Chapter 31: He Lian Is the Best Person in the World

He Lian: “…”

What on earth.

Did Shen Jin eat wild mushrooms this morning?

He simply dragged Shen Jin downstairs, then leaned back lazily against the sofa, crossing his feet on the table. In a lukewarm tone, he asked, “What do you mean, ‘wife stealer’? Jiang Yu and Jing Yue have already broken off their engagement.”

Shen Jin sneered. “You don’t represent the Duan family.”

He Lian raised his eyes, shooting a chilling, lethal glare straight at him.

Shen Jin: “…So what if you can? Jiang Yu is still a member of the Song family after all. In ancient times, what you did would be called abducting women; in modern times, it’s human trafficking. You, He Lian, deserve to get shot!”

He Lian didn’t say a word, drawing the gun strapped to his thigh.

Shen Jin: “…Fine, it was the Song family’s fault first, and you did this to save Jiang Yu. But you shouldn’t have caused such a massive scene in the Song family’s ancestral residence! Do you have any idea how angry your grandfather is?!”

He Lian aimed the gun right at his forehead.

Shen Jin: “…Then again, the old man really doesn’t know the full story. You were just stepping up to help out of a sense of justice. But all in all, you still owe the Song family an explanation, don’t you?”

He Lian placed his long index finger lightly on the trigger.

“…”

Shen Jin pointed at his own forehead. “Come on! Shoot! Go ahead and shoot me dead!”

He Lian clicked his tongue and casually tossed the gun onto the table.

Just as Shen Jin was about to say something more, He Lian kicked him. Seeing him glance toward the staircase, Shen Jin turned around too.

Jiang Yu was standing right there.

He Lian: “A-Yu, you woke up?”

Jiang Yu didn’t say anything, walking down the stairs with small steps and sitting obediently next to He Lian.

A flash of joy brightened He Lian’s eyes, and the corners of his lips curved up high. He casually pulled her closer to his side, showing off to Shen Jin: “See? Jiang Yu is so attached to me. That’s the reality.”

Jiang Yu kept her head down, staying silent.

She had only come down to listen to the news about the Song family.

Shen Jin was almost driven to laughter by this rascal’s audacity. She’s a simpleton—of course she’ll be attached to whoever treats her well…

Dammit.

This time, Shen Jin didn’t know what to say either. Looking at Jiang Yu’s small, frail frame, he began to believe He Lian’s claims of long-term abuse. After a moment’s thought, he spoke again: “Last night, the Song—”

“Cough!”

He Lian suddenly coughed violently, startling Jiang Yu beside him.

Shen Jin: “Did something get stuck in your throat?”

He Lian glared at him sideways. His little fool shouldn’t be hearing any of this. Raising his voice, he called Ye Xun and Li Meng over, giving Jiang Yu a gentle push forward: “You two, take her outside to play.”

Shen Jin rolled his eyes. Can these rough, bloodthirsty mercenaries even handle a task like this?

It’s like using a cannon to shoot mosquitoes.

Then, he watched as both Ye Xun and Li Meng grinned widely from ear to ear, taking the listless Jiang Yu outside.

Shen Jin was completely speechless. Taking off his suit jacket, he threw it onto the couch beside him.

“The Song family has been blowing up our phones for the past two days. Your grandfather is so old, and his blood pressure goes through the roof every single day because of his anger. Your old man is the same—he doesn’t dare scold you, so he comes over to scold me instead! And then there’s your cousin, camping out at the company every day just for a piece of the inheritance. Who the hell did I provoke?”

“Dingsheng Group belongs to both of us! As the vice president, I’m working myself to death every day, while you—you just stay here in this fortress, flirting and cozying up with Jiang Yu. You’re living like an infatuated tyrant!”

He Lian let out a yawn, letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Shen Jin: “Fine. I must have committed heinous crimes in my past life to end up as your friend in this one.”

How can a human walk the same path as a beast?

He pulled off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Seeing this, He Lian finally uttered something humane: “Thanks for your hard work.”

Shen Jin: “No problem, I deserve to suffer.”

He Lian chuckled softly, tapping his finger on the spot where Jiang Yu had been sitting. “Did the Song family spread word about this?”

“Not yet. Otherwise, if Xie Xiran knew there was another woman around you, she would have come to make a scene long ago.”

“Presumably, the Song family is also afraid of what else you might do. After the Ministry of National Security issued the penalty, they didn’t dare appeal either.” Shen Jin leaned back, adjusting his shirt sleeves. “However, you claimed the Song family attempted murder—there’s no evidence for that.”

He Lian’s eyes darkened. “There were so many pairs of eyes from Unit One.”

“But those are all your people. There’s no video recording. What if the Song family’s servants claim you broke into a private residence and fired a gun at will?”

Shen Jin looked outside. “Besides, Jiang Yu is mentally unstable. Even if she could describe that night’s events with absolute clarity, her words wouldn’t hold up in court.”

The corners of He Lian’s mouth twitched into a smirk as he picked up a cigarette from the table and lit it.

As a plume of white smoke drifted up, he recalled that rainy night when he had almost lost Jiang Yu. After a long moment of silence, he finally spoke.

“Doesn’t the Song family just want the inheritance? I’ll support Jiang Yu from now on. I don’t want the money, so that ruined tea plantation will be returned to them. On top of that, I’ll organize the grandest retirement art exhibition in all of China for Song Xueyan. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

Shen Jin frowned. “That’s fair enough.”

If the Song family still wasn’t satisfied after that, they would truly be pushing their luck.

Only then did He Lian lower his legs, standing up to walk outside.

Shen Jin followed him.

When the two reached the courtyard, they saw the three of them playing in the sand.

Ye Xun was completely buried in the sand pit, with only his head sticking out. Li Meng enthusiastically built him a pair of ‘sand breasts’, laughing so hard he doubled over.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu—who was supposed to be the one entertained—was holding an entrenching shovel, dutifully digging sand for the two of them without a word of complaint.

Shen Jin: “…”

Who is entertaining whom here?

Seeing Jiang Yu hard at work with her head down, He Lian narrowed his eyes in displeasure and delivered a precise kick to Ye Xun’s vital area. The man groaned as he burst out of the sand, curling up into a shrimp.

“Are you letting Jiang Yu entertain you two?!”

Li Meng smiled sheepishly: “Aren’t we playing together?”

He quickly said to Jiang Yu, “Little Jiang Yu, isn’t this fun?”

Jiang Yu didn’t even look up: “Fun.” Like hell it is.

In the end, she hadn’t managed to hear a single detail about the Song family.

Shen Jin stared at her small, rounded crown, suddenly flashing a mischievous grin. Crouching beside her, he deliberately baited her: “Jiang Yu, He Lian just kicked someone. Tell me, isn’t he the worst person in the world?”

He Lian: “…”

Sowing discord right in front of my face.

He was just about to raise his hand to stop him, but paused subtly. A faint, tingling ache rose in his heart—he actually wanted to hear what Jiang Yu would say.

Jiang Yu’s sand-digging slowed down, her expression quietly hardening out of sight.

He Lian was indeed not a good person.

But he was definitely not a bad person either.

At least for her, he was the wind that cleared the haze, the sun that dried the dampness, the ladder to reach the sky, and the blade of her revenge—he was anything but a bad person.

Seeing her remain silent, Shen Jin looked up and raised his eyebrows at He Lian.

The man let out a somewhat helpless laugh.

Forget it, Jiang Yu doesn’t like to talk much anyway.

Just then, unexpectedly—

“He Lian isn’t a bad person.”

A soft, gentle voice chimed in softly.

He Lian froze slightly, a deep swell of anticipation filling his eyes. Leaning his tall frame down toward Jiang Yu, he stared at the girl’s hands holding the sand and spoke in a tender, gentle voice: “A-Yu, what did you say?”

Jiang Yu said, “He Lian is… the best person… in the world.”

The girl’s voice was slow and quiet, yet it left Shen Jin utterly astounded.

The best person?

This bastard?

Meanwhile, Li Meng and Ye Xun were already melted by her words. One was grinning ear to ear while clutching his chest, while the other was grimacing as he slapped his own thigh.

Damn, she’s so cute.

Even her nonsense is adorable!

Shen Jin was completely choked up.

This bunch of uncultured, rough mercenaries.

He turned around and said, “He Lian, did you spend the entire night teaching her to say that?”

Ignoring his ridicule, He Lian felt an overwhelming surge of joy. Smiling with wild abandon, he lifted Jiang Yu up, hoisted her over his shoulder, and strode outside.

Shen Jin: “Where are you going!”

He Lian called out loudly, “To soak up some sun!”

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