Stepping out of the villa, Fan Ning’er was plunged into an incredible dilemma.
After her family’s persuasion earlier, she had genuinely considered the idea of apologizing, but still felt it was unjust.
However, calls were flooding in one after another, all reporting company crises.
She was the CEO. At a time like this, she naturally had to stabilize the situation first and plan for the long term.
“Ning’er!”
Chen Lin, waiting by the gate, saw Fan Ning’er emerge and quickly went to meet her, a smile plastered on his face.
The corner of his mouth was stretched to an angle impossible for a normal person. It would take at least two and a half years of practice to pull off.
For some reason, Fan Ning’er felt a powerful urge to slap him across the face.
She also seemed to realize that her feelings for Chen Lin weren’t actually that deep.
The man she had been desperately in love with was only the Chen Lin from five years ago.
“Ning’er, where are you going? I’ll come with you!”
Chen Lin was showering her with attention.
“My company!” Fan Ning’er said flatly.
“OK!”
Soon, Chen Lin drove up in Fan Ning’er’s car, taking on the role of chauffeur.
Along the way, he pulled every trick to look cool—speeding, showing off his skills, drifting.
In the back seat, Fan Ning’er was terribly carsick, on the verge of throwing up.
Clutching the grab handle tightly, she snapped, “Chen Lin, are you insane? Can you just drive normally?”
“Running red lights, drifting—is that what a normal person does? The points are deducted from my license!”
Chen Lin gripped the steering wheel, deeply embarrassed.
Shouldn’t his drifting have dazzled her, leaving her full of admiration?
“Sorry, Ning’er. I got used to driving abroad. You know, there aren’t as many restrictions over there.”
Fan Ning’er frowned, letting out a cold snort. “Abroad this, abroad that. Weren’t you in the army? Still spewing foreign crap?”
“This is China, a place with laws, and you’re bringing every bad habit back! And I’m warning you, stop going around telling people I’m your woman. Watch your image. My relationship with you right now is, at best, just good friends.”
Chen Lin was dumbfounded. He felt Fan Ning’er had changed. Did love really just vanish like that?
But he quickly reasoned it out. The Fan Corporation was in trouble, so she was anxious and naturally had a bad temper. It wasn’t directed at him personally.
Finally, he slowed down and drove normally towards the corporation.
Meanwhile, Fan Ning’er’s phone buzzed with multiple traffic violation alerts. She was so furious she nearly hurled her phone at Chen Lin.
……
At this moment, the Bai Family Estate.
At the Hibiscus Club, Bai Jinghong, who had brashly declared, “I’ll take on ten,” was still tracked down and brought home by bodyguards his old father had sent.
Bai Zhennan was in his fifties but showed no signs of age. Having held high positions for years, he exuded a natural air of authority.
He was stern without needing anger, creating immense pressure on those around him.
Father and son sat facing each other, eyes meeting. Inexplicably, both felt the urge to laugh.
Bai Zhennan quickly controlled his expression and questioned, “Do you know why I called you back?”
His voice was purposefully deep.
A cigarette dangling from his lips, Bai Jinghong tossed one to his dad and nodded casually.
“It’s because you weren’t invited to the wedding, right?”
“Bullshit!” Bai Zhennan frowned deeply. “Is that the reason?”
“Look at what you did! Tell me, what kind of mess is this?”
“Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful. Do you know what they called your father when I was young? The Number One Prodigal of the Yangtze River Delta!”
“In Nanyang, Dragon Sea, and Su Province—three major cities—how many bowed and scraped before me, terrified at the mere rumor of my presence?”
“Even among the top families in the Imperial Capital, your father had a say.”
“And you, as my son, are acting like a lapdog! Isn’t that just being a waste of space?”
Bai Jinghong laughed. “Dad, you were that cocky back in the day?”
Taking the cigarette Bai Jinghong gave him, Bai Zhennan stuck it in his mouth, face full of pride. “Of course! You think our Bai Family connections are fake?”
“Once, some big shot’s son from the Imperial Capital, blind to reality, tried to steal your mother from me. I pushed him so hard his entire family broke apart, and they all came to apologize in person.”
“If your mother hadn’t just gotten pregnant with your sister and we were preparing for the wedding, making it a bad time for too much bloodlust, I would have finished them off long ago.”
“Now look at you. I’m so ashamed I don’t know where to hide my face!” Bai Zhennan said, clearly frustrated.
Bai Zhennan slammed the table, his voice angry. “Back to the point! You committed three major errors!”
“First: Being a lapdog is such a degrading thing, yet you did it. But since you managed to lick your way in, why didn’t you seal the deal and collect some interest?”
“Second: Someone crashed your wedding banquet, and you let them leave completely unharmed. Aren’t you embarrassed? How can you claim to be from the Bai Family without leaving them missing a leg?”
“Third: Even after everything fell apart, your primary goal should have been revenge. Which bastard humiliated you? Go after him! Destroy him! But you? You ran off to eat, drink, and have fun.”
“I don’t care who the other party is. If you can’t handle it, don’t you know to come to me, your sister, or your mother?”
Bai Jinghong nodded repeatedly, then chuckled. “Dad, how do you know I haven’t left a backup plan?”
“It just hasn’t started yet.”
Bai Zhennan paused, eyes lighting up. Seeing Bai Jinghong’s confident expression, his face did a complete 180-degree turn.
Instantly, he beamed with delight.
“Is that so? Good, good, that’s good! That’s my boy! Come on, let’s have a drink.”
He stood up, put his arm around Bai Jinghong’s shoulder like they were pals, and headed for the door.
“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. You’re the Young Master of the Bai Family after all. A single woman is nothing!”
“Your mother even said you need to branch out the Bai Family line. The more daughters-in-law for her, the better.”
“Ah, but thinking about it, your mother has some serious double standards. For you, the more women the better. For me? ‘If you dare find another woman, you’re dead.'”
“Sometimes it really pisses me off, but I don’t dare do anything about it. Damn.”
Listening to Bai Zhennan grumble, Bai Jinghong desperately wanted to laugh.
But he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Dad, do you know the strongest Martial Artist in Dragon Sea? What’s their level?”
“You want to learn martial arts? We have them right at home! Your grandpa’s men—which one isn’t a powerhouse?”
This much, Bai Jinghong knew naturally.
The Martial Artist levels, from high to low, were: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, and Human. Each level was further divided into Early, Mid, Late, and Perfection stages.
The Bai Family had the Thirteen Guardians, every one of them an elite warrior. The weakest among them was at the Yellow Rank – Late Stage.
But these people wouldn’t act casually, only appearing in life-or-death situations.
Normally, they were never seen, meaning there was no way to copy their skills.
In the original story, when Bai Jinghong was crippled, the Thirteen Guardians didn’t even show up. By the time they did, Chen Lin was already a terrifyingly powerful existence.
Not only did Chen Lin send subordinates to stir up trouble in Dragon Sea, but he also befriended countless major figures to back him.
The Bai Family, the biggest boss faction on the Dragon Sea map, ultimately couldn’t stand against the protagonist Chen Lin’s plot armor.
But things were different now. Bai Jinghong had no intention of giving Chen Lin the chance to grow or befriend powerful people.
“Dad, besides our family, who else do you know?”
Right now, Bai Jinghong absolutely needed to copy powerful skills.
Bai Zhennan thought for a moment. “Martial Artists usually prefer to stay hidden. I’m not clear on those in the shadows, but your Uncle Jiang’s family does have an expert at the Profound Level Late-stage guarding their home.”
Bai Jinghong’s heart leaped for joy. Profound Level Late-stage was more than enough.
Chen Lin was currently only at Profound Level Mid-stage. It would be no problem to beat him up.
“But don’t get your hopes up. Your Uncle Jiang still remembers how badly you treated Yueying back then.”
“Uh…” Bai Jinghong was hugely embarrassed.
That matter was indeed his fault. Only now did he realize how good Jiang Yueying had been. Too bad he’d driven her abroad.
“Dad, I just want to meet the person, have a few words. Uncle Jiang can’t object to that, right?”
With the Copy Ring in hand, there was no need for grueling training.
“Handle it yourself. Your Uncle Jiang is just mad at you. Our two families have been close for generations. Your Uncle Jiang and I are brothers who grew up running around naked together. If he scolds you a bit, just take it.”
Bai Jinghong was already growing impatient. He dashed out, calling back, “Got it, Dad! We’ll save that drink for next time, just us bros!”
