The Wen brothers were driven to the brink of collapse by Lan Xi twice every three days. By now, Lan Xi was so used to hearing Wen Ming roar that he merely shuffled downstairs in his slippers.
The moment Young Master Cui saw him, he flew into an even greater rage. “That’s him! He stole my card!”
Lan Xi glanced at him. Young Master Cui’s head was covered in bruises; who knew whether he had gone home and gotten beaten up. So ugly. Lan Xi looked away.
All that shouting woke Wen Yue as well. He came downstairs in his pajamas with a dark expression. Unlike the furious Wen Ming, the first thing he asked was, “Did you check the surveillance footage?” The police officer said, “We retrieved it immediately. The footage does indeed show Wen Lan taking the wallet out of his pocket and taking his phone as well.” A vein throbbed on Wen Yue’s forehead, but he continued, “What good would taking those do? Without the PIN, how could he use the card?”
Young Master Cui sneered. “Who the hell knows how he got my PIN?”
Wen Yue decided this wasn’t going anywhere and rubbed his temple. “Let’s discuss it at the police station. Everyone who was there that day should come too, and we’ll get the whole story straight.” With that, he prepared to leave.
Lan Xi opened his mouth. “Breakfast.”
Wen Ming was so angry he almost laughed. “You’re still thinking about breakfast?” The moment the words left his mouth, something suddenly flashed through Wen Ming’s mind. He lowered his voice. “Don’t fucking tell me you went stealing because you didn’t have money to eat…”
Lan Xi gave him a lazy, deeply reproachful look.
Wen Ming cursed under his breath, “You really are something!” But after cursing him, he still had the maid hurry up and pack some bread and milk before the group headed to the police station.
Meanwhile, the club manager and the employees who had served them that day had arrived as well, along with several of those good-for-nothing friends. Fang Nianqing was among them too. The moment Wen Ming saw Fang Nianqing, his face darkened. He turned to Lan Xi. “Why is he here too?” Only then did Wen Yue learn that the incident had happened at the private club. He turned as well, his gaze gloomy. “You went to a club when you didn’t even have money?”
Lan Xi had just sucked the last of his milk dry. Hearing the brothers question him one after another, he crushed the carton in his hand, causing the little bit of milk that had refused to come out to suddenly splash around his mouth. Everyone stared at him, and for one strange moment, the room fell silent.
Then Fang Nianqing handed him a tissue and abruptly spoke up. “He followed me there. I work at that club.”
Naturally, this did nothing to appease Wen Yue. Instead, it gave him the urge to have another two pots of medicine brewed for Lan Xi.
But Fang Nianqing continued. “Yesterday, he was originally sitting alone in one of the booths waiting for me. They…” He pointed toward Young Master Cui’s group. “They were the ones who approached Wen Lan and started talking to him.” Sensing that something was wrong with the direction Fang Nianqing was taking, Young Master Cui immediately tried to interrupt. Wen Yue lifted his chin. “And then? Go on.”
“They mentioned someone called Mr. Fu. Wen Lan ignored them. Then they went on to ask when Wen Lan was finally going to take down his two brothers and seize the family fortune.”
At those words, both Wen Yue’s and Wen Ming’s faces clouded over.
Even the police officer beside them looked awkward.
Young Master Cui’s face went white with fright. “I didn’t say that! I never said that!” Wen Lan’s bunch of good-for-nothing friends might dare egg him on in private, but who among them would be suicidal enough to say something like that directly in front of the Wen brothers? The elder Mr. Wen had stepped back from active management several years ago, and his authority within the group was now far below that of his two sons. Wen Yue and Wen Ming might technically be of the same generation as Young Master Cui, but the pressure they exerted felt more like that of elders. After all, both of them could speak directly with Young Master Cui’s father on equal footing.
Fang Nianqing remained as cool and indifferent as ever, unmoved by anyone around him. “Wen Lan still ignored them. Then they ordered two rounds of champagne towers.”
Champagne towers were expensive. At a high-end club like that, a large one could even run to a million yuan. Anyone who frequented such places knew that.
“Wen Lan only tasted a few mouthfuls of alcohol before concentrating on the fruit platter. Everyone else got drunk. In the end, when it was time to settle the bill, they came to Wen Lan.” Fang Nianqing looked at one of the club employees. “What did you say at the time?”
The employee stammered, “I-I said Young Master Cui and the others had said that Young Master Wen was treating everyone that night.”
Wen Ming understood immediately. “No wonder you ordered so extravagantly. You were waiting until you were all drunk so you could trick Wen Lan into paying the bill?”
Young Master Cui’s face flushed red. Unable to face Wen Ming, he pointed at Fang Nianqing and cursed, “Are you fucking on Wen Lan’s side or something?”
Fang Nianqing countered, “Aren’t you the ones who are supposed to be his friends?” He paused. “Wen Lan and I… have a very bad relationship. I’m only here as a witness, so I have to tell the truth.”
Wen Yue spoke. “Call President Cui.”
Young Master Cui’s accusations instantly died in his throat.
He wasn’t like Wen Lan. However much of a bastard Wen Lan was, he was still a legitimate son of the family.
Young Master Cui was an illegitimate son.
And President Cui had plenty of illegitimate sons…
Breathing heavily, he began to regret coming to the Wen residence and making such a scene. He only dared mutter in his own defense, “But he really did steal my card…”
“He didn’t have a cent on him. If he didn’t take your card, how was he supposed to pay the bill? You gave him the PIN yourself.” By now, Wen Yue was clearly becoming protective of his own.
“I didn’t…” Young Master Cui still tried to argue.
But the club manager knew perfectly well which way the wind was blowing and immediately said, “He really did give it himself. Young Master Wen was worried he wouldn’t be able to settle the bill, so he went over and asked him, and he told him the PIN.”
“That’s impossible, I…” Young Master Cui’s face shifted between green and purple, badly distorted.
But Wen Ming was already calling his father.
Young Master Cui instantly shrank like a rooster that had lost a fight, hunching there without daring to say another word.
After Fang Nianqing had “finished testifying,” he discreetly watched Lan Xi for a reaction. Lan Xi looked like a complete outsider. He watched with great interest as Young Master Cui shouted himself hoarse, then watched with equal interest as Young Master Cui lowered his head. He wasn’t afraid of his two brothers getting angry, seemed to know absolutely nothing about law or morality, and still showed no embarrassment whatsoever over having searched someone else’s pockets.
Naturally, he also didn’t spare Fang Nianqing so much as half a grateful or excited glance for giving testimony in his favor.
He merely watched the drama while biting into a pork floss bun. His neat white teeth sank into it one bite at a time, and somehow even the way he ate looked pleasing. Perhaps this was simply how rich people were: after years steeped in the rules of high society, even eating became something pleasant to watch.
Realizing that dark thoughts were creeping into his mind again, Fang Nianqing closed his eyes briefly and suppressed them. He had also had dark thoughts in the past when Wen Lan harassed him, but those had been different. Back then, all he had wanted was to stomp that disgusting young master under his foot and kick him in the head. Why was it different now?
…
Before long, President Cui arrived.
The Wen brothers knew that Lan Xi still couldn’t speak very clearly, so they simply sent him away first. “Go home and wait.”
Lan Xi thought that sounded ominous. He didn’t think he had actually done anything wrong, but Wen Yue’s face practically had “I’m going to make you drink three bowls of medicine” written all over it.
When he walked out of the police station, he happened to stop on the steps outside at the same time as Fang Nianqing.
Only then did Lan Xi look at him.
A faint mark from the slap was still visible on Fang Nianqing’s face.
Lan Xi took the initiative to speak. “Taking card… wrong?”
Fang Nianqing had never imagined those would be the first words out of his mouth. He pulled his lips into a mocking smile. “…Does Young Master not understand the law?”
Lan Xi shook his head.
Fang Nianqing: “…” He said, “That’s theft.”
Lan Xi: “Big… mistake?”
“The amount was more than two hundred thousand yuan. The statutory sentence is three to ten years in prison.”
Lan Xi only half understood. Oh. So it really is serious.
Fine. Looks like I can’t casually claim spoils of war anymore.
Heaven has way too much bullshit.
In Hell, if he was capable of taking something, then it belonged to him.
Since it seemed rather serious… he couldn’t go home.
But if he went to school, he couldn’t understand the lessons.
Sigh. What a problem.
Watching the changes in Lan Xi’s expression, Fang Nianqing realized that he really was very different from the Wen Lan of the past. Unable to stop himself, Fang Nianqing asked, “Why do you talk so strangely now?”
“Strange?” Lan Xi glared at him unhappily. “I… learning… very hard.”
He was working this hard. What was strange about him?!
Scenes from various movies flashed through Fang Nianqing’s mind. “…Did you hit your head? Did you lose your language module?”
Lan Xi ignored him. He was thinking about where he could find another rich seraph. And whoever it was would also need to be willing to take him in.
Since there was a living person right beside him, Lan Xi asked, “Where… rich people live?”
“What?”
“Places… rich people… live,” Lan Xi managed haltingly.
“…Your house.”
“Besides my house.”
Fang Nianqing had no idea what he was trying to do, but still named a few places. “Xinghong Villa District in West City, the Wenyu River area…”
Lan Xi was satisfied.
Even Fang Nianqing looked more agreeable to him now. He was simply a little poor. Lan Xi genuinely couldn’t understand how a seraph had fallen into such poverty. Perhaps he had committed some grave offense and been expelled by the other seraphs?
Without saying anything, Lan Xi stepped closer and raised a hand to gently touch the side of Fang Nianqing’s face that he had slapped.
For a demon from Hell, this was practically the highest form of consolation.
The light touch left Fang Nianqing frozen where he stood.
Several layers of glass away, Wen Ming saw the scene as well and became so furious that he immediately rushed out to grab Lan Xi. But by the time he actually made it outside, Lan Xi was already gone, leaving only Fang Nianqing standing there.
Wen Ming looked Fang Nianqing over again, and a strange feeling arose inside him.
Why does this guy not look much like the one being relentlessly harassed?
Lan Xi knew how to ride the subway now, so he no longer needed to hoof it all the way to wherever he wanted to go.
With practiced ease, he relied on that face of his to coax another person on the subway into buying him a ticket, then headed straight for the so-called Xinghong Villa District.
He had summarized a rule for himself: the richer, more powerful, and higher-status someone was, the more likely they were to be a seraph.
So he squatted outside the villa district, where expensive-looking cars streamed in and out, and began scouting for candidates.
He knew nothing about luxury cars. Every time one drove out, he simply walked up and knocked on the window.
Meanwhile, after the Wen brothers finally finished dealing with everything at the police station, they didn’t even bother going to work. They headed straight home and waited to deal with Lan Xi.
But when they arrived, all that greeted them was an empty living room.
Unlike the day before, they waited until two in the morning and Lan Xi still didn’t come home.
…He was missing.
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