Chapter 323 Two weeds
Under everyone’s gaze, the cap-wearing Yang Xiaojin walked up to Ren Xiaosu. All of the well-known public figures of Stronghold 88 knew of her status.
Meanwhile, the young man who was similarly dressed stood in a daze out on the lawn. It was as though he had not expected to witness such a twist today. He had thought she would make her appearance in a stunning gown, shining bright as the stars. At the moment of her appearance, even the stars in the night sky would have paled in comparison. He had come here today because he had wanted to enjoy that sight.
But what happened here blew Ren Xiaosu’s mind. Not only was Yang Xiaojin not dressed formally for the function, she even deliberately wore white sportswear with red wording on it that matched well with his that had blue wording.
The young man had many fantasies that made him the hero saving a damsel in distress. But the entire world was apparently playing a joke on Ren Xiaosu. He had only saved her once, yet she stood by him on so many occasions after that, ready to pull him out of any sticky situations he got himself into.
At the venue of the gala, everyone was holding their champagne flutes with stunned looks. They were staring in shock at the two like spectators would.
It might have been an illusion, but Ren Xiaosu felt that everyone around him had turned into statues. The world was no longer bustling, while time also stopped briefly.
The two of them were similar in that they were somewhat out of place with the neatly mown lawn, the smooth stone steps, and the tasteful decorations found around the manor.
All of a sudden, Ren Xiaosu realized he had been mistaken. Yang Xiaojin was never a princess of the organization like he had imagined her to be, but a weed willing to grow freely in the wilderness just like him.
Ren Xiaosu said in a stunned manner, “Why are you dressed in such—”
Yang Xiaojin leaned forward and grabbed Ren Xiaosu’s hand with everyone watching. “C’mon, it’s pretty boring here. Let’s go out for a walk.”
The young girl led Ren Xiaosu out and disappeared from everyone’s sight. It was only then that the glacier cold atmosphere started thawing.
Someone asked in a whisper, “Who is that young man?!”
Yan Liuyuan watched quietly as Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin left the manor. He had wanted to go after them, but he thought they were like the stars on the stage, and that he should just stand quietly in the audience and watch in the darkness.
He knew how much hardship Ren Xiaosu had suffered. During the period Ren Xiaosu was injured, Yan Liuyuan got a sense of it. So when Ren Xiaosu’s happiness arrived after all the suffering he had gone through, Yan Liuyuan knew not to disturb Ren Xiaosu’s hopes.
He had told Ren Xiaosu that if Yang Xiaojin did not come look for them, they should not head to Stronghold 88.
But now Yang Xiaojin had used her actions to prove she could do a lot more for them.
Since it was that way, Yan Liuyuan had nothing more to disagree with. He was willing to sacrifice his personal inclinations for Ren Xiaosu’s happiness. Wasn’t it just suffering some grievances in the stronghold? That wasn’t a big deal to him.
If Luo Lan was willing to act like a silly fatso whose life was worthless for Qing Zhen’s sake, Yan Liuyuan could do likewise for his brother.
When he thought of that, Yan Liuyuan felt like Luo Lan had suddenly become much more affable. “Hey, fatty, let’s head back first.”
Luo Lan scolded, “Brat, who are you calling a fatty? Come on, I’m taking you home.”
…
When they walked out of everyone’s sight, Yang Xiaojin suddenly let go of Ren Xiaosu’s hand. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Just now…”
Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “Thanks for bailing us out.”
Yang Xiaojin seemed relieved. “You don’t have to care about them since they’re still obsessed with the world they’ve built and are complacent about things. But you and I know this world is about to change.”
“Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu nodded.
“You still haven’t eaten yet, right?” Yang Xiaojin asked.
“Yeah.” Ren Xiaosu laughed and said, “I discussed beforehand with Luo Lan to scrounge off your family tonight, but we ended up leaving before I could do that.”
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to a diner that serves delicious wontons.[1]” Yang Xiaojin said, “There’s also something I want to tell you about. We’ll be setting off to the northwest in seven days.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered, “What’s in the northwest? Are we going to Stronghold 178?”
“No.” Yang Xiaojin said, “We’re going to exterminate the bandits with the Zong Consortium. It’s going to be a joint operation by the Yang Consortium and the Zong Consortium this time. We’re not going to exterminate the banditry completely, so we’ll return once we’ve killed enough of them.”
“Who else will be going with us?” Ren Xiaosu asked curiously.
“The Zong Consortium’s people.” Yang Xiaojin said calmly, “We have to be careful along the way. Don’t trust anyone besides me.”
Ren Xiaosu was shocked. He suddenly recalled the time they were on the expedition to the Jing Mountains. Although they did not trust each other at the time, they still formed a temporary alliance. Now that he thought about it, that alliance felt rather nice.
Neither of them mentioned holding hands. The stars were shining brightly in the night sky, and it was the perfect time to have supper.
…
The uproar at the gala did not subside even after Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin had departed. Everyone seemed to have found a new topic to gossip about.
Many of the higher-ups knew the purpose of the gala tonight. A young and promising man from the Zong Consortium who was known to be a supernatural being would be here for the function. In addition, Yang Yu’an had arranged for Yang Xiaojin and Zong Cheng to exterminate the bandits together. His intention could not be any more straightforward than this. It was not like the higher-ups were stupid.
The gala had not even started yet. Yang Yu’an, the representative of Stronghold 178, and the young man from the Zong Consortium were still discussing some matters inside the villa. The gala would only officially begin when they were done with the discussion and after they walked out of the villa. But before the function even began, one the stars for the night had already run off with someone else. In fact, she was the one who made the other person run off with her!
At this moment, Yang Yu’an and two young men stepped out of the villa. As he smiled at the guests, Yang Yu’an calmly took a glass of champagne and said, “Honored guests, what’s going on here? Is there something interesting you’re discussing?”
Someone hesitated before saying, “Your niece left with a young man….”
Yang Yu’an’s expression remained unchanged. He maintained his smile and said, “Oh? Which young man?”
Some people secretly sighed at how shrewd Yang Yu’an was. He could still keep such a straight face at a time like this.
Someone replied, “I don’t know where he popped out from. But he came here with Luo Lan and was dressed in casual attire.”
Yang Yu’an took a deep breath and said with a smile while looking at Zong Cheng and Xu Xianchu next to him, “Zong Cheng, Brother Little Xu, I’m sorry about this, but I have to deal with some family matters first.”
Xu Xianchu did not mind and said with a smile, “What’s the matter? Who ran off with your niece?”
“It’s just a refugee called Ren Xiaosu. There’s nothing worth mentioning about him,” Yang Yu’an answered.
But Xu Xianchu was stunned. He suddenly asked the others around him, “Where did Ren Xiaosu go? Which direction did he head off to?”
The people at the gala were dumbfounded. What the hell was going on?! The situation was such a mess. “I think they took off towards the south.”
Xu Xianchu bade farewell to Yang Yu’an, “I’m sorry, Chairman Yang. Ren Xiaosu is a good brother of mine. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, and he’s also my benefactor. I’ll go look for him first, so let’s discuss the other matters tomorrow.”
Then Xu Xianchu ran out and chased after Ren Xiaosu.
[1] A type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine.
