Song Anning Came Knocking

Uncle Meng's worries had not been unfounded. Guo Lantai's return had caused quite a commotion, and Song Anning, busy in his room planning his future, naturally had not missed it.

However, knowing that Cen Muxiao was exercising on the third floor, he did not go looking for him right away. Instead, he went to the small terrace at the end of the second floor, where he could also see what was happening in the courtyard.

When he saw Guo Lantai dressed like a biker, he could not help snorting inwardly. Sure enough, he was an unruly spoiled heir. He already bore the title of Mrs. Cen, yet he still behaved so improperly.

Riding a beat-up motorcycle in and out of the Cen family villa without a care—did he not think it would embarrass Cen Muxiao?

When he saw Guo Lantai return to the villa, he did not hurry back to his room. Instead, he hid by the terrace entrance and watched in secret, wanting to see Cen Muxiao's reaction to Guo Lantai's behavior.

Sure enough, what a coincidence—the two ran into each other on the stairs. Before he could even dwell on whether Cen Muxiao had arranged it on purpose, that one comforting remark was enough to make him grit his teeth in fury!

Why did he care so much about Guo Lantai?

Had Guo Lantai settled the matter for him and was now eager to show off?

Cen Muxiao clearly detested him. Since he detested him, he ought to stay far away. Even if he wanted to keep up appearances out of consideration for the relationship between their families, there was no need for him to personally step in, much less speak to him!

Would that not make Guo Lantai so smug that his pigtail practically stuck up into the sky? Give that man a little sunshine and he would bloom; one pleasant look, one soft word, and he would take it as reason to push his luck.

Surely Cen Muxiao knew that!

Song Anning waited until Uncle Meng came down from the third floor before leaving the terrace. But the moment he stopped outside his own door, he suddenly noticed something strange. A dazzling beam of light shot at him from somewhere, making it impossible for him to keep his eyes open.

He raised a hand to shield himself while checking where it was coming from, only to find that the light had been reflected from the third floor.

He glanced back at Cen Muxiao's door. Knowing that Cen Muxiao would rest for a while after exercising, he headed straight for the third floor without concern.

Before he had even reached the halfway point, he spotted a faint glimmer in the distance. Was the source of that light not right above Guo Lantai's doorframe?

And he did not even need to guess to see the answer. It was a bronze mirror, faithfully reflecting the light from the corridor, its surface aimed squarely at his room!

This was blatant targeting!

Hmph. They had not seen each other for only two days, and the moment Guo Lantai came back, he had already declared war. Song Anning knew that man would never pass up any chance to target him.

He might be able to tolerate other things, but he could not let this bronze mirror slide. Even if he was not superstitious, he had heard that mirrors gathered evil energy. If it faced him, did that not mean it was directing all that evil energy onto him?

He was confidently plotting for a good start to his career. This mirror was absolutely not a good omen for him.

With that thought, he bit his lip and made up his mind. No matter what, he could not let Guo Lantai hang up that bronze mirror!

As soon as he thought it, he acted. He took long strides upstairs, rushed up, and without a second thought pulled the mirror down.

Knock, knock, knock!

With a trace of anger, he knocked on Guo Lantai's door. He wanted to have a proper word with him. If Guo Lantai wanted to go head-to-head with him, there was no need for these cheap tricks. If they were going to openly declare war, he should at least show some skill.

"Who is it?"

Guo Lantai's cheerful voice came from inside. The happier he sounded, the angrier Song Anning became. He wanted nothing more than to kick the door open and smack the bronze mirror into his face.

Sure enough, one comforting word from Cen Muxiao had sent him soaring to the heavens!

"It's me. Mr. Guo, please open the door. I have something to discuss with you."

Suppressing the rage surging through him, Song Anning quickly stated his purpose.

"Who? Who are you?"

To his surprise, another question came from inside, nearly making Song Anning jump on the spot. Had he said all that for nothing?

If he did not introduce himself, Guo Lantai could not tell who he was?

Heh, that was a little insulting. Was Guo Lantai treating him like thin air?

Still, he forced down his anger, cleared his throat, and repeated himself with crisp enunciation. "It's me, Song Anning."

Sure enough, footsteps sounded from inside after that. The door soon opened, and when Guo Lantai saw him through the crack, he looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh, so it's Mr. Song. You climbed all the way up here just to see me? What do you need?"

Seeing that he was still wearing that biker outfit, with his messy hair completely untended, Song Anning felt even more disdainful. How was someone looking like this worth Cen Muxiao comforting personally?

And those words had been unpleasant too. What did he mean by climbing all the way up here? It was not as if he lived in the clouds. How high could it be?

Was Guo Lantai questioning whether he was delicate and physically weak?

Besides, if it were not for this blasted mirror, he would not have come to the third floor so easily.

No matter how displeased he was inside, he put on a gentle smile. "There is indeed something. I would like to ask what you mean by this. The moment I opened my door, its glare made it impossible for me to open my eyes. It was hard not to notice!"

When Guo Lantai saw the bronze mirror Song Anning held out, no surprise appeared on his face. He merely clicked his tongue inwardly. Song Anning had come looking for him so quickly.

"Oh my! That is my treasured mirror for warding off evil and dispelling filth! Why did you take it down for me? It's been consecrated. Hanging it up once is fine, but if you take it down and hang it back up again, it won't work anymore!"

Guo Lantai stared at the bronze mirror in his hand, quickly putting on an expression of deep pain and immense regret. Clearly, he was very dissatisfied with Song Anning taking down the mirror without permission.

But this was precisely the effect Song Anning wanted. With one decisive stroke, he had smashed Guo Lantai's scheme to toy with him, leaving him frustrated and unhappy.

A thoroughly insincere apology appeared on his face. He shook the bronze mirror in his hand and said, unable to hide his gloating, "So it's a single-use item. Even if I had not taken it down, I imagine it would not have been of much use. I advise Mr. Guo not to believe in this sort of thing anymore."

Guo Lantai nodded in agreement. "Mm, Mr. Song is right. It really is not worth trusting anymore. Since you were the one who took it down, you must be its fated owner. I'll give it to you!

"Oh, right. The master said that the fated owner's name would be left on the back of the bronze mirror. Hurry and see if it's there. If not, I'll have to go back and settle accounts with him. He can't fool me with something like this!"

Song Anning had not wanted to listen to his nonsense, but Guo Lantai's words seemed to possess some strange magic. He could not help turning over the bronze mirror in his hand to inspect its back.

Who would have thought that one look would make him furious!

The back of the bronze mirror actually had the three characters Song Anning engraved upon it in plain sight!

"Guo Lantai, you did that on purpose, didn't you?!"

He finally could not hold it in and shouted. He nearly crushed the bronze mirror in his hand. This was obviously Guo Lantai playing him for a fool; no matter how good-tempered he was, he could not tolerate it.

"Look at you. Getting angry is bad for your health. It was just a joke. This is a gift from me to you. Now that you have it, take it back with you. No need to thank me!"

Ignoring his fury, Guo Lantai blinked and added, "If you like it, I can give you another one. I still have more than ten in my backpack."

Song Anning nearly spat out blood when he heard that. Could this thing be bought wholesale?