Chapter 77: A Little Scared, a Little Excited
By the time Nan Xun got dressed and went downstairs, Li Chen and Old Master Li were already eating breakfast.
Nan Xun sat down beside Li Chen and kept sneaking glances at his face.
Though he looked expressionless, she could tell—he was still angry.
Old Master Li found it quite curious. “Nan Nan, did you and your father have a fight?”
These two were usually inseparable—who would’ve thought they’d argue too?
Nan Xun poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks and said softly, “Grandpa, you judge this for me. I’m already this old—shouldn’t I have some privacy? I just wanted to wait until Dad left before changing clothes, but he said I was being distant with him, and then he got angry.”
The more she spoke, the more justified Nan Xun felt—and the more she felt Li Chen was being a pervert.
After hearing this, the smile on Old Master Li’s face faded. He looked at Li Chen and gave the final word. “In my opinion, Nan Nan really has grown up. From now on, you two should sleep separately.”
Li Chen didn’t respond. Instead, he said directly to Nan Xun, “Nan Nan, Daddy has something to take care of later. Come with me.”
Nan Xun gave an “oh” and silently stuffed more food into her mouth.
It was the weekend, and there were no classes. Nan Xun changed into a fitted white puffed dress, wore a pair of snow-white custom sneakers, and tied her hair into a bun. She looked youthful and radiant. With Li Chen’s good genes, she was especially pretty—delicate and jade-like, with bright, watery eyes full of life.
Li Chen looked at the precious daughter he had raised with his own hands and reached out to wrap an arm around her waist.
Nan Xun was already used to it and didn’t think much of it.
Only Old Master Li, who saw the way the two interacted from behind, stared so hard his eyes nearly popped out. After the father and daughter left, he leaned on his cane and shakily stood up.
The old butler at his side hurriedly supported him. “Sir, what’s wrong…?”
Old Master Li’s lips moved several times before he finally asked, “Old Wang, tell me—do you think Li Chen has known for a long time that Nan Nan isn’t his biological daughter?”
The old butler seemed to realize what Old Master Li was worried about. His expression changed as well. After a pause, he said, “Sir, even if the young master really did know long ago, the young miss was raised by him personally. Could he really develop… other thoughts? Besides, she’s still so young. How could the young master possibly—”
“She’s young now, but won’t she grow up?” Old Master Li interrupted. “Didn’t you see how strong Li Chen’s possessiveness toward Nan Nan has become? He thinks I don’t know he’s had people monitoring Nan Nan’s every move at school?”
The more Old Master Li thought about it, the more worried he became. After all, that was his son. Even though sometimes even he couldn’t figure out what was going on in that boy’s mind, he knew one thing: once Li Chen wanted something, he would get it by any means necessary. What he was best at was letting his prey slowly walk into the trap on its own—then swallowing it whole in one vicious bite.
Nan Nan had called him “Grandpa” for so many years. How could he bear to watch a pure little white flower be destroyed by a hungry wolf? Even if his son had long known they weren’t related by blood, Nan Nan didn’t know that. In her heart, Li Chen was her father!
Old Master Li decided that he needed to find time for a serious talk between father and son.
Nan Xun didn’t know where Li Chen was taking her. The car drove farther and farther off the main road, until it finally stopped on a street in some small town.
This time, four bodyguards followed them. The burly men in black bent down to open the car door. After Li Chen got out first, Nan Xun was about to follow when Li Chen suddenly scooped her up sideways, startling her so badly that she hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Dad, I’m not a little kid anymore—why are you still carrying me like this?” As soon as they were out of the car, Nan Xun jumped down from his arms.
Li Chen said nothing. He simply held her by the waist and walked into the restaurant ahead, the four black-clad bodyguards following behind.
The restaurant had a fairly large storefront, but there wasn’t a single customer inside—it looked as if the place had been cleared out in advance.
Nan Xun found it strange that Li Chen would bring her to such a rundown place. Given his extreme cleanliness obsession, he rarely set foot in restaurants that looked this unhygienic.
As soon as Li Chen entered, a middle-aged man came up to greet him respectfully and said in a low voice, “Young Master Li, we’ve caught the person. He’s downstairs.”
As he spoke, he sneakily glanced at Nan Xun. Seeing Li Chen’s arm around the girl’s waist, he felt a bit surprised. Weren’t the rumors saying Young Master Li kept his distance from women? Could they be wrong?
But this girl looked far too young. Did Young Master Li actually like this type?
The middle-aged man silently took note of it.
Li Chen gave a short “mm.” “Lead the way.”
The man quickly nodded. “This way, please.”
With an arm around Nan Xun, Li Chen lowered his voice and instructed her, “Sweetheart, just be good and watch from the side later.”
Nan Xun nodded obediently.
The restaurant had a basement. With the man leading the way, the group went in through a side passage.
When Nan Xun saw the scene inside clearly, her eyes widened in shock.
It was actually an underground casino!
Several gambling tables were set up, cards still left uncleaned on them. All the lights were on, illuminating every corner clearly.
In an open area, a man in his thirties was tightly bound with ropes and forced to kneel on the ground, a wad of cloth stuffed in his mouth.
“Mmm! Mmm mmm!” When he saw Young Master Li, the man became visibly agitated, trying to crawl forward, but a black-clad guard behind him kicked him back to the ground.
“Young Master Li, please.” The middle-aged man gestured ahead.
A genuine leather chair had already been placed at the front. Li Chen went over and sat down.
Nan Xun had planned to stand, but Li Chen directly pulled her into his arms and had her sit on his lap.
Nan Xun shifted awkwardly for a moment, then simply curled up against him, trying hard to minimize her presence.
Li Chen slightly raised his right hand. Immediately, someone removed the filthy cloth from the man’s mouth.
Finally able to speak, the man burst into tears and begged, “Young Master Li, please be magnanimous and spare me this once. I’ll never dare again, I swear! Please, for my father’s sake, let me go—I really won’t dare again…”
Nan Xun looked at the man in confusion, then at her Li Chen-daddy.
Damn—her dad really did come from black-market roots. This scene looked exactly like those TV dramas where a mob boss deals with a betraying underling before shooting him on the spot.
She felt a little scared… and a little excited. What was going on with her?
Driven by a pure spectator’s mindset, Nan Xun naturally draped one arm around Li Chen’s neck and shifted into a more comfortable position.
Her reliance and closeness made Li Chen feel quite satisfied. It was just that next… he wasn’t sure whether his sweetheart would still be as close to him as she was now.
