"Pfft."
Jiang Che chuckled, looking at Lin Yu's miserable state on his phone. It was truly a delight to the heart and mind.
"These two actually have some skills. Although their backgrounds and intelligence aren't exactly top-notch, they sure know how to mess with people!"
He decided to recruit these two as his underlings, small-time villains specifically tasked with pranking the chosen one of fortune!
"You did well. Keep messing with him, but I remind you, you still need to do some legitimate business."
Liu Tie's family was decent.
But Wang Zheng... his family had a bit of involvement in gray industries, like underground gambling dens and black-market boxing.
Luckily, they hadn't touched drugs. There was still a chance for them to go legit. Once you dabble in drugs... forget about going clean; you might as well just clean your neck and wait for the execution!
He was the big villain, sure, but he wasn't an idiot. He had heard that a few years ago, a grandmaster-level expert who had reached the peak of the Gānjìng stage was killed by a large-caliber anti-material sniper rifle for dealing drugs.
"Jiang Shao, our family is also trying to go legit. You can rest assured... our businesses are transitioning towards real estate," Wang Zheng said, his expression turning serious.
He had figured it out. Jiang Shao was planning to take him under his wing, not as a disposable pawn.
This realization almost moved him to tears of gratitude.
"Mmm... you guys handle it yourselves."
With that, Jiang Che ended the call.
But just as he hung up, his phone received a few messages.
"Ye Mengyao?"
Jiang Che was curious. What could Ye Mengyao be sending him?
Opening the chat history, Jiang Che's mouth twitched.
It was... a selfie of Ye Mengyao!!
The girl was wearing a thin, spaghetti-strap nightgown.
[Hehe, you're not allowed to show these photos to anyone else!]
Jiang Che: "......"
Damn!
Going dark makes you ten times stronger, huh? Ye Mengyao going dark... she's not just ten times stronger; she's a whole new level!
Honestly, who would have thought... the girl in the photo was actually the daughter of the Ye family?
[Jiang Che: Meh...]
On the other end of the phone, Ye Mengyao sat cross-legged on her bed, clutching her phone, her stubborn, beautiful eyes brimming with tears.
Who knew how much mental preparation she had gone through to send these photos to Jiang Che.
And all she got was a "meh"?
Unacceptable!
She was not okay with this!
[Ye Mengyao: Hmph, you liar!]
After sending that message, the girl huffed and tossed her phone onto the bed. But fearing she might miss a message from Jiang Che, she switched her phone to vibrate mode.
"You jerk, what exactly do you want from me~"
The girl pounded her pillow in frustration. The road to winning her man's heart was long and arduous!
At least she could feel that Jiang Che's feelings for her were different from before.
Although still dismissive, he was at least starting to look at her seriously!
...
As night fell.
In a building of Chrysanthemum Community.
"Qin Qiaoqiao!!!"
Wang Lili's shrill voice burst into Qin Qiaoqiao's bedroom.
Qin Qiaoqiao, who was doing her homework, trembled at the sound of her mother's voice. In her memory, her mother had never smiled at her, her voice always sharp and piercing.
"Mom... what's wrong?"
Wang Lili's face was almost contorted with anger.
She picked up a pair of men's shorts with a clothes hanger.
"Whose is this? How did men's clothing end up in our house? Your dad lives in the school staff dormitory! There are no men's clothes here!"
Wang Lili's words made Qin Qiaoqiao's face change. She stared blankly at the shorts in her mother's hand.
They belonged to Jiang Che!
It's over!
Completely over!
Qin Qiaoqiao's mind went blank. She had triple-checked, so why was there still a pair of Jiang Che's shorts left here?
"Mom, I don't know whose they are... I really don't!"
Qin Qiaoqiao firmly denied it.
Wang Lili sneered and pointed to the surveillance camera nearby.
"A few days ago, when I was on a business trip, the power in the house kept going out. Did you bring that man into the house?"
It seemed Wang Lili's intuition was spot-on.
"No... I really didn't."
But Wang Lili, being the domineering woman she was, wasn't about to listen to Qin Qiaoqiao. She walked up to the girl and rolled up her sleeves.
Qin Qiaoqiao's skin was too delicate; a light pinch left a red mark.
Fortunately, it had been over a week, and most of the previous marks had faded.
Wang Lili wasn't convinced and tried to tear open Qin Qiaoqiao's blouse for a closer look.
But the girl resisted fiercely.
"Wang Lili!!!" Qin Qiaoqiao was furious, calling out her mother's name.
Wang Lili froze, then erupted in anger, slapping her across the face.
Five distinct finger marks appeared on Qin Qiaoqiao's face.
"What did you call me??"
Qin Qiaoqiao covered her swollen cheek, tears streaming down her face.
Her eyes glared fiercely at her mother, wanting to say something... but she still didn't dare to speak.
"Mom, can you stop pushing me? You're going to drive me to death! I've been studying hard all my life, trying to be the good child you want, but you've never considered my feelings!"
Clearly, Qin Qiaoqiao's plea had no effect.
Wang Lili's rigid parenting was deeply ingrained. This kind of parent was not uncommon in Dragon Country; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many students committing suicide due to unbearable pressure every year.
"I'm doing this for your own good!"
Wang Lili shouted back.
Qin Qiaoqiao wiped her tears, not bothering to explain anymore.
"I really don't know whose shorts these are. You can beat me to death, but I still won't know."
Wang Lili was furious and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
"Heh..." Qin Qiaoqiao let out a bitter laugh.
Jiang Che... I can never be like you, rising up to fight back!
This was her mother. Although she mentally cursed her, calling her an old witch, she couldn't bring herself to truly confront Wang Lili.