There were no classes that afternoon. Luo Beishi lay in bed, drowsy but forcing himself to stay awake. He was afraid that if he slept now, he wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
Aside from getting especially excited when he took care of his handsome man every day, there really didn't seem to be anything fun to do.
Speaking of which, wasn't Luo Bai, the protagonist shou, moving far too slowly? Two days had passed, and he still hadn't found a backer other than Shen Dong?
Wasn't he supposed to have five, six, seven, or eight backup lovers?
Huo Cifeng had been scammed out of ten billion and taken forty percent of useless shares. Was there really no one else willing to throw money into the pit that was the Luo Family?
"I'm so bored, hubby. Even as a villain, I have to wait for the protagonist to grow before I can slap his face." Hugging the slightly chilly, oversized plush toy that was Huo Cixiao, Luo Beishi murmured and closed his eyes.
He couldn't use up all his face-slapping opportunities at once. He had to ration them. If he exhausted them in one go, he wouldn't be able to earn any Face-Slapping Points.
If his money-tree husband woke up without Face-Slapping Points to get him back on his feet, he would have to go through a long period of rehabilitation to recover. How exhausting would that be?
As for Luo Beishi, the system did all the work anyway. He only supplied the ideas, so it wasn't much trouble.
Huo Cixiao: "..." Just listen to that. This was his instant wife. Everyone else wanted to be a normal person or a protagonist, but his instant wife wanted to be a villain.
That was his wife, all right.
But who was this protagonist his instant wife mentioned? Who had his instant wife been face-slapping lately? The Luo Family? The Shen Family? Huo Cifeng? There were so many people that he couldn't tell which one it was.
Still, although his instant wife was young, it was impressive that he could run circles around all these people.
He had something of Huo Cixiao's own style back in the day.
Inside a closed office, Huo Cifeng sat in his chair, listening as Assistant Zhang gave a detailed account of Luo Beishi's recent activities.
To his surprise, ever since Luo Beishi had married Huo Cixiao, he really hadn't gone out except to attend classes.
Getting something on him truly wasn't easy.
"Any ideas on how to get something on Luo Beishi?" Huo Cifeng asked Assistant Zhang beside him.
Assistant Zhang had been with Huo Cifeng for two years.
He held a postgraduate degree from Ivy Academy, which ranked among the top two in the country. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and a bespoke brown business suit.
Assistant Zhang looked at him and raised a hand to adjust his glasses, his tone calm. "If the eldest young madam doesn't go out, we can corner him at school. If there's nothing to use against him, we can manufacture something."
Huo Cifeng narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. His tone was still rather surprised, as though he hadn't expected his assistant to suggest such an idea. "Oh? Let's hear it."
"Nude photos, cheating-any negative publicity could deal him a blow. Then Old Master Huo will weigh the pros and cons and throw him out of the Huo Family."
Huo Cifeng's lips curved into a soft chuckle. He looked up and said, "Not bad. You really are my capable right-hand man, Assistant Zhang."
Assistant Zhang said, "You flatter me, young master. Shall we proceed?"
Huo Cifeng lowered his eyes, his gaze steady. After considering it for a moment, he finally agreed to Assistant Zhang's idea. His vegetative eldest brother's home was heavily guarded, yet the assassins sent there had gone off to farm.
There was no suitable method available right now. They could only wait until Luo Beishi was alone and abduct him.
"All right. Find someone to handle it. Don't expose your identity, and make sure it's dealt with properly."
Assistant Zhang said, "Yes, young master."
"Wait." Something else occurred to Huo Cifeng, and he immediately called him back.
"How are things with Luo Bai?"
"Young Master Luo Bai hasn't left home these past two days. He's taken leave from school."
"All right. Get to work."
Only the faint smell of tobacco and the woody scent of the desk and chairs lingered in the empty office. He raised a hand to his forehead and considered recent events. The only variable was Luo Beishi.
He had clearly liked Huo Cifeng before, so why had he suddenly started defending Huo Cixiao at every turn?
In the past, whenever Luo Beishi had free time, he would run over and wait downstairs at his company, just to see him once.
Occasionally, he would bring him flowers, gifts, cookies, fountain pens, and so on. Without exception, however, Huo Cifeng had thrown them away after accepting them.
He had kept this up tirelessly for years... Not seeing him all of a sudden really did take some getting used to. If you really get caught, don't blame me, Luo Beishi. This is what you get for going against me...
Luo Beishi had attended classes as usual and was packing up to go home when the system popped up without warning.
"Host! There's a demonic aura!"
Luo Beishi: "..." This kid must have gotten obsessed with the Great Sage lately.
"What's going on?" Luo Beishi slung his bag over his shoulders and walked out of the classroom, passing the female classmates who wanted to greet him every day but were far too timid.
"Someone wants to hurt you, Host! They've already prepared a sack to stuff you in!"
Hearing that, Luo Beishi thought about how he had nothing but brute strength. If he didn't use it properly, he could still end up handing himself over for nothing. "Tongtong, can I buy martial arts?"
For once, the system fell silent for a moment. It had probably gone searching.
A few seconds later, the system spoke up again. "Host, what martial arts would you like? I just contacted headquarters and borrowed some from other systems."
Luo Beishi: "..." That was seriously freaking amazing. It could even do that.
"Let's buy several together. Jujitsu, karate, and sanda. How much altogether?"
"Host, you want to buy all three together? That'll be thirty million!" The system rubbed its hands like a fly.JPG
"From your tone, it sounds like you're making a profit too?" Luo Beishi teased.
"Yes! When you spend money, Host, the higher-ups give the system energy too," the system said in its soft, babyish voice.
Luo Beishi wanted to ask how the system used the energy it received, but he didn't have time. He still had to deal with the people in the underground garage, then hurry home to feed his husband.
He was so busy.
"Thirty million it is." Who wouldn't like skills they could learn with a single click?
"Yes, Host."
"The target has entered the garage and is about to approach the red Ferrari in section A22."
"Confirm that surveillance has been disabled. Confirm that no one will appear nearby within the next minute."
"Surveillance is disabled. Everything else is confirmed."
"Prepare to move."
"Move!"
The four men had been hiding in the garage for a long time. They were the Four Old Wolves of the Capital, notorious wanted criminals who had committed every kind of crime and whom even the police couldn't catch. This time, they had infiltrated the university to capture their target, Luo Beishi, obtain nude photos of him, and fabricate "cheating photos."
They had investigated Luo Beishi's schedule and felt the job was far too easy. At first, they had disdained taking it, but since the boss was offering so much money, all four brothers had come together after all.
After lying in wait for an hour, they finally saw Luo Beishi finish class.
Just as Luo Beishi was about to reach his car, the four sprang into action and moved to surround him. Yet despite all their calculations, they had never anticipated...
Inside the South City District police station
The Four Old Wolves had been caught off guard and hauled into the police station. To prevent the four from causing trouble, the police held them separately.
They had never imagined that today would be the day they were caught. Most shocking of all, they had actually lost to a frail-looking man who seemed too weak to truss a chicken!
Now the Four Old Wolves' faces were swollen like pigs' heads, and they had lost quite a few teeth. The police had nearly failed to recognize them.