Reborn through an arranged marriage, I awakened the Shennong farming system.

I picked up my phone from the bedside table, unlocked it, opened WeChat, found the one with only two greeting messages, and started composing a message.

After carefully considering the wording, Su Bai read it twice to make sure there were no problems with even the punctuation, and then cautiously clicked send.

After clicking, Su Bai kept an eye on Hua Gengchen's movements, but Hua Gengchen's phone didn't ring and his expression didn't change. This made Su Bai wonder if he had actually sent the message.

Hua Gengchen was engrossed in playing Snake when a message suddenly popped up at the top of his phone. Seeing that the profile picture was Su Bai's, Hua Gengchen immediately froze. The Snake game he had been playing for almost an hour had just crashed into someone else and turned into a pile of 'feed'.

The message at the top of the phone has turned into a small icon in the notification bar, and the game has also popped up a dialog box asking whether to exit the game or use coins to revive.

Hua Gengchen sat there blankly for a while, hesitating to click, then moved his finger several times, and the content on the screen changed.

Su Bai: I just received news that my father is celebrating his 60th birthday on August 20th, and I would like to invite you to the banquet.

Shifting his gaze from his phone to Su Bai, Hua Gengchen could only see Su Bai's profile: long eyelashes above slightly lowered eyes, followed by a delicate nose and rosy lips.

Even though they were so close, Su Bai preferred to borrow a phone to send a message rather than ask him in person!

This fact made Hua Gengchen inexplicably irritable!

Humans are just too temperamental!

He truly saw the potential in Su Bai!

Turning his gaze away, Hua Gengchen tapped the screen a few times, and the message was sent.

Just as I was about to confirm that he really hadn't sent the message and was about to send it again, my phone suddenly rang with a message notification.

Su Bai looked down eagerly, his eyes glued to the chat interface with Hua Gengchen, eager to know Hua Gengchen's thoughts as soon as possible.

Hua Gengchen: I have something to do and can't go.

A few simple words completely dashed the faint hope in Su Bai's heart, but Su Bai quickly accepted the reality, because Hua Gengchen had no need to go in the first place.

Su Bai: Oh.

It's better if Hua Gengchen doesn't go; it will only make Su Shengrong angrier and less wary of him.

Su Bai still feels lingering fear when he thinks about how Su Shengrong and Su Yangxia teamed up to test him last time. He hasn't contacted the Su family for a while, and he's not sure if he managed to fool them last time.

Having been reborn, he made a different choice, and many things happened that were different from what he remembered. Su Bai was also unsure whether Su Shengrong and Su Yangxia still intended to use him as a pawn.

After receiving Su Bai's reply, Hua Gengchen was stunned for a while. Why did Su Bai's reply of "oh" sound like she wasn't very happy?

Could it be that Su Bai secretly hoped she would go with him?

Why not just say it directly?

Hua Gengchen tapped his finger lightly, typed his question into the input box, deleted it all just before sending it, paused slightly, and then changed his words.

Hua Gengchen: If you exchange a promise for me going, I can reluctantly agree.

After receiving this message, Su Bai glanced sharply at Hua Gengchen. What did he mean?

Feeling uncomfortable under Su Bai's gaze, Hua Gengchen lowered his head, avoiding Su Bai's gaze, and continued typing.

Hua Gengchen: I did it for the sake of my family's reputation.

It's definitely not for Su Bai!

He heard from Hua Jueming that Su Bai had been talked about for a long time because he didn't attend the last wedding, and the Hua family's reputation had also been affected. Although he didn't care, he still wanted to avoid situations that could be avoided, otherwise those wealthy families would take the Hua family even less seriously in the future.

Su Bai looked at Hua Gengchen in astonishment. He really couldn't understand what Hua Gengchen was thinking.

If it's truly for the sake of the Hua family's reputation, then they should agree instead of making him exchange a promise for it.

Su Bai thought for a moment and then carefully typed a few words: No need to force yourself.

If he doesn't want to go, he won't go. He doesn't want to exchange promises for it; Hua Gengchen's promises are far more valuable than such a simple request.

reluctantly?!

Hua Gengchen stared intently at those two words, almost burning a hole in his phone. When did he ever force himself?

He's trying to save face, you know what I mean by saving face!

Su Bai has been sulking with him for so many days, and now that he's taken the initiative to talk to him, why can't he give him a way out?

Hua Gengchen typed out the words "I won't force you" with force, and under Su Bai's surprised gaze, he continued typing: I will go then!

After hearing Hua Jueming say that the Su family treated Su Bai very badly, he imagined the Su family as a place similar to a den of tigers and wolves. Su Bai is very important to the demon realm, so how could he let Su Bai go to such a place alone?

Don't forget, before Su Bai's Shennong bloodline is activated, Su Bai must stay under his nose!

He'll follow Su Bai wherever he goes!

Upon receiving the latest message from Hua Gengchen, Su Bai looked at Hua Gengchen with even greater astonishment. Was this man really alright?

Was the meaning of his typing unclear, or did Hua Gengchen have a problem with his comprehension? He clearly said that Hua Gengchen didn't have to go if he didn't want to, so why did Hua Gengchen suddenly change his mind and want to attend the Su family's banquet?

Su Bai was puzzled.

After that WeChat chat, Su Bai and Hua Gengchen seemed to have found a new way to get along.

Because neither of them wanted to speak to the other first, the mobile phone was a very useful tool for conveying messages, and they could barely convince themselves not to take the initiative to speak to the other.

Hua Jueming watched the strange way Su Bai and Hua Gengchen interact, his lips twitched, and after a long while he comforted himself: At least they communicated, that's progress!

Time quickly passed to August 20th. Su Bai finished transplanting the vegetable seedlings early, went home to wash up and change his clothes, took the birthday gift he had prepared for Su Shengrong, and set off for the Su family at around 6:30 pm.

"No matter what my dad and the others say to you today, don't agree to it!" Su Bai sent a message to Hua Gengchen before arriving at the Su family home.

He was certain that Su Shengrong had ulterior motives for asking him to bring Hua Gengchen over, but he couldn't guess what they were yet, so he could only give Hua Gengchen a heads-up.

After talking to Su Bai on his phone, Hua Gengchen turned off the message avoidance mode and even set a special ringtone for Su Bai so that he would know as soon as Su Bai sent him a message.

Because humans are two-legged creatures with a very short temper, if a message isn't replied to in time, they might secretly get so angry they'd explode like a pufferfish.

Hua Gengchen saw the message Su Bai had given him and sent a message in a very domineering manner: They are not qualified to speak to me alone.

Hearing Hua Jueming say that the Su family treated Su Bai very badly, he dressed up specially today to support Su Bai. Su Bai was the one who saved the demon race, and Hua Gengchen felt that he should unconditionally protect Su Bai, no matter who was on the opposite side!

Su Bai was forced to remain silent after seeing the message, and it took him a long time to type a few words on his phone: Just remember that.

The only response Su Bai received was a vague "humph," which Su Bai took as understanding, and then put the phone down.

Su Bai and Hua Gengchen arrived at the Su family home at just the right time, around 7:30. Because of the banquet being held, the car could drive directly to the Su family's main gate.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Su Yangxia, who was greeting guests at the door, spotted it. Upon discovering that Su Bai was inside, Su Yangxia immediately invited the guest inside and strode towards Su Bai.

"Second brother, come here..." The last word "come" got stuck in Su Yangxia's throat, and even her smile froze.

There was nothing else to it, except that Su Yangxia's expression cracked after she saw the clothes Su Bai was wearing.

Because, among a group of people dressed in fine clothes and looking glamorous, Su Bai, dressed in casual clothes, looked out of place no matter how you looked at it.

Su Bai pretended not to see the expression on Su Yangxia's face, and while holding the birthday gift he had prepared for Su Shengrong, he called out indifferently, "Big Brother."

Su Yangxia panicked for a moment, then quickly composed himself. "Second brother!" How could he forget that Su Bai was always like this? How could he expect Su Bai to compromise himself for the sake of the Su family's reputation?

Su Yangxia remembered reminding Su Bai to bring Hua Gengchen along, but now only Su Bai had gotten out of the car. Su Yangxia couldn't very well ask Hua Gengchen at the gate whether he had arrived or not, so she could only welcome Su Bai inside first, "Father has been waiting for you for quite a while, you..."

Su Bai's feet didn't move. Just as Su Yangxia was wondering if Su Bai was still holding a grudge about what happened earlier, someone got out of the car from the other side.

This person possessed a perfect appearance, wore a well-tailored suit, had a cold and expressionless face, and deep eyes that looked down on everything. He exuded an aura that said, "Keep away!"

"Who is this...?" Su Yangxia had a guess in her mind, but she wasn't sure.

Su Bai glanced back at Hua Gengchen and said calmly, "Hua Gengchen, head of the Hua family."

Hua Gengchen!?

This is Hua Gengchen, the head of a reclusive family!

Su Yangxia's pupils contracted slightly, and then she quickly lowered her head and said respectfully, "Patriarch Hua, please come in!" Although the other party was Su Bai's husband, he was also the patriarch of the Hua family, so Su Yangxia had to treat him with caution.

Su Yangxia's lowered eyes held an undisguised excitement and agitation.

Su Bai married such a person!

Someone who made his heart flutter the moment he first met her!

He was indeed a better whetstone than Su Chengjun!

Hua Gengchen walked to Su Bai's side and walked with Su Bai into the gate, completely ignoring Su Yangxia.

The banquet was scheduled to start at 8:00 PM, and quite a few people had already arrived, so the Su family's main hall was noisy. Su Bai frowned even before entering.

Hua Gengchen subtly reduced the distance between himself and Su Bai. He didn't really like noisy places like this because accidents were most likely to happen there, and that was exactly what he feared most right now!

Someone first spotted Hua Gengchen and Su Bai, and after a gasp, more people noticed them. The noisy hall immediately fell silent, and almost everyone's attention was focused on Su Bai and Hua Gengchen. Hua Gengchen's aura was so powerful that no one dared to ignore him, and they all instinctively made way for him.

The gazes that fell upon Hua Gengchen were naturally filled with amazement and shock; they had never seen such a perfect person before!

What fell on Su Bai was disdain and shock. This was a very formal occasion, the birthday of the head of the Su family. As a junior member of the Su family, Su Bai was dressed in home clothes. No matter how he tried to explain it, it was unacceptable.

However, when Hua Gengchen, this domineering CEO with his own aura, stood next to Su Bai, whose only admirable quality was his spirit, there was an inexplicable sense of harmony. Those who noticed this were speechless. How could they have such thoughts?!

Enjoying the attention of everyone, Su Bai and Hua Gengchen walked into the banquet hall step by step, as if they were the main characters of the day.

Su Bai didn't care at all about how outsiders looked at him. In this life, he just wanted to live as he pleased and didn't want anyone's approval or praise. Hua Gengchen was simply contemptible. He was just a mere ant and didn't deserve to leave a mark in his eyes, let alone make him care about their opinions.

Su Yangxia lagged a few steps behind them, clearly seeing the reactions of everyone in the banquet hall. Hua Gengchen's appearance this time had indeed greatly shocked everyone.

From this day forward, I'm afraid no one will dare to disregard the reclusive families anymore!