After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Early morning in a small town in Jiangnan.

The bluestone slabs gleamed with a damp sheen, and morning mist lingered on the walls.

Dewdrops clung to the leaves of the loquat tree in the yard. An old woman stood before the wooden door, her wrinkled hands tightly gripping a bamboo basket. The basket was filled to the brim with red-shelled farm eggs.

"Xun Chuan, you can't get these free-range eggs in big cities. Take them with you on the road." The old lady fumbled for the bamboo basket and handed it over.

Zhu Xun Chuan stepped forward and steadily caught the bamboo basket with both hands.

"Thank you, Grandma. We'll save it and eat it slowly," Zhu Xunchuan said gently.

Jiang Yao walked forward in her black high heels. The big sister from the North naturally reached out and straightened the old lady's coarse cloth collar.

"Grandma, please come inside. It's windy outside. We'll come see you again in a while," Jiang Yao said with a smile.

Su Mucheng, her eyes red-rimmed, clung to the old lady, refusing to let go. Zhu Xunchuan patted her shoulder before pulling her away.

The group turned and walked toward the black Alphard minivan parked at the entrance of the alley.

Zhu Xun Chuan lagged half a step behind. He carried the bamboo basket in one hand, took out his encrypted phone with his right, quickly edited a short message, and sent it out.

"Deploy ten northern sentries to be permanently stationed in the town, and arrange for a special care team from Peking Union Medical College Hospital to take over the surrounding clinics. Spare no effort to ensure the safety of the elderly."

The text message was sent. He put away his phone, opened the car door, and got in. The van smoothly drove away from the lively little town.

Two hours later, a private Gulfstream jet broke through the clouds and flew directly to Hong Kong Island.

The cabin temperature remained constant. Su Mucheng changed into a custom-made white knit sweater, held a glass of warm milk in both hands, and gazed at the sea of ​​clouds outside the porthole.

Her fingers unconsciously twisted together, and she felt uneasy about the unknown Pan family.

Zhu Xun Chuan put down his tablet. He reached out his left arm and pulled Su Mu Cheng into his embrace.

"Afraid?" Zhu Xun Chuan lowered his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Su Mucheng leaned against his chest, her voice soft: "There's no one I know there. You saw the text message last night; they don't welcome me at all."

"Even if the sky falls, your husband will hold it up for you." Zhu Xun Chuan pinched her fair cheek. "You're going back to be a pampered young lady, not to suffer. Whoever makes you unhappy, I'll make sure they're unhappy for the rest of their lives."

Su Mucheng's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded vigorously, a sense of security instantly filling her heart.

On the other side of the cabin, Jiang Yao held a glass of red wine, her legs crossed. Her toes, encased in black stockings, peeked out and brushed against Zhu Xun Chuan's trouser leg.

"Brother Chuan, that's quite a bold statement." Jiang Yao swirled her wine glass, a hint of provocation in her narrow eyes. "So, if I go back to the Northern Territory and suffer, will you help me?"

"Who among those gangs in the Northern Territory dares to mess with you now?" Zhu Xun Chuan reached out with his right hand and grabbed Jiang Yao's unruly ankle. His thumb pressed heavily on her arch. "Didn't you sleep well in the town last night? You still have the mind to think about these things."

Jiang Yao's ears turned red, and she glared at him, but she couldn't bear to pull her leg away. Instead, she used her toes to trace patterns on his palm.

In the back seat, Bai He, dressed in a black combat uniform, was wiping her high-density ceramic dagger. Hearing the conversation in the front, she paused for a second, then took out a bottle of room-temperature mineral water and leaned halfway out to hand it to Zhu Xun Chuan.

Zhu Xun Chuan took the bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. He sat in the center, his left arm around a top female star, his right hand holding the heiress of the Northern Border, and his back guarded by the top assassin of the Dark Web. An extremely subtle sense of tension permeated the cabin.

At 2 p.m., the passenger plane landed smoothly at Hong Kong Island International Airport.

The air was salty and damp with the sea breeze. The cabin door opened.

Outside the VIP passage, the scene was one of extreme extravagance. Thirty black bulletproof Maybachs were lined up neatly, occupying the entire exit. Hundreds of bodyguards in black suits stood with their hands behind their backs, blocking off the entire area.

Pan Hongxuan was wearing a dark blue custom-made suit, and his wife was wearing a dark green cheongsam. The two stood at the front of the convoy, looking on with anticipation.

Beside the two stood a young man in a floral shirt. He was chewing gum, his eyes darting around the exit of the passage with a frivolous look. This was Pan Shaoze, the eldest grandson of the third branch of the Pan family.

Zhu Xun Chuan led Su Mu Cheng out. Jiang Yao lagged half a step behind, while Bai He completely disappeared into the shadows.

Upon seeing Su Mucheng, Madam Pan's tears instantly welled up. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed Su Mucheng's hand, and sobbed uncontrollably. Su Mucheng, her eyes also red, whispered, "Mom."

"A little star from the mainland, quite the airs, making our whole family wait so long." The man in the floral shirt spat out his chewing gum, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Fourth Uncle, is this the good daughter you've lost for twenty years? With this weak and incompetent air, when she returns to the villa on the hillside, people will think our Pan family has hired a new maid."

Pan Hongxuan's face instantly darkened: "Pan Shaoze, shut your mouth. The Third Branch sent you here today to pick up your sister."

"Sister? Fourth Uncle, when it comes to bloodlines, who knows if someone just randomly picked an actress to swindle money from the Pan family?" Pan Shaoze sneered, his gaze sweeping past Pan Hongxuan and brazenly fixed on Su Mucheng's face. "She is indeed beautiful. It's a pity she comes from that dirty place called the entertainment industry; who knows how many sugar daddies she's been with..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Zhu Xun Chuan stopped in his tracks. He raised his head, his calm gaze landing on Pan Shao Ze's face.

The air froze completely at that moment.

A chilling cold shot up Pan Shaoze's spine and straight to the top of his head. He clearly saw a woman in black combat gear silently appear behind Zhu Xunchuan. The woman held a short knife in a reverse grip, her eyes devoid of any human emotion.

That was the true aura of death. Pan Shaoze's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and his legs began to go weak. He wanted to back away, but found that his body simply wouldn't obey him.

"Say what you just said again." Zhu Xun Chuan had one hand in his trouser pocket, his voice low and devoid of emotion.

Pan Shaoze's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"You're from the third branch of the family, aren't you?" Zhu Xun Chuan took a step forward. "Regardless of what rules the Pan family has in Hong Kong, Mu Cheng is mine. If you utter another word of nonsense to her, I'll have your tongue cut out tonight and thrown into Victoria Harbour to feed the fish. Understand?"

A simple sentence, without roars or shouts. Just one sentence, yet it carries an absolute power that cannot be disobeyed.

For some reason, Pan Shaoze felt a little guilty, as if he were facing his eldest and second eldest sisters directly!

That kind of innate superiority, the eldest and second eldest sisters are like that.

Pan Shaoze nodded frantically, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, completely losing the arrogance of a young master from a wealthy family.

Pan Hongxuan watched Zhu Xunchuan from the side. He had been in the business world for decades and had seen countless powerful figures. The imposing aura that Zhu Xunchuan had just exuded had even startled him, the fourth son of the gambling king.

This young man's depth of knowledge is unfathomable.

Pan Hongxuan's worries completely dissipated. With Zhu Xunchuan protecting her, any attempt by the second or third branches of the Pan family to bully Su Mucheng was tantamount to suicide. He was extremely satisfied with this son-in-law.

"Mr. Zhu, you've had a long journey." Pan Hongxuan personally opened the door of the middle car, adopting an extremely humble posture. "Please get in."

Zhu Xunchuan helped Su Mucheng into the back seat. Jiang Yao, in high heels, got into the car behind.

The convoy slowly started moving and drove out of the airport.

The convoy drove along the winding mountain road into the Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island's most exclusive residential area. The view of Victoria Harbour was breathtaking.

The convoy drove to the highest point halfway up the mountain. A huge black wrought iron gate slowly opened to both sides.

The Pan family mansion came into view. It was a vast European-style castle-like building.

The gray exterior walls bear the marks of time, and the towering spires pierce the clouds. The entire estate sits atop the mountain, exuding an eerie aura that seems to devour everything.