"Miss, are you too excited to sleep or what? Coming down in the middle of the night to scare people," Lin Tian sat at the table, wolfing down food, mumbling indistinctly.
Two beautiful women in silk pajamas were sitting opposite him, he was eating while watching beauties– a scene that made Lin Tian think of a phrase: ’a feast for the eyes.’
Miss rolled her eyes and huffed, "Hmph, if you haven’t done anything wrong during the day, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking at your door at midnight. If you’re not guilty, why should you be afraid of someone scaring you?"
I’m a zombie, even if ghosts knocked on my door at midnight I wouldn’t be afraid. Ghosts would take a detour when they see me. Besides, it’s natural for a man to be interested in beautiful women. If he’s not, that can only mean he’s inept. But you can’t just come out and interrupt others’ good times, right? Lin Tian thought resentfully.
As for Xiao Manxuan, this little girl blushing for no reason, it wasn’t like she did anything guilty.
"Just focus on your food. Look at you, gobbling down like that without any image," Miss said, although she was actually somewhat pleased because she had a hand in preparing the dishes on the table.
"Isn’t there a line from a TV show, ’This servant can’t do it ah,’ this food is too delicious, I simply can’t stop eating," Lin Tian joked, not slowing his pace.
"Of course, this is made by my mom and sister. When beauties cook, do you dare say it’s not delicious?" Xiao Manxuan pouted.
Lin Tian finished his last bite, put down his bowl, and sincerely sighed, "Exactly, beauties and delicacies are both a feast for the eyes."
"Now that you’re done eating, I have a question for you. If the Bai Family doesn’t agree to compensate this afternoon, were you really planning to leave them with one less arm?" Miss was still seated and showed no intention of going to bed. Instead, she started asking about the Bai Family’s matter.
Lin Tian understood what Miss meant. The two gambling stone masters were just following the Bai Family’s orders, so to some extent, they were innocent. The real culprits were the Bai Family, and she felt a bit of pity for them. In this respect, Miss didn’t inherit her master’s ruthlessness; rather, she was more like Mrs. Xiao.
"Miss, you’ve got it wrong again. I never really intended to take their arms. They’re in the industry, I’m not. Those words were just to scare the Bai Family, nothing more. Besides, what use would I have for their arms? It could only bring trouble. The goal was to pressure the Bai Family into agreeing to the compensation," Lin Tian explained.
He had long seen through the act the two gambling stone masters put on with the Bai Family and he played along, leading the Bai Family into the trap he set. Even if the Bai Family hadn’t come to visit, Lin Tian would have sought them out, determined to take some money from their pockets to show that not everyone can be trifled with, better to provoke King Yan than to provoke Lin Tian.
"Didn’t you secretly sell that batch of jadeite raw stones to the Bai Family last time? Now we’re asking for compensation again—are we getting double the gain?" Xiao Manxuan asked, surprised.
"Xuanxuan, even if our Xiao Family were to demand three times the amount, it wouldn’t be too much. The Bai Family did wrong, and they have to pay the price," Miss said calmly, pausing before she continued, "If the Bai Family thinks they can swallow the Xiao Family, why can’t we turn around and do the same to them?"
That’s the kind of assertiveness a CEO should have. The business world is where big fish eat little fish. When it’s time to strike, you strike.
"Time for bed—it’s school tomorrow. We can talk about any issues later." Lin Tian, full after dinner and completely content, waved his hands nonchalantly and went upstairs, actually just eager to slip away without having to do the dishes. Otherwise, if it came to a vote, he would surely lose two to one to the sisters.
It wasn’t until Lin Tian had gone upstairs that the sisters realized the messy array of dishes left on the table and simultaneously rolled their eyes at him.
It was already midnight, and Lin Tian felt he had barely closed his eyes when he heard Xiao Manxuan calling him to go to school. From this morning on, it seemed everything was getting back on track. By the time Lin Tian woke up, Mrs. Xiao and Miss had already gone out, just like before, nothing had changed.
"Lin Tian, this is for you—it’s a phone delivered by Secretary Xu this morning. There’s also this SIM card; the number is the same as your old one, it hasn’t changed," said Xiao Manxuan, handing Lin Tian a beautifully packaged box before leaving the house.
Judging by the packaging, it seemed to be the latest iPhone model. Lin Tian opened the box, inserted the SIM card, then powered it on to see the familiar screen.
"Finally got a phone again; otherwise, I’d feel insecure even sleeping," Lin Tian exaggerated a bit as he fiddled with the new device. Then, remembering Secretary Xu delivering the phone, he asked, "Second Miss, how did Secretary Xu manage to buy the phone and get the card so early in the morning?"
"Not at all; the stores haven’t even opened yet. My mom heard that your phone was broken yesterday, so she ordered it. It was brought over this morning when my sister was picked up," Xiao Manxuan replied, puzzled. She was somewhat skeptical as to whether Lin Tian was fully awake, considering how early it was to get a SIM card.
The gift was from Mrs. Xiao—the Xiao Family’s benefits were so good: being a bodyguard included room and board, education, and now even a cellphone. You couldn’t find such a job even with a lantern in hand, Lin Tian thought gleefully to himself, his mood instantly uplifted.
Back in the campus filled with youthful vigor, Lin Tian reveled in the atmosphere. Most importantly, the girls passing by were all wearing white shirts and skirts, which exuded a pure and youthful aura that was a pleasure to behold.
The moment he entered the classroom, Lin Tian saw Zhang Lingyu sitting at her desk. This little girl had said she was going to Zhonghai City, but what she ended up doing there was a mystery. Now, she was back in the classroom. Lin Tian couldn’t see through Zhang Lingyu’s mysterious identity. Given her behavior, it was unlikely she was here just for the studies, but her real purpose was anyone’s guess.
"Lin Tian, come here, come here—big news, huge news!" shouted Fatty Huang before Lin Tian even had the chance to put down his backpack, wildly gesturing for him to come over.
Fatty Huang and a group of boys huddled together staring at something; when they saw Lin Tian come in, their faces lit up with excitement. It wasn’t just him; the other boys had the same expression. On the other side of the classroom, a group of girls were gathered, and they, too, looked up at Lin Tian with a strange gleam in their eyes.
"Fatty, you guys aren’t reading early. What’s this illegal gathering about? What are you all watching?" joked Lin Tian, patting Fatty Huang on the shoulder, which bounced back from his layers of fat.
"Missing one morning read isn’t a big deal. Look, even Class Leader He is here. Give way, let Brother Tian see if it really looks like it," bellowed Fatty Huang, the others making way for him, though he still partially blocked the table with his large frame.
Lin Tian was puzzled; the whole class seemed to be wrapped in mystery. Could there be some significant news? He strained to look at the table, where a newspaper lay, freshly delivered by class officials that morning, judging by its appearance.
"Hmm, this does look interesting; look how scantily she’s dressed. When did our newspaper subscriptions become so liberal, publishing such explosive entertainment news?" Lin Tian casually glanced at the paper and spotted a large photo of a scantily clad female celebrity, key areas, of course, pixelated by the dreadful mosaic.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om