The young man in front of her had fair and delicate features. He wore a light gray and light blue striped shirt, layered with a white knitted vest, and his feet were clad in polished leather shoes. His overall demeanor was refined and scholarly.

Bai Taotao shifted her gaze to Song Zhi.

Song Zhi also appeared cultured, but his temperament was entirely different from the young man’s.

The young man seemed warm and amicable, smiling even before speaking. Song Zhi, on the other hand, exuded a much colder and more distant vibe, as though keeping everyone at arm’s length.

Drawn to spiritual energy, Bai Taotao thought to herself… Hmm, she still found Song Zhi more pleasing to the eye.

The young man noticed Bai Taotao tilting her head and staring at him. He chuckled and asked, “Recognize me?”

Bai Taotao blinked and thought hard. After much consideration, she was sure she knew him.

So why had she instinctively called him “brother” just now?

Bai Taotao was puzzled.

However, Hongdou, standing nearby, suddenly remembered. She pointed at the young man and exclaimed, “Hairpin!”

But the little girl’s fragmented words only made Bai Taotao even more confused.

The young man’s smile was as gentle as jade. “I’m Wu Rui’an. Maybe you don’t remember me anymore… So, have you recently moved to the city?”

Bai Taotao nodded blankly.

Wu Rui’an glanced at the temporary residence of the Bai family, where the commotion was still ongoing, and asked, “So, you’re staying here? Would it be appropriate if I visit at noon tomorrow?”

Bai Taotao asked, “Are you a relative of our family?”

Wu Rui’an smiled. “Not exactly… The bond between our families is even closer than that. Your father was injured while saving my sister. Your entire family is our benefactor.”

Bai Taotao let out an “ah” in realization. “So, you’re from the city?”

Wu Rui’an replied with a smile, “We lived abroad and have only recently returned to the country. For now, we’re staying at the guesthouse.”

—Living abroad? Her father had acted heroically to save an overseas Chinese? And the overseas Chinese woman had once gifted hairpins to the Bai sisters?

Hmm, it all matched up!

Bai Taotao nodded at Wu Rui’an. “Then, see you tomorrow!”

Wu Rui’an: …

The young beauty’s mental state seemed much better than before. He had originally hoped to chat with her a little longer, but she had directly ended the conversation?

Wu Rui’an chuckled in amusement and said softly, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”

As he spoke, his gaze followed Bai Taotao’s hand and landed on Song Zhi.

—The young man was tall and lean, with strikingly handsome features. His complexion was pale, his brows slightly furrowed, and he carried an air of elegance mixed with stern aloofness. Yet, his eyes were incredibly sharp. After being glanced at indifferently by him…

For some reason, Wu Rui’an felt a chill run through his entire body.

Song Zhi nodded slightly at Wu Rui’an.

Wu Rui’an returned the gesture with a polite smile, then left, turning back repeatedly as he walked.

Bai Taotao’s attention remained focused on her family.

About two hours later, the Bai family had finished discussing the division of property, but the Chen family still lay sprawled on the ground.

It was mainly because Bai Nansheng wouldn’t allow them to get up. If anyone dared to stand, he’d deliver a swift kick, knocking them back down.

Eventually, the Chen family learned their lesson. Most of the uninjured sat cross-legged on the ground, while the injured Chen brothers could only continue lying there.

Father Chen, anxious and desperate, whispered a few pleas to Bai Nansheng, hoping he’d allow them to take his three sons to the hospital. But Bai Nansheng remained firm: unless Chen Lanfen signed the divorce papers, no one was leaving!

It wasn’t until nearly three in the afternoon that Bai Lili hurried back with the signed divorce agreement.

Bai Nansheng examined the papers thoroughly. His expression remained unreadable, though he shot Father Chen a glare and barked, “Get lost!”

Only then did Father Chen hastily call for his relatives to help carry his three sons to the hospital.

By this time, Chen Daniu had regained consciousness. Realizing that all four of his limbs were crippled, he glared at Bai Nansheng with seething hatred. His hoarse voice declared, “Bai Nansheng, we will meet again!”

“Do your worst!”

Bai Nansheng sneered. “If you’re putting it that way, let me set things straight. What did I ever do to provoke you? You got Chen Lanfen pregnant and tried to pin it on me? If you hadn’t messed with me, would you be suffering like this today? I bet you’re thinking of reporting me to the police as soon as you leave here, right?”

Chen Daniu glowered at Bai Nansheng with fury.

Bai Nansheng smirked. “Go ahead, report me! I’d love to return to the squad. From now on, I’ll use those IOUs your dad wrote to move into your house! Oh, and that’s already my property… A house and 2,500 yuan? I can live it up for five years doing nothing!”

“Don’t think you can shake me off after five years! First, your family might not even be able to pay back the 2,500 yuan within five years. Second, I’ll never let you off. In five years, I’ll find another reason to get you to write a new IOU—for 3,000 or even 30,000 yuan! By then, even your sons and grandsons will have to support me!” Bai Nansheng chuckled sinisterly.

Chen Daniu’s face turned ashen. While Bai Nansheng was a scoundrel, he, Chen Daniu, wasn’t exactly a saint. Yet, he now realized he was no match for Bai Nansheng. Could his family’s misfortune truly be inescapable?

Should he report it to the police?

“Don’t! Don’t report it!”

The speaker was Chen Erniu.

Among the Chen family’s men, Chen Erniu was the most cunning and educated.

He weakly advised, “Big brother, both you and I have criminal records. Reporting this would only make things worse for us! Once the police investigate… This would count as a brawl, and responsibility would be split fifty-fifty. Besides, there are more of us, which puts us at a disadvantage!”

“Who would believe that more than ten of us couldn’t beat one of him? What if Bai Nansheng claimed we ganged up on him? With our records, not only would the police side with him, but even if the case went to court, our prior convictions would result in harsher sentences. Even though we’re injured, none of us bled. Even if we underwent medical evaluation, our injuries would likely be classified as minor, which wouldn’t impact him much.”

“And we have to be wary—if we really report him and ruin his future, what if he decides to retaliate and drag us down with him?” Chen Erniu continued.

Chen Daniu fell into deep thought.

That was indeed true.

Both he and Erniu had served time for theft and molestation. Upon release, the prison officers had warned them never to reoffend, or they’d face even harsher penalties.

Chen Daniu felt a wave of despair. Could they really not escape Bai Nansheng’s clutches?

Chen Erniu added, “And what if he reports us to the police and brings up Lanfen’s dowry? That would make us fraudsters, and we’d bear full responsibility while he becomes the victim. Big brother, no matter how we look at it, we’re at a loss.”

Father Chen held back and said, “So if he reports us to the authorities for fraud, can we say he’s the one committing fraud? He made me write an IOU for two thousand five hundred yuan—he even took the house and the land!”

Chen Erniu shook his head. “Dad, we framed him first. So we absolutely can’t report this to the authorities. We can earn the money back later, but if my brother and I end up in jail again… Forget paying the money back—this whole family won’t even be able to afford food.”

Father Chen fell silent.

Chen Erniu took a few deep breaths and continued, “And besides, if we push him too far, are we really going to wait until he gets kicked out of the team and ends up squatting in our house… living off us for the rest of his life?”

Chen Sanniu suddenly wailed, “That wretched old hag Chen Juxiang has dragged our whole family into a fire pit!”

Chen Daniu thought it over carefully and realized his brother had a point.

They could only blame Chen Juxiang for coming up with such a rotten idea, and on top of that… they had been deceived by Bai Zhengqian’s family’s hard-working and honest appearance, completely forgetting about the scourge of the entire area—Bai Nansheng, the troublemaker hated by everyone.

Chen Erniu added, “The best way to handle this now is to keep quiet and send that menace back to his unit as soon as possible! As for the IOUs Dad wrote… Bai Nansheng is a troublemaker, but his parents aren’t. They’re reasonable people…”

Just then, Bai Nansheng waved at his silly little sister. “Taotao, come here!”

Bai Taotao walked over, holding Song Zhi’s hand.

Bai Nansheng recognized Song Zhi. After all, when he had come home earlier, he’d only dropped by briefly to unload some things and grab a meal before leaving. This was the first time he was meeting Song Zhi properly.

Seeing Taotao tightly holding Song Zhi’s hand made Bai Nansheng’s face darken. “Little fool, who’s he?”

“You’re the fool!” Bai Taotao shot back.

Strangely enough, Bai Nansheng loved hearing his silly little sister scold him like that—it showed that she wasn’t a fool after all, especially since she knew how to retort.

“Okay, okay, your brother’s the big fool!” Bai Nansheng said with a grin. “But tell me, who is he?” He pointed at Song Zhi.

Song Zhi introduced himself. “I’m Song Zhi, an educated youth from the village. While I was in the village, I often ate meals at your house.”

Bai Nansheng looked Song Zhi up and down, then glanced at their clasped hands—hmm, it was his sister holding Song Zhi’s hand?

Instantly, Bai Nansheng became wary of Song Zhi.

He turned to Bai Taotao and said, “Taotao, I’ve got a task for you, okay?”

But Bai Taotao was sharp. She glanced at the battered Chen family and shook her head. “I’m not fighting them.”

Unless Song Zhi’s spiritual energy could continuously nourish her and restore her to her past Golden Core stage, she might have stood a chance.

Right now?

She hadn’t even figured out how to store spiritual energy in this body. The moment she left Song Zhi, she could easily revert to a little fool…

Frankly, she couldn’t even protect herself, let alone worry about others.

Bai Nansheng burst out laughing. “I don’t need you to fight! Listen…”

His tone turned cold as he swept a glare over the Chen family, who were gradually dispersing. He raised his voice and said, “If anyone dares to bully you or anyone else in this house while I’m away, just get Song Zhi to call my unit. I’ll come back immediately and deal with those punks!”

Song Zhi frowned.

—Bai Taotao was easy to fool, but he wasn’t. Bai Nansheng’s words had clearly dragged him into this mess too.

But after a moment’s thought, Song Zhi realized that Bai Zhengqian had treated him exceptionally well ever since he arrived in Ruyi Village. Considering it mutual support, he couldn’t stand idly by if something happened to the Bai family. So he kept quiet, tacitly agreeing.

Bai Taotao also fell for it.

—Her brother would need at least two days to get back from his unit. If something urgent happened at home, how could they possibly wait that long?

Her brother was clearly just bluffing to scare the Chen family!

So Bai Taotao nodded seriously and agreed loudly. “…Okay!”

Although Chen Daniu and his group were fuming, they also understood that, whether openly or secretly, they didn’t have the strength or standing to go against Bai Nansheng at the moment. With no other choice, they left in a hurry, supported by their relatives, and rushed to the hospital.

T/N: Although Bai Nansheng is very impulsive and a bit of a musle brain, I like him. His role in the last two chapter has been great!