The lighting in the French restaurant was soft, casting the air in a hazy warm golden glow. The delicate aroma of butter-seared truffles lingered, blending with the low whispers of the couple at the next table. Occasionally, the crisp sound of cutlery clinking against porcelain echoed lightly.
Qin Xiao’s fingertips tapped gently on the pristine white linen tablecloth, his movements calm and deliberate. His gaze swept over the woman opposite him. She held a crystal glass, her fingers unconsciously stroking its rim. Gu Siqing wore a perfectly tailored off-white suit dress, her long hair neatly tied up, revealing her smooth, elegant neck.
Her poise was as refined as always. Yet the usually distant eyes now carried faint ripples that had not fully faded, adding a rare softness to her expression.
“Miss Gu.” Qin Xiao’s voice was not loud, but his calm tone carried clearly through the background noise. “About our engagement, I think it’s best we call it off.”
Gu Siqing’s fingers tightened around the glass, her knuckles turning white. She looked up at Qin Xiao, trying to find some trace of a joke in his eyes, but all she saw was composure.
Qin Xiao ignored her reaction and continued, “After all, I heard that Miss Gu already has someone in her heart.”
“That young man… named Ye Fan?” He deliberately said the wrong name, his tone casual yet laced with just the right amount of doubt, watching her expression closely.
Gu Siqing’s brows twitched slightly. “You got it wrong, it’s Ye Chen.” Her voice carried an unintentional urgency. “And he’s just… a security guard. There’s nothing between us.” She spoke quickly, raising her voice slightly as if afraid he would misunderstand.
Qin Xiao leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them. His gaze locked onto her somewhat flustered eyes. The corners of his lips curved into a playful smile, as though he understood something.
He reached out, his warm fingertips falling onto the cool back of her hand resting on the table.
Gu Siqing’s body tensed instantly, as if struck by an electric current. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
His palm pressed firmly against hers, leaving no room for resistance, yet his touch carried an odd gentleness. His hand was dry and warm, the heat seeming to seep through her skin.
“Is that so?” Qin Xiao’s voice lowered, carrying an indescribable allure, like a lover’s whisper. “Then how… do you see me?” His warm breath brushed against her ear, bringing a subtle itch.
Gu Siqing’s cheeks flushed red in an instant. The crimson spread quickly to her earlobes, even tinting her pale neck with a faint pink.
The shameful images from her dream last night surged into her mind uncontrollably. His touch, his gaze, his voice… all overlapped strangely with the figure in her dream who had made her heart race.
She opened her mouth, but her throat felt blocked, unable to make a sound. The heat spread through every part of her body.
The air between them grew heavy with tension and ambiguity.
Suddenly, a furious roar exploded like thunder. “Qin Xiao! You’re courting death!”
Ye Chen charged in like a demon from hell, his eyes blood-red, his face twisted with rage, murderous intent pouring off him as he lunged forward. His gaze locked firmly on Qin Xiao.
When he saw Qin Xiao’s hand covering the back of Gu Siqing’s, the fury inside him erupted as if doused with boiling oil.
“Bang!” A loud crash rang out as Ye Chen slammed his palm onto the expensive mahogany table. The sturdy tabletop, infused with inner strength, cracked instantly, wood chips flying.
Plates, wine glasses, and silver cutlery clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces. Red wine splashed across the white tablecloth like blooming crimson flowers.
The surrounding diners screamed in fright and scrambled to get away, the scene erupting into chaos.
Gu Siqing’s face turned pale from the sudden outburst, her body instinctively retreating. But she reacted quickly. Before Ye Chen’s murderous gaze could turn to her, she stood abruptly and raised her hand.
A sharp, resounding slap landed across Ye Chen’s face.
“Ye Chen! What are you doing?!” Her voice was cold enough to pierce bone, filled with unprecedented anger and a trace of deep disappointment.
Ye Chen froze from the blow, his cheek burning with pain. He stared at Gu Siqing in disbelief. This woman, whom he had always regarded as his possession, someone who should obey him without question, had just… struck him for another man.
Humiliation and fury erupted inside him like a volcano, drowning out reason. Something deep within stopped him from raising a hand against Gu Siqing. Instead, all that rage sought another outlet—the man sitting calmly before him.
“I’ll kill you!” Ye Chen roared, his voice raw with rage.
He swung a massive, inner-force-infused fist at Qin Xiao’s face, the blow carrying enough power to tear through the air.
Qin Xiao remained seated, not moving an inch. His eyes lifted to watch the rapidly approaching fist, a faint, detached smile on his face.
She hits you and you hit me? This Dragon King’s logic really isn’t something a normal person can understand.
[Ding! Detected that the Host is facing a direct physical threat. Emergency system refresh activated!]
[Option 1: Silver · Handyman Inventor System (Create an impressive-looking but useless defensive device?)]
[Option 2: Gold · Invincible Mouth Cannon System (Try to calm the enraged Dragon King with words? Don’t kid yourself!)]
[Option 3: Silver · Out-of-Control Odor Field (Cause the target to uncontrollably emit an intense and random odor for a short time?)]
Qin Xiao’s gaze lingered on the third option for only 0.01 seconds before making his choice without hesitation. This is it.
Ye Chen’s fist, full of killing intent, was about to smash into Qin Xiao’s face.
“Pffft—!”
A loud, explosive fart suddenly burst from Ye Chen’s crotch without warning, loud enough to drown out all the restaurant’s noise, its sound carrying strangely far.
Time seemed to freeze. Every movement stopped. Every gaze—whether shocked, curious, or horrified—locked onto Ye Chen, whose body had gone rigid mid-punch.
Ye Chen was dumbstruck. His fist hovered less than a centimeter from Qin Xiao’s nose, unable to move further. His expression shifted from rage to shock, then to utter disbelief.
He… had just farted? At a time like this? And that loud?
Before he could recover, “Pffft! Pffft! Pffft!”—a rapid, deafening barrage of farts erupted, sounding like a failing tractor engine mixed with a machine gun. Each one was louder than the last, the rhythm relentless, with a disturbing wet and sticky quality.
Along with the sounds came an overpowering stench, thick enough to suffocate, as if sulfur, rotten eggs, swamp gas, and something indescribable had been blended together. It spread rapidly in all directions, centered on Ye Chen, like the deadliest biological weapon.
The restaurant erupted in retching and shouting.
“What the hell is that smell?!”
“Ugh! I’m gonna be sick!”
“Open the windows! Ventilate! I’m dying here!”
“Security! Where’s the security?!”
Within seconds, Ye Chen’s face went from flushed red to pale white, then to a dark, ashen blue, before finally settling into a mortified purple. He could feel an uncontrollable, scorching hot flood surging from behind, unstoppable.
It was over. He had… soiled himself in public.
His body stiffened like stone, his mind blank except for the crushing shame and rage. He could feel the back of his expensive custom-made trousers becoming sticky, hot, and heavy at alarming speed.
Around him, every gaze was a mix of horror, disgust, contempt, and strange pity.
No longer caring about Qin Xiao or his pride, Ye Chen let out a despairing scream, clamped his legs together, and waddled awkwardly toward the restaurant’s entrance like a penguin, stumbling and staggering in a desperate escape.
He moved fast, almost crawling, as if chased by countless vengeful spirits dragging him into the hell of humiliation. The vile stench lingered behind him like a shameful mark, leaving an invisible but undeniable trail.
The restaurant fell into a strange, heavy silence, the nauseating odor stubbornly clinging to the air, a lingering reminder of the outrageous scene just moments ago.
Gu Siqing stared, stunned, at Ye Chen’s fleeing figure, unable to react for a long time. She turned her head toward Qin Xiao, who had sat there the entire time with a calm expression, leisurely picking up a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth.
Her gaze grew increasingly complicated…