An Unfriendly Arrival

Xiao Churan was also curious about what had happened today.

First, why had Ye Chen's BMW 520 been twice as fast as Wang Tengfei's BMW 540?

Then there was Ye Chen's ancient painting, worth hundreds of thousands!

And why did Ye Chen know people from the underworld, and why did they show him so much respect?

On the way back, Ye Chen explained it to her. He told Xiao Churan that the BMW 520 was a test-drive car modified by the dealership. To make customers mistakenly believe the car was very powerful, they had made a few modifications.

Xiao Churan didn't know much about cars, so she believed him without really understanding.

As for the ancient painting, he had already explained that someone had sold it to him cheaply out of friendship, and he had given it to Wang Daokun out of friendship.

But Scarface was a little trickier to explain.

After all, Scarface had been so eager to call him Mr. Ye at every turn that Ye Chen couldn't easily explain it away.

In the end, he could only say that Scarface's boss was a relative of one of his friends. They had met at a gathering of friends before, and the man had shown him some respect for his friend's sake.

Xiao Churan felt something was off, but seeing how certain Ye Chen sounded, she knew it would be useless to press him, so she asked no more.

Dong Ruolin had been watching Ye Chen all along and increasingly felt that there was more to him than met the eye. She therefore decided to pay him more attention in the future and see what secrets he had!

Wang Tengfei was said to be in a terrible state. By the time he was taken to the hospital, he was already unconscious.

His father had been fired by the Dihao Group and found to have used his position for personal gain. The Dihao Group's legal department had sued him, and he had promptly been arrested by the police.

It could be said that Wang Tengfei's family was completely finished.

But Wang Tengfei's family wasn't well known in Jinling, and nobody cared whether they lived or died.

What everyone was really paying attention to was the god-tier tycoon on the short-video platforms and the mysterious big shot who would soon have the Hanging Garden at the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel booked out.

Everyone was eager to know who they were and whether they were the same person!

Before long, their wedding anniversary arrived.

Because he had long ago told Xiao Churan he would give her a surprise, Ye Chen insisted that she change into a noble and elegant white evening gown before they went out.

Xiao Churan reluctantly agreed, muttering, "We're only going out for a meal. Why do you insist on making me change into something so formal? Even if it's our wedding anniversary, there's no need to make such a grand occasion of it, is there?"

Ye Chen smiled. "It's our third anniversary today. Naturally, we should dress more formally. I booked the restaurant a long time ago. I guarantee you'll be happy with tonight's arrangements."

He had done an excellent job of keeping the secret these past few days and hadn't given his wife any reason to suspect a thing.

Xiao Churan smiled gently, deeply moved.

For their first two wedding anniversaries, the two of them had celebrated casually at home. Though the occasions had been ordinary, even when Ye Chen had been penniless, he had prepared thoughtful little gifts to make her happy.

This year, however, Ye Chen had gone against his usual habits and kept everything a mystery, leaving her unable to guess what new trick her live-in husband had planned.

A little later, the two of them finished changing, went out and took a taxi straight to the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel.

Ye Chen stepped out of the car and looked at Xiao Churan standing beside him, his gaze indescribably gentle. "Churan, we'll celebrate our third wedding anniversary here tonight. What do you think?"

Xiao Churan's expression immediately turned strange. Was this where Ye Chen had booked a restaurant for tonight?

She asked instinctively, "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

Ye Chen smiled and said, "Of course not!"

He went on to explain, "I booked a table here a few days ago. If you don't believe me, we can go in and check the booking."

Xiao Churan shook her head. In their three years of marriage, Ye Chen had never lied to her, much less on a day as important as this. Then she said, "There's no need. I believe you."

She went on to ask, "You didn't book a table in the Hanging Garden, did you? Isn't some big shot supposed to have booked the whole place out today?"

Ye Chen hurriedly said, "I booked a table next to the Hanging Garden. We'll be able to see inside it, and then we can take a look at just what kind of big shot booked the place out. What do you say?"

Xiao Churan laughed. "I'm not as nosy as you!"

The two then walked into the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel.

Just as they were about to go upstairs, a woman suddenly cried out beside them, "Oh my, Campus Belle Xiao, what are you doing here?!"

Xiao Churan looked up and saw a young man and woman walking toward them.

The man wore an expensive suit and was clearly the wealthy young master of some family. The woman was dressed head to toe in designer brands, with striking makeup, but her brows and eyes were full of arrogance, and her outfit made her look somewhat tacky and provocative.

Xiao Churan knew the woman. She was Zhao Liqing, her roommate from university.

Although Zhao Liqing and Xiao Churan had shared a dorm room, they had not been in the same class.

Even though they had shared a room, Xiao Churan and Zhao Liqing had never been particularly close.

That was mainly because Zhao Liqing had an exalted opinion of herself and was extremely jealous.

She had always felt that Xiao Churan didn't deserve the title of campus belle and that she herself should have held it.

In reality, however, whether in looks, figure, bearing or substance, she fell far short of Xiao Churan.

The woman did have one advantage, though: she was particularly good at hooking up with men. She was said to have hooked up with quite a few rich men before, and those men had paid all her expenses throughout her four years at university.

Xiao Churan frowned, but considering they had been schoolmates, she could only brace herself when the pair came closer and say politely, "Liqing, long time no see. My husband and I came here to eat. What about you?"

Zhao Liqing said in surprise, "Oh, what a coincidence! My husband and I came here to eat too!"

Then, once again feigning curiosity, she asked, "By the way, what kind of room did you book: a regular private room, a superior one, or a deluxe one?"

Xiao Churan had no idea what Ye Chen had arranged, so she could only answer honestly, "I don't know. My husband booked the table."

Only then did Zhao Liqing notice Ye Chen. She covered her mouth and smiled. "Oh, this must be your live-in husband, Ye Chen, right? Back in school, he was quite a famous king of soft rice!"

The mockery hidden in her words was especially grating.

Xiao Churan looked embarrassed.

Zhao Liqing came to her senses and hurriedly said apologetically, "Oh, sorry, sorry. I blame my blunt mouth. Churan, don't take it to heart..."

Ye Chen frowned slightly. This Zhao Liqing seemed to have come with ill intentions!