Villain: After Intercepting the Female Lead, the Protagonist Collapses

Chapter 83

Chapter 83: The Mighty Shura Hall Master, Just a Lovesick Fool?

At Linjiang City International Airport, a plain-looking young man stepped out of the terminal, his face showing clear excitement.

This person was Xiao Fan, who hadn’t seen Zhou Lingxi for over a dozen days and missed her greatly. He took out his phone and called Zhou Lingxi, but she quickly hung up. After a few more attempts, Xiao Fan was blocked by Zhou Lingxi.

With a wry smile, Xiao Fan turned to a middle-aged man beside him. “How’s it going? Did you find out where Lingxi is?”

This man, Yang Gaofei, was one of his trusted subordinates. Over the years, Xiao Fan had kept him close, handling various errands.

“Hall Master, before coming here, I had already inquired. The lady is currently staying at Miss Shen Qingqiu’s villa in Linjiang City,” Yang Gaofei reported respectfully, hesitating to say more.

Xiao Fan nodded, aware that Zhou Lingxi often visited Linjiang City to treat her senior sister’s illness.

“Speak your mind,” Xiao Fan urged, seeing Yang Gaofei’s hesitation.

“Hall Master, I’m puzzled about something,” Yang Gaofei began, seemingly making a decision.

“What is it?”

“Why haven’t you revealed your true identity to the lady?”

“You wouldn’t understand. This is about love. If I reveal my identity to Lingxi, and she feels I’ve been deceiving her these three years, what should I do then?” Xiao Fan shook his head.

Yang Gaofei fell silent, not fully grasping his master’s approach. As someone who had been single for over thirty years, Yang Gaofei found his master’s continued concealment somewhat dumb as f*ck. He felt sorry for Xiao Fan, constantly demeaned by the Zhou family.

“Let’s go to the Shen residence,” Xiao Fan said, leaving the terminal and hailing a taxi to Shen Qingqiu’s villa, with Yang Gaofei following.

…

At Shen Qingqiu’s villa, Zhou Lingxi had returned here, and Shen Qingqiu, having a day off, was leisurely drinking tea in the pavilion.

“What’s bothering you? Did something upset you?” Shen Qingqiu asked, seeing Zhou Lingxi’s unhappy face. Zhou Lingxi, usually carefree and upbeat, shouldn’t have any worries.

“I…,” Zhou Lingxi began, looking troubled and hesitating to speak. With a deep sighed she said, “Sister, I’m actually married…”

Zhou Lingxi finally confided, needing to unburden her heart after keeping it a secret for so long. Clearly, Shen Qingqiu was a good confidant.

“What did you say?” Shen Qingqiu was shocked, spilling her tea. She had never heard about Zhou Lingxi being married.

Ji Qingwan also turned her head curiously, waiting for Zhou Lingxi to continue.

“Actually, I got married three years ago,” Zhou Lingxi said with a wry smile.

“Why didn’t you tell us about it?” Shen Qingqiu asked, frowning. Marriage was a significant life event; at least notifying her friends would be expected.

“It’s a long story… Here’s what happened…” Zhou Lingxi took a sip of tea and began to recount her past with Xiao Fan to Shen Qingqiu.

Upon hearing Zhou Lingxi’s words, Shen Qingqiu fell silent, understanding her predicament. Shen Qingqiu, herself skilled in medicine and martial arts, could empathize with Zhou Lingxi’s frustration of being married to a worthless man with no cultivation or ambition.

As a woman, she understood Zhou Lingxi’s annoyance, especially since Zhou Lingxi didn’t like Xiao Fan at all.

“Why don’t you divorce him?” Shen Qingqiu asked curiously. Divorce wasn’t illegal, and if she were Zhou Lingxi, she would have divorced him long ago.

“I promised my grandfather to live with him for three years. If there’s still no affection after three years, I could divorce. Now that grandfather has passed away, I’ve wanted to divorce him, but every time I bring it up, I get rejected by those in the family who oppose our branch.”

“They say I’m violating my promise to my grandfather, which is a great disrespect.” Zhou Lingxi shook her head, expressing her helplessness. If it were possible, she would have divorced Xiao Fan long ago.

Shen Qingqiu nodded silently, aware that in such prominent families, some things couldn’t be done as one wished, especially in Zhou Lingxi’s case, where the family was particularly large.

“He called me several times just now. He must have arrived in Linjiang City and will probably come looking for me soon.” Zhou Lingxi speculated.

“What do you plan to do?” asked Shen Qingqiu.

“Should I hide from him?” Zhou Lingxi considered, clearly not wanting to see Xiao Fan. Every time she saw him, it ignited an inexplicable anger in her heart.

“You can hide for a while, but can you hide for a lifetime?” Shen Qingqiu shook her head. “I think you should talk to him directly, wait until the time is up, give him some money, and then divorce.”

“It’s no use. He clings like a plaster, impossible to shake off.” Zhou Lingxi bitterly smiled. She had tried almost everything but couldn’t get rid of him, much to her frustration. She didn’t want to spend her life in a loveless marriage; she’d rather stay single forever.

“Miss, there’s a man outside claiming to be Miss Zhou’s husband, asking to see her.” While they were talking, a security guard approached Shen Qingqiu and respectfully informed them.

He glanced at Zhou Lingxi, surprised that such a beautiful woman had married a man of average appearance.

Shen Qingqiu’s face showed a strange expression as she heard this. As they were talking about Xiao Fan, he had arrived.

“Tell him to leave; say I’m not here,” Zhou Lingxi said impatiently, frowning.

The security guard looked at Shen Qingqiu, waiting for her order, as she was his employer, and he couldn’t simply follow Zhou Lingxi’s instructions.

“Just do as Lingxi says,” Shen Qingqiu instructed, and the guard bowed and left.

At the entrance of the Bihai Flower Villa District.

“Our lady said that Miss Zhou has already left. Please return, sir,” the security guard politely told Xiao Fan after returning. Xiao Fan, being Zhou Lingxi’s husband, should not be offended unnecessarily despite their apparent conflicts.

“Lingxi left?” Xiao Fan frowned upon hearing the security guard’s words. He had a feeling he was being deceived. After all, the information from Yang Gaofei should be accurate. It seemed Zhou Lingxi simply didn’t want to see him.

“Go back and tell Lingxi that if she won’t see me, I’ll just wait here,” Xiao Fan said with a faint smile, seemingly unbothered, as if he had all the time in the world.

The security guard glanced at him, said nothing more, and walked away.

“Master, are we really going to wait here?” Yang Gaofei asked hesitantly after the guard left.

“Yes, I have nothing else to do. I can wait,” Xiao Fan confirmed.

Yang Gaofei’s lips twitched in frustration. ‘Great, the Shura Hall has so many issues, and you’re not planning to deal with them? Then, please resign as the Hall Master!’

Of course, he only dared to mutter these thoughts to himself, knowing better than to voice them out loud.

Watching Xiao Fan’s lovelorn expression, Yang Gaofei suddenly thought of a popular term on the internet – ‘licking dog.’ Comparing Xiao Fan’s behavior with the definition, he realized that Xiao Fan fit the bill perfectly.

For three years as a son-in-law in the Zhou family, he had been enduring humiliation and mistreatment from Zhou Lingxi without giving up. Despite all his efforts, he had not won her over and even refrained from revealing his true identity. Yang Gaofei couldn’t understand this, wondering if it was really all for love.

With Xiao Fan’s status as the Shura Hall Master, he could have any woman he wanted, yet he chose to pine after Zhou Lingxi. ‘Indeed, the world of a licking dog is something I do not understand…’

…

Jiang Che pulled up in his Bugatti in front of Shen Qingqiu’s villa. Shen Qingqiu had called him that morning, inviting him over. Keen to maintain a good relationship, Jiang Che accepted the invitation.

He also knew that the troublesome son-in-law, Xiao Fan, would likely appear here, as typical protagonists tended to hover around their love interests relentlessly.

Just as he got out of his car, Jiang Che noticed two people standing not far away. One appeared ordinary but possessed a strong aura, and the other had a square face and dark skin, typical of a protagonist’s subordinate. Furthermore, the system alert sounded in his ear.

“Ding! Host detected near a protagonist. System has automatically collated protagonist information. Would you like to view it?”

“Ding! Protagonist information detected. System has automatically issued a hunting mission.”

“Hunt the Son of Luck – Xiao Fan. Mission duration: unlimited. Failure penalty: none. Hunting reward: Mysterious Treasure Box x1.”

“View,” Jiang Che mentally commanded the system.

Protagonist: Xiao Fan

Cultivation: Innate Peak

Identity: Shura Hall Master

Luck: 5000

Skills: Advanced Culinary Arts, God-level Martial Arts, Advanced Firearms Mastery…