasn¡¯t fussy and promptly sat in the front passenger seat. After she got into the car, the two of them looked at each other, at a loss for words, until Zhou Qingyue broke the silence, ¡°Why have you been helping me?¡± Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows. ¡°What gave you that idea?¡± ¡°Intuition,¡± Zhou Qingyue responded. She looked at Chen Tianming and calmly asked, ¡°Do you have the same goal as Jiang Bei?¡± Chen Tianming smiled, then shook his head and said, ¡°Birds of different feathers don¡¯t flock together. Jiang Bei and I have different moral convictions, so we can¡¯t get along.¡± ¡°Stay close tonight and try not to leave my sight. Don¡¯t accept any food or drink they hand you.¡± Chen Tianming was afraid that Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t realize the dangers, so he told her directly. Zhou Qingyue also raised her eyebrows. She was an adult and had many suitors; she understood Chen Tianming¡¯s meaning. ¡°I still don¡¯t get it; why are you helping me?¡± Zhou Qingyue asked the question she¡¯d been itching to know the answer to. Chen Tianming smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. After a long silence, he slowly said, ¡°You helped me once.¡± Liu Xixi frowned, trying to recall such an event. Chen Tianming smiled but didn¡¯t say anything further. ¡°I don¡¯t remember having done that; could it be that you¡¯ve mistaken me for someone else?¡± Zhou Qingyue asked tentatively. She was sure that she had never helped Chen Tianming. Besides, what kind of help could she offer someone like Chen Tianming? ¡°I¡¯m certain it¡¯s you,¡± Chen Tianming said without hesitation. ¡°Besides, who would mistake a beauty like you?¡± Tianming added jokingly. Zhou Qingyue was indeed so beautiful that she eclipsed all others. In his previous life, even after she experienced so much hardship, she still stood out among the crowd. Chen Tianming would never forget her appearance. He had to admit that despite being a worthless idiot, Jiang Bei had good taste. Chapter 17 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming and Zhou Qingyue soon arrived at the entrance of the KTV club. He didn¡¯t expect to find a smartly-dressed Jiang Bei waiting there with a big bouquet of roses. When he saw Zhou Qingyue alighting from Chen Tianming¡¯s car, he was momentarily shocked, and the smile on his face froze. But before Chen Tianming could say anything, Jiang Bei approached Zhou Qingyue with a stiff smile. ¡°Yueyue, I was worried about you, so I asked Tianming to pick you up.¡± ¡°Tianming, how is my car? Doesn¡¯t it run smoothly?¡± Jiang Bei kept winking at Chen Tianming, hinting at him to go along with his performance. Jiang Bei was making himself look good and trying to get all the credit. The Chen Tianming from before would have let it slide. He would also feel that it was his duty as a good friend to be Jiang Bei¡¯s wingman and happily cooperate with him. But now, Chen Tianming only felt like sneering. It wasn¡¯t hard to tell from Zhou Qingyue¡¯s look of tolerance and disdain that she had already realized Jiang Bei was being pretentious, but it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for her to expose him. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t say anything and just smiled. ¡°Embarrass Jiang Bei by exposing his act and gain Jiang Bei¡¯s jealousy +10.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t discredit Jiang Bei, and his act succeeds. Reward: 2.5 million yuan for being a wimp.¡± ¡®There were only two options this time, but what¡¯s up with the wimp tag?¡¯ ¡®System, don¡¯t take me for a fool. 2.5 million for my dignity is extremely insulting.¡¯ Chen Tianming smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember giving my new car to you, so what do you mean?¡± The cheer on Jiang Bei¡¯s face disappeared as soon as he heard that. He then smiled awkwardly as he pushed Zhou Qingyue inside. ¡°My pal here likes to embarrass me sometimes.¡± Zhou Qingyue inconspicuously avoided his wandering hands and said with a frown, ¡°I can walk on my own.¡± Jiang Bei turned around and glared at Chen Tianming. When Chen Tianming looked toward him, he put on a grimacing smile. Chen Tianming waved indifferently before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed behind them. Soon, they arrived at the KTV room. Chen Tianming took the opportunity to sit beside Zhou Qingyue. Jiang Bei paused before asking the person on the other side of Zhou Qingyue to change seats. Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows at Jiang Bei. The others were also starting to catch on and began to observe the three of them. Jiang Bei gave Chen Tianming a heavy gaze before he took out his phone and started typing. Soon enough, Chen Tianming¡¯s phone vibrated. Chen Tianming calmly read the message with a smile: ¡°Tianming, what are you doing? Why are you making me look bad today?¡± ¡®Haha, you¡¯ll have to wait and see. It¡¯s not just tonight; I will give you a hard time every day from now on.¡¯ Chen Tianming looked at his phone and messaged Zhou Qingyue, ¡°Be careful; don¡¯t consume anything suspicious.¡± He returned to Jiang Bei¡¯s chat page and slowly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not in a good mood today.¡± Jiang Bei was too busy looking at his phone to notice Zhou Qingyue. However, he nearly popped a vein when he read Chen Tianming¡¯s answer. ¡®That¡¯s his reason for embarrassing me in front of Zhou Qingyue?!¡¯ Jiang Bei glowered at the phone screen, not knowing what to say. Jealousy began to fester within him. Chen Tianming was just a good-for-nothing, but he had everything. He could get any car he wanted; his pocket money seemed limitless, and his family indulged his every whim! ¡®Why do I have to rely on Chen Tianming to survive? If only I had what he has¡­¡¯ Jiang Bei suddenly had a ridiculous idea; ¡®If only I could take everything from Chen Tianming.¡¯ ¡°Target mission detected. Jiang Bei¡¯s Corruption Level has reached 75%. Reward: 200 million in venture capital.¡± Chen Tianming was baffled. He was just minding his own business, and money came raining down from the sky. ¡®How did Jiang Bei¡¯s Corruption Level reach 75%? Why would the system reward me when Jiang Bei¡¯s Corruption Level reached certain milestones?¡¯ ¡®If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll go wild with this. Two hundred million is a large sum!¡¯ Chen Tianming looked at Jiang Bei heatedly; he was no longer simply his enemy. He was his ATM! Jiang Bei shivered under Chen Tianming¡¯s fixed gaze. He shrank back, wondering, ¡®What¡¯s gotten into Tianming?¡¯ However, now wasn¡¯t the time to argue with Chen Tianming. Jiang Bei turned his head and signaled one of his underlings with his eyes. The lackey quickly ran off and soon returned with a cart full of drinks. He laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s our pal Bei¡¯s birthday, and we even have his lovely wife here. So let¡¯s have fun and get smashed tonight!¡± Chen Tianming frowned when he heard the underling directly refer to Zhou Qingyue as Jiang Bei¡¯s wife. Zhou Qingyue¡¯s face darkened instantly. She was already a cold beauty, but now, her icy demeanor was enough to freeze the atmosphere. ¡°Tell your friend to stop talking nonsense, or I¡¯ll leave immediately,¡± Zhou Qingyue said with a voice that dripped ice. Jiang Bei turned around and glowered at his underling. It may seem like he was reprimanding the lackey, but Chen Tianming knew this was just his usual ploy. Jiang Bei was using his underlings to test Zhou Qingyue¡¯s bottom line. However, Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t hesitate when she said those harsh words. ¡°Alright, ok. Yueyue, don¡¯t take him seriously,¡± Jiang Bei laughingly placated and took several glasses from the cart, placing them on the table. ¡°It¡¯s my birthday, so please, have a drink and party tonight.¡± Since Jiang Bei requested so nicely, no one could reject him. Jiang Bei¡¯s seemingly innocent and normal comments caused Chen Tianming to pay extreme attention to his surroundings. After all, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know when Jiang Bei would make his move. Generally, it was easiest to tamper with the drinks, so Chen Tianming secretly observed Jiang Bei¡¯s actions. Jiang Bei removed an unopened bottle from the beer bucket and then added ice cubes to everyone¡¯s glasses. He put more ice into Zhou Qingyue¡¯s cup than the others, but this could be seen as being sweet to a girl, and the ice all came from the same ice bucket, so Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t say anything. Then, Jiang Bei opened the bottle in front of everyone and filled the cups. ¡®Everything seems fine so far.¡¯ Chen Tianming frowned, ¡®So how will he make his move?¡¯ Zhou Qingyue was naturally vigilant; she wasn¡¯t a dumb blond. However, seeing nothing unusual with Jiang Bei¡¯s actions, she even suspected she¡¯d misjudged him. Jiang Bei raised his cup with a smile and gazed at Zhou Qingyue soulfully as he said, ¡°Yueyue, here¡¯s a toast to you.¡± Zhou Qingyue hesitated shortly, then picked up the glass in front of her, clinked it with Jiang Bei¡¯s, and uttered, ¡°Happy birthday to you.¡± Chapter 18 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming also raised his glass and toasted Jiang Bei. ¡°Happy birthday, Jiang Bei!¡± ¡°Tianming, we will be best friends for life!¡± Jiang Bei downed the liquor in one gulp. Chen Tianming smiled and finished his drink too. ¡®Best friends for life?¡¯ Chen Tianming sneered. ¡®Jiang Bei, you sure know how to tell a joke.¡¯ Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t drink much. Halfway through the party, she called someone and said her friend would come to pick her up. Chen Tianming raised his eyebrows. ¡®That¡¯s weird. How did Jiang Bei get the jump on her last time if she left early? Or had things changed because I warned Zhou Qingyue?¡¯ Jiang Bei didn¡¯t say anything when he heard she was going to leave early. After Zhou Qingyue had a few more glasses of alcohol, she said she needed to go to the bathroom. She¡¯d left her phone on the table, and it rang while she was away. Jiang Bei glanced at the phone¡¯s screen; her roommate was calling. He gave a smile that spoke volumes and picked up the call. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re almost here. You want Yueyue to meet you outside?¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call Yueyue now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s hang out together next time.¡± The party was very noisy; Jiang Bei had to raise his voice to be heard, so Chen Tianming caught his words clearly. Jiang Bei then took Zhou Qingyue¡¯s bag and phone and left the room. Chen Tianming¡¯s forehead furrowed; he had a feeling that something was wrong. At this moment, Jiang Bei¡¯s lackeys exchanged glances before they said without any restraint, ¡°It¡¯s so f*cking boring! Let¡¯s have some KTV girls accompany us!¡± A lackey made a call, and soon, a group of dolled-up women walked in. Chen Tianming frowned as he looked at the ladies. They were even worse than Liu Xixi! He secretly pocketed his phone, held his stomach, and cried, ¡°Urgh, I need the bathroom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Pick the girl you like, and we¡¯ll have fun with the others.¡± Chen Tianming was in a hurry to find Jiang Bei, so he randomly pointed at one of the girls. The guys all had a girl in their arms; the bolder ones couldn¡¯t keep their hands off the women. Chen Tianming pushed open the door and walked out. Luckily, their private room wasn¡¯t far from the KTV entrance. Chen Tianming reached the entrance just in time to see Zhou Qingyue¡¯s roommate emerge from a black car. He had seen this girl in his previous life. She was an ordinary-looking girl with glasses who took over Zhou Qingyue¡¯s assignments and placements after her fall from grace. Chen Tianming noticed the driver in the black car was the son of the Jiang family¡¯s driver. He felt something was wrong, and the truth was staring him in the face, but he still missed it. Glasses Girl quickly walked up to Jiang Bei, who took a key card from his pocket and said something to her with a smile. He then passed Zhou Qingyue¡¯s phone and bag to Glasses Girl. ¡®Whoa, is he such a hardcore Casanova? Since he didn¡¯t get his hands on his muse, he set his sights on her roommate instead?¡¯ ¡®No, that¡¯s not it!¡¯ Chen Tianming could feel a strange heat in his belly, and he recalled the debauched scene in the KTV room when he left. ¡®Jiang Bei had indeed spiked the drinks! He tampered with everyone¡¯s drinks! And the others had already tacitly agreed to his scheme!¡¯ Chen Tianming swore under his breath. He didn¡¯t seem to have ingested a large amount of the drug, as the only effect he was experiencing was increased sexual desire. ¡®How did Jiang Bei manage it? I saw him open the bottle, and the glasses were placed randomly. Then it could only be¡­ the ice cubes!¡¯ Chen Tianming gritted his teeth. ¡®Jiang Bei, you swine!¡¯ And to make matters worse, Zhou Qingyue just walked out from the toilet at the side of the entrance. Chen Tianming silently cursed and hurriedly typed on his phone. Zhou Qingyue¡¯s face was slightly flushed. She was relieved to see her roommate and even smiled at Jiang Bei, telling him to have fun at the party. Fortunately, the virtue of young people nowadays is that they are never without their phones. Zhou Qingyue took her phone from Glasses Girl, and Chen Tianming¡¯s message happened to pop up. ¡°Find an excuse to go back to the toilet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring your phone with you.¡± Zhou Qingyue¡¯s heart sank. Although Chen Tianming¡¯s words were baffling, her heart told her to do as he said! Zhou Qingyue locked her phone screen with a calm expression and dazedly smacked her head. ¡°Oh no, I can¡¯t believe I left my lipstick in the toilet. Wait here; I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡± With that, she started to walk away with her phone. Glasses Girl adjusted her glasses and smiled, ¡°Yueyue, go right ahead. I¡¯ll hold your phone for you.¡± Zhou Qingyue suddenly broke out in cold sweat. When she turned around and handed the phone to Glasses Girl, she asked softly, ¡°Have we called for a taxi?¡± Glasses Girl nodded and gestured for Zhou Qingyue to look at the black taxi behind her. Zhou Qingyue¡¯s heart sank even further, but she still put on a smile filled with trust. ¡°I knew Qingqing was the most reliable!¡± Jiang Bei gave her a smile that spoke volumes and said, ¡°Yueyue seems to have drunk too much.¡± Zhou Qingyue shook her dizzy head and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Jiang Bei turned to look at Glasses Girl and muttered, ¡°Take good care of Yueyue.¡± Glasses Girl smiled and said nothing. Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t know how she managed to lift her cold limbs and walk to the female toilet at the corner. Chen Tianming appeared from the other side and pulled Zhou Qingyue into the private room closest to the toilet. The two of them hid behind the door. Zhou Qingyue¡¯s consciousness was getting clouded; at this point, she knew that she had been drugged and her roommate was also Jiang Bei¡¯s accomplice. Chen Tianming was sweating profusely, but he still tried to comfort her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve already arranged for the doctor to come.¡± At this moment, the voices of Glasses Girl and Jiang Bei came from the toilet at the corner. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± That was Jiang Bei speaking. Glasses Girl went in and called out softly, ¡°Yueyue, where are you?¡± The toilet was empty; it was so quiet that it was a little spooky. ¡°It looks like she¡¯d figured us out. Let¡¯s look for her,¡± Jiang Bei said indifferently. Chen Tianming quickly removed his clothes, threw them behind the sofa, and trapped Zhou Qingyue under him. He was purposefully noisy and even growled in a low voice as he kept moving his lower body, and he soon attracted the attention of the two outside. The private room had a glass window allowing Jiang Bei and Glasses Girl to look inside. From the outside, they saw a man¡¯s broad-shouldered back. The man had a petite woman beneath him and appeared to be busy making out with her. Jiang Bei frowned, ¡®That probably isn¡¯t Zhou Qingyue.¡¯ He took a cursory glance and left with Glasses Girl. Chen Tianming continued to lean on Zhou Qingyue. As expected, Jiang Bei and Glasses Girl passed by again in less than two minutes. Jiang Bei frowned when he saw the man still pistoning his hips. He turned to Glasses girl and ordered, ¡°Find her!¡± Chen Tianming waited until he was sure they were gone before pulling his clothes over Zhou Qingyue and calling 110. ¡°Hello, officer. I would like to make a report! Many people are having group sex at the Imperial Grand KTV!¡± After he finished his report and ended the call, Chen Tianming dialed another number. ¡°Zhang Ming, come pick us up.¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Not long after Tianming hung up the phone, an ear-piercing sound was heard outside the KTV. He had to admit the police were very efficient. They arrived at the scene in just a few minutes. The leader was a female police officer with a smoking hot figure that didn¡¯t match her delicate features. With a serious expression, she began to assign tasks to her subordinates. ¡°The two of you head to that private room. You guys check that one¡­ The rest of you, follow me!¡± ¡°Yes, sir! Captain Yang!¡± Yang Xiaoyu led her subordinates and rushed toward Chen Tianming and Zhou Qingyue¡¯s room She kicked the door open and yelled, ¡°Get down and raise your hands above your head! Men squat down on the left, and the women to the right!¡± Yang Xiaoyu¡¯s voice ended there, and she was met with silence. Confused, she swept a look around the room. When Yang Xiaoyu only saw Chen Tianming and Zhou Qingyue sitting attentively on the sofa, a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face. She could only clear her throat and say, ¡°Ahem! The most important thing for college students is to study. If you want to relax, you can go to the park!¡± Yang Xiaoyu quickly shooed them out, apparently finished with her admonishment. ¡°Hurry up and leave. Don¡¯t delay your studies!¡± Chen Tianming and Zhou Qingyue nodded vigorously at Yang Xiaoyu¡¯s words. Chen Tianming helped Zhou Qingyue up from the sofa. They supported each other and walked toward the door. They had just left the private room when they ran into Zhang Ming heading their way. Seeing their current state, Zhang Ming hurriedly went over to help them. Fortunately, Zhang Ming had brought a female doctor with him. Otherwise, no one could care for Zhou Qingyue; it was challenging for people who were drugged to control their hands and feet, so she wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything by herself. However, Zhou Qingyue consumed too much of the drug. They didn¡¯t have time to move her elsewhere before administering the antidote, so they could only use an empty private room. The doctor gave the antidote to Chen Tianming and Zhou Qingyue. Chen Tianming had a lower dose of the drug, so he woke up within a few minutes, whereas Zhou Qingyue slept soundly after she took the antidote. ¡°Zhang Ming, get Zhou Qingyue a room nearby and have the doctor accompany her along the way,¡± Chen Tianming requested. Zhang Ming wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and teased, ¡°Did our dear Mr. Chen fall for the school belle? During her crucial time of need, if you acted assertively and slept with her, you could land yourself a wife!¡± Chen Tianming kicked him and said, ¡°Get lost! Here¡¯s the money. Hurry up; I have more work for you to complete!¡± ¡°Okay, boss!¡± Zhang Ming took the money and quickly left with the doctor and Zhou Qingyue. Chen Tianming took a moment to relax after the day¡¯s excitement and was about to leave when the System suddenly announced, ¡°Option 1: Testify for Jiang Bei that he did not participate in the sex gathering. Gain Jiang Bei¡¯s favorability +1.¡± ¡°Option 2: Refuse to testify for Jiang Bei and report his acts of drugging. Lose Jiang Bei¡¯s favorability -1000.¡± ¡°Option 3: Testify for Jiang Bei and prove that he and Zhou Qingyue¡¯s roommate are a couple. Reward: Zhou Qingyue¡¯s little secret.¡± Chen Tianming started to weigh the pros and cons of each option. To be honest, he wasn¡¯t very satisfied with these rewards. However, of the three listed, the third one was the best. So Tianming chose the third option. He left the room and headed toward Jiang Bei¡¯s private room. When he got close, Chen Tianming could hear Jiang Bei¡¯s loud denials. ¡°Officer, I told you, I¡¯m here to look for my girlfriend. I have nothing to do with the people here!¡± Yang Xiaoyu nodded perfunctorily and said, ¡°The previous guy said the same thing. He¡¯s being taught a lesson now.¡± Hearing that, Jiang Bei was filled with frustration. ¡®Was this policewoman a bimbo? Can¡¯t you tell if I¡¯m speaking the truth?¡¯ If this dragged on any longer, his plans for today would be ruined. Just as Jiang Bei was panicking and couldn¡¯t think of a solution, Chen Tianming¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in his mind. ¡®Oh, that¡¯s right! How did I forget about that idiot Chen Tianming?¡¯ If Chen Tianming could testify, he could leave this place. With this thought in mind, he took out his phone and waved it in Yang Xiaoyu¡¯s direction. ¡°I have the right to make a phone call, don¡¯t I?¡± Seeing his actions and knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to cause any trouble, Yang Xiaoyu nodded. ¡®He wouldn¡¯t be able to escape today no matter who he called.¡¯ Just as Jiang Bei was about to make the call, Chen Tianming appeared before him. Jiang Bei looked at him as if he saw an angel and hastily waved at Chen Tianming and said, ¡°Tianming, you¡¯re finally here! Hurry up and tell the police officer here that I came with my girlfriend, yeah?¡± Chen Tianming had been wondering how he should bring up the topic of his girlfriend, but Jiang Bei had unexpectedly given him an opening before he even spoke up. And so Chen Tianming continued where Jiang Bei left off, ¡°That¡¯s right! Didn¡¯t you say you brought your girlfriend to meet the guys? Where is she?¡± Tianming¡¯s eyes swept the room as he spoke and immediately fell on Zhou Qingyue¡¯s roommate, who was crouched down not far away. He strode toward Glasses Girl¡ªQingqing¡ªand said, ¡°Found her. Jiang Bei, why did you leave your girlfriend on the ground for so long?¡± Chen Tianming pulled Qingqing to her feet. Jiang Bei¡¯s eyes flashed with anger at Chen Tianming¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t like where Chen Tianming was going with this, but under the current circumstances, the most important thing was to get out of this place, so he didn¡¯t refute him either. Qingqing was about to retort when Chen Tianming said to Yang Xiaoyu, ¡°Ma¡¯am, I assure you, my friend Jiang Bei came with his girlfriend, Qingqing! He¡¯s not involved in any gathering whatsoever!¡± Yang Xiaoyu triple-checked with Chen Tianming and the others before letting them go with the advice: ¡°In the future if you have nothing to do, go to the library more often. Don¡¯t come to these places.¡± Jiang Bei promised he would do so multiple times before leaving. They had just left the KTV when Tianming received a message containing Zhou Qingyue¡¯s secret on his phone. Since Jiang Bei was with him, Chen Tianming left it for later. When they reached the car park, Chen Tianming told Jiang Bei, ¡°I¡¯m going to call a chauffeur to drive me back to school now, Jiang Bei.¡± Jiang Bei had wanted to return to school in Tianming¡¯s car, but Chen Tianming had no intention of letting him in his car. Later, Chen Tianming got into the car and waved to Jiang Bei before the driver drove off. Jiang Bei ignored Chen Tianming and left immediately. His face twisted as he snarled, ¡°Chen Tianming, just you wait! I¡¯ll get you for this!¡± Jiang Bei kicked the car beside him in anger and stalked off. Only the sound of beeping echoed in the underground carpark. ¡­ Chapter 20 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Jiang Bei ran into Qingqing on his way out. He was anxious to find Zhou Qingyue and hoped that her roommate might know where she¡¯d gone. When Qingqing stated that she hadn¡¯t seen Zhou Qingyue since she returned to the toilet and had no idea where she went, Jiang Bei exploded and went on a rampage. Qingqing¡¯s face was filled with fear at Jiang Bei¡¯s actions, and she began to tremble uncontrollably. Jiang Bei had always been polite in front of others; this was the first time she¡¯d seen him like this. Qingqing finally understood why Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t like Jiang Bei. Two-faced backstabbers like him were off-putting. Today was an eye-opening experience; Qingqing didn¡¯t want to go through it again. She sighed slightly and walked out of the car park. She¡¯d certainly thrown the baby out with the bathwater this time! While Qingqing and Jiang Bei returned to school, Chen Tianming was sent to the hotel. The chauffeur stopped the car and opened the door for Chen Tianming respectfully. ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve arrived at the hotel!¡± Chen Tianming was confused and asked, ¡°Hotel? What did the person who called you say? Are you sure you got the correct destination?¡± The chauffeur nodded in answer. He feared that Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t believe him, so he took out his phone and showed Tianming the details sent by Zhang Ming. Zhang Ming had instructed the chauffeur to drive Tianming to the hotel and leave after he parked the car. As Chen Tianming was about to ask the chauffeur to send him home, his phone suddenly rang. It was a message from Zhang Ming. ¡°Dear Boss, I wish you a wonderful night! No need to thank me too much! I¡¯m just being a good Samaritan!¡± When he read Zhang Ming¡¯s message, Chen Tianming only felt like ¡®thanking¡¯ him with all their culture¡¯s colorful language. If he hadn¡¯t had alcohol, he would have driven over to Zhang Ming¡¯s place and given him a piece of his mind. ¡®I wonder what goes on in that brain of his! How does he come up with such ridiculous ideas?¡¯ Chen Tianming was going to ask the chauffeur to drive him home when the system¡¯s familiar voice rang out. ¡°Option 1: Leave the hotel and return home to rest. The system will reward you with the honorary title of ¡®The Chaste and Virtuous.''¡± ¡°Option 2: Enter Zhou Qingyue¡¯s hotel room, check up on her, and leave without any funny business. Reward: Zhou Qingyue¡¯s favorability +5.¡± ¡°Option 3: Go into Zhou Qingyue¡¯s hotel room and cause something to happen between you and Zhou Qingyue. Reward: A project with very high returns.¡± Looking at his options, Chen Tianming cried, ¡°Good heavens, is this villain system legit? Why would they give me such an option if it¡¯s a decent system?¡± This system was trying to make something happen between him and Zhou Qingyue! ¡®Am I truly okay with this?¡¯ Although he was a villain, he scorned such despicable actions! Chen Tianming hesitated for a long time before he walked into the hotel. ¡®At worst, if anything did happen between us, I would shoulder the responsibility!¡¯ Having decided, Chen Tianming knocked on Zhou Qingyue¡¯s door. After a few seconds, the door was pushed open. When the doctor saw Chen Tianming at the door, she let out a sigh of relief and let him in. She started to pack up her things and said, ¡°The girl is doing much better. Just give her this pill at midnight. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be going now!¡± And with that, the doctor took off. Only Zhou Qingyue and Chen Tianming were left in the room. Chen Tianming looked at Zhou Qingyue, sleeping soundly on the bed, and sighed helplessly. ¡°Being a villain is really f*cking difficult!¡± Chen Tianming complained as he sat on the sofa at the side. He took out his phone and decided to go over Zhou Qingyue¡¯s little secret that the system had just rewarded him with. Chen Tianming turned on his phone and saw an old photo. He thought the person in the photo was Zhou Qingyue, but there was something different about her. It was as if the current Zhou Qingyue lacked a trace of elegance compared to the Zhou Qingyue in the photo. The Zhou Qingyue he knew was a little more down-to-earth. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t understand why this photo was Zhou Qingyue¡¯s little secret. While Chen Tianming was trying to figure it out, another photo appeared on his phone. This photo was similar to the previous one, except that there was also a baby in it. Cheng Tianming found a small butterfly-shaped birthmark below the baby¡¯s collarbone. It became clear to Chen Tianming when he saw the birthmark. ¡®Could the option given by the system just now be related to this butterfly-shaped birthmark?¡¯ So, when the system mentioned ¡°something happened between him and Zhou Qingyue,¡± they meant that he saw the birthmark on her body. Chen Tianming decided to verify his idea. He walked toward Zhou Qingyue¡¯s sleeping form. Zhou Qingyue wore a dress today. Although the neckline around the collarbone was a little wrinkled, it covered birthmark. If Chen Tianming wanted to see Zhou Qingyue¡¯s birthmark, he would have to pull Zhou Qingyue¡¯s dress down slightly. The solution was before him, but Chen Tianming started to feel conflicted. Other villains would often have a group of minions to do their bidding. In comparison, he was a poor villain; not only was he braving the world all on his own, but he also had to do everything himself. Everything would be fine if Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t wake up. If she were awake, ten mouths wouldn¡¯t be enough for him to plead innocent. Chen Tianming still reached out to Zhou Qingyue¡¯s dress despite his feelings. ¡®See no evil, hear no evil.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll just take a glance; no big deal.¡¯ Just as he was going to pull the dress down, Zhou Qingyue spoke icily, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Chen Tianming was startled by her sudden words, and his hand jerked, accidentally tearing Zhou Qinyue¡¯s dress open and revealing a large swath of her fair skin. Chen Tianming looked helpless when he heard the distinct sound of tearing cloth. ¡®Who would have thought that the quality of this dress was so poor?¡¯ However, he had to admit that Zhou Qingyue had an outstanding figure; Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t help but glance at her fair skin. He could see a tiny red mark that resembled a bowtie on her snow-white skin. Chen Tianming was now sure that Zhou Qingyue was the baby girl in the old photo. The baby¡¯s identity was confirmed, but there was another more important thing he needed to find out. Who was the middle-aged woman in the photo? Zhou Qingyue wasn¡¯t an orphan; she had parents, and to his knowledge, she wasn¡¯t adopted, so who was the woman who looked so similar to her? Zhou Qingyue covered her chest tightly with her arms. She frowned when she saw Chen Tianming in a daze. She thought he was different from the others, but she was wrong. They were all birds of a feather; he was no better than any of them. She didn¡¯t know why she expected more from him. Just as Zhou Qingyue was about to say something, the system¡¯s voice again sounded in Chen Tianming¡¯s head. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 21 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Option 1: Not say a word against Zhou Qingyue¡¯s following accusations and silently accept the blame. The system will reward you with the honorary title of ¡®Useless.''¡± ¡°Option 2: Use sufficient evidence to prove that you are innocent of Zhou Qingyue¡¯s accusations and establish a lofty image before Zhou Qingyue. Reward: Gain Zhou Qingyue¡¯s favorable impression +5.¡± ¡°Option 3: Faced with Zhou Qingyue¡¯s accusations, use your glib tongue to tell a story and make her believe it is true. Reward: Obtain detailed information about the previous reward ¡®project with very high returns.''¡± When he heard the system¡¯s list of options, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡®Good heavens! This system is really interesting! It even has interlinked plots, and the rewards come in a series!¡¯ Chen Tianming suspected that the system had set the scene with the previous option choices for this very moment. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate. After all, the Chen family needed a project with high returns. Just as Chen Tianming was about to speak, Zhou Qingyue coldly said, ¡°So, you¡¯re the same as the others, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zhou Qingyue¡¯s voice was cold but also held a trace of helplessness and cynical resignation as she continued speaking, ¡°I thought you were different, but it turns out¡­¡± Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t finish her sentence and sighed deeply instead. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had felt this kind of helplessness; she would feel better with time. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know what to do; after all, he was a simp in his previous life. He had no other reference for treating beautiful women, but he didn¡¯t think Zhou Qingyue would like his bootlicking flattery. Chen Tianming was about to offer her a few words of comfort when he suddenly thought of the photo and blurted out, ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen you somewhere before!¡± Zhou Qingyue sneered, ¡°Nobody uses pickup lines like that anymore!¡± As she spoke, she moved to get up from the bed. However, Zhou Qingyue felt a chill across her chest; she¡¯d nearly forgotten that her dress was ruined and her top was exposed. She instantly crawled back into the covers. She wouldn¡¯t let Chen Tianming take advantage of her; he¡¯s not getting another chance to peek at her. Chen Tianming was thinking about how he would explain what he had just said, so he didn¡¯t notice Zhou Qingyue¡¯s actions. After all, he still wanted the system¡¯s third option reward. If he did notice what she was doing, he probably would¡¯ve taken another look; who didn¡¯t like beautiful things? Chen Tianming¡¯s mind whirled rapidly, and he instantly thought of a way to solve his current situation. He coughed lightly and affected a serious expression as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not hitting on you! I do find you familiar! I thought I might have met you somewhere before, but you seem slightly different than I remembered!¡± Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t believe what Chen Tianming said initially, but her eyes lit up when she heard the second half of his words. ¡®Could it be that Chen Tianming really knew someone who looked like her?¡¯ ¡®Was she my mother?¡¯ Actually, Zhou Qingyue knew from a young age that she wasn¡¯t her parents¡¯ biological child. Therefore, whenever she had time, she would work to earn money so that she could find out her background. Now that such an opportunity was before her, she naturally had to seize it. Zhou Qingyue wrapped herself in the blankets and implored Chen Tianming, ¡°What happened? Tell me, where have you seen someone who looks exactly like me?¡± Chen Tianming heard Zhou Qingyue¡¯s tone and knew he was halfway to the reward. Now, he just needed to make Zhou Qingyue believe him. ¡°It was a long time ago! But if you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll keep an eye out!¡± The light in Zhou Qingyue¡¯s eyes dimmed, but she still whispered, ¡°Chen Tianming, thank you!¡± Whether Chen Tianming succeeded or not in finding her parents, Zhou Qingyue had to thank him. Chen Tianming waved his hand and looked at the time. ¡°It¡¯s late, and I¡¯m exhausted. There¡¯s a pill on the table you should take at midnight. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be leaving now! The room has already been paid for, so there¡¯s no need to worry!¡± Chen Tianming left after those words. That was just an excuse; he wanted to see the high-returns project. After Tianming left, Zhou Qingyue laid on the bed. However, she wasn¡¯t sleepy at all; her mind was filled with thoughts, and she couldn¡¯t concentrate. So, she sat up and regarded the night view outside, thinking,¡¯I wish life would get better.¡¯ After Chen Tianming left the hotel, he took a taxi back home. He had just laid down on his bed when a new email appeared in his mailbox. Chen Tianming opened the email and was dumbfounded when he saw the project info. ¡®What is this?!¡¯ ¡®The system isn¡¯t playing a trick on me, right?¡¯ He had never seen this project before in his previous life, so why did it appear now? Did his rebirth and actions cause the change, or did this project exist back then, but he didn¡¯t remember it? Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t figure it out even after spending a long time contemplating the matter, so he gave up. ¡®Who cares about how and why it appeared? Since the system had rewarded him with this project, it must be useful!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll just have to wait and see and take things one step at a time!¡¯ The most important thing now was to solve Zhou Qingyue¡¯s matter. If Zhou Qingyue hadn¡¯t helped him in his previous life, Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t have bothered with her in this life. He slept well that night. The next day, Chen Tianming found Jiang Bei sitting next to Liu Yue, the class commissary in charge of studies, when he arrived at the classroom. Jiang Bei was saying something to her, but Liu Yue looked angry and ignored him. Gradually, Jiang Bei¡¯s face showed a hint of impatience. Jiang Bei was, after all, the son of a wealthy family. When has he ever been treated like so? He didn¡¯t mind changing targets if he still couldn¡¯t coax Liu Yue; his deskmate, Su Qing, wasn¡¯t a bad choice either. It would be very fulfilling to pull these lofty women from their pedestals and make them his women! Moreover, the two girls were childhood friends; if he landed either of them, he could get his hands on them both. With that thought in mind, Jiang Bei placed the gift for Liu Yue on the table and left. Liu Yue looked at Jiang Bei¡¯s back as he walked away, and a trace of worry flashed across her eyes. ¡°Am I going too far playing hard to get? What if Jiang Bei doesn¡¯t buy it?¡± Liu Yue was conflicted for a long time before deciding to give Jiang Bei a chance after class. She didn¡¯t want to miss out on such a good man. When Tianming passed by Liu Yue, he saw the expression on her face. Jiang Bei was good at manipulation; he¡¯d easily seen through her little mind games, so how could Liu Yue gain the upper hand? Jiang Bei was just stringing her along like he did the others. However, Chen Tianming was too lazy to care about their relationship. As long as they don¡¯t involve Chen Tianming in their couple conflicts, he wouldn¡¯t get involved in their affairs except for revenge. Just as Chen Tianming was thinking about this, the sound of someone whistling could be heard in the classroom. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 22 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Hey! What brings the school belle here? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s here for Jiang Bei!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right! Zhou Qingyue, if you want to see our pal, Jiang Bei, just say the word. There¡¯s no need for you to come all this way!¡± When Liu Yue, who bowed her head as she tidied her things, heard these comments, she felt a strong sense of crisis. Zhou Qingyue would be fierce competition if she were also interested in Jiang Bei. She was the school belle, head and shoulders above every other girl in school. ¡®What will I do if Jiang Bei falls for Zhou Qingyue?¡¯ Liu Yue thought anxiously. Her anxiety only grew when she saw Jiang Bei walking toward Zhou Qingyue. Jiang Bei¡¯s face was filled with smug satisfaction when he heard the jeers and catcalls around him. He even deliberately smartened up before standing and walking toward Zhou Qingyue. Zhou Qingyue was used to such situations; the students tended to make a fuss wherever she went. She ignored the others and looked around the classroom for Chen Tianming. Her eyes swept the room, and finally found him in a corner. Zhou Qingyue walked toward Chen Tianming with something held in her hands. Jiang Bei stopped when he saw Zhou Qingyue head toward him. To think that the icy beauty, Zhou Qingyue, came to look for him; he would brag about this achievement for a long time! With this, the others would follow his lead even more readily! Jiang Bei couldn¡¯t help but smile when he thought of how he would become the envy of others. When she reached him, Jiang Bei was about to speak to Zhou Qingyue, but she didn¡¯t even spare him a glance. Instead, she brushed past him and continued toward Chen Tianming. Jiang Bei looked at Zhou Qingyue with a hint of confusion. ¡®What¡¯s she doing? Isn¡¯t she here for me?¡¯ Liu Yue, on the other hand, secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She could stop worrying; Zhou Qingyue wasn¡¯t interested in Jiang Bei. But Zhou Qingyue shouldn¡¯t look down on others just because she was the school belle! She would have to teach Zhou Qingyue a lesson on Jiang Bei¡¯s behalf. If Jiang Bei was satisfied, he might even reward her. With this thought in mind, Liu Yue casually extended her leg and pretended she was stretching it out. Instead, she intended to trip Zhou Qingyue up. However, Zhou Qingyue wasn¡¯t a silly naive girl. If she couldn¡¯t see the big foot sticking out in her path, then she might as well be blind. Zhou Qingyue had heard of the relationship between Liu Yue and Jiang Bei; it wasn¡¯t hard for her to figure out why the girl was antagonistic toward her. It was clear that Liu Yue intended to make things difficult for her; if Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t teach her a lesson, who knew what she would do next time? Thus, Zhou Qingyue pretended she didn¡¯t see Liu Yue¡¯s outstretched limb and stepped on it. Just as Liu Yue felt smug that her plan was about to succeed, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg and cried out, ¡°Ah!¡± At the shout, the students nearby also looked in Liu Yue¡¯s direction. ¡°Liu Yue, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Su Qing asked with a frown. Originally, Liu Yue wanted to tell everyone that Zhou Qingyue had stepped on her. However, on second thought, if Zhou Qingyue blamed her, she wouldn¡¯t be able to explain herself. Moreover, she didn¡¯t have evidence to prove anything, so if Zhou Qingyue refused to admit to the act, there wasn¡¯t much she could do, and her image would be ruined. It wasn¡¯t worth it. Liu Yue hurriedly waved her hand and said, ¡°I just saw a huge black shadow jump across the ground. I was frightened!¡± When Liu Yue said this, the others hurriedly comforted her. Meanwhile, Zhou Qingyue¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all as she looked at Liu Yue. She then walked toward Chen Tianming. Liu Yue¡¯s voice brought Jiang Bei back from his stupor. He realized who Zhou Qingyue was looking for. ¡®She came here for Chen Tianming!¡¯ Chen Tianming played him like a fiddle yesterday, and now he lost so much face because of him. He couldn¡¯t live with himself if he didn¡¯t take revenge on Chen Tianming. Jiang Bei looked at Zhou Qingyue and then at Chen Tianming. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Even heroes have a weakness for the charms of a beautiful woman! He didn¡¯t believe that Chen Tianming could remain unmoved by feminine wiles. After quickly fleshing out the plan details, Jiang Bei contacted a gang leader he¡¯d been following. ¡®With the boss¡¯ help, Chen Tianming was going down!¡¯ Jiang Bei couldn¡¯t help but smile creepily at the thought of Chen Tianming being threatened. Chen Tianming was bewildered when he saw Zhou Qingyue walking over to him. ¡®What does she want with me? Is this about the photo?¡¯ ¡®It had only been one night, and she was already asking me for results! Why was this woman so anxious?!¡¯ Just as Tianming was silently complaining to himself, Zhou Qingyue suddenly said, ¡°Your watch.¡± Chen Tianming looked down at his empty wrist. No wonder he felt he had forgotten something when he left the house in the morning. It was his watch! ¡®It was just a watch. Why did Zhou Qingyue go through the trouble of returning it to him in person?¡¯ Actually, Zhou Qingyue didn¡¯t want to make the extra effort when she could¡¯ve just mailed it over or some such. However, when she left the hotel, she was informed by the hotel staff that the price of the watch was beyond her reach. If such an expensive thing were handed over to someone else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to pay the consequences should any accidents occur. Therefore, in the end, Zhou Qingyue chose to deliver it personally. Zhou Qingyue left immediately after she returned the watch. After Zhou Qingyue left, the boys who had been spurring Jiang Bei on earlier all rushed to Chen Tianming¡¯s side. These guys admired and were willing to follow Jiang Bei¡¯s lead because he was adept at flirting with girls, and they hoped to learn some of his skills. But now it looks like Chen Tianming had successfully charmed the most challenging target¡ªthe cool and aloof school belle. This meant that Chen Tianming had better moves than Jiang Bei! Chen Tianming must have unique skills to make the school belle fall for him. Winning over a class beauty should be relatively easy if they learned a move or two from him. So the guys gathered around Chen Tianming¡¯s table and said, ¡°Hey Chen, ol¡¯ buddy, ol¡¯ pal of mine, hurry up and tell us what¡¯s up! How did you get involved with Zhou Qingyue?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We didn¡¯t even know you quietly swept the school belle off her feet! We would¡¯ve acted accordingly had we known she was your girlfriend!¡± Chen Tianming thought his heart would be filled with anger when he heard their hypocrisy, but unexpectedly, his heart was calmer than a lake. Some words become meaningless when you listen to them too often. Although Chen Tianming didn¡¯t want to be friends with these people, Jiang Bei would be enraged if he stole the show, and he couldn¡¯t say no to that! So, Tianming leaned back in his chair with a profound expression and stated, ¡°You wanna know? Then you¡¯ll have to pay up!¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 23 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°You¡¯ll have to pay tuition if you want to know!¡± When they heard his statement, the guys around Chen Tianming rushed to hand over their money. Most of the students in this major were rich, so they didn¡¯t mind spending this tiny bit of money. Jiang Bei¡¯s face twisted when he saw Chen Tianming¡¯s growing stack of bills, and his eyes blazed with anger. Although he came from wealth, he was nothing compared to Chen Tianming. Usually, he would have a blast in his outings with Chen Tianming around. Without Chen Tianming, he would have to bite the bullet and pay the expenses for them himself. And that money came from those suckers. Now that the fools turned to Chen Tianming, what would he do in the future? Where would he get the money to fund his activities? At this thought, Jiang Bei angrily kicked the empty table beside him. The table leg broke and crashed to the ground with a loud bang. There was a pit on the floor caused by the impact. Jiang Bei knew he was in big trouble with the homeroom teacher as he looked at the scene before him. Their homeroom teacher was a different breed from the others. The other teachers treated students born with a silver spoon deferentially. However, that wasn¡¯t the case with their homeroom teacher. She ran her class in an unbiased and strict manner; anyone who made a mistake in class would be lectured and asked to apologize and reflect on themselves, no matter their status or wealth. It was the same unavoidable three-step process: lecture, apology, and reflection. Jiang Bei¡¯s eyebrows knitted together in dismay. It seemed that fate was against him; the bell rang just after the table fell. The noisy classroom instantly quieted down, and the familiar click-clacking sound of high heels could be heard from the hallway outside. At the sound of approaching heels, everyone sat properly in their seats like good students. Chen Tianming was also attentively awaiting their teacher¡¯s arrival. After all, their homeroom teacher, Bai Ling, was a well-known figure in the financial world. Many successful bigwigs would fight for a chance to attend Bai Ling¡¯s lecture; Cheng Tianming was lucky to have her as his teacher. Now that he was reborn, he wouldn¡¯t waste this opportunity to learn from the best! Jiang Bei wanted to leave before his homeroom teacher spotted his little ¡®accident¡¯ but he was too late. A cold and stern voice asked, ¡°Why is the table lying on the floor?¡± As Bai Ling spoke, an emotionless voice rang out in Chen Tianming¡¯s mind. ¡°Option 1: Accept Jiang Bei¡¯s incriminations and admit that you caused the table incident. The system will award you the honorary title of ¡®Scapegoat.''¡± ¡°Option 2: Deny Jiang Bei¡¯s accusations, but act indifferent and ignore the truth of the matter like it has nothing to do with you. Reward: Buff ¡®halo of aloofness.''¡± ¡°Option 3: Deny Jiang Bei¡¯s accusations and make Jiang Bei voluntarily admit his mistake. Reward: Bai Ling¡¯s little secret.¡± The three options appeared in Chen Tianming¡¯s mind. Chen Tianming pondered for a long time and chose the third option; he didn¡¯t need the aloof buff. Jiang Bei shuddered when he heard Bai Ling¡¯s voice, and quickly racked his brain. He didn¡¯t want to get in trouble with the teacher; he had to shift the blame off himself. Suddenly, a very suitable person appeared in his mind. Chen Tianming! Chen Tianming didn¡¯t like classes; he would sleep through his lessons, no matter the subject or teacher. He was probably asleep right now, so Jiang Bei could easily shift the blame to him. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t care about such things anyway. With this thought in mind, Jiang Bei blurted out, ¡°Ms. Bai, Chen Tianming didn¡¯t do it on purpose; he was just in a bad mood. Look, he¡¯s lying on the table in grief!¡± Jiang Bei looked at Chen Tianming as he said that, but his expression froze when he saw Chen Tianming¡¯s current state. Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t sleeping on the table like he usually does. Instead, he was looking at Jiangbei with a faint smile. Jiang Bei¡¯s heart skipped a beat at his expression. However, he thought he still had a fighting chance. He hoped Tianming would be kind enough to save him by taking the blame. Jiang Bei had forgotten entirely about Chen Tianming¡¯s recent behavior. He still thought Chen Tianming was the same airhead he used to be, so Jiang Bei winked at Chen Tianming. Bai Ling stared at Chen Tianming and asked coldly, ¡°Is that so?¡± Chen Tianming ignored Jiang Bei¡¯s gaze and quizzically asked, ¡°What do you mean, Ms. Bai? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Bai Ling studied Chen Tianming and couldn¡¯t find any trace of lying on his face. On the other hand, Jiang Bei looked nervous, and even his forehead was covered in cold sweat. Even a fool could see the guilty look on his face. Bai Ling was about to say something when Chen Tianming said, ¡°I remember we have a school rule that states that anyone who destroys public property and doesn¡¯t admit to it must reflect on their actions in front of the entire school! Our school doesn¡¯t have a million students, but it surely has a few hundred thousand. It would be quite a humiliating punishment!¡± Chen Tianming glanced at Jiang Bei and continued, ¡°It¡¯s better to tell the truth earlier! After all, you would only be embarrassed in front of the class now. If this matter had to be brought before so many people, tsk!¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t finish the rest of his sentence; he didn¡¯t need to. He had known Jiang Bei for a lifetime, so he knew he was a man who valued his reputation. Therefore, Jiang Bei would admit to his actions when he heard those words. As expected, Jiang Bei¡¯s expression changed. His face turned purple and then red. He hesitated for a while before weakly apologizing with a regretful expression, ¡°Ms. Bai, I¡¯m sorry! I was the one who broke the table!¡± Fearing Bai Ling¡¯s impression of him would worsen and make things difficult, Jiang Bei added, ¡°Chen Tianming is a good friend. He wanted me to admit my mistakes for my own good! No matter what, I want to thank him!¡± Chen Tianming sneered at Jiang Bei¡¯s words. His little act might fool the others, but it was useless against Bai Ling. She was an influential figure in the financial industry for a long time and met people from all walks of life. How could she have been a role model in the financial industry if she couldn¡¯t even see through Jiang Bei¡¯s little trick? Bai Ling had indeed seen through Jiang Bei¡¯s little show, but she didn¡¯t say anything. After Bai Ling¡¯s three-step process of lecturing Jiang Bei and instructing him to apologize and reflect on himself, the matter was put to rest. However, Jiang Bei had to pay for the table he broke! After all, the tables and chairs in their class were custom-made. Jiang Bei thought a set of tables and chairs would be relatively inexpensive, so he agreed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ms. Bai. I¡¯ll definitely buy a set of identical tables and chairs.¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 24 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes flashed with mischievous glee when he heard Jiang Bei readily accept the task. If memory serves, no one at the school knew Bai Ling¡¯s identity, but a rich man somehow found out about it. In order to get a seat in Bai Ling¡¯s lecture class, the rich man donated tables, chairs, teaching tools, and classroom facilities to Bai Ling¡¯s class. The rich man ordered the tables and chairs custom-made to please Bai Ling. A set of tables and chairs cost at least six figures. Jiang Bei¡¯s pocket money didn¡¯t even reach five digits. Chen Tianming was curious about how Jiang Bei was going to afford it. Chen Tianming had an expectant expression at the thought. ¡­ Jiang Bei planned to go to a furniture store right after class to impress Bai Ling. However, he didn¡¯t want to go alone. Gas was quite expensive, so it would be great if he could get a ride. With this thought in mind, Jiang Bei walked toward Chen Tianming and said, ¡°Tianming, Lianlian said that she missed you these past few days and would like to go shopping with you, so¡­¡± Jiang Bei knew how much Chen Tianming liked Jiang Lianlian. Therefore, he knew Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t reject him if he mentioned Jiang Lianlian. But had Jiang Bei known that Chen Tianming was reborn back to his past, he wouldn¡¯t think so. Chen Tianming knew what Jiang Bei was up to, but giving him a ride was a small price to watch him flounder as he tried to complete Bai Ling¡¯s task. If Chen Tianming had nothing to do, he would like to see Jiang Bei suffer. However, he had already made an appointment with his father¡¯s special assistant, Mr. Liu, to visit the company and chat with his new assistant, Su Xiaonuan. After his rebirth, his main goal was to start a business. Only things built and gained by his own hands truly belonged to him. Thus, Chen Tianming refused, ¡°Oh, what a coincidence. I have an appointment with Mr. Liu in the afternoon; I have to inspect the company! As for Lianlian, we can meet sometime after I¡¯m done!¡± Chen Tianming ignored Jiang Bei¡¯s expression and left. Jiang Bei glared furiously at Chen Tianming¡¯s back as he casually walked away. ¡®What¡¯s with the high and mighty attitude? You¡¯re just a lucky winner of the genetic lottery! If you were born in my family, who knows what will happen!¡¯ Jiang Bei vented some of his anger by silently cursing Chen Tianming and his forefathers. Just as he decided to go to the furniture store by himself, Duan Fei drove past the school gate. When he saw Jiang Bei, he stopped the car. Duan Fei fancies Jiang Bei¡¯s sister, Jiang Lianlian, so he has to ingratiate himself to his future brother-in-law. After Duan Fei parked his car, he quickly got out and ran to Jiang Bei¡¯s side. ¡°Hey bro, where are you going? I¡¯ll give you a lift if it¡¯s on my way! Actually, since I have nothing to do in the afternoon, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Jiang Bei nodded, pleased at Duan Fei¡¯s offer. He was aware of Duan Fei¡¯s feelings for Jiang Lianlian, so he pretentiously said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be troubling you today! After we¡¯re done, let¡¯s have a meal together. Lianlian will have just finished her class by then, so she can join us!¡± Duan Fei knew that Jiang Bei was allowing him to spend time with Lianlian, so he smiled brightly and said, ¡°Bro, this is nothing, don¡¯t worry about it! Let me treat you guys! My family recently opened a Western restaurant; I¡¯ll take you guys there!¡± Jiang Bei nodded, satisfied by Duan Fei¡¯s astuteness. Only such an intelligent person was fit to be Jiang Bei¡¯s brother-in-law. Idiots like Chen Tianming were just tools. Meanwhile, Chen Tianming¡ªJiang Bei¡¯s so-called tool¡ªhad arrived at his family¡¯s company. Under the leadership of Tianming¡¯s father, the Chen Corporation became the leading company in the city. It had businesses in various industries and was preparing to branch into the food and beverage industry. Mr. Liu was glad to see Chen Tianming. In the past, no matter how much they begged Tianming, he was unwilling to step into the company. As time passed, they stopped pushing him. Therefore, when Chen Tianming took the initiative to come to the company, he was surprised for a long time and thought Chen Tianming was faking his interest. But now that he saw Chen Tianming, real and standing before him, he was full of smiles. Just as he was about to report the company¡¯s situation to Chen Tianming, Chen Tianming asked, ¡°Mr. Liu, has Su Xiaonuan reported for work yet?¡± Mr. Liu briefly paused at the question before quickly answering, ¡°She¡¯s already here! She¡¯s much more familiar with the company¡¯s matters now! She¡¯ll take you to inspect one of our furniture stores today!¡± ¡°That furniture store is our company¡¯s key business. Many rich people like to customize things, so the store is quite popular, and it¡¯s also our company¡¯s biggest source of income!¡± Chen Tianming nodded and said, ¡°Alright! There¡¯s no time to lose. Let¡¯s get Su Xiaonuan over and get ready to set off!¡± Mr. Liu acquiesced and called an internal hotline. After a few minutes, a woman in a professional suit walked in with a bright smile. When she saw Chen Tianming, a look of disbelief flashed across her face, and she uttered, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Chen Tianming smiled and introduced himself, ¡°Hello, Ms. Su! I¡¯m Chen Tianming, the young master of the Chen Corporation!¡± Su Xiaonuan smiled warmly in return and said, ¡°Hello, Mr. Chen! I¡¯m Su Xiaonuan, your assistant! Today, I¡¯ll take you to inspect the largest furniture store in our corporation!¡± Looking at her now, Chen Tianming knew that Su Xiaonuan had completely moved on from the darkness of her past, so he threw his car keys at her. ¡°Do you know how to drive?¡± Su Xiaonuan saw Chen Tianming¡¯s actions and understood his intentions. She smoothly picked up the keys and gestured, ¡°After you.¡± Chen Tianming didn¡¯t hesitate either. The two of them walked toward the underground parking lot. ¡­ When Chen Tianming and Su Xiaonuan arrived at the furniture store, they heard someone noisily complain, ¡°We¡¯re paying customers; what gives you the right to say we can¡¯t park here?¡± ¡°Sorry, but this is our furniture store¡¯s exclusive parking space. Only customers who have spent more than eight figures at a time are qualified to park here!¡± When Duan Fei and Jiang Bei heard this, their expression soured. An eight-figure expense! That was the annual income of both their families¡¯ companies. ¡®A lousy parking space costs eight figures? That¡¯s highway robbery!¡¯ That was what they thought, but they didn¡¯t say it out loud. After all, they had their pride; it would be unseemly to act like a shrew! Just as they were about to park their car elsewhere, they suddenly heard Chen Tianming¡¯s voice. ¡°Jiang Bei, Duan Fei, what are you two doing here?¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 25 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Jiang Bei, Duan Fei, what are you two doing here?¡± Jiang Bei and Duan Fei heard Chen Tianming¡¯s voice and looked over. When they saw Chen Tianming sitting in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, jealousy flashed in their eyes. After all, they couldn¡¯t afford Tianming¡¯s car with their companies¡¯ annual profits! Although they were jealous, one of them said politely, ¡°Nothing, I just came with Jiang Bei to buy a set of tables and chairs! Chen Tianming, why are you here? Are you here to buy furniture too?¡± Chen Tianming found Duan Fei¡¯s question funny. However, it was to be expected. They only knew that Chen Tianming was rich but didn¡¯t know what businesses the Chen Family owned! Though they found out later, but that was only because he was in a serious relationship with Jiang Lianlian and was even considering marriage. He invited disaster by taking Jiang Lianlian into his confidence. Otherwise, the Chen family wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a miserable state! Duan Fei waited for Chen Tianming¡¯s response but he didn¡¯t say anything. Puzzled, Duan Fei was just about to speak when Chen Tianming ordered, ¡°Ms. Su, go ahead and park the car!¡± He got out of the car after that request. It looks like there was a slight change in his plans today. ¡®What a coincidence!¡¯ He had thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see Jiang Bei¡¯s defeated face because he had a prior engagement. He didn¡¯t expect the show would come to him! Su Xiaonuan did as he instructed; she immediately parked the Rolls-Royce Phantom where Duan Fei wanted to park. When Duan Fei saw this, a sly look flashed across his face. He had the perfect idea to get back at them. Duan Fei pointed at the spot where Su Xiaonuan parked the car and looked in Chen Tianming¡¯s direction. ¡°Tianming, this must be your first time here. Do you know that this parking space isn¡¯t for just anyone? Only those who¡¯d spent at least ten million yuan in this furniture store could park in this spot!¡± Duan Fei said that to scare Chen Tianming. After all, although Chen Tianming¡¯s family was wealthy, he¡¯d never spent so much money on a single purchase before. Besides, Tianming couldn¡¯t do anything to him; he was only giving him some advice. The staff would come over to embarrass Tianming later. He just had to sit back and watch the show. Jiang Bei caught on to Duan Fei¡¯s plans and waited for a good show. He wanted to see if Chen Tianming could spend more than ten million here. If he did, he was a badass. However, Jiang Bei didn¡¯t believe Tianming¡¯s family wouldn¡¯t have any objections to his spendthrift ways. If Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t spend that much money, they get to watch a good show and then play the nice guys and comfort him. Su Xiaonuan had just parked the car when the staff that previously stopped Duan Fei and Jiang Bei went over to her. Duan Fei looked at the staff and raised his eyebrows at Chen Tianming. ¡°Tianming, look, the staff is here! They¡¯ll chase you off that spot!¡± Jiang Bei heard Duan Fei¡¯s words and followed his act with, ¡°Tianming, you should let your assistant move the car away right now! Moving the car in front of so many people later would be embarrassing!¡± Although Jiang Bei sounded like he was trying to give Chen Tianming advice, the tone of his words was mocking. He was eagerly waiting for Chen Tianming¡¯s car to be driven away. That way, he could finally vent all the frustration Chen Tianming caused him recently. Chen Tianming¡¯s expression remained the same throughout Duan Fei and Jiang Bei¡¯s performance, and he faintly smiled as he said, ¡°Are you sure that would happen?¡± At this point, Duan Fei was too lazy to pretend any longer and showed his true colors. ¡°Tianming, I don¡¯t think your pocket money would cover this,¡± he jeered. Duan Fei and Jiang Bei¡¯s eyes met before they burst into laughter. ¡°Tianming, a person should know their place and accept their insufficiencies!¡± Duan Fei chortled. As he spoke, Su Xiaonuan led the staff toward them. The smile on Duan Fei¡¯s face became even brighter when he saw Su Xiaonuan, and he said, ¡°It seems that your little assistant can¡¯t solve this problem, so she came to look for you!¡± Just as Duan Fei finished speaking, Su Xiaonuan and the staff arrived. When Duan Fei saw the staff, he pointed at Chen Tianming enthusiastically, ¡°It¡¯s him! That¡¯s his car! Hurry up and make him park it elsewhere!¡± The staff all looked at him like he was an idiot. They didn¡¯t understand why Duan Fei was making a scene here when he knew nothing. They ignored Duan Fei and walked past him to stand beside Chen Tianming. They bowed deeply and said, ¡°Young Master, welcome to the store! Would you like someone to show you around?¡± Chen Tianming nodded slightly at the staff. ¡°You guys go ahead. I¡¯ll take a look myself!¡± The staff nodded in compliance and departed. After they left, Chen Tianming glanced at Duan Fei and Jiang Bei before leaving with Su Xiaonuan. Duan Fei and Jiang Bei stood in a daze after the crowd was gone until the cleaning lady came over. When she saw they hadn¡¯t moved, she became impatient and groused, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you can leave! Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to send the trash out!¡± Jiang Bei and Duan Fei finally moved; they turned their heads mechanically and looked at her. Duan Fei¡¯s expression was normal, but Jiang Bei¡¯s face was filled with jealousy. Chen Tianming was living the life he had always dreamed of. ¡®Chen Tianming could get anything he wanted with a wave of his hands, while I had to pay for a set of tables and chairs.¡¯ Jiang Bei¡¯s facial features contorted at the thought. One day, he would make Chen Tianming kneel on the ground and call him daddy! Jiang Bei fantasized about Chen Tianming kneeling and kowtowing to him when Duan Fei suddenly asked, ¡°Bro, did you hear what they said? What did they call Chen Tianming? Since when did he become the young master of this furniture company? Wasn¡¯t the Chen Corporation involved in the real estate industry? Do they own furniture stores now?¡± ¡°Exactly how wealthy is Chen Tianming¡¯s family?¡± Hearing the envy in Duan Fei¡¯s voice, the veins on Jiang Bei¡¯s neck bulged visibly, and his voice became even darker as he said, ¡°Do you admire him? Why don¡¯t you offer to give him a ride home instead?¡± Duan Fei realized he was angry, so he quickly tried to come up with something to appease him. Soon, a sinister scheme came to mind. Duan Fei had a nasty smile as he whispered into Jiang Bei¡¯s ear at length. Initially, Jiang Bei had a look of disdain on his face, but his countenance relaxed when he heard the rest of the plot. Jiang Bei was quite pleased with Duan Fei¡¯s devious plan. ¡°Lianlian is going out to dance tomorrow. I¡¯m busy, so it¡¯ll be a great help if you can take her there!¡± he offered. Duan Fei nodded and assured him, ¡°Consider it done!¡± Jiang Bei still needed a set of tables and chairs, so they walked into the furniture store. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 26 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation After Duan Fei and Jiang Bei entered the furniture store, Duan Fei threw his car keys at a staff member and began giving out orders with a cocky attitude. ¡°You, go park my car!¡± Duan Fei turned to another worker and demanded, ¡°Get me a glass of water.¡± He then gestured to a pretty female employee and said, ¡°Come over and give me a massage. I¡¯m a little tired after driving for so long!¡± The staff member who he had thrown his key at had a dumbfounded expression on his face. He looked at Duan Fei with eyes full of doubt. ¡°Sir, our staff here do not offer valet parking services. If you need someone to park your car, there are people outside who can help you! Moreover, this is a furniture store, not a massage parlor. If you want a massage, go out and turn left; you¡¯ll find a blind masseur three kilometers away!¡± After his speech, the young man placed the car keys on the table and turned to return to his work. Duan Fei exchanged a look with Jiang Bei and kicked the young man¡¯s rear. The young staff member didn¡¯t expect Duan Fei to attack him, so he had left his guard wide open. Caught unawares, he fell face-first to the ground and scraped his chin. He tried to get up from the floor, but Duan Fei stepped on his back and taunted, ¡°Just so you know, your boss is my best friend. You have to do whatever I say anytime I visit this place. If you guys have any complaints, hold them in! Otherwise, you will end up fired!¡± The employees became hesitant at his words. They retreated up the stairs, leaving their poor colleague under Duan Fei¡¯s foot, and whispered to each other. ¡°Do you think what he said is true? Does he really know the boss?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be! Our boss is such a humble person. How could he be friends with someone like that?¡± ¡°Shh! Keep your voices down. You don¡¯t want him to hear us!¡± The others quickly shut their mouths at that remark. Then, a trembling voice said, ¡°He might actually be the boss¡¯s friend! I saw the Young Master chatting with them just now!¡± Everyone¡¯s hearts missed a beat at that tidbit. If he truly was the Young Master¡¯s friend, they couldn¡¯t offend him. If he went to the Young Master with complaints, they would be finished! With this thought in mind, several staff members hurried downstairs and approached Duan Fei and Jiang Bei. They then greeted them politely, ¡°Young masters, what are you looking to purchase? Would you like to head inside and have some tea while looking at our samples?¡± Duan Fei¡¯s eyes flashed greedily as he stared at the two beauties before him, but he quickly withdrew his gaze. Pretty women were a dime a dozen; the most important thing now was to serve his brother-in-law well. So, Duan Fei took on lofty airs and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve offered, we¡¯ll oblige!¡± The two young women sighed in relief at Duan Fei¡¯s assent. They were confident they could coax the two men if they had some privacy. When Duan Fei left, he ruthlessly stomped on the young staff member¡¯s back a few more times as if venting his anger. It wasn¡¯t until Duan Fei and Jiang Bei left that the workers who were close to the young man walked over. ¡°Xiao Zhang, just bear with it. We¡¯re no match against people like them. Think of your family!¡± Xiao Zhang clenched his fists tightly. His face was reluctant as he muttered, ¡°Okay, I got it. It¡¯s just parking a car; I¡¯ll get it done!¡± With that, Xiao Zhang grabbed the keys and walked out. Xiao Zhang looked at the car before him and kicked the tires twice, cursing Duan Fei and his forefathers. Xiao Zhang was about to give the car one last kick when Chen Tianming suddenly spoke up from behind him, ¡°What are you doing?¡± The young man was startled, and his aim veered off course. His foot landed heavily on the car door and caused a dent. When he saw the dent, the young man could no longer hold back his emotions and cried, ¡°Why am I so unlucky? I got beaten up, and now I have to pay for the damage I did to the jerk¡¯s car. I can¡¯t stand this anymore!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when these days will end¡­¡± Chen Tianming had compiled what happened from the young man¡¯s comments. He had been wondering why Duan Fei and Jiang Bei didn¡¯t cause any trouble, but it turned out they were using his name to terrorize his employees! Since they were brazenly testing his patience, Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t pull his punches. Chen Tianming asked Su Xiaonuan to come over and instructed her, ¡°Ms. Su, if you could go and¡­¡± Su Xiaonuan was surprised at Chen Tianming¡¯s plans; she didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to put the welfare of his employees first! It¡¯s rare for employers to be so considerate! Su Xiaonuan already had a good impression of Chen Tianming, which grew as she spent more time around him. As a result, she was very efficient in carrying out the mission he gave her. Su Xiaonuan was done with all the paperwork in just five minutes and immediately handed the documents to Chen Tianming. ¡°Mr. Chen, I¡¯ve completed the task you assigned me.¡± Chen Tianming looked at the documents and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Ms. Su, well done!¡± After saying this, Chen Tianming took the revised employee handbook and walked to the young man. ¡°It¡¯s written in the employee handbook that our workers don¡¯t have to be responsible for valet parking! Hence, if a vehicle were damaged, our workers wouldn¡¯t need to take responsibility either!¡± A glimmer of hope flashed across the young man¡¯s eyes when he heard this. He understood what he should do. He smiled gratefully at Chen Tianming and walked toward Duan Fei¡¯s car. Chen Tianming saw the young man¡¯s actions and knew that he understood what he meant. He looked at Su Xiaonuan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see what my dear friends are getting up to inside!¡± Chen Tianming smiled when he said that, but Su Xiaonuan felt a chill down her spine. She had a feeling the two friends Chen Tianming mentioned would be in big trouble. No one was in the huge furniture store when Chen Tianming and Su Xiaonuan went in. However, they could hear laughter and muffled moans from the break room deep within the store. Chen Tianming¡¯s smile grew brighter when he heard the noises. He kicked open the break room door and cheerfully asked, ¡°Are you having fun?¡± The break room instantly fell silent. Duan Fei¡¯s hands paused on the female staff¡¯s collar. Everyone in the room turned toward Chen Tianming. Seeing that he had their attention, Chen Tianming smiled kindly and repeated his question, ¡°Are you having fun?¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 27 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Duan Fei and Jiang Bei only reacted when Chen Tianming repeated his question. Chen Tianming¡¯s query didn¡¯t just affect the guys; the female staff members accompanying them also came to their senses. When they saw Chen Tianming standing at the door, they immediately straightened their clothes, stood aside, and loudly greeted him, ¡°Young Master!¡± Chen Tianming glanced at them before moving his gaze to Duan Fei and Jiang Bei, sitting on separate sofas. Meanwhile, the other staff members started showing up, curious about the current situation. Duan Fei felt a little nervous as Chen Tianming silently stared at him. He finally lost his cool and shouted, ¡°Chen Tianming, what¡¯s your problem? Aren¡¯t we friends? Shouldn¡¯t you give us a discount when we visit your store? Besides, isn¡¯t your furniture store focused on customer service? We¡¯re your customers, so what¡¯s wrong with servicing us?¡± As he spoke, even Duan Fei himself felt that he was being unreasonable. His voice petered out, and he looked away from Chen Tianming. Jiang Bei was in cahoots with Duan Fei; when he saw Duan Fei¡¯s current situation, he naturally wanted to help, so he quickly interjected, ¡°Tianming, Duan Fei spoke without thought! I apologize to you on his behalf! We¡¯re just friends; normally, we wouldn¡¯t get discounts!¡± Chen Tianming could read the double meaning in Jiang Bei¡¯s words and was about to swear at him when the system¡¯s options appeared. ¡°Option 1: Accept Jiang Bei¡¯s moral blackmail and offer them discount cards which allow them to buy furniture at a 50% discount from the store and receive the honorary title ¡®Pushover¡¯ from the system.¡± ¡°Option 2: Reject Jiang Bei¡¯s moral coercion and sever all ties with him. Reward: A project worth 200 million yuan.¡± ¡°Option 3: Reject Jiang Bei¡¯s moral blackmail, kick him, and make it impossible for him to retaliate. Reward: +5 Constitution points.¡± Chen Tianming decisively chose the third option. The 200 million yuan project was important to Chen Tianming, but he wanted to kick Jiang Bei more right now. Chen Tianming walked toward the sofa where Jiang Bei sat. Jiang Bei stood up as soon as he saw Chen Tianming approaching. A trace of fear flashed across his face. Chen Tianming was still smiling, and his behavior and movements were gentle, but Jiang Bei could feel a strong sense of oppression from him; he had no choice but to stand up. Jiang Bei looked into Chen Tianming¡¯s half-smiling eyes and said tremblingly, ¡°W-What are you trying to do? Chen Tianming, we¡¯re all civilized men, and civilized men don¡¯t resort to violence!¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s smile brightened at his words, and he replied, ¡°Of course, we¡¯re all civilized people. We shouldn¡¯t fight.¡± Chen Tianming suddenly looked alarmed and cried, ¡°Oh my god! Since when did this furniture store have rats? Hurry, we have to catch it!¡± ¡°Jiang Bei, the rat¡¯s crawling on you. I¡¯ll help you get rid of it!¡± Chen Tianming kicked toward Jiang Bei as he spoke; he¡¯d used 90% of his strength in that kick, and it sent Jiang Bei flying. Chen Tianming even heard something crack but didn¡¯t know which part of Jiang Bei¡¯s body suffered an injury. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t care anyway. Truth be told, that kick just now was much more satisfying than earning 200 million. Jiang Bei was lying face down on the ground; he¡¯d turned quite pale. However, he didn¡¯t say or do anything. Chen Tianming¡¯s attack devastated Jiang Bei, but he had to endure it for his reputation. Seeing his state, Duan Fei quickly ran toward Jiang Bei. He looked at Chen Tianming with hatred and yelled, ¡°Chen Tianming, you did this on purpose! You are bullying Jiang Bei!¡± Chen Tianming had thought that his little lie and kick wouldn¡¯t be enough to deal with Jiang Bei, but Duan Fei had just provided him with an assist. Jiang Bei could thank his dear brother-in-law for what came next! However, since Duan Fei helped him, Chen Tianming should give him a big gift in return. Chen Tianming urgently exclaimed, ¡°Oh my god! Duan Fei, there¡¯s a big rat on your back! Don¡¯t move! Everyone, hurry up and help Young Master Duan!¡± Duan Fei was so afraid that he didn¡¯t care if it was a trick. He shouted at the staff members, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and chase away the rats!¡± Following Duan Fei¡¯s words, Chen Tianming stressed, ¡°All of you, ¡®protect¡¯ Young Master Duan at all costs!¡± The others naturally caught on to Chen Tianming¡¯s intentions. At this critical moment, Xiao Zhang, who was out parking Duan Fei¡¯s car, returned just in time to hear Chen Tianming¡¯s words. Xiao Zhang had been holding a grudge since Duan Fei kicked him. Now that such a good opportunity was before him, he naturally wanted to ¡®help.¡¯ So he took the lead, threw a kick at Duan Fei, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master Duan. The rats won¡¯t be able to hurt you while I¡¯m around!¡± As he spoke, multiple feet rained on Duan Fei¡¯s back. The staff attacked indiscriminately; Jiang Bei, lying at the side, wasn¡¯t spared either. His hands and back were also trampled numerous times. After a while, Chen Tianming looked at his watch. He felt that this had gone on long enough, and said, ¡°Oh my! Don¡¯t worry, Jiang Bei, Duan Fei. Thanks to our efforts, the rats have been eliminated. You two have worked hard!¡± After saying that, Chen Tianming looked at the others and stated, ¡°Why are you guys still standing there? Hurry and help Young Master Jiang and Young Master Duan get off the floor!¡± The staff reacted and quickly helped the two of them up. At this point, Jiang Bei and Duan Fei naturally knew this was all Chen Tianming¡¯s ruse. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. They were prideful men and valued their reputation. They would be seen as a joke if they were to cause trouble for Chen Tianming in front of so many people. Besides, they had yet to get what they came here for, so everything else would have to wait. Jiang Bei rubbed a sore spot and said to Chen Tianming, ¡°Thanks, Tianming! Can you help me ask about the tables and chairs?¡± Chen Tianming waved at a short man in the crowd. ¡°He¡¯s the manager of this store. If you have any needs, tell him!¡± Chen Tianming looked at the short man and said, ¡°Mr. Wang, they are my friends. Do remember to give them a discount!¡± ¡°I have things to do, so I¡¯ll be going now! I wish you a pleasant shopping trip.¡± As soon as Chen Tianming finished speaking, he left with Su Xiaonuan. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 28 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation After Chen Tianming left, Mr. Wang approached Jiang Bei and Duan Fei and asked, ¡°Do you have any requests?¡± Jiang Bei and Duan Fei had superior looks when they heard his query. Chen Tianming¡¯s arrangement slightly mollified them; otherwise, they would probably be busy scheming against him right now. If they had bothered to look closely, they would¡¯ve seen the impatience on Mr. Wang¡¯s face. After all, Mr. Wang understood the subtext behind Chen Tianming¡¯s departing words. These two brainless idiots dared to call themselves Young Master¡¯s friends! If it wasn¡¯t for the mission the Young Master left him, he really didn¡¯t want to talk to them. Jiang Bei put on airs as he said, ¡°I want a set of tables and chairs identical to these. Do you have them here?¡± As he said this, Jiang Bei showed a picture of the classroom tables and chairs he had on his phone to Mr. Wang. When Mr. Wang saw the picture, surprise flashed across his eyes. He asked Jiang Bei directly, ¡°Are you sure you want the same set?¡± Jiang Bei didn¡¯t like Mr. Wang¡¯s current tone, so his voice darkened as he said, ¡°What do you mean by that? Do you think I can¡¯t afford it?¡± Duan Fei knew he was angry from his tone of voice. He also knew that his chance to show off had come again. He stood up and echoed Jiang Bei, ¡°That¡¯s right! Jiang Bei isn¡¯t someone who lacks money! We want the exact same thing in the picture!¡± Since Duan Fei had already said so, Mr. Wang had even less need to persuade him otherwise. After all, he was Chen Tianming¡¯s subordinate, so he naturally sided with his Young Master. Hence, Mr. Wang took a copy of the photo, handed it to his staff, and ordered, ¡°Hurry up and assemble this table and chair set that we made a few years ago!¡± Jiang Bei¡¯s expression lightened up when he heard Mr. Wang¡¯s instructions. Since the matter had been resolved, they didn¡¯t need to stay any longer. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t make it in time to pick Jiang Bei¡¯s sister up after her class ended. As they were about to leave, Mr. Wang called out to them. ¡°Please wait. Who will be paying the deposit?¡± A trace of joy flashed across Duan Fei¡¯s face when he heard this. ¡®Thank you, Mr. Wang, for giving me so many chances to make myself look good in front of Jiang Bei today!¡¯ If Mr. Wang kept providing these opportunities, he was confident he would be able to win over his brother-in-law in no time. With this thought in mind, Duan Fei spoke up before Jiang Bei could say anything. ¡°Jiang Bei, you don¡¯t have to pay for the deposit. Let me pay for it instead!¡± Duan Fei them hooked his finger at Mr. Wang in a particularly pretentious manner as he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go pay the deposit!¡± A trace of disdain flashed in Mr. Wang¡¯s eyes at Duan Fei¡¯s behavior, but he just politely said, ¡°Alright, this way, please!¡± Mr. Wang brought Duan Fei to the counter and gave him a bill. ¡°Young Master Duan, this is the down payment invoice. Take a look; if there¡¯s no problem, would you like to pay by card or scan a QR code?¡± Duan Fei just casually glanced over the invoice, but when he saw the number of zeroes on it, he was dumbfounded. ¡®Holy sh*t! What the f*ck is going on?¡¯ ¡®Was this a table and chair set or a stack of gold? It was more expensive than buying a gold bracelet, and not just by a small sum! It was actually a hundred times more expensive than a gold bracelet!¡¯ ¡®This is clearly a scam!¡¯ But Duan Fei feared that if he were too vocal in his complaints about the set¡¯s exorbitant price, the female staff member he was with previously would hear of it and think that he was a cheapskate or a poseur. That wasn¡¯t beneficial to the development of their relationship! So Duan Fei lowered his voice and whispered to Mr. Wang, ¡°Didn¡¯t Tianming ask you to give us a discount? Did you make the reduction?¡± Mr. Wang said directly, ¡°Young Master, I¡¯ve already given you a discount, a steep one at that! The materials used for the custom-made tables and chairs are top quality; the custom table and chair set is a steal at this price!¡± Duan Fei felt that Mr. Wang was talking nonsense. He was about to argue with him when Jiang Bei suddenly shouted from a distance away, ¡°Duan Fei, Lianlian has finished her classes; we should head over now! She was a little excited when she heard you would be picking her up!¡± Jiang Bei certainly had a way with words; he had Duan Fei well under his thumb. Upon hearing that Jiang Lianlian was very excited to see him, Duan Fei readily handed his card over and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay by card!¡± Mr. Wang took the card. After the deposit was paid, he watched them leave. Duan Fei got to his car in high spirits, thrilled that he would be meeting Lianlian soon. However, his mood was ruined when he saw the dents all over his car. It looked like someone went at it with a hammer; there were even bits of unknown fruit on the vehicle. When he saw this scene, Duan Fei finally couldn¡¯t hold in his fury anymore. Just as he was about to curse, Jiang Bei¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Duan Fei? Lianlian said she¡¯s already at the school gate!¡± Duan Fei¡¯s anger faded, and he quickly got in his car and drove off to pick up Jiang Lianlian. She was already waiting outside when they arrived. When she saw Jiang Bei and Duan Fei, Jiang Lianlian checked her reflection in the mirror and straightened her clothes. However, disappointment flashed across her face when she saw that Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t with them. They hadn¡¯t talked to each other ever since the last time they met at the villa. When Jiang Bei asked her to go out, she thought Tianming would be there, so she agreed. If she knew Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t be here, she wouldn¡¯t have come in the first place! Although Jiang Lianlian thought so in her heart, she also knew they needed Duan Fei; she couldn¡¯t ignore him. Therefore, Jiang Lianlian smiled sweetly at Duan Fei. When Duan Fei saw Jiang Lianlian, he felt that all his previous efforts and sacrifices were worth it. Duan Fei drove the Jiang siblings to his family¡¯s restaurant, and his face was full of excitement as he told them, ¡°Lianlian, I¡¯ll have you know, this is our family¡¯s first star-rated restaurant! And recently, I heard from my dad that this restaurant would be publicly listed soon!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the head chef to cook a meal for you personally! Normally, you would have to make an appointment in advance if you want to eat the food cooked by the head chef here.¡± When Jiang Lianlian heard that, she was about to say some pretty words and praises when they heard someone complaining loudly. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t apologize to me today, I¡¯ll give this restaurant a bad review! Just so you know, I¡¯m a celebrity blogger with millions of fans!¡± The fuss attracted their attention, and they looked toward the blogger. To their surprise, they saw Su Xiaonuan hiding behind an angry-looking Chen Tianming. Jiang Bei looked at the belligerent blogger and thought she looked familiar. Suddenly, he remembered she was his boss¡¯ girl. ¡®Did the boss already initiate the plan?¡¯ Jiang Bei thought as he walked toward Chen Tianming. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 29 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Jiang Bei walked over, turned to Chen Tianming, and said in surprise, ¡°Tianming, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?¡± Chen Tianming wanted to hit him when he heard his voice. ¡®Could you put a little more effort into your act, please? You¡¯re so fake; it¡¯s enough to make me want to vomit!¡¯ While that inner monologue played in his mind, Chen Tianming coldly answered, ¡°I¡¯m here for a meal!¡± Jiang Bei wasn¡¯t pleased with Chen Tianming¡¯s tone, so he said, ¡°Tianming, is something wrong? Don¡¯t worry; this restaurant belongs to Duan Fei¡¯s family. He will definitely help you out!¡± Duan Fei knew that was his cue to make his appearance. He quickly stood up and said, ¡°He¡¯s right, Tianming. If something¡¯s wrong, tell me. I¡¯ll take care of it! Who would dare to behave atrociously in my family¡¯s restaurant!¡± When Chen Tianming heard Duan Fei¡¯s pretentious statement, a thought occurred to him. Since this sucker practically served himself on a silver platter, he would happily accept it. Hence, he said, ¡°My assistant knocked over one of her dishes. Since you offered, Duan Fei, I won¡¯t say anything else and leave the rest in your capable hands!¡± Duan Fei enjoyed Chen Tianming¡¯s deference and instantly had a proud, cocky expression. ¡°Hey, what are friends for? I will also take care of your expenses today!¡± Duan Fei waved at the waiter on the side and ordered, ¡°Replace the ruined food and give her a bottle of drink as an apology! The Duan Corporation can¡¯t be lax in our service!¡± Duan Fei then went up to Jiang Lianlian, seeking praise. ¡°Lianlian, how did I do? Do you like how I handled this?¡± At this moment, Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes were stuck on Chen Tianming. She didn¡¯t pay attention to what Duan Fei said and just nodded casually. Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Chen Tianming was about to leave for work with Su Xiaonuan when Jiang Lianlian spoke up. ¡°Tianming, since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t we have a meal together?¡± Su Xiaonuan looked at the two of them from where she stood¡ªbehind Chen Tianming¡ªcontemplating the nature of their relationship. ¡®Tsk! The Young Master has quite a unique taste! I didn¡¯t expect him to like this sort of woman.¡¯ Duan Fei became visibly upset when he heard Lianlian inviting Chen Tianming along. He had performed so well and did so much for her, so why was Lianlian still looking at Chen Tianming? Later, he would settle the score with Chen Tianming so Lianlian could see that he was the most worthy of her. Chen Tianming turned to look at Jiang Lianlian. ¡®Hmm? I haven¡¯t had the time to get even with you, yet you¡¯ve delivered yourself right to my doorstep.¡¯ Since that was the case, he would like to see what Jiang Lianlian was up to. Chen Tianming nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, Lianlian¡ªdon¡¯t mind if I do!¡± Satisfaction flashed across Jiang Lianlian¡¯s eyes at Chen Tianming¡¯s acceptance, and she looked smugly at Su Xiaonuan. She wanted to see what moves that little seductress behind Chen Tianming used to get so close to him. Chen Tianming checked the time; classes were about to end for Su Xiaonuan¡¯s child, so she needed to go back. He wouldn¡¯t make Su Xiaonuan stay if she didn¡¯t want to; he wasn¡¯t a slave driver, so he naturally had to ask his employee for her opinions. Besides, this was between him and the three stooges and had nothing to do with Su Xiaonuan. There was no need for her to stay. Chen Tianming asked, ¡°Ms. Su, do you have any other plans? If not, let¡¯s have a meal together!¡± Su Xiaonuan knew his intentions. She was about to take the out he gave her and leave when Jiang Lianlian suddenly rushed over and grabbed Su Xiaonuan¡¯s arm. ¡°Miss Su is definitely free right now, am I right? Having a meal with us won¡¯t take much of her time anyway!¡± Jiang Lianlian said, acting as if she was very familiar with Su Xiaonuan. Su Xiaonuan was an experienced woman who had been through a lot, so she could tell what kind of person Jiang Lianlian was, and she wasn¡¯t impressed. For the sake of her young master¡¯s future, she had to wake him up to Jiang Lianlian¡¯s true nature today. Su Xiaonuan grabbed Jiang Lianlian¡¯s arm, but her eyes were on Chen Tianming as she replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to, Young Master! I have nothing planned for later.¡± Since Su Xiaonuan had said so, Chen Tianming let her do as she wished. The five of them went to the private room in the restaurant. Duan Fei sat down and called for the restaurant manager. The manager merely bowed when he saw Duan Fei, but his eyes sparkled at the sight of Chen Tianming and proceeded to fawn over him. ¡°Young Master, you¡¯re here! I¡¯ll have the head chef start cooking right now if you wish! Please, try our dishes!¡± Duan Fei thought the manager was addressing him and looked satisfied when he heard his words. ¡®As expected of someone from my restaurant. I haven¡¯t even said anything, and he already anticipated my needs. What a promising man!¡¯ Duan Fei thought and gave the manager an appreciative look. However, if Duan Fei paid more attention, he would find that the manager¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t on him at all but on Chen Tianming. The man based his actions on Chen Tianming¡¯s decision, and hurriedly left the room to prepare the taster dishes for Tianming when he nodded in assent. After all, whether Chen Tianming would sign a contract with the restaurant depended on this tasting menu. If he was pleased with the menu, Chen Tianming might invest in the restaurant, and going public would no longer be a dream. Therefore, the manager instructed the head chef to start cooking immediately after leaving the private room. Duan Fei waved his hand at the group and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure everyone feels right at home at my restaurant today.¡± Jiang Bei felt jealous; Duan Fei stole the show today and completely one-uped him. However, as long as he got the desired results, he didn¡¯t mind being a foil today. Jiang Lianlian was sitting next to Su Xiaonuan, but she extended one of her legs toward Chen Tianming below the table. She wasn¡¯t thrilled with Chen Tianming¡¯s attitude and behavior toward her, but since they kissed, Jiang Lianlian had strange feelings for him. She didn¡¯t like Chen Tianming, but she wouldn¡¯t allow him to hook up with others behind her back; she would never allow Chen Tianming to cheat on her. However, Jiang Lianlian didn¡¯t expect Su Xiaonuan to be such a difficult opponent. The woman seemed to know what she would say and didn¡¯t fall for her tricks. Instead, Jiang Lianlian was almost overwhelmed by her. Su Xiaonuan was quite astute, and Lianlian knew that if she didn¡¯t resort to some tactics, she would probably lose Chen Tianming to her. She¡¯d rather destroy him than let him be taken away by others, even if she didn¡¯t want him in the first place. Chen Tianming was sitting beside Su Xiaonuan and felt exasperated by Jiang Lianlian¡¯s actions. With her flirtatious ways, it was no wonder he was cuckolded in his previous life. Thinking of what happened in his previous life, Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes flashed angrily. Just as he was about to reprimand Jiang Lianlian, the system¡¯s voice sounded. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 30 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Option 1: Kick Jiang Lianlian¡¯s leg away, but don¡¯t expose her. The system will award you the honorary title ¡®Protector of Women.''¡± ¡°Option 2: Angrily swear and expose Jiang Lianlian¡¯s current actions to teach her a lesson she wouldn¡¯t forget. Reward: +5 Courage points.¡± ¡°Option 3: Restrain Jiang Lianlian¡¯s leg without exposing her current actions. Reward: a copy of Jiang Lianlian¡¯s inner voice.¡± The Courage points tempted Chen Tianming. After all, courage was crucial in the business world. As the saying goes, ¡®nothing ventured, nothing gained,¡¯ so courage was essential to succeed. However, the courage points paled in comparison to Jiang Lianlian¡¯s inner voice. After all, if he could hear Jiang Lianlian¡¯s thoughts, he would discover what Jiang Bei was plotting through his sister. Although Chen Tianming didn¡¯t want to bother learning about Jiang Bei¡¯s plan, he felt that it would be a waste not to accept this opportunity given to him by the system. Chen Tianming chose the third option and grabbed Jiang Lianlian¡¯s leg. Jiang Lianlian gave a startled cry as her agile leg was instantly restrained. Duan Fei was sitting beside Jiang Lianlian, and when he heard the sound, he immediately leaned toward her and worriedly said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lianlian? Are you not feeling well? If you feel uncomfortable, I¡¯ll ask the waiter to buy some medicine for you.¡± Obviously, Jiang Lianlian didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to do such a thing, and she was busy figuring out what she should do next, so she just waved her hand and responded to Duan Fei¡¯s concern with, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just accidentally hit my hand on the table just now.¡± Duan Fei immediately called the waiter into the room and sternly berated, ¡°Is this how you guys do your jobs? Why didn¡¯t the staff get a table made of softer materials for the private room? What if a child or an elderly accidentally knocks into the table?¡± ¡°This matter must be rectified. If you don¡¯t, all of you can pack up and leave.¡± The waiter was upset after he heard Duan Fei¡¯s demand; he looked imploringly at Chen Tianming. It was true that Duan Fei was the young master of their restaurant, but Duan Fei¡¯s father was just the restaurant¡¯s business partner, which couldn¡¯t compare to an investor like Chen Tianming. Chen Tianming silently nodded at the waiter, indicating he should comply with Duan Fei¡¯s request. Though Duan Fei usually treated others like dirt, he had proposed a good reform idea this time. There would indeed be such concerns when it came to children or the elderly. The waiter hurriedly nodded before leaving the private room and telling the manager about this matter. When the manager heard the waiter¡¯s feedback, he promptly ordered a large number of customized table corner protectors. Investors are the boss, so they have to serve them well. Duan Fei was greatly satisfied by the waiter¡¯s swift actions, and his voice became even gentler as he spoke to Jiang Lianlian, ¡°If Lianlian still feels uncomfortable, just tell me. Make yourself at home; after all, this is my restaurant.¡± Jiang Lianlian nodded casually in response as all her attention was on Chen Tianming. This was the first time she had done such an exciting thing in public, and her face flushed red. Seeing Jiang Lianlian¡¯s current state, Su Xiaonuan had a rough idea of what had happened to her. So, she pretended she¡¯d accidentally dropped her phone and looked under the table. Jiang Lianlian saw Su Xiaonuan¡¯s actions and knew what she wanted to do, so she tried to pull her leg out of Chen Tianming¡¯s grasp. However, Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t let her have her way. When Su Xiaonuan squatted down, he didn¡¯t let go of Jiang Lianlian¡¯s leg. Instead, he tightened his grip. Jiang Lianlian was worried when she felt Chen Tianming¡¯s actions. She feared that her brother and Duan Fei would discover what she had done. After all, in Jiang Lianlian¡¯s heart, she had tacitly acknowledged Duan Fei as her future husband, so she didn¡¯t want him to know she¡¯d done such a shameful thing. Not to mention her brother; if he knew that there was something between her and Tianming, she would feel even worse. Jiang Bei would scold her or stop giving her spending money as punishment. For her pocket money, she couldn¡¯t let Su Xiaonuan find out what they were doing. She looked at Chen Tianming beseechingly. Of course, Chen Tianming noticed Jiang Lianlian¡¯s expression. He wasn¡¯t going to do anything improper; he had only wanted to teach her a lesson through this incident. Don¡¯t cause trouble for others because you have nothing better to do. There¡¯s only one result in doing so, and that is to be on tenterhooks. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t want others to think he had anything to do with Jiang Lianlian, so he let go of her leg just as Su Xiaonuan was about to look under the table. However, Jiang Lianlian was still trying to pull her leg back, and she had used too much strength; she didn¡¯t expect Chen Tianming to let her go so suddenly. As a result, Jiang Lianlian and the chair she was sitting on were thrown to the ground. The loud noise of her chair hitting the ground and smashing the floor tile rang out in the private room, accompanied by Jiang Lianlian¡¯s piercing scream. The others were dumbfounded. ¡®What was going on?¡¯ ¡®Why did Jiang Lianlian fall to the ground?¡¯ Duan Fei saw Jiang Lianlian¡¯s current situation and quickly went over to show concern. ¡°Lianlian, are you alright? Is everything okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?¡± Jiang Lianlian was already quite frustrated when she ended up on the ground. Duan Fei¡¯s nagging only made her even more annoyed. Although Jiang Lianlian didn¡¯t say anything, she was silently swearing up a storm. Chen Tianming felt awkward when he heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s foul language. He didn¡¯t know if he was blind or if his brain was fried in his previous life. How could he have had feelings for a two-faced girl like Jiang Lianlian?! Chen Tianming felt miserable when he thought about it! Just then, Jiang Lianlian¡¯s voice in his head abruptly stopped, so he turned to look at her. When he looked over, Jiang Lianlian rolled her eyes at him. However, he didn¡¯t hear any of her thoughts. Chen Tianming was confused. He wanted to find out what went wrong with his new ability when Jiang Lianlian said sweetly, ¡°Duan Fei, Lianlian doesn¡¯t hurt, but it¡¯s a pity about the floor tile!¡± As she said this, Jiang Lianlian clung to Duan Fei, and she looked at Chen Tianming provocatively. At the same time, Jiang Lianlian¡¯s voice once again echoed in Chen Tianming¡¯s mind. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 31 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡®Duan Fei is truly a fool. What would he think if he knew I¡¯m just using him to make Chen Tianming mad?¡¯ ¡®The nerve of that man, Chen Tianming! I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking, dropping me for that hussy! Don¡¯t I have a better figure than Su Xiaonuan? I have to beat her later!¡¯ And with that, Jiang Lianlian¡¯s inner voice came to a halt, and Chen Tianming now knew what she was really thinking. ¡®Good heavens! Why was Jiang Lianlian so shameless?¡¯ Chen Tianming suspected that she must have a screw loose. Otherwise, why would she have such a ridiculous idea? Despite his thoughts on the matter, he didn¡¯t expose her. While Chen Tianming was busy with his thoughts, Jiang Lianlian had all but climbed into Duan Fei¡¯s lap. However, she kept glancing over at Tianming to see if he was jealous. However, she didn¡¯t know Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t on her. Instead, he was looking at the door of the private room. Jiang Lianlian wondered why Chen Tianming didn¡¯t react to her provocation when he suddenly stood up. Jiang Lianlian felt smug when he did. ¡®Tianming is jealous; why would he stand up if he isn¡¯t?¡¯ ¡®As expected, men are all so predictable!¡¯ Chen Tianming almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he heard Lianlian¡¯s thoughts. ¡®My goodness! She¡¯s so full of herself! Where did she get her confidence from?¡¯ ¡®Why didn¡¯t I realize that Jiang Lianlian was so egotistical before?¡¯ ¡®Oh, right! In the past, I was Jiang Lianlian¡¯s number-one suck-up. I was so busy pandering to her; how would I have noticed such things?¡¯ Jiang Lianlian stared at Chen Tianming. She was waiting for his next move when the manager suddenly came in. When the manager saw Chen Tianming had stood up, he thought he was going to leave, so he hurried over and said softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sir? Is there anything you¡¯re not satisfied with? If so, feel free to let us know! We will rectify it! And the taster dishes are ready to be served. If you leave now¡­¡± The manager¡¯s words trailed off, but Chen Tianming understood what he meant. Chen Tianming felt that the manager was a little paranoid. After all, he was just standing up and stretching his body. Tianming shook his head and said, ¡°Since the dishes are ready, bring them in.¡± Duan Fei had been marveling over his restaurant manager¡¯s eloquence, but his expression changed when he heard Chen Tianming¡¯s words. This was his family¡¯s restaurant. Why was Chen Tianming ordering the manager around? Initially, Duan Fei just silently stewed in his thoughts, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. ¡®Why was Tianming acting so special in my territory?¡¯ At that thought, Duan Fei couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He smacked his hand on the table and stood up. He coldly said to the manager, ¡°Mr. Manager, take a good look and tell me who is your master here. Stop wasting time and effort on inconsequential people!¡± Duan Fei felt quite proud after his little speech. He was waiting for the manager to admit his mistake, but he wasn¡¯t paying attention to him at all. Moreover, the man¡¯s eyes were fixed on Chen Tianming. Duan Fei¡¯s face twisted as he looked at the obtuse manager. He paid no care to his current surroundings and started to swear at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you f*cking understand what I¡¯m saying? You won¡¯t lick your young master¡¯s boots, but you would lick an unimportant person¡¯s boots instead. Do you think you¡¯re indispensable, or do you not want your job anymore?¡± The manager was dumbfounded at Duan Fei¡¯s tirade but quickly realized what was happening. He knew who Duan Fei was; the boy was just the son of one of the shareholders of their restaurant. Usually, he was respectful to Duan Fei out of courtesy. However, being polite didn¡¯t mean he was easy to bully. Duan Fei was just the son of a shareholder. What right did he have to order people around? However, the manager didn¡¯t dare to speak his thoughts. After all, the shareholders were still his superiors, so he could only resignedly explain, ¡°Young Master Duan Fei, Young Master Chen is here today to inspect our restaurant. Whether our restaurant can be listed or not depends on him.¡± Duan Fei¡¯s face was full of disbelief when he heard the manager¡¯s words. ¡®What? Since when did the Duan family need an outsider to invest in their business?¡¯ ¡®There are so many people in this restaurant, so the profits will definitely be quite high. There is no need for outsiders to invest!¡¯ ¡®This manager must be lying to me!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s right! That must be the case!¡¯ After Duan Fei convinced himself of his thoughts, he affected a lofty demeanor and looked at Chen Tianming and the manager like they were ants. ¡°The Duan family doesn¡¯t need to involve outsiders in our business! I¡¯ll decide on behalf of my family.¡± After saying this, Duan Fei paused for a while before continuing, ¡°The Duan family¡¯s business doesn¡¯t need investment. We can go public on our own!¡± Duan Fei thought he would receive warm applause for his statement, but the private room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The manager looked at him as if he was a fool. ¡®Where did this idiot come from? How could he say such an arrogant thing?¡¯ ¡®He thought he could go public on his own?¡¯ If that was the case, their restaurant wouldn¡¯t have stayed in this place for so long and even showed signs of closing down. If one of his employer¡¯s friends didn¡¯t suddenly withdraw his investment, the Duan family wouldn¡¯t even have had the chance to do so! The restaurant¡¯s situation was clear to the manager, but he feared what twisted conclusions Duan Fei¡¯s mind would come up with if he told him the facts directly. Hence, the manager began carefully thinking about how to handle this matter. While the manager was thinking, Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t help but sneer, ¡°Duan Fei, are you sure you¡¯ve thought this through?¡± Chen Tianming had planned to invest in this restaurant before he came here; he had only tried the taster menu for show. After all, in his previous life, this restaurant had become one of the most popular restaurants here. The restaurant¡¯s daily income was astronomical. In his previous life, if Jiang Bei hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to have lent Duan Fei money, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to invest in this project. However, judging by the current situation, Jiang Bei probably wouldn¡¯t be involved with this restaurant in this lifetime. Duan Fei laughed at Chen Tianming. ¡®What a joke!¡¯ ¡®You think you can scare me? Bring it on! Of course, I¡¯ve thought this through! What was there to be afraid of?¡¯ With this thought, Duan Fei said in a particularly unyielding manner, ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through!¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 32 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through!¡± A smile flashed across Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes at Duan Fei¡¯s confirmation. ¡°As you wish!¡± After saying that, Chen Tianming¡¯s gaze landed on Su Xiaonuan. He waved at her and said, ¡°Ms. Su, that¡¯s all for today. We can go home now.¡± Su Xiaonuan understood the meaning behind Tianming¡¯s words, so she quickly packed her things and planned to leave with him. Jiang Lianlian started to feel unhappy when she saw this. She hadn¡¯t had a chance to face off against Su Xiaonuan properly, so how could she let her leave so quickly? If she let Su Xiaonuan go today, what would happen to her reputation in the future? With this thought in mind, Jiang Lianlian was about to stop Tianming from leaving when the manager beat her to the punch. ¡°Young Master Chen, please calm your anger. He can only speak on behalf of the Duan family, but he doesn¡¯t speak for our entire restaurant. So please give us another chance, Young Master Chen.¡± And with that, the manager all but knelt in front of Chen Tianming. He had a couple of reasons for not doing so. For one, there were so many people here. If he knelt, he might lose the respect of his staff, and if so, how could he manage them in the future? The other reason was due to Chen Tianming. He felt that Chen Tianming was not heartless and would probably give them a chance. Actually, the manager was taking a risk on Chen Tianming¡¯s character. After all, it was his first time working with Chen Tianming, so he was unsure of his nature. Chen Tianming knew what the manager was hoping for. However, it would not benefit him to stay. The price the restaurant had requested at the start was beyond Chen Tianming¡¯s expectations. He could wait until the restaurant¡¯s situation deteriorated and they were forced to lower their price, but who knew what would happen then? Chen Tianming had chosen to come here early on to avoid any future problems that may crop up. Now, not only did Duan Fei¡¯s actions not cause any harm to him, but they also helped him. If he played his cards right, he would soon be able to take down the restaurant project at a lower price. Since Duan Fei had given him this opportunity, why would Chen Tianming throw it away? Hence, Chen Tianming waved his hand and said, ¡°Forget it! I¡¯m afraid our small corporation has little to offer this fine establishment. Let¡¯s end our discussion here.¡± And with those words, Chen Tianming left with Su Xiaonuan. The manager couldn¡¯t say anything more to make him reconsider, so he silently looked at Chen Tianming¡¯s departing figure, his mind filled with thoughts of the day¡¯s incident. ¡®The Chen family had been willing to invest in our restaurant and offered the highest price among all the investors.¡¯ ¡®Originally, as long as the taste test was successful today, the collaboration would be successful.¡¯ ¡®But now, because of this b*stard son of the Duan family, our cooperation with the Chen Corporation was ruined. This won¡¯t benefit the restaurant at all.¡¯ ¡®Moreover, I didn¡¯t have a say in this matter. If the boss blames me, what would I do?¡¯ Nevertheless, all the manager could do now was push this matter onto Duan Fei. It couldn¡¯t be considered shirking responsibility because this current disaster was caused by Duan Fei alone. The manager had done all he could to salvage the situation but to no avail. If he didn¡¯t let the boss know about the Duan family¡¯s interference in the matter, he would shoulder the responsibility and probably lose his job. The manager then looked at Duan Fei and said coldly, ¡°Young Master Duan, you better look out for yourself!¡± After saying this, he left the private room. He had just started to walk away when he happened to meet the head chef, who was pushing a trolley of food toward the room. When the head chef saw the manager¡¯s dark expression, he was confused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Manager Wang? Shouldn¡¯t you be serving our esteemed guest? Why are you out here?¡± The manager wanted to blow up in anger when he heard those questions, but in the end, he only said spitefully, ¡°Esteemed guest? What esteemed guest? There is no esteemed guest! Hurry up and take these back and continue as usual!¡± The head chef was puzzled by Manager Wang¡¯s angry words. However, this matter had nothing to do with him, so he did as ordered and left with the food trolley. As the head chef had taken the food with him, Duan Fei and the others would be waiting in vain for the dishes to be served. After all, the taster dishes were made for Chen Tianming, not for them. Jiang Bei and the others waited in the private room for a long time, but no one came in with their food. Jiang Bei couldn¡¯t help but ask in confusion, ¡°Where are the staff?¡± Since his future brother-in-law asked, Duan Fei would do his best to sort out the issue. He turned to Jiang Bei and reassured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jiang Bei. I¡¯ll go and see what¡¯s going on. This is no way to treat guests; these people are just asking to be fired!¡± Duan Fei left the private room and saw a staff member passing by. He stopped him and asked, ¡°What have you guys been doing? We¡¯ve been here for a long time. Why haven¡¯t you served the dishes yet?¡± The staff thought they¡¯d been negligent in their service, so they respectfully apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. It¡¯s our fault; if you could tell me your room number, I¡¯ll notify the kitchens to hurry up with your order!¡± Duan Fei gave them his private room number. He thought he would get a positive response from the staff, but he didn¡¯t expect them to just coldly inform him, ¡°The manager had instructed us to ignore that private room!¡± The staff member immediately went away after that. When he left, a trace of disdain flashed across his eyes. News of what happened in that private room had reached the staff members¡¯ ears. Their salaries would be raised when the restaurant went public, but thanks to Duan Fei¡¯s stunt, that won¡¯t be happening. Naturally, they didn¡¯t have a good impression of him. Duan Fei was quite displeased by the staff¡¯s tone and attitude. He didn¡¯t bother to think about the reason behind their hostility; he just went straight to the manager¡¯s office. ¡®How could he treat me like this? I¡¯ll have him fired for this!¡¯ Duan Fei strode up to the manager¡¯s office. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard the manager complaining inside, ¡°Chairman, the Duan family has gone too far. They¡¯ve ruined our investment plan.¡± ¡°Especially that good-for-nothing son of the Duan family. He¡¯s the reason why everything fell through. Chairman, if we don¡¯t punish the Duan family, our restaurant will be finished.¡± Duan Fei was furious; ever since he was young, it had always been Duan Fei who complained about others, and he was never the complainee. How dare this manager point fingers at his betters? Duan Fei was young and hot-tempered and couldn¡¯t stand this. He kicked open the office door and walked in: ¡°Well, go on! Why aren¡¯t you saying anything!¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 33 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Well, go on! Why aren¡¯t you saying anything!¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you having a great time babbling away just now? Go on, then. Spare no details; report back everything that I¡¯ve done. What are you, nine? Don¡¯t you feel ashamed, tattling at your age?¡± Duan Fei thought that he could threaten the manager by saying this, but he didn¡¯t expect the manager to ignore his threats and continue speaking on the phone, ¡°Chairman, I¡¯m sure you heard Young Master Duan confirm that this matter is indeed his responsibility. It has nothing to do with anyone in our restaurant! If you don¡¯t punish the Duan father and son for this, it¡¯s hard to say what will happen in the future.¡± The chairman naturally understood what Manager Wang meant and coldly replied, ¡°Alright!¡± And he hung up the phone. The manager heard the chairman¡¯s tone and knew he must be feeling quite displeased, so he put away his phone. It would be unacceptable if the chairman still didn¡¯t punish the Chen family after they caused the current dilemma. The manager looked at Duan Fei and asked coldly, ¡°Young Master Duan, is there something you need? If not, then I¡¯ll be leaving!¡± After saying this, the manager walked straight to the door. But the manager didn¡¯t expect Duan Fei to lose himself to his anger. Duan Fei was so mad that he became a little crazy. His eyes had reddened until they resembled a wolf hungry for slaughter. He was already unhappy that Chen Tianming had one-upped him. Moreover, he got ripped off in the furniture store. Now, even the manager of his restaurant treated him disrespectfully. If he didn¡¯t teach this manager a lesson today, he didn¡¯t know what the manager would do to him in the future! With that thought in mind, Duan Fei raised his fists and rushed at the manager. He punched him to the ground, straddled the man, and gave him more punches. All the while, he muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you no-good tattletale! Loudmouth snitch!¡± Initially, the manager would endure it as Duan Fei was the young master of the Duan family, but Duan Fei¡¯s hits became harder and harder. The manager finally couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and, in a clever move, managed to flip and press Duan Fei to the ground. The manager thought, ¡®Since Young Master Duan had been so rude to me, I don¡¯t need to be civil to him either.¡¯ The manager began aiming for Duan Fei¡¯s vulnerable spots. Before becoming a manager, he was part of a gang; he knew which areas he could hit without causing visible signs. The manager fiercely taught Duan Fei a lesson. Then he glanced at him and left the office. He didn¡¯t care whether Duan Fei lived or died; he wanted nothing to do with the idiot. After the manager was gone, Duan Fei laid on the ground, and his eyes were resentful. However, the target of his hatred wasn¡¯t the manager; it was Chen Tianming. After all, if it weren¡¯t for Chen Tianming, he wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much. Therefore, Duan Fei blamed everything that had happened to him on Chen Tianming. He would make Chen Tianming pay for this, no matter what. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself. Duan Fei took out his mobile phone, and just as he was about to dial a unique contact number, his phone suddenly rang. While Duan Fei was answering the phone, Chen Tianming and Su Xiaonuan¡ªwho had already left¡ªalso received a call. Su Xiaonuan glanced at Chen Tianming when she saw that the caller was the chairman of the restaurant, silently asking if she should answer the call. Chen Tianming nodded and signaled for her to take the call, so Su Xiaonuan picked up the phone. The chairman spoke apologetically almost immediately after the call connected, ¡°Ms. Su, please convey my apologies to Mr. Chen. It¡¯s indeed our restaurant¡¯s fault, and we are willing to pay appropriate compensation.¡± The chairman paused briefly before continuing, ¡°Our restaurant is willing to give Mr. Chen the biggest concession. Mr. Chen can reduce the investment amount of our restaurant by two points, but the shares will not change.¡± Su Xiaonuan¡¯s face filled with joy when she heard this, She had been a little nervous when she left the restaurant with Chen Tianming. After all, Su Xiaonuan felt that the restaurant project had the potential to appreciate, and it would be a shame to lose it. Though there would be little change in the Chen Corporation if they lost this project, who would reject money delivered to their doorstep? Su Xiaonuan had planned to persuade Chen Tianming to reconsider the project once they returned to the company. It would work to their benefit if they could get this project. Therefore, when she heard the chairman¡¯s offer, her face was excited. After all, the chairman had given them a huge concession. These conditions were sound and very profitable for the Chen Corporation. Just as Su Xiaonuan was about to accept the chairman¡¯s suggestion, she saw Chen Tianming shaking his head. Su Xiaonuan was confused by Tianming¡¯s actions. ¡®What does Mr. Chen mean? Why is he shaking his head?¡¯ ¡®Does this mean that he disagrees with the chairman¡¯s proposal? Or was the price unsuitable to him?¡¯ Su Xiaonuan¡¯s heart was filled with questions, but she didn¡¯t ask them. After all, she was just an employee; her job was to follow her boss¡¯s instructions. Hence, Su Xiaonuan told the chairman, ¡°Chairman Wong, let¡¯s talk about this some other time! After all, we still need to discuss our collaboration with others in the corporation; it¡¯s not something only the two of us can confirm.¡± After saying this, Su Xiaonuan hung up without giving Chairman Wong a chance to respond. If her guessed correctly, this was what Tianming wanted. Tianming nodded in satisfaction. As expected of the top assistant given to him by the system, her comprehension ability was amazing! Now that everything was ready, he just needed to get the restaurant project at the lowest price! When Su Xiaonuan hung up on him, Chairman Wong knew Chen Tianming¡¯s intentions, so he called Duan Fei¡¯s father again. The chairman wanted Duan Fei to make amends to Chen Tianming. If Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t forgive Duan Fei, then the Duan family would no longer be a shareholder in the restaurant. After Duan Fei¡¯s father heard the chairman¡¯s demand, he immediately sent bodyguards to capture Duan Fei. He took off Duan Fei¡¯s shirt and tied a pile of rattan to his back. Then, they walked toward Chen Tianming¡¯s company. Duan Fei had a defiant expression; he didn¡¯t want to apologize at all, but his father threatened to cut off his pocket money, so he had no choice but to stand and wait at the base of the Chen Corporation building. After everything was ready, Duan Fei¡¯s father took out his phone and called Chen Tianming. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 34 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation Su Xiaonuan received a call from Duan Fei¡¯s father. She had done detailed research before she entered the company, so when Xiaonuan saw Duan Fei¡¯s father¡¯s phone number, she immediately recognized it. She looked toward Chen Tianming and said, ¡°Mr. Chen, you have a call from Mr. Duan.¡± When Chen Tianming heard this, he was confused. After a while, he realized that the Mr. Duan Su Xiaonuan was talking about was Duan Fei¡¯s father, Duan Zhong. From what he recalled, Duan Zhong wasn¡¯t a good person either. In his previous life, Duan Zhong presented a perfect image when he wanted to get the Chen Corporation to invest in him. His attitude, speech, and methods were flawless, and the Chen Corporation couldn¡¯t refuse. Later, when Duan Zhong discovered that the Chen Corporation had gone bankrupt, he immediately did an about-face. Not only did he fan the flames like the other companies, but Duan Zhong¡¯s methods were really bizarre. He had taken the word ¡®two-faced¡¯ to the extreme. He had previously earned the favor of Jiang Bei¡¯s family and Chen Tianming¡¯s father. In fact, Duan Zhong maintained the image of a kind and grateful man before all the companies. However, no one knew that the real reason for the Chen Corporation¡¯s bankruptcy was related to Duan Zhong. Duan Zhong had miscalculated and was facing bankruptcy. Chen Tianming¡¯s father couldn¡¯t bear to see the Duan Corporation go bankrupt, so he took over the mess. However, this led to the Chen Corporation¡¯s bankruptcy in the end. Now that Duan Zhong had appeared, Chen Tianming had no intention of letting him go. Chen Tianming gestured for Su Xiaonuan to pick up the phone. She did so immediately, and a meek voice came from the other end. ¡°H-hello, Ms. Su. I-I¡¯m the Chairman of the Duan Group, Duan Zhong. I have something to discuss with Young Master Chen. Can you hand the phone over to him?¡± Su Xiaonuan glanced at Chen Tianming and realized he didn¡¯t want to talk to Duan Zhong, so she replied, ¡°Mr. Duan, our young master is busy. If you need anything, just tell me.¡± Duan Zhong was sly, so how could he not hear the perfunctory tone in Su Xiaonuan¡¯s words? Normally, he would have said a few harsh words to Su Xiaonuan for her attitude. After all, he was the chairman of a company, and she was merely an assistant. With their status, it was obvious who was more noble. But now, thanks to his son, he had to assume a humble demeanor. If he angered this assistant, how could they apologize to Chen Tianming? With this thought in mind, Duan Zhong forcefully suppressed his irritation and said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ms. Su. We¡¯re just downstairs at the Chen Corporation. We can wait here while the Young Master finishes his work.¡± Su Xiaonuan¡¯s expression changed at Duan Zhong¡¯s amiable attitude. She thought Duan Zhong would fly into a rage out of humiliation and make ridiculous demands, but he was unexpectedly humble. For a moment, Su Xiaonuan had a good impression of Duan Zhong, whom she had never met before. Chen Tianming could tell what Su Xiaonuan was thinking from her expression. Although professionally talented, she was lacking when judging people¡¯s character! However, that was normal. After all, in his previous life, he was a poor judge of character himself. Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t point this out to Su Xiaonuan. After all, the lesson would only stick if she found out on her own. Chen Tianming took Su Xiaonuan around the streets three times before they finally returned to the Chen Corporation. Duan Zhong and Duan Fei were still waiting downstairs when they arrived. Duan Fei stood sloppily at the side, whereas Duan Zhong stood with a meticulous posture; to those who didn¡¯t know, it would appear as if Duan Zhong was in trouble instead of Duan Fei. The people who came and went looked at the two of them with puzzled expressions. They didn¡¯t know what they were here for, but their presence affected the Chen Corporation¡¯s image. With this thought in mind, they told the security guard in the building about the situation. When the security guard heard the news, he hurriedly rushed out. This was the Chen Corporation, and they couldn¡¯t have any Tom, Dick, or Harry loitering around the entrance. When the security guard ran out and saw the Duan father and son, he immediately began to chase them away. ¡°Who are you? Hurry up and leave this place! You¡¯re affecting the image of the Chen Corporation.¡± Duan Fei was already very annoyed at being forced to stand there by his father. His irritated expression became even more apparent when he heard the security guard¡¯s words. ¡°Do you know who we are? Why are you shooting your mouth off when you don¡¯t know anything? Our identities are not something that lousy security guards like you can compare to!¡± he said darkly. The security guard was displeased at Duan Fei¡¯s attitude. However, he was a security guard of the Chen Corporation; he couldn¡¯t be rude. Therefore, he tried to reason with them, ¡°The Chen Corporation has an image to uphold! If you are truly here to wait for someone, please move to the bench at the side. Don¡¯t block the main entrance; it will reflect badly on the corporation.¡± Duan Fei was even more displeased at his words. As he was about to say something, Duan Zhong suddenly held him back by the shoulder and said to the security guard, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing you trouble. We¡¯ll leave immediately!¡± Duan Zhong and Duan Fei were about to leave when Chen Tianming and Su Xiaonuan came over. Su Xiaonuan had witnessed the scene and was slightly won over by Duan Zhong¡¯s courteous behavior. She felt the security guard was a little unkind and found him disagreeable. He only had to ask the Duan father and son to leave politely; there was no need to use such a tone. However, Chen Tianming had seen through Duan Zhong¡¯s manipulations from the start. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, Duan Zhong must have known that he and Su Xiaonuan were approaching. Otherwise, why would he happen to act in such a manner and speak up just as they came over? However, Chen Tianming wouldn¡¯t unmask Duan Zhong. That would ruin Duan Zhong¡¯s little show. He wanted to see what the man had planned. Su Xiaonuan walked to the side and began to lecture the security guard, ¡°If such incidents happen again in the future, do be patient and calmly work things out. Don¡¯t be so fierce from the get-go. That¡¯ll give customers a bad impression.¡± The security guard nodded and said, ¡°Okay, Ms. Su, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Su Xiaonuan saw that the security guard had readily admitted his faults and was willing to change, so she didn¡¯t say anything else and let him leave. At this moment, Duan Zhong finally looked toward Chen Tianming. Previously, he had only heard about Chen Tianming from Duan Fei. This was the first time he¡¯d met the boy in person, and he seemed a little different from what Duan Fei said. However, he had something more important to deal with right now. He had to resolve the conflict between Chen Tianming and his son first. Just as Duan Zhong was about to speak, Chen Tianming¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Come in!¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 35 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Come in!¡± Duan Zhong dragged Duan Fei along as he followed Chen Tianming into the Chen Corporation¡¯s building and lectured Duan Fei as they walked. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t do anything funny later! You better properly apologize to Mr. Chen, you hear me? If you cause any more trouble, your pocket money will be gone!¡± Duan Fei just listened to Duan Zhong¡¯s speech perfunctorily. In any case, he had to deal with his father first. As for Chen Tianming, he would have plenty of time to take care of him in the future. Chen Tianming took Duan Zhong and Duan Fei to his father¡¯s office. Duan Zhong entered Chen Jiang¡¯s office and felt a flash of envy. Although Duan Zhong quickly hid his emotion, Chen Tianming still picked up on it. If only he¡¯d noticed Duan Zhong¡¯s abnormality earlier in his previous life¡­ However, this was no longer important. It was all in the past. It would be fine as long as he kept his eyes open now. Duan Fei¡¯s eyes shone as he looked at the office that was three times bigger than his father¡¯s and exclaimed, ¡°Oh my god! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a big office!¡± Duan Fei then looked at Duan Zhong and commented, ¡°Dad, even our company¡¯s conference room isn¡¯t this big!¡± Duan Zhong¡¯s face immediately darkened at his son¡¯s remark. He was already bothered by the fact that his office couldn¡¯t compare to Chen Jiang¡¯s and barely managed to control his emotions. Unfortunately, his brainless eldest son had gone and pointed it out. Why was his idiot son making him look bad in this situation? He felt like his own hands had just slapped him. It indeed was a slap in the face! To prevent Duan Fei from angering himself further, Duan Zhong turned to Chen Tianming and said, ¡°Mr. Chen, what happened in the restaurant today was my son, Duan Fei¡¯s fault. I brought him here to apologize to you!¡± Duan Zhong dragged Duan Fei before Chen Tianming and said scoldingly, ¡°Well? Aren¡¯t you going to apologize?¡± Duan Fei glanced at Chen Tianming and casually said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! What happened today was my fault!¡± Duan Fei plopped down on the leather sofa at the side after he¡¯d finished his task, and he sighed in comfort. ¡°This is so comfy! Dad, get a sofa like this for your office too!¡± Duan Zhong was livid as he looked at his boneheaded boy. He couldn¡¯t understand how someone as smart as himself could have such a brainless son. If that joke of an apology appeased Chen Tianming, he would eat his hat! Duan Zhong cautiously looked at Chen Tianming, who merely smiled faintly. Duan Zhong looked at Chen Tianming with a hint of doubt. ¡®What does he mean by that? Is this an act? Or did he really not catch on?¡¯ he wondered. Duan Zhong recalled Duan Fei¡¯s descriptions of Chen Tianming, and combined with the boy¡¯s current behavior, he had a rough idea of Chen Tianming¡¯s personality. ¡®He¡¯s pretending,¡¯ Duan Zhong speculated. Since that was the case, he would test Chen Tianming to see if he was faking it. So Duan Zhong pulled Duan Fei off the sofa and kicked his leg. ¡°You call that an apology?! Stop being so arrogant! Get your ass in gear and apologize to Mr. Chen!¡± ¡®How interesting,¡¯ Chen Tianming thought as he looked at Duan Zhong. ¡®I didn¡¯t think he would go that far.¡¯ ¡®Is he being genuine, or is this a test?¡¯ As soon as the thought occurred to Chen Tianming, he instantly dismissed the first option. ¡®He¡¯s testing me,¡¯ Chen Tianming affirmed. After all, although it seemed like Duan Zhong had put a lot of force into that kick, it didn¡¯t cause any harm to Duan Fei at all. It was even possible that he might have faked that kick. Chen Tianming¡¯s expression remained unchanged despite his thoughts. The act didn¡¯t deceive Chen Tianming, but Su Xiaonuan was moved. ¡®What a selfless father!¡¯ ¡®Most people would be protective of their child and couldn¡¯t bear to be so tough on their kids.¡¯ ¡®It seems like Mr. Duan sincerely wants to apologize, but there¡¯s no response from the young master. What can I do?¡¯ ¡®Should I put in a good word with the young master?¡¯ Su Xiaonuan was about to say something to Chen Tianming when he interrupted her with a request, ¡°Ms. Su, Mr. Duan has been here for so long; he must be thirsty. Please get us something to drink!¡± Su Xiaonuan bit back the words she wanted to say; she could only nod and walk out of the office. The office suddenly became quiet after Su Xiaonuan left. Duan Zhong could tell that Su Xiaonuan wanted to help him, but he didn¡¯t understand Chen Tianming¡¯s actions. ¡®Is Chen Tianming onto us?¡¯ ¡®Or was it pure luck that he did those actions just now?¡¯ Duan Zhong contemplated the matter at length but still couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening. ¡®Never mind!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll just take things one step at a time,¡¯ Duan Zhong decided. He didn¡¯t think a brat wet behind the ears like Chen Tianming would be a problem. Su Xiaonuan soon returned with three cups of tea. Duan Fei saw that she¡¯d also prepared tea for him and was about to sit on the sofa to enjoy it when Chen Tianming said, ¡°The tea¡¯s lovely, Ms. Su. You should try it.¡± Chen Tianming indirectly told Su Xiaonuan that he didn¡¯t want to provide Duan Fei tea. Su Xiaonuan naturally knew what he meant, so she left right after placing a cup of tea beside Duan Zhong. She could intercede for Duan Zhong and his son but wouldn¡¯t go against Chen Tianming¡¯s wishes. She was only an assistant; she just had to do what she was supposed to do. As for other things, they weren¡¯t important. Chen Tianming¡¯s words bothered Duan Zhong. However, he could understand why Tianming snubbed Duan Fei. His son¡¯s actions in the restaurant were indeed a little overboard. Therefore, in Duan Zhong¡¯s eyes, this was just one of Chen Tianming¡¯s little tricks. However, he didn¡¯t have much time to wrangle with Chen Tianming. He took a sip of tea and got straight to the point, ¡°Mr. Chen, about the restaurant¡¯s investment¡­¡± Duan Zhong hesitated. He didn¡¯t need to continue further; he¡¯d said all he needed to. He and Chen Tianming knew full well what the father and son duo came here for. Chen Tianming ignored Duan Zhong¡¯s words and continued, ¡°This tea is really good! However, it¡¯s a little expensive!¡± As soon as Chen Tianming said this, Duan Zhong could hear the double meaning behind his words. However, he was just a shareholder of the restaurant, so he had no control over this aspect. He looked at Chen Tianming, smiled apologetically, and said, ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Chen. I¡¯ve had too much water on the way here and need to use the restroom!¡± Chen Tianming knew what Duan Zhong was heading out to do, so he nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s the room to the right!¡± Duan Zhong bobbed his head and left the office. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 36 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation After Duan Zhong left the office, he followed Chen Tianming¡¯s directions, but unexpectedly, they didn¡¯t lead him to the restroom. Looking at the empty space before him, Duan Zhong didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡®Good heavens! Mr. Chen had even provided him with a venue!¡¯ If he didn¡¯t set things straight, he might have difficulty dealing with Mr. Chen today! Therefore, Duan Zhong took out his phone and called the chairman of the restaurant. The chairman immediately picked up the call when he saw that it came from Duan Zhong. Before Duan Zhong could speak, he snapped, ¡°How did it go? Has the matter been settled? What does Mr. Chen want?¡± Duan Zhong directly reported Chen Tianming¡¯s intentions to the chairman, ¡°Chairman, Mr. Chen feels that the price isn¡¯t very acceptable! So how do you want me to proceed?¡± Duan Zhong had just finished speaking when crackling sounds came from the other end of the phone. The chairman was so angry that he threw everything on his desk. The figure he had given previously was already his lowest price, yet Chen Tianming was still unsatisfied. ¡®He doesn¡¯t expect me to give it to him free of cost, does he?¡¯ The chairman cursed in his heart for a long time before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t care how, but you better get this matter settled! I want this investment to go through, but that¡¯s already the lowest price I can offer! The rest is up to you!¡± And with that, the chairman hung up his phone. After all, if it wasn¡¯t for Duan Zhong¡¯s brat, he wouldn¡¯t have been forced into a reactive stance and ended up in this sorry situation! Duan Zhong heard the beeping sound coming from the phone, and a trace of annoyance flashed across his eyes. ¡®That man couldn¡¯t oppose the Chen family, so he could only solve this by exploiting a small fry like me.¡¯ ¡®How amusing!¡¯ Even though he was unhappy with the chairman¡¯s high-handed demand, he knew very well how important this restaurant project was to the Duan family. Therefore, he had to secure this project no matter what! ¡®I must get this project, no matter what, even if Duan Fei had to kneel and beg for forgiveness,¡¯ Duan Zhong thought as he walked toward the office again. When Duan Zhong returned to the office, Duan Fei was on the sofa again; he even took the opportunity to put his feet on the coffee table in front of him, and his feet bounced as he hummed a tune. Duan Fei appeared to be more comfortable here than at home. Duan Zhong was already frustrated after the chairman scolded him, and the scene before him was the last straw. He was so furious he didn¡¯t want to pretend anymore and solidly kicked Duan Fei. If it weren¡¯t for this little rascal, he wouldn¡¯t have to come over to apologize. He could put up with giving apologies. After all, a lack of forbearance in small matters could upset great plans! However, judging from how things were going, it was likely that the Duan family would have to make up for the price difference. Any way you look at it, this wouldn¡¯t benefit the Duan family at all. So when he saw Duan Fei goofing off, he really couldn¡¯t hold in his frustration anymore. Other kids would help out their parents, but his own son, on the other hand, would be the death of him. Duan Zhong wished that Duan Fei had never been born. If that were the case, he wouldn¡¯t be in this state. With that in mind, Duan Zhong couldn¡¯t help but kick Duan Fei a few more times and berate him, ¡°You¡¯re here to apologize, not to enjoy life¡¯s luxuries!¡± When Duan Fei heard Duan Zhong¡¯s words, he was filled with incomprehension. ¡®What is all this about?¡¯ ¡®Why doesn¡¯t my father side with me? Why does he side with Chen Tianming, an outsider?¡¯ Duan Fei was confused and thought, ¡®Was this because of what I said in the restaurant?¡¯ ¡®If that¡¯s the case, then my father is too strict. After all, who didn¡¯t put on an act in front of the girl they fancied when they were young?¡¯ Because of this mentality, Duan Fei had difficulty understanding Duan Zhong¡¯s actions. ¡®It¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t do similar things when he was pursuing Mum during his youth.¡¯ Although Duan Fei felt resentful, he dared not speak his thoughts. His father seemed amiable in public but was still very strict regarding Duan Fei¡¯s discipline. If his father knew what he was thinking, he would never be able to live in peace. After weighing the pros and cons, Duan Fei kept his mouth shut and stood up. Duan Zhong also stood when he did and bowed slightly to Chen Tianming. ¡°Mr. Chen, I want you to tell me the truth. What¡¯s the price you¡¯re expecting?¡± Chen Tianming was surprised; he didn¡¯t think Duan Zhong would get straight to the point so quickly. It seemed that his chat with the chairman of the restaurant didn¡¯t go well. However, that meant they would probably cave into his demands. Chen Tianming tapped his fingers on the table but didn¡¯t say anything. Duan Zhong became flustered when he heard the noise. He honestly didn¡¯t know what Chen Tianming had in mind now. Duan Zhong anxiously waited for Chen Tianming¡¯s answer, but he couldn¡¯t take it any longer. He caved and offered a price that he could afford. ¡°Mr. Chen, our chairman can reduce the price by three points at most, and the shares will remain unchanged.¡± The three points that Duan Zhong mentioned were tens of millions of yuan, which was already his limit. However, to Chen Tianming, that was merely the income from one of his company¡¯s projects. When Chen Tianming heard the proposition, a trace of joy flashed in his eyes. Duan Zhong¡¯s current offer was much more generous than the price Jiang Bei had to pay to get the restaurant project in his past life. Moreover, he bought significantly more shares at this price than Jiang Bei had previously owned. This was a guaranteed profit-making proposal. Just as Chen Tianming was about to agree to the deal, Duan Zhong mistook his silence for displeasure and spoke up once more. ¡°Mr. Chen, we can reduce the price by 3.5 points at most. We really can¡¯t afford to give you anymore!¡± That was a pleasant surprise for Chen Tianming. After all, he didn¡¯t expect Duan Zhong to sacrifice so much for the restaurant. It seemed that there was more to this restaurant than meets the eye! Tianming wanted to see what secrets lie within the restaurant. He stood from his office chair and extended his hand toward Duan Zhong. ¡°Then I wish us a happy cooperation in advance, Mr. Duan!¡± Duan Zhong sighed in relief when he heard Chen Tianming¡¯s words. ¡®Anyhow, this crisis is over.¡¯ Therefore, he reached out his hand and held Cheng Tianming¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Mr. Chen, it¡¯s a pleasure to work with you!¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 37 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation The two of them chatted about the collaboration details before Duan Zhong decided to leave. He realized Chen Tianming¡¯s manipulations during their chat. He didn¡¯t expect Tianming would know to use such methods at such a young age. However, there was nothing he could do about it. The collaboration was already a done deal. Even if he regretted it, he might have to sacrifice even more to back out of the agreement. Since he¡¯d already come this far, he would make the best of it! He just had to be careful of this Mr. Chen in the future. Therefore, when Duan Zhong was leaving the building with Duan Fei, he suddenly thought of something and brought Duan Fei back to the office. As the age-old practice goes, ¡®proffer a birch and ask for a flogging.¡¯ They hadn¡¯t even properly asked for forgiveness, so how could they leave? If they left without a proper apology and caused Chen Tianming to go back on his word, they would lose more than they gained. So Duan Zhong pressed Duan Fei to the ground and picked up the rattan cane thrown on the floor just now. He handed it to Chen Tianming and said, ¡°Mr. Chen, my son must be punished for his mistake. You can whack him a few times with this cane!¡± ¡°Not only will he learn his lesson, but it will also be our apology to you.¡± When Duan Fei heard Duan Zhong¡¯s statement, he was filled with incomprehension, and he loudly demanded, ¡°You call yourself my dad? How could you let an outsider hit me? What if I get seriously injured if he doesn¡¯t do it properly? If anything happens to me, the Duan family won¡¯t have anyone left to carry on its legacy.¡± Duan Zhong rolled his eyes when he heard Duan Fei¡¯s diatribe. However, he ignored him; he was waiting for Chen Tianming¡¯s response. Chen Tianming naturally understood what Duan Zhong meant; the man was afraid that he would go back on his word. ¡®Since Duan Zhong had made this request, what kind of person would I be if I didn¡¯t agree?¡¯ Chen Tianming took the proffered cane and was about to hit Duan Fei when he suddenly stopped and handed it back to Duan Zhong. ¡°I think you should do the deed; it would be inappropriate for me to strike a man while his father watched.¡± Duan Fei felt insulted at Chen Tianming¡¯s remark; why were they passing the task of beating him to each other? To make the matter even more ridiculous, the two discussing the issue were the person he was closest to and the person he hated the most. Duan Fei didn¡¯t know what to say in this situation; he could only wait for the final result in resignation. He simply had to close his eyes and endure it, and the whole matter would be settled; there was no need for him to make his father unhappy by being willful. Duan Zhong knew what Chen Tianming meant; he feared that if he were to injure Duan Fei, the Duan family would extort the Chen family under the guise of compensation. Chen Tianming wasn¡¯t the only one who had such thoughts. Even Duan Zhong would think the same if he encountered such a situation. Furthermore, the two of them had just agreed to collaborate. If any more problems occurred, their contract would be affected again. So, in order for their collaboration with the Chen Corporation to run smoothly, Duan Zhong picked up the rattan cane and fiercely whipped Duan Fei. Instantly, a patch of red appeared on Duan Fei¡¯s back. Duan Fei bore the hit with aplomb; when that cane lashed his body, he didn¡¯t make a sound. Others might not realize it, but Chen Tianming could tell that although Duan Zhong seemed to be wielding that cane with great force and his every strike split the skin, in reality, the damage caused to Duan Fei was minimal. It was possible that the lashes didn¡¯t even cause Duan Fei much pain; the wounds were only skin deep. Therefore, Chen Tianming just watched the scene and treated it like the show it was. He harbored no illusion that the pair were sincerely apologetic. However, he still had a long life ahead of him; if he destroyed the two of them now, he would miss out on much entertainment. Duan Zhong ruthlessly whipped Duan Fei, and after a while, he threw the bloody rattan cane on the ground and then slapped the back of Duan Fei¡¯s head: ¡°Do I need to tell you what to do? Hurry up and apologize to Chen Shaoye!¡± Duan Fei heard Duan Zhong¡¯s cold tone and quickly apologized to Chen Tianming, ¡°Tianming, I¡¯m the one in the wrong. I hope you can forgive me!¡± Chen Tianming had achieved his goal, so he wouldn¡¯t make things difficult for Duan Fei. Hence, he nodded and expressly warned Duan Zhong, ¡°Mr. Duan; sometimes it¡¯s best to keep a low profile!¡± ¡°I believe you and I both understand the principle of keeping your money close to your chest, especially when doing business.¡± Chen Tianming left the office after saying that. He had to sign the investment contract with the chairman of the restaurant as soon as possible. He was afraid that if he didn¡¯t move quickly, Jiang Bei might get involved somehow; after all, he was the one who got this contract in Tianming¡¯s past life. Things would become unpredictable if that were the case. With the contract in hand, even if the outcome of the restaurant project weren¡¯t ideal, he would at least get compensation. When Su Xiaonuan saw Chen Tianming had obtained the collaboration project at such a generous price, she finally understood the intention behind his actions today and was surprised at his strategy. Su Xiaonuan was very grateful to Chen Tianming for helping her seek justice. However, when she first joined the Chen Corporation, most staff described Chen Tianming as a ¡®rich and spoilt brat.¡¯ He was a fool who would fall all over himself to please women and knew nothing about the company; he had no interest in it at all. If Chen Tianming¡¯s father hadn¡¯t been in top form and still going strong despite his age, the Chen Corporation would have been destroyed by Chen Tianming when he inherited it. But now, it seemed that Young Master Chen wasn¡¯t as useless as the rumors said. He had learned a lot about the wheeling-and-dealing and machinations of the business world. He would have easily forgiven the Duan father and son today if he hadn¡¯t. Although she felt sorry for Duan Zhong, it didn¡¯t mean that Su Xiaonuan found him and his son innocent of any wrongdoings. As the saying goes, ¡®to feed without teaching is the father¡¯s fault.¡¯ If Duan Zhong had raised his son correctly, Duan Fei wouldn¡¯t have said such ridiculous remarks. However, all¡¯s well that ends well. They got the project they wanted at a price 3.5 points lower than its market value. Su Xiaonuan also discovered Chen Tianming¡¯s potential today. She looked forward to her days in the Chen Corporation. Su Xiaonuan had just sent Duan Fei and his son off when she received a call from the restaurant¡¯s chairman. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to work with you, Ms. Su! Mr. Chen said he has handed over all the matters of this project to you, so you¡¯ll be the one I contact in the future.¡± Su Xiaonuan was stunned when she heard this. ¡®I¡¯m just an assistant. How can I take on such a big project?¡¯ Su Xiaonuan worried about it for a long time and decided to reject Chen Tianming¡¯s suggestion. After all, many people were more educated and capable than her in the company. She was unfit to be responsible for this project! With this thought in mind, Su Xiaonuan walked toward the resting area where Chen Tianming was. She¡¯d just reached him and was about to open her mouth when he beat her to the punch and spoke. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 38 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°Ms. Su, settle the contract. We¡¯ll head to the airport in 20 minutes!¡± Su Xiaonuan was distracted by Chen Tianming¡¯s orders; she had completely forgotten what she had come here for. She nodded vigorously and quickly went to work on the contract. As to why they were going to the airport¡­ Chen Tianming just received a call from his father. His parents had finally returned from their overseas vacation. Chen Tianming¡¯s eyes had reddened the moment he heard his father¡¯s voice. In his previous life, his parents met a sad end because of him. Now that he was reborn, he would ensure his parents lived an enviable life. He would also bring the Chen Corporation to greater heights, taking the company onto a bigger stage and broadening its businesses into other regions. Su Xiaonuan was very efficient. She immediately got to work after Chen Tianming gave her the task. This was her first time being in charge of such an important project, so she was meticulous in every aspect. Su Xiaonuan didn¡¯t lack speed despite her careful attention to detail. She had everything she needed prepared within fifteen minutes. ¡°Mr. Chen, I¡¯ve prepared everything you asked for. The contract has been sent to the restaurant¡¯s chairman. He¡¯ll be here at eight tomorrow morning to sign the contract.¡± ¡°The chairman wishes to discuss the part of the contract that relates to the price with you in person because it seems to have something to do with the Duan family.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s just about everything. We can set off for the airport now!¡± Chen Tianming nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll talk about the restaurant tomorrow. Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡­ Chen Tianming¡¯s father called just as they arrived at the airport. ¡°Xiao Tian, are you here yet? Your mother and I are waiting outside!¡± Chen Tianming got out of the car and looked toward the airport¡¯s exit. He immediately spotted a man in a casual suit; he exuded an air of elegance and nobility. He would have been mistaken for a young man if it weren¡¯t for the slightly graying hair on his head. A woman in a red dress stood beside him. She was tall and beautiful with snow-white skin. Her dress exposed her long legs, and her kitten heels accentuated her height. All in all, she was a stunning beauty. Said beauty was leaning dependently on the man¡¯s shoulder, and the two would sometimes talk among themselves. Every time she finished talking to the man, the woman smiled sweetly. Chen Tianming looked at the interaction between his father and mother with a helpless expression. ¡®They are already over fifty years old but still so lovey-dovey!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s enough, you two! Stop showing off your affections and act your age!¡¯ ¡®Please behave yourselves! You¡¯re out in public!¡¯ Chen Tianming quickly hung up the phone and walked toward the couple. ¡°Mom, Dad, it¡¯s been a while!¡± The couple heard Chen Tianming¡¯s voice and looked over. When the woman saw Chen Tianming, her smile became even brighter. ¡°Honey, look at you! You¡¯ve gotten taller and more handsome! You look more classy than before we left.¡± Chen Tianming was a little exasperated when he heard his mother¡¯s praise. ¡®It¡¯s only been two months since we last met. How can there be such a big change?¡¯ He was interrupted from his thoughts when his mother said, ¡°I heard from the special assistant that you¡¯ve started managing the company now. Didn¡¯t you swear that you wouldn¡¯t enter the company, no matter what?¡± ¡°What changed your mind? Did you find living off your parents less exciting than you hoped?¡± The happy atmosphere of the trio¡¯s family reunion dissipated at her words. Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know what to say; his mother¡¯s tongue was still as sharp as ever. Therefore, Chen Tianming looked to his father for aid. However, his father didn¡¯t seem to notice him; he¡¯d kept his eyes on his wife the entire time. Chen Tianming felt like he¡¯d made a clown of himself trying in the first place; these two lovebirds were in their own world. Su Xiaonuan saved him from his awkwardness when she appeared and announced, ¡°Mr. Chen, I¡¯ve parked the car. Are they here yet? We can set off if they¡¯re here.¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s mother was snuggling with her husband, but her eyes sparkled when she heard Su Xiaonuan¡¯s gentle voice. ¡®Good gracious! Her son is spending time with a new girl; what a rare sight!¡¯ ¡®Is he no longer in contact with Jiang Lianlian?¡¯ If that were the case, that would be great. She didn¡¯t like that girl from the Jiang family at all. If it weren¡¯t for Chen Tianming, someone like Jiang Lianlian wouldn¡¯t have been allowed on the Chen family¡¯s property. Chen Tianming¡¯s parents were both experienced and astute elites; they were well aware of what type of girl Jiang Lianlian was. His mother disdained the girl¡¯s manipulative tricks and found it insulting that she used them on her family. Unfortunately, her stupid son couldn¡¯t see through that wench¡¯s little mind games. However, she was relieved that her son now had a new love interest. Chen Tianming¡¯s father silently nodded at Su Xiaonuan in approval. She was indeed much more pleasing to the eye than Jiang Lianlian. However, he can¡¯t keep his son under his wing forever. It didn¡¯t matter to him who Chen Tianming dated. Good relationship or bad, it would all be a valuable learning experience for his son, which would be useful to him in the future. His parents¡¯ thoughts were written clearly on their faces, and Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. His past attempts to please Jiang Lianlian must have been over the top for his parents make such expressions. Su Xiaonuan saw that Chen Tianming¡¯s parents had mistaken their relationship and quickly introduced herself, ¡°Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Chairman. I¡¯m Mr. Chen¡¯s assistant, Su Xiaonuan!¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s mother¡¯s smile became even more amiable at the news. She would mind being their matchmaker; a love story between an overbearing CEO and his secretary wife sounds exciting. She would have to tell her dear husband to slowly hand over the company to their son in the future. Otherwise, how would these two develop a romantic relationship in the future? She loved a good office romance! Chen Tianming didn¡¯t know that his mother had arranged his life for him in just a few seconds. Chen Tianming¡¯s parents nodded to Su Xiaonuan in response to her greeting. They were about to say something when Chen Tianming interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ve already booked us a private room at a restaurant. We can chat there instead!¡± Tianming¡¯s parents nodded their agreement. Indeed, it wasn¡¯t suitable for them to chat and reminisce in public. Su Xiaonuan drove the car and brought all of them to the restaurant that Chen Tian had mentioned. When they arrived at the restaurant¡¯s entrance, it was unusually noisy, and they heard someone demand in a raised voice, ¡°I have this restaurant¡¯s VIP card, so why won¡¯t you let me in?¡± If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 39 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation ¡°I have this restaurant¡¯s VIP card, so why won¡¯t you let me in?¡± The waiter at the door replied in a frustrated tone, ¡°Miss, as I¡¯ve said, this VIP card has expired. You¡¯re no longer our restaurant¡¯s VIP!¡± Hearing the waiter¡¯s voice, the girl also screamed, ¡°How is that possible? It was fine the last time I came, so how can it be expired? You must have made a mistake! I want to file a complaint against you!¡± The waiter couldn¡¯t be angry even when he heard this unreasonable demand; he could only explain to her patiently, ¡°Miss, our restaurant¡¯s VIP card will be deactivated if you don¡¯t purchase from our restaurant for three days! You probably didn¡¯t buy anything from us recently. Otherwise, your card would¡¯ve allowed you access.¡± The ruckus at the restaurant entrance quieted at the waiter¡¯s statement. At this point, Chen Tianming¡¯s group had walked over. At first, Chen Tianming had thought it was some uncultured stranger barking at the entrance. But when he saw Jiang Lianlian, he knew what had happened. In his previous life, Jiang Lianlian often invited her friends to this restaurant for dinner and always paid with his VIP card. In this life, Jiang Lianlian still had his VIP card with her, but they had very little communication ever since the broken vase incident. Therefore, she didn¡¯t know he had gotten a new VIP card. Naturally, the old VIP card was no longer in use and expired. However, there wasn¡¯t much of a relationship between him and Jiang Lianlian now, so there was no need to say anything more. Therefore, Chen Tianming brushed past Jiang Lianlian¡¯s bunch and handed his VIP card to the waiter. The waiter smiled when he saw the rare Premier VIP card in Chen Tianming¡¯s hand. ¡°Welcome to our restaurant! The private room has been prepared for you!¡± Chen Tianming¡¯s Premier VIP card differed from regular VIP cards because it had a special function; he could book a private room in the restaurant using this card. The restaurant¡¯s cheapest private room costs tens of thousands. And what¡¯s more, spending that much money would only get you two drinks in the restaurant¡¯s private room at most, so there were very few customers who could book these rooms. Chen Tianming nodded. Just as he was about to take his parents inside, a surprised voice called out to him, ¡°Tianming, what a coincidence! You¡¯re here for dinner too! Would you like to join us?¡± Irritation flashed through Chen Tianming¡¯s mother¡ªSu Qing¡ªwhen she heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s voice. However, her manners didn¡¯t allow her to say anything unpleasant, so she tried to make her displeasure known to Jiang Lianlian in a roundabout way. ¡°Lianlian, maybe next time. We¡¯ve already made plans for tonight!¡± Of course, Jiang Lianlian understood the meaning behind Su Qing¡¯s words. If it were any other time, she wouldn¡¯t say anything. However, she brought her friends here for dinner today, and it would be very embarrassing if they couldn¡¯t enter the restaurant! Therefore, no matter what Su Qing said today, she would not change her mind. After all, the person with the VIP card was Chen Tianming, not Su Qing. Jiang Lianlian turned to look at Chen Tianming. Although Tianming¡¯s attitude towards her had changed, she knew it was just a ploy to attract her attention. She only needed to crook her finger, and Tianming would return to her. And with that thought, Jiang Lianlian walked toward Chen Tianming and hugged his arm. She rubbed her body against the arm and said coquettishly, ¡°Tianming, we haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time. Why don¡¯t we have dinner together?¡± Chen Tianming felt incredulous when he heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s words, especially when they were uttered in that cutesy tone. Jiang Lianlian¡¯s ability to lie through her teeth sure was something! The two of them had lunch together just earlier today. Although they didn¡¯t get to eat the meal in the end, they met very recently. So how could she say they hadn¡¯t seen each other in a long time? Chen Tianming didn¡¯t feel like being nice to her, and he was about to say something when Su Xiaonuan beat him to the punch. ¡°Miss Jiang, if I remember correctly, we just had lunch together, right?¡± When Su Xiaonuan¡¯s voice rang out, the entire place fell silent. Su Xiaonuan had wanted to speak up since Jiang Lianlian began talking. However, as there were others present, she didn¡¯t say anything. However, when she heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s last sentence, she couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer, so she spoke up. After all, she was just stating the facts; Jiang Lianlian couldn¡¯t refute that. Jiang Lianlian wanted to get angry at Su Xiaonuan, but she didn¡¯t dare to do so when she saw Chen Tianming¡¯s parents. After all, Chen Tianming¡¯s parents would be her biggest obstacle if she were to make a fortune by marrying into the Chen family. She had to make sure that they had a good impression of her. Thus, Jiang Lianlian put on a coy expression. ¡°Oh, Miss Su, don¡¯t you know the saying ¡®one day apart feels like three years!¡¯ Tianming and I haven¡¯t seen each other for a few hours; that¡¯s the equivalent of numerous days!¡± Su Qing almost puked when she heard that comment. She couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. She glared at Chen Tianming, then looked at Jiang Lianlian and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then Lianlian can come along!¡± Su Qing felt even more nauseous when she had to invite the girl. She¡¯d never felt so awkward in her life. Chen Tianming was confused when his mother allowed Lianlian to cone with them. However, since his mother had spoken, he naturally had nothing to say. When Jiang Lianlian heard Su Qing¡¯s words, she gave them a smile that she thought was beautiful. Then, she walked to her friends a distance away and said, ¡°Sisters, it¡¯s all good! Go ahead and order whatever you want; it¡¯s my treat!¡± A few girls dressed in very unconventional clothes heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s statement, and their faces were filled with greed. The food in this restaurant was quite expensive; the price of a meal here wasn¡¯t something they could afford, even if all of them sold themselves. Tonight¡¯s dinner was worth all their time and effort stroking this sucker Jiang Lianlian¡¯s ego. By the time Jiang Lianlian brought her friends over, Chen Tianming and the others had already gone in. Jiang Lianlian quickly chased after their disappearing figures, and her friends followed. However, when she passed by the waiter at the door, she rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Next time, remove the scales from your eyes before you speak. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only receive complaints!¡± After saying this, Jiang Lianlian left with her head held high. The waiter wasn¡¯t affected by Jiang Lianlian¡¯s arrogant behavior. After all, he had seen many customers like Jiang Lianlian. If he were to hold a grudge against each and every one of them, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his job. Therefore, instead of wasting time bickering with such people, he would serve those who should be served. Jiang Lianlian continued to chase after Chen Tianming and the others, but they¡¯d disappeared in the blink of an eye. Just as Jiang Lianlian was about to look around for them, a waitress walked toward the girls. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible. Chapter 40 Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation The waitress walked over to Jiang Lianlian and stood beside her. She took a closer look to confirm she got the right person before saying, ¡°Hello, Lady Jiang. Young Master Chen asked me to come over! I¡¯ll take you to your seat.¡± Jiang Lianlian was delighted when she referred to her as ¡®Lady Jiang,¡¯ and the smile on her face was unusually bright. As expected, the staff in big restaurants were high quality; the waitress was so astute! Hence, Jiang Lianlian nodded pretentiously and said, ¡°Then lead the way!¡± Jiang Lianlian¡¯s friends were all envious of Jiang Lianlian. Who wouldn¡¯t want to be the center of attention? Especially in such a public place. Therefore, the girls held their heads high and puffed out their chests as they walked like the affluent ladies they saw in television shows. No matter what, they couldn¡¯t lose face because of stage fright. Jiang Lianlian was very happy right now. She was right! Tianming was trying to attract her attention by acting so strangely recently! He wouldn¡¯t have prepared seats for her if he didn¡¯t care. Seeing that he was so understanding today, she might as well give him a chance to treat her to a meal. When the waitress brought Jiang Lianlian and the others to their seats, they all looked surprised, including Jiang Lianlian. The cutlery in front of them gleamed and sparkled, not to mention the other exquisite decorations. You can¡¯t call this a restaurant; this was a small castle! At this moment, they felt like princesses in a castle. Every one of them assumed high-class mannerisms, and they instantly felt like they were nobles. Jiang Lianlian saw their current behavior, and a trace of disdain flashed across her eyes. If it weren¡¯t for her, they wouldn¡¯t have been so lucky as to enter this place! ¡®They are truly a bunch of unsophisticated country bumpkins!¡¯ Jiang Lianlian silently ridiculed them at length before she said to the waitress, ¡°I would like to order now!¡± When the waitress heard Jiang Lianlian¡¯s imperious tone, disdain flashed across her eyes, but she still smiled and said, ¡°Here¡¯s our menu for your selection.¡± As she spoke, she handed Jiang Lianlian the tablet she was holding. When the others saw the Fruit brand¡¯s latest tablet model, their faces were filled with admiration. This tablet, which they couldn¡¯t afford even if they scraped together all their money, was just an ordering machine in this restaurant. The gap between the rich and the poor was too big! This feeling was only reinforced when they saw the menu shown on the tablet. Their eyes widened in disbelief at the price. Were these dishes made of gold? Why were they so expensive? Even the cheapest drink costs four figures. Seeing the price, the girls hesitated. Although Jiang Lianlian was a sucker, they wanted her to be their long-term meal ticket. If they made her unhappy with their excessive expenses today, things wouldn¡¯t be good for them in the future! Therefore, they only chose a few of the cheaper items on the menu and handed the tablet to Jiang Lianlian. ¡°Lianlian, we¡¯re done. Here, order whatever you like!¡± Jiang Lianlian took the tablet and started perusing the menu. A hint of disdain flashed across her eyes when she saw the dishes her friends ordered. ¡®They are hopeless. I told them they could order freely, but they still picked such trash items. What a drag!¡¯ So she began to tap on the tablet screen, picking out the most expensive dishes on the menu. The waitress was lost for words when she saw Jiang Lianlian¡¯s actions. This was the first time she had met someone who ordered food in such a way! However, this had nothing to do with her, so she remained silent. After placing the order, the waitress was about to leave when Jiang Lianlian stopped her and whispered, ¡°Where did Young Master Chen¡ªthe one who came just now¡ªgo?¡± The waitress raised her hand and pointed at the private room to the side.¡± They¡¯re in the private room!¡± After saying that, the waitress left. Jiang Lianlian and the girls waited a while before the dishes were served. Jiang Lianlian took two bites and stood up, saying, ¡°Girls, go ahead and eat. I have to thank my friend! He¡¯s the one who treated us to today¡¯s meal!¡± Her friends naturally understood what Jiang Lianlian meant, and teasing smiles appeared on their faces as they joked, ¡°A friend? Don¡¯t you mean boyfriend?!¡± Jiang Lianlian only smiled at the comment and said nothing to refute it. After all, Chen Tianming¡¯s status was indeed very eye-catching; he¡¯s not a bad choice for a boyfriend! Jiang Lianlian smiled at them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! You can start without me; I¡¯ll go and thank him!¡± Jiang Lianlian then walked toward Chen Tianming¡¯s private room. At this moment, Chen Tianming and his family were having dinner with Su Xiaonuan. At first, Su Xiaonuan thought she would feel awkward or uncomfortable in this scene. However, Chen Tianming¡¯s parents were very kind and amiable, which relieved her nervousness. As the four of them were happily eating in the private room, Jiang Lianlian came straight in without notice and said in a sugary sweet voice, ¡°Hello, Uncle and Auntie! I¡¯m just here to see if you find the food to your liking. The food here is quite good, isn¡¯t it? You should ask Tianming to bring you here more often.¡± ¡°After all, I can only come to this place because Tianming dotes on me!¡± As she spoke, Jiang Lianlian had planned to sit near Chen Tianming. However, Su Xiaonuan had taken up the spot. She would have to add another chair if she insisted on sitting near Chen Tianming. Jiang Lianlian was fussy, so she naturally didn¡¯t want to do the heavy lifting. Therefore, she looked at Chen Tianming with puppy dog eyes. In his previous life, whenever Jiang Lianlian showed such an expression, Chen Tianming would do anything she wished, even pluck the stars from the sky and present them to her. However, things were different now. Chen Tianming ignored Jiang Lianlian¡¯s plea and continued to eat happily. When Su Qing saw Jiang Lianlian¡¯s piteous expression, she thought her son would relent. However, when she saw Chen Tianming¡¯s reaction, all her fears were allayed. If she¡¯s reading him correctly, Chen Tianming had moved on from Jiang Lianlian. Jiang Lianlian waited and waited, but Chen Tianming didn¡¯t move to get her a seat. A trace of doubt flashed in her eyes; she didn¡¯t understand why he ignored her. However, when she saw Chen Tianming¡¯s parents sitting beside him, she thought she had her answer. Boys tended to have their pride, especially in front of their parents. Believing that to be the case, Jiang Lianlian then moved a stool from somewhere else and placed it between Chen Tianming and Su Xiaonuan. Jiang Lianlian sat on the stool after she was done and leaned on Chen Tianming¡¯s shoulder with a face full of happiness. Chen Tianming couldn¡¯t take it in any longer; just as he was about to say something, the system¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know via our discord so we can fix it as soon as possible.