Chapter 34: I'm Easily Content
The Tang Dynasty poet Liu Xiyi once wrote in "The Young Master's Walk": "With fingers never stained by spring water, now she cooks soup for her lord." Yue Zitong's fair and delicate fingers, if used to cook for a man she loved, would surely create a scene as poetic as described. Even if no man was worthy of such hands preparing meals, they should be used for writing, wielding a gun, or even committing murder and arson, but not for washing pots and pans. The slippery dishes almost slipped from her small hands several times, threatening to fall and break on the floor, providing that scoundrel with a show. He was indeed sitting on the sofa where she usually sat, with his legs crossed, acting like a boss, smoking her cigarette, and humming an old tune, watching with a playful look as sweat beaded on Yue Zitong's clean forehead.
Yue Zitong really wanted to turn around and throw the plate at her head. But she wouldn't do that. After all, she was the type who admitted defeat gracefully when she lost a bet. Yue Zitong was not someone who couldn't handle a loss. Wasn't washing pots and pans more manageable than harvesting wheat or weeding? And of course, she would clean them thoroughly, not needing Li Nanfang to remind her. After all, she would be using these utensils for her meals in the future. Finally, after all the pots, bowls, and dishes were washed, Yue Zitong heaved a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and felt a sense of pride as if she had accomplished something great.
Clap, clap. Monotonous applause came from the living room. Who cares about your praise? Yue Zitong inwardly sneered, ignoring that guy, and quickly walked upstairs. It was almost time for work. Although Yue Zitong wouldn't be docked pay even if she was late, she didn't want to set a bad example for her subordinates. She had promised Li Nanfang three days off to rest at home, and even though she could now see that the guy was as lively as ever and perfectly fine, she didn't want to go back on her word. Besides, with him not going to the company, she would have some peace and quiet, and she wouldn't have to deal with Vice President Qi finding her again, saying that Li Nanfang had been fighting in the carpool again, forcing her to explain that he was Min Rou's relative from the countryside, a poor relation who had never seen the world and asking the carpool staff to be more tolerant.
"Can you fix the air conditioner? It's too hot at night, and I can't stand it," Li Nanfang asked hopefully, leaning forward on the sofa as Yue Zitong came down the stairs in a white suit skirt and high heels.
Yue Zitong glanced at him and asked indifferently, "What else do you want?"
Li Nanfang's spirits lifted, and he quickly said, "Not much. Besides the air conditioner, a bigger bed, a refrigerator, a TV on the wall would be great. Oh, and preferably a desktop computer. I can play games when I'm bored at night."
"Is that all?" "No more. I'm easily content."
"You are easily content. But—no way." After saying the last two words, Yue Zitong suddenly felt the world was beautiful. The sky was so blue, the clouds were so white, the flowers were red, the willows were green, and the air was filled with joyful molecules. Especially Li Nanfang's frustrated face made Yue Zitong think of a line from Li Bai's poetry: "I'll laugh out loud as I go out." But she couldn't do that; it would damage Yue Zitong's icy beauty image. She could laugh, but only after getting into the car and driving away from the villa. Yue Zitong couldn't hold back her laughter and let out a string of melodious, pleasant giggles.
Making a beautiful woman happy even after serving a "master" is absolutely the duty of every man, Li Nanfang firmly believed. He also looked down on Yue Zitong: You're a special agent, don't you know that a comfortable living environment is the grave of a special agent? It's like a hero's grave in a gentle bower. No matter how fierce a lion is, once it is put into a zoo, its instincts that make other beasts tremble in the wild will gradually be eroded by comfort. Only by constantly being in a harsh environment can one maintain the results of years of hard training.
Forget about Yue Zitong deliberately sabotaging the air conditioner in Li Nanfang's room and taking away the TV; even if they were there, he wouldn't turn on the air conditioner or watch TV. As for a desktop computer—in this era when smartphones are becoming more and more advanced, computers will eventually be phased out.
Li Nanfang deliberately made those requests to Yue Zitong, hoping that she would be in a good mood today. After all, she was his "aunt," wasn't she? Alas, lying in a rattan chair under the sun and sleeping until natural wake-up is something that wouldn't be traded for an emperor's throne. Li Nanfang sighed contentedly when the phone on the cabinet in the corner rang. The caller ID showed it was from Jinghua. He didn't really want to answer it, but then he remembered why Yue Zitong had been tolerating him again and again. If he guessed correctly, this call was from Yue's family.
"Hello, may I ask who's calling?" For the first time in his life, Li Nanfang answered the phone with such a polite tone.
An old and authoritative voice came from the receiver: "Li Nanfang?"
"Yes, this is Li Nanfang. May I ask who's speaking?" Li Nanfang's tone became even more respectful.
"Ha-ha, I'm Zitong's grandfather."
"Zitong's grandfather?" If Yue Zitong had been there, she would have been extremely frustrated: You've called me so many times before, and you've never been this amiable!
"Zitong's grandfather?" Li Nanfang pretended to be puzzled for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, sir, hello! My aunt just went to work. Shall I call her back?"
"No need. I'm calling for you," the old man said.
"For me?" Li Nanfang feigned ignorance. "Sir, how did you know I'm here?"
"Kid, don't pretend," Old Yue said indifferently on the other end. "Without my approval, would you be with Zitong?"
"Ha-ha," Li Nanfang laughed, not saying anything. You, Old Yue, think you have the right to order the notorious Black Phantom around just because you're my master's father-in-law? "Sir, I think you should replace 'notorious' with 'renowned' to sound better," Li Nanfang corrected the old man's choice of words with a smile, but didn't say anything further, thus admitting that Old Yue was right. As for Old Yue knowing he was the Black Phantom, Li Nanfang wasn't surprised at all: The old man's son-in-law, who married his daughter, would say and do anything to please his father-in-law. How could the astute Old Yue not hear between the lines? The old man's tone turned cold, "Li Nanfang, do you think that if it weren't for your master's pleading, begging me to allow Zitong to marry you, she would dare to send you to get close to Zitong?"
"What?" Li Nanfang was stunned. On the night he 'heroically saved the beauty' at the bar, the old man had also called him, saying that his master wanted him to marry Yue Zitong in the future, which was why she sent him to protect her. At that time, Li Nanfang thought that his master's idea was just like that of any mother who, upon seeing a pretty girl, would selfishly want to make her a daughter-in-law, even though Yue Zitong was her younger sister. There was no blood relation between them, so it was theoretically and practically feasible, and not strange at all. He thought it was just his master's one-sided wish, and to make her happy, he could pretend to work towards that direction. But now it seemed that things were far more complicated than Li Nanfang had thought. His master had actually pleaded with Old Yue, and only after getting his approval did she send him to QingShan City.
Old Yue continued, "Do you know why I agreed? The fourth rule of the Yue family's code is that once a Yue family girl is seen naked by a man, she must marry him. No matter if the man is old or a monster—back in the day, your master was able to marry my daughter-in-law by using this despicable trick."
Li Nanfang understood and asked in a low voice, "Sir, do you have the same requirement for my aunt?"
"Yes," Old Yue admitted straightforwardly. "She is a Yue family girl, and she must follow the Yue family's rules. There is no room for change. To be honest, when I thought of your ugly appearance back then, I was very reluctant. Fortunately, you grew up perfectly and became a normal person, and only then did my daughter-in-law dare to ask for your hand on your behalf."
Li Nanfang laughed bitterly, "My aunt definitely won't agree, right? Her temper is not exactly mild."
"Don't worry about that," Old Yue said. "In order for her mother to leave the Yue family and live with someone else, she has to agree to marry you."
Old Yue's voice became deep and somewhat sorrowful, "Li Nanfang, treat Zitong well. She has been without a father since she was young—you should have seen it on TV, in any wealthy family, there is no shortage of underhanded struggles. Her mother is timid by nature, so it's understandable that she is a bit willful."
"But she doesn't seem to like me at all," Li Nanfang said after a long silence. "Her temper is really not easy to deal with."
"That's not your main concern," Old Yue said. "You should focus on protecting her. As I told you before, her name has been posted on the OF platform. You know what the OF platform is, don't you?"
"What? Her, on the OF platform?" Li Nanfang was genuinely shocked this time. He couldn't figure out how Yue Zitong, with her limited influence, could have made it onto the world's largest, most efficient, and most notorious hitman platform.
"Similarly, this is something you need to handle on your own. Whether you treat her as an aunt or a wife is up to you. If the Black Phantom can't protect her safety, then it means she really deserves to die," Old Yue paused for a moment and then said, "Don't tell her. Women age faster when they are worried and scared."
Old Yue's last remark sounded familiar to Li Nanfang. He had heard it before from the old man before he came to QingShan City. It seemed that Yue Zitong was indeed in danger, and she couldn't be told. But that was not the biggest problem. The key was that he seemed to have to be with Yue Zitong. The thought of having to see her bossy face every morning for decades made Li Nanfang feel extremely uncomfortable. He shuddered and said to himself, "I must find a way to persuade my master to change her mind."
He put this matter aside for now, as there was a more pressing issue for Li Nanfang to deal with at the moment.
Chapter 35: I'm Living Without Dignity Now
"Also, I've got another thing to tell you," Old Yue said, "Your master sent you to protect Zitong. It was my idea. Her name's been posted on the OF platform. Li Nanfang, you can't be ignorant of the OF platform, can you?"
"What? Her name's actually on the OF platform?" Li Nanfang was truly shocked this time. He couldn't figure out how Yue Zitong, with her limited influence, had made it onto the world's largest, most efficient, and most notorious hitman platform.
"Same as before, it's up to you to handle this. I won't get involved. Whether you treat her as an aunt or a wife is your call. If Black Phantom can't protect her, then she's as good as dead," Old Yue paused for a moment, then added, "Don't tell her. Women age faster when they're worried and scared."
Old Yue's last remark was familiar to Li Nanfang. He had heard it before from the old man before he came to QingShan City. It seemed Yue Zitong was indeed in danger, but she couldn't be told. However, the biggest issue was that Li Nanfang seemed to have no choice but to be with Yue Zitong. The thought of seeing her domineering face every morning for decades made Li Nanfang feel extremely uncomfortable. He shuddered and said to himself, "I must find a way to persuade my master to change her mind."
He set this matter aside for now, as there was a more pressing issue for Li Nanfang to deal with.
"Also, I've got another thing to tell you," Old Yue said, "Your master sent you to protect Zitong. It was my idea. Her name's been posted on the OF platform. Li Nanfang, you can't be ignorant of the OF platform, can you?"
The OF platform is a paradise for hitmen and mercenaries, a pool of money for them to make a fortune. Once someone's name is posted on it, they'll face endless assassination attempts until they're dead. According to the platform's rules, once Yue Zitong's name is "posted," her personal information such as physique, appearance, place of origin, age, habits, preferences, and occupational background will no longer be a secret. The hitman who gets the task first will be able to see these details in her folder after entering a specific password.
The OF platform only gives hitmen one month. If a hitman "claims" Yue Zitong and fails to complete the task within a month, even if he succeeds later, he won't receive the bonus. A new hitman will immediately take over the task, with the same one-month deadline.
Li Nanfang sighed heavily, "Wow, Miss, how much have you offended someone to get such an honor?" He took out his phone, went online, and found the OF platform's homepage. The OF platform's homepage isn't something you can find with regular search engines like Baidu or Google. You need to download a special software. The annual membership fee for regular members is as high as one hundred thousand US dollars. Li Nanfang is poor and naturally doesn't have an account. But someone else does, like Ye Xiaodao. Since the day Li Nanfang and Ye Xiaodao met, Li Nanfang has obstinately considered everything Ye Xiaodao's to be his own. He logged in using Ye Xiaodao's account name, refreshed the page, and the main website appeared, filled with headshots of targets, each labeled with prices in ten thousands of US dollars. Most are men: the world's richest man, Bill Gates, the stock god Warren Buffett, and more shameless drug lords, corrupt officials, and gigolos who stole their bosses' girlfriends. These targets aren't just up for grabs by any member. That's where the Gold members come in. The annual fee for a Gold member is two million US dollars. According to Ye Xiaodao, so far, there are only about a hundred Gold members on the OF platform. Most are new members with the one hundred thousand US dollar fee, who aren't qualified to compete for targets with bounties over one million US dollars. However, Li Nanfang isn't interested in these targets. He heard that Bill Gates is now doing charity work worldwide, and killing such a good person would make him feel guilty. Of course, they aren't easy to kill either. They have top-notch bodyguards hired with heavy money, reportedly all from the brave US Marine Corps. There are definitely some hitmen who take a chance, trying to get the huge bounty, but they usually end up as an excuse for the bosses to reward their bodyguards. Yue Zitong's name wasn't on the first page, nor the second or third. This indicated that her bounty wasn't very high. But Li Nanfang didn't breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, his expression became more serious. The lower the bounty, the easier the target is to kill, which attracts the largest number of ordinary members. Earning money— who doesn't like easy money? Li Nanfang realized that the strange footprints he saw under the window last night were left by hitmen coming to make a fortune. It also proved that Yue Zitong was always in danger of being assassinated. Li Nanfang regretted staying at home for comfort. If a hitman attacked Yue Zitong on her way to or from work, no matter how厉害she claimed to be, the possibility of her being killed was quite high.
Thinking this, Li Nanfang wanted to call Yue Zitong and tell her to be careful, but then he dropped the idea. Both old men knew that women age faster when they're worried and scared. If he did that, it wouldn't be good. Yue Zitong's name was on the last row of the seventh page, with a bounty of two hundred thousand US dollars. Li Nanfang was sure that her photo would gradually move up, and the bounty would increase. According to OF platform rules, if the hitman who took the task failed, the bounty would automatically increase by one hundred thousand US dollars if the employer agreed. If the employer disagreed, her photo would be taken down. Li Nanfang was certain the bounty would rise because he had the absolute confidence to make those reckless newcomers fail. He hoped the employer would care about the money and take her off the platform. Otherwise, as her ranking rose, bronze, silver, and even gold-class hitmen would start to appear.
Li Nanfang asked himself if he could handle those gold-class hitmen, but even if he could, dealing with one after another would exhaust him. "Miss, I sincerely call you 'Miss.' Will you disappear from this platform? Three, two, one, disappear!" Like a fool counting down, after the timer ended, Yue Zitong's slightly flirtatious eyes on the phone screen still smiled at Li Nanfang, making him involuntarily spit on the screen. Daydreaming in broad daylight wasn't going to work. He needed to take real action. After some thought, Li Nanfang made an international call. As soon as the phone was answered, there were screams from a woman and the pounding sounds of a pile driver, followed by a panting man roaring, "Dammit, tell me who you are in three seconds, or I'll twist your head off!"
"Ye Xiaodao, I think you're going to die on a woman's skin one day," Li Nanfang leaned back on the sofa, half-lying down with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"Li Nanfang? Hell, it's been ages since I heard from you, I thought you were dead—get lost, don't interrupt my time with my brother!" Through the receiver came the crisp sound of a hand slapping a butt and a woman's scream of pain.
"Haha, the reputation of Black Pearl is well-deserved, it's especially satisfying," Ye Xiaodao laughed heartily on the other end, asking, "Old Li, want to give it a try? I'll treat you once, three Black Pearls for you to play with as you wish, guaranteed to give you endless pleasure!"
Li Nanfang said indifferently, "Cut the crap, I've got serious business to discuss with you, get rid of those women."
Immediately, there were screams, complaints, and hurried thanks from the women, naturally because Ye Xiaodao had thrown a wad of cash at them as he kicked them out.
"Interrupting my fun, if it's not important, watch out or I'll make you pick up the soap," Ye Xiaodao threatened.
"Log in to the OF platform, on the last row of the seventh page, you'll see a beauty avatar," Li Nanfang ignored Ye Xiaodao's nonsense and got straight to the point.
"Damn it, you actually want me, the Knife King, to look at the seventh page? That's an insult!" Ye Xiaodao complained, "But since you say it's a beauty, I'll take a look for your sake."
As a 'veteran' Gold member of the OF platform, Ye Xiaodao usually paid no attention to targets beyond the third page. Not only were the bounties low, but there was also no challenge.
Li Nanfang lit a cigarette and waited for Ye Xiaodao's response. A few minutes later, Ye Xiaodao's exaggerated voice came through: "Wow, she's really a beauty! Tsk, tsk, look at those eyes, so captivating. Look at that little mouth, I wonder if it can fit my big—"
Li Nanfang coldly interrupted, "That's my aunt. Ye Xiaodao, if you dare to speak nonsense again, I'll cut off your big thing and make you walk the streets in Thailand."
"What?" Ye Xiaodao was stunned. "She, she's the aunt you've always talked about!"
"Yeah, the one and only," Li Nanfang confirmed.
"Bullshit, she's your aunt!" Ye Xiaodao cursed. "Li Nanfang, you've been lying to me all these years! You always said how ugly she was, giving me nightmares, and now look at her—so fresh and gorgeous. Lord, why don't you strike this liar with lightning? Old Li, seriously, does your aunt have a boyfriend or not—"
"Shut your filthy mouth," Li Nanfang interrupted again. "I'm calling you to discuss a solution."
"What solution? You know as well as I do that no one can get a target removed from the OF platform unless your aunt disappears from this world, which would finally silence those flies," Ye Xiaodao sneered and laughed. "But hey, it's not a big deal. I've been bored these past two years with more money than I know what to do with. I can give those youngsters a few free training sessions, just to accumulate good karma!"
"Find out who the employer is. Money's no object as long as it gets done. Whatever it costs, it's on you—" Li Nanfang said, but Ye Xiaodao suddenly yelled on the other end, "Damn it, why should it be on me? Do you think my money grows on trees?"
"Because I'm living without dignity while you're indulging in a life of luxury!" Li Nanfang retorted.
"Wow, that's a point," Ye Xiaodao conceded.
"It's settled then. Hurry up, I'm not a patient man," Li Nanfang said, and with that, he tapped the screen to end the call.
Chapter 36: Boss Yue's Good Mood Today
Meng Rou was quite puzzled. Boss Yue was in an unusually good mood today. How so?
Take Qi Vice President, for instance. When he came to report the findings of the investigation into the consumer allergy case, he was extremely nervous, bracing himself for a severe scolding from Boss Yue. It turned out that the product batch in question had issues due to careless mixing procedures, causing certain trace elements to exceed safe levels, which harmed the customers. To his surprise, after listening to Qi Vice President's report, Boss Yue merely frowned slightly and instructed that all consumer demands be met and that the responsible employees be penalized with the deduction of their monthly bonuses, warning them not to repeat the mistake.
Qi Vice President was taken aback. He glanced at Meng Rou as if to confirm whether he had heard correctly. Boss Yue not only refrained from reprimanding him harshly but also did not order the dismissal of the careless employee. A mere deduction of the monthly bonus? That was it?
Meng Rou nodded subtly at Qi Vice President, signaling that he had indeed heard right and that he should be grateful and act accordingly. Only then did Qi Vice President leave the office, relieved and sweating profusely.
Boss Yue's magnanimity was not the only indication of her good mood. Meng Rou also noticed a faint, happy smile playing on her lips while she worked—a smile that made her appear much more radiant than usual. In the two years Meng Rou had been with her, she had never seen Boss Yue display such a "quirk" while working.
What could have put Boss Yue in such a fine mood? After some contemplation, Meng Rou realized it must be because of Li Nanfang!
Boss Yue's detestation of Li Nanfang was no secret to Meng Rou, who was well aware of her boss's animosity. In just a few days, she had heard Boss Yue mutter more than once about wanting to break that good-for-nothing's legs. Last night, when Officer Bai from the Municipal Bureau dealt him a severe beating—so severe that he wet his pants—it must have delighted Boss Yue immensely, as if a long-standing grievance had been settled. No wonder she was in such high spirits.