After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Adhering to the principle of "cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots, digging three feet into the ground," Lin Yuchuan found Baili Ce and Wang Qingyan after killing the man.

"I'll leave the rest to you two."

"Don't worry," Baili Cezhi thought, marveling at his own strong mental fortitude as he smelled the blood that could bring tears to his eyes from ten steps away.

However, compared to the soon-to-be-unlucky powerful families of Shucheng—

She laughed gleefully in advance, "We definitely won't leave them any way out."

......

Three days later.

Upon hearing the news from Shucheng, Baili Ce's expression changed.

The Imperial Guard was completely annihilated.

Li Tong was hacked to pieces, and Lin Yuchuan fell into the hands of a powerful family in Shucheng.

Wang Qingyan was forced to cooperate with He Jinzhan for the sake of Baili Ce.

"You..." She really wanted to ask Wang Qingyan why he had created this "love-obsessed" persona for himself, but the words caught in her throat, and she decided against it.

"Don't worry, it won't damage your reputation."

"That was not what I meant."

The important thing is that it's already damaged.

Wang Qingyan calmly placed a piece on the board, "Then how about leaving everything else to me?"

"..."

To be honest, Baili Ce didn't want to do this.

However, she was also well aware that Baili should not get too involved in what was to come.

"Then I'll take that as your agreement."

After their heart-to-heart talk in the cave, Wang Qingyan understood something.

It wasn't that she didn't want to acknowledge him, but rather that she felt there was no need to.

Some people, after experiencing too much on their own, no longer need so-called companionship.

Or rather, she doesn't like people getting too close to her.

But he is different.

He longed for his kind, for understanding, for far too long.

So long ago, from the very first moment he saw her, he had already concocted a twisted and dark plan for the next few decades.

He could find a place as close to her as possible without crossing her bottom line.

But this position can only belong to him.

"Lincheng has abundant local products. Would you like to go for a stroll this afternoon?"

At this moment, she, Li Simei, the third leader, the fifth leader, and a large group of others are all recuperating on Wang Qingyan's territory.

"Forget it, let's just forget about it."

"I feel bad for always making you spend money."

"Heh~" Wang Qingyan chuckled, his handsome features unmatched.

With a hint of joking, he asked, "Really not going?"

“Hmm…” Baili Ce hesitated.

Most women can't resist going shopping.

"But the message you released didn't say..."

One minute you're saying you're being controlled by others, the next you're happily going shopping. Isn't that a bit too perfunctory?

Others are not fools.

"Of course, I should dress up nicely before I go."

“Well…” Baili Cemo rubbed the chess pieces together and shamelessly agreed.

"Can we invite Lao Wu and the others?"

Knowing that she was trying to avoid suspicion, Wang Qingyan readily agreed, "Of course."

Then the following scene unfolded.

"Wow! A god!" Li Simei's eyes almost popped out when she saw Wang Qingyan.

Then, drooling, he murmured, "Hehehe..."

"Damn it! You're too good-looking!" The second-in-command continued, still spewing profanities.

"Hmph, nothing special," said the fifth leader, who walked with a limp.

The third leader, who was only interested in the dishes on the table, exclaimed, "This is so delicious!"

Wang Qingyan nodded politely, "Please enjoy your meal."

"Hey, then... boss?" The second-in-command wanted to take action immediately, but held back.

"Your injuries haven't healed yet, so you should eat more to recover."

"Slurp slurp..." The third and second leaders immediately started eating like crazy.

The fifth brother crossed his arms and sneered disdainfully, "That's all you've got."

They were practically staring wide-eyed.

The second-in-command devoured his food while simultaneously snatching the fifth brother's bowl, making a loud, gurgling noise.

It's probably saying, "If you're not going to eat it, give it to me."

"Thump!" The fifth brother punched it.

"Who said I'm not eating!" she said, dropping the pretense and slurping even faster.

Seeing this, Wang Qingyan instructed the shopkeeper, "Give them two more servings of each dish."

"Yes"

The second-in-command, his mouth full of food, chuckled, "Hehe, th...thank you..."

Bai Li Ce sighed and took a sip of tea; just looking at it made him feel full.

"Luckily it's your own restaurant, otherwise they would have eaten you out of your pocket today."

Upon hearing this, the third leader immediately retorted, but unexpectedly spat out some of the rice and vegetables in his mouth, "How could it be so exaggerated!"

Wang Qingyan raised his sleeve to block the spray from Baili Ce.

But his own sleeves got dirty.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

The third leader quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, stood up, and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"It's alright," Wang Qingyan said without showing the slightest displeasure.

"I need to change my clothes first. Please enjoy your meal."

After saying that, he got up and left.

Just as he got downstairs, Baili Ce chased after him and called out to him.

"Master Wang"

Wang Qingyan stopped and turned around, his eyes filled with the image of her running towards him, lifting her skirt.

The gloom in my heart was immediately swept away.

As for those people upstairs... let's leave them for now.

"Slow down," Wang Qingyan said, steadying Baili Ce who was about to fall into his arms.

"I'll go with you." Putting down her skirt, she hadn't expected Wang Qingyan to walk so fast.

"it is good"

Bai Li Ce had just lifted his foot...

"and many more"

Ok?

Wang Qingyan then obtained two draped bamboo hats, one for each of them, before feeling at ease leading her to walk down the street.

"Ouch!"

"A handsome and kind man."

"And the best part is, he's so rich, young, and handsome! I'm so envious!"

Watching the two disappear into the crowd, Li Simei leaned on the third-floor railing, her eyes filled with the sight of peach blossoms, completely entranced.

"..." But no one paid any attention to her.

"Hmm?" Li Simei turned her head in confusion.

The third leader and his men had already eaten and drunk their fill and were now picking their teeth.

The table was littered with cups and plates.

The ground was littered with bones.

"You...you all..." He trembled with anger and cold, but was powerless.

The second-in-command even let out a long, drawn-out "burp—"

The fifth leader remained dismissive, "Hmph, how handsome could he be?"

"More handsome than you!"

"Can he be more handsome than me?"

"Pah!" the third leader spat immediately. "Of course he's more handsome than you!"

Just as Li Simei was about to agree, she heard him say again, "But compared to this handsome guy, he's still a little lacking."

"Pah—spit!" The three of them immediately spat at him together.

"You look like someone who can't be found at night, and you call yourself handsome?!"

"So what if I'm dark-skinned! I'm healthy because I'm dark-skinned!"

"Unlike you ugly bastards!"

"You're the ugly one!"

You're ugly!

"You're uglier!"

"Looking for a beating, huh?"

"Come on, come on, you think you can get away with this!"

......

Lincheng is prosperous, and August is hot.

There were plenty of people on the street carrying umbrellas and wearing straw hats, so it wasn't strange for the two of them to be walking like that.

However, Wang Qingyan chose a golden outer robe, which shimmered under the bright sunlight as if shrouded in a halo, making him look even more elegant and otherworldly.

"I have never worn such beautiful clothes."

Bai Lize pretended not to understand, "It's mainly because you're good-looking."

"The clothes you gave me are still the best."

Even through his straw hat, she could sense that he was very happy.

Is she so... easily satisfied?

"How about I give you a gift too?"

"No need," Baili Ce realized he had refused too quickly, and immediately softened his tone, "I mean, Patriarch Wang has already helped..."

Wang Qingyan, who was called "Miss Baili," interrupted her.

"Could you please stop calling me Patriarch Wang?"

"......" She was so nervous that her toes clenched.

"I'm sorry, I offended you."

Hearing the desolation in his voice, Baili Ce felt that he had been somewhat ungrateful.

Especially since he had been helping her so much, even capitalists don't just use someone and then discard them, turning their backs on them after they've served their purpose.

She wouldn't even draw him a cake.

This is absolutely outrageous...

After walking along the riverbank for a while, Baili Ce finally couldn't help but feel guilty, "Qingyan."

"..." Wang Qingyan was stunned, then his eyes lit up with surprise.

Having truly sensed his emotions, Baili Ce said in the most calm and ordinary tone, "My mother named me Zhu (Bamboo), saying that she hoped I would be like bamboo, upright and beautiful, resilient and unyielding."

"But they looked down on her background and thought her name was too common, so they wouldn't let me call her that."

“…” Wang Qingyan suddenly stopped.

"Hmm?" Baili Ce also stopped.

Wang Qingyan lifted the veil from his own bamboo hat, and then lifted hers.

"Do you like this name yourself?"

Looking at himself in his eyes, Baili Ce couldn't help but feel great. "I like it."

Wang Qingyan's face lit up with a smile. "Then this is the best name in the world."

"..."

Bathed in a pale golden glow, Baili Ce felt as if his entire being was radiant, and the hand gently lifting the veil resembled the act of lifting a veil.

Gradually, all she could hear was the rapid, rhythmic thumping of her own heartbeat.

wrong!!

He was just... faking it!

Quickly slap his hand away!

"You, you, you... don't... don't talk nonsense!"

This man is really pushing his luck!

"Ha..." Watching her walk away angrily and awkwardly, Wang Qingyan couldn't help but laugh behind her.

as well as--

The moment the veil fell, her face turned bright red all the way to the roots of her neck.