Brute Force Doesn"t Work
Underneath the grey clouds, the city looked like it"d been covered by a thin veil.
At the international arrival terminal of Zhonghai International Airport, a man in a white s.h.i.+rt was seen standing around the lobby without any baggage on him.
He was Yang Chen, who"d just rushed back to Zhonghai. Christen was careful with her preparations. Her contacts had made him a new "fake" pa.s.sport and flown him back to China within a few hours.
Due to the weather, it was already half past seven when his plane had touched down on the runway. He was rus.h.i.+ng to get back, worried that Zhenxiu might have already entered the examination hall.
Yang Chen was extremely cautious when it came to all things lightning.
Although he knew the weather didn"t have anything to do with him, he still decided to lay low. Would the heavens really wait patiently for him to exert his powers and strike him once again?
When he recalled the fight with Poseidon, he"d stupidly ignored the warning against unleas.h.i.+ng all his powers.
During the fight, he thought that if he was not killed by his opponent, the lightning would have killed him regardless. How could he protect his women at home like that?
Without him as a s.h.i.+eld, everyone he loved would have been killed a long time ago. Yang Chen steeled himself. He had to be careful in the future. He swore to only use his powers in situations of emergency. This would not be easy if he was faced with a skilled opponent. Even if it was in his favor, he might attract the heavenly tribulations once again. Who was going to protect him then?
Part of his fears stemmed from the fact that he did not have a mentor to guide him. Now, even if the first round of Taiqing Heavenly Lightning had pa.s.sed, the second Shang Qing strike was only a matter of time. Theoretically, with his speed of advancements, he shouldn"t have to face the rest of the tribulations in this lifetime.
This was a world lacking advanced cultivators. The number of people who could advise Yang Chen was close to zero. That itself made Yang Chen fear the unknown even more.
Yang Chen got a cab at the airport and rushed home. Along the way, Yang Chen kept glancing at the time. There had been a ma.s.sive jam, possibly due to the examinations.
With all the delays, it was already a quarter past eight when he pulled up at his home.
Yang Chen didn"t have any Chinese currency on him to pay so he had the driver wait at the gates. Guo Xuehua was on her way down while w.a.n.g Ma was was.h.i.+ng up in the kitchen.
Guo Xuehua"s face lit up when she saw her son. "Ah, you child. Why didn"t you tell us you were coming back? We"ve kept all the things for breakfast."
Yang Chen didn"t care for breakfast. "Mom, has Zhenxiu left for her exams?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I thought you"d forgotten about the child. Ruoxi just left to send her off."
Slapping his forehead in frustration, Yang Chen mumbled, "Mom, the cab driver is still waiting outside for my payment. Help me pay him, I"ll go upstairs to get my phone. I need to at least call them."
At this moment, w.a.n.g Ma walked out of the kitchen with her rubber gloves on. Surprised, she said, "Young Master, you"re back! Sigh, why didn"t you call beforehand? Zhenxiu was sad the whole night."
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. He could imagine her looking very disappointed. It was he who had brought her to school during her final revision days but at the most important moment, he wasn"t by her side.
Without a word, he hurried upstairs.
Guo Xuehua shook her head and sighed. "This child. He didn"t even greet his elders upon entering the house but only asked his mother to pay for his ride."
Although she was complaining, her tone was still a loving one. To Guo Xuehua, she would be glad to receive more requests from Yang Chen to make up for her failed motherhood when he was young.
When Yang Chen arrived in his room, he took his phone out only to realize it had run out of battery.
He rushed to plug the phone in. He"d never taken notice of Lin Ruoxi"s phone number, so he had to search for it in his call history.
But when it turned on, Yang Chen stared with his mouth open to see tens of missed calls from Mo Qianni!
Looking at the date, they were made a day or two after he had left for the US. He"d left because there was an emergency which required his immediate attention. How could he predict the chain of events that were about to take place after he had arrived in the US?
Mo Qianni had made so many calls. There must have been something urgent but she didn"t look like she had much to say that night. Yang Chen was puzzled.
However, due to what Ma Guifang had said, he had already given up on his feelings towards Mo Qianni.
After the heavenly tribulation, he had a change of heart. Yang Chen didn"t care about anything else. Regardless of how one looked at it, there would always going to be problems. The simplest and only solution was to break it off. This was the right move to make. But that made Mo Qianni sad. A man should never make a woman sad.
Disappointing his wife would be better than disappointing a group of lovers. Yang Chen felt that he was despicable for having that thought. Why couldn"t he just stay loyal to one? In the future, it would seem like it"d do him some good to sit at home and just be obedient.
After he cheered Zhenxiu on for her exams, he had to meet Ma Guifang. No matter what she said, Yang Chen was determined that she would be one of his mother-in-laws.
Yang Chen found Lin Ruoxi"s phone number, then immediately called her. Even if he cheered her on over the phone, it was better than nothing.
The phone rang for a long time before it got through. When Yang Chen was about to speak, chaotic shouts came through.
"What do you want?"
"Are you trying to escape?"
"Go away! I"ll beat you up…"
Yang Chen furrowed his brows. He had a bad feeling. He quickly shouted, "Ruoxi! Ruoxi?! What"s going on?!"
Lin Ruoxi on the other side seemed to struggle to speak. She panicked for a moment, then finally said, "When are you coming back? I was sending Zhenxiu to her exams, but something happened…"
Her voice was tinged with panic. This was something that would never happen with Lin Ruoxi, that meant the situation was grave.
"What"s going on? Speak clearly!" exclaimed Yang Chen, concerned.
"We met an accident at the crossroads. They were the ones who broke the law, but they are insisting I pay them instead. I gave them cash but they said it wasn"t enough. They wouldn"t let us go." Lin Ruoxi was almost crying now. She wasn"t afraid of schemes and tricks in the business world but with gangsters on the streets, she was still a fragile rich girl. Instead, Zhenxiu had mixed around in the streets for a while so she protected her sister immediately.
"Co—come quick… Zhenxiu is in an argument with them. If this goes on any longer, she wouldn"t make it for her exam!"
Yang Chen was furious. He couldn"t believe it. When he imagined Lin Ruoxi and Zhenxiu being bullied by a group of men in the streets, the fire in his heart burned!
After asking for their approximate location, he immediately threw his phone and ran downstairs.
Guo Xuehua had just paid the driver when she saw Yang Chen coming downstairs. She thought he"d wanted breakfast but before she could speak, Yang Chen ran out of the house again.
Guo Xuehua stood in shock, confused.
Yang Chen had just got into his BMW and was about to open the gates when he saw two women walking out of the house next door. What a coincidence!
Ma Guifang, wearing a plain flower dress, was about to leave for work while Mo Qianni, wearing a full black uniform, was talking to her sweetly.
When he saw the pair, he wanted to greet them and ask why Mo Qianni had called him. Maybe even casually bring up to Ma Guifang that brute force won"t work in separating them.
But at this point, Lin Ruoxi and Zhenxiu"s issue was more pressing. If she missed her exams, if they were bullied, then all would be lost. Yang Chen didn"t dare waste any more time.
Hence, he didn"t stop. Sat in his car, he waved at the ladies, smiling. Then he stepped on the pedal, rus.h.i.+ng towards the school.
Mo Qianni was delighted to see Yang Chen. She thought Yang Chen had been deliberately hiding from her but since he was back this early, that meant they were fine.
However, before she could say a word, Yang Chen only waved and left at high speed!
Any third person would have guessed that he was trying to escape them!
Lynic"s notes:
Chapter 3/7
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