Before Tang Zhiwu could even pull out her phone to check the message, a handsome guy sitting near the door stood up first.
His towering height of over six feet made Tang Zhiwu take a few steps back.
Seeing her reaction, Zhang Cheng smiled, looking a bit embarrassed, and said to Tang Zhiwu and the others at the entrance, “You’re here! Come in, come in.”
The large group blocking the aisle gradually dispersed.
The hotpot restaurant’s private room was spacious. Seeing their large party, the owner had thoughtfully arranged several tables together, allowing everyone to sit down at once.
With so many strangers around, Tang Zhiwu didn’t dare utter a peep. She obediently followed Ke Jiuyyao and sat close to her.
The seating arrangement was quite strategic—Tang Zhiwu ended up sitting among the girls, keeping a safe distance from the pack of eager wolves.
The male college students who were interested in her and had high hopes felt a wave of disappointment at the sight, but they were too shy to say anything and simply took their seats.
“I wasn’t sure about your preferences, so I took the liberty of ordering a split pot,” said the handsome guy who had stood up first, smiling at the girls on the other side and pointing to the pot in front of him.
Touched by his thoughtfulness, the history department’s “nuns” waved their hands in polite protest.
The bolder ones replied, “A split pot is perfect. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“Haha, you arrived just in time. We didn’t wait long.”
………
With this back-and-forth, the atmosphere at the table never grew cold. Everyone was a college student, and amid the laughter and chatter, the mood gradually warmed up.
As Tang Zhiwu was checking whether the broth had come to a boil, she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. Glancing sideways, she met the gaze of the handsome guy.
She didn’t think much of it, but to her surprise, the guy’s ears turned bright red with shyness. Still, he maintained eye contact and gave her a sweet smile.
“What do you think? What do you think? That’s Zhang Cheng, the captain of the university basketball team from the sports department,” Ke Jiuyyao leaned in close to Tang Zhiwu, her lips barely moving as she whispered the introduction.
Her eyes lingered on Tang Zhiwu’s face for a moment, searching for any hint of interest, but she found none.
“Just average.”
Tang Zhiwu withdrew her gaze from Zhang Cheng and turned her indifferent attention to Ke Jiuyyao beside her.
“What about the one sitting next to him?” Ke Jiuyyao persisted, lowering her voice again. “He plays badminton. The muscles on his arms make me drool.”
Prompted by her words, Tang Zhiwu glanced up briefly.
“Hmm, the muscles are indeed big,” she nodded slowly, agreeing with Ke Jiuyyao.
“Right? Right…”
Thinking she might have a chance this time, Ke Jiuyyao beamed and was about to press further when her troublesome friend spoke up again.
“But it’s just hotpot. No need to wear only a tank top. Clearly not a decent guy.”
Ke Jiuyyao: …
After a moment of speechlessness, Tang Zhiwu received a resentful glare from Ke Jiuyyao. She could only offer an awkward chuckle and unzip her bag. “I need to reply to a message.”
Knowing that Tang Zhiwu had recently been invited by her advisor to participate in a research project, Ke Jiuyyao didn’t bother her further. Instead, she turned her attention to teasing a cute young guy sitting across from her who played soccer.
Opening WeChat, Tang Zhiwu discovered that the person who had messaged her was actually the un-deletable stranger from noon.
Staring at this pinned conversation, Tang Zhiwu felt a flicker of humiliation.
As for this utterly ridiculous bug on WeChat, she decided she would file a complaint as soon as she got home tonight!
Irritably tapping the red notification dot, Tang Zhiwu read the message from the other side, and her anger instantly shot straight to the top of her head.
123456: 【And who are you? What kind of ghost or demon are you?】
The corner of Tang Zhiwu’s mouth twitched. She snorted coldly and clattered out eight large characters on the keyboard.
Tie Jun Sister: 【I am your father, ever-changing and elusive.】
Clicking delete again, it still wouldn’t go away. Frustrated, Tang Zhiwu stuffed her phone into her bag, dropped the meat brought by the server into the pot, and sat holding her chopsticks, blankly waiting for the food to cook.
Yan Residence
It was just entering the hour of You. Normally bustling and lively, the Yan Residence today was deathly silent.
The entire vast estate was tightly encircled by Embroidered Uniform Guards clad in flying fish uniforms, sealed so thoroughly that not even a fly could pass through.
From the outside, aside from the many additional Embroidered Uniform Guards and a diminished sense of everyday life, the Yan Residence appeared no different from usual.
But upon stepping across the threshold of the main gate, one’s eyes were met with a scene awash in crimson.
The rockery, the jade screen, the marble tiles—every surface was coated in red.
“Drip! Drip!”
Accompanied by the overwhelming scent of blood, the liquid hanging from the structures dripped onto the ground.
Lying in the pools of blood were densely packed men, and beside these corpses stood many Embroidered Uniform Guards, identical to those guarding outside the Yan Residence gates.
They held long blades in their hands, the edges sharp and gleaming coldly, the blades stained with gore from having just been used to kill.
Their expressions were indifferent; having taken lives, they showed not the slightest emotional fluctuation, as if they had merely completed an extremely simple, minor task.
Ashu pinched the corner of his own garment and, as a matter of routine, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his blade with the edge of his robe.
Only after the blade was returned to its sheath did he turn and stride toward Xu Ge, who was in the main hall of the Yan Residence.
The doors of the main hall were thrown wide open by the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The master of this estate, the always lofty and imperious Secretariat Director Yan Kaiji of the court, now knelt in the center of the hall, his clothes in tatters.
The official cap that should have been atop his head had rolled to his side at some point, and his long hair, streaked with black and white, was somewhat disheveled.
Yan Kaiji’s head was deeply bowed; it seemed he had completely lost the will to fight.
This old man, who had lived joyfully for most of his life, had finally lowered his head to the young man seated in the host’s position at the head of the hall.
“Lord Xu, this old official has only one request.” Knowing his death was imminent, Yan Kaiji’s aged, hoarse voice trembled as he forced the words from his throat,
“Spare my daughter. She is innocent. Whether you exile her to desolate lands to live as a rustic village woman, or banish her from the imperial city—anything is fine, as long as she is allowed to live freely.”
The love of parents for their child plans for their deep future.
Even if it meant exhausting what remained of his dignity, Yan Kaiji would strive to secure a plan for his daughter before his death.
“Heh.”
As his words fell, there was finally a stir of movement within the main hall.
From the seat of honor came only a soft, derisive chuckle.
Xu Ge, who had been sitting in his chair toying with a jade pendant, suddenly paused. He then took the paper and brush handed to him by Ashu and, without even lifting his eyes, retorted to this old fool who had made him unable to suppress a laugh,
“How do you intend to settle the account of you inciting the late emperor, in his twilight years, to slaughter my entire family?”
Upon hearing these words laden with chilling, murderous intent, the old man kneeling on the ground could no longer hold himself together and collapsed completely.