Chapter 58: We Will Hunt You Down

"Uncle! The money has arrived, thirty million each from President Qian and President Chen."
Yang Fan was feeling troubled...
"And those ten paintings have also been sold; I have the money with me."
"Good, you can start the acquisition now. Hold onto the rest of the money for the time being."
"I've looked at a few companies—do you want to choose one?" Liu Haoyu handed him a sheet of paper.
"No need, you decide. Handle whatever you can manage yourself."
"Alright." Liu Haoyu knew well that Uncle Yang Fan had always given him authority, and many hidden matters involved his own participation.

Next door, Wu Qian's office was equally spacious. Both women were now intimately connected to Yang Fan; to be honest, the two had plenty to talk about.
Wu Qian even opened her bedroom door to show Xia Yufei, who was stunned by the sheer luxury of it.

At eleven in the morning, Li Susu and four others came upstairs. They wanted to try livestreaming, just for fun, and Yang Fan let them do as they pleased.

At eleven-thirty, Xu Tao called: Zhao Mengnan had succeeded in her audition, landing the third female lead in an online romance—an important role, and Yang Fan had read the script.
This drama was tailor-made for Xu Zihan, so of course Fanmei enjoyed certain privileges, and with Director Sun involved, arrangements were easily made.
These were the benefits of connections and resources; the other three members of Fanmei also passed their auditions, and Xu Tao and the others were on their way back.
Zhao Mengnan returned, but since the script wasn't finalized and some funding was still pending, there would be delays. This gave Zhao Mengnan time to think things over carefully.

The contracts were ready—one for the company, one for the drama. An eighty-thousand salary, a sum unimaginable for a student.
Yang Fan told her to take it home and consider carefully, and to reply after the eleventh.

After lunch, Lin Ruo sent them back.
Taking advantage of Lin Ruo's absence, Yang Fan had a chat with Zhao Jing.
Time was always squeezed in wherever possible!

Tian Ning Teachers College, Xia Yufei's dormitory.
"Mengnan, have you really decided?"
"Yes, I have. Honestly, you have no idea how powerful Fanmei is. Manager Xu brought us straight to the front of the line, and the fact that I passed the audition must be because President Yang and Manager Xu put in a word for me!"
"Yufei, thank your boyfriend for me."
"Isn't he your husband?" Xia Yufei joked.
"I wish your boyfriend would take an interest in me, but you haven't seen the two beauties who auditioned with me. I'm not exactly competitive!"

"That's right, Yufei, and those streamers—you really haven't seen them!" Li Susu chimed in.
"Even the most beautiful are working hard. If you don't, who will? Yufei, you don't need to work so hard."
"What nonsense! I'm not with him for the money," Xia Yufei retorted.
"Which is why you have to work hard, too, to beat the other women—especially Zhao Mengnan, who's always thinking about your boyfriend."

Downstairs at Fanmei Company, while Lin Ruo was still out, Yang Fan called Wu Qian to go to her place.
He only called Lin Ruo after seeing the marriage certificate, to report his whereabouts.
"Ai Xiaomei really got me into trouble! Don't tell anyone about this."
"Understood, President Yang," Wu Qian replied.
Though not a villa, it was an upscale apartment, fully equipped and spacious, with a large double bed in the bedroom.
"How is it living here?"
"It's fine, but it's a bit scary being alone," Wu Qian said.
"Scared? There aren't any wolves to eat you," Yang Fan laughed.

"Ding-dong, warning, warning: system scan, another ability user is intruding into this system, the family cannot absorb; voting begins now. If more than half of family members agree, absorption will proceed. Please vote."
"Ding-dong, this information has been sent to family members' consciousness, voting channel will open in five seconds."

The system warning came so suddenly that Yang Fan had no time to react, and Wu Qian was stunned. In Yang Fan's mind appeared a family list: in the confidante column, Xu Zihan voted against; in the spouse column, Lin Xi opposed; in the special column, Lin Ruo opposed. As Wu Qian remained stunned, Lin Ruo instantly appeared, teleported by a shifting talisman.
"Wu Qian, vote no."
Wu Qian immediately cast her vote; Xia Yufei, not knowing what was going on, missed her chance as the voting channel closed.
"Ding-dong, Zhao Jing does not meet the criteria for absorption, system has isolated her. To reinitiate absorption, please have the area maid open the voting channel."

Yang Fan's face darkened; he still hadn't fully reacted when another message sounded in his mind.
"Ding-dong, since Zhao Jing is isolated by the system, all system items related to her will become invalid."

"Lin Ruo, you all..." Yang Fan was on the verge of collapse.
"I told you she was dangerous. Now the system has warned us. Do you believe it now? With so many people here, if she invades the system, have you considered the consequences?"
"Of course, bringing her in wouldn't be difficult, but she'd need to prove to us she won't harm you!"
"Think it over. Wu Qian will stay with you. I know you're upset." Lin Ruo paused, then added, "I'll go protect her, is that good enough?"

Lin Ruo left immediately. Yang Fan was indeed in a foul mood, and Wu Qian patted him gently.
"President Yang, what exactly is going on?"
"It's nothing," Yang Fan said grimly.
"How about I show you something nice?"
"What?"
"Come with me!"

Wu Qian led Yang Fan into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and inside were several figurines she had sculpted of Yang Fan—made from a great deal of modeling clay.
But what caught Yang Fan's eye was something else in the wardrobe.
Wu Qian was still in her professional attire—a uniform, in fact!
...

All afternoon, he and Wu Qian stayed in that apartment, perhaps finding solace only in the release of emotion.
That evening, when Yang Fan returned home, Lin Ruo was not there. He called her and learned she was at Zhao Jing's place.
"Don't worry, I'm protecting her tonight. I'm not coming home. Go wherever you want!"
Yang Fan was speechless—she really went...

At Zhao Jing's residence, Lin Ruo was truly there. She always meant what she said.
For the man she loved, she was willing to protect even the woman she disliked—Zhao Jing.
"Tell me, what's your purpose in getting close to him?"
Zhao Jing smiled bitterly as she ate, shaking her head. "Lin Ruo, why are you so tense?"
"If you intend to harm him, I advise you to disappear from our lives. If you touch him, my sister and I will hunt you down, no matter who you are."
"I never wanted to hurt him. I simply love him. Unlike you—who loves him but won't admit it."
"Our business is none of yours!"