Xia Yueyou bit her lip, let out a slight sigh at last, took his hand, and walked toward the elevator.
"Don't read too much into it; I'm only doing this for your Cultivation Formula," she said, her words contradicting her true feelings.
For some reason, she could never harden her heart against him.
"Right, everything You'er says is right," Xuanchen agreed, squeezing her hand tighter.
……
In the center of Kyoto.
Inside a small courtyard with red walls, an elderly man sat upright behind a desk, holding one of the ancient books given by Xuanchen and reading it distractedly.
Lu Mingde reported with a straight posture, "Head of State, those were the exact words Sir used."
Although the old man was amiable and did not practice immortality, no one ever acted presumptuously or arrogantly in his presence, nor would they dare to.
The old man raised his head and pondered aloud, "Hurry up and get the preliminary work done. At 8:00 PM on the 23rd, make a nationwide announcement. Also, make every effort to fulfill all of Sir's worldly needs."
"Yes!" Lu Mingde felt a chill in his heart, stood up, and acknowledged the order.
"Sit down, sit down, don't be so nervous. I'm an old man, I won't eat you."
Lu Mingde gave an awkward smile, immediately sat down properly, and straightened his back.
"Come to think of it, the demon-clan Secret Realm in the Greater Khingan Range should be opening soon. How confident are we?"
The old man asked in a deep voice. That was a Secret Realm left over from ancient times.
It should have opened over a decade ago, but the Head of State at that time had invited two reclusive experts to temporarily seal it off.
As time passed, the seal grew weaker and weaker. It was estimated that in a little over half a year, it would open again—another crisis upon them.
"Head of State, two Golden Core cultivators have emerged to walk the world this year. If they get involved, we will be able to secure at most sixty percent of it, and the losses won't be low."
"Sigh, sixty percent will have to do. There's no need to conflict with them unless necessary," the old man sighed helplessly.
Such was the world of the jungle, where the strong preyed on the weak.
"You may go first."
"Yes!"
Lu Mingde turned and left to arrange the tasks the old man had assigned, matters that concerned the future of the nation.
……
On the third floor of the shopping mall, the Huawei flagship store was very spacious, stocked with all kinds of Huawei electronic products. People streamed in and out of the store, making it lively and bustling.
"Xuanchen, pick whichever one you want."
"Hmm? You'er, what did you call me? Are you trying to go back on your word?" Xuanchen narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that after reminding her several times she still got it wrong—he really wanted to spank her.
"A-chen, A-chen, A-chen. Have you heard enough yet? Hurry up and go pick out a phone," Xia Yueyou said three times in a row, giving in to his wishes.
"How could I ever get enough? A lifetime wouldn't be enough, you should call me 'Eternal Life'." He flirted with her using sweet words again.
"So cheesy, hurry up and go," she said, giving him a push and speaking in a tone of "disgust."
"You'er, I don't understand these things. Help me pick one; I'll use whatever you buy."
"A-chen, even a child knows to choose what they like," she teased in a playful tone.
"That's why I'm not a child. I'll use whatever my future wife buys me. The wife is always in charge," Xuanchen said softly, gently pinching her hand.
"Childish. I haven't agreed to anything yet."
A trace of sweetness welled up in Xia Yueyou's heart. She took his hand and walked straight to the service counter, not even looking at the display models.
"Hello, Sir, is there anything you need?"
As soon as they reached the counter, a female clerk looked at Xuanchen and asked with bright eyes.
In her experience, whenever a man and a woman came shopping, people always asked the man, so she had instinctively assumed the same here.
Xia Yueyou felt an inexplicable flash of annoyance and said in a cool tone, "Please get me a unit of your latest flagship top-tier model."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The clerk's tone showed a momentary disappointment, but she quickly perked up. After all, she could make a sizable commission on a top-tier flagship model.
She immediately took out the latest Extraordinary Master edition from beneath the counter.
"Charge it to the card," she said, handing over a black card.
The clerk took the card, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. She put away her stray thoughts and efficiently printed the receipt and swiped the card."Achen, open it and take a look." Xia Yueyou picked up the phone, handed it to him, and said softly.
"No need, we'll unbox it together when we get back." Xuanchen took her hand and led her out of the specialty store.
"Alright, then I'll take you to get a SIM card now." She followed his lead, knowing there was a telecom service hall right inside this shopping mall.
...
"Xia Yueyou, where did you find such a kept boy? What's the matter, too good to say hello when you run into an old classmate?"
As the two of them just stepped out of the Huawei specialty store, a sarcastic voice rang out beside them.
Xia Yueyou turned a deaf ear and tried to keep pulling Xuanchen forward.
However, Xuanchen held her back.
"You'er, you can ignore ants, but when one tries to bite you, it's best to just crush it." Xuanchen said in an indifferent tone.
Tsk tsk, what terrible eyesight. Did his whole demeanor look like that of a kept boy?
"I'd find it dirty, don't want to touch it." Xia Yueyou turned around helplessly.
Hearing their conversation, a man with somewhat effeminate features shouted, "Xia Yueyou, is that the attitude you show an old classmate?"
The people of Huaxia loved nothing more than to gawk at a spectacle. Within just a moment, a crowd formed around them, watching the scene with great interest.
"Are we close? What kind of attitude do you expect?" Xia Yueyou looked at him coldly.
This man's family had a bit of money, and back when she was in college, he had arrogantly declared that he would look after her and make her his woman.
Given her temperament, she couldn't be bothered to argue with him—after all, she encountered that sort of thing too often—but the guy simply went too far.
In the end, she gave him a beating, which only made him even more rampant, constantly harassing her.
Later, when he found out that Xiao Xue was close to her and attended the same school, he started pestering Xiao Xue as well.
That crossed her bottom line, so she used a few connections to get him expelled from Peking University.
Seeing that she still wore that cold expression, anger surged in Gu Fan's heart. After he was expelled back then, his father had punished him severely.
Later, suspecting that Xia Yueyou had pulled strings behind the scenes, he had his father investigate along that lead.
He learned that there was only one family surnamed Xia in Kyoto with the clout to make Peking University disregard their family's face and expel him.
That was Ruxuan Group! Although it was a private enterprise, rumors said it had immensely deep backing, so virtually no one dared to provoke them.
They were an unreachable existence for the Gu family, and his father had immediately given him a stern warning never to trouble Xia Yueyou again.
He had been terrified at the time and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Who would have thought that today, while strolling through this mall, he would see Xia Yueyou walking out of a specialty store, smiling and chatting while holding hands with a kept boy who was only a tiny bit better-looking than him?
This instantly ignited the hidden resentment in his heart; jealousy distorted him and made him lose his mind.
Gu Fan looked at Xuanchen with disdain and said, "Pal, I bet you don't even know what Xia Yueyou's family does, do you?"
Squinting his murky eyes, he sneered, "Judging by the cheap stall clothes all over you, your family background probably isn't much to speak of either. I advise you to leave her early on, before you end up making a fool of yourself."
Xuanchen found it amusing. Calling him decked out in cheap stall clothes—little did the guy know that if an ordinary person were to put on this outfit, as long as their head wasn't injured, they would practically be superhuman.
The corners of his lips curved upward. Ignoring the man completely, he reached into You'er's bag, took out her phone, and dialed the police.
"Hello, Dongcheng Police Dispatch Center. How can I help you?"
"I've found a rapist here, with solid evidence. Send someone over to handle it. The address is XXX."
After hanging up, Xuanchen looked at Gu Fan with a smile on his face and said, "Whether I'll make a fool of myself in the future, I don't know. But you're about to be in a lot of agony; with your charges, you should be looking at eight to ten years."