023, I trust you!

Since the Qi family intended to use Qi Ran’s marriage to achieve a leap in social status, they had better spend the rest of their lives bowing and scraping before her as the daughter-in-law of the Mu family, living entirely at her mercy.

Beyond that, the weaker Qi family had entered into a marriage alliance with the prominent Mu family of the capital. To show their sincerity, Qi Ran, despite being an adopted daughter, was granted 30% of the Qi family’s shares. Had the Qi family been able to grow their own power, they certainly would not have parted with so many shares for her dowry.

When the Qi family was still just an ordinary wealthy household in Rongcheng, relying on Qi Ran to act as a bridge to connect with the Mu family in the capital, they had already drained her dry, refusing to even spit out her bones, while continuing to gaslight her and exploit her value to the absolute limit. If Qi Sheng’s company were to go public successfully and the Qi family’s own strength grew significantly, making the benefits from the Mu family seem meager by comparison, they would only double down on their exploitation of Qi Ran.

"There is no such thing as trash in this world, only resources in the wrong place!" As a family of merchants, the Qis deeply believed in this. They would never think that Qi Ran was useless; they would only believe that she had failed to realize her maximum potential by marrying Mu Jingchen.

How could Song Chen possibly stand by and watch the Qi family trample on Qi Ran once they had made their fortune? That was why he had secretly cut off the path for Qi Sheng to rise any further.

And now, the apocalypse had arrived. Song Chen had encountered Qi Sheng on the seventh floor. Originally, he had no intention of caring whether Qi Sheng lived or died. In fact, he had thought darkly: if Qi Sheng just dropped dead, that would be even better.

Mu Jingchen had pursued Qi Ran for seven years. He had been willing to break away from the Mu family just to marry her, despite the disparity in their social standings. Qi’s parents were experts at putting on a show for outsiders. Although Qi Ran was a child they had adopted from an orphanage, they added her name to the family register—partly to ensure her status wasn't too low to make the marriage to Mu Jingchen look unsightly, but mostly to facilitate the Qi family’s collaboration with the Mu family and profit from it.

In other words, Qi Ran now held inheritance rights to the Qi estate. Although those two old foxes, her adoptive parents, had surely written wills in secret long ago—most of which would undoubtedly go to their biological son, leaving only a pittance for Qi Ran—if Qi Sheng were to die, those two old foxes, who were so adept at weighing pros and cons, would certainly leave their entire fortune to Qi Ran. They would do so to strengthen their bond with her, and through her, further solidify their cooperation with the Mu family.

...

Song Chen’s plan was perfect in his mind. However, quite unfortunately, Qi Sheng spotted him in the crowd, and the two were positioned far too close. The chaos in the mall had only been caused by a few people suddenly mutating, and the surveillance cameras were still running. Song Chen, unwilling to leave behind any evidence, had no choice but to pull Qi Sheng along.

Later, in the utility room, when Qi Sheng insanely demanded that Qi Ran drive over to pick him up, Song Chen stood behind him, his hands itching with the urge to shove this beast out and let the monsters tear him apart. He wanted to send a message to Qi Ran, telling her not to be so foolish and not to listen to everything that idiot Qi Sheng said. Unfortunately, the friend request he sent sank like a stone; she had likely not only deleted him but blocked him as well.

...

Having received no response from Qi Ran, Song Chen had no choice but to keep following Qi Sheng. Every time Qi Ran replied to a message or a call, Song Chen would hold his breath, listening intently to her voice on the other end or to Qi Sheng’s retelling. As time passed, there were several moments when he couldn't help but let his wicked impulses take over, reaching out to rest his hands on Qi Sheng’s shoulders. He truly wanted to shove him out to be bitten by the monsters, then seize his phone and, in Qi Sheng’s voice, trick Qi Ran into going back and hiding. However, the utility room was crowded, and there were people guarding the door. His malicious intentions toward Qi Sheng remained mere thoughts in his head, unable to be put into action.

...

"Qi Ran, you’d better not be lying to me!" Although Song Chen’s tone was fierce, it was actually just to mask his own inner insecurity. After all, Qi Ran was truly grateful to the Qi family, and she had such a gentle, obedient nature. With the apocalypse upon them, it was unlikely she would truly make a clean break from the Qi family at this juncture. He suspected more that she was intentionally saying sweet things to trick him into being her free bodyguard. Though... even if he knew the truth, he would still do exactly what she wanted. Song Chen felt once again that he was far too spineless.

"Song Chen, I swear to you that everything I just said is true! In this apocalypse, you just need to protect yourself."

"Qi Sheng has a grudge against me, and I want to torture him slowly! As for the engagement to Mu Jingchen, I will go and call it off!"

Qi Ran looked up, her expression earnest as she gazed at Song Chen. Seeing that slightly wicked, handsome face, she couldn't resist leaning in and planting a loud kiss on his cheek.

Song Chen gritted his teeth: "Qi Ran, no using your feminine charms on me!"

But Qi Ran had already buried her face in the crook of his neck before he could retaliate. Her tone was firm as she emphasized, "Song Chen, from now on, I will only be good to you!"

Song Chen sighed and kissed the top of her head. Between her feminine charms and these sweet, sugar-coated bombs, he was truly helpless.

"Fine! I believe you!"

Qi Ran looked up at him, and this time, she was caught by Song Chen, who took the opportunity to peck her lips. She blinked her eyes and leaned in to kiss him softly.

"Song Chen, you must protect yourself!" Her tone was helpless yet lingering: "I finally found you; I don’t want to be separated from you ever again!"

But soon, her gaze fell upon the glaring, crimson stain on Song Chen’s left sleeve, and her romantic thoughts were instantly shattered. She shook her head: "No, I must work hard to improve my strength! Otherwise, how will I protect you from harm in the future?"

Even as she made this solemn promise to Song Chen, she tried to contact the impassioned electronic voice in her mind: "Guide, what path must I take to acquire a healing talent or obtain healing potions?"

Seeing the wounds on Song Chen’s body made her heart ache. It was a pity she hadn’t rolled a Light-type talent; if only her [C-Rank Talent: Restoration] from her previous life were still here! Qi Ran felt deeply frustrated. She was greedy enough to hope that the impassioned electronic voice might answer her. In her previous life, she had likely been too mediocre to attract its attention, so it had never spoken to her voluntarily, only announcing her achievements in a detached, bureaucratic manner. Yet, in this life, it had already given her kind and helpful hints several times.