Chapter 405: Yandu Is Not Peaceful Either

Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Yandu Is Not Peaceful Either

In the few days since he’d been away, Wang Chenning had occasionally been in touch with Lin Qiuning.

The woman was actually quite emotionally intelligent. She never got jealous about him being out with other women, nor did she ever tactlessly disturb him.

Whenever she messaged him, she always chose an appropriate time and never pestered him.

Her messages were always lighthearted, sometimes teasing him a little. He had never received a message from her with a tone like the one she had just sent.

Wang Chenning stood up, moved a short distance away from the other women, and called Lin Anning.

After a moment, Lin Anning answered.

"Hello..." Her voice was soft and hushed, as if she were afraid of being overheard.

"What’s wrong?" Wang Chenning asked, also lowering his voice. "What happened?"

"I don’t know either!" Ever since being "tamed" by Wang Chenning, Lin Anning had become much more low-key and had all but given up her nightlife.

She had gradually distanced herself from the friends who used to flock around her.

As a result, her access to information had become much more limited. For instance, she only learned about the conflict between Lin Annian and Bai Qianxun after it had already happened.

Lin Anning told Wang Chenning that Bai Qianxun suspected Lin Annian was scheming behind her back. She even thought he had arranged the incident that landed her in the hospital last time. Lin Annian, on the other hand, suspected Bai Qianxun was faking an injury to frame him. The two had repeatedly flung accusations at each other.

They had run into each other by chance today, and after trading a few insults, they finally dropped all pretenses.

Bai Qianxun threatened to teach Lin Annian a lesson he’d never forget. Not to be outdone, Lin Annian promised to give her a taste of her own medicine.

As things got heated, the two actually came to blows.

Lin Annian’s fighting skills were no match for Bai Qianxun’s, and he quickly got the worst of it.

Although his bodyguards intervened before he could get seriously hurt, he couldn’t stand the loss of face and ordered them to attack.

The result was a massive brawl between the two sets of bodyguards. Multiple people were injured, some of them quite seriously, which ended up alarming the parents and elders of both families.

Once Lin Anning got a clear picture of the situation, she grew very worried. Not knowing how to handle it, she decided to tell Wang Chenning.

Of course, she also suspected Wang Chenning was the one who had secretly orchestrated this, but since he was out of town, she had no way to confirm it.

"Now that the family elders are involved, nothing else major should happen," Wang Chenning comforted her. "Someone’s probably fanning the flames behind the scenes, hoping to profit from the conflict. You should stay home more. Don’t go out partying like you used to. Protect yourself!"

Lin Anning didn’t know what to say to that.

After a moment of silence, she asked him directly, "Could Luo Yuqing, Zhao Xiao’an, or Yang Xiaofei have had someone do it?"

"That, I don’t know." Wang Chenning immediately understood that Lin Anning suspected him, but he wasn’t angry. ’It would be strange if she didn’t,’ he thought. He just soothed her in a soft voice, "I think conflicts like this are common among the great families of Yanjing. If their interests align, people can have a huge fight and still be good friends afterward, just like Li Mingchao and me. Isn’t that how it is with us, too?"

"Hmph! You really did a number on me," Lin Anning said resentfully. "You forced yourself on me that day. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life."

"You’re not planning to get revenge, are you?" Wang Chenning asked cheerfully. "How do you plan on getting back at me?"

"I’m not telling you!" Although she hadn’t gotten the answer she wanted from him, after a bit of playful pouting, Lin Anning’s mood had brightened considerably.

She didn’t say much more, hanging up with the excuse that she had other things to do.

She had just hung up when she sent him two messages. "I dreamt about you yesterday and the day before. When are you coming back?"

"Miss me?" Wang Chenning teased. "Was it a naughty dream?"

"As if! I don’t miss you at all!" Lin Anning said, trying to sound tough. "It’s just... I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. If you were here, you could give me a ’tune-up’!"

"I’m out here making a fortune. You must have seen the reports from Qiantang, right? My massive investment must have surprised you," Wang Chenning said. He told Lin Anning to find a way to get some funds together so they could invest together. He’d help her make a killing and build up her own private nest egg.

"I know! I was just waiting for you to get back to ask about it! We’ll talk when you’re back!"

The two of them didn’t chat any further.

Wang Chenning sent a message to Wang Liqing.

"Excellent performance!" he wrote, adding a thumbs-up emoji.

Wang Liqing replied, "Everything has been completed as planned. We’d like to take a little trip. Is that alright?"

After a moment’s thought, Wang Chenning replied, "Go to Jinling and wait for me. I should be there by tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay!"

When Wang Chenning finished on his phone and returned to the women, Zhao Xiao’an couldn’t resist asking in a low voice, "Where did you go?"

"Just took a call. I hear things have been pretty lively in Yandu these last few days."

Zhao Xiao’an froze for a second, then said nothing more.

"Lively indeed," Yang Xiaofei chimed in, giving Wang Chenning a meaningful look. "Who would have guessed?"

"Sigh. None of you are ever simple," Li Fuzhen said with a smile, then turned to instruct Li Yanxian. "You should stick by them and learn a thing or two."

Li Yanxian looked a little indignant, but she seemed to sense something in Li Fuzhen’s gaze and held her tongue.

After some more idle chatter, Luo Yuqing and Yan Dongling returned.

Wang Chenning glanced at Luo Yuqing, then at Yan Dongling, but said nothing.

After sitting down, Luo Yuqing shot Wang Chenning a look. "Sister Yan, would you mind showing our Teacher Wang around? I heard he’s going back to Chang’an to renovate his villa and wants to model it after the gardens of Jiangnan. Zhuozheng Garden is the pinnacle of landscape design, so you could really broaden his horizons!"

"Of course!" Yan Dongling agreed, her face all smiles.

Wang Chenning stood up, but instead of leaving with Yan Dongling right away, he went to the restroom first.

In the restroom, he received a message from Luo Yuqing: "You can make good use of this woman. If you bring her to heel, she’ll definitely be a capable subordinate."

Wang Chenning didn’t reply. He just deleted the message.

When he came out of the restroom, Yan Dongling was already waiting for him.

"Teacher Wang, this way, please," she said with a smile, gesturing for him to follow.

Wang Chenning nodded and followed her.

He remained silent, and Yan Dongling didn’t seem to know how to break the ice.

Her conversation with Luo Yuqing moments before had been perfectly pleasant, but now, facing Wang Chenning, she was once again at a loss for words.

After they reached a waterside pavilion and she had described the view, Yan Dongling finally bit the bullet and said, "Teacher Wang, will you please help me? I will be sure to show you my gratitude. From now on, I’ll be at your beck and call."

Wang Chenning turned and looked her up and down. "You’re willing to do anything at all?"

Yan Dongling’s face instantly flushed crimson, and she became flustered...