Chapter 14: Secretly Watched by Beauty

Lin Fan gave Xu Qiang’s shoulder a firm twist, saying nothing at all. He knew this was something Xu Qiang had to come to terms with himself; anything anyone else said would be meaningless. Thinking it over now, it truly made sense. Sometimes, Lin Fan felt he ought to thank the nation—for if they hadn’t willingly abandoned him years ago, he never would have had the chance to join Dragon Soul, nor gained so many brothers who had stood with him through life and death.

At some point, the two of them had drifted into sleep on the sofa, barely conscious. When morning came, Lin Fan awoke to find Xu Qiang already gone. Last night, Lin Fan had told Xu Qiang that since Hong Tianxiong was dead, he should take over the Soul Reaping Gang’s influence. In T City, the Soul Reaping Gang was only a second-rate organization, and given Xu Qiang’s popularity among the lower ranks, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Perhaps some would oppose him, but Lin Fan had given him four simple words: “Kill one to warn a hundred.” Though Xu Qiang hadn’t been involved in the underworld for years, he had spent enough time beside Hong Tianxiong to understand the principle.

Lin Fan shook his head helplessly, muttering, “That kid is still just like he was in the army.” Whenever Lin Fan assigned him a task during missions, Xu Qiang always completed it at the first opportunity. After all this time, his character hadn’t changed at all—whatever Lin Fan said, he would do, believing that with Lin Fan around, he would never suffer a loss, nor come to harm.

Dragon Soul was destined to expand into China, so every bit of progress mattered. Though Xu Qiang wasn’t a Dragon Soul member, he was a brother, so having him take charge of subduing the Soul Reaping Gang was ideal. It wasn’t that Lin Fan didn’t want to do it himself; he simply knew that if he took action, the authorities would soon learn he’d returned to China. Moreover, he’d just come back and was unfamiliar with T City’s affairs—whether in the underworld, government, or business, everything was foreign to him. After thinking it over last night, Lin Fan decided it was best for Xu Qiang to handle it, and if trouble arose, he could assist from the shadows. Besides, it would be a good trial for Xu Qiang.

He glanced at his watch, remembering he needed to visit Fei Fei later. Lin Fan plunged straight into the bathroom. That girl, upon hearing Lin Fan had returned, had abandoned her plans to study abroad and transferred to a renowned university in T City, majoring in economics and finance to prepare for taking over her parents’ business.

Humming a tune as he showered in cold water, Lin Fan felt that life was quite enjoyable at the moment. Just as he was about to get dressed, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open.

“Ah…! Pervert…!” A strange woman, seeing Lin Fan completely exposed, let out a loud scream.

At that hour, Lin Fan assumed nobody would be home, so he hadn’t bothered locking the door. The sudden appearance of a stranger—and a woman, at that—startled him thoroughly. Seeing her eyes lingering on certain parts of his body, Lin Fan felt a bit embarrassed and, pursing his lips, remarked, “Little sister, haven’t you seen enough? If not, I can step closer so you can have a better look.” With that, he moved forward.

Hearing this, the woman snapped out of her daze, hurriedly closed the door, her cheeks flushed crimson, and her heart thumping wildly. It was the first time in her life she’d seen a man’s body—no wonder she was so flustered.

“Pervert, filthy pervert, shameless pervert…!” she muttered as she retreated to the living room, cursing under her breath, though her mind kept replaying the scene.

“Rui’er, what’s wrong? Your face is so red,” Lin Yan yawned as she came downstairs, noticing Tang Rui sitting in the living room with cheeks as red as a ripe apple, thinking she must be ill.

“I’m fine, Sister Lin,” Tang Rui responded quickly, picking up a teacup from the table to hide her nervousness.

By then, Lin Fan had dressed and walked out of the bathroom. Seeing Lin Yan and the unfamiliar woman sitting together in the living room, he paused, surprised to find his sister home at this hour—normally, she would already be at work.

“Sis, you have a guest at home. You didn’t even tell me yesterday,” Lin Fan complained as he dropped onto the sofa. He didn’t consider the incident a bad thing—at least he hadn’t come out worse—so he spoke with a hint of reproach.

Lin Yan shot him a glare and explained, “This is Tang Rui, Miss Tang, the newly appointed general manager of Dongxing Group. Yesterday we discussed some company matters upstairs, and when it got too late, Rui’er stayed over. Seeing how much you’d drunk, I didn’t bother calling you.”

After his sister’s introduction, Lin Fan smiled warmly, extending his hand to Tang Rui. “Hello, I’m Lin Fan—the ‘Fan’ as in ‘ordinary,’ Lin Yan’s younger brother.” Lin Fan showed no embarrassment; though Tang Rui was a general manager, she looked every bit a fresh-faced university graduate, radiating innocence.

Tang Rui couldn’t very well refuse his gesture, so she quickly shook his hand and withdrew, silently cursing Lin Fan, “He doesn’t even lock the door when he showers.” But then she reconsidered—it was his house, after all; whether he locked the door or not was none of her concern.

Lin Fan had no idea what Tang Rui was thinking. He was now studying her closely; earlier, when she had her head down, he hadn’t noticed, but now he saw Tang Rui was an exceptional beauty—her features pure and sweet, petite and adorable, clearly the sort of woman with no scheming, kind-hearted by nature, at least as Lin Fan saw it.

And he was right—Tang Rui had been strictly raised as a child, rarely allowed out of the house. Recently, she’d returned from studying abroad and quickly been placed in Dongxing Group by her family.

“Rui’er, are you alright?” Seeing Tang Rui’s odd look toward Lin Fan, Lin Yan asked with concern.

“Sister Lin, I’m fine. There’s still some business at the company, so I’ll be leaving now. As for our cooperation, just proceed as you suggested,” Tang Rui clearly didn’t want to linger, hastily finding an excuse to depart. Before leaving, she shot Lin Fan a fierce glare, blaming him for not locking the bathroom door.

Lin Yan noticed Tang Rui’s expression as she left. Once she was gone, Lin Yan turned to Lin Fan and said, “Alright, spill it. What did you do to her? I’ve never seen Rui’er act like this before.”