Chapter Seventy-Nine: Speaking of Love

As for how the rest of the story would unfold—who the mastermind was, who sent the assassin—Zhuo Nan had no interest in finding out. At present, he was being interrogated at home by Wang Liru, Zhuo Wengang, Lan Qian, and Fu Xinxin.

"Nan Nan, tell us—how did you come to know those people?" Wang Liru stood opposite Zhuo Nan, questioning him sternly. Lan Qian had already explained the origins of Long Kun and Ghostman Chao to her, but Zhuo Nan’s story was that he met them in the detention center. Wang Liru, however, was not convinced, especially as such a big incident had just happened, leaving her uneasy.

“Dad, Mom, I really did meet them inside. They’re all friends of mine…” Zhuo Nan repeated his explanation over and over.

Wang Liru’s tone softened, her voice trembling with emotion. “Nan Nan, you’re the only son of the Zhuo family. If anything happens to you, how could your father and I ever face your departed grandparents…”

That remark made Zhuo Nan’s head ache terribly. Whenever something happened, Wang Liru would always bring up his grandparents—good or bad, she’d invoke their names. Zhuo Nan thought, “They’re resting peacefully below, but you keep mentioning them. If they ever really come back for a visit, the joke will be on us.”

He cast a pleading look at Zhuo Wengang, but Zhuo Wengang quickly turned his head away, implying: don’t look to me—I can’t help you with this.

Zhuo Nan sighed, “Mom, please rest assured. If anything happens, I’ll tell the family right away. Isn’t that enough?”

Having spoken so plainly, if Wang Liru continued to press, Zhuo Nan would have to send her off to bed. Luckily, Lan Qian spoke up at this moment: “Sister Liru, if Zhuo Nan says everything’s fine, then let’s believe him this once. If he’s hiding anything else from us, we’ll settle accounts with him then.”

Zhuo Nan gave Lan Qian a silent thumbs-up and raised his brows at her. Lan Qian caught his gesture and rolled her eyes in return. Wang Liru, of course, noticed the flirtation between the two. She sighed, then turned to Lan Qian and Fu Xinxin: “I’ve had enough. He’s your boyfriend now, you two deal with him. I’ll go make dinner…” With that, she turned and entered the kitchen.

Wang Liru’s words officially legalized the flirtation. Zhuo Wengang, being an elder, naturally couldn’t play the third wheel. He called out, “Lan Lan, come, Daddy will take you to the supermarket for some treats…”

At the mention of food, Zhuo Lanlan happily followed Zhuo Wengang out. Wang Liru closed the kitchen door, busying herself inside. The remaining space was left to Zhuo Nan and the two women. Zhuo Nan grinned mischievously at them. “Come on, let’s go have a threesome…”

Smack! “Threesome your head! You’re always thinking of nonsense…” Before Zhuo Nan could finish, Lan Qian slapped him on the head.

Zhuo Nan pretended to be in pain, leaning on Fu Xinxin’s shoulder pitifully. “Xinxin, it hurts, it really hurts…”

Fu Xinxin had no idea he was faking. She only heard the loud slap and felt uneasy. “Sister Lan, why did you hit him so hard?” She then turned to Zhuo Nan with concern. “Zhuo Nan, does it hurt? Let me rub it for you…”

Zhuo Nan immediately wrapped his arms around Fu Xinxin’s waist. “You’re the best, Xinxin…”

Lan Qian was torn between laughter and tears. “Xinxin… This guy is pretending, and you actually believe him… No wonder he managed to win you over.”

Fu Xinxin pouted in discontent. “I don’t care if he’s pretending or not. You still shouldn’t have hit him like that.”

Seeing Fu Xinxin’s earnest attitude, Lan Qian relented. “Alright, alright, I shouldn’t have hit him, okay?” Seeing the two hugging so intimately, Lan Qian felt jealous. Her competitive nature wouldn’t let her fall behind. She said to Fu Xinxin, “You’ve hugged him enough, now let me have a turn…”

Fu Xinxin shook her head, “No, if I let you hug him, you’ll hit him again and he might get hurt…”

“I won’t hit him. Let me hug him…”

“I won’t let you…”

“Let me…”

“No…”

“Let me…”

“…………………………”

A battle began, and Zhuo Nan was kicked aside. The two women glared at each other, neither willing to concede. Wang Liru peered through the kitchen door crack, watching the scene outside, and chuckled to herself: “Serves you right, for courting two girlfriends…”

But at dinner, everyone was stunned. Fu Xinxin picked up a piece of rib and placed it in Lan Qian’s bowl. “Sister, have some ribs… Don’t worry about getting fat.” Lan Qian smiled, accepted the ribs, then placed a piece of chicken in Fu Xinxin’s bowl. “Sister, have some chicken…” Lan Qian was clever, avoiding the word “bar” that might cause embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Nan was pitifully seated between the two women, but neither gave him any food. After dinner, Fu Xinxin left Zhuo Nan to Lan Qian, asking him to escort Lan Qian home, while she went back herself since she lived nearby. Thankfully, the news of that day was suppressed; otherwise, her father would surely discover her relationship with Zhuo Nan.

As the city lights began to twinkle, Zhuo Nan walked hand in hand with Lan Qian down the sidewalk. In this moment, Lan Qian had shed her policewoman’s sharpness and professionalism, leaning against Zhuo Nan like a gentle woman.

“Brother, who do you think wanted to kill Dongfang Zhiyi?”

Zhuo Nan smiled and shook his head. “Does it really matter to us who it was?”

“What matters then?” Lan Qian asked curiously.

Zhuo Nan stopped, looked at her affectionately, and said, “What matters is, if not for Dongfang Zhiyi’s incident, would we ever be together?”

His words struck straight into Lan Qian’s heart. She blushed, nodded shyly, and said, “I should really thank her. If not for her, I wouldn’t even know what I truly wanted. Brother, promise you’ll never leave me in this lifetime?”

Zhuo Nan gently touched her nose and replied tenderly, “Sister, in this life, in the next, and for all eternity, let’s always be together.”

Women are like water; Zhuo Nan’s words were like honey. When water meets honey, Lan Qian’s heart overflowed with sweetness, feeling as though she was the happiest woman in the world. She nodded vigorously at Zhuo Nan.

“Sister, shall I come over to your place tonight?” It was late, and Lan Qian knew exactly what Zhuo Nan was implying. Her cheeks flushed red, and she softly murmured an assent.

Zhuo Nan’s heart started to itch. The beauty before him should have long been his, but after so many twists and turns, he was finally about to savor her. Tonight, he would indulge himself. “Sister, should I buy some protection?”

Lan Qian shook her head. “No need, I’m safe.”

“Sister, then what are we waiting for? Let’s grab a cab and go home…” Zhuo Nan was practically out of control, grabbing Lan Qian’s hand to hail a taxi.

“What’s the rush, look at you. I’ve already agreed, it’s not like you’ll miss out…” As she spoke, Lan Qian’s voice grew softer and softer.

Zhuo Nan realized he had been too eager, and felt sheepish, laughing awkwardly. Lan Qian watched his silly expression and covered her mouth, laughing with irresistible charm, which made Zhuo Nan react instantly.

“Sister, I can’t take it anymore, let’s go home…” Zhuo Nan hurriedly pleaded… If there were a grove nearby, he’d drag Lan Qian in for immediate action.

“What’s the rush? I have something serious to discuss with you…” Lan Qian’s serious demeanor temporarily quelled Zhuo Nan’s restless heart.

Impatient, he said, “What is it? Tell me.”

“Brother, I think Dongfang Zhiyi seems to be interested in you…” Zhuo Nan thought it was something big, but it turned out to be jealousy. Facing a woman newly in love, if he handled this poorly, the prize could slip away. He quickly explained, “Sister, don’t overthink. I barely know her, just happened to save her twice.”

“Don’t try to fool me… The way that girl looks at you is off. I’m a woman, and my intuition is sharp,” Lan Qian said, displeased.

“Sister, what can I say to make you believe me? Really, there’s nothing between us…” Zhuo Nan shrugged.

“Fine, I’ll trust you this once. Second question: how did you know there was a sniper that day, and how did you react so quickly? I’ve always wanted to ask—do you know martial arts? Was that lightness skill?”

Zhuo Nan thought, “You’ve read too many martial arts novels. There’s no such thing as lightness skill, but I guess you could call it that. It’s just that when your muscles reach a certain strength, your explosive power, speed, and jumping ability all improve.”

“Sister, that’s lightness skill. When I was little, I found a secret martial arts manual and started training. I’ve never told anyone about it, so you must keep it a secret…” Zhuo Nan put on a mysterious air.

Lan Qian believed him at once. “Can you show me? I want to learn too…”

Zhuo Nan quickly shook his head. “Sister, only men can learn this martial art. If a woman tries, she’ll grow a beard in three years, and maybe something else in ten…”

Lan Qian wasn’t a fool. Zhuo Nan’s explanation could only trick a child. She protested, “Come on, you just don’t want me to learn. What’s the big deal?”

Zhuo Nan hurried to placate her. “Sister, it’s not that I don’t want you to learn. It’s just that training is really tough, as you know. Besides, now that I’m by your side, what do you have to worry about?”

“You’re so annoying…” Lan Qian feigned a pout.

Zhuo Nan continued, “Sister, I just don’t want you to suffer. If training made my beautiful sister tired, I’d feel terrible.”

“Sweet talker…” Lan Qian said, but her heart was full of sweetness.

After being fed a stream of sweet words, Lan Qian forgot all about Dongfang Zhiyi’s matter. Zhuo Nan took her hand and said, “Sister, let’s hurry and hail a cab home.” Lan Qian blushed and nodded…