"Calm down, all of you!"
At this moment, a burly man from the Lu family rushed forward and grabbed Long Aotian by the collar. "Kid, today is our Young Master Lu's happy day, and you're here looking for trouble? Take a look at this! Ever seen a fist the size of a sandbag?"
Long Aotian sneered.
A mere mortal. With just the flick of a finger, I could take your life.
Long Aotian closed his eyes and tilted his head back: *The first battle that will make my name echo through the world is about to begin!*
*Glory! Dignity! Beauties!*
*From this moment on—they are all mine!*
Long Aotian took a deep breath, snapped his eyes open, and Hegemonic Qi surged around him. "Since you want to fight, I'll let you know what it means when the God of War returns! Today I will—huh?!"
With a thump, the big guy in front of him vanished.
Looking down, the big guy had already been tackled to the ground by Lu Chengwen.
The big guy struggled to get up and fight Long Aotian to the death, but Lu Chengwen pinned him down tightly, the two of them rolling around in a ball.
"Good brother! Calm down! Calm down!" Lu Chengwen hurriedly tried to soothe him.
He had to soothe him!
This was the protagonist's very first sacrificial offering today. If the protagonist took him out in a single move, his next step would be to break his own legs.
Lu Chengwen did not want the protagonist to break his legs!
Lu Chengwen was on the verge of tears. "Good brother, it's not worth it, really not worth it... Do it for my sake..."
The guy paused for a second. "Young Master Lu, you consider me a brother?"
After wrestling with him for ages, Lu Chengwen was exhausted. Panting, he said, "Yes, good brother, brothers for life."
The guy's face was covered in tears of gratitude. "For someone of Young Master Lu's status to treat me like a brother! Today, I'm going to help Young Master Lu wipe out this punk!"
Long Aotian yelled excitedly, "Great! Come on! Let's fight!"
Lu Chengwen pressed the guy down, gritting his teeth. "If you're my brother, don't move!"
Sure enough, the guy instantly froze.
Leng Qingqiu snapped angrily, "Long Aotian! Have you made enough of a scene? Get lost! I said get lost!"
Long Aotian was utterly shocked.
*Qingqiu, is the Lu family threatening you? Don't worry, a mere Lu family is nothing more than ants in my eyes.*
Leng Qingqiu felt a depression so deep it bruised her internal organs.
Could these lines possibly be any more cliché?
"Long Aotian, you've been fired. You can collect three months' salary, and now leave immediately. I don't even care to waste another word on you."
Long Aotian "understood."
*Qingqiu has been threatened by the Lu family! She doesn't know that I am the returning God of War, and she's afraid I'll be harmed by the Lu family's power. That's why she's deliberately pretending to break off our relationship, sacrificing herself to protect me!*
*How touching!*
*As expected of my woman, she truly has backbone!*
Not only him, even Lu Chengwen was thinking the exact same thing right now.
With a mental breakdown, he thought:
*[Big sister! You don't have to protect him like this! I'm very well-behaved and absolutely won't cause you any trouble!]*
*[I'm begging you, just leave with him! The fewer plots involving me from now on, the better. I really can't afford to get mixed up with you guys!]*
Leng Qingqiu looked at Lu Chengwen, who was lying on the ground with a weeping security guard still pinned beneath him, and suddenly found him rather comical.
All these years, she had never noticed a single redeeming quality about this man. But today, seeing him flustered and in such a pathetic state, for some reason, he actually looked quite amusing and endearing.
Leng Qingqiu smiled for the first time in ages. "Brother Chengwen, get up."
Long Aotian turned his head to glare at Lu Chengwen, his eyes murderous.
Lu Chengwen was startled.
*[Damn it! No way! He's holding a grudge over this too? I didn't even do anything!]*
At that moment, a massive group of guards rushed over from afar.
"Brothers! Someone is trying to steal our Young Master Lu's woman! Let's get him!"
A crowd of men brandishing security batons charged toward them.
Lu Chengwen was dumbfounded.
*The guy is the God of War!*
*Every single one of you rushing up there is just free XP! Stop making a mess for me!*
*Once you get beaten up, my martial arts romance, chivalrous backbone, and thick thighs will all be gone!*
*[Oh heavens! Oh earth! Is this dungeon really this hard to clear?!]*
Chapter 3: I Just Don't Get It
The God of War, Long Aotian, genuinely wanted to fight.
This was his chance to show off his strength!
Yet that damned Lu Chengwen... why isn't he acting arrogant and trying to flex in front of him?
Blocking a dozen subordinates all by himself, pulling them left and right, sweating profusely from all the laborious effort—was all that really necessary?
*Just let them through, I'm begging you!*
*I am so starved for this wave of XP!*
*If I don't grind some now, I won't be able to wrap things up today!*
Lu Chengwen had also made up his mind.
*[Over my dead body will I let you farm XP! No way, absolutely not today!]*
*[From now on you are the heavens, you are a god, whatever you say goes, I'm not arguing with you.]*
*[Leng Qingqiu, take her if you can. If you can't, it's just your own incompetence, but for goodness' sake, leave me alone!]*
Long Aotian was driving himself crazy.
"Um... Young Master Lu, are you extremely displeased with me?"
With the greatest of difficulty, Lu Chengwen finally pacified the crowd, spreading his arms to block the pack of bodyguards.
"No, no! I'm thrilled, I'm flying high with joy! I think you and Qingqiu are a perfect match. Send me a wedding invitation when you get married, and I'll send a cash gift!"
With nowhere to vent his pent-up energy, Long Aotian paced around in frustration.
"How about you let them come over? After all, they're standing up for you."
"No, no, no! Rest assured, with me here today, not a single one of them is going past!"
Lu Chengwen turned around and barked at the bodyguards, "Whoever moves, I'll kill him!"
Leng Qingqiu had also figured it out. It seemed Lu Chengwen really was capable of predicting certain future events.
Furthermore, the vibe of the entire situation had completely shifted.
Right now, it looked as though Lu Chengwen was wholeheartedly trying to keep the peace, while Long Aotian seemed unsatisfied that things weren't chaotic enough, insisting on stirring up a huge commotion.
Having already seen through Long Aotian's fake facade, Leng Qingqiu said angrily, "Long Aotian, that's enough! Get lost! Leave right now, or I'm calling the police!"
Long Aotian's face turned ashen.
As a dignified returning God of War, not a single person in the entire Outer Frontier had ever dared to humiliate him like this.
He never expected to suffer such utter disgrace today!
"Fine! I'll leave. But Qingqiu, please believe me, no matter when or where in the future, no matter what danger you encounter, I will step forward—even if it means making an enemy of the entire world!"
Enduring her nausea, Leng Qingqiu raised a finger. "Get lost."
Long Aotian had nothing more to say.
His face practically black as charcoal, he turned around and glared fiercely at Lu Chengwen.
Lu Chengwen felt like crying without tears as he cautiously offered, "It really wasn't my fault, I... I don't get it either. You must be... holding back a ton of frustration, right?"
Long Aotian let out a cold snort and stalked off with a dark expression.
Lu Chengwen almost threw up in the restroom.
After his previous rounds of transmigration, he had summarized the three iron laws of villain survival.
First, do not flex or argue with the protagonist. That was practically the fastest route to courting death.
What kind of person was the protagonist? Could he tolerate you showing off in front of him? Even when you didn't flex, he wanted to beat you up; if you dared to flex... he would beat you to death.
Second, the protagonist's women must not be touched—stay as far away from them as possible. Those brainless women were all toxic; when the protagonist was killing you, they would only clap their hands to praise how invincible and heroic the protagonist was, throwing themselves into his arms.
Third, absolutely do not do bad deeds.
If the protagonist caught you doing bad deeds, hehe, congratulations—you hit the jackpot. You would become the protagonist's XP pack, contributing a humble little bit of effort to the protagonist's grand career of acting cool.
*Ding-dong!*
System prompt:
*"Dear! Congratulations to the host for completing the preliminary survival test phase with a difficulty coefficient of one star. We have prepared the first-phase reward for the host, dear!"*
Lu Chengwen: "What reward?"
*"Rewarding you with a sports car, oh dear!"*
Lu Chengwen's eyes widened. "Are you fucking kidding me? I am the eldest son of the Lu family, the head of Snow City's Four Major Families, a wealthy man running Lufeng Group! I just clawed my way back from the jaws of death under that brute Long Aotian, and your reward to me is a luxury car?"
"Host, please don't get excited. This luxury car is no ordinary vehicle, dear!"
"What's so special about it?!" Lu Chengwen shouted.
"This sports car has a full four wheels, dear!"
"Your gran—"
Lu Chengwen forced down his temper. "What's wrong with that dead girl Leng Qingqiu? According to the plot, shouldn't she have left with the God of War? What is this supposed to be?"
"We don't currently have details on Qingqiu's situation here, dear. If you wish to understand in detail, please initiate a conversation with her yourself."
"Have a conversation with her my foot! That look Long Aotian just gave me was practically wanting to choke me to death!" Lu Chengwen was about to lose his mind.
After venting his anger, Lu Chengwen cowered again. "Please, think of a way to get them reunited already. If this keeps up, you guys are going to toy with me until I'm dead!"
"Please don't worry, dear. The feedback we're getting from this end is that we actually *do* want to toy with you until you're dead!"
"Your great-grandfather—!"
...
In Lu Guanghong's study.
Lu Guanghong wore a stern face. "Sit."
Lu Chengwen sat down cautiously.
"Speak. What's going on? What kind of mischief are you plotting again?"
"I'm not doing anything." Lu Chengwen was utterly baffled.
"Hmph! You think you can fool me? Do I not know what kind of person you are?" Lu Guanghong said with stern majesty. "Let me tell you! You'd better settle down and treat Qingqiu well, or I won't let you off."
Lu Chengwen said, "She's not going to marry me. Just how much she detests me is something the entire Snow City knows."
"Then why did she suddenly do a 180-degree turn today and agree to the political marriage?"
"I honestly have no idea! I'm scratching my head over it too!"
"Then why did you suddenly put on airs and act like you didn't want the marriage?"
"I... I am filled with universal love!"
Lu Guanghong narrowed his eyes. "You're getting more and more shameless by the day."
Lu Chengwen was deeply depressed and didn't even care to speak.
"Take a gift and go visit your adoptive grandfather later."
Lu Chengwen was startled. "My adoptive grandfather?"
Oh, right.
The initial framework of this book:
Snow City had a total of four major families: the Lu, Chen, Xu, and Leng families.
Among them, the Lu family was the most powerful, followed by the Chen and Xu families. The Leng family had nearly collapsed as a whole due to poor management in recent years.
Fortunately, Leng Qingqiu took over in adversity and worked hard for two years, turning losses into profits and stabilizing the Leng family's foundation so they wouldn't go completely bankrupt.
Therefore, the Leng family was very enthusiastic about a political marriage.
It wasn't that the Leng family didn't know about Lu Chengwen's character, but right now, the only family in Snow City with both the capability and the willingness to save the Leng family was the Lu family.
Thus, for the sake of their family's interests, they had no choice but to marry.
In their hearts, they actually looked down on Lu Chengwen quite a bit.
This was the infuriating part of this book.
His own villain persona was almost flawless: tall, handsome, wealthy, successful at a young age, immensely talented, leading Lufeng Group through all obstacles to dominate the business world.
Yet a man standing at the very peak of the human food chain in the real world like this happened to be a total simp for the main heroine, Leng Qingqiu.
Everything was set up purely to make it all the more satisfying when the protagonist stepped all over him.
The more outstanding the villain was, the more satisfying the protagonist's beatdowns would be!
For the sake of Leng Qingqiu, relying on his powerful background to flex and act arrogant in front of the protagonist, only to be humiliated, tormented in various twisted ways by the protagonist, and finally slapped to death straight out...
This was his destiny as this minor, perfect little villain.
If he wanted to survive, he had to avoid all conflict with the protagonist.
The primary conflict was his relationship with Leng Qingqiu.
He had to stay as far away from Leng Qingqiu as humanly possible.
As long as he survived until the finale, he could return to the real world with generous rewards, become a tall, rich, handsome man, marry a fair and wealthy beauty, and reach the pinnacle of life!
He could even cure his mother's illness.
The Lu family had been operating in Snow City for many years and enjoyed good relationships with the Chen, Xu, and Leng families.
In particular, Lu Guanghong had sworn allegiance as an adoptive son to Elder Chen of the Chen family—which made him his adoptive grandfather.
Recently, adoptive grandfather Chen Qiushou had been bedridden. Members of the Lu family had already been to visit, but he himself had been too busy playing around and hadn't shown his face yet.
Drop off the gift, say hello, and then bolt as fast as he could!
Yes! That's settled!
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the big guy whom he had pinned down at the engagement banquet counting his troops.
The big guy, Zhao Gang, was fuming with rage. "Is everyone here?"
Over thirty bodyguards stood in rows and shouted in unison, "Here!"
"Good!"
Zhao Gang's residual anger hadn't faded, his face dark. "Young Master Lu's engagement ceremony was ruined by that punk named Long Aotian! Can we swallow this insult?"
The crowd shouted, "No!"
"That's right! Young Master Lu is our boss. In Snow City, only Young Master Lu gets to bully men and women and do whatever evil he pleases—nobody is allowed to bully Young Master Lu!"
The crowd raised their fists and chanted, "Bullying men and women! Doing whatever evil we please! Bullying men and women! Doing whatever evil we please!"
Zhao Gang made a suave hand gesture, and everyone fell instantly and absolutely silent in perfect unison.
"So! We are going to find Long Aotian, beat him to a pulp, and win back Young Master Lu's honor!"
"Find Long Aotian! Beat Long Aotian to a pulp! Bullying men and women, doing whatever evil we please! Bullying men and women, doing whatever evil we please..."
Lu Chengwen hurried over and grabbed Zhao Gang by the collar. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Oh! Young Master Lu, you're here!" Zhao Gang said excitedly. "Young Master Lu, I have nine different ways to play that Long Aotian to death, nine! Just leave it to me!"
Lu Chengwen delivered a swift kick straight to his backside. "Are you out of your mind?"
Looking at the thirty-odd athletic young men, Lu Chengwen scolded, "Stop shouting things like 'bullying men and women' so loudly in the future. Don't I need a shred of dignity?"
Zhao Gang looked bewildered, scratching his head. "Young Master Lu, you used to be... pretty shameless, you know!"
Lu Chengwen shook with anger. "Can I want some dignity now, or what?!"
"Oh!" Zhao Gang bellowed, "Did you all hear that? Now our Young Master Lu wants to be a whore and yet still build a monument to her own chastity! Understand the spirit of it!"
The crowd raised their fists and chanted, "Be a whore! Build a monument! Be a whore! Build a monument!"
Lu Chengwen roared, "Get lost! All of you, get lost!"
One of the guys walked away while still holding his fist up and muttering in a low voice, "Be a whore... build a monument..."
Lu Chengwen lunged forward to kick him. "You little brat, don't you walk away, I'm going to fight you to the death today!"
Zhao Gang held him back. "Hey, hey, hey, Young Master Lu, Young Master Lu, these are all trained according to your instructions anyway! Everyone's used to it."
Lu Chengwen panted heavily. "You trained them?"
"Yeah! Don't worry, I get what you mean now. I'm going to make sure that stinking beggar Long Aotian..."
Lu Chengwen grabbed his arm. "Zhao Gang."
"Young Master Lu."
"We are brothers."
Lu Chengwen said it with utmost sincerity.
He couldn't afford not to be sincere. He had figured out by now that this muscle-head was just too damn reckless.
On top of that, he was stubborn and completely immune to reason; if you tried telling him anything else, he wouldn't understand a word.
The crucial part was that if he let him keep acting like this, all the blame would land squarely on his own head, and sooner or later Long Aotian would still beat him to death.
Therefore, he could only coax and trick him.
Zhao Gang was moved to tears. "Young Master Lu, I'm not worthy, I'm just a..."
Lu Chengwen said, "If we're brothers, don't come trying to hack me to pieces! Be a good boy, don't provoke that Long Aotian anymore, and tell everyone to take a detour whenever they see Long Aotian. Understand?"
"Why though?"
Zhao Gang expressed his confusion: "I just don't get it."
Chapter 4: Why Is It You Again?
Tears welled up in Lu Chengwen's eyes as he grabbed Zhao Gang by the collar with both hands. "I've already died six times. This time I plan to turtle up and survive until the very end; I *must* turtle up until the end."
Zhao Gang couldn't understand a word of it. "Young Master Lu, please speak Chinese."
Lu Chengwen threw his arms around the idiot's neck in a tight chokehold and gritted his teeth. "Brother, as long as you handle this matter well, I should have a brand-new sports car arriving in my garage soon—I'll give it to you."
Zhao Gang's eyes lit up. "That's a Porsche!"
"It's yours."
Wiping away his tears, Zhao Gang cupped his fists in a salute. "Heaven and earth are close, but none as close as Young Master Lu's treatment of me; mountains are high and earth is thick, but none as thick as Young Master Lu's kindness to me. From this day forward, Zhao Gang's body is Young Master Lu's body, and Zhao Gang's life is Young Master Lu's life..."
"Stop yabbering, go prepare the gifts for visiting the patient, pull the car out, and I'm going to visit my adoptive grandfather."
"Yes, Boss!"
...
The Chen Residence.
Lu Chengwen entered the old man's bedroom, set down the gifts, and exchanged a few casual pleasantries with the old man.
Just as he was racking his brain for an excuse to make his retreat, the butler entered to report, "Sir, the eldest miss of the Xu family has arrived, and the young master is back too. They've brought someone along, claiming he's a miraculous doctor."
Chen Qiushou was taken aback. "Isn't Xuejiao herself a medical expert renowned far and wide? Why did Xiaohuan go and bring some other miraculous doctor back? Bring them all in anyway."
Hearing this, Lu Chengwen thought: *Oh crap!*
*Damn system, you're playing with me! Even this I couldn't dodge?!*
*This is obviously subsequent plot material!*
Xu Xuejiao would fail to cure the illness, Elder Chen would be at deaths' door, and then Long Aotian would step in to save the day, causing Xu Xuejiao to worship his exquisite medical skills and bestow her maiden heart upon him.
Elder Chen would be moved to tears of gratitude, paving the way for a romantic entanglement between Long Aotian, the Chen family's eldest daughter Chen Mengyun, and the Xu family's talented young lady Xu Xuejiao...
This plotline had nothing to do with him!
Why the hell was he even appearing here? Did they not even afford him time to run away?!
Lu Chengwen hurriedly stood up. "Adoptive Grandpa, you get some rest. I have matters at the company, so I'll be heading back first."
"Mm... Don't leave."
*Damn it.*
The old man of the Chen family simply adored Lu Chengwen!
Yet Lu Chengwen held no particular affection for him.
According to the plot, later on, Lu Chengwen would also take advantage of the old man's trust to shaft the Chen family once.
Then Long Aotian would burst onto the scene, rescue the Chen family, and punish him all over again.
But prior to that, the Chen family elder placed a great deal of trust in him.
Of course—if he didn't trust him, how could Lu Chengwen shaft him?
If he didn't shaft him, how could Long Aotian find a reason to beat Lu Chengwen into a cripple?
If Long Aotian didn't beat Lu Chengwen into a cripple, how could he win the hearts of Xu Xuejiao and Chen Mengyun?
The protagonist had to pick up chicks, after all!
As a classic villain character, what was wrong with Lu Chengwen chipping in a bit of effort for the protagonist's grand chick-magnetizing enterprise? What—was—wrong—with—that?!
*I object!*
Lu Chengwen screamed internally!
*This old daddy is going to defy the heavens and change his fate!*
*My fate is up to me, not the heavens!*
*Let me check if there's a back door I can slip out of...*
The old man of the Chen family was holding onto Lu Chengwen's hand, while Lu Chengwen forced a smile and tried desperately to push his hand away. "Grandpa Chen, you'll be fine, I really have to go, let go of me..."
Taking advantage of an angle where no one else could see, Lu Chengwen started slapping the old man's hand away. *Let go, let go, let go of me already, still won't let go...*
At that moment, Xu Xuejiao had already walked in.