"Hello? Who is it? What do you want?"
In the villa, An Yi lay lazily on the sofa, phone in hand, asking the question with disinterest.
"Hello, this is Li Yuanfang, Secretary-General of the Imperial Capital Law Enforcement Bureau."
Click!
Before the other party could finish speaking, An Yi hung up the call outright.
Then, he swiped his phone screen and turned on airplane mode.
A moment later, still feeling uneasy, he simply powered the phone off completely.
Damn… The shady stuff he’d done had actually reached the Imperial Capital Law Enforcement Bureau!
An Yi turned on the TV and watched some Teletubbies to calm himself down.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off. Please—"
On the other end of the line, Li Yuanfang frowned slightly.
Refusing to believe it, he dialed several more times, but each call went unanswered.
Ignoring me?
"Well, well, An Yi… The Asura Sect sure has guts!" Li Yuanfang mused.
Originally, he had thought An Yi was just some punk who relied on his talents to act lawlessly.
But now, Li Yuanfang had to give him some credit.
In the world of martial artists, the Law Enforcement Bureau had always been the symbol of authority and order.
Very few dared to openly defy them.
This kid… has spine!
Li Yuanfang stared at the glass, took a deep breath, and lightly tapped his earpiece to connect with the leader on the other end.
"Chief, An Yi has refused—"
In the living room.
Hongtian, the black dog, yawned as he sprawled on the carpet.
Noticing An Yi’s expression, he asked, "What’s going on?"
"The Imperial Capital Law Enforcement Bureau is onto me," An Yi said coldly.
He never imagined that an honest, law-abiding citizen like himself would one day catch the attention of the Bureau.
Truth be told, when he first arrived in this world, he had been relatively well-behaved.
But over the past year, he’d let loose a bit—acting a tad too recklessly.
Yan Zhi had mentioned before that the higher-ups had been itching to make an example of him for a while now.
So, it wasn’t surprising that the Bureau had taken notice.
Hongtian gnawed noisily on a large meaty bone before looking up. "Need help? Give me enough spirit cores, and I can straight-up devour their entire Bureau."
His words were bold, but given his unsealed strength, Hongtian truly had the power to back it up.
"Don’t worry about it. Just focus on your bone! Look how fat you’ve gotten in just a few days!"
An Yi shot a glance at the pudgy dog, exasperated.
Thankfully, he had money now—otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to afford this mutt’s appetite.
"Man, the difference between food five thousand years ago and now is insane. Back in my prime, you humans were still cooking in clay pots," Hongtian remarked between bites, thoroughly impressed.
After just a few days of modern cuisine, he was already starting to dislike human flesh.
Even if it were served to him now, he wouldn’t touch it.
Noticing his empty bowl, Hongtian stealthily swiped An Yi’s phone with his paw, intending to order more takeout.
"Don’t turn it on. We’ve got trouble brewing."
An Yi yawned and deftly snatched the phone back.
He hadn’t set a password, and this damn dog had figured out how to order food on his own!
"Boring."
Hongtian flopped back onto the carpet and turned on the tablet, scrolling through dog breeding videos.
After a while, he grew increasingly excited.
"Woof! Kid! Take me for a walk!"
"Go by yourself. I’m busy."
"Woof woof woof! No way! I’ll get caught if I go alone!"
"You keep harassing other people’s female dogs! Do it again, and I’ll neuter you!"
By the roadside.
Nie Qinglan stood waiting, dressed in an elegant, high-end white ruffled dress, her face lightly made up.
Naturally beautiful, the slight touch of makeup only enhanced her delicate charm, turning the ordinary bus stop into a picturesque scene.
She drew the gazes of passersby effortlessly.
At the moment, she bit her lip anxiously, dialing her phone repeatedly.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off—"
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off—"
After several failed attempts, Nie Qinglan’s eyes welled up with tears, her shoulders trembling slightly.
She’d been stood up. Again.
Bystanders couldn’t help but sigh.
The holidays—some celebrate, others suffer.
Was she dumped?
No way. Even a girl this pretty gets rejected?
If she were my girlfriend, I’d break my ribs to make her soup if she asked.
"An Yi, you jerk!"
Nie Qinglan finally broke down, crouching and hugging her knees as tears rolled down her cheeks.
He always lied to her—she should’ve been used to it by now.
But why did it hurt so much this time?
She’d been looking forward to this for so long…
"Hey, why the tears?"
A familiar, carefree voice reached her ears.
"Go away!"
Nie Qinglan snapped angrily.
Ugh, these creeps!
They always swooped in when a girl was vulnerable, pretending to be kind, thinking they had a shot.
Wait… that voice—
She jerked her head up.
Standing before her was none other than An Yi.
"Y-you came?"
Her voice trembled between sniffles.
An Yi raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you set it for Friday? Right at this time? I’m even five minutes early. Did you forget?"
This girl was seriously baffling.
"No, no! You remembered! I thought you’d tricked me again."
Nie Qinglan’s tear-streaked face instantly brightened with joy.
"Slander! I, An Yi, always keep my word!"
He crossed his arms, feigning indignation.
"But why didn’t you answer your phone?" Nie Qinglan pouted.
She’d called over a dozen times, but he hadn’t picked up once!
An Yi explained seriously, "I’ve got people watching me now, so I’m avoiding my old phone. This is my new number—use it from now on."
Of course, An Yi knew full well that with modern tech, the Bureau could track him regardless.
But caution never hurt.
"And this number… won’t have any weirdos trying to chat about cigars or smoking, right?"
Nie Qinglan asked warily, still scarred from the last encounter with that raspy-voiced lunatic.
An Yi rolled his eyes. "Relax, this is my private line. Barely anyone has it—you included."
"Hehe, good."
Nie Qinglan grinned.
Honestly, she knew An Yi was a flirt.
But that wasn’t a big deal.
After all, when it came to women, who could compete with her father, Boss Nie?
She wasn’t trying to compete with Shen Muxuan or Lan Ruoxi either. As long as she held a tiny place in An Yi’s heart, that was enough.
An Yi gently wiped her tear-stained cheeks. "Come on, it’s getting cold. Put on more layers, and let’s get in the car."
Nie Qinglan clung to his arm, glancing around curiously. "Where’s your car? That Lamborghini you always drive?"
"Oh, keeping a low profile these days."
With that, An Yi unlocked a beat-up Wuling Hongguang.
Nie Qinglan’s smile stiffened, but she forced a nod. "This is… nice too. But why doesn’t it have a license plate?"
An Yi replied solemnly, "For the sake of discretion."