Chapter 104: Ayun's Schemes

Jin Yulian smiled and asked, "Speaking of dinner, it's already getting dark. What would you like to eat?" Feeling a bit nauseous and lacking any appetite, I replied, "Sister Yulian, why don't you go eat by yourself? I'm not hungry right now."

Jin Yulian said, "If you don't want to eat, then I won't go either." I blurted out, "You're like someone accompanying a eunuch on a blind date; what's the point of that?"

Jin Yulian couldn't help but scold me, "Your brain just started to recover, and you're already acting improper again."

Just then, a nurse came in to check on the hospital bed, so I said, "Sister Yulian, go ahead and eat. Don't waste your time sitting here with me. While you're at it, bring me a bowl of beef noodles."

Jin Yulian laughed, "Alright then, I'll go. I'll be back in half an hour." I said, "Don't rush. You can just bring it to me after you've finished your own meal."

After the nurse finished her check-up and confirmed there were no major issues, I sat up and started playing with my phone. It rang, and to my surprise, it was A-Yun calling.

"What are you doing?" A-Yun asked over the phone. "Why didn't you go to Sister Li's company to work?"

I was stunned, but I immediately understood. It was likely her idea for Sister Li to hire me, and perhaps that girl, Xiao Lu, was there to keep tabs on me. I replied, "I asked Sister Li for leave. I have some business in Qingxi."

A-Yun said, "I'm in Qingxi too. Where are you? I need to talk to you about something." I answered, "I'm at the hospital!" A-Yun sounded alarmed, "What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"Nothing major," I said. "I got into a scuffle with a few thugs and ended up here."

A-Yun asked with concern, "Are you badly hurt?" I replied, "Basically nothing serious. I should be able to get discharged in a few days!"

A-Yun sounded slightly reproachful, "You really are a handful. Which hospital are you at? I'm coming over right now." I said, "You don't need to come; it's already nighttime."

"Stop talking nonsense," A-Yun retorted. "Tell me the name of the hospital and the bed number." I sent her the address and my bed number.

A-Yun arrived quickly, appearing in just over ten minutes. Seeing my head wrapped up like a mummy, she exclaimed in shock, "You call this 'nothing serious'? Would you only consider it serious if they beat you to death?"

Seeing her genuine concern, I felt quite touched and grinned, "The doctor said it's nothing major, so I was just telling the truth."

A-Yun sat by the bed and gently stroked my forehead, asking with pity, "Does it hurt a lot?" I answered cheekily, "It's alright, I guess."

A-Yun rolled her eyes at me and said, "What do you mean 'alright'? You're always so flippant. By the way, who did this?"

I said, "This is just a minor scuffle between men; don't worry about it."

A-Yun replied, "How can I not worry? You are my boyfriend. You getting beaten into a mummy makes me lose face, so I absolutely have to get to the bottom of this."

I wondered to myself, didn't you say you wanted to bring me and Jin Yulian together? Why are you calling me your boyfriend now? However, I quickly realized that Qian Duobao was wealthy and powerful, and I had no way to fight him on my own. If A-Yun was willing to help, I could use her influence to deal with him.

I asked, "You really want to know?" A-Yun nodded and said, "Stop wasting time and just tell me."

I said, "It was Qian Duobao who sent people to ambush me." A-Yun asked, "Why would he send people to ambush you? What kind of grudge do you have with him? Did you cheat with his fiancée and give him a green hat, which is why he's retaliating?"

It was clear A-Yun knew Qian Duobao; they were both part of the rich second-generation circle, so it wasn't surprising they knew each other.

I quickly said, "A-Yun, you're wronging me!" A-Yun countered, "How am I wronging you? Otherwise, why would Qian Duobao go out of his way to send people after you if he didn't even know you?"

I figured my only option was to exaggerate the story about the bathtub at Qian Duobao's villa and how they made me the scapegoat. After I finished recounting the incident, A-Yun realized, "So you had a run-in with Qian Duobao's underlings early on. No wonder they wanted to ambush you."

I said, "Exactly. They thought I was an easy target, so they pushed the blame for the broken bathtub onto me. Qian Baiqian even wanted to make a huge deal out of it and try to send me to prison."

A-Yun said, "These guys need a warning, or they'll get too lawless." I felt a spark of hope; although she was a wealthy socialite, she had a strong sense of justice and was persistent.

I couldn't help but ask, "How do you plan to warn them?" A-Yun replied, "It's simple. I'll take you through the business circles of Mingzhou and announce that you are my boyfriend. If they dare to bully you again after that, I certainly won't be polite to them."

I was a bit surprised, "A-Yun, you want to officially announce that I am your boyfriend?"

A-Yun said, "That's right. I've thought it over. I can't just give you to Jin Yulian. If she wants you, I'll make her choose: either choose you or choose to have her business go bankrupt."

I couldn't help but say, "A-Yun, didn't you say you wanted to help us get together? Now that Yulian has just broken up with Qian Duobao, making her choose like this seems a bit unfair..."

A-Yun smiled cunningly, "Isn't that perfect? At least you'll know who is more important in her heart: you or her company."

I asked, "And how do you want her to choose?" A-Yun laughed, "If she chooses you, I'll demand the repayment of her ten million loan and have the Mingzhou business circle boycott her company. If she gives you up, I'll waive the ten million debt."

I gave a bitter laugh, "In that case, I'm quite valuable. Thank you, A-Yun, for valuing me so highly."

A-Yun looked at me with a beaming smile, "A-Feng, isn't this quite fair?"

I nodded, "Yes, it is quite fair." A-Yun said, "Then shouldn't you thank me and show your sincerity?" I asked curiously, "How should I thank you?"

A-Yun said with a shy expression, "There's no one here, so why don't you give me a secret kiss?"

I was stunned, thinking, if A-Yun really likes me, can I refuse? Seeing my hesitation, A-Yun leaned her face closer. I thought to myself, what's the harm in a kiss? I had already kissed her in front of everyone at the banquet in Hudu anyway.

Just as my lips brushed against A-Yun's forehead, Jin Yulian burst in, happily carrying the beef noodles, "A-Feng, I bought the beef noodles. I even asked the owner to add an extra piece of beef..."

Suddenly, she saw me and A-Yun kissing, and the noodles in her hands dropped to the floor.