Chapter 601 - 268: Sigh, All These Years of Unrequited Love Have Really Been Hard on Him

"Um, so..."

Lin Wanzhou said a bit awkwardly, "I saw the message you sent me earlier."

"Oh."

"I... what I wanted to say is, the person who replied to your message earlier wasn’t me." Lin Wanzhou repeated the line Xu Yun had coached him to say.

The person on the other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Why would she reply for you? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, no, I don’t have a girlfriend."

Lin Wanzhou denied it immediately. Seeing Xu Yun give him a pointed look, he added, "It was just a woman who likes me. She took my phone without permission and replied to you. She probably assumed you like me too, so she didn’t want you to come looking for me."

"Oh, so Brother Lin has girls who like him after all."

The girl’s tone over the phone was clearly much better than before.

It was even a little playful!

Hearing this, Xu Yun thought, ’This is promising!’ He quickly whispered instructions to Lin Wanzhou on how to reply.

Lin Wanzhou listened and repeated the words, "But I don’t like her. I’ve rejected her many times, but she won’t give up. She just keeps pestering me. I feel helpless, I don’t know what to do."

"Then you need an accomplice."

The girl on the phone laughed. "You could find someone to pretend to be your girlfriend. Maybe then the other girl will finally give up."

"But I don’t know who to ask."

Lin Wanzhou, listening to Xu Yun’s prompts like a parrot, said awkwardly, "As you know, I’m not good at dealing with women. I barely know any."

"What about me? I can pretend to be your girlfriend."

The girl suddenly asked with a laugh, "Brother Lin, are you free right now?"

"I am."

"Then can you come pick me up at the station in a little while?"

The girl said, "I estimate I’ll arrive at the station a little after 3:00."

It turned out that when the girl had messaged Lin Wanzhou, she had already bought her ticket and had just boarded the train a short while ago.

She knew from his social media feed that Lin Wanzhou was in Jiangcheng and hadn’t gone out of town.

If he welcomed her, she would tell him she was on her way. If he made excuses or seemed reluctant, she would have immediately bought a ticket to go back.

So, when she received Lin Wanzhou’s reply while on the high-speed train, her heart ached a little.

’So he really was just looking after me because of my brother.’

Fortunately, things took an unexpected turn; it had all been a misunderstanding on her part.

That message wasn’t from Brother Lin at all, but from some other woman who liked him.

’Hmph, what a scheming woman!’

’Brother Lin is so clueless. If I don’t keep an eye on him, he’s definitely going to get taken for a ride by some woman someday.’

Now, Lin Wanzhou no longer needed Xu Yun to coach him. He asked in surprise, "Xiaoyu, you came to Jiangcheng?"

"Mhm, I wanted to come see the big city for myself."

"Great, great! Welcome, welcome."

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanzhou said happily, "I’ll head to the station to pick you up in a bit."

"Okay, I’ll hang up now then."

The girl said gently, "Brother Lin, see you in a bit."

"See you in a bit."

After hanging up, Lin Wanzhou looked at Xu Yun and exclaimed happily, "Hahaha, did you hear that? She’s coming! She’s coming! And she’s going to be my girlfriend! Xu Yun, you’re incredible."

"Don’t celebrate too soon."

Xu Yun rolled his eyes helplessly and said with a laugh, "She only said she’d *pretend* to be your girlfriend."

"Even if she’s a fake girlfriend, I’m still happy."

Xu Yun: "..."

’Sigh, all these years of pining in secret have really taken a toll on him!’

’Now that he’s gotten just a little taste of sweetness, he’s acting like a complete fool!’

"Oh, right, do me a favor."

Lin Wanzhou said bluntly, "Lend me one of your cars later so I can go pick her up. My car has too rough of a ride, and it’s a piece of junk."

"Haha..."

Xu Yun teased, "Didn’t you say the woman you like isn’t materialistic? And now you know you need a nice car to pick her up?"

"It’s her first time visiting. I have to make a good impression."

Lin Wanzhou said, "Just say yes or no. A simple answer will do."

"Yes!"

Xu Yun asked, "What kind of car do you want? A sedan, a sports car, an SUV, or an RV?"

"Which one looks the best? Or what kind of car do girls usually like the most?"

"It doesn’t matter what kind of woman she is; they all like luxury cars."

Xu Yun said, "I actually just bought a Valkyrie hypercar recently. Take it and go show off."

"Great. Give me the keys and the address."

Lin Wanzhou said, "I’ll go pick it up myself in a bit."

"The car isn’t here with me. Hold on, I’ll have someone bring it over to you."

Xu Yun called Xino.

The sun was shining brightly today, and a bored Xino was in the courtyard, supervising the maids as they washed Xu Yun’s Aston Martin.

Upstairs, Xi Huai’an watched his busy daughter below and said jealously, "My car has never received this kind of treatment!"

Xi Wei chimed in, "Mine neither."

"How are things with that woman who was replacing the company’s gym equipment?"

"Nothing much has happened."

Xi Wei replied, "We only met once. After we signed the contract, my secretary and subordinates handled the rest. I haven’t been involved."

"You should still check in occasionally, show some concern."

Xi Huai’an said, "After all, Xu Yun was the one who introduced her to you. If not for Xu Yun’s sake, then at least do it for your sister’s."

"I know."

Xi Wei seemed to recall something and said, "Oh right, Dad, Chen Jiang recently told me that a friend of a friend of his, a guy named Qin Xun, and his son both seem to have been put away a few days ago. There’s a rumor going around that our family was behind it..."

"Mmm."

Xi Huai’an nodded, admitting, "I was the one who made the call."

"..."

Xi Wei was stunned. He had been completely in the dark about this.

"Dad, did their family offend you?"

"Do they have to offend me personally for me to act? Can’t I just uphold justice?"

Xi Huai’an said irritably, "This is a society governed by the rule of law. If their family was truly clean, if they hadn’t done anything evil, I wouldn’t have been able to touch them even if I’d wanted to."

Xi Wei was speechless.

"And if you ever dare to do anything malicious behind my back, I’ll be the first one to turn you in!"

Xi Wei was speechless.

’When did Dad become such a crusader against evil?’

Meanwhile, Xino, who was washing the car, answered a call from Xu Yun.

"Hello, Xu Yun."

Xino teased with a laugh, "Is His Majesty summoning me to his chambers again?"

"Don’t be ridiculous."

Over the phone, Xu Yun said, "If you’re not busy right now, drive our hypercar over to me. I’ll send you the address on WeChat in a bit."

"Sure. I just finished washing it for you until it’s spotless."

"Thanks for your hard work. I’ll treat you to something delicious when you get here."

After hanging up, Xino had the maids dry the car, then opened the door herself and got ready to set off.

Seeing this from the upstairs terrace, Xi Huai’an called out, "Daughter, are you heading out?"

"Mhm, Xu Yun asked me out on a date."

Xino waved. "Bye, Dad! Bye, Brother!"

"Oh, be careful on the road."

With a pleasant-sounding roar, the Aston Martin Valkyrie pulled out of the villa and headed toward the city center.

Xi Wei asked, "Dad, are you really planning to let Sis get together with Xu Yun?"

"Some things aren’t up to me to decide."

Xi Huai’an said meaningfully, "Let’s just let nature take its course. It would be for the best if they end up together, but even if they don’t, all that matters is that your sister is happy."

"I heard that the car Sis was just driving costs around 30 million, and there are only twenty-five of them in the entire world."

As a man, Xi Wei was naturally interested in sports cars.

It was just that his public image was too corporate; sports cars weren’t suitable for his daily activities.

"Then let me tell you something else."

Xi Huai’an said, "When he bought that car, he also paid in full for a Suzhou-style garden villa worth 280 million."

"The person everyone was talking about online—that was Xu Yun!"

News of the astronomically priced mansion sale in Hang City had been a trending topic online a few days ago, so of course, Xi Wei had seen it.

Because of this, many real estate bloggers had flocked to the Lv Yuan Peach Blossom Spring District to get a look at its garden villas.

"Dad, level with me."

Xi Wei asked tentatively, "Who is he, really? What’s his background?"

"If only I knew."

Xi Huai’an sighed, then warned, "In any case, just make sure you don’t go out of your way to provoke him. That’s all you need to know."

Xi Wei was speechless again.

He had always considered himself a standout among his peers, but ever since Xu Yun appeared, he had started to feel rather "ordinary."

His dad’s focus was entirely on Xu Yun.

His sister was no longer as clingy or admiring as she used to be.

His own mother was the same; every time she saw Xu Yun, she seemed more enthusiastic than she was with her own biological son.

Then there was the matter of Xu Yun’s identity, which remained a complete mystery.

In this world, truly formidable people have two things: money and power.

As for power, he hadn’t seen anything particularly special so far.

But as for money...

Honestly, the kind of spending power Xu Yun had demonstrated so far was frankly terrifying.

He had been in the business world for some time and considered himself well-informed and experienced.

Because of his father, he had met plenty of tycoons, yet even self-made billionaires worth tens of billions didn’t spend money with his level of Do as You Please.