Chapter 24 - I Did It, I'll Take the Blame

The oval-shaped face, along with her cascading wavy hair—this was the first time Chen Fan saw his superior with her hair down.

At work, Jin Lan always kept her hair in a bun. Standing at 1.68 meters tall, paired with moderately high heels, she exuded an aura of authority. Her curvaceous figure made her overall physique more mature and filled with charm.

Even a simple floral dress couldn’t conceal her allure. Indeed, clothes were meant to be worn by the right people.

Jin Lan spun in front of the mirror, glanced at herself, and said, “It feels a bit tight.”

The saleswoman nearby said, “Beauty, it’s not that the dress is tight, it’s that you’re … um … a bit too well-endowed. I’m envious.”

Jin Lan looked down and said, “It’s not ideal. I work in a formal office setting; I can’t be revealing cleavage.”

“But with this style, there’s not much room to cover up. If you try to, it won’t fit properly.”

Jin Lan turned to Chen Fan, who said, “Buy it, I think it looks great.”

Jin Lan nodded and said, “Alright then, pack up these few sets for me.”

Chen Fan, helpless, said, “Boss, who buys several sets of the same outfit? Why not try something else?”

“No need, I like to buy multiple sets of an outfit for convenience.”

Such peculiar taste. Fine, as long as you’re happy. Anyway, these female leads always seem to seek me out when they have nothing better to do.

Chen Fan had grown numb to it, but he wasn’t worried. As long as it didn’t affect the overall plot, there was no problem.

The rain outside was pouring down. Meanwhile, Jin Lan took Chen Fan to buy some lingerie. As for shoes, Jin Lan didn’t need any since she had a custom shoe store.

In her line of work, dressing too extravagantly could indeed cause negative impressions.

“Let’s grab some snacks; I haven’t indulged in a while.”

Chen Fan followed along. His job was simply to muddle through the days, get some results, and wait for a promotion when the time came.

They each ordered a bowl of noodles and sat by the window.

“Ye Aotian went to buy a house.”

Chen Fan said, “Where did that kid get the money? No way, that country bumpkin—how could he afford it?”

It’s all part of the show. Life’s a play, and without acting, how would the story progress?

Jin Lan remarked, “Over 20 million, he’s really capable. So young, and he could effortlessly pull out that much money to buy a house.”

Chen Fan replied, “No matter how much money he has, it’s not as much as my family.”

Yeah, keep pretending.

Jin Lan couldn’t be bothered to expose him and said, “I met with Lin Qingyue. We talked a lot.”

Oh wow. Now, this was a surprise. This, indeed, was a true surprise.

What defines a protagonist? A protagonist is someone who, when they have nothing to do, is either wooing a woman or on the way to wooing a woman.

To directly buy a 20-million-yuan house in one go, if I were the female lead, I’d marry him right away. You two should just go live happily ever after. What defines youthful success? What defines a young talent?

This is the stuff a protagonist is supposed to do. And then look at Jin Lan beside me. Speaking of which, when are you going to meet Ye Aotian? Just look at Lin Qingyue—no wonder she’s the top female lead. She’s got the big picture.

“How could Lin Qingyue possibly like that country bumpkin? No matter how much money he has, he’s still a country bumpkin. How could he compete with my family?”

“What if,” Jin Lan paused, “just hypothetically, he had a woman by his side? What would you do?”

Why ask that all of a sudden? Wait, boss, do you like Ye Aotian? Whoa, that’s great news! You’re all going to follow the plot, huh? But it seems like Jin Lan’s storyline starts a little later.

“That guy? As long as he doesn’t touch my Lin Qingyue, I couldn’t care less. But if he provokes me, I’ll make him understand what true cruelty is.”

“Really?”

“Boss, I’m with you all the time, and I’m not completely useless. There’s no way I’d just sit back and do nothing. Right now, he’s not even qualified to challenge me.”

After saying this, even Chen Fan felt a bit embarrassed. This setup is just brainless. But it makes sense. If the antagonist had any brains, how would the protagonist survive? He’d get crushed in no time.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed.

Jin Lan jumped in fright.

The snack shop they had chosen wasn’t big. It was a hidden gem in an alleyway that Jin Lan frequented. The reason she came here was partly because the food was great, and partly because the place was quiet with few people around.

At that moment, a group of people surrounded Ye Aotian outside in the rain. The nearby vendors quickly distanced themselves. Those people were carrying knives—regulated weapons.

“Ye Aotian?” Chen Fan looked at Ye Aotian in the distance. What’s going on?

Then, he glanced at Jin Lan beside him.

“Boss, who are those people?”

“They don’t look like they’re from Li Long’s group, but they’re also not from Zheng Qiang’s side. Probably just some small-time thugs.”

Soon, the two groups clashed.

Ye Aotian’s injuries had healed quickly, and in just a day or two, he could remove the bandages. With just a few punches, he knocked down the group of thugs. However, he was also hit with a few blows.

To be honest, at this stage, he hadn’t yet encountered ancient martial arts, so he couldn’t escape unscathed. No matter how strong you are, it’s impossible to take on so many people without getting hurt.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

His back was slashed open by a knife, leaving a huge gash, with blood pouring out.

In the rain, Ye Aotian’s hair was disheveled, and he knelt down on one knee, panting heavily. Even Chen Fan couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

This was brutal. Who did this? Or did this guy provoke someone himself? Could this protagonist still survive? He better not be crippled, right?

Ye Aotian noticed Chen Fan, who was innocently eating noodles.

But when Chen Fan saw Ye Aotian looking his way, he immediately understood what to do.

He put down his chopsticks, stood up, and walked over.

All that was missing was him putting his hands on his hips and shouting:

I did it. Don’t doubt it. I’m the one who had you beaten up. Don’t overthink it—it was me who gave the order, and I made sure they didn’t hold back.

Ye Aotian walked step by step to the glass window, raised his hand, and knocked.

“Just you wait. Sooner or later, I’ll make you kneel and beg for mercy.”

“With just you? You think you’re worthy of challenging me? Competing with me for women?”

Screw that. You’d better hurry and come after me. What if you die and I have no one left to mess with? You’ve got no ambition, no sense of responsibility as the protagonist.