After kicking Nie Qinglan out of the car, the taxi driver was utterly impressed by An Yi's audacity.
"Little bro, you should cherish girls these days. There are way more men than women—you’ll end up single if you keep this up," the driver remarked with a sigh.
"A girl that pretty—most young guys would treat her like a treasure, coddling her in their palms. But this guy? He’s the absolute worst of the worst."
An Yi, however, just shrugged it off. "Nah, you can’t spoil women. Leave her alone for a few days, and she’ll come around."
He had done it all—kidnapping Nie Qinglan, threatening her, even taking advantage of her. And now, after kicking her out of the car, she probably wanted to murder him.
Dumping her in the suburbs should buy him some time.
Besides, she had her phone. It wasn’t like she’d actually go missing.
The driver shook his head in disbelief. "Still, little bro, you must have way too much free time. Spending over a hundred bucks on a cab just to go to the outskirts?"
An Yi replied casually, "Eh, I had nothing better to do."
Then it hit him.
"A hundred bucks?! For this distance? The bus only costs two!"
Screech!
The driver slammed on the brakes, his face darkening.
And just like that, An Yi found himself stranded in the suburbs too.
Why? Because he didn’t have enough cash to cover the fare.
His last bit of money had been splurged on treating Shen Muxuan to hotpot.
He never expected a taxi ride to be this ridiculously expensive—enough for fifty or sixty bus trips!
"Damn it, am I really gonna have to walk back?"
Under the scorching sun, An Yi’s heart sank.
Why the hell did he go so far out?!
After trekking for an hour, he finally made it back to Jiangbei’s city center.
At a small convenience store, he used his last coin to buy a bottle of water. He drank half and poured the rest over his head, panting like a dog in the heat.
Screech!
A sleek black luxury car pulled up abruptly in front of him.
An Yi’s eyes sparkled with envy.
"That’s a… what’s it called? A Tesla? Heard it can’t even brake properly. Must cost at least a hundred grand."
The window rolled down, revealing a cold, sunglasses-clad face.
"Get in," Lin Chen said flatly.
An Yi climbed in, confused. "How’d you know I was here?"
Lin Chen replied, "I’ve been following you the whole time. What were you doing all the way out in the suburbs?"
An Yi:
He suddenly felt the urge to strangle this poker-faced bastard.
This guy had just watched him suffer under the blazing sun the entire way?!
"So… about that fifty grand you mentioned last time. When’s it coming?" An Yi grumbled, slouching in the back seat.
Still, the car was undeniably comfortable. Luxury rides had their perks—even the AC air smelled sweet. If only it could actually stop properly.
"Here."
Lin Chen tossed him an envelope.
An Yi caught it, and the weight in his hands made his eyes light up.
Fifty grand!
That would keep him going for a long while.
"Next, I’m taking you to meet someone. Interested?" Lin Chen asked.
An Yi shook his head. "Nope."
Now that he finally had cash, skipping out on some fun would be downright criminal. Not even the gods could stop him from enjoying himself.
Lin Chen cut straight to the point. "Qin Yao’s father wants to see you."
An Yi’s expression instantly turned serious. "What are we waiting for then? Step on it!"
Qin Yao’s dad—a billionaire!
For a broke guy like An Yi, they weren’t even in the same universe.
If he could leave a good impression on his potential future father-in-law, that’d be perfect.
The luxury car stopped in front of an upscale, traditionally decorated teahouse.
"Go in. Qin’s waiting for you in the Phoenix Pavilion room on the second floor," Lin Chen said.
An Yi stepped out and strode inside.
The staff eyed him warily.
Showing up in slippers to a place like this—either he was a big shot or a complete loser.
But since he’d stepped out of a Tesla, they couldn’t decide whether to kick him out or greet him.
Inside the Phoenix Pavilion room, a middle-aged man in casual wear was leisurely brewing tea.
This was Qin Zhengwei.
Despite being in his forties, Qin Zhengwei still carried the striking handsomeness of his youth—no wonder Qin Yao had inherited such stunning looks.
"An Yi, I’ve heard a lot about you. First time meeting in person—please, have a seat."
Qin Zhengwei stood and gestured politely.
An Yi grinned. "No need for formalities, Mr. Qin. I’m around the same age as your daughter—just call me Xiao An."
Facing a potential future father-in-law—and an insanely wealthy one at that—An Yi turned on the charm, dialing his respect and seriousness up to 120%.
Qin Zhengwei chuckled. "Come, try this tea first."
The two exchanged pleasantries, though the conversation mostly circled around trivial, meaningless topics.
Finally, after an awkward lull, Qin Zhengwei got to the point.
"Actually, the reason I asked to meet today was to thank you."
An Yi waved it off. "Qin Yao’s my classmate. It was nothing, really—just a small favor, hardly worth mentioning."
Qin Zhengwei’s smile faded slightly, his tone turning serious.
"You’re too modest. Blue Shark, Wolf Eye, Viper—they were all Class-A assassins, notorious even internationally. And their leader, Butcher? A Class-S killer, a true monster. The fact that you and Lin Chen wiped out their entire organization… it’s hard to believe."
He paused, studying An Yi.
"I can’t thank you enough. Lin Chen said you were the one who did most of the work."
If An Yi hadn’t succeeded, Qin Yao would be dead by now—and Qin Zhengwei’s family would have been destroyed.
The ordeal had left Qin Zhengwei frantic, his hair falling out in clumps, nearly driving him to the brink of madness.
An Yi’s favor was nothing short of life-saving.
"Mr. Qin flatters me. But compared to Lin Chen… yeah, I’m just a tiny bit more badass."
Qin Zhengwei’s eye twitched. Did this kid have some beef with Lin Chen?
"I should’ve thanked you sooner, but things have been chaotic lately. My apologies for the delay."
An Yi waved again. "No worries."
Qin Zhengwei took a moment to gather his thoughts.
It had been three days since Qin Yao’s kidnapping.
The reason he hadn’t reached out sooner?
According to Uncle Fu, his daughter seemed to have taken a liking to this guy. Not long ago, she’d even been spotted sneaking around a night market with him.
As a father, Qin Zhengwei couldn’t just let that slide.
Digging deeper, his concern only grew.
In just one month, An Yi had:
- Broken the legs of a thug named Hou Long.
- Brawled with Ding Renfeng and his gang at the hospital.
- Beaten up Qiu Xu, the heir of Hongtu Real Estate, landing himself in the Law Enforcement Bureau.
- Fought in an underground boxing ring, injuring the assassin Red Poison in a match.
- Clashed with killers from the Paradise organization.
And just today, he’d apparently gotten into a fight with dozens of gangsters at the school gate—over stealing someone’s girlfriend.
Somehow, against seventy or eighty thugs, he’d not only broken the arm of their leader but also taken their boss lady hostage.
What’s even more outrageous is that, right in front of a crowd, this punk had the audacity to hug and kiss the gang’s female leader—whom they had just kidnapped—before casually whisking her away as he left.
And now, word has it he even dumped the kidnapped victim in the middle of nowhere.
Qin Zhengwei’s back was drenched in cold sweat.
Just what kind of monster has his precious daughter fallen for?!