Li Nanfang and Manager Zhao had both called Li Qianfan, one after another.
They had repeatedly warned him that he must provide round-the-clock, close protection for Su Nanyin.
Round-the-clock meant whether it was raining or windy, or fair weather.
Twenty-four hours also included his sleeping time at night.
Although Li Qianfan truly couldn't understand why Manager Zhao and the old scumbag were so intent on "setting him up" with Su Nanyin, he had no choice but to comply.
Most crucially—
Last night, he had suddenly received a call from Luo Huayin!
That exceptionally wicked little fox had also come to Modu.
And she had threatened him over the phone, saying she would give Su Nanyin to a hundred grown men.
Li Qianfan dared not slack off even for a moment!
And so.
He was forced to sleep on the floor in the bedroom.
Su Nanyin's security level had been raised to an unprecedented height.
On the outer perimeter, there were Gao Lingwang and others.
The neighbors to the left and right of suite 1801, as well as across the hall, were Yaoyao and Su Xin, along with Chu Yingying and Shang Long'er—four girls.
In the shadows, President Jiao San was also participating, leading her subordinates in ensuring the safety and defense of Empress Su.
It was definitely because of this level of defense; coupled with the calming milky scent that always permeated the bedroom, that Li Qianfan was able to sleep like a log, just like he had yesterday noon.
He hadn't heard Su Nanyin get up and go to the bathroom to wash at all.
It wasn't until she sat on the edge of the bed and touched his mouth with her smelly feet that Li Qianfan was jolted awake.
Enraged—
Before he could say anything, Su Nanyin sneered, "With you sleeping like a dead pig, how dare you claim to be protecting me? I think, even if a perpetrator sneaked in and carried me away, you might not even wake up."
Li Qianfan's anger instantly vanished.
Even though Su Nanyin's words were exaggerated, they held some truth.
"Strange, why was I sleeping so soundly?"
Li Qianfan raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, then casually sat on the edge of the bed, frowning as he tried to figure out why he had slept so deeply.
Su Nanyin's eyes suddenly flashed, as if she had thought of something. "But this morning, while I was still asleep, I faintly heard footsteps in the corridor outside the door. And I could quickly analyze the person's weight, even their height and gender, based on the footsteps. But I didn't have such abnormal hearing before."
Li Qianfan froze and turned to look at her.
Su Nanyin, sitting on the edge of the bed, leaned forward to look into his eyes.
She asked softly, "Do you remember when you discovered Ru Hua's secret and confronted me, I said that we might be sharing a period of life? That when I was young, you were old. When you were young, I became old. Do you remember?"
Li Qianfan certainly remembered!
He also knew that ever since he and Su Nanyin had confronted each other and "reconciled," he had not only greatly slowed down his aging process, but Su Nanyin had also reverted to her previous appearance of around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, no longer having to share a period of life with him.
"When you were with me, you slept like a dead pig. But my hearing was never this acute."
Su Nanyin continued, "I suspect I've inherited your hearing. Or, to put it bluntly, our hearing has been swapped."
Nonsense!
Hearing could be swapped?
Heh—
Li Qianfan was about to scoff, but then he closed his mouth.
If life could be shared, then swapping hearing was not strange at all.
"If 209 is that invisible hand of fate, then this is 209 wanting to improve your sleep quality, but giving your hearing to me. Letting me take your place, constantly on alert for any disturbances."
Su Nanyin added, "But as long as we're not together, the sharp hearing might disappear from me and return to you."
Is that really how it is?
If not, how else could one explain Li Qianfan sleeping like a dead pig while Su Nanyin possessed his abnormal hearing?
"Alright, you should go wash up."
Su Nanyin kicked him lightly with her foot. "If I'm not mistaken, the Kang family and others will come to visit you in at most an hour."
Her Majesty the Empress was as accurate as ever!
An hour later, the door to suite 1801 was knocked.
Chu Yingying, responsible for security in the corridor outside, reported after entering, "Vice Manager Su, Section Chief Du, Secretary Li. The Kang family of Modu, the Zhou family. And the second masters from the coastal Ji family and Qian family have come together for a visit."
"Please let them in."
Su Nanyin nodded.
Chu Yingying responded, stepped back a few paces, bowed slightly, and gestured for them to enter.
The four second masters, who had gone to Si Jiu on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, entered with humble smiles.
"Mr. Qianfan, Madam Su, Ms. Du."
The eldest of the four, Kang Er, addressed them with a polite tone while greeting Li Qianfan and the others, subtly indicating that their visit was purely for personal matters and unrelated to official business.
Otherwise, they would have addressed Su Nanyin as Vice Manager Su, Li Qianfan as Secretary Li, and Du Junlin as Section Chief Du.
When handling personal matters, Kang Er and the others naturally treated Li Qianfan as the most important person.
Li Qianfan and the other two understood perfectly.
Li Qianfan shook hands with the four second masters; Su Nanyin accompanied them with a serene smile, remaining silent; while Yaoyao served tea and water to the guests.
Since they were here to give money, naturally, they had to be treated courteously!
The parties were seated as guests and hosts.
Kang Er's face then showed a look of heartbroken indignation. "Mr. Qianfan, we truly never expected that the Ma family would be such ungrateful and deceitful scoundrels! We were also blinded by these scoundrels, which is why we previously colluded with the Ma family to oppose you."
Mr. Qianfan, with his legs crossed, laughed heartily. "You are too kind, sirs. As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime. To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue."
Yaoyao watched Li Qianfan chatting and laughing with the second masters and secretly pouted. "Tch. Qianfan is getting more and more pretentious, just like my mom! If they weren't here to give us money, would you have such a good attitude towards them?"
However.
Despite her pout, Yaoyao found herself liking Li Qianfan more and more as she looked at him.
Alas.
What fiancée wouldn't like a fiancé who could earn hundreds of millions with just a little effort?
"Mr. Qianfan, to express our apology for being blind and attempting to collude with those scoundrels against you."
After much empty talk, Kang Er finally got to the point. "After much deliberation by the core members of our Kang family, we have decided to express our sincerest apologies to Mr. Qianfan for this matter. A small token of our appreciation, please accept it, Mr. Qianfan."
As he spoke, he took out a large envelope and placed it on the table.
Yaoyao, who had expected him to produce a bank card, was instantly disappointed.
Mr. Qianfan smiled wordlessly and picked up a cigarette.
Ms. Su, sitting beside him, nimbly took out a lighter and, with her pair of crystal-clear, jade-carved hands, held the lighter to his lips.
"For Su Nanyin to light his cigarette in public as if serving a master, Li Qianfan is an absolute winner in life."
Kang Er and the others quickly exchanged glances, sighing inwardly.
Kang Er opened the envelope.
It contained a residential property.
Located at the eastern end of Jinling Road, its land area, though far less than the Chen family's old mansion at the western end, would cost at least two hundred million yuan to acquire.
Crucially, this residence was fully renovated.
It came complete with all appliances and furniture, ready for immediate occupancy.
The property deed had already been filled out with Li Qianfan's name.
"Mr. Kang Er, you are too generous. How can we accept this?"
Li Qianfan said he was embarrassed, but he instructed Yaoyao, "Yaoyao, arrange for us to move to Jinling Road tonight. Living in my own home is much more reassuring than staying in a hotel."
"Alright."
Yaoyao immediately agreed obediently and took the property deed.
She began to ponder whether she should claim the master bedroom of the mansion.
However, upon seeing the Empress, Yaoyao wisely opted for the second bedroom, which would be her own room in Modu from now on!
A residence from the Kang family.
The Zhou, Ji, and Qian families, the other three families, each presented two hundred million yuan in cash.
Yaoyao was instantly overjoyed.
Although she knew that the Kang family's residence was worth more than two hundred million yuan, she still preferred the two hundred million in cash!
If the Kang family knew Yaoyao's thoughts, they would surely regret spending more money only to be outdone by the "mare's leg."
But Li Qianfan was genuinely pleased.
His foresight far surpassed Yaoyao's.
"Mr. Qianfan."
After officially receiving Mr. Qianfan's forgiveness, Kang Er changed the subject. "To my knowledge, the Ma family is urgently raising funds and selling off some high-quality assets. Mr. Qianfan, are you interested in these assets?"
If Li Qianfan were interested in these high-quality assets, families like the Kang family wouldn't have intervened in the acquisition.
This was Yaoyao's understanding.
In reality?
The Kang family and other families had no intention of letting Li Qianfan interfere!
One.
The Ma family was desperate to raise fifty billion yuan, forcing them to sell off high-quality assets, which meant they had to sell at a discount.
If not now, then when?
Two.
The Kang family and other families had long considered the coastal economic zones, including Modu, as their territory.
If Li Qianfan were to acquire the Ma family's assets, it would mean he was officially entering Modu's business scene, which would erode the fundamental interests of the seven powerful families.
Li Qianfan nodded and smiled. "Yes. And I'm very interested. Acquiring the Ma family's high-quality assets at this time is definitely a surefire way to make money."
The expressions of Kang Er and the others immediately changed.
Yaoyao was full of confusion, thinking, "What use are those assets to us? Didn't you always say our market is overseas, and we would never engage in infighting?"
Li Qianfan's smile faded, and he said directly, "Sirs, you don't want me to take this opportunity to get involved in Modu's business world, do you?"
Kang Er and the others remained silent.
This was tantamount to an admission.
"Heh."
Li Qianfan gave a cold smile. "Sirs, do you truly believe that giving me two hundred million yuan each will extinguish my urge to devour this cake when I see it? Especially since this large cake was indirectly produced by me."
He was right.
If it weren't for him, would the Ma family be urgently selling off those high-quality assets?
The cash the Ma family could currently gather was probably at most a little over a billion yuan.
This meant they had to sell over three billion yuan worth of high-quality assets to raise fifty billion yuan!
But due to their urgent need for funds, their high-quality assets would certainly not be sold at their original market value.
An asset worth one hundred million yuan might be sold for sixty million at best.
In other words, the Kang family and other families would only need to spend over three billion yuan to obtain assets worth around six billion yuan!
They had only paid a total of eight hundred million yuan, and it was in compensation, yet they wanted to use this money to make over two billion yuan.
Heh.
What a fantasy!
"Actually, I also considered letting the Ma family directly use high-quality assets to settle the debt," Li Qianfan continued. "And I believe the Ma family had the same idea."
Kang Er finally spoke. "Mr. Qianfan, you cannot get involved in Modu's business world."
Li Qianfan raised an eyebrow. "What, you have the nerve to prevent me from getting involved in Modu's business world at this opportunity?"
"We don't have the nerve, nor do we wish to have it. But it does."
Kang Er said slowly, and then took out another black card, placing it on the table.