"What did my grandfather just say to you?"
On the way back, Chu Yan looked at the preoccupied Zhou Fan, feeling curious.
"The old man told me that if you dare to bully me in the future, I should give him a call!" Zhou Fan spouted nonsense, a mischievous grin on his face as he looked at Chu Yan. "Honey, look, we're married, we've met the parents... so are we staying at my place tonight, or yours?"
"Of course, I'd prefer my rental place, but you know, there's only one room. You wouldn't have the heart to make me sleep on the couch, so we'd have to sleep together!"
'Oh, brother!'
Chu Yan was speechless. 'How could I have forgotten about this problem?'
"We'll stay at my place. I bought a small villa. It's not huge, but there are extra rooms!" Chu Yan tried her best to appear calm, but inwardly she was incredibly nervous.
This was the first time she had ever let a man stay in her home!
The thought of eating with and living with a man every day from now on... it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous!
"Aw, and here I thought I'd get to share a bed with my wife!" Zhou Fan feigned disappointment, but he was thinking to himself, 'As long as we're living under the same roof, won't sharing a bed be a simple matter?'
"In your dreams! You took so many liberties with me in front of my grandfather and everyone today, and I haven't even gotten even with you for that yet!"
Chu Yan rolled her eyes dramatically, but she didn't even realize it herself. Even though Zhou Fan was now her husband, she was somehow able to tolerate a man taking advantage of her again and again without losing her temper.
"Honey, we're going the wrong way, aren't we?"
"What do you mean, wrong way? Aren't we staying at my place?"
"But I need to grab some clothes. All my luggage is there!"
"We can just buy you a couple of new outfits tomorrow when we have time. You don't think I can't afford it, do you?"
Zhou Fan was speechless. 'It really is great having a rich wife,' he thought, reflecting on her domineering words. 'But why do I suddenly feel like a kept man?'
Just as the car left the city and headed toward Chu Yan's suburban villa, Zhou Fan, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly froze.
'Someone's following us. And it's more than one car!'
"By the way, honey, do you know a guy named Scarface?"
Zhou Fan recalled that when he rescued Chu Yan yesterday, he had heard those young thugs say it was an order from Brother Scar. He couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"Scarface? Never heard of him. Why?" Chu Yan didn't know why Zhou Fan was asking. She thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Oh, wait, I remember now. Chu Yifeng—that's my second uncle Chu Peiyu's son—seems to be close with this Scarface. I heard Xiaowen mention it once."
Suddenly, Chu Yan remembered something Chu Wen had told her before: Chu Yifeng was close with some of the gangsters in Nanjiang City, and one of their leaders was called Scarface.
'Chu Yifeng?'
Zhou Fan's eyes narrowed. He remembered how that bastard had been mocking and sneering at him just now at the Chu Family's home.
"If I told you that the people who tried to kidnap you last night might have been sent by Chu Yifeng, would you believe me?"
Zhou Fan's voice was calm as he watched the cars in the rearview mirror getting closer and closer.
"I'm not sure I would. Even though that guy is obnoxious, I don't think he'd go that far. But for you to say something like that, you must have some basis for it, and you have no reason to lie to me."
Chu Yan had a clear head. At the same time, her keen sense of observation had already picked up on the fact that Zhou Fan kept looking behind them. She turned to look and saw two cars catching up to them.
The next second, the two cars forced them to a stop.
A total of ten men got out of the cars. Each one held an iron pipe or a dagger. They looked menacing as they surrounded Chu Yan's car.
"What do we do? Are they the ones Chu Yifeng sent?"
When had Chu Yan ever experienced a scene like this? Seeing what was happening, she tried her best to remain calm, but her trembling voice betrayed her inner turmoil.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
Zhou Fan turned his head, smiled faintly, and reached out to gently pat Chu Yan on the head before opening the door and getting out.
Those four short words shook Chu Yan to her core. Her beautiful eyes followed Zhou Fan's figure as he moved.
In that instant, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
For some reason, Chu Yan, who had always been independent and disliked trusting anyone, found herself completely trusting Zhou Fan in that moment.
"Brother Scar, that's the guy! He's the one who beat us up last time and took that chick Chu Yan!"
Seeing Zhou Fan, a young man with red hair in the crowd pointed at Zhou Fan and spoke excitedly to a man beside him who had a scar on his face.
"Well, if it isn't my friend Red-hair. What's this? Couldn't beat me, so you went home and brought your daddy back with you?"
Zhou Fan's expression was nonchalant, as if he were catching up with an old friend. He greeted the red-haired man—the same one he had kicked to the ground last night—so cordially that the man's stomach clenched as he recalled the previous night's miserable encounter.
"Friend, I'm Scarface. People on the streets in the east side show me some respect and call me Brother Scar. I want the woman in your car. Here's a million for you. How about it?!"
Scarface stepped forward, carrying a large woven-plastic bag, and threw it down between them. He pointed at Chu Yan in the car, his expression arrogant.
Chu Yan heard every word clearly. Even though she truly believed Zhou Fan wouldn't sell her out, they had only known each other for a day. And the man was offering so much money, plus he had so many men with him.
'If Zhou Fan really abandons me, what will I do?'