Villains: Starting with the Landlady

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Su!

Hearing the way the people behind him addressed him, the old man turned around. Although his hair was gray and his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bright and piercing, and he looked heroic and extraordinary.

Upon seeing Old Master Su, Ling Yun instinctively used the search function.

Name: Su Guosheng

【Age: 70】

[Protagonist's Fate: A resolute and decisive individual. He has participated in numerous wars, achieving outstanding results in each. After the wars, thanks to his exceptional talent and the support of a benefactor (the Heavenly Calculator), he gradually solidified his position. His adoption of a mysterious abandoned child further elevates his status. However, due to his advanced age, he retires after ten years. His fortune, though seemingly doomed, has a chance to rekindle and rise again, depending entirely on his future destiny. Special Abilities: Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, proficient with firearms.]

[Recent Opportunity: ??? (Enveloped in a purple aura, the one who tied the knot must untie it; his opportunity stems from a mysterious abandoned baby, the cause of which remains unknown)]

[Luck: 0 (2000↑)]

[Combat Strength: E-]

[Affection: Doting (Shared Feelings)]

After reading it, Ling Yun could only use two words to describe his feelings at that moment.

What the hell!

What kind of "protagonists" did we encounter before? All of them together cost less than 1000, but Grandpa Su's is worth 2000!

Although it's still far from my goal of 99,000, it's still quite outrageous.

No wonder Old Master Su was able to reach that level; he was once a chosen one!

Ling Yun rubbed his hands together and said politely, "Happy birthday, Grandpa Su! Are you still in good health?"

"Haha, Yun'er's here! Sit down and play chess with me!"

Lingyun sat down opposite him and heard him mutter, "I can't take it anymore. I'm getting old, and my body isn't as strong as it used to be."

"Please don't say such discouraging things!"

Ling Yun silently asked again, "Nana, is it possible to plunder the old man's special ability?"

[Yes, Master. However, Su Guosheng's fate and opportunities are already deeply intertwined with yours. Therefore, this "plunder" will be changed to "copying," preserving his special abilities after you learn them.]

Ling Yun breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that it wouldn't harm Old Master Su, and then used "Copy".

[Congratulations, Master, on successfully capturing the fourth "protagonist"! Your combat power has increased! "Firearms Mastery" has not increased. "Black Dragon Eighteen Hands" and "Martial Arts Mastery" were detected to be highly similar and have been successfully fused into "New Black Dragon Eighteen Hands." Your current combat power is C. There will be additional special rewards when you capture the fifth one!]

Ling Yun was overjoyed to have "plundered" the fourth "protagonist" with almost no effort. However, people are always prone to getting carried away, and he forgot about Grandpa Su's appalling chess skills, which were only good enough to play against simple AI opponents, and how he had utterly defeated him.

The surroundings were completely silent, and everyone, including Tao Xin'er, covered their mouths. They never expected that the old man she admired would be such a bad chess player, even worse than her, a terrible chess player!

"Ahem, Yun'er, do you think this is appropriate?"

"The sun is shining so brightly today."

Master Su looked at the completely dark sky and nodded seriously: "Yes, the moon is really round."

"Pfft hahahaha~"

Su Jinyao couldn't help but laugh first, and then everyone, including the guards next to her, laughed. Old Master Su patted Ling Yun's shoulder in annoyance. He was still very healthy, and the pat made Ling Yun grimace.

"You brat, come inside!"

"Hey, okay!"

"Oh dear, Yun'er, come here, let me hug you. Poor thing, your aunt is so busy, she probably doesn't have time to cook you anything delicious. You've gotten so thin!"

Chapter 96 Su Qingya's Room

"Mom, don't spoil Xiaoyun too much. He eats his fill every day!"

Su Qingya said indignantly, "Even if he's lost weight, it's all his own fault."

Ling Yun understood Su Qingya's implied meaning, and smiled without saying much. However, the others didn't quite understand and just thought it was a playful banter between the two.

"Is this the Tao family's daughter? I don't remember the Sun family arriving yet; the banquet is still an hour away."

Liu Qiuhua spotted Tao Xin'er in the crowd at a glance. Although the older generation wasn't too fond of tattoos, Liu Qiuhua had met Tao Xin'er a few times and had a good impression of her, so she didn't dislike her because of it.

"Hello, Grandma Liu!"

Liu Qiuhua's dignified demeanor is innate. Although she looks much kinder now, she once had a time when she was assertive and commanding in front of the media.

"Grandma Liu, Xin'er came with me."

Su Guosheng hadn't asked about Tao Xin'er outside because he wanted Ling Yun to give him a definite answer. Upon hearing his words, the old man showed no surprise, only a hearty laugh.

"Good, as expected of a member of the Su family!"

"You old fool, you're having a fit of hysteria, talking nonsense!" Liu Qiuhua glared at him, then grabbed Tao Xin'er's small hand. "Xiao Xin, your grandma and I are old acquaintances. Tell me honestly, did Yun'er force you?"

"No, Grandma Liu, this is my own request. I don't like Sun Yichen, and I don't want to marry him."

"But you also need to know that you are much older than Yun'er. Yun'er won't get married so early, and you may not be able to be his legal wife. You have other options." Perhaps because she was a woman, and because she herself was against polygamy, Liu Qiuhua's words did not entirely stand on Ling Yun's side.

"Grandma Liu, this is better than me marrying into the Sun family."

Although it was her first time visiting Old Master Su's manor, seeing how everyone interacted privately deepened Tao Xin'er's resolve. Even if she were forced to submit to a man, Ling Yun was undoubtedly the best choice at the moment.

"Alright, as long as it's your true intention, Grandma will support you! Um, Yun'er, come here." Liu Qiuhua had the air of a matchmaker, taking the two of them by the hand and placing them together. "Remember, don't bully that girl in the future. Although the Tao family and the Sun family have some ties, the girl is a good person, understand?"

Ling Yun nodded and replied, "Don't worry, Grandma, I definitely won't bully her."

"Alright, alright, these young people are just dating, and you're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"How can you talk like that? Don't you know the old saying: any relationship that doesn't aim for marriage is just playing around!"

"Liu Qiuhua, you've got some serious awareness! You're even talking to me about value!"

Ling Yun and Tao Xin'er smiled at each other, then glanced at their aunt and her younger aunt, before finally pulling Tao Xin'er to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"By the way, Dad, where are our eldest brother and sister-in-law?"

"They're quite busy with work. I just spoke to them on the phone and they said they left late and got stuck in traffic! But I estimate they'll arrive before the dinner starts."

"This Xingguo is really something, couldn't they have come a little earlier?" Liu Qiuhua complained a couple of times, but still went to wash the fruit and brought it to share with the group.

Su Qingya walked towards her room, and Ling Yun, seeing Liu Qiuhua and Tao Xiner chatting happily, secretly followed them.

His departure went unnoticed, and the news on television drowned out his deliberately quiet footsteps.

Chapter 97 Clash with Su Jinyao

"Good girl Xiaoyun, you're amazing! You snatched the Sun family's future daughter-in-law without saying a word!"

"It's not really robbery, what does that good-for-nothing Sun Yimiao want?"

"Hahaha, Sun Yimiao..."

"Auntie, you've really never been in a relationship all these years?"

Seeing that Ling Yun had changed the subject, Su Jinyao also took the opportunity to back down and didn't continue. Instead, she said calmly, "No, I feel like throwing up when I see those fawning men. But when they hear about my family background, they're so scared they don't dare to fart."

"So you've been single all this time?"

"You brat, you dare tease me again!" She tried to pull Ling Yun's ear like Su Qingya had, but he skillfully dodged her.

Ling Yun nimbly dodged her attack, a smile playing on his lips.

Name: Su Jinyao

【Age: 36】

[Value: 173, F]

[Rating: 97]

[Combat Power: F+]

[Affection: Admiration]

Chapter 98 Birthday Guests [Bonus Chapter]

The two stayed in the orchard for a while, and by then most of the people attending the dinner party had arrived.

As soon as he followed the guard into the house, he saw the ashen-faced Sun and Tao families.

At this kind of birthday banquet, which is almost the highest level, only the future successor of the family, the wife who has married into the family, or the son-in-law who has officially married into the family can attend. So naturally, neither family informed Tao Xin'er.

However, they actually saw Tao Xin'er here. Although she was a little flustered when she saw them coming, she was well protected by Su Qingya and Liu Qiuhua. Even without saying it, both families understood the meaning behind this.

Tao Xin'er actually entered the Su family!

Even those families who weren't entirely clear on the intricacies of the situation guessed that a major earthquake was about to strike the capital after seeing Tao Xin'er and Su Qingya's intimate figures.

The only male member of the younger generation in the Su family has a girlfriend!

The most powerless and furious of them all was naturally Tao Xin'er's nominal fiancé—Sun Yimiao… no, Sun Yichen.

Although he still forced a smile, his clenched fists betrayed his inner resentment. He was still trying to justify his actions, hoping that Tao Xin'er had only attended the banquet under a different pretext and had nothing to do with Ling Yun.

However, when Ling Yun walked to the center of the field and took Tao Xin'er's hand, everyone understood perfectly well what was going on. They all looked at the Sun family and the Tao family with either sympathy or schadenfreude.

You two families are so arrogant, aren't you? Now that your daughter has run off to the Su family, let's see what you can do about it!

Three elderly people sat at the round table on the other side. Besides Grandpa Su, there were two other men who exuded an air of authority and had bright, clear eyes.

"Old Su, it's truly a joyous occasion that your grandson has found a daughter from the Tao family."

The speaker was a man wearing a Zhongshan suit. His hair was neatly combed, and he exuded an elegant yet domineering aura. He was Dong Tai, the same man who often spoke on TV.

The other man had a somewhat effeminate air and rarely smiled. He had a long, thin face, and as he looked at the two young men in the room, his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he hadn't expected things to develop this way.

"Xiao Chang, do you have a problem with that?"

Grandpa Su chuckled as he took a sip of tea and spoke to Chang Zhengde.

"What are you saying, Elder Su?" Chang Zhengde smiled slightly, his years of habit making him unable to express his emotions. "I'm just curious, because the marriage between the Tao family and the Sun family was a foregone conclusion."

"What era are we living in? Why are we still having this kind of arranged marriage stuff?" Old Su put down his teacup. "As long as the children are happy, adults should respect their choices."

"Old Su is absolutely right!"

Hearing Chang Zhengde's reply, Su Guosheng and Dongtai exchanged a glance and remained silent.

Ling Yun led Tao Xin'er to her parents and smiled at them, saying, "Hello, Uncle Tao and Aunt Lai!"

Although Tao Xin'er's parents were somewhat embarrassed, they quickly realized that if their daughter could marry into the Su family, it would provide them with an alternative, preventing the Sun family from making unreasonable demands. Everyone knew that Tao Xin'er had a poor relationship with the Tao family, so the Tao family might not receive much assistance from the Su family. However, if the Sun family went too far, the Tao family might actually be able to use their meager connections to cause the Sun family to suffer a setback.

The Tao family might not suffer a loss, but the Sun family truly suffered a loss they couldn't speak out against.

"Hey, hello, Nephew Ling!"

After figuring out the pros and cons, Tao Yushu quickly forced a smile and responded.

Seeing that the Tao family had tacitly accepted these things, the Sun family could only quietly distance themselves and continue chatting with other families. Although they really wanted to teach the Tao family a lesson, it wasn't their intention, and they couldn't afford to offend the Su family, so they had no choice but to give up.

Su Qingya moved gracefully among the various families, speaking gently yet with an air of sophistication, which pleased the other families greatly.

Little did they know, this elegant and beautiful woman had just been...

But Su Jinyao was different. She was eating fruit with her legs crossed, making Liu Qiuhua want to beat her daughter out with sticks.

"Dad, I'm so sorry we're late!"

As the eldest son of the Su family, Su Xingguo arrived late with his wife and daughter. He first apologized to the old man, and then greeted Dongtai and Chang Zhengde.

"Mr. Su, Xingguo's recent work is truly commendable!"

"Hey, do you think I don't know what this kid is capable of? You're giving him too much credit!"

"Hey, it's because Xiao Su is capable and responsible!"

Su Xingguo smiled apologetically, knowing that his current status was inseparable from Dongtai's help.

Chang Zhengde also gave an affirmative smile, but his expression was somewhat subtle.

Qin Shuang and Su Xiaoning greeted him as they entered, then turned their attention to Ling Yun in the room. Upon seeing the tall, familiar figure, the two women were about to approach him with smiles when they noticed he was holding another woman's hand.

They all recognized the woman; she was Tao Xin'er, the eldest daughter of the Tao family.

Qin Shuang showed no surprise. Ling Yun was already 20 years old and would soon be 21, so it was normal for him to have a girlfriend.

But Su Xiaoning felt as if the sky had fallen, and the smile on her face froze instantly, which made the old man who was observing her from the side show a knowing smile.