Chapter Eighty-Five: A New Plan

Although this Chen Ning came from a family in the Jiangnan district, Xiao Ye still did not take him seriously. At best, he was nothing more than a nouveau riche second-generation heir; no matter how great his standing, he was not worth a second glance.

If you want to understand a person’s mind, first see whether you are worthy of it yourself.

Hearing Xiao Ye’s words, Shu Ran froze, then gave a bitter smile and said, “Forget it. I’d better handle this myself. The stakes are too dangerous for you to get involved.”

To her, Qin Xueer and her husband were nothing but ordinary citizens, while Xiao Ye was merely a little more capable in a fight than the average person.

But when it came to struggles over family interests, not to mention them, even she herself was helpless.

Hearing Shu Ran say this, Xiao Ye only smiled and said nothing.

He was not the sort who liked meddling in others’ affairs, but ever since Shu Ran had once stood up for Qin Xueer at a class reunion, he had kept that favor in his heart.

“It’s fine. If there’s anything, just say it. If we can help, we certainly will,” Qin Xueer said quickly, clasping Shu Ran’s hand when she saw she seemed to want to say more but hesitated.

Shu Ran did not speak. She only nodded quietly.

The car soon took the group to Shu Ran’s home. Watching her go upstairs, Qin Xueer still felt uneasy.

“Xiao Ye, I have this feeling that Shu Ran must be going through something right now. I want to help her.”

Xiao Ye nodded. Helping Shu Ran would repay a favor, and it would also serve as a safeguard for the future, when he would no longer be by Qin Xueer’s side.

Once he got back, he would have Scarlet Dragon investigate the situation in Shu Ran’s family.

The sky was growing late, and the two of them had not eaten yet, so they stopped casually at a restaurant and prepared to have a meal.

At the same time, in a finely decorated restaurant in River-Sea City, Ye Gang was seated in the center of a private room, idly toying with a wine bottle in his hand, a faint smile on his face.

He was waiting for tonight’s guest.

The red wine in his hand was bright as blood, and under the lamplight it took on a strange beauty.

This bottle was at least twenty years old and quite valuable.

Anyone who could be treated with such courtesy by Ye Gang was certainly either rich or powerful.

Just then, a somewhat aged woman walked straight in through the private room door.

It was none other than Li, Qin Xueer’s mother.

Seeing her enter, Ye Gang immediately rose and walked toward her.

That day, Li had originally been staying with her own relatives, but unexpectedly someone came looking for her directly.

When she heard that Ye Gang was the one who had sent people to find her, she had been somewhat suspicious.

But when she saw the luxury car parked at the door, her misgivings vanished at once.

After entering the private room, Li was immediately drawn to Ye Gang.

Distinguished in appearance, talented and impressive, he matched exactly the son-in-law she had envisioned.

“Auntie, I’m sorry for asking you to come here so abruptly today,” Ye Gang said with a smile. “Please forgive me.”

“Let’s sit first. Since I knew you were coming today, I put a great deal of thought into it.”

As he spoke, Ye Gang clapped his hands, and several guards outside immediately came in.

In less than three minutes, the table was already covered with dishes rich in color and aroma.

“What is all this, Young Master Ye? It’s only a meal. Why make such a grand fuss?” Li said, waving her hands repeatedly, though her face was beaming with delight.

“When it comes to Auntie, one must be respectful. I asked you here this time for something very important.”

Ye Gang stood and filled Li’s wineglass.

“Please speak, Young Master Ye.”

Li was, after all, a woman who had seen her share of the world, so she did not lose her composure over something like this.

“Miss Xueer has been stirring my heart lately,” Ye Gang said. “See whether you can arrange for her to divorce Xiao Ye.”

His expression was highly guarded, and when he said this, the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed almost there and yet not there.

Li’s heart sank, then swiftly lifted with delight.

Qin Xueer’s matter had always been a thorn in her side. Being with Xiao Ye was not impossible, but to her, Xiao Ye was only a backup of sorts.

Now that someone was plainly expressing interest in Qin Xueer, how could she not be pleased?

Still, she did not show it.

“Young Master Ye, I’m afraid that will be difficult. Xue’er is already married, and you know that.”

Before Li could finish, Ye Gang nodded and took a bank card from his pocket, placing it directly before her.

“There are three hundred thousand in here. Consider it a small advance of my respect for you.”

Staring at the card, Li paused, then burst into laughter and lifted her glass to clink it against Ye Gang’s.

The crisp sound rang through the private room at once.

The next morning, Qin Xueer was awakened by the sound of her phone.

But after answering the call, her expression changed instantly, and she hung up at once.

“Something’s wrong, Xiao Ye. Shu Ran just called. That Chen Ning from last night is downstairs at her place now, planning to force her to get engaged to him.”

Qin Xueer said with visible alarm.

Xiao Ye frowned. That brat Chen Ning still had not changed his ways and was still harboring vile intentions toward Shu Ran.

The two of them prepared quickly and drove to Shu Ran’s neighborhood.

By then, Chen Ning had brought a large group of bodyguards, set up banners downstairs by Shu Ran’s building, and was shouting loudly:

“Xiao Ran, I truly like you. Please get engaged to me!”

Chen Ning held a loudspeaker and shouted from downstairs.

His voice was loud enough that residents passing through the neighborhood all turned to look.

But with so many people behind Chen Ning, those who passed by merely watched; no one dared step forward.

“Chen Ning, do you still have any shame?” Shu Ran rushed downstairs and confronted him angrily.

“Xiao Ran, I truly like you. You don’t need to worry about your family’s opinion at all. What I’m doing today has Uncle’s authorization,” Chen Ning said, holding out a bouquet of roses to Shu Ran.

Every flower had a red bill attached to it, and it looked as though it had been carefully designed.

Shu Ran took the bouquet and flung it to the ground at once.

“I’m warning you, stop pestering me. If you don’t get lost right now, I’ll have someone deal with you immediately!”

Just as the two were locked in confrontation, the sound of brakes came from behind them. Xiao Ye and the other two had arrived.

The moment Shu Ran saw Xiao Ye and Qin Xueer, it was as though she had seen a lifesaving straw. She hurried toward them and stood quietly behind their backs.

“Miss Xueer, we meet again,” Chen Ning said to Qin Xueer, his gaze fixed on Xiao Ye with some hostility.

“Young Master Chen, I really have to admire your spirit. No matter how many setbacks you face, you keep pushing forward. That’s a man,” Xiao Ye said to Chen Ning.

Chen Ning waved a hand, and the bodyguards beside him instantly surrounded the three of them.

“Whether I’m a man or not, you’ll only know after you’ve seen for yourself,” he said with a smile. He understood perfectly well that Xiao Ye would definitely show up today.

He had brought a large number of people precisely to seize control of Xiao Ye and then deal with Shu Ran’s matter.

As the bodyguards closed in, Xiao Ye lowered his voice and said to the two behind him, “When the fighting starts, stay behind me.”

“Take the man down first. Take those two women away for me!”

Chen Ning did not conceal anything now; his wolfish ambitions were laid bare.

At his command, the bodyguards surged toward Xiao Ye and the others.

“How laughably overconfident,” Xiao Ye sighed, speaking with considerable helplessness.

These bodyguards were at most only slightly stronger than ordinary people. No matter how numerous they were, how could they possibly stand toe-to-toe with Xiao Ye?

Xiao Ye moved like a phantom, darting through the crowd with blinding speed. Those dozen or so bodyguards were no match for him at all, and one after another he sent them crashing to the ground.

One of the bodyguards, seeing that the two women had no protection, tried to strike at them.

“Watch out!”

Seeing the guard swing a club toward her, Qin Xueer hurried to shield Shu Ran in front of her.

Xiao Ye reacted instantly and sprinted toward them!

The club was still flying through the air when Xiao Ye kicked out directly.

The club snapped in an instant, and the bodyguard was flung backward at once. A dull thud sounded as he hit the ground heavily, and he fainted on the spot.

“Are you all right?”

After a long moment, Qin Xueer still had not felt any pain. She slowly lifted her head, only to find that there was no one before her anymore.

In just three minutes, Xiao Ye had knocked down more than a dozen bodyguards.

Seeing the people sprawled across the ground before him, Chen Ning looked at Xiao Ye in shock.

He had investigated Xiao Ye yesterday and knew he had some skill, but he had not expected him to bring down more than a dozen bodyguards so easily.

“Are you two all right?” Xiao Ye asked with concern.

Qin Xueer shook her head, and Shu Ran in front of her was completely unharmed.

Before the three could react, Chen Ning shouted, “Shu Ran, if you don’t come with me now, I won’t pay a single cent of your family’s investment!”

In addition to shock, Chen Ning felt anger.

In the end, all the trouble he had suffered was because of Xiao Ye.

In order to force Shu Ran to obey, Chen Ning had joined forces with other families around him and poured a large sum of money into the Liang family’s business.

If Shu Ran refused him, he would withdraw all the money, bring the Liang family crashing down, and use the family’s crisis to force her into submission.

Although Xiao Ye could fight, he was ultimately just a nobody. And he was nowhere near as rich as Chen Ning. Chen Ning did not worry at all that Shu Ran would ignore the family’s crisis and leave with Xiao Ye.

Seeing that Shu Ran remained silent, Chen Ning went on.

“Xiao Ye, you’ve ruined my business time and again. I’m a generous man, so I won’t hold it against you too much!”

“But if you dare obstruct me again today, I guarantee you’ll die without a burial place!”

Chen Ning completely ignored the fact that all his bodyguards had already been beaten to the ground and still hurled threats at Xiao Ye.

He spoke with such fervor that, at the most animated moment, he even cast a flirtatious glance toward Shu Ran.

Seeing this, Xiao Ye did not grow angry but instead smiled.

“You seem to have a poor grasp of the situation, kid.”

Xiao Ye scratched his forehead, and then his body suddenly shot forward, arriving beside Chen Ning.

Without another word, he kicked him straight in the body.