âIsnât that Bro Chengtian? How are you? Why the long face?â The guy talking was Xiao Jiâs son, Xiao Wangba.1 Xiao Wangba knew House Xiao was in a dire state, he would by all means interact with other houses to get some connections. He rushed forward when he saw Chengtian walking out of the auction hall unhappy. It was his golden opportunity.
Wangba and Chengtian were considered friends back in the day, drinking and picking up girls together in bars. Chengtian was feeling miserable when he spotted Wangba walking over. He didnât turn away because they were still friends, and he had someone to listen his complaints. âDonât mention it. I met a bastard who tried to steal my girl and my grandpa didnât stand up for me. He even pulled me away from the fight. Whatâs so great about that bastard? I have no idea why my grandpa wasnât standing up for me. Miracle Doctor Guan was his only ally, thatâs all!â
âYeah, Miracle Doctor Guan, my ass, Miracle Doctor Kang is so much better!â said Xiao Wangdao,2 Wangbaâs younger brother and Xiao Benâs son. House Xiao and House Kang had arranged a marriage, so they would obviously curry favor with Miracle Doctor Kang.
âI know, right!â Chengtian felt that the Xiao brothers were right and decided to treat them to drinks. âDo you guys have anything to do? Drink with me if you guys are free!â Chengtian felt pretty uncomfortable and wanted to vent his frustration.
The Xiao brothersâ eyes lit up with excitement. They had only wanted to interact with Chengtian, hoping to get something out from him, and here was Chengtian asking them out. Of course they would be glad to join him at no cost!
âOf course! But since youâre our big bro, let us to treat you. How can we afford to let our big bro waste his money on us?â Wangba said.
âSince you guys are calling me big bro, I definitely canât let you guys treat me, can I? Big brothers treating little brothers is a very common thing!â After listening to the Xiao brothersâ flattery, Chengtianâs frustration went away some.
âOK, but, Big Bro, please wait for a while. Miracle Doctor Kangâs son, Zhaolong, and his fiancée, whoâs my cousin, are on their way here. Letâs go for drinks together!â Wangba said as he nodded.
âOh, Zhaolong is here?â Chengtian was a little surprised. âI know him and have met with him. Letâs go together then!â
After waiting for a bit, a Nissan Quest slowly drove up. The car belonged to the Xiao Family, and although they were impoverished, they hadnât sold the car yet. This type of car was expensive to buy, but selling it would result in huge losses. So it was better to own it to keep up appearances.
House Xiao and Miracle Doctor Kang had wanted both Zhaolong and Xinyan to attend the auction so they could bond a little, but Xinyan refused to join no matter what, leaving Zhaolong no choice but to stay in the house with her.
All afternoon, Xinyan sat quietly on the sofa listening to her MP3 player while reading ebooks on her phone. No matter how Zhaolong tried to communicate with her, he received disinterested replies like âoh.â Zhaolong couldnât get angry at her.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
When night finally fell and the auction finished, Xinyanâs parents urged her to join them for dinner. She couldnât say no since her parents had accepted the invitation before her agreement, leaving her with no choice but to entertain them. Her parents asked her to just go along with it. If things couldnât be resolved, she could return to Songshan and cancel the engagement after dinner anyway. So she reluctantly accompanied Zhaolong to the auction hall.
âBro Chengtian, do you have a car?â Wangba asked when he spotted his familyâs car.
Chengtian came with his grandfather, but because he had been angry his grandfather didnât stick up for him, he didnât leave with his grandfather and sulked instead. So Gonggao went to meet up with his friends.
âLetâs go, Iâll follow you guys.â Chengtian didnât feel embarrassed at the thought of people assuming he didnât own a car because he was from House Wu. No people would believe it.
âOK, even better. After you!â Wangba had Chengtian enter the car first, then got in with Wangdao.
âOh, isnât that Bro Chengtian? Hello there! Weâve met!â Zhaolong smiled as put out his hand. âThis is my fiancée, Wang Xinyan! Xinyan, meet Bro Chengtian, the leader of the youngest generation of the Iron Fist Wus, our idol!â
âHey, thatâs overstating things.â Chengtian was flattered by Zhaolongâs compliment. âZhaolong, your choice of words was great. Letâs drink a lot later!â
âNo problem!â Zhaolong happily agreed. Just because he did well in school didnât mean he was a nerd. In fact, he was a manipulative and cunning person. He knew that he was supposed to please Chengtian.
On the other hand, Xinyan sat quietly listening to her MP3 player, not giving a care in the world to her surroundings.
Zhaolong was helpless to change Xinyanâs attitude, but Chengtian seem not to mind. He started talking to Wangba.
***
Lin Yi had just finished filling up the twenty âdeluxeâ bottles with the special edition injury medicine and delivered them to Fatty Laiâs room. Fatty Laid was startled. He never expected his boss to finish so quickly and felt even smarter for the choice he made of following Lin Yi. âBoss, what price should we make it?â
âYou can handle the price.â Lin Yi didnât feel like involving himself in pricing for auction since the auction was chockful of self-centered, rich assholes. Making their wallets bleed a little wouldnât hurt.
âGot it!â Fatty Lai felt that it was easier for him to set the initial auction price after getting full authority from Lin Yi. âUm⦠Boss, can I join the bidding for this injury medicine?â Fatty Lai asked after some hesitation.
âYou need it?â Lin Yi looked at Fatty Lai curiously. This medicine wasnât supposed to attract the attention of men. Even Lin Yi himself got a few scars during battle and he didn't find it necessary to remove the scars.
âHehe, itâs my wife. She had her appendix removed a few years back, and the scars still remain,â Fatty Lai said, then paused shyly. âEvery time we make love, I see the scars and get uncomfortable. Besides, my wife is a woman; she wants to remain beautiful and wear revealing clothes during the summerâ¦.â
âEnough, I understand.â Lin Yi stopped Fatty Lai and swept his arm out. âThereâs a little left in my room. I was thinking of throwing it away but you can have them if you want!â
âWhat? Throwing it away?â Fatty Lai almost fainted. âBoss, thatâs money, how can you just throw them away! Itâs like throwing money away!.
âI made extra, and there arenât any bottles left. Leaving them on my bed is taking up space. I need a space to sleep, yâknow.â Lin Yi didnât seem to care about the value of the medicine, since to him it was just some cheap herbs.
âIâve got space here, I ainât sleeping!â Fatty Lai charged out his room and ran to Lin Yiâs room. If he was too late, whatever was left would be gone for good!
1. Wang means king and ba means tyrannical or overbearing. Taken together, they mean rule by might.
2. As I mentioned earlier, wang means king and dao means moral or rules.