Chapter 15: Don’t Mess with Me

Chapter 15: Don't Mess with Me

Xu Qingran couldn’t care less about the lives of those who wanted to mess with him.

But he wasn’t twisted enough to have any pedophilic tendencies.

So when Shen Tingyu shoved his five-year-old nephew in front of him, he was genuinely taken aback.

Xu Qingran: "System?"

The system was also sweating bullets: "It’s just... this shouldn’t be happening? I reported according to the information provided by the management bureau—it couldn’t be wrong!"

But upon closer thought, Shen Tianyi’s initials in pinyin were also STY...

The intern system suddenly started second-guessing itself.

And if it wasn’t mistaken, Shen Tingyu and Shen Tianyi’s sample chips might actually be stored right next to each other.

Could it really have made a mistake?!

If the system had a face, it would be covering it in horror right now.

To meet its KPI and get regularized, it quickly found a justification: "No biggie, the data’s fake anyway, no matter who you’re matched with!"

"We just needed an excuse to get close to Shen Tingyu, and this works perfectly. Plus, being matched with his nephew saves you a lot of trouble, and Shen Tingyu won’t be wary of you because of rejection."

In a daze, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shen Tingyu glanced at the display, then chuckled meaningfully: "Xu Qingran, it’s for you."

Xu Qingran looked up, puzzled.

How come, besides himself, someone else knew he was at Shen Tingyu’s place?

A man stood outside the door.

The first thing that caught his eye was the man’s sharp silver-black outfit. Luxurious and handsome, paired with a well-fitted long coat—even an average person would look imposing in that, let alone someone with his build.

The silver badge on his chest looked heavy, like it carried real weight.

This time, Xu Qingran finally saw the silver dragon badge clearly.

It was a silver dragon, head to tail, wings slightly spread, claws sharp, and eyes fierce—commanding respect.

Xu Qingran thought to himself, *So the Silver Dragon Military uniform could look this sharp.*

The man had a striking face—elegant and deep, with a tear mole at the corner of his left eye that added a unique touch.

The man was thrilled to see him, grabbing his hands to inspect him: "Qingran, are you okay?"

While looking, he frowned and asked: "What happened? You’re hurt!"

Xu Qingran noticed the worry on the man’s face, had a sudden realization, and hesitantly said: "Lu Cheng?"

The man didn’t correct him.

At the same time, he also noticed Shen Tingyu leaning against the doorframe, smirking as he watched the scene.

He instinctively reached out to pull Xu Qingran to his side, but this time he didn't notice that Xu Qingran resisted being pulled, his attention solely fixed on the person by the door, wary and alert.

Despite his displeasure, he still tried to maintain a calm tone: "General Shen, Xu Qingran belongs to our Silver Dragon Battalion. You shouldn't have brought him to your home without authorization."

After speaking, Lu Cheng realized his words might have sounded ambiguous.

An inexplicable anxiety washed over him, and he kept wondering: when had Xu Qingran become involved with Shen Tingyu? Had they known each other for a long time? Had their relationship progressed to the point of crossing faction lines for visits?

Shen Tingyu merely offered a light smile in response, saying nothing.

He stood a step above, and when their eyes met, it gave the impression of being looked down upon.

Shen Tingyu is often described as a rare E-type, unparalleled in the world.

Hailing from a distinguished family, he was not only handsome and rational but also treated others with humility, politeness, and gentleness, seldom displaying a cold demeanor or losing his temper outside of his official responsibilities.

Yet, Lu Cheng harbored a dislike for him.

He had witnessed the coldest, most cruel aspect of this so-called gentleman.

In the depths of his ocean-like eyes lay a bone-chilling coldness, untouched by light, accompanied by a glint of fierce red, as he mercilessly crushed those who pleaded for mercy beneath him. Devoid of warmth or sympathy, it seemed to reveal his true nature.

He was aware that he had witnessed it.

Yet, despite this, during their numerous public encounters, he continued to greet and converse with him, wearing a humble smile and demeanor. Even in moments when they were nearly alone, he could feign ignorance of that day's events, interacting with him as if nothing had occurred.

Lu Cheng, being straightforward, conceded his inability to handle individuals like Shen Tingyu.

Thus, at every meeting, he struggled to maintain a pleasant demeanor, though he believed he had shown sufficient respect. To think, this masked villain had the audacity to approach Xu Qingran?

Could this be an act of revenge?

While Lu Cheng awaited Shen Tingyu's explanation, he was taken aback when Xu Qingran was the first to pull away from his grasp.

Xu Qingran's face clearly showed resistance: "What? Just because I'm from Silver Dragon, I can't associate with people from Golden Wing?"

How come he didn't know there was such a rule?

Lu Cheng paused: "...I didn't mean that, but Shen Tingyu is not a good person, don't hang out with him."

After hearing this, Xu Qingran smiled: "What a coincidence, I think so too."

Faced with the bad words said to his face, Shen Tingyu just smiled and did not get angry.

Xu Qingran looked at Lu Cheng's expression of being abandoned like a dog, very puzzled: "Mr. Lu, I remember you are already engaged to my good brother, why are you still interfering with my social interactions now?"

Lu Cheng thought to himself, sure enough, Xu Qingran knew that he hated Shen Tingyu the most but still came to see him, deliberately being angry about his engagement to Xu Qingan.

He sighed deeply and said to Xu Qingran like coaxing a child: "Come with me first, let's talk about anything when we go back, okay?"

Xu Qingran replied: "Not very good, but there is one thing I can make clear to you now, come closer."

Lu Cheng didn't think too much, and could comply with any request Xu Qingran made now.

But he didn't expect that as soon as he got closer, a fierce punch unexpectedly landed on his face.

The incident was so sudden that he didn't even have any defense prepared, and he took Xu Qingran's punch solidly. It made him dizzy for a while, his body swayed a few steps, and he was completely stunned, even a bit incredulous.

In his memory, Xu Qingran was soft and gentle, when did he ever fight with him?

Xu Qingran flexed his fingers, his eyes icy with disgust: "Don't touch me."

No wonder he's such a jerk, no wonder he had the original owner wrapped around his finger.

The original owner's love-struck brain—even in an apocalypse, no mutant beast would touch that.

Thinking this, he sneered and added: "Get the hell out of here, as far as you can, and quit faking this sappy, pathetic act in front of me."

After saying that, he pushed Shen Tingyu, who was clearly enjoying the drama, inside and slammed the door shut with a bang.

·

On the small screen inside the house, you could still see Lu Cheng's stunned, dazed look as he stood outside the door. Finally realizing that he wouldn't come with him, he slunk off like a kicked puppy, dejected.

After the little episode, Auntie Song had dinner ready.

The dinner table was eerily quiet. Shen Tingyu didn't eat much and started tapping away at his wristband, busy with who knows what. The little nephew, who'd tried to act tough earlier, now didn't dare look at him, half of his face buried in the bowl.

Like one more glance would earn him a beating.

Xu Qingran withdrew his gaze and chuckled.

The system was right—he wasn't here for love. Even though the target wasn't quite what he expected, the first step of getting close had been achieved, so he decided to follow the plan.

About two days later, Shen Tingyu's driver drove him back to the Xu family estate.

As soon as he entered, he saw the living room was crammed with boxes of all sizes.

His stepmother was bustling around, beaming: "When An'an and Lu Cheng move into their new place, they'll need these bedding sets too... Qingran?!"

His stepmother was very surprised to see him back.

Hearing the commotion, Xu's father stepped out from the back hall, ready to chew him out. But seeing his injuries, he held back.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming? I could've sent the driver," Xu's father said sternly.

Xu Qingran replied: "It's fine, I got a ride."

After saying that, he didn't chat much with them and went straight upstairs to his room.

The folks downstairs barely noticed, and you could still hear Xu's father shouting: "What's in this one? Is it for Qing'an too?"

"Ah, this box isn't, it's the toys I bought for the unborn baby yesterday..."

The room looked exactly the same, except for the cleaning robot that came by now and then.

Xu Qingran found his luggage box, pulled it out, and started packing the more essential daily items and clothes. While rummaging, he also dug up a new-era phone, a light tablet, and some other stuff in the desk drawer.

The light tablet, surprisingly, still had juice, and as soon as he approached, the screen lit up on its own.

The page was on the homepage of a forum called Star Horizon.

There was a trending post, and he clicked on it. It was the gossip post about high-compatibility couples mentioned by the staff from the Tower of Evil's medical department.

More than half a month had passed, and the post not only hadn't sunk but had even more related discussions.

Mainly because the rumors had fermented to the point where almost half the empire was discussing it, yet not a single official empire account had come out to debunk it. Including the official account on the short video app that promotes the soulmate system, which is usually active in the comments section, had also rarely responded to recent comments.

This isn't your average gossip post!

So, the spectators got hyped and even played detective, started digging into who the OP was hinting at.

Then, with some people steering the conversation, the person the netizens zeroed in on gradually approached that Boss Chen.

"297999L: No way! A match made in heaven wasted on that scumbag? What a joke!!!"

"370331L: Wait, it’s not that sleazy guy who got sued recently, is it?"

"381121L: No way! He’s in my city, no wonder he’s been strutting around like he owns the place. Seriously? Even a guy like him gets a soulmate? Meanwhile, I’m 25 and can’t even get a 65% match!!"

Amid all the whining and skepticism, Xu Qingran noticed a comment that didn’t stand out.

"416998L: Okay, so, I actually have a friend on that team. However, what I heard is a different version?"

"The empire’s rules are tight, so a lot of stuff can’t be shared. I had to bug him forever before he finally dropped a hint. One of the protagonists is indeed related to the gossip subject, but the other one I heard about is not Boss Chen, but someone from the big families like Shen, Xie, Lin, Su, etc... You all sound so sure, now I’m wondering if my friend’s pulling my leg."

Among a pile of netizen replies, only a few noticed him.

Then they tagged him saying: "LOL, your friend’s definitely messing with you, those big families don’t exactly have a rep for being shady, do they?"

"If it were them, it’d be all over the news by now. If the match really came from those families, I’ll eat my hat!"

"We’ve been dragging those families for years, in the past I might have believed it, but now I’m older and wiser, I’m not falling for that!"

Xu Qingran gave the comment a quick like, then shut off the light panel and pulled out the charger too.

While moving, he accidentally yanked out a little thing from the back of the drawer, and it tumbled to the floor.

He bent down to pick it up, only to find that it was a model resembling Ultraman.

Tiny, about palm-sized, grimy, and missing an arm. Unlike the one he remembered, the chest had a lightning bolt instead of a round bead.

Xu Qingran's thumb gently brushed over the symbol on its chest.

Suddenly, he was back in that moment from long ago.

The sky was misty, on the iron bridge over the great river, groups of people were walking and migrating.

Two children of almost the same age walked among the crowd, without any other adults accompanying them, they could only hold hands tightly and take care of each other in the crowded tide of people.

The boy was suddenly bumped by someone passing by, the model in his arms fell to the ground, and before he could pick it up, it had already been trampled into pieces.

He stared with two round eyes, stopped walking, and burst into tears with a wail.

The surrounding pedestrians were all in a hurry, no one would spare more concern for unfamiliar children as the apocalypse loomed.

The girl walking in front of him only realized he hadn’t followed when she heard the sound, anxiously ran back, and after failing to persuade him, she angrily held his cheeks and scolded: "Brother, wake up, there is no light in this world, nor Ultraman!"

"Mom and dad are gone too."

Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly red with tears, yet they also showed a stubborn determination: "So if you don’t follow me properly, you won’t even have a sister anymore!"