CHAPTER 176: CHAPTER 174: ACT RATHER THAN ARGUE

Zhou Yan quickly shot his friends a pointed look and explained to Jian Xi, "I just thought, it’s been many days since we last saw each other, and I happened to have some free time. I wanted to take you to see a movie."

"Um, sure." Jian Xi played along in front of everyone and didn’t deny their implied relationship.

After enjoying hotpot with everyone, she generously picked up the tab.

This won her countless favorable impressions.

"Sister-in-law is mighty!"

Jian Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. These guys and their silver tongues!

"I need to go home." Morning sickness made her very tired. Now that she wasn’t busy, she spent most of her time resting.

Zhou Yan immediately became anxious. "Shall I take you home?"

"No need." Jian Xi had just stood up when a deplorable couple approached them.

Si Junyan was dressed to the nines. His hair, sleek and perfectly coiffed with gel in a side part, made him resemble an X Country male star. His sharp suit stood out on him. Jiang Qimeng, beside him, was also in a high-end custom outfit. The moment her gaze landed on Jian Xi, she immediately felt a surge of triumph.

With Si Junyan backing her, she was determined to make Jian Xi look bad today.

"Jian Xi, after divorcing Big Brother, you’re reduced to hanging out with these unpopular, D-list people? It’s kind of sad!" Si Junyan jeered with a cold laugh.

Jiang Qimeng immediately slapped him lightly. "Stop rubbing salt in her wounds. After all, having slept with someone, she had no choice but to marry."

"I didn’t realize you were so wild; I hadn’t seen that side of you before."

The two of them sang a duet, insulting Jian Xi in front of everyone.

This group of so-called D-list internet celebrities and stars glared at them, teeth gritted. However, none dared to speak up. After all, the man standing opposite was the second son of the Haohan Group. Who would be reckless enough to offend him unless they had a death wish?

Zhou Yan exploded with anger, slamming the table as he stood up and pointed at Si Junyan. "Si Junyan, you can’t spit anything good out of that dog mouth of yours! What are you saying?"

Insult him, fine, but he would never tolerate disrespect towards his goddess, his senior.

Wan Yu wasn’t someone to be trifled with either. Hearing someone talk about her best friend like that, she unexpectedly swung a fierce slap across Jiang Qimeng’s face. "Is that a mouth? It’s more like a cesspit, and boy, does it stink!"

Jian Xi hadn’t expected her to be so brave. She silently gave a big thumbs-up.

Jiang Qimeng screamed furiously, covering her face and pointing at Wan Yu, shivering with rage. "Junyan, rip her to shreds for me!"

She had long wanted to deal with Wan Yu, that wretched woman, but never had the chance. Since Wan Yu repeatedly stood up for Jian Xi, Jiang Qimeng felt she simply had to teach her a lesson.

Si Junyan raised his arm fiercely.

BANG!

Jian Xi kicked out.

Caught off guard, Si Junyan took the kick squarely and stumbled back against a table. Jian Xi turned to look at all the internet celebrities. "What are you looking at? Fight!"

She hardly needed to say a word; everyone felt emboldened and immediately grabbed whatever was at hand to beat up Si Junyan and Jiang Qimeng.

They had all been sick of them for a while but hadn’t dared to act due to their family backgrounds. Now that they had someone backing them up, no one held back.

It wasn’t long before Jiang Qimeng and Si Junyan were beaten into swollen messes.

"Stop, stop! If any of you dare to move again, I guarantee you’ll pay for this!"

Lost in their rage, who cared about his threats? Worst case, they’d quit being internet celebrities and hide abroad for a while.

"Alright, that’s enough." Seeing Si Junyan gasping for breath and on the verge of collapse, Jian Xi pulled everyone away.

She crossed her arms, a triumphant smile playing on her face. "How about it, Second Young Master Si? Beg for mercy, and perhaps we’ll be magnanimous enough to let you go."

No one around dared to meddle. This was just an ordinary hotpot restaurant; people were too busy watching the drama to intervene.

"Jian Xi, if you have the guts, just kill me!" Si Junyan was utterly humiliated; he had never been so disgraced in his life. Being beaten down by a woman... how could he ever live this down if word got out?

Jiang Qimeng wasn’t as tough. "Jian Xi, please let us go! We know we were wrong. Junyan just has a young master’s temper; don’t stoop to his level." Having lost several teeth, her speech was slurred and whistling through the gaps.

Looking at Jiang Qimeng’s wretched state, Jian Xi felt a sliver of satisfaction, as if the score for being drugged a few days ago had finally been settled.

She bent down and patted Jiang Qimeng’s face. "Can you control your mouths now?"

"We can, we definitely can!" Jiang Qimeng hurriedly nodded like a chick pecking at grain.

Jian Xi was too terrifying; she seemed to get more frightening by the day.

Si Junyan watched Jiang Qimeng beg, his chest aching with suppressed fury, but he couldn’t say anything and chose to remain silent, his face dark. He didn’t doubt for a second that Jian Xi was capable of actually killing him.

"Alright, get lost."

Jian Xi filmed them with her phone before kicking Jiang Qimeng.

Why argue when you can fight? Having lived this life again, I finally understand this principle.

Jiang Qimeng, covering her swollen face, helped Si Junyan up, and they fled in panic.

Zhou Yan couldn’t help but laugh, holding his sides. He hadn’t felt this exhilarated in a long time. His agency had carefully crafted his image as a sunny, cheerful young man, so he couldn’t resort to violence; it would make him look like an abusive brute.

"Felt good hitting them?" Jian Xi asked with a laugh.

Zhou Yan scratched his head sheepishly. Seeing Jian Xi’s dazzling smile, he felt anything he did was worth it. "It’s their own fault for having such foul mouths."

It seemed like a long time since she had smiled at him like that.

Jian Xi rolled her eyes. "Even if they have foul mouths, you shouldn’t hit them too hard. Actually killing someone and ending up in prison isn’t worth it."

"Got it," he said.

「On the way back.」

Wan Yu and Jian Xi sat in the car, with Zhou Yan driving.

Wan Yu was full of concern. "Given Si Junyan’s vengeful nature, he’ll definitely go crying to Si Yuhuan now. If Si Yuhuan intervenes, this will become very troublesome."

Jian Xi frowned deeply.

Si Yuhuan did indeed spoil Si Junyan far too much. He could make such huge mistakes and still be let off lightly.

"It’s okay, I’ll handle it. You guys don’t need to worry, but you should still be careful. Hire more bodyguards to protect yourselves, as usual."

Still uneasy, Jian Xi called her fifth brother.

"Fifth Brother, I need a few more bodyguards. I’ve stirred up some trouble recently, and I’m worried some reckless fools might try to harm me."

Her brother, Jian Yanjun, snorted coldly, his rough voice thundering, "They must have a death wish! Don’t worry, I’ll send people to guard you right away."

Soon, ten ace mercenaries from the Haohan Group’s China branch were assigned to Jian Xi.

When Wan Yu saw this group of ace bodyguards, she couldn’t help but gape in awe.

"They’re too cool!"

Jian Xi casually flicked her bangs. "Each one can probably take on ten or twenty opponents without a problem, but we still need to be cautious."

"Understood."

Jian Xi wasn’t worried about Zhou Yan. Given his prominent status, he likely had ample protection in the shadows. Her real vulnerability, her Achilles’ heel, was her sweet, naive best friend.

Wan Yu accepted the arrangement with a cheerful smile. Such cool bodyguards would make quite the statement when brought out in public.

「....」

As Wan Yu had predicted, Si Junyan didn’t disappoint.

After leaving the hospital, the two of them, bundled up like mummies, sought out Si Yuhuan.

Si Yuhuan, feeling better, was dressed in casual home clothes and, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was working in his study.

BANG! The door was violently pushed open.

When he saw Si Junyan and Jiang Qimeng supporting each other, limping and looking utterly wretched, he raised an eyebrow. "What’s this, role-playing?"

Jiang Qimeng almost choked on a mouthful of indignation.

Role-playing, my foot! I nearly lost my life, for goodness’ sake!