Guan Jianfei was currently wearing his crisp military uniform, which bore several ragged marks; the skin underneath had been whipped to a raw turn.

Keep in mind, this guy wore two bars and a star on his shoulder.

In Jinling, there weren't many who had the guts to whip Guan Jianfei, and even fewer who had the strength to do so.

Xu Fan couldn't help but smile wryly as he observed him desperately trying to squeeze out tears before turning to look towards the door.

The person who whipped Guan Jianfei—Guan Jianfei could knock him down with one punch, yet with a hundred bouts of courage, he wouldn't dare make a move.

"You little brat, thinking you're tough now, huh? You dare to hide?"

Just then, Old Master Guan entered the hospital room wielding a military whip, blowing his beard and glaring as he saw Guan Jianfei hiding behind Xu Fan, cursed, and then charged over.

"Xu Fan, tell me, how do you want me to discipline this guy?"

Of all Old Master Guan's grandchildren, Guan Jianfei was the most stubborn, and even being sent to the military hadn't changed his temperament.

Last night's blunder had left Old Master Guan so angry that he had barely slept all night.

Today, he truly wanted to take out some of that anger on behalf of Xu Fan.

"That's enough, Old Master Guan. It's not necessary."

Guan Jianfei was only dragged into this by Lu Qiu. Xu Fan wasn't petty enough to take it this far; he glanced at Old Master Guan and asked, "How is he? Did that young master die?"

With his control over his strength, he knew Lu Qiu wouldn't have died, but he would probably have to spend a good year in bed recovering from his injuries.

Old Master Guan blew on his beard and said, "That Lu Qiu, he's even more stubborn than this mischievous son of mine. Your beating should keep him in line for a while."

"Xu Fan, don't worry. The parents of Lu Qiu have to address me as 'uncle.' Let's leave this matter here."

Old Master Guan's influence was more than enough to prevent this issue from escalating further.

Even if Lu Qiu was disgruntled, he'd have to hold it in.

After glaring fiercely at Guan Jianfei, Old Master Guan then looked towards the main entrance.

"Silly girl, what are you still standing outside for?"

"Hmm?"

Xu Fan raised an eyebrow and instinctively looked towards the main entrance.

There he saw Guan Shimeng standing at the door holding a fruit basket, her cheeks flushed red.

This indeed surprised Xu Fan; he hadn't expected Old Master Guan to bring her along as well.

However, given her naive nature, she was probably worried about him.

"Xu, Xu Fan, are you alright..."

Having been spotted, there was no point in hiding any longer. Guan Shimeng came up to Xu Fan and asked worriedly.

Xu Fan smiled and shook his head, explaining, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury. I'll be healed in a few days."

Perhaps afraid of worrying his naive granddaughter, Old Master Guan hadn't told Guan Shimeng about his gunshot wound. Guan Shimeng nodded and said, "That's good, don't worry. I'll go to school later and help you ask for leave."

"Uh..."

Asking for leave meant Zhou Keren would learn about it, and Xu Fan really didn't want a whole batch of people visiting him.

But at that moment, he didn't know what excuse to use to dissuade Guan Shimeng, and so he just let her proceed with her plan.

"By the way, Xu Fan, I've already heard about what happened with the Xia Family."

At that moment, Grandfather Guan sat next to Xu Fan, suddenly starting a conversation about himself and Xia Xiaodie.

Xu Fan looked at Guan Shimeng uneasily and sensed that she appeared distressed, mostly because Grandfather Guan had likely coerced the news out of her.

"Xu Fan, in my view, this should actually be considered a good thing."

Before Xu Fan could tell Grandfather Guan not to worry about him, the old man had already burst into laughter.

Xu Fan shook his head, half amused, half resigned. Could this really be considered a good thing?

"Cough, cough, cough, the old man I am doesn't speak well, Xu Fan, don't get me wrong now..."

Seeing Xu Fan's expression looking a bit off, Grandfather Guan chuckled and explained, "What I meant, Xu Fan, is that you are a dragon among men, why worry about finding a wife?"

"From what I see, the Xia family's women are not worthy of you."

"Xia Xiaodie, that girl is too troublesome. When finding a wife, you should look for one who is gentle, scholarly, and sensible. The troublesome ones just give you headaches."

Grandfather Guan, at that moment, was ceaselessly pouring his marriage philosophy into Xu Fan, all the while winking suggestively at Guan Shimeng on the side. The implication was all too clear.

Seeing Guan Shimeng blushing to the roots of her neck, Xu Fan shook his head, bemused yet resigned.

He had figured out why Grandfather Guan had insisted on bringing Guan Shimeng along today.

"Grandfather Guan, your argument is indeed reasonable."

Seeing Xu Fan nodding in agreement, Guan Jianfei, who was standing aside, immediately rejoiced, and walked over gleefully, preparing to introduce Guan Shimeng to Xu Fan.

The previous night Xu Fan had truly impressed him, and he figured if Xu Fan became his brother-in-law in the future, who would dare to bully him?

Then, if Grandfather ever scolded him again, he would have someone else to plead on his behalf.

"However..."

Before he and Grandfather Guan could reveal the main purpose of their visit today, Xu Fan spoke up first.

"I am also not old yet, and regarding marriage, I'm not planning on it for the moment; I'll consider it later."

Currently at home, there was Zhou Keren with whom he'd had a relationship. Regarding marriage, Xu Fan truly didn't know how to decide...

"Uh, this..."

Xu Fan's excuse was not without reason. Grandfather Guan glanced at his somewhat disappointed granddaughter and then sighed, "Alright, such matters indeed cannot be rushed."

"You are also not old; rushing into marriage is indeed unnecessary."

"Alright, I still need to make a trip with this rascal, so I won't disturb your rest anymore. Shimeng, you don't need to go to school today, stay here and take care of Xu Fan."

Grandfather Guan needed to make a trip to the military zone, stood up, and prepared to leave with Guan Jianfei.

With his back towards Xu Fan, he gave Guan Shimeng a knowing wink, thinking it best to let his granddaughter seize the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with Xu Fan.

"Grandfather Guan, no need to trouble yourself, it's just a minor injury, don't cause Shimeng to miss school."

Having earlier subtly rejected Grandfather Guan's suggestion, and in doing so also rejected Guan Shimeng, Xu Fan was at a loss for what to say now that he was alone with her.

Glancing apologetically at Guan Shimeng, Xu Fan then smiled, "Alright, you should go back to school too. Don't worry, I'll check out your livestream at noon."

After sending Guan Shimeng and others away, Xu Fan lay on the bed and smiled strangely to himself before speaking.

"Now that you've come, why hide outside?"

Clearly, the reason he had everyone leave went beyond just that…

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