Damned irritating...
"You know me, too?" Ye Nan narrowed his eyes, sensing that things were taking an unusual turn.
The Redhead sneered, and the other four exchanged glances, all fixing amused gazes on Ye Nan.
The Redhead took out his phone and made a call.
"Hello, Brother Qiang, it's me, Redhead!"
"That Ye Nan Lord Kui ordered us to deal with, I've found him!"
"He's right here in front of me!"
"Got it, got it! Don't you worry, he isn't going anywhere!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
After hanging up, the Redhead and his crew burst into a hearty round of laughter. "Kid, you've really hit the jackpot! Consider it us brothers being lucky tonight! Don't worry, the few of us will burn plenty of paper money for you!"
Ye Nan understood now.
Someone had hired underground forces to deal with him.
"Did Zhao Chuanping send you?" Ye Nan asked tentatively.
"Zhao Chuanping? What kind of idiot is that?" The Redhead was momentarily stunned.
Ye Nan frowned as well.
It wasn't Zhao Chuanping? Could it be...
"Damn it! You're actually interrogating me!" The Redhead flew into a rage. "Brothers, Brother Qiang is almost here. Show him what you can do to prove your worth—I shouldn't have to teach you how!"
The four lackeys grew excited once more, beginning to stretch their limbs with ferocious grins on their faces as they swung their fists and charged at Ye Nan from four different directions!
Ye Nan was torn between laughter and tears.
Had he really sunk to the level of brawling with thugs?
Ye Nan sighed, then executed an elegant, spinning roundhouse kick.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
How could the four little punks have ever imagined that a human being could possess such speed and such power?!
They barely even caught a glimpse of an afterimage before each of them took a solid blow right to the face.
By the time the four punks crashed to the ground like sacks of sand, clutching their faces and bleeding from the mouth, Ye Nan calmly brushed off his hands, smiled at the Redhead, and said, "Brother Redhead, was it? The economic climate isn't great right now, you know—building a performance record is tough work!"
Chapter 10: Tossing and turning... the whole night?!
"Gulp!"
The Redhead swallowed hard, his arrogant expression replaced by terror.
In less than half a second, he took down four men...
This completely defied the Redhead's imagination.
He had thought this was an easy score to pad their records, but it turned out to be a tough nut to crack!
Just as the Redhead began to ponder what posture would make his kowtows and pleas for mercy look the most sincere, the roar of engines suddenly split the air.
Three large pickup trucks sped over, coming to an abrupt, drifting halt not far away.
The doors of the three vehicles flew open, disgorging a mob of thugs wielding steel pipes. Every single one of them looked murderous, most stripped to the waist to reveal full-body tattoos—easily more than twenty men in total.
Leading them was a burly man in a suit, completely bald and wearing dark sunglasses, exuding the absolute air of a boss.
"Brother Qiang!"
The Redhead was overjoyed. Then, shifting expressions as fast as a Sichuan opera face-changer, his terror vanished and arrogance flooded back.
"Brother Qiang is here! You're fucking dead meat now! Hahahaha..."
"So you're the one who thinks he can fight, huh?! Let's see you try fighting twenty men by yourself, you piece of shit! I'll—Ah!!!"
Before the Redhead could finish, Ye Nan landed a punch straight to his forehead.
Following a searing wave of pain, the Redhead felt the world spin wildly around him, and he collapsed straight to the ground, losing consciousness.
Before his awareness faded completely, the Redhead heard Ye Nan's calm voice.
"Brother Redhead, building a performance record relies on fists, not a big mouth!"
...
He had no idea how much time had passed when the Redhead slowly drifted back to consciousness.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Damn it!
Where is that bastard Ye Nan?!
The Redhead scrambled up from the ground, rubbing his throbbing forehead, when suddenly a chorus of loud, collective reciting drifted to his ears.
"Freedom and equality!"
"Justice and openness!"
"Dedication to work!"
"Integrity and friendliness!"
The Redhead turned his head in a daze and instantly turned to stone right where he stood.
There, squeezed together in a tight huddle, were more than twenty gang members led by Brother Qiang. They were all squatting on the ground with their hands over their heads, shouting Daxia's fine core socialist values at the top of their lungs.
Every single one of the twenty-odd thugs was bruised and battered. The worst off even had blood trickling down from their scalps!
Brother Qiang's sunglasses were gone, his eye sockets were bruised black and blue, and his lips were swollen like a pair of sausages. Even though he could barely articulate his words, he was trying his absolute best to keep up with the rhythm of the group's recitation.
The Redhead was dumbfounded. He scrambled over on all fours, crouched down in front of Brother Qiang, and asked, "Brother Qiang? What on earth happened to you, Brother Qiang?"
"What integrity and friendliness? Brother Qiang, we're gang members! If we start worrying about integrity and friendliness, there's no point in being in the underworld anymore!"
Hearing this, Brother Qiang instantly flew into a panic. Furious, he lashed out and slapped the Redhead right across the face.
The sound was crisp enough to echo.
"Fuck your mother, you utter idiot! Squat down here and recite with us right now!" Brother Qiang yelled, casting a terrified glance toward the right as he spoke.
Clutching his face, the Redhead dazedly followed the direction of Brother Qiang's gaze.
There, sitting casually on the hood of one of their pickup trucks, was a young man leisurely smoking a cigarette.
A cigarette that looked suspiciously familiar to the Redhead.
Wasn't that the top-tier, exclusively supplied special-grade cigarette—worth a hundred yuan a pack—that Brother Qiang had received as a reward from Lord Kui?!
Usually, Brother Qiang was too stingy to smoke them, only ever pulling one out to puff on when he wanted to show off!
Come to think of it, that young man looked awfully familiar...
Holy shit!
Wasn't that the exact same Ye Nan who had just knocked him unconscious?!
The Redhead might be a bit reckless, but he certainly wasn't stupid. After freezing for three full seconds, he immediately figured out what was going on. He scurried over to squat beside Brother Qiang, clutched his head with both hands, and joined the group's rhythm, loudly reciting along with them.
"Puff..." Ye Nan exhaled a long ring of smoke. He hadn't smoked in a long time, and it felt rather nice.
"Decent smoke, I'll gladly accept it." Ye Nan tossed the pack of special-grade cigarettes he had snatched from Brother Qiang, tucked it straight into his pocket, and turned to wave a hand. "Ten more repetitions and you're dismissed. Keep the volume down; don't disturb the neighbors."
With that, Ye Nan strolled away leisurely.
Not until Ye Nan's figure completely vanished into the dark of night did Brother Qiang and the score of others finally let out a collective sigh of relief, slumping down onto the ground in exhaustion.
"Damn it, we took a massive tumble this time!" Brother Qiang gritted his teeth, clutching his injured mouth.
"Brother Qiang, that brat is asking for it!" The Redhead's eyes rolled around as he shrewdly chimed in, "A gentleman never lets a grudge go unavenged! So what if he can throw a punch? Next time, we'll call up men from all the other branches, and I refuse to believe—"
"I'll go fuck your mother!" Before the Redhead could finish, Brother Qiang delivered yet another slap across his face. "Avenge your mother's ass! I still want to live a few more years!"
Clutching his face, the Redhead stared at Brother Qiang in absolute shock.
He could clearly see a trace of lingering terror and fear in Brother Qiang's eyes!
This was Brother Qiang!
A ruthless bastard who back in the day had carved out a bloody path through crowds with a machete!
And yet... he had turned chicken?!
The Redhead found it utterly impossible to imagine what on earth could have happened during the time he was knocked out.
Just what kind of living Yama was Ye Nan to scare a hardman like Brother Qiang into this state?
"Pack it up, let's head back!" Brother Qiang's face was ashen. "Report this to Lord Kui immediately!"
"This person is way beyond anything we can handle!"
...
When Ye Nan returned to Lin Qingrou's villa, it was already the middle of the night.
He took a shower, hit the pillow, and slept soundly straight through until dawn.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Ye Nan! Get up! What time do you think it is?! Are you a pig?!"
The cold voice of the old woman rang out from outside the door.
Groggily, Ye Nan opened his eyes, got up, and pulled open the bedroom door. An eye-catching sight instantly greeted him.
The old woman had already applied exquisite makeup, dressed in a pure white long dress that made her look like a celestial being, and exuding faint waves of fragrance.
"Something the matter?" Ye Nan asked blankly.
Lin Qingrou felt anger flare up the moment she looked at his sleep-tousled appearance.
Ever since she woke up this morning, her mind hadn't had a moment of peace.
Every single one of Ye Nan's slumbering inner thoughts had been broadcast loud and clear in her head.
[Wow... nice legs, great legs...]
[Hehe, even longer than the old woman's, so smooth, so smooth...]
What on earth was this bastard doing last night?!
She really wanted to grab Ye Nan by the collar and loudly demand just whose slutty legs were smoother than her own?!
"Cut the crap!" Lin Qingrou glared fiercely at him. "What time is it? Don't you have to go to work?!"
"Oh..." Ye Nan shook his head to clear the sleep fog. "Right, coming."
[Damn it, must've been sleeping out of my mind!]
[After settling the construction site business last night, I ran into that woman with the surname Qi, and then tossed and turned all night... getting a bit sleepy...]
Lin Qingrou: ???!!!
A surge of fury rushed straight to the top of Lin Qingrou's head.
A woman?!
Tossing and turning all night?!
Beast!
Good grief, you haven't even officially married in yet, and you're already cheating?!
Do you have even an ounce of self-awareness left as a live-in son-in-law?!
Even though there are no feelings between us, going out and blatantly finding a woman—do you take me for invisible?!
Just as she was about to lose her temper and explode, Lin Qingrou's phone suddenly rang.
On the other end of the line was the excited voice of her subordinate. "President Lin! Quick, turn on the TV! Morning emergency news! Economics channel!"
Lin Qingrou frowned, temporarily shelving her score to settle with Ye Nan as she rushed downstairs and turned on the living room television.
Ye Nan paid her no mind, quickly changing clothes, washing up, heading downstairs as well, and walking straight into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Lin Qingrou was struck dumb.
The television was broadcasting breaking news regarding the Zhao family of Jiangling.
"At 7:30 this morning, a massive swarm of rats and various other pests suddenly flooded out of the Zhao Group building in our city!"
"A dozen minutes later, the Zhao family villa located in the southern suburbs also suffered a severe pest infestation, resulting in injuries to multiple people, including Zhao Group Chairman Zhao Mingwei and Zhao Group General Manager Zhao Chuanping!"
"The Zhao family is currently handling the emergency, and the Zhao Group building has been temporarily sealed off."
"This incident has dealt a severe blow to the Zhao Group, causing its stock prices to plummet continuously with no sign of stopping yet!"
Lin Qingrou was stunned.
"President Lin, President Lin? Did you see this?! Heaven has eyes!"
"All the news media are reporting on it now, and public opinion has completely shifted!"
"They're all saying that the problems at our construction site were clearly caused by the Zhao Group!"
"This time, we've pulled off a counter-attack!"
It took Lin Qingrou a great deal of effort to compose herself. She gathered her emotions and said methodically, "Keep close tabs on how this develops. Get the contract we previously signed with the Zhao Group ready, and notify the business department to stand by at all times—prepare for negotiations!"
"Yes!"
After hanging the phone up, Lin Qingrou's bright eyes stared intently at Ye Nan's figure in the kitchen.
Was it him?
Otherwise, an event this bizarre simply couldn't have happened, and with such impeccable timing.
Yet... how on earth did he pull it off?!
Can a pest disaster of this scale really be controlled by human hands?
And it only took a single night.
No, not even a whole night!
This jerk even found time to go out and fool around with a woman all night!
Chapter 11: We agreed on free-loading soft rice, so why the hell am I doing actual work?!
"Eat some breakfast before you go to work!"
Ye Nan had finished bustling about, carrying out two bowls of white porridge, two scallion pancakes with eggs, and a small dish of pickles from the kitchen.
"Just make do with this. Your place doesn't have anything good anyway, so this is all I could whip up." Ye Nan took off his apron and said with a smile.
Looking at the steaming white porridge, the golden, crispy scallion pancakes, and the side dish, Lin Qingrou felt a strange sensation well up inside her.
She had always just grabbed a random bite on the go; no one had ever cooked a meal specifically for her.
The two of them sat down at the dining table.
Lin Qingrou took a bite of the pancake and a sip of the porridge.
So good!
"You know how to cook?" Lin Qingrou couldn't help asking.
"Old craft," Ye Nan said with a grin. "Learned it when I was a kid."
[Sigh, growing up relying on each other in the mountains with that old geezer, and with the senior sisters often away, the old man was too lazy to live—if I hadn't learned to cook, the two of us would've starved to death!]
Hearing Ye Nan's inner thoughts, Lin Qingrou trembled slightly, casting a complicated look in his direction.
Only now did she realize that Ye Nan was an orphan with no parents, having grown up purely under his master's wing.
His childhood must have been quite tough...
"The matter with the construction site has been resolved." Lin Qingrou said casually while eating, pretending indifference.
"Oh? Really? Awesome!" Ye Nan's mouth was full of pancake, his acting thoroughly lacking in sincerity.
"Aren't you going to ask how I solved it?" Lin Qingrou glanced at him.
"Oh... how was it solved?" Ye Nan played along cooperatively.
"Saw the news this morning."
"Oh?"
"A massive swarm of snakes, insects, rats, and ants suddenly poured out of the Zhao Group building."
"Ah!"
"The Zhao family villa suffered a pest disaster too."
"Whoa!"
"Public opinion is now saying the site troubles were all the fault of the Zhao family implicating us."
"Well, look at that!"
"The Zhao family's stocks have hit rock bottom. Now it's our turn to terminate the contract and collect damages from them."
"My, my!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Lin Qingrou's mouth twitched. "Are you a crosstalk straight man setting up punchlines for me?!"
Ye Nan chuckled, picking up a bit of pickle and placing it in her bowl. "Don't get excited, don't get excited. As long as it's sorted out, I'm happy for you!"
"Where did you go out to last night?" Lin Qingrou pressed the attack directly.
"Huh? I didn't go out." Ye Nan didn't even blink.
"I heard you." Lin Qingrou closed in step by step.
"You heard wrong." Ye Nan remained calm and collected.
Fine, you're ruthless!
Let's see how long you can keep putting up this act with me!
After breakfast, Lin Qingrou drove, and the two of them arrived at the company together.
Lin Qingrou had already promoted Ye Nan to her personal secretary, setting up a desk right inside her office.
"President Lin, this is the original contract signed with the Zhao Group. The business department has all the paperwork ready—when shall we go terminate it?"
While reporting, Lin Qingrou's assistant Tang Min kept stealing curious glances at Ye Nan at the neighboring desk.
Why did President Lin suddenly take on a male secretary?
Doesn't she usually refuse to look men in the eye?
Could their relationship be... abnormal?!
Meanwhile, Ye Nan was checking out Tang Min as well, but he did it quite openly.
This female assistant was quite a looker too!
A ninety-point beauty, seed-pod face, sharp chin, a completely natural-looking v-line face with no visible signs of "artificial" work.
What shocked Ye Nan was that this woman's figure was terrifyingly impressive!
Dressed in an official OL professional suit, the formidable melons pressing against her blouse easily defeated ninety-nine percent of women nationwide!
Ye Nan deeply worried for the buttons of her shirt—just how much pressure were they enduring?!
The fullness straining tightly beneath her hip-hugging skirt held a magnificent, maternal grandeur!
[Outstanding! Truly way too fucking outstanding!]
Lin Qingrou was discussing the details of the contract termination with Tang Min when she suddenly heard these inner thoughts. Assuming Ye Nan was admiring her own administrative competence, a wave of smug satisfaction welled up inside her.
This stinky scoundrel, he finally realizes my charm!
I'm no mere vase, after all.
Feeling full of vigor, Lin Qingrou was just about to voice some more insightful commentary to completely blind Ye Nan with her brilliance when...
[This Tang Min, she'll do!]
[With a defying figure like that, what did she eat growing up?!]
[Good grief, seen from behind, this ass is just absurd!]
[Are all the employees in the old woman's company this top-tier?]
[Coming to work here definitely won't make you sleepy!]
Lin Qingrou's face turned dark.
Here I was working so hard to perform in front of you, and you're mentally drooling over my subordinate?!
Shameless bastard!
Scum!
Beast!
And what made her the most furious was that this jerk praised every other woman he saw as outstanding, yet referred to her as the "old woman" at every turn!
I am clearly the top goddess of Jiangling whose beauty eclipses all others, alright!
Are you blind?!
"Alright, President Lin." Unaware that this "young couple" was currently waging a mental war, Tang Min diligently noted down Lin Qingrou's instructions. "Rest assured, I'll brief the business department right away and strive to complete all procedures for contract termination within three days."
"Mm, good." Lin Qingrou adjusted her mindset, turned her head to glare at Ye Nan, and gritted her teeth as she asked, "Hey, what do you think?"
Still staring at Tang Min's figure, Ye Nan subconsciously replied, "Me? I'd like to get a closer look."
Tang Min: ???
Lin Qingrou: !!!
"Ye! Nan!"
Unable to hold back another second, Lin Qingrou was about to explode.
Only then did Ye Nan snap out of it. Seeing the old woman's face turned livid, he jumped in fright.
[Oh crap! I got too caught up appreciating "maternal beauty"—what was the old woman saying just now?]
[Oh right, terminating the contract with the Zhao Group, is it...]
[Why ask me about this?! Are you sick in the head?! I'm just a slack-off secretary!]
[Didn't we agree on being kept? Didn't we agree on an unlimited supply of soft rice?]
[How come you're making me do actual work now?]
Hearing these inner thoughts, Lin Qingrou wanted nothing more than to murder this guy.
She should just kick this jerk out right now!
Send him back to logistics and security!
She wasn't going to take this aggravation—out of sight, out of mind!
[Hmm... the old woman wants to terminate the contract?]
[But... why terminate it?]
Lin Qingrou paused, her anger momentarily suspended as she looked at Ye Nan in bewilderment.
Standing beside them, Tang Min was utterly mortified.
These two... neither of them was saying a word, just standing there staring each other down. What kind of game was this?!
[If it were me, I wouldn't terminate it at all!]
[Right now, the initiative is completely in the old woman's hands!]
[With the Zhao family's stock plunging, they're in a critical crisis. Terminating the contract would just be stepping on them for a bit of petty revenge—what actual benefit is there in that?]
[For the Zhao family to weather this crisis, this previously dispensable project has suddenly become crucial, meaning the Zhao family will pour their absolute all into it!]
[From now on, any demands on the project—no matter how harsh or unreasonable—the Zhao family will bend over backward to satisfy!]
[In other words, by not terminating, Haiqing is the boss, and the Zhao family can only play the grandson!]
[Plus, it builds a stellar public image of not kicking a man when he's down, establishing the company as a paragon of corporate conscience.]
[Where else could you find a partnership with perks like this?]
Listening through this lengthy stream of thoughts, Lin Qingrou was struck dumb.
This... this...
What he said was dead on!
Why hadn't she thought of this beforehand?!