The two actually continued in a standoff. Chen Fan was left at a loss. Finally, he sat up and looked at the two on the floor.
âWhy donât you both just let go? Whatâs the point?â
âSheâs a thief, and Iâm turning her in.â
âYouâre insane; I didnât steal your stuff.â
âA thief is a thief.â
Chen Fan wrapped a blanket around himself.
âChen Fan, help me out and punch her.â Mu Jinli pleaded.
Chen Fan replied, âIâd love to, but I think sheâd take revenge on me. I donât want to mess things up. This woman definitely doesnât follow the usual playbook.â
Ling Yuyan laughed softly and said, âChen Fan, donât worry. I wonât attack you. I donât like Ye Aotian either. If you help me, Iâll spy on him for you and report his whereabouts every day.â
Chen Fan hesitated. If he didnât know the plot, he might actually be tempted by her offer. But he couldnât accept this; there was no such thing as a spy in the protagonistâs circle. It was always the protagonist infiltrating others.
This was one of the sad realities about many novel setups: any informants around the protagonist always end up being won over by him ⦠Mu Jinliâs plea was at least more reliable.
âYou really think Iâd trust anything a Ling family member says? I trust my bodyguard more.â
Mu Jinli nodded in agreement. That was the right response.
Ling Yuyan chuckled, âYou want to test me? Even if she restrains me, I could still kill you if I wanted to.â
Ling Yuyan was gambling, betting that Chen Fan wouldnât make a move. If he did, that would mean exposing his martial arts ability.
Naturally, Chen Fan knew this. Laughing slyly, he casually tossed the blanket aside.
âI need to use the bathroom.â
Ling Yuyan immediately conceded, feeling defeated.
Chen Fan quickly wrapped the blanket around himself again.
The two women finally disentangled themselves, standing up. Mu Jinli looked at Chen Fan and said, âI suggest you stop stealing things. Iâve looked into youâyouâre a thief, after all. But stealing stuff isnât exactly noble.â
âMind your own business! At least I donât have some loser confessing his feelings to me. Youâre just a fish, swimming and swimming aimlessly.â
Chen Fan burst out laughing first.
âYou ⦠shameless!â
And with that, Mu Jinli struck again.
Three minutes later, Chen Fanâs head was pounding. The two were back on the floor, wrestling and locking each other down.
Mu Jinli looked at Chen Fan, who sighed and said, âI ⦠Forget it; Iâm staying out of this.â
âWhat are you afraid of? Sheâs definitely wary of that one move of yours.â
Ling Yuyan snapped, âYou may be shameless, but you canât stoop that low, Chen Fan. We have no enmity between us; the one targeting you is the Ling family, not me â¦â
Chen Fan rubbed his temples and said, âArenât you both hungry? Why donât I order some takeout? Iâm getting a bit hungry myself.â
âOrder me a pork leg rice.â
âIâll have some egg and vegetable noodles.â
Throwing in a 50-yuan tip, he urged the delivery guy to hurry up. As for the two women on the floor, Chen Fan didnât care one bit.
âWhere did Zhu Yeqing disappear to? She hasnât even arranged my clothes.â
Ling Yuyan sneered, âChen Fan, I think youâre doing this on purpose. After all, youâve got two beauties here.â
âHave you ever seen someone from my background preparing their own clothes? Whatever, talking to someone as poor as you is pointless. My takeout is here.â
Chen Fan cautiously opened the door just a crack and took the food from the delivery guy.
The delivery guy looked inside the room, then glanced back at Chen Fan.
âWhat are you looking at? Never seen anything like this? Or are you unfamiliar with the concept from online videos?â
âBro, please teach me â¦â
âGet lost. You donât qualify. Bye.â
He slammed the door shut. What nonsense. As a villain, he couldnât just randomly befriend people. He turned on the light and began preparing the hotpot.
âDo you two want some? If youâre still at each otherâs throats, Iâll eat it all myself.â
Mu Jinli and Ling Yuyan exchanged glances before letting go of each other, finally moving apart. Both removed their masks simultaneously.
Chen Fan sat on the bed, looking at them.
âWhatâs the deal, Chen Fan?â
âGo ahead, make yourselves at home. Sorry, Iâm used to living in luxury and never learned to cook for myself. Could you two prepare it for me?â
Ling Yuyan glared, âI finally understand why Ye Aotian calls you a spoiled rich kid.â
âSee? Youâre just here to mess with me. Your Ling family is determined to beat the Chen family and become the top family in Qincheng.â
Mu Jinli asked, âWhat sauce do you want? Iâll mix it for you.â
âNo sesame paste. I donât like that.â
âAlright. Anything else?â
âGreen onions and cilantro.â
âCilantroâs not that great.â
âIâve decided to work hard and make a fortune. When Iâm rich, Iâll plant cilantro all over the world.â
Mu Jinli gave him a look of pure disdain. âAnything else?â
âGarlic cloves, oh, and peel them for me, would you?â
Mu Jinli threw the garlic at him. âYouâve got hands and feet; why should I have to do it?â
Just then, the door opened, and Zhu Yeqing walked in. âYoung master, whatâs going on?â
âOh, Zhu Yeqing, youâre back! You have no idea; these two women were trying to kill me.â
Zhu Yeqing looked between the three of them, then remarked, âYoung master, donât joke. They seem much more interested in the hotpot than in killing you.â