"And the one in your arms, you two seem to have a good relationship, and she looks pretty decent. Chou Wen, is this little girl your type?" Zuo Jun initially aimed his harsh words at Lin Mengyao, but was distracted by Yu Xia, who sneezed.
Yu Xia’s presence wasn’t very noticeable to begin with. If she hadn’t sneezed, perhaps no one would have paid attention to her.
Chou Wen was originally standing still, watching his friend flaunt, but hearing his friend’s words, he couldn’t help but step forward, shifting his gaze onto Yu Xia. At first glance, he was captivated by Yu Xia. He didn’t like women with an aggressive appearance, much preferring those who seemed gentle and innocent. Yu Xia, looking delicate and lovely, was simply perfect. Her clean and fragile aura easily stimulated Chou Wen’s desire to exert power, making him unable to tear his gaze away.
"What’s your name? I like you. I want you to be my woman." Chou Wen slightly raised his chin, looking at Yu Xia, and said.
Yu Xia’s immune system was weak to begin with. Having been caught in the rain and standing outside for this long being exposed to the wind, she had developed a fever. Her blurry eyes were reddened with tears and glowing, and at the moment she looked at Chou Wen upon hearing his voice, he swallowed hard, his heart feeling as if it was being tickled by a cat.
"Do you want to be with me? I’ll let you live in a big house, wear beautiful clothes, drive the best sports car, and eat the finest foods," Chou Wen continued.
"No, I want to go home. Sis, let’s go home," Yu Xia dazedly glanced at Chou Wen, then softly tugged on Lin Mengyao’s arm and said, her warm breath blowing directly onto Lin Mengyao’s neck, causing Lin Mengyao’s expression to suddenly shift.
"Xiaxia has a fever, we need to find a doctor," Lin Mengyao said, turning her head to Xu Ke.
"Let’s go," Xu Ke said, not wanting to waste more words with these two idiots. After all, this island is only so big; they’d run into each other sooner or later. They could deal with them whenever they wanted.
Previously, Zuo Jun prevented Xu Ke from leaving. This time, both Zuo Jun and Chou Wen stopped him.
"You can’t take her. Hand her over to me, and I’ll take her to find a doctor," Chou Wen said.
"I’m not in the mood to watch you play dumb. Get out of my way before I lose my temper," Xu Ke said with a grim face.
"Give her to me today, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, none of you will leave," Chou Wen’s expression also turned sour, "No one has ever refused me."
"Is that so? Well, now there’s someone," Zhong Boyu’s voice came from afar, his figure growing from small to large in the blink of an eye until he stood before everyone.
"You have quite the guts to flaunt on my turf," Zhong Boyu said, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness as he recognized the person speaking recklessly.
"It’s not like that, we didn’t mean it, Zhong, is there some misunderstanding?" Zuo Jun said, looking anxious as he noticed Zhong Boyu’s displeasure. He had only come to rub shoulders with someone influential; offending Zhong Boyu could really ruin his chances in the industry, so his expression was full of ingratiation.
"What did I misunderstand? I saw you showing off in front of my friends on my turf. Are you implying that my eyes have issues?" Zhong Boyu’s lips curled into a faint smile, the chill in his eyes seemingly sharp enough to pierce through.
"Zhong’s... friend?" Chou Wen slowly shifted his eyes to Xu Ke, noticing Xu Ke’s clothes were drenched with leaves sticking to him, mud splattered around his feet, and mud spots even on his clothes. He felt he had overthought. Just as he was about to joke that Zhong was kidding, he saw the person they had been mocking greet Zhong Boyu.
"Xiaxia has a fever, we need to take her back quickly. Could you please find a doctor to come quickly? These two flies blocked us for ages, it’s up to you to handle them," Xu Ke said lightly, glancing at the two with infinite coldness, as if they had fallen into an icehole in the depths of winter, causing Chou Wen to break out in a cold sweat.
"Alright, leave it to me. Take her back," Zhong Boyu said, brushing Yu Xia’s forehead, frowning slightly, "She does have quite a high fever. Take her to my place, and I’ll have my personal doctor check on her. You can rest there for a while," Zhong Boyu said.
Xu Ke didn’t stand on ceremony with Zhong Boyu, nodded and led everyone away.
Zhong Boyu watched Xu Ke and group leave, before turning his attention to Chou Wen and Zuo Jun.
"You’re not welcome on my island. I don’t care how you do it, but leave within an hour, or I’ll feed you to the sharks," Zhong Boyu said with a twisted smile, making one feel a chill in their bones.
Upon hearing Zhong Boyu’s eviction order, Zuo Jun’s face froze, as did his expression. Feeling awkward, he glanced at Zhong Boyu, then Chou Wen. Chou Wen, who was being watched, wore a stiff expression, anger flaring in his eyes.
"Zhong, is this how you treat your partners? Your attitude makes me reconsider continuing our collaboration," Chou Wen said with a grim face.
"Such a mere trivial business, do you intend to use it to threaten me? You truly underestimate me, Zhong Boyu. Your little assets barely warrant my notice," Zhong Boyu’s face showed ridicule.
This expression was like an invisible slap across Chou Wen’s face—a loud mockery, as if to him, the things you care about were less than nothing.
Chou Wen’s face turned ashen with a blush, looking utterly enraged.
"Zhong, just for some insignificant live-in son-in-law, you said this. Isn’t it over the top?" Chou Wen said with a grim face, biting his molars.
"A live-in son-in-law?" Zhong Boyu raised an eyebrow, his expression turning playful, "You say he’s a live-in son-in-law? Are you joking? Does he need to be a live-in son-in-law? Do you know who he is? The head of the Xu Family in Shangjing. Half of China’s business belongs to the Xu Family. Your assets don’t even qualify to fill his teeth. You call such a person a live-in son-in-law? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard,"
Zhong Boyu laughed heartily at their words, even shedding tears, "This is the funniest joke I’ve heard this year, without a doubt," Zhong Boyu said, wiping tears from his eyes with his thumb.