With a perfunctory smile, Xu Yulan finished speaking. She immediately lowered her head and focused on eating her breakfast.

I can't let Liu Yunxi keep questioning me. If she does, my secret might be exposed. And if I were exposed, it would be no small matter.

Sitting beside her, Liu Ergou also noticed something was amiss and quickly changed the subject.

"Right, Yun Xi, I just remembered something!" he said. "The medicinal seedlings you're cultivating—what kind of herbs are they? Could you give me a rough idea? Also, what should we focus on growing going forward?"

At Liu Ergou's question, Liu Yunxi immediately perked up and began to list them off as if they were her prized possessions, completely forgetting about Xu Yulan. "The medicinal herbs I'm currently cultivating are all common ones on the market, though of course, there are some very precious materials, like…"

Once she started, Liu Yunxi talked for the entire duration of the meal. They nearly talked right through until noon. If Liu Ergou hadn't interjected, their breakfast might have merged into lunch.

They had just finished breakfast, and before they could even clear the dishes, Liu Ergou's phone rang. Liu Ergou pulled out his phone; needless to say, it was Zhang Man calling.

Zhang Man's voice came through the moment he answered. "Er Gou, where are you now? Are you in the county yet? If you are, I'll send someone to pick you up right now. Tell me your location, hurry!"

Hearing her speak like this, Liu Ergou felt a bit embarrassed. "Ahem, well, I got up a bit late today and just finished breakfast. Uh, just wait for me, I'll head out now!"

Without giving Zhang Man a chance to reply, Liu Ergou hung up. The moment he did, Liu Yunxi started making snide remarks.

"Wow, looks like our Er Gou is really popular with the ladies! To have Zhang Man herself chasing you with phone calls! It seems that after your trip to the city, you're not my boyfriend anymore, but hers. Am I right?"

Liu Yunxi's words made Liu Ergou quite uncomfortable. "Ahem, Yun Xi, what are you saying! What do you mean I've become Zhang Man's boyfriend since I got back from the city? No matter where I come back from, I'm your boyfriend. Stop letting your imagination run wild all day, you hear me?"

After hearing Liu Ergou's words, Liu Yunxi let out a huff. "Fine, don't think I'm clueless. Just from the way you're acting, I can tell you've taken a liking to Zhang Man, haven't you!"

Her blunt words made Liu Ergou's heart skip a beat. Of course, he couldn't possibly admit it.

"Ahem, don't talk nonsense, Yun Xi. You know exactly what Zhang Man is like! How could I possibly fall for her? Enough, stop with the wild guesses. I'm in a hurry, so I'm leaving. You behave yourself here in the village."

With that, Liu Ergou turned to leave.

The main reason is that if I don't leave now, Liu Yunxi will see right through me.

Watching his departing figure, Liu Yunxi didn't stop. "Huh, impressive. Now Er Gou is lying to me, is that it? And you dare say you haven't fallen for her. When we argued yesterday, I didn't see you siding with me!"

Seeing the situation getting worse, Liu Ergou knew that if he left now, he would only be confirming her suspicions. With that thought, he turned back and sat down in front of Liu Yunxi.

"Yun Xi, what do you mean I didn't help you last night!" Liu Ergou explained with a wronged expression. "You two were talking so fast, I couldn't even get a word in! You can't blame me for that!"

Liu Yunxi was not convinced. "Hmph, as if! You just fancy her, and that's why you didn't help me. I'm done talking to you!"

With that, Liu Yunxi turned her head away, clearly pouting.

Seeing this, Liu Ergou felt a headache coming on.

What the hell is this? How did she get angry after just a couple of sentences? That old saying is really true: a woman's heart is as deep as the ocean.

With that thought, Liu Ergou rubbed his hair, vexed, then leaned in and began to coax Liu Yunxi in a soft, gentle voice. He coaxed her for a full half hour.

After half an hour, Liu Yunxi's anger finally subsided, albeit reluctantly. Seeing she was no longer angry, Liu Ergou seized the opportunity and left immediately.

Walking down the road, Liu Ergou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Good thing I left when I did. If I had delayed any longer, Liu Yunxi would have probably gotten angry again, and I would've wasted even more time.

At that moment, Liu Ergou had a sudden realization.

Having too many women around really isn't a good thing. I could easily end up in one of those legendary romantic battlefields.

At that thought, Liu Ergou couldn't help but shiver. Shaking it off, he didn't dare to dwell on it any longer and focused on hurrying along.

Before long, Liu Ergou arrived at the town and took a bus to the county. Just as he left the bus station, he saw Zhang Man's sports car. This surprised him.

Why is Zhang Man here? It's already afternoon. The trip here took quite a while.

While Liu Ergou was spacing out, Zhang Man had already gotten out of the car. She rushed over, grabbed his arm, and began pulling him toward the sports car.

While walking, she said, "Er Gou, you took so long! I've been waiting for ages! If you hadn't told me on the phone that you were definitely coming today, I would have thought you weren't coming at all! Come on, let's hurry to the city and try to get there before dark!"

Without giving Liu Ergou a chance to respond, Zhang Man dragged him into the sports car. Then, leaving a cloud of dust behind them, they sped off toward the city.

「Meanwhile, on Lu Shuangyue's side.」

That very day, the Shuangyue Family had withdrawn all of Baozhi Hall's liquid assets. They also cut off all of its resource supplies. Now, all that was left of Baozhi Hall was an empty shell.

However, before this, Liu Ergou had left Lu Shuangyue with 50 million. It was this 50 million that was keeping Baozhi Hall from going under immediately.

Lu Shuangyue was sitting in her office, beginning to inject the 50 million into Baozhi Hall in batches, preparing to revive the business.

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