Don't Get Your Hopes Up

Chen Ye couldn't wait to push open the door and enter the side room.

Sure enough, a stunningly beautiful young woman with a high ponytail and fish-whisker-like hair was sitting at the dining table in the middle of the room.

His heart started pounding.

So beautiful! She's even more beautiful in person than in the photos.

Ruan Liusu heard a noise and saw someone suddenly enter. She immediately looked towards the door.

Upon realizing the person was a stranger and was staring intently at him, he asked, "Who are you?"

Chen Ye chuckled and said, "Liusu, I am Chen Ye. I am the marriage prospect that Grandpa Ruan introduced to you."

"Nonsense! Where did you come from, you little thief?"

Ruan Liusu's voice instantly turned cold.

She had met Chen Lie Chen Lie the Three-Province Martial Tournament in Cloud River Province.

She could tell at a glance that the person in front of her had low Blood Qi Value and a life level far below her own. Let alone the Blood-Qi Extreme Realm, he probably didn't even have a few hundred calories of Blood Qi Value.

"Liusu, I really am the marriage prospect introduced by Grandpa Ruan. Go ask him if you don't believe me!"

"You dare to spout such nonsense and try to fool me? You're asking for it!"

Ruan Liusu snorted coldly, stood up, and with a movement as if she had teleported, instantly appeared within inches of Chen Ye, grabbed Chen Ye's neck, and subdued Chen Ye.

When Chen Ye was grabbed like that, he immediately felt short of breath, his face turned red from holding his breath, and he tried to call for help, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Hmph, with such weak martial arts skills, how dare you boast and impersonate the East River Province Martial Leader!"

Ruan Liusu released Chen Ye and with a "bang," sent Chen Ye flying ten meters away against the wall of the private room.

With a "thump".

Chen Ye slammed heavily against the wall and then fell to the ground.

At that moment, he felt dizzy and lightheaded; Ruan Liusu's palm strike had almost shattered his sternum.

After a long while, Chen Ye finally let out a cry of pain.

"With such meager strength, you dare to toy with me? You're courting death!"

Chen Ye's strength was lower than Ruan Liusu had imagined. Fortunately, she realized that Chen Ye's strength was not high, and she only used less than one percent of her strength in this palm strike. Otherwise, one palm strike could have taken Chen Ye's life in a matter of minutes.

She is a member of the Sunan Province Genius Group. She stood out from rounds of fierce competition in Sunan Province, a province with a population of over 200 million. She is always ruthless towards her opponents, and she has beaten dozens of opponents half to death on the Duel Platform.

The commotion inside the room alerted the people outside.

Ruan Zhengzhi rushed in first, and seeing his granddaughter's indifferent expression and Chen Ye struggling on the ground, he quickly asked, "What happened?"

At that moment, Chang Guirong also came in. Seeing her seriously injured son lying on the ground, she rushed over to him.

"Ono, what are you doing here?"

Upon seeing his mother, Chen Ye cried out in pain, "Mom, my sternum is broken! It hurts so much!"

"Hang in there, Mom will take you to see a doctor!"

Chang Guirong and Chen Guangqun quickly carried Chen Ye out of the side room.

Ruan Liusu found this scene rather strange.

So he said, "As soon as this person arrived, he claimed that he was the person you introduced to me, Grandpa."

Didn't you say that the person I introduced to me was the Martial Leader of East River Province?

This Blood Qi Value are less than one-tenth of mine, and their martial arts are so weak, they must be an imposter!

He dared to play tricks on me, so I couldn't help but teach him a lesson. But don't worry, I went very lightly; it'll only be a minor injury at most.

Chang Guirong furious. Such a simple reason had seriously hurt her son. She was about to speak to rebuke Ruan Liusu for being unruly when Chen Shijian stopped her.

"You two take Ono to the nearest Martial Arts Hospital first, we'll talk about the rest later."

Chen Shijian pointed at Chen Guangqun and Chang Guirong.

Upon hearing Chen Shijian's words, Chen Guangqun and Chang Guirong had no choice but to quickly carry Chen Ye out.

Ruan Zhengzhi frowned and looked at Chen Shijian: "Old Chen, what's going on?"

Chen Shijian coughed lightly and said, "Old buddy, let's talk outside!"

Ruan Zhengzhi had guessed the general situation and walked out of the private room with Chen Shijian, his face cold.

At the same time, he didn't forget to tell his granddaughter Ruan Liusu, "Susu, wait for Grandpa for a moment."

Ruan Liusu also frowned slightly; the situation just now had made her deeply suspicious.

As they stepped outside the room, before Chen Shijian could even speak, Ruan Zhengzhi couldn't help but blurt out, "Old Chen, what the hell is wrong with you?"

So you're trying to cheat me on this marriage proposal?

After decades of friendship, I sincerely wanted to introduce my granddaughter to you, and you're trying to play tricks on me?

Go ask around in our Sunan Province, and see if the number of people who like my granddaughter can stretch from my house to the Provincial Governor's Office, and how many of them are martial arts geniuses!

Damn it, I knew something was wrong. Your family's financial situation is just average, so how come your grandson became the East River Martial Champion and then the Three-Province Martial Champion? It's all bullshit!

"Old Ruan, how could I possibly cheat on something like this? My grandson really is the Martial Leader of East River Province, and he recently won first place in the Three-Province Martial Tournament, becoming the Three-Province Martial Champion."

Seeing his angry old friend, Chen Shijian quickly said...

"You can make this up again! Three-Province Martial Champion! Even if martial arts in Chuanzhong is poor, it can't be this much worse than my granddaughter, right?"

Damn it, I've lost all my dignity for you, and you bastard are still spouting nonsense here. I don't know how to explain this to my granddaughter.

She wasted her time practicing martial arts, traveling all the way to East River Province, and this is the result?

He can't even face his granddaughter, let alone his son and daughter-in-law.

Thinking about how his son had strongly supported the marriage proposal he had made and even helped him persuade his granddaughter, he felt ashamed.

After all that, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

"Old friend, I admit I've kept some things from you."

"I'm going to be honest with you now. I actually have two grandsons. The other one you've never met is truly the East River Martial Champion, Three-Province Martial Champion in Chuanzhong. I'm not lying to you!" Chen Shijian said.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Zhengzhi pondered for a moment and said, "You swore to me that you would introduce me to your most outstanding grandson, but instead of the truly outstanding one, you introduced this scumbag to my granddaughter?"

"You even let this scoundrel impersonate your martial arts prowess grandson?"

"Old Ruan, you can't say that. My grandson may not have the best talent in martial arts, but he is a person of noble character. I truly believe he is a good match for your granddaughter."

My other grandson, although he has some achievements in martial arts, is not a good match in terms of character and is rather narrow-minded.

"If he really marries your granddaughter, then he'll be harming your granddaughter," Chen Shijian said.

"Alright, I'm not going to listen to your side of the story anymore. If someone can impersonate another person, I don't think your supposedly noble grandson has any moral character whatsoever."

I don't care whether your grandson, the Martial Leader, is as immoral or narrow-minded as you say. My granddaughter wasted a whole day coming with me today, so I can't leave empty-handed.

"Bring your grandson here right now, let's see what he's made of before we talk." Ruan Zhengzhi snorted coldly.

"Well... okay."

Chen Shijian took out his Communicator and once again instructed Ruan Zhengzhi, "Old Ruan, let me warn you again, my grandson is narrow-minded and is not a good match for your granddaughter."

"Stop talking nonsense, we'll make our own judgment!"

Ruan Zhengzhi was rude; after all, Chen Shijian had tricked him, and he couldn't possibly continue to treat him kindly as before.

Chen Shijian sighed and made a call to Chen Lie's family.

A short while later, the communication was established.

"Gequn, have Chen Lie come to the Starlight Hotel in the provincial capital. I need to speak with him."

"Dad, what's wrong?" Chen Gequn's voice came through the Communicator.

"Just have him come. I'll be waiting for him at the Starlight Hotel. Hurry up!"

After speaking, Chen Shijian hung up the call.

"Aren't you going to explain the reason for this?" Ruan Zhengzhi asked.

"There's no need to waste time on this."

"I've heard you say several times that your grandson, the Martial Leader, is narrow-minded and of questionable character. Tell me the specifics," Ruan Zhengzhi said.

Chen Shijian thought for a moment and said, "My grandson has encountered some difficulties in martial arts. He is clearly capable, but he refuses to help his cousin."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Zhengzhi exclaimed, "That's it? If I had a cousin impersonating me and ruining my reputation, I wouldn't even ask him to help me; I'd kill him!"

I didn't realize you, old man Chen, were so biased. No wonder you were hiding your granddaughter from me, wanting me to introduce her to your mediocre grandson.

You're so biased, you almost killed my granddaughter!

Chen Shijian shook his head and sighed, then said nothing more.

At this moment, Ruan Liusu came out from outside the side room.

"Grandpa, what just happened? Who was the person I injured?"

Ruan Zhengzhi replied, "It's nothing, Susu, the Martial Leader from East River Province is on his way."

As for that person just now, he's the cousin of the person Grandpa introduced you to; he was just joking with you.

"Are you kidding?" Ruan Liusu frowned slightly.

Is this a joke?

My cousin has absolutely no sense of propriety.

I deserved to be scolded by myself just now!

"Susu, you go into the room and wait. That person will be here soon."

"Okay, fine."

Ruan Liusu nodded and returned to the private room.

Meanwhile, at Chen Lie's home.

Chen Gequn put down the Communicator.

Feng Yuelan, who was standing nearby, asked, "Is Dad looking for Chen Lie? It's not because of Chen Ye again, is it?"

Chen Gequn shook his head and said, "Probably not. The East River Province government has already intervened; they certainly wouldn't dare to go against the authorities."

"Then I'll go tell my son. He went out early this morning. I'll make a call!" Feng Yuelan nodded.

Chen Lie and Luo Zhixun had made an appointment to exchange martial arts techniques long ago, but they had never had the opportunity.

Today, Luo Zhixun took the initiative to go to Chen Lie's house to find Chen Lie.

She knew that Chen Lie's martial arts skills were now extremely strong, enough to guide her, and since she was about to go to the Northwest Frontline to participate in military training, she did not delay any longer.

Luo Zhixun invited Chen Lie directly to the Provincial Governor's Office, where they went to her usual Cultivation Room to discuss martial arts.

After exchanging words, she immediately felt that Chen Lie's insights into martial arts were profound and unfathomable, and a few words from him pointed out many shortcomings in her own understanding of martial arts that she had always overlooked.

Her understanding of martial arts was even superior to that of one of her senior classmates at Starry Sky University.

Even the guidance I received from my senior from Starry Sky University didn't benefit me this much.

Shocked, Luo Zhixun also felt a pang of regret. Why hadn't she sought more instruction from Chen Lie on martial arts before? Otherwise, her martial arts skills would surely have improved even further. But now, military training was about to begin, and she wouldn't have that much time left.

The martial arts exchange that lasted for most of the day left Luo Zhixun absorbed in the mysteries of martial arts, utterly captivated.

Looking at the time, Luo Zhixun realized that Chen Lie had been explaining martial arts to her the whole time and hadn't eaten yet.

She smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "I'm sorry, Chen Lie, I was so focused on having you explain martial arts to me that I forgot to entertain you!"

"How about this, I'll call my dad and ask him to send someone to deliver the thousand- Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine. We can have a meal made with it together."

"Alright!"

Chen Lie nodded.

Luo Zhixun had just walked out of the Cultivation Room together.

As soon as the Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine was delivered, Luo Zhixun handed it over to the kitchen to be cooked.

Just then, Chen Lie's Communicator suddenly rang.

He picked up the Communicator and glanced at it, only to find it was his mother calling.

Chen Lie answered the phone immediately.

Luo Zhixun turned to look at Chen Lie, and only after Chen Lie finished the call did she ask, "What's wrong?"

Chen Liedao, "Something has suddenly come up, let's have the Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine meal another time."

"Have you run into some trouble? Is there anything I can do to help?" Luo Zhixun asked.

"I don't know, my mom told me that my grandpa asked me to go to the Starlight Hotel."

"Then I'll give you a ride."

"Good!"

Luo Zhixun immediately notified the kitchen to stop preparing the Spirit Medicine Meal, and then took Chen Lie onto a Provincial Governor's Office's airship.

Chen Lie and Luo Zhixun boarded an airship and arrived at the Starlight Hotel in just over ten minutes.

Luo Zhixun and Chen Lie arrived outside the Starlight Hotel: "Chen Lie, since your family is looking for you, I won't go with you."

Chen Lie hummed in agreement and asked, "I remember Provincial Governor Luo saying last time that he would send officials to warn my relatives about disturbing my martial arts practice. Did the officials go?"

Luo Zhixun replied, "Yes, I went that very night."

I specifically asked my dad, and it seems to be your second uncle's family. They promised not to bother you anymore and even signed a guarantee.

If they violate this rule, officials will detain the person who signed the guarantee, and they could face at least three years in prison.

After hearing this, Chen Lie nodded and said, "Then there's no problem. You can go back now."

97

Luo Zhixun hummed in agreement and waved Chen Liedao.

Chen Lie entered the Starlight Hotel alone. As soon as he reached the second floor, he saw Chen Shijian and another man in his sixties standing outside a private room.

Chen Shijian also saw Chen Lie. He was extremely resentful that his eldest grandson, who was clearly capable, refused to help and wouldn't even help his own cousin.

Chen Lie approached Chen Shijian expressionlessly. "Grandpa, you were looking for me?"

Chen Shijian gave a curt "hmm" and said in a flat tone, "I have something to tell you."

"What's up?"

Ruan Zhengzhi walked over from the side.

He took a closer look at Chen Lie and indeed found that this young man had an extraordinary aura. He was resolute and spirited, and his demeanor alone was far superior to that of Chen Ye.

"Kid, I heard you're the Martial Leader in East River Province, is that true?"

Chen Lie glanced at Ruan Zhengzhi: "Fake!"

"I just checked several news articles online, and the person in the photo is you. How could it be fake?"

"Old man, you're really strange. Since you already know, why ask the unnecessary question?"

"How dare you talk like that? I'm of the same generation as your grandfather, what do you mean 'old man'?"

Ruan Zhengzhi angered.

"Alright, Chen Lie!"

Chen Shijian suddenly said, "The reason I called you here today is to introduce you to the granddaughter of my good friend."

My friend's granddaughter is a martial arts prodigy in the Sunan Province Genius Group. I'm giving you a heads-up: just get to know her and that's it. Don't waste her time!

"What do you mean? You called me here in such a hurry just to introduce someone to me?" Chen Lie frowned slightly.

"What? You think you've been wronged? She's Heavenly Pride Daughter one of the top twenty provinces on Blue Star. It's an honor for you to meet her. Don't be ungrateful," Chen Shijian said in a deep voice.

"Oh, I see. But I'm just an ungrateful person, I really can't accept this honor, bye-bye!"

After Chen Lie finished speaking, he turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Seeing that Chen Lie was about to leave, Ruan Zhengzhi called him back.

Immediately, Ruan Zhengzhi shouted at Chen Shijian, "Old Chen, you dare to make me come all this way for nothing, making me lose face at home? I'm cutting ties with you! We'll never know each other again!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shijian immediately said, "Chen Lie, wait a minute. Just do your grandpa a favor. The girl is in the private room right now. Go in and say a few words before you leave."

Chen Lie stopped and turned around, saying, "Helping is not out of the question, but what you said at the banquet that day hurt my parents' feelings too much, Grandpa."

If you could make a phone call right now and apologize to my dad, I could help you with this."

"What? You bastard, you want me, a father, to apologize to my son? No way!"

Upon hearing Chen Lie's excessive request, Chen Shijian was immediately enraged.

"Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say. Let's go!"

Chen Lie walked forward without looking back.

"Old Chen, what the hell do you mean? Do you really want me to lose face in front of my family?"

He had arranged this marriage for his granddaughter on his own initiative, and if his family found out, Ruan Zhengzhi would be utterly humiliated.

Seeing his old friend glaring at him with a fierce expression, Chen Shijian realized he had indeed wronged him this time, so he said, "Wait, I agree to your request!"

Chen Lie stopped, turned around, and said, "Alright then, please have Grandpa make a call to my dad now."

Chen Shijian's face flushed red. He picked up the Communicator and dialed Chen Gequn's number.

A moment later, the communication was connected, and Chen Gequn's voice came through the Communicator.

"Dad, is there anything else?"

Chen Shijian suppressed his anger and tried to speak calmly, "Gequn, what I said at the last banquet was a bit too much."

Later, I thought about it and realized I shouldn't have said those things. Dad wants to apologize to you here, please don't take it to heart.

Chen Gequn was immediately puzzled. He knew his father, Chen Shijian, very well. Why would he suddenly apologize to him for what happened at the banquet?

"Why would I take it to heart?" Chen Gequn quickly replied.

"I'm glad you didn't take it to heart. I have some things to do, so I'll hang up now!"

Less than half a minute later, Chen Shijian hung up the call.

He glared angrily at Chen Lie and said, "Are you satisfied now?"

"I'm satisfied now, so I'll go in and take a look," Chen Liedao.

As he spoke, he walked towards the private room.

Chen Shijian said again, "Remember what I said. Just exchange a few words with them inside, that's enough. You're not good enough for them, so don't daydream or think about unrealistic things."

Chen Lie still couldn't figure out what Chen Shijian wanted by asking him to meet a so-called "Heavenly Pride Daughter" from Sunan Province. Naturally, he remained noncommittal about his grandfather Chen Shijian's words.

Ruan Zhengzhi saw it all clearly from the side.

That bastard Chen Shijian, his favoritism is just too much to bear.

The East River Martial Champion, the Chuanzhong Martial Champion, is not good enough for his granddaughter, but his good-for-nothing grandson is?

He tried his best to matchmake his younger grandson with his older grandson, but repeatedly warned him not to have any unrealistic hopes.

If Chen Shijian hadn't made those blunders in the first place, Ruan Zhengzhi would definitely have been happy to see his granddaughter develop a relationship with Chen Shijian's eldest grandson.

But now, he just wants to get by and has no desire to match his granddaughter with Chen Lie anymore.