Chapter 21: Protection VS Threat — “You belong to me”
A figure in a white suit, shimmering like it was draped in moonlight, crashed into Lu Xunye’s line of sight. The warm yellow light from the crystal chandelier overhead hit his hair, looking incredibly gentle.
“You!”
Zhou Jie stared in shock at Shen Yunqian, who had suddenly intervened to cause trouble. Unable to stop her momentum and wearing sky-high heels, she was forced to stumble a step and was supported by a wealthy lady next to her.
Shen Yunqian turned his hand over, looking at the bloody scratch left on the back of his hand by her long nail.
The skin around the wound reddened and stung. He frowned, and just as he was about to lower his hand, Lu Xunye grabbed his wrist.
Lu Xunye looked at the mark left on the back of this hand, which was as beautiful as a work of art, and his gaze darkened. At that moment, a voice sounded.
“You said it yourself, we are friends.”
Lu Xunye looked up to meet Shen Yunqian’s earnest eyes, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Mhm.”
Then, he reached for a string behind his head. Just as he was about to pull it, Shen Yunqian grabbed his arm, his eyes full of disapproval.
“It’s fine,” Lu Xunye said airily.
In reality, he didn’t want to take it off at all. Damn system! Crappy mission!
Putting aside the urge to curse, Lu Xunye took off the mask. His gaze then shifted to Zhou Jie, and he slowly walked toward her.
“What are you doing?” Zhou Jie looked at him warily, sensing that this man was different from the submissive illegitimate son from before.
Having been in a high position for so long, how could she tolerate such an uncontrollable threat now? She grabbed a red wine bottle from the table beside her and smashed it toward Lu Xunye.
Lu Xunye snatched the bottle from her hand, lowered his eyes, rotated his wrist to weigh it, and then glanced at Zhou Jie.
While Zhou Jie was caught off guard, he flung his hand and smashed the wine bottle hard at her feet.
“Ah—”
Instantly, wine splashed everywhere, the bottle shattered, and people cried out in alarm, backing away.
Zhou Jie was already stunned by the sudden commotion, and Lu Xunye’s behavior was a world away from before.
All the things she had done to the original owner in the past resurfaced silently in her heart, one by one.
At this moment, Lu Xunye’s face was splattered with red wine, looking like an evil spirit that had possessed a body and thirsted for blood.
Under the “evil spirit’s” step-by-step advance, Zhou Jie retreated with a pale face, her slender high heel stepping on a dark green bottle shard.
The glass shard was slippery, and her heel slid off. Zhou Jie twisted her ankle and fell onto the floor, surrounded by glass fragments. Her expensive gown was also stained red by the wine.
“Ah—!”
This time, no one helped her. She fell hard, her hands supporting her body on the ground as she scooted backward, watching Lu Xunye get closer and closer.
“Lu Xunye, don’t do anything rash,” Shen Yunqian said, realizing the situation wasn’t right, and tried to stop him.
Lu Xunye squatted down, leaning close to Zhou Jie’s ear, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Years of flattery from others have really made Grandma forget what methods you used to enter the Lu family in the first place.”
His voice grew lower. “You think entering the Lu family means you can rest easy? Whether Little Uncle is Grandpa’s biological son or not, Grandma, you know better than anyone.”
“Grandpa values bloodline immensely. You also know that better than anyone… Do I need to say more?”
“You…” Zhou Jie’s eyes reflected Lu Xunye’s handsome face and the crimson wine trickling down it.
The rich aroma of wine drifted into her nose but turned into the smell of腥 foul blood. Her eyes filled with terror, and her voice trembled. “H-How do you know? Who told you?”
Hearing what he wanted to hear, Lu Xunye’s gloomy expression instantly became pleasant. “Grandma told me.”
“You.” Zhou Jie suddenly realized, her well-maintained, moist skin contorting, wrinkles appearing as she snarled, “You tricked me!”
“Not anymore.” Lu Xunye raised his phone, which was showing the recording interface, and turned the camera so she could see her current ugly state clearly.
He continued nonchalantly, “If Grandma insists on causing trouble for me, I can threaten you now.”
Zhou Jie choked. “…”
Lu Xunye scoffed coldly, stood up, and wiped the wine off his face with the back of his hand.
The system asked from the side: 【How did the Host know? Aren’t you afraid she’ll fly into a rage out of shame?】
【That’s why I recorded evidence, right?】 Lu Xunye uploaded the video recorded by the phone to the cloud. 【Did you record the panoramic view like I asked? Did you capture my grandma’s expression completely?】
The system was proud: 【Recorded, recorded! Don’t worry about my work.】
Lu Xunye’s mouth twitched. He didn’t speak again, but criticized inwardly: I’m definitely worried about your work.
【But I still don’t understand. Why did the Host bluff her? Even the original novel didn’t describe this matter. How did the Host know?】
Lu Xunye had a headache. 【Read more books, will you?】
System: 【?】
Lu Xunye, who was spirited just a moment ago, walked up to Shen Yunqian, slumped his shoulders, and yawned. “I’m a bit sleepy. Let’s go back to sleep.”
Shen Yunqian looked at his sleepy eyes. “…”
Bang—
The closed doors of the banquet hall were suddenly slammed open, and a group of people in security uniforms rushed in.
A group of strong, burly men, each holding batons and stun batons—some even ridiculously holding riot shields.
“Does your Dihua Hotel still want to operate in Haicheng?! The security measures are so terrible, letting unrelated people in to cause trouble. Why haven’t you kicked them out and called the police to arrest them?”
The one speaking was Shen Qizhao, who had disappeared earlier.
The guests also recovered from their shock and began to discuss animatedly.
Qin Zhuoyu raised an eyebrow at Shen Yunqian, wearing an expression of watching a show. “Played yourself, didn’t you? As long as you kneel down and beg this Young Master, be my lackey, this Young Master will reluctantly help you once.”
Seeing the security guards surrounding them, Lu Xunye leaned back, resting half his body weight on Shen Yunqian. “Scared?”
Shen Yunqian’s tone was flat. “They wouldn’t dare.”
Before Lu Xunye could understand the meaning of this sentence, Shen Yunqian moved his shoulder and turned sideways.
Losing his support, Lu Xunye stumbled half a step, holding onto a table to steady himself. “Hey! What’s your problem?!”
Seeing Shen Yunqian walking towards him, Qin Zhuoyu lifted his face high, looking like an arrogant dandy. “Smart move.”
The next second, his expression changed drastically. Shen Yunqian looked straight ahead and walked right over his feet. “…”
Qin Zhuoyu’s brain went blank. He stared blankly for two seconds, then Lu Xunye also stepped on his feet, seemingly ignoring his existence. “Damn, you two are asking for death!”
Burning with rage, he strode forward to fight.
Lu Xunye waved him away in annoyance. “Tsk, go play somewhere else.”
Then he reached out one hand, grabbed the back of Shen Yunqian’s clothes, and pulled him back. “With your small physique, can you win a fight?”
Shen Yunqian: “Did I say I was going to fight?”
Lu Xunye had thought about fighting his way out, but they were outnumbered, and Shen Yunqian was as useless as… well, something useless. Thinking about it, better forget it.
Shen Yunqian looked at Lu Xunye, who hadn’t listened at all and was still spacing out, completely speechless.
But Lu Xunye suddenly looked up, tilting his head to see Zhou Jie climbing up from the ground.
Their eyes met. Lu Xunye looked at her livid, embarrassed face, his tone pitiful. “Grandma won’t watch her grandson get bullied, right?”
Zhou Jie gritted her teeth. “Just you wait.”
Lu Xunye pretended not to understand. “That’s true too. If Grandma doesn’t want to be the matriarch of the Lu family, naturally she won’t be my grandma anymore.”
He swiped his phone nonchalantly. “Oh my, I haven’t deleted Grandpa’s phone number yet. Do you think he’s asleep or handling official business right now? Should I call to offer my greetings?”
Zhou Jie ground her back molars to dust. She came here because she heard Mrs. Wen’s close friend, Mrs. Fang, would be here. She wanted to use her mouth to ruin the reputation of the Zhou family’s second son, intentionally or unintentionally.
Let her sow discord between the Zhou and Wen families in front of Mrs. Wen, so as to ruin the marriage alliance between the two families.
She knew clearly that the purpose of that old immortal in her family arranging the marriage between the second son and the Wen family was so that the Zhou family inheritance could only go to his son.
So Zhou Jie didn’t bring bodyguards, nor did she let the driver follow. She didn’t expect to run into her nemesis, Lu Xunye.
Back when Lu Xunye was kicked out, she had told people to act discreetly, but unexpectedly, they were stopped by people from the Feng family.
However, seeing that old man Lu didn’t care about Lu Xunye either, she relaxed a bit, treating him as if he were already dead, not an eyesore in front of her.
Unexpectedly, the once shrinking and cowardly person actually dared to threaten her and embarrass her in public.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jie’s gaze became vicious. This person absolutely could not be kept.
“So, how’s the consideration going?” Lu Xunye had seen countless people, plus Zhou Jie wasn’t deliberately hiding it; he could tell what she was thinking at a glance.
Probably plotting how to kill him after returning.
Zhou Jie’s nails dug into her palm, almost drawing blood, transferring all her anger to Shen Qizhao.
“Didn’t you hear he’s a member of the Lu family?! Is the Lu family someone you can offend? Embarrassing yourself, why aren’t you making people leave!”
Shen Qizhao’s smug smile froze on his face, and he panicked. “You, didn’t you say he was an illegitimate son who was kicked out? How, how…”
“My grandma is getting old; what’s wrong with her liking to make jokes? Just because she’s being insensible, are you going to be insensible too?”
Lu Xunye’s palm landed heavily on Shen Qizhao’s shoulder, as if landing on his heart, full of deterrent force.
So much so that Shen Qizhao had only one thought in his mind: the Lu family must not be offended.
He turned urgently and ordered, “Why aren’t you getting out immediately!”
The security captain’s gaze swept over Shen Qizhao’s ugly face as he shouted orders, gave Shen Yunqian a meaningful look, then told everyone to put away their weapons and withdraw.
Lu Xunye turned his head to see Shen Yunqian still had the leisure to drink tea. Belatedly realizing his mouth was a bit dry, he snatched it and downed it in one gulp.
Just as he swallowed, Lu Xunye’s brow immediately furrowed, and he said with disgust, “Pah, tastes terrible.”
Shen Yunqian looked at his empty hand. “Can’t you pour it yourself?”
Lu Xunye hummed, “None of your business.”
The group about to leave happened to bump into two people coming in from outside.
The man was in a suit and leather shoes, with a refined temperament. The rolled-up document in his hand tapped nonchalantly against his other hand, his clear voice playful.
“So lively?”
He wore a mask on his face, obscuring his features, but Si Jinyan was following by his side.
The people in the hall were all shrewd. Seeing Si Jinyan treating this person with respect, they knew this was another master not to be trifled with.
“President Su.”
The security captain, who had aggressively led the charge in just now, nodded and addressed him respectfully, making others suspect he was the boss behind this hotel.
The captain stepped forward and whispered a few words to the man. The man waved his hand, and the dark crowd immediately exited the door, further confirming his identity as the boss.
He nodded to Si Jinyan. “President Si, happy cooperation. Excuse me first.”
Si Jinyan expressed understanding. After the man left, he looked towards the distance, frowning unhappily at Shen Yunqian, who hadn’t spared him a glance from beginning to end.
Seeing Lu Xunye chatting and laughing beside the youth, the atmosphere between the two so harmonious—it was something he had never experienced.
Somehow, Si Jinyan’s heart felt a brief pang of pain, but he didn’t take it to heart.
Soon, Si Jinyan was distracted by a sudden phone call. A rare mix of tension and worry appeared on his face. “Follow him, don’t let anything happen to him.”
On the other side, the man walked over and extended his hand. “Hello, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Xunye shook his hand in confusion. “Hello?”
He also vaguely guessed the man’s identity. He’s not here to settle accounts with me, is he?
“Mr. Lu, no need to worry. I just find you interesting and want to make friends with you.” The man smiled kindly.
Shen Yunqian’s gaze shifted between the two. The man seemed to notice him only then. “Mr. Shen, long time no see.”
Under Lu Xunye’s curious gaze, Shen Yunqian took the hand offered by the man. Compared to the other’s familiarity, his attitude was much more distant. “Hello.”
“Why so polite? After all, you will be my person from now on; naturally, I should treat you better.”
As the man said this, Lu Xunye’s eyes suddenly widened, unaware of the secret contest of strength in the clasped hands.
Shen Yunqian met the eyes under the mask, the corners of his lips hooking up slightly. “Is that so?”
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