Chapter 57: She’s After My Body

## First Volume: Initial Entry into Another World

As they were leaving, Chu Chuyan had initially ordered a carriage, but Zu'an stopped her. He suggested it would be much better to take a walk together amidst the night scenery to deepen their bond, as a carriage would arrive too quickly and be inconvenient. Chu Chuyan didn't insist and agreed to walk.

They hadn't walked far when they quickly attracted the attention of passersby. Naturally, the focus was mainly on Chu Chuyan, who was destined to be the center of attention no matter the occasion. Xue'er was also quite lovely, pretty and charming, with delicate braids that were very eye-catching. As for Zu'an, he was merely there to make up the numbers. Of course, he didn't see it that way; he believed his handsome and dashing appearance was quite captivating to women.

“Look, look, that’s Miss Chu from the Chu family!” a passerby exclaimed.“She truly is as beautiful as a celestial being!” another chimed in.“Her maid is also lovely; she seems prettier than many young ladies from prominent families.”“Of course, how could Miss Chu have any plain-looking maids by her side?”“Then how do you explain the toad beside her?”“That guy is the good-for-nothing son-in-law. Just one look at his slicked-back hair tells you he’s no good.”“Miss Chu may be beautiful, but her taste in husbands is truly awful.”“What, the son-in-law she chose isn’t as good as you?”“I could do better!”

Faintly hearing the passersby's discussions, Zu'an couldn't help but feel indignant. *You’re the toad, your whole family are toads,* he thought. To provoke them, he deliberately moved closer to Chu Chuyan, making it seem as if they were intimately leaning against each other.

As expected, he immediately received a large amount of 'Rage points' in his system. *Heh heh, you guys are just nakedly jealous. Eat your heart out!* Zu'an was inwardly delighted. It was like wearing brocade robes in the dark when one gains wealth but doesn't return home. If he didn't bring out his beautiful wife to show off and earn some 'Rage points,' it would be a disservice to all the previous insults he had endured.

“You dragged me out for a walk just to satisfy your pathetic vanity?” Chu Chuyan saw through his intentions at a glance and felt a pang of regret. *Who knew this guy was so cunning?*

“Of course not,” Zu'an replied with a smile. “It’s just to deepen our relationship.”

Chu Chuyan was speechless.

Xue'er snorted. “What relationship could Miss have with you to deepen? Don’t overrate yourself.”

Zu'an was already used to her sharp tongue and didn't take it to heart at all. He retorted directly, “When the master is speaking, servants should keep quiet.”

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 300!

“You!” Xue'er took a deep breath. *This guy is forcing me to unleash my ultimate move,* she thought. “Some people can only be boastful with their words, after all, they’re useless in *that* regard.” As she spoke, she glanced sympathetically at his lower abdomen.

Who knew Zu'an wasn't angry at all? Instead, he retorted sharply, “Whether I’m capable or not, I was the first man to see and touch your body.”

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 999!

Xue'er truly couldn't understand why this guy was so thick-skinned. He showed no shame on his face even when she brought that up.

Chu Chuyan finally couldn't bear it anymore. “Enough! Aren’t you two ashamed to argue like this on the street?”

Both of them snorted in unison and turned their faces away.

Seeing their actions align so perfectly, Chu Chuyan suddenly felt a sense of absurdity, as if they were the couple and she was the third party. She quickly banished the thought from her mind and asked, “By the way, I heard you killed dozens of Ferocious Black Jackals?”

Zu'an was startled. “How did you know?”

“Zhaizhao told me. She looked so pleased, as if she was showing off something incredible.” Remembering her sister’s excited expression, Chu Chuyan’s lips curved slightly upward, truly like ice and snow melting, causing all the passing men to stare blankly.

“Of course, your husband is not the same as before; he’s quite a formidable person now,” Zu'an said proudly, looking as if he was begging for praise.

Xue'er couldn't help but snicker. *This guy is as boastful as ever,* she thought.

Chu Chuyan didn't take it to heart either; after all, this guy had always been boastful. She figured it was probably because Ji Xiaoxi, being kind-hearted, had helped him out of a tight spot. As for the Ferocious Black Jackals, they were likely poisoned by Ji Xiaoxi's venom, and then the two of them killed them together.

“By the way, how do you know Pei Mianman?” Chu Chuyan remembered another detail. This was what she found most inexplicable; given Pei Mianman's personality, how could she possibly help this guy?

“Well, she saw how handsome and dashing I was, fell in love at first sight, and then desired my body,” Zu'an replied, knowing he couldn't reveal what actually happened that night, so he casually dodged the question.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 99!Rage points from Passerby A: 99!Rage points from Passerby B: 99!Rage points from Passerby C: 99!

Hearing his shameless remarks, Xue'er and the passing pedestrians all cursed him inwardly.

Chu Chuyan was also speechless for a moment. However, she thought that Pei Mianman, being her close friend, might have helped him out of consideration for her. But there was still something she couldn't explain: “I heard you mentioned 'a certain night' at the academy. What happened between you two that night?”

Zu'an hesitated. “I’m afraid you won’t believe me if I tell you.”

Chu Chuyan said indifferently, “If you don’t tell me, how will I know whether I’ll believe you?”

Only then did Zu'an say, “That night, she and I held each other tightly and rolled around on the ground, so she didn’t want anyone to know.”

Chu Chuyan’s expression immediately turned cold. “I really dislike your loose tongue. Can’t you live without telling lies? It doesn’t matter if you spout nonsense in front of me, but if Pei Mianman hears this, you won’t even know how you died.”

Rage points from Chu Chuyan: 99!

After speaking, she turned and walked away, her face a mask of frost. Seeing that her mistress was angry, Xue'er linked arms with her and turned back to glare at him with schadenfreude.

Zu'an sighed inwardly. *I told you you wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth. What's wrong with this world? When I lie, everyone believes it, but when I tell the truth, no one does?*

However, collecting rage points from this 'bargain wife' wasn't easy. She only stingily contributed 99 points like that. She was like an iceberg all day long.

Seeing the two women walking away quickly, Zu'an hurriedly caught up.

After a while, Chu Chuyan’s expression gradually softened. After walking a bit further, she hesitated, then said, “Do you feel uncomfortable living at the mansion?”

Zu'an was startled. “Why do you ask?”

Chu Chuyan replied, “I heard you want to buy a house outside.”

Zu'an was furious. That guy, Cheng Shoubing, had promised him he'd keep it secret, but then turned around and blabbed it for the whole world to know. He had felt a bit guilty for forgetting to bring Cheng Shoubing with him this time, after all, he had promised to create opportunities for him to get close to Xue'er. *Now? Go eat shit!*

“No, I was just casually looking,” Zu'an said with an embarrassed smile. After all, he would soon need her help, and angering her now would not be a good strategy.

Chu Chuyan simply said “Oh” and said nothing more, walking silently down the street.

Zu'an secretly praised her. This 'bargain wife' truly had a perfect blend of temperament and appearance. She was as cold and stunning as could be; just walking like this, she had an incredible number of people turning their heads.

They continued walking until they arrived in front of a resplendent establishment. “Here we are, this is the place,” Zu'an announced. People were bustling in and out of the entrance, indicating that business was excellent.

Chu Chuyan looked at the four sweeping, powerful characters 'Silver Hook Casino' on the signboard. Her expression changed slightly. “You brought me to a casino?”

Zu'an nodded. “That’s right.”

He had already made clear inquiries. The Plum Blossom Gang was the largest gang in Mingyue City. Their sources of income included protection fees, usury, and so on, but the most profitable was their casino. As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure; all wars are essentially battles of economics. Since the Chu family couldn't use their power to solve the problem, he would wage an economic war with the Plum Blossom Gang. If he destroyed their largest source of income, the Plum Blossom Gang's strength would be at least halved.

Therefore, he was worried that the opponent might resort to desperate measures and physically eliminate him. So he invited Chu Chuyan to accompany him. Not to mention Chu Chuyan's own cultivation at the fifth rank, just her status as the daughter of a Duke's residence meant that Plum Blossom Thirteen wouldn't dare touch her. Yes, the Chu family certainly had many reservations about interfering in local affairs. But if a family member were harmed, would they really think the private soldiers maintained by the Duke's residence were pushovers? Even if it escalated to the imperial court, the Chu family wouldn't be afraid.

Although his plan was well-conceived, Chu Chuyan might not be willing to cooperate. Her expression immediately darkened. “Do you know that our Chu family has always had a family rule against gambling?”

“No, why?” Zu'an feigned ignorance. In reality, he was indeed curious why the Chu family had such a rule. Even the strictest aristocratic families usually didn't forbid even the slightest involvement with gambling.

Chu Chuyan slowly explained, “Because one generation of our Chu family became addicted to gambling and almost completely ruined the entire Chu family. After several generations of hard work and good governance, the Chu family barely recovered its vitality. Even so, they lost nearly half of their salt and iron territories compared to their peak. Otherwise, Mingyue City would only have our Chu family, and not the other prominent families.”

Zu'an had also learned recently that among the four great families of Mingyue City, besides the Chu family, there were also the three wealthy merchant families: the Zheng family, the Yuan family, and the Wang family. The Zheng family dealt in salt, silk, porcelain, and so on; the Yuan family mainly dealt in weapons; and the Wang family primarily managed restaurant chains and grain trade. Although they did not possess the high noble titles of the Chu family, these families were not much inferior to the Chu family in terms of wealth alone. As for the Yu family, they were generally not included in calculations because their main base was not in Mingyue City.

Hearing Chu Chuyan say this, Zu'an finally understood that a large portion of the current industries of the other prominent families had actually belonged to the Chu family in the past. The Chu family's ancestors were truly wealthy.

Chu Chuyan continued, “Therefore, the Chu family later established a family rule: no descendant of the Chu family is allowed to dabble in gambling. Although your surname is not Chu, you are my husband in name, so you must also abide by this rule.”

Zu'an grumbled inwardly. *Husband is husband, why emphasize "in name only"?* However, he was already prepared for this situation. “This isn’t gambling; I’m just being forced to retaliate for self-preservation. I imagine the Chu family doesn’t have a family rule that forbids fighting back when someone is being overtly bullied, right?”