Villain Boss Chapter 166
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 166: In The Heat Of The Night
After seeing Jiang Yu off, Xie Chengzhi made a cup of coffee and tiptoed into the study.
Luo Rui was sitting at the table looking through the records of the slum. When she heard footsteps, she didn't even look up. "Where's your good buddy? Did he leave?"
Putting the coffee next to his girlfriend, Xie Chengzhi massaged her shoulders and said helplessly, "Are you angry?"
Luo Rui asked back, "Is there anything worth getting angry about?"
Her tone was cold, and it seemed that she was really angry. Xie Chengzhi rubbed the tip of his nose and coaxed her softly, "Don't be angry, I can explain."
Luo Rui pushed the file away, leaned back in her chair, and looked up at him. "Go ahead."
"He went to the military command building and asked to see me. I was afraid that he would cause trouble in the military command building, so I had no choice but to bring him back," Xie Chengzhi said in an orderly manner. "He complained to me that Brother Xue's team ostracized him and he hoped that I could give him some help—as a former teammate, I can't just refuse him directly."
"So you agreed to let him join the sixth team?"
"He proposed it himself." Xie Chengzhi gave a wry smile. "Since he’s a superhuman, I think he’ll be useful in the sixth team. If he’s placed somewhere else, he may really become a parasite."
"We’ve just taken over the sixth team, and you’re already pulling strings for your former teammate and letting him take the easy way out... What do you think the other team members will think?" Luo Rui said, "They all went through stages of selection to enter the base’s superhuman team. Can Jiang Yu pass the selection?"
"Ruirui..."
"It’s pointless to call my name." Luo Rui sneered. "Since you promised Jiang Yu, you can make your own arrangements. You're the captain of the sixth team anyway. You can do as you wish. I have no objection."
She scoffed, and Xie Chengzhi flushed and paled. Ultimately, he simply pursed his lips and didn't argue.
"You're in a bad mood today. I'll leave now and not bother you anymore."
He stood up, removed his hand from the back of her chair, and started to leave.
"Xie Chengzhi!" She thought he would continue to comfort her and explain, but he wanted to leave instead. Luo Rui leaped up from the chair in anger and pointed at him. "If you leave, I’ll break up with you!"
She spoke with tears in her eyes. Xie Chengzhi looked back at her with a cold expression. "Didn't you say that I can just do as I wish?"
"I-I just said it casually!" Luo Rui shook her hand and said angrily, "It's obviously your fault, yet you still refuse to admit it!"
"How have I refused to admit my fault?" Xie Chengzhi was amused by the aggrieved look in her reddened eyes. He sighed and reached out to pull her into his arms. "I know I shouldn't have agreed to his request. I admit that I haven't considered it as comprehensively as you—I'm afraid of making you angry again, so I want to get out of your sight first."
"When did I say you were an eyesore?" Luo Rui sniffled and sobbed. "You just take advantage of the fact that I like you to bully me—didn't you comfort Jiang Ranran when you had a fight with her before?"
Jiang Ranran's name suddenly popped into Xie Cheng's mind. He was stunned and replied subconsciously, "Jiang Ranran and I have never had a fight."
They had been together for a relatively short time, and they were in love, so they had never had a fight.
He was stating the facts, but Luo Rui read too much into it. "Are you saying that I'm being unreasonable?"
Xie Chengzhi touched her head and patiently explained, "Of course not. You aren’t being unreasonable, but correcting the mistake I made. I know my girlfriend well enough."
"... Humph."
"Ruirui, since you don't want Jiang Yu to join the sixth team, I'll tell him."
He made a concession. Luo Rui leaned her little face in his arms with a smile on her lips. "No need—since he could go to the military command building today, he can also go there tomorrow. He showed up at the military command building to threaten you, and yet being a fool, you treated him sincerely."
"..."
"It's not like you haven't interacted with Brother Xue's team before. Do you think those people would ostracize Jiang Yu?"
Xue Weixin was a righteous man. The team members he led had similar personalities to him. They all had generous and magnanimous personalities.
Xie Chengzhi wasn't as attentive as Luo Rui, but thankfully, he was intelligent. With Luo Rui's brief warning, he realized he'd been blinded by his sense of loyalty.
"Jiang Yu..."
"He's lying to you, fool!" Luo Rui sneered. "He probably thinks following Marshal Shen is some great opportunity, and he's trying to get some benefits."
His lover's analysis was well-founded. Xie Chengzhi sighed in frustration. "We have such a deep friendship. Just for something like this, is there any need..."
To lie?
Whatever Jiang Yu's motives, it couldn't change the fact that he'd deceived him.
No matter how close they once were, once a rift appeared, it’d be difficult to mend.
Xie Chengzhi said gravely, "Don't worry about what happens next. I'll explain everything to him."
"No, I've already promised him."
"... To let him join the sixth team?"
Luo Rui looked up and kissed him on the chin. "Joining the base's superhuman team requires an assessment. I've already thought of the assessment content. Whether he makes it depends on his own ability."
……
That night, there was no moon and the wind was strong. The warm yellow light cast long, faint shadows. The small wooden house in the slum had no electricity. Candles danced in the night breeze, illuminating a corner of the room.
Jiang Ran reclined in a chair, leisurely peeling melon seeds.
The youth squatted on a chair next to her, staring at the dwindling number of melon seeds on his plate, feeling troubled.
Zhou Jian paced the room twice, glancing at the two people who were calm. Then, she walked to Yi Xi, who was leaning against the wall, and whispered, "Is everything really okay? If it were Luo Rui, she wouldn't take it lightly. Will we really be okay?"
Yi Xi’s half-closed eyelids opened and she replied indifferently, "Didn't you see how relaxed those two were?"
"... Yes, I did." That was why she was even more panicked.
Those two—Qiao Yi was fearless. The more trouble he faced, the happier he was. Jiang Ranran was a complete fool, and she couldn’t rely on Jiang Ranran in face of trouble—had no reason to be nervous.
Jiang Ran was unaware of Zhou Jian's uneasiness. She only sensed the intense gaze next to her.
She glanced at Qiao Yi and pushed the plate of peeled melon seeds in front of him. "Here you go."
Qiao Yi, who had been feeling sorry for the melon seeds, was stunned. "You're not going to eat them?"
"They give me a sore throat."
"Then why did you peel them?"
"I'm just bored." Jiang Ran continued peeling. "Si Xu isn't here. If Si Xu were here, I wouldn’t even bother talking to you."
The youth, who had been debating whether to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor, rolled his eyes and stuffed a handful of melon seeds into his mouth.
They’d already been peeled, so it would be a waste not to eat them.
After finally swallowing his mouthful of melon seeds, Qiao Yi took a sip of water and asked Jiang Ran, "Why isn't Professor Si here?"
"He’s busy with work."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"To save you." She kicked the box next to the chair. "And I'm bringing you some medicine on behalf of Si Xu."
The base's medical resources were scarce, and couldn’t be available to everyone. The residents of the slum, who had no value, were the first to be abandoned.
It hadn’t been easy for Jiang Ran to go through the tunnel, so she simply seized a bunch of useful medicines from Si Xu's space and brought them over.
Qiao Yi glanced at the not-so-big medical kit and said frankly, "This amount of medicine may not be enough."
"You should be content. I crawled through the tunnel carrying such a heavy box by myself. Do you know how tired I was?"
"..."
"I'll send you more after things are settled tonight."
"That's more like it." Qiao Yi snorted and glanced next door. "Do you think anyone will really come tonight?"
"Of course."
"The woman you left in the next room..."
"I already said it was a gift." Jiang Ran quickly peeled another stack of melon seeds and said, "I hope to give those people a little surprise—if there’s no surprise, the gift is meaningless."
