"Ahem. Question: how many steps does it take to get Qingxuan out of Linjiang Club?"
"Three steps!"
"Step one: walk into Linjiang Club."
"Step two: find Qingxuan."
"Step three: walk out!"
"Perfect!"
Lin Qingxuan couldn't help letting out a soft laugh, bright and stunning.
She felt more and more that this brother-in-law was quite interesting; being with him seemed to bring happiness at every single moment.
"You still have the nerve to laugh!"
Lin Qingrou's face turned icy. For some reason, seeing Lin Qingxuan's affectionate attitude toward Ye Nan made her blood boil.
Added to the fact that she already didn't think much of this "good sister" of hers...
"Idling around all day and doing nothing except causing trouble!"
"Starting tomorrow, you are coming to work at Haiqing, and you will start at the very bottom as a sales rep!"
Hearing this, Lin Qingxuan panicked and opened her mouth to argue.
"Shut your mouth!" Lin Qingrou snapped coldly, her tone indifferent. "If you dare disobey, don't ever expect to take a single cent from Haiqing Group again—and Mom and Dad won't be able to help you either!"
Lin Qingxuan instantly deflated like a punctured ball, furious and anxious, yet completely helpless.
"Brother-in-law, look at your wife, she's always bullying me!" Lin Qingxuan grabbed Ye Nan's arm, acting so aggrieved she was practically on the verge of tears.
Ye Nan instantly developed a massive headache.
[Sigh... sister-in-law, you're on your own!]
[Your brother-in-law here is being forced into this too!]
[The day I finally escape from the clutches of that old woman, I'll definitely come back to rescue you!]
Hearing Ye Nan's inner thoughts, Lin Qingrou, already in a bad mood, blew her top.
This bastard—did he really dislike her that much?!
Put your hand on your heart and ask yourself, you scoundrel, who was actually getting the short end of the stick when we were together!
"Shut up!" Lin Qingrou had a bellyful of fire and could only vent it on Lin Qingxuan. "Go sit on that sofa over there. Today, you aren't going anywhere!"
With that, she looked at Ye Nan and said coldly, "Get ready. After we finish lunch, you're coming with me to the Qi family."
Ye Nan was stunned.
The Qi family?
Which Qi family?
It couldn't possibly be...
Right at that moment, a knock sounded at the door.
"President Lin, your takeout has arrived!"
The receptionist brought the takeout inside.
"Go eat something in the cafeteria yourselves."
Lin Qingrou unconcernedly opened the takeout container, revealing that it was just an order of fried chicken nuggets.
"You're eating that?" Ye Nan was a bit surprised.
"Just something casual. I'm sick of the cafeteria," Lin Qingrou said indifferently.
[This old woman actually has a pretty down-to-earth side.]
Ye Nan was just about to drag Lin Qingxuan away to get some food when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and frowned.
Why was there a strange scent in the air?
It was extremely faint—if not for Ye Nan's nose, which rivaled eight police hounds, an ordinary person wouldn't have been able to smell it at all.
It smelled like... the fragrance of the Heart-Devouring Flower...
Ye Nan snapped his head around and locked his gaze on the takeout container.
The takeout had been poisoned!
"Don't eat it!"
Startled, Ye Nan let out a sharp shout.
However, Lin Qingrou had already popped a piece into her mouth and was chewing on it. Startled by Ye Nan's outburst, she frowned with displeasure. "What?"
Ye Nan lunged forward in a single bound, his hand shooting out halfway before freezing awkwardly in place.
This... he obviously couldn't reach into the old woman's mouth and fish the chicken nugget out with his fingers...
That would be way too sleazy...
But the situation was critical, and there was no time to hesitate!
The poison of the Heart-Devouring Flower was extremely bizarre. It wasn't too severe while still in the mouth, but once swallowed and mixed with stomach acid, it would immediately trigger a potent toxicity capable of taking a life in mere moments—it would be too late even to rush her to the hospital for emergency treatment!
Seeing that the old woman had already chewed several times, Ye Nan acted on pure impulse without a second thought, lunging forward and pressing his face right up to hers!
Lips and teeth collided!
Ye Nan's three-inch agile tongue, honed through the rigorous tutelage of five senior sisters, swept through with irresistible force, directly and aggressively snatching the chicken nugget right out of Lin Qingrou's mouth!
Lin Qingrou didn't react in time at all. When her lips brushed against Ye Nan's, her mind went completely blank, her eyes widened into perfect circles, and her entire body turned to stone.
Beside them, Lin Qingxuan stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her.
Brother-in-law... had he been holding back for too long and finally snapped?
In a fraction of a second, Lin Qingrou came to her senses, and instant fury erupted!
She shoved Ye Nan away, abruptly stood up, swung her arm, and slapped Ye Nan hard across the face!
Knocked back two steps from the blow, Ye Nan didn't even have time to explain as he grabbed a tissue from the desk and spat the chicken nugget out.
"Get out! Never show your face in front of me again!"
Lin Qingrou was truly furious, trembling all over, her expression colder than ever before.
[That was close!]
Looking at the chicken nugget in his hand, Ye Nan still felt a lingering sense of fear.
"Shameless wretch, I told you to get out! Did you hear me?!"
Thinking of the physical contact just now, Lin Qingrou felt a wave of nausea rise in her stomach. In her blind rage, she grabbed a file folder from the desk and hurled it fiercely at Ye Nan!
Ye Nan didn't dodge, letting the folder strike him squarely.
He raised his eyes to look at Lin Qingrou, feeling neither anger nor emotion.
[It's understandable that the old woman is mad; after all, the situation was urgent and I didn't have time to explain.]
[Still, you could at least have asked for an explanation first!]
[Do you really think I'm the kind of beast who loses control and lets his instincts take over regardless of the occasion?]
[Whatever. It was a forced engagement to begin with, so a lack of trust on both sides is completely normal.]
[This is fine too. I won't have to be a kept son-in-law, and I won't have to waste my breath explaining.]
Hearing his inner thoughts, Lin Qingrou froze slightly, though her anger did not subside.
Ask for an explanation?
A lack of trust in you?
What reason do I have to trust you?
You pull a stunt as sleazy as this, and yet you act like you're in the right?
Utterly shameless!
[Still, who on earth was targeting the old woman with this poisoning?]
[Poison like the Heart-Devouring Flower isn't cheap; a single qian of it is worth more than ten taels of gold! An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to get their hands on it.]
[Sigh, whatever. She already chased me out, why am I wasting brain cells on this!]
[It's just... the next time something like this happens, what is the old woman going to do?]
[Not my problem, not my problem. I saved her once, we're even now—time to bounce!]
At this thought, Ye Nan let out a soft sigh, feeling entirely relaxed. He tossed the tissue-wrapped chicken nugget into the trash can, and then casually grabbed the rest of the uneaten chicken nuggets from the desk.
"President Lin, since you're kicking me out, you should at least compensate me with a meal. I'll gladly accept these chicken nuggets."
With a hearty laugh, Ye Nan picked up the food and strode out the door.
Lin Qingxuan watched the scene unfold in dumbfounded silence; the plot had developed much too fast for her to process.
"Brother-in-law!" she called out a moment later, scrambling to chase after him.
Lin Qingrou stood frozen in place, her mind entirely blank.
The contents of Ye Nan's inner thoughts completely surpassed her imagination!
There was poison in the chicken nuggets?!
Someone was trying to harm her?
Impossible!
It was just a completely normal takeout order, how could...
Yet Lin Qingrou knew in her heart that Ye Nan's inner thoughts wouldn't lie.
And when Ye Nan left, he had deliberately taken the remaining chicken nuggets while acting as if he didn't care...
Could I... have wronged him?
Lin Qingrou bit her lip, somewhat reluctant to accept this conclusion.
After thinking for a moment, she walked over to the trash can, reached in, and fished out the piece of chicken nugget she had chewed.
Then, she picked up her phone and made a call.
The call connected, and a soft, pleasant voice came through from the other end.
"Well, well, if it isn't our great President Lin! You're a busy person of high standing—to think you'd still remember a girlfriend like me!"
Hearing the aggrieved tone, Lin Qingrou felt a trace of warmth bloom in her chest. "Mengyan, are you still busy with work at the lab? I have a favor to ask!"
"I knew it!" the woman on the other end snorted indignantly. "You'd never think of calling me unless you need something!"
"Alright, stop messing around!" Lin Qingrou said with a wry smile. "Today... I might just have nearly lost my life!"
Chapter 17: Does My Handsome Face Look That Weathered?
Ye Nan stepped out of the Haiqing Building and stretched with utter ease.
The sky was blue.
The grass was green.
The breeze was gentle.
Playing the role of the live-in son-in-law was a thing of the damn past!
He finally didn't have to be a kept husband anymore!
And he had a legitimate, reasonable excuse to boot.
Now that old bastard shouldn't be able to find any faults with him!
Still, just in case that old codger acted unreasonably and tipped off his senior sisters about his whereabouts in a fit of pique...
He had better plan ahead!
As Ye Nan was pondering this, his brows suddenly twitched.
The person who had been tailing and spying on him earlier was still around!
Only this time, while the male was nowhere to be seen, the female was still lurking in the vicinity.
Interesting...
With a faint smile, Ye Nan locked onto a direction and strode forward.
After half an hour of walking, he reached the edge of the city center, where the pedestrian traffic noticeably thinned out.
Finding a quiet, secluded alley, Ye Nan stepped into it.
"Still following me? Aren't you tired? I'm almost home!"
Ye Nan stopped in his tracks, feeling somewhat speechless.
A moment later, a hot and lithe figure flashed out from hiding.
The beauty had straight hair draped over her shoulders, was in her early twenties, and wore all black, leather pants, and high boots—dressed pretty much like an 1980s secret agent.
She wasn't very old, but everywhere that was supposed to be big was very big, and her perky, rounded rear looked more like that of a mature, sophisticated matron, entirely defying her actual age.
Her pretty face couldn't mask her nervousness, and her large eyes were filled with wariness.
"Senior, your junior Yueying, belonging to..."
Looking casual on the surface while his gaze was sharp as a blade, Ye Nan gave her a thorough up-and-down inspection before saying indifferently, "Did you bring the Youzhi Ointment?"
Yueying froze, and instinctively reached into her pocket to pull out a small porcelain vial. "I brought it..."
Only then did she realize that she hadn't even needed to state her affiliation; the other party had already recognized who she was.
Youzhi Ointment was a proprietary remedy crafted by the "Yueying Guild," highly effective for both detoxification and healing wounds.
And yet... just by looking at her for a second, he had already figured out her background?
Did he have to be this heaven-defying?!
"Just one vial? Bring me some more," Ye Nan said without a shred of politeness.
"Oh..." Yueying pulled out two more vials, a bitter smile hidden deep inside her heart.
She had never been this obedient even in front of the leader of the Yueying Guild.
There was no help for it, not when the other person was simply too strong!
Raw force was the ultimate truth.
"What do you mean 'oh'? Hand them over!" Ye Nan rolled his eyes speechlessly. "With situational awareness like that—tsk tsk tsk—the newcomer training program at the Yueying Guild really needs some tightening up!"
"Yes!"
Yueying gritted her teeth, forcefully suppressing the annoyance rising on her face as she handed the medicine over to Ye Nan.
Endure!
Mother here will endure!
Yueying repeatedly reminded herself in her heart: I can't beat him, I can't beat him, don't be impulsive!
Ye Nan inspected the three vials of Youzhi Ointment. The quality was good, and he nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, speak. What is it?"
"Senior..." Yueying gathered her thoughts and opened her mouth to speak.
"How old are you?" Ye Nan interrupted her instead.
"Twenty-three..." Yueying looked completely bewildered.
"You're a year older than me, and you're calling me senior?" Ye Nan said speechlessly. "Does this handsome face of mine look weathered to you?"
My foot!
Yueying vented her spleen frantically in her mind.
She had seen narcissists before, but never one so utterly shameless!
Endure!
Nothing to be done; the other guy’s fists were bigger.
Anyone with high strength was bound to be handsome—that was also an undeniable truth.
"Then... then what is your honorable surname, sir?" Yueying asked tentatively.
"You don't know me?" Ye Nan frowned. "Then why were you tailing me?"
He had assumed the Yueying Guild had sent someone to find him because they needed help with something.
After all, Ye Nan did have some connections with this third-ranked gray-area organization in the world.
To be precise, it wasn't just a connection; their big boss was nothing more than one of Ye Nan's little lackeys.
"It was presumptuous of me!" Yueying hurriedly explained, "I was dispatched by the higher-ups to Jiangling on a mission, and purely by chance, I witnessed your extraordinary strength, Senior, so I wished to make your acquaintance..."
Dawning comprehension hit Ye Nan.
So she had been sent to recruit him.
He was somewhat amused.
Strictly speaking, the entire Yueying Guild belonged to him.
And now a low-level operative had actually come to recruit him—the supreme big boss behind the scenes—into the guild...
"Tell me about your mission," Ye Nan said indifferently.
"This..." Yueying hesitated.
"Don't bother thinking about it. You don't have a choice." Ye Nan narrowed his eyes, a glint flashing through his gaze.
Startled, Yueying recalled the immense pressure she had felt earlier just from being looked at by Ye Nan, and she shivered involuntarily with lingering fear.
"Senior, please spare your anger! We were simply ordered to come to Jiangling to protect someone!" Yueying hurriedly confessed the truth.
"Who?"
"Someone Senior knows—the president of Haiqing Group, Lin Qingrou!"
Ye Nan was taken aback.
The Yueying Guild and Lin Qingrou were worlds apart, having zero connection whatsoever.
Yet judging by Yueying's demeanor, she didn't seem to have the guts to lie.
"Why?" Ye Nan pressed.
"This..." Yueying said with a trace of shame, "My clearance is too low, so I only know that Lin Qingrou seems to be tied to the matter of Jiangling's Earth Vein..."
Jiangling's Earth Vein?
Ye Nan frowned; that was indeed a major matter.
In recent years, the battle over national fortune had been fiercely contested.
Great Xia's national fortune was flourishing and fearless of foreign provocations.
Because of this, many countries had started plotting to destroy Great Xia's Earth Veins.
Earth Veins were tied to national fortune; for every city's Earth Vein that was destroyed, Great Xia's national fortune would diminish by a fraction.
As the Dark Emperor of Great Xia, Ye Nan naturally couldn't let such a matter go unchecked.
Still, how could Lin Qingrou possibly be connected to Jiangling's Earth Vein?
Remembering how Lin Qingrou had been poisoned earlier today, a sense of understanding dawned in Ye Nan's heart.
That incident was likely tied to the Earth Vein as well.
"Since you were specifically sent to protect her, are a lot of people eyeing her right now?" Ye Nan asked again.
"Yes." Yueying nodded, her expression solemn. "Six of the top ten assassin organizations in the world have accepted contracts to kill Lin Qingrou! Three of the top ten experts on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking have also started making their moves!"
"Our Yueying Guild originated in Great Xia. While we aren't officially part of the government, when it comes to matters concerning the nation, it is our unshirkable duty. As soon as we received the intelligence, we rushed right over."
Ye Nan was somewhat surprised.
Things had already blown up to such a scale?
Top-ten assassin organizations and top-ten experts meant nothing to Ye Nan, of course, but to anyone else, they were terrifyingly formidable forces.
"Since the situation is this urgent, the Yueying Guild sent just you?" Ye Nan looked Yueying up and down, finding it somewhat hard to put into words.
She was just too weak!
With this level of strength...
The corners of Yueying's mouth twitched twice.
This blatant contempt became the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Yueying finally couldn't hold back her explosion.
"You think I'm trash, is that it?!"
"When you took my medicine just a moment ago, why didn't you think I was trash? Huh?!"
"You're so powerful, you can fight so well—if you've got the ability, don't take my things then!"
"Give it back!"
Yueying's face flushed red with anger.
Ye Nan was stunned.
This little beauty—when she got mad, she was actually quite pretty!
"Ahem... that's not what I meant." Ye Nan offered a slightly awkward, fake cough. "It's just that for a matter this huge, sending a rookie like you feels a bit inappropriate..."
"So what if I'm a rookie?!"
The moment she heard the word "rookie," all of Yueying's pent-up grievances and frustrations erupted.
Having joined the Yueying Guild for over a year now, because she was both pretty and young, everyone else on the team protected her during difficult missions, either refusing to let her take them or just handling them for her directly.
This had led to many members in the guild whispering behind her back, claiming she was nothing more than a useless vase.
"Why shouldn't a rookie be allowed to take on independent missions?!"
"If I don't do missions, how am I supposed to gain experience, how am I supposed to grow?!"
"Did rookies eat your family's rice, or did they dig up your ancestral graves?!"
Yueying spoke loudly and aggrievedly. Right after finishing her tirade, she squatted straight down, buried her head in her arms against her knees, and burst out crying with a loud "Wah."
Ye Nan was completely bewildered.
How... how did she end up crying?!
He hadn't even said anything!
Wasn't she a bit too fragile?!
"Hey, stop crying," Ye Nan said helplessly. "Being this loud, do you want a crowd to gather around and watch?"
Although the alley was secluded, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't walk by at any moment.
Yet Yueying turned a deaf ear, feeling more aggrieved the more she thought about it, and crying even harder because of it!
Someone like this... had actually run off to take on a mission alone?
Was this girl smuggled into the Yueying Guild through the back door or something?!
Sigh, the system really was rotting from the head down!
Ye Nan had a massive headache.
There were very few things he wasn't good at.
One of them happened to be dealing with crying girls.
After all, among the women he knew, his five senior sisters were each more formidable than the last—stopping others from crying was more their speed!
Lin Qingrou also put on a sour face all day long and was exceedingly arrogant, yet she had only ever cried like that once.
"As long as you stop crying right now, I can help you," Ye Nan said helplessly.
"Really?!" Yueying jerked her head up, her fair, pretty face streaked with tears like a painted kitten.
Chapter 18: Little Qingqing Has Someone in Her Heart!
Ye Nan nodded. "Really."
Yueying instantly sprang to her feet, reached out to wipe away all the tears on her face, and glared at Ye Nan with a pout. "No going back on your word!"
Laughing despite himself, Ye Nan recited his cell phone number to her.
"Find me if anything comes up."
With that, Ye Nan turned around and walked away.
Yueying quickly took out her phone and saved the number.
After standing in place for a moment, she suddenly let out a soft, amused laugh.
This terrifyingly powerful young expert didn't seem arrogant in the least; he was actually quite easygoing...
...
Not long after Ye Nan walked out of the alley, he let out a sigh.
"You can come out too, stop following me!"
Behind him, Lin Qingxuan trotted up, looking embarrassed as she grabbed Ye Nan's hand and acted spoiled. "Brother-in-law, are you... really leaving?"
Ye Nan looked at her speechlessly.
"Stop calling me that," Ye Nan said indifferently. "Your sister and I are through."
"But..." Lin Qingxuan panicked.
"Alright, hurry back," Ye Nan said with a blank expression. "Remind your sister to be careful. The takeout she ordered today was poisoned; pay attention to what she eats from now on."
Having said that, using a footwork technique, Ye Nan flickered out of sight and vanished completely.
Lin Qingxuan stayed rooted to the spot, deeply shocked and unable to recover her senses for a long time.
The takeout was poisoned?!
No wonder her brother-in-law had resorted to such an outrageous move...