Days passed by one by one, yet there was not even a shadow of Ren Cha. If System 222 hadn’t been continuously monitoring the situation, Shen Nanxian would have been tempted to let his guard down slightly.
Even so, he remained vigilant. Who knew what kind of dirty tricks that fellow was still plotting?
“Ring, ring!” Shen Nanxian’s phone rang, and the call was from Zhao Haitao.
“Hello, old Zhao.”
“Brother, are you free? Let’s invite a few friends over for dinner tonight and catch up.”
Back then, in order to make his identity in the small world feel natural, System 222 had specifically set up a few friends who spent most of their time abroad. Zhao Haitao was one of them.
“No time,” Shen Nanxian refused flatly. He was a man with a family now; running out frequently was out of the question.
“Oh come on, buddy, I just flew back from abroad and called you before I even had a chance to head home! Do me the favor and let’s get together!” Zhao Haitao’s tone was extremely earnest, showing no anger at Shen Nanxian’s cold words.
In the memories implanted by System 222, Shen Nanxian was simply such an aloof person.
“Alright,” Shen Nanxian ultimately agreed.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Nanxian let out a long sigh and went to find something for System 222 to do.
System 222 expressed its grievance in tears. Conjuring a character out of thin air naturally required filling out their interpersonal background, which naturally included friends. Knowing that his host was a cold-blooded person, it had deliberately avoided fabricating any family relationships.
“Darling, will you come with me to see some friends tonight?” Shen Nanxian walked over to the bed, lowering his head to kiss Liu Lanci on the forehead.
Liu Lanci shifted his body and asked, “What friends?”
Liu Lanci was actually quite happy inside. Having been with Shen Nanxian for so long, he was finally going to be introduced to his friends.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Shen Nanxian said with deliberate mystery.
After a brief intimate session, Shen Nanxian took Liu Lanci to meet Zhao Haitao for dinner that evening.
The dinner was held at a restaurant, and when Shen Nanxian arrived with Liu Lanci, Zhao Haitao and the others were already there.
“Yo, Nanxian, you’re finally here! You have to stick up for me. All of these guys brought their partners, and here I am sitting all alone looking so desolate!” Zhao Haitao complained with a pitiful expression.
Yet the very next second, Zhao Haitao’s composure cracked. Shen Nanxian was actually holding a young man’s hand. Obviously, he was the only single dog left at the table.
“Cough, cough, cough, you guys…” Zhao Haitao gave an awkward cough, pointing at Liu Lanci beside Shen Nanxian.
Shen Nanxian ignored Zhao Haitao, whereas Liu Lanci shyly hid in Shen Nanxian’s embrace.
“Shen Nanxian, you’re inhuman! You actually managed to get off the single market before me, there’s no justice in this!” Zhao Haitao accused angrily. This was pure torture, blatant showing off right in front of his eyes!
Too lazy to entertain this idiot, Shen Nanxian led Liu Lanci over to sit down.
Fuming with irritation, Zhao Haitao sat directly across from them. Unable to bear the feeling of being ignored any longer, he whipped out his phone and dialed his mother’s number to demand a matchmaking session.
The other people at the table felt they weren’t as close to Shen Nanxian and lacked Zhao Haitao’s thick skin, so they chose to remain silent and wait to see how the situation unfolded.
Liu Lanci looked nervously at Shen Nanxian, unsure how to react. It was his first time encountering such a scene.
“Hello, sister-in-law,” one of the young women took the lead to greet him.
Those words acted like a straw for a drowning man, and Liu Lanci hurriedly responded, “Hello, hello.”
Her boyfriend gave the girl a kick under the table and blinked at her, signaling her to mind her words and make sure she didn’t say anything wrong.
“Haha, sister-in-law is shy,” Zhao Haitao said as he hung up the phone with a laugh. That single sentence instantly eased the previously rigid atmosphere.
Liu Lanci stole a glance at Shen Nanxian, only to collide right into Shen Nanxian’s gentle gaze, causing him to pull away as if shocked by electricity while his heart pounded wildly.
The others pretended not to see, but inwardly they formed a rough estimation of Liu Lanci’s standing. With Zhao Haitao, this master mood-maker around, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.
After a few glasses of wine, Liu Lanci felt dizzy and unsteady on his feet. He quickly reached out to steady himself against the sofa, and Shen Nanxian smoothly pulled Liu Lanci into his arms.
Leaning against Shen Nanxian’s shoulder, Liu Lanci drifted off to sleep in a daze, obedient beyond belief.
Watching Liu Lanci’s sweet sleeping face, a curve formed at the corner of Shen Nanxian’s mouth.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Haitao asked, “Buddy, how on earth did you chase down your wife?”
“Not telling you,” Shen Nanxian replied coldly, wishing he could carry Liu Lanci home right this instant.
Zhao Haitao curled his lip. “Sigh, what’s wrong with teaching me? Such a miser.”
Without another word, Shen Nanxian scooped Liu Lanci up in his arms and left.
After they walked away, the group swarmed around Zhao Haitao, peppering him with questions. Zhao Haitao could only let out a helpless sigh. Did these people view him as a walking encyclopedia?
He truly regretted organizing this gathering. Everyone had wanted to meet Shen Nanxian, but once they saw him, they all clammed up. Now that people had left, they started coming after him. Annoying flies buzzing around in swarms, humming endlessly.
Shen Nanxian brought Liu Lanci down to the club’s parking garage where his car was parked, carrying him horizontally into the vehicle.
Tipsy and completely limp, Liu Lanci was gently laid down to rest comfortably by Shen Nanxian.
“Mmm.” Liu Lanci frowned and let out a soft groan.
Inhaling the subtle natural fragrance radiating from Liu Lanci, Shen Nanxian felt a stir of desire. Bending down, he breathed hot air against Liu Lanci’s ear and murmured, “Wife, we’re going home.”
With that, Shen Nanxian turned the ignition and started the car.
The headlights flickered on, illuminating the road ahead.
They hadn’t driven far before their path was blocked by several cars.
“Screech!” Shen Nanxian slammed on the brakes and peered forward. Four or five black Mercedes commercial vans were blocking the way ahead with all their doors flung open. Several burly men emerged from inside, each built like a tank with tattoos covering their arms and legs, looking fierce and menacing.
“Get out of the car!” one of the tough guys roared.
Calmly instructing System 222 to call the police, Shen Nanxian stepped out of the car alone, planning to use this bunch to warm up his muscles since they were disturbing his trip home to cuddle his wife.
Shen Nanxian’s leisurely and unbothered posture infuriated the thugs.
“Brothers, cripple him!”
“Damn it! How dare he look down on us.”
“Let’s go! Beat him to a pulp first.”
Swinging clubs and pipes, several of the big men charged at Shen Nanxian. Shen Nanxian sidestepped to evade the attack, then flashed instantly behind the thugs, throwing punches with both hands left and right. One punch per person, he knocked the group sprawling to the ground in the blink of an eye.
Squatting down, Shen Nanxian hauled one of the thugs up by his collar and said coldly, “Speak! Why did you block my way?”
“We, we…” the thug stammered.
“Not talking, are you?” Shen Nanxian flashed a sinister smile.
“Bang!” With a knee strike to the stomach, the man let out a muffled groan and doubled over, howling in pain.
The group of thugs proved tight-lipped, refusing to utter a single word about who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Yet even if they didn’t speak, Shen Nanxian knew who it was. Since these people didn’t want to play by the rules with him, he wouldn’t bother playing the righteous gentleman either.