Shen Zhehao's beaming smile froze solid. The color drained from his face, and his shadowed eyes filled with a brooding darkness.
"Heh, since when did Qingxue have a boyfriend?" he scoffed, glancing at Su Qingxue with a faint smile. "Qingxue, this isn't true, is it?"
However, Su Qingxue's face flushed red. She turned to Ye Fan and announced, "He is my fiancé, so I hope you'll stop harassing me from now on, Mr. Shen!"
At this, Shen Zhehao's face turned livid. He suppressed the rage in his heart and said with a chilling tone, "I see. Congratulations then, Miss Su. And as for this gentleman... we'll have to get better acquainted."
After shooting one last menacing glare at Ye Fan, Shen Zhehao turned and left.
Su Qingxue simply hummed in acknowledgment, rolled up the window, and started the car. As the car merged into the traffic on the main road, Su Qingxue glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ye Fan watching her with a peculiar expression.
"He's the son of the Shen Group," Su Qingxue explained. "He's been pursuing me."
"I can tell," Ye Fan replied.
Su Qingxue fell silent for a few seconds before adding softly, "But I don't like him. It's completely one-sided."
Ye Fan leaned back against the seat and shrugged, his face a placid mask of indifference. "Mm."
Though she was driving, Su Qingxue kept an eye on Ye Fan's reaction. For some reason, even though she only met this "husband" today, she finds herself caring about what he thinks. It wasn't her fault that her suitor showed up, but having Ye Fan see it still made her already complex feelings even more tangled. Her mood suddenly turned inexplicably somber…
The next day, Ye Fan dropped Su Qingxue off at Qingcheng International. Since he had no interest in corporate affairs, he headed straight for a bar. Back in the Western World, he would always have a drink to calm his nerves after a kill.
He ordered a brandy and had just started sipping it when a flamboyantly dressed woman approached him. Though the heavily made-up woman was somewhat attractive, Ye Fan could tell at a glance that she was a prostitute.
"Hey, handsome," she purred, "I'm so lonely. Can you buy me a drink?"
Ye Fan squinted and smiled. "I can't. This fine liquor is meant to be shared with a beauty, and you don't qualify."
The woman's expression faltered, but she quickly recovered with a coquettish smile. "You look like you have money, handsome. Don't tell me you can't afford to buy a girl one drink?"
"Just say what you want," Ye Fan said, shaking his head. These drinks were expensive, and besides, he'd just returned from the Western World penniless. Where would he get that kind of money? Even the cash for his current drink had been squeezed from his subordinate, Ghost Head. This one bottle of brandy cost over three thousand!
The woman chuckled. "Straight to the point, I like it. And drinking isn't my only talent; my other skills are quite exceptional, too. Interested?" She deliberately puffed out her chest and leaned closer to him.
"Looks good," Ye Fan remarked. "However, I'm a bit more selective than that."
"Hmph! Waste of my time!" the woman muttered, stalking off in a huff.
Ye Fan chuckled, amused. Finally, some peace and quiet.
At that moment, in a secluded corner not far away, a few punks with wild hairstyles and tattoos were watching him intently. One of them spoke. "Hey, Lv Mao, that kid looks loaded. Should we... pay him a visit later?"
"Mm. Look at that wimp," Lv Mao sneered, taking a puff from his cigar while sizing up Ye Fan. "Later, boys, we'll give him a warm welcome."
"All right, Lv Mao!" his underlings cheered. In their eyes, Ye Fan was just a fat sheep waiting to be fleeced.
After finishing his drink, Ye Fan left the bar to head back to the Purple Garden District. He hadn't taken more than a few steps before he sensed he was being followed. He just chuckled to himself and kept walking.
Soon enough, as he turned into an alley, four or five men stepped out to block his path. Lv Mao brandished a knife. "Kid, hand over everything valuable—your wallet, your bank card, and the PIN. Do it now, or don't blame us for what happens next."
Ye Fan just looked at them. "I don't have any money. What are you going to do?"
"Insolent brat! Get him!" Lv Mao roared. At his command, his lackeys swarmed forward.
Ye Fan couldn't help but chuckle. These thugs are really courting death, picking a fight with me. With a flick of his slender hand, he executed a perfect Grapple. In an instant, several of Lv Mao's men were sent flying, landing in a heap on the ground. Before they could even think to resist, they were all down and wailing in agony.
Lv Mao was shocked. He'd thought the young man would be an easy target, but he never expected him to be so skilled. He hadn't even seen what happened before his men were on the ground. Pulling a sharp knife from his pocket, he sneered at Ye Fan. "So you've had some training. Let's see if you're tougher than this blade."
"Is that so?" Ye Fan replied calmly.
Lv Mao lunged, the cold steel of his knife flashing toward Ye Fan. But Ye Fan didn't move an inch. With a simple flick of his fingers, he caught the blade, stopping it dead against his chest, completely immobilized.
Stunned, Lv Mao yanked on the knife with all his might, but a sudden, sharp pain erupted in his stomach. Ye Fan had kicked him, the force of the blow sending him to his knees. This guy is no pushover, he's a real martial artist! He took down all my men with one casual move. Just how strong is he?
Ye Fan slapped him across the face. Looking down at the man, he demanded, "Didn't you open your eyes and see who you were dealing with? You dare try to extort me?"
SMACK!
Another slap landed, making Lv Mao's scalp tingle.
Lv Mao scrambled to speak. "Boss, we were blind! We failed to recognize a great man like you! We swear we'll never offend you again!"
"What?" Ye Fan scoffed. "You think there's going to be a next time?"
"No, never! Absolutely not! Boss, we know we were wrong! Please, just let us go!" Lv Mao pleaded sullenly. He was a somewhat notorious figure in the neighborhood; he couldn't believe he was being brought so low by some random young man.
Ye Fan smiled. "I can let you go. But surely there should be some compensation, right?"
"Boss, how much do you want?" Lv Mao asked, resigned. He knew there was no getting out of this without paying up.
"One million," Ye Fan stated calmly. "Otherwise, I'll break all of your limbs and dismantle your little gang."
"Sir, I... I can't come up with a million right now!" Lv Mao stammered. After all, he was just a small-time gang leader; a million was far beyond his reach.
"How much do you have?" Ye Fan asked.
"Five hundred thousand!" Lv Mao said miserably.
"Transfer it," Ye Fan ordered with a cold laugh. "Don't try any tricks, or you'll regret it."
Lv Mao hurriedly made the transfer. My heart is breaking. Today was a complete disaster. Not only did I get my ass kicked, but I ended up paying him hundreds of thousands. This was a terrible, terrible deal.
Just as the painful transaction was complete and Lv Mao was about to leave, several black police cars screeched to a halt nearby. A number of officers jumped out and ran toward them.
Leading them was a tall, impressive female officer in a form-fitting black uniform. Her waist curved in a perfect arc, and her ample bust was truly startling. Her lovely features had a completely different air from Su Qingxue's. If Su Qingxue was an icy, beautiful CEO, this woman was a fiery, alluring policewoman, every bit as captivating.
"It's you!"
As Ye Fan and the beautiful officer's eyes met, they both exclaimed in unison. It was the same policewoman who had stopped and searched him at the airport.
The officer bit her lip, then looked sternly at Ye Fan and the gang members. "I have reason to suspect you of engaging in a public brawl. You're all coming with me to assist in the investigation." She had raced over as soon as she received the call from the bar.
"Beautiful officer, you've got it all wrong!" Ye Fan said quickly. "These guys are friends of mine. We were just having a friendly spar. No big deal, right?"
"That's right, we were just sparring!" Lv Mao and the others chimed in dejectedly. Sparring? We tried to rob him and got robbed instead! But facing a police officer, they had no choice but to play along.