novelThree days return
| ← Ch.545 | Ch.547 → |
Having been harassed till past 2pm by a furious Miss Xiang the previous night, Xu Tingsheng's head throbbed a little as he woke up early the next morning. As Xiang Ning had laid her weight upon him as they slept, his limbs also hurt somewhat.
He had indeed been facing much more pressure than usual over this period of time. Adding on the exertions of running around, it had taken quite a toll on him despite his youthful age.
After breakfast, he drove Xiang Ning to Ye Qing's office at Yuanhang Corporation as previously agreed upon.
"For the next three days, you're to follow your Sis Qing. While she's working, you can read and do your homework at her office. After work, go home with her and stay at her house. Basically, you're simply to follow her around. If Tan Yao looks for her, tell him to get lost-say that I said it."
In front of Ye Qing, Xu Tingsheng pulled the seventeen-year-old Xiang Ning along and carefully instructed her like a seven-year-old. Ling Xiao had previously warned him to be careful in case someone fished in turbid waters and tried to target Xiang Ning. While he could not confirm the veracity of this, he was still worried about it.
Xiang Ning nodded obediently, displaying her attentiveness. She could tell from Xu Tingsheng's words that things were not right.
When Xu Tingsheng grabbed the doorknob, Xiang Ning said from behind him, "If you're going to fight again this time, remember to call some people along, and tell them not to be late like last time. My heart will ache again if you are beaten."
Xu Tingsheng said, "Relax, now that I've already swindled you to hand, I no longer have to deliberately make your heart ache. I'll never let anything happen to myself. I'll be back in three days."
After his departure, Xiang Ning asked Ye Qing, "What exactly is up this time? I've heard some people talking about it, my Mum and Dad included. It sounded very major, but it was not clear too."
Ye Qing thought about it and, feeling that there was no need for Xiang Ning to know, simply said, "I only know that this is related to Fang Yuqing's family. I'm not clear on the specifics."
"Could something happen to him then?" Xiang Ning looked nervously at Ye Qing.
"Of course not, " Ye Qing smiled and extended a hand to comfort her.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. Little Ning..."
"Yes?"
"I want to tell you that the Xu Tingsheng you see is actually one of a kind. Others will never see it. For you, he will buy groceries, cook, do laundry, act cute, pitiful, ruffian-ish, shameless, make you happy. He will be afraid of your parents because of you, receive a beating without daring to retaliate because of you... just like any ordinary, very good boyfriend."
"But you don't know that in the eyes of others, he's actually not just that... in the eyes of others, he's not easy to approach, he's never made a mistake, and others can't see through him. As some would have it, he's virtually a legend."
"I know. He's super awesome."
"He is. Maybe even more awesome than you think. Awesome to the point that whatever he does, others still believe that he will definitely succeed. Whatever he does, we all feel that there's definitely a good reason for it. Just like when we still didn't know about you, and he decided that that district would be called Ning Garden, with a Little Pert Waist being built, all seeing completion by July this year. We just listened to him, thinking that there must surely be some special considerations behind this."
"Only afterwards did we learn that he actually did all of it just to make you happy, as a joke with you and for you to attend school more conveniently. Little Ning, having you ever heard the story of the king who would 'light the beacon tower and fool the vassals', all to win a single smile?"
Xiang Ning nodded.
Ye Qing commented emotionally, "If not for how the ending is different, he's actually not far from King Zhouyou already."
Xiang Ning felt a bit bashful but could not stop a sweet smile from showing. Lighting the beacon tower and fooling the vassals... while this narrated an incompetent king failing his country, which woman did not wish to be treasured such? Wish to be viewed by that person who loved her... as more important than the world itself.
"Anyway, remember this. Unless they have no other choice, nobody is willing to provoke your man, Xu Tingsheng. He is awesome to the point that something whose end result was initially clear-cut becomes uncertain to everyone just because of his decision to participate in it alone."
"Oh. Yesterday, he was still bullied to half-death by me..."
"... Look at me, saying too much. Little Ning, what I said won't change the way you interact with him, right?"
"Nope. Anyway, when with me, he's mouse-timid dirty ruffian, Uncle Liar, mischievous without constant supervision... I'm not afraid of any Xishan Tower's Xu Tingsheng."
Ye Qing smiled and touched her forehead, "Really so blissful it makes one envious. You don't know how many women of very good birth in and outside of Yanzhou are envying you now."
Xiang Ning smiled and shook her head, "I don't want to know."
Looking at Xiang Ning's radiant smile, Ye Qing seemed to grasp a bit of the truth behind what everyone was puzzled about, why Xu Tingsheng liked this young girl opposite her.
"If it were any other woman who possessed Xu Tingsheng, could she be like this? All of it's so authentic, natural."
......
After leaving Ye Qing's place, Xu Tingsheng knew that he was not in the right state of mind to drive back to Libei. Because he would be back home for at least three days and he could not just borrow a driver from someone, Xu Tingsheng simply took a coach back to Libei for once.
As the coach reached the highway, sitting by the window, Xu Tingsheng spotted the side road where Ding Sen had once hired someone to collide with and kill him.
His heart suddenly tightened as he thought, "If someone wanted to kill me, now would be the best opportunity where the risk is lowest. People would naturally connect this to the Ling and Xiao families instead. Could there be someone like this?"
Scanning through a list of people in his head, Xu Tingsheng did not think of anyone who might find doing so necessary.
Meanwhile, in Shenghai, two people whom Xu Tingsheng had previously met but had no way of connecting to each other were sitting together. Ding Sen's elder brother of another mother, Ding Miao who had formerly colluded with Huang Yaming to kill his own younger brother, was saying exactly what was on Xu Tingsheng's mind.
"I have no need to kill Xu Tingsheng at all. Even if we have some conflicting interests in real estate, it's still not to that extent, " Ding Miao said to He Twenty-seven sitting opposite him.
He Twenty-seven smiled, "If you learnt that just so coincidentally, those two fools who worked under your schemes to kill your younger brother ended up returning to China and happened to work at a mine in Binzhou, and then were found by my people, which led to me finding out what probably really happened... would you still think there is no need for this?"
He recounted what he believed to be the entire account of this incident, which actually more or less matched with what had really happened.
"I heard that your father's nearly handed the entire family business to you. That stepmother of yours seems to be against it, and there seems to be something wrong with her head as she's always going around saying to everybody that she believes your brother's death is related to you... and those two people just happen to be in my hands."
He Twenty-seven was smiling brightly and warmly, but Ding Sen felt his hairs standing on end.
Ding Miao secretly wiped away the sweat on his forehead as he said with a severe look on his face, "Don't threaten me. I'm warning you, I only accept offers of cooperation, not threats. This matter being so risky, what's in it with me if I work together with you?"
"Firstly, let me correct you, " He Twenty-seven slowly drank a mouthful of wine. The risk... is not high. The current situation has given us the best opportunity. I wouldn't have chosen this method otherwise. I'd have used those two people to directly threaten Xu Tingsheng..."
"I'm guessing that it is because you're scared of him, right? You're scared of him, scared to the extent that you daren't go at it slowly with him and only dare to think of rendering him dead in a single go. Even then, you're afraid of doing it yourself. That's why you're looking for me. I would just have been another of those threatened by you, otherwise."
Having regained some of his calm, Ding Miao quickly made such an analysis which caused He Twenty-seven's evaluation of him to rise.
"That's exactly right. I don't want to go at it slowly with someone who's never made a misstep before. I want to quickly get it over with. I've always believed that those people in the movies who clearly had the upper hand but ultimately die because of too much trash talk deserve it utterly, " He Twenty-seven admitted frankly before saying, "You're very good. I like working together with smart people, and someone who could personally set up and kill his own brother at that. You are very much to my liking."
"Stop wasting my time. What's in it for me? If it's not enough, what's there stopping me from choosing to stand together with Xu Tingsheng and slowly play with you? That's Xu Tingsheng who's never once lost before, whereas you only have those two people, far from having enough evidence, " Ding Miao said.
"That's probably not what your Dad would think?"
"He only has me, a single son, left. As long as nothing ultimately happens to me, is it important what he thinks?... Don't you know of Li Yuan?"
"Alright. I'll speak about the benefits then. Benefits, benefits, " He Twenty-seven nodded a little maniacally as he said this a few times before cocking his neck and saying, "Those two people will be buried in the mines after they're used. Your stepmother will die. Does your Dad have to die? How about they die together. That way, you will be fully in charge of your family. Also... the projects in real estate. And... a mine, a mine in Binzhou. It's Huang Yaming's now; it'll be yours in the future. Also, what can be gained through Huang Yaming after Xu Tingsheng dies-I'll give you a portion of it."
"Huang Yaming... right, Huang Yaming. What about him? He knows about this incident too. He'll definitely be able to guess afterwards that it was me."
"He's in Binzhou now, at the height of his glory and too triumphant to consider what's happening back here. When Xu Tingsheng has been compromised, Huang Yaming will naturally fall under my control, and will finally... die."
"You're lying. From what I know, Xu Tingsheng is on very good terms with your Jin Twenty-four. Whereas you should not be a match for Jin Twenty-four."
"A good relationship? Haha..." He Twenty-seven suddenly burst into laughter, " This is the best joke I've heard all day. Do you know how many 'friends' Jin Twenty-four has gobbled up. Of all of us in Binzhou who can reach our extent, who truly speaks of relationships? All that's caught his eye now is Xu Tingsheng and what he can still bring to him. I guarantee that so long as Xu Tingsheng dies, he will definitely not care about what happens to Huang Yaming. Also, like us, he'll be in a rush to get even more out of this. Having more shared interests with Xu Tingsheng, perhaps he can even get more than we all do in the end. To be honest, if I weren't afraid of him gobbling me up, I'd be looking for him to work together this time."
Ding Miao calmed himself as best he could and pondered for a while before he looked up and said, "The most important question. Why do you so wish to see Xu Tingsheng dead? Profiting aside. Don't tell me it's only because of profiting."
"You're too smart. How hateful."
The tone He Twenty-seven suddenly switched to caused goosebumps to rise on Ding Miao's body, coquettish as it was.
"First, either I or Jin Twenty-four will definitely be gobbled up within the next few years. I don't want him to have a force like Xu Tingsheng assisting him. Second, I just purely... very much wish to render someone like this dead. A great reputation, a great personality, values relationships greatly, with many women sincerely head over heels for him... isn't everything just going too smoothly for him? Just how is it okay?! Third, there's this slut called Tongtong by his side. I want to play with her and then kill her. That slut was actually willing to be a lowly manager under him just because of this, can you believe that? She rejected me... she rejected me..."
Ding Miao did not speak, his body trembling slightly. He knew that this He Twenty-seven here was a madman... perverted. A true devil.
| ← Ch. 545 | Ch. 547 → |