The young soldier coldly shook off Annie’s hand, dusting off his sleeve with a look of disgust.

"I’m just a woman. What threat could I possibly be to your family? I’m not leaving, I’m not! Can’t you just let me stay here at the Song Family Pavilion?"

"I’m completely helpless, I..."

Just then, Ji Taixian drove the van a short distance forward, pulling up beside the sedan.

He glanced up and happened to see Annie still standing there, causing a fuss.

Annoyed, Ji Taixian immediately shoved the door open and grumbled, "Hey, what are you dawdling for? You’re more trouble than anyone. Get in the car!"

His gaze suddenly paused beside Xie Ning.

A baby-faced young man bounced out from behind his big brother, pointing at Ji Taixian in utter surprise. "Xiao Xian? What are you doing here?"

"Bro??" Ji Taixian froze for a moment, then immediately turned and yelled to Wang Zongxuan in the car behind them, "Old Wang! Old Wang, get out here! Bro is here, Bro!"

Without waiting for Wang Zongxuan to get out, he dashed to Gu Chen’s side and lunged at him like a long-lost brother he hadn’t seen in five hundred years.

Xie Ning watched as Mr. Gu rolled his eyes, then swiftly sidestepped to avoid Ji Taixian’s bear hug.

The young woman lowered her head and scrolled through the videos on her phone. With a couple of sharp taps, she silently played one and held the phone horizontally in front of Gu Chen and the baby-faced man.

"Earlier, these two brothers of yours trespassed on private property, attempting to murder, rob, and pillage..."

"No, no, don’t! Sis, Sis!!" Ji Taixian’s face went pale with fright. He lunged forward to snatch the phone from Xie Ning’s hand.

"Get back!" Gu Chen snapped, his face grim.

The baby-faced Zhai Ruobai immediately doubled over with laughter. "Well, well, Xiao Xian, you’ve really made something of yourself! Learned how to get rich by robbing and pillaging, have we?"

"No, no." Ji Taixian was on the verge of tears. He turned, wishing he could just kneel before his big brother. "Bro, I swear, Old Wang and I were set up! We didn’t mean to climb over the wall at first, I..."

Xie Ning silently played the video of him dangling from the wall, followed by the footage of Wang Zongxuan firing an air gun.

Ji Taixian and Wang Zongxuan were utterly crushed.

’Who would have thought this sly girl had another trick up her sleeve, silently saving screenshots from the surveillance footage?’

’With pictures, there’s proof. What’s the point of arguing?’

’We already know we were wrong, and we’re already undergoing labor reform, so why can’t she just let it go? Waaah...’ 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Holy crap!" Zhai Ruobai immediately rushed forward, shaking his fist. "Bro, let me help you clean house!"

"Fengzi! Fengzi, get over here! Drag these two idiots away and beat them up! Bro’s orders." Zhai Ruobai’s baby face was flushed with excitement.

Gu Chen’s head throbbed. He reached up and pressed his temple. "My apologies."

’These pups are too much!’

Xie Ning put her phone away and smiled at him. "I’m going to take Ji Taixian and Wang Zongxuan out for some labor reform now. You don’t have any objections, do you?"

Gu Chen smiled and extended a hand. "Then I’ll have to trouble you. Train them well. It will even increase their chances of survival. This is a rare opportunity."

Xie Ning instantly felt that the man before her, whose charming eyes curved into crescents when he smiled, was a truly reasonable and good person.

She also extended her hand and shook his lightly.

"I’m Xie Ning."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you." Gu Chen’s eyes lit up slightly as he smiled at her.

Many years later, when Gu Chen looked back on this day, he would be incredibly thankful that he had planned the retreat route to the Song Family Pavilion.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

Aside from the bloody pile of zombie corpses on the ground, everything seemed absolutely perfect.