All of this was far too unexpected for Liu Anran; not a single step had gone according to his plan.
He had originally thought he was facing a sufficiently strong opponent, assuming those earlier methods were merely probes. He hadn’t even given Liu Xie a sliver of information, going so far as to publicly turn her away at the company gates just because he was afraid his opponent would be cautious enough to spot the slightest clue.
Though he hadn’t been able to hold back in the end, it had caused the inspired Liu Xie to start charging headlong through his plans.
But in truth, Liu Xie appearing in this banquet hall was more in line with common sense and their feelings for each other. If she had been absent now, it might have looked less realistic.
As it turned out, his opponent didn’t notice such minor details at all. He was just a straightforward, reckless brat whose life Liu Anran had barely spared when dealing with him back then.
It was like two armies facing off. He saw the enemy’s 2,000 troops and thought they were scouts, so he played it safe and calculated every move, formulating a battle plan sufficient to combat an army of 200,000. Then, he discovered that those 2,000 troops were the main force — in fact, they were everyone.
Thinking back, during the first wave of publicity, he had assumed the other party was being cautious and holding back investment. In reality, they simply didn’t have that much power. The internet water army he hired might have cost more than the other party’s total investment.
Liu Anran felt his anger rise.
“Yeah, I did it all.”
The man’s face wore an arrogant smile. “Quite angry, aren’t you? But being angry now is useless because you can’t do anything. You’ve already broken away from the Liu family. What can an incompetent guy like you do — someone who’s all hype?”
“Besides, the Liu family won’t help you now. You just announced you were cutting ties. Even if this Eldest Miss of the Liu family wants to do something, she can’t. She can’t settle scores later either. Precisely because I have a conflict with Liu Anran, the Liu family has to protect me to clear their name and ensure no one from the family retaliates. Otherwise, those words from earlier would have been for nothing.”
The man suddenly let out two loud laughs.
“Since you did it, you really dared to show your face in front of me,” Liu Anran said.
“So what if I show my face? What can you do now?” The smile on the man’s face was incredibly arrogant. “Back then, just because I lost my composure slightly at the Eldest Miss’s school entrance banquet, you targeted me to this extent. Do you feel how I felt now? Do you only start to regret it when the heavy blow lands on you?”
“I’ve realized something,” Liu Anran interrupted the guy’s rant. “Not only do you talk a lot of crap, but your words don’t match your strength. You’re incompetent and arrogant.”
“You couldn’t even manage the legacy left by your father’s generation. Considering you took over the burden unexpectedly, I treated you as a newborn calf and didn’t hold it against you, leaving you some capital. Yet, you insist on making me do something that will cause you eternal regret before you’ll finally let this go.”
The boy’s disguised dejection and unwillingness were completely shed at this moment.
Just as Liu Xie remembered, he protected her behind him, saving all his gentleness for her while leaving all his spirit and sharp edge for others.
Most importantly, he reached out and gently touched Liu Xie’s cheek, wiping away the tears that were about to overflow from her eyes.
‘She probably used eye drops.’
As if to comfort her, he suppressed all of Liu Xie’s grievances and held back her earlier impulse. Then, Liu Anran looked at the guy in front of him.
He let out a long sigh.
“Everything I’ve learned since I was a child has told me that to be a growing powerhouse, one must not show too much of their edge. One must be patient, mature, and steady; one must ensure that no one can find their weaknesses or grasp their Achilles’ heel. That is the only way to become a true powerhouse.”
He muttered to himself as he opened his suit jacket, took off his tie, and wrapped it around his right hand, layer by layer.
“What are you doing? I’m warning you, if you lay a hand on me now, your one remaining small company without any support won’t be able to compete with mine.”
Liu Anran ignored him and continued to walk forward.
“But I’ve found that one always encounters some idiots in life who make a mess of my affairs, and they tell me clearly that these idiots simply won’t learn without a lesson.”
Liu Anran was indeed very angry. He was angry because such an idiot had caused him to leave Liu Xie aside and ignore her for an entire day.
He took two more steps closer, looking coldly at the man.
The man seemed to read something from Liu Anran’s eyes. Liu Anran was actually going to hit him.
He hurriedly retreated two steps, trying to back into the crowd of guests behind him. Before he could even turn around, a leg wearing a red high-heeled shoe stretched out from the crowd of guests standing close by, and a foot kicked the guy squarely in the butt.
The guy’s plan to flee naturally went down the drain. By the time he stabilized himself after stumbling, Liu Anran’s fist, wrapped in the tie, was already in front of him.
Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, the man couldn’t even block one of Liu Anran’s punches and fell directly to the ground. Liu Anran didn’t go as far as to mount him and keep punching, so he just walked up and gave him a kick.
“I really gave you too much face. I mistook you for a character, and you mistook yourself for one, too.”
This was the first time Liu Anran had been this angry; otherwise, his words might have been more refined.
“You!” The man on the ground pointed a finger at Liu Anran. “Don’t come crying to your parents when I retaliate against you later.”
Then, as if to vent his spite, he added, “Oh, I almost forgot. You only just found your parents. I doubt you even have the habit of crying to them.”
“Truly, only your mouth is impressive,” Liu Anran sighed again.
He began to doubt himself — why had he wasted so much time on this kind of trash just because of his own caution? It simply wasn’t worth it.
At that moment, he turned his head and looked at the most important part of this entire event.
Liu Xie was still waiting for him in the same spot. She watched him hit the guy, and far from shrinking back, she even spoke up when Liu Anran turned around.
“Do you want me to help you hit him? He won’t dare to hit back.”
Clearly, Liu Xie could see now that the matter was over and the true culprit had been found.
Liu Anran shook his head. “No need.”
Then, he seemed unable to speak, or rather, he didn’t know how to explain things to Liu Xie.
“I know. You don’t hate me. That’s enough.”
Liu Xie gave a very natural smile.
“Only, could I ask you… if you leave, could you come back to see me every now and then?” Liu Xie grabbed Liu Anran’s cuff. “I’ll be waiting for you in our little nest.”
“You don’t need to worry about that guy, either. I’ll ask Mom and Dad to deal with him. He won’t disturb your future life.”
“Don’t forget me, okay?”
The corners of Liu Anran’s mouth twitched slightly. He could tell that Liu Xie was getting a bit addicted to her acting now.
And she seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. There was also a hint of wanting to get back at him for his previous secrecy.
It seemed there was nothing he could do about it; he could only endure it.
“I won’t.” He reached out and pulled Liu Xie into his arms.
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