C20 — The Strongest Marriage Alliance in Asia

Outside the operating room, Guan Minfeng paced back and forth, his face filled with obvious anxiety. His heart was in turmoil—he wished he could rush into the operating room and stay by He Xiangchen’s side.

But he couldn’t. He could only wait outside, leaving He Xiangchen’s life in the hands of others. This feeling was absolutely terrible!

“President Guan, the scene has been cleaned up, and the media has been taken care of. I guarantee that today’s incident won’t be reported,” the general manager of Boyu Entertainment & Casino cautiously reported.

Guan Minfeng didn’t care whether the media reported it or not. The only thing that mattered to him was one question. “Have you found out what happened?”

“Well… according to the security department, the GG sign at the entrance showed signs of deliberate damage. But… but there are no other clues at the moment.”

The general manager’s voice grew smaller and smaller, and his obese body trembled uncontrollably. Under Guan Minfeng’s murderous gaze, the pressure he was enduring was unimaginable.

“Useless!” Guan Minfeng grabbed the general manager by the collar. “Find out who did it! If you can’t, then don’t bother keeping your position as general manager!”

“Y-yes!”

Guan Minfeng let out a cold snort and shoved him away. The general manager immediately turned and ran, only to bump headfirst into Zhou Ming.

“Manager Liu? What’s wrong?” Zhou Ming asked, puzzled.

“N-nothing. Zhou Ming, you’re going to see President Guan, right? You’re his most trusted assistant—please put in a good word for me later!” Liu pleaded desperately.

Zhou Ming quickly understood what he was so flustered about.

“I’ll do my best,” Zhou Ming agreed, though not very confidently. “You go handle your work, I’ll take care of things here.”

After Liu left, Zhou Ming approached Guan Minfeng with some hesitation. “President Guan, just now I saw General Manager Liu…”

“Don’t mention him! If he weren’t still useful, I would’ve fired him already! Such a huge incident happened, and he still has the nerve to tell me he hasn’t found anything? Does the Guan family pay him to sit around and eat for free?!”

Guan Minfeng’s bloodshot eyes burned with fury, like a beast trapped in a swamp.

Zhou Ming was stunned. He had never seen President Guan this agitated before. Normally, he would get angry, but he would never look this… grief-stricken.

For some reason, Zhou Ming suddenly recalled a name he had seen in the browser last night.

An Yang.

“An Yang’s elder brothers are on their way to the hospital. Would you like to meet them?” Zhou Ming asked.

Guan Minfeng pressed his lips together. After a moment, he spat out a single word.

“Meet.”

—

A Familiar System Space…

He Xiangchen looked around in confusion and asked 009, “Did I die?”

“No, but because of your injuries, both your soul and body are in a weakened state. I brought you here to nourish your soul.”

“Oh,” He Xiangchen nodded.

“So, do you have any leads on the virus character in this world?” 009 asked casually.

“Hm, a little.” He Xiangchen replied. “009, can you find out who did it? I don’t believe the GG sign just happened to fall at that exact moment.”

“Of course, I just need a bit of energy.”

“Then forget it, I’ll investigate it myself.”

He Xiangchen rejected it without hesitation. Before, it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that he knew his lover was in this world, he had to save as much energy as possible so he could stay here longer.

009 could only shut its mouth regretfully.

Even as a system, it needed love and care! But its host never considered its needs at all! ‘Crying while hugging its head.jpg’

He Xiangchen sensed the resentment coming from the system and smiled without saying a word. Favoring love over friendship? He had no guilt about it whatsoever.

Before he could rest for a moment, 009 suddenly shrieked, “Host, this is bad!”

“Speak.”

“Your brothers are fighting Guan Minfeng!”

He Xiangchen was stunned for a second before realizing that it was probably because of his hospitalization. He pondered briefly and then told the system, “Let me out.”

“But you haven’t fully recovered yet…”

“I can recover in the real world. Besides, I’m just a useless young master—I don’t have anything serious to worry about.”

The system thought that made sense and agreed to He Xiangchen’s request.

—

In the hospital room, He Xiangchen slowly opened his eyes. The anesthesia was still in effect, and though he was awake, he remained groggy.

The caregiver beside him immediately ran out to call the doctor upon seeing him wake up. The commotion in the hospital room caught Guan Minfeng’s attention right away. He dodged An Lie’s punch and calmly said, “An Yang is awake. I’m going to see him. Excuse me.”

An Lie and An Heng exchanged glances, deciding to put their fight on hold and follow Guan Minfeng into He Xiangchen’s hospital room.

The moment An Heng saw He Xiangchen’s pale face, his eyes turned red. Despite their usual bickering, the two brothers had the closest bond—even closer than with their eldest brother.

“You’re something else, huh? Blocking for someone? Do you even realize that if the GG sign had shifted just a little more, you’d be dead?”

An Heng scolded in a low voice, but his hand gently stroked He Xiangchen’s hair, his actions completely contradicting his harsh words.

To Guan Minfeng, the scene was utterly unbearable. But the worst part? He had no grounds to intervene! His hands clenched into fists inside his pockets so tightly that he accidentally tore a hole in the fabric.

“I’m fine, big brother, second brother. Don’t worry,” He Xiangchen reassured them, glancing over at Guan Minfeng.

The man stood at the doorway, excluded from the warm moment unfolding before him. His downcast eyes resembled those of a neglected puppy.

He Xiangchen winked at him before turning back to An Lie and An Heng. “The company must still have a lot of work to handle. You guys should head back. Mr. Guan can take care of me here.”

“Him?” An Lie frowned. “Can he even take care of you? If not for him, you wouldn’t be lying here in the first place!”

“Big brother, it wasn’t his fault. I got hit because I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You’re still defending him? Don’t tell me you actually like him?” An Heng blurted out.

Silence.

The room suddenly fell into an awkward stillness.

He Xiangchen’s ears turned red, and he lowered his head without speaking. An Heng, stunned, looked at his brother, then at Guan Minfeng—who also remained silent but whose burning gaze betrayed everything.

Finally, it dawned on him.

What the hell did I just say?!

“An Heng, you stay here and take care of Yangyang,” An Lie quickly made a decision. “I’ll handle things at the company.”

The two brothers exchanged a look and instantly reached a mutual understanding—there was no way they were leaving He Xiangchen and Guan Minfeng alone together!

Just then, Guan Minfeng’s phone rang. The An brothers immediately shot him a glare, their expressions clearly saying: Don’t you know there’s a patient who needs rest here?

Even though Guan Minfeng’s emotions were surging at the moment, he had no choice but to lower his head and back down. “…Sorry, I need to take this call.”

After all, they were the little cutie’s big brothers. He had to endure.

After Guan Minfeng left, An Heng swiftly shut the hospital room door and turned around, his face dark with anger as he glared at He Xiangchen. “I don’t even know what to say to you! You barely crawled out of Zheng Biaolian’s pit of death, and now you’re diving headfirst into another abyss? If you weren’t in this condition right now, I’d give you two punches to wake you up!”

“He’s not an abyss!” He Xiangchen couldn’t help but refute.

An Heng pointed a finger at him, too furious to form words, so he turned to his elder brother for support. “Big brother, look at him! He throws himself at any good-looking man he sees. If you really want a boyfriend, can’t we help you find one?”

An Lie raised a hand, signaling An Heng to calm down.

“Have you thought this through?” An Lie’s tone was much gentler than An Heng’s. “As far as I know, you two have only met once.”

“He’s the one,” He Xiangchen nodded firmly.

An Lie said, “There’s a saying—every so-called love at first sight is just l-ust at first sight. You’re only in your twenties. How can you be sure he’s the one you really want?”

He Xiangchen was about to speak, but An Lie cut him off. “I’m not against you making friends, but I hope you take more time to understand him. Do you even know what kind of person Guan Minfeng is? Do you know if he has a girlfriend or boyfriend? You don’t! And another thing—I don’t know if you’re going after him for the sake of the An family. Yes, the Guan family could help us get back on our feet, but I will never allow you to trade your life for a chance at revival. Do you understand?”

“I…”

He Xiangchen wanted to tell his brother that he was absolutely sure Guan Minfeng was the one. But faced with their concern, he found that he couldn’t just insist on his way.

“Big brother is right. Focus on recovering first and stop thinking about all this nonsense. As for Guan Minfeng, your big brother and I will investigate him ourselves.”

An Heng spoke as if it were set in stone, but inwardly, he thought: If that guy wants to trick my little brother, there won’t be a chance!

—
Meanwhile, Guan Minfeng, completely unaware that his road to winning He Xiangchen’s heart would be full of obstacles, received a call from manager Liu.

“The police are still investigating. The chief wants to know what should be done with the two witnesses.” Liu asked cautiously.

Aside from the security guards, the other two witnesses were Zheng Biaolian and Jiang Yunan.

A dark storm clouded Guan Minfeng’s eyes. If those two hadn’t blocked the doorway, the young master wouldn’t have been hurt. But what infuriated him even more was the way Zheng Biaolian had looked at He Xiangchen.

Damn it. Just remembering that gaze made him want to gouge out Zheng Biaolian’s eyeballs!

“Tell the chief to hold them at the station for a few extra days,” Guan Minfeng narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Zheng Biaolian is trying to get his company listed, isn’t he? Stir up some trouble for him. As for the Jiang family, start buying up shares from their investors and strip them of control over Jiangcheng Tech.”

Jiangcheng Tech was the backbone of the Jiang family’s wealth. Losing it would mean immediately falling out of the ranks of the top noble families in Province S.

“Understood!”

After hanging up, Guan Minfeng returned to the hospital room, just about to knock when he heard a hoarse voice from inside.

“I said I’d find a way to fill the company’s financial gap, and I will. The Guan family is filthy rich—if I can get money from him, wouldn’t that solve the crisis? I know what I’m doing. I won’t let myself suffer. Now you two can rest easy, right?”

A pain unlike anything he had ever felt before spread from his chest. Guan Minfeng clenched his teeth so hard he tasted blood. His gaze bore into the hospital room door, an urge rising to kick it down and drag the young master up for questioning.

Is this what you really think?

Was it all for money?

How ridiculous! All for money!

Everything before him was tainted in red. Guan Minfeng closed his eyes, forcing down the violent rage threatening to erupt. So this was what it felt like to fall from heaven straight into hell.

Since you’re so good at acting… wouldn’t it be a waste if I didn’t play along?

His fists tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand, revealing just how much his emotions were churning inside him.

By the time he reopened his eyes, the bloodthirsty red had completely vanished.

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