Without waiting for Xu Lan to make a move, the fat man stumbled, stopping only when his red-nailed lady propped him up.

With impeccable attire, Zhao Ran stood in front of the middle-aged man. Song Xi was just behind him. On previous occasions, Xu Lan would always feel inferior whenever he saw Zhao Ran, but at that time, he felt unflustered after seeing how much Song Xi depended on him.

“Sir, I’ve already bought this house a few days ago. I prepared it as a gift to my lady, for her to treat it as her holiday home,” Zhao Ran replied in a calm and self-indulgent manner. Song Xi’s face turned red and she tugged his arm, saying, “How about you look at a different one?”

“What? Did you buy it already? Have you paid for it? But I want…”

The paunchy man hurriedly pulled on his lady’s arm, indicating for her to keep quiet. He then smiled and apologized to Zhao Ran. Xu Lan felt that his own skills at evaluating women were not that great. Perhaps the foul-mouthed woman was pretty in the opinion of the man because he was blind in one eye.

After the couple took barely two steps, Zhao Ran went over to Xu Lan. In a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, he said that he would bring Xu Lan to see some houses. He smiled, knowing that the couple could hear him clearly. The lady was so angry she almost grew a beard. She pinched her man on the waist a couple of times, eliciting some ouches from him.

“I’m so sorry, Officer Xu.” Zhao Ran invited Xu Lan into the office. “I was hasty this morning. I originally wanted to come to the station tomorrow and offer you my sincerest apologies. I didn’t expect you to bump into you here.”

Like a good wife and loving mother, Song Xi personally grounded some coffee beans and made coffee for them.

“No, no, no, I’m unemployed now. And besides, we made a mistake this morning.” Xu Lan sat cross-legged and sloppily drank his cup of coffee. He then gestured with his hands and said, “I never knew when you guys got married since I’m always not around. I really don’t think I can sit through it, otherwise even I would want a piece of that cake.”

“You’re teasing, Officer Xu. I myself would like to wed Xixi, but Xixi hasn’t agreed. The only thing I could ask from her was that we get engaged. I worry someone might steal her away from me.” At the mere mention of Song Xi, Zhao Ran looked like someone who was sealed in a pot of honey. His smile was so sweet that it made Xu Lan feel nauseated.

“Hehe, alright, alright. When the day comes, make sure you invite me. I’ll continue looking at houses if you’ll excuse me,” Xu Lan sneered, stood up, and waved them goodbye.

“Officer Xu, whatever I said earlier was simply to prevent any unnecessary conflict. The house that Xixi and I bought was not that one. If you want to take a look, I’ll immediately get someone to accompany you,” Zhao Ran said sheepishly.

Xu Lan twitched an eyebrow and nodded without saying anything. He was satisfied with the house, and Zhao Ran could even introduce an interior designer to lend a hand in renovation works. The earliest he and Bai Wu could move in was by the end of that year. The saleslady’s eyeballs nearly fell out from her eye sockets when she saw that an unsophisticated ‘peasant’ could write a check numbering in the millions within a few hours. It also took six hundred thousand just to compensate for his landlady. For the first time, Xu Lan was spending money extravagantly; just looking at the check in hand gave him a heartache.

Once he was done surveying the house, he went to a 4S automobile shop and bought a jeep. He was rather excited since it was the first time he owned his own car. His hands trembled when he held the steering wheel. Being subdued and steady yet rough and wild, Bai Wu would certainly love that plaything, Xu Lan thought. He just had no idea when Bai Wu would come back, so after that, he went in search of a new home to rent.

Bai Wu was still unable to locate Li Xiu; he had to start from scratch because there were absolutely no clues. Nonetheless, he simply had to find Li Xiu! He always thought that his beef with Qiao Yi was simply for the royal position, but he never imagined that Qiao Yi would be so deranged as to use the warrior dragons for live experiments!

An audible thud was produced when Bai Wu rammed his fist into the hundred-year-old tree beside him. A deep dent was left in the tree trunk and leaves began falling to the ground.

“Where did you f*cking see Li Xiu!” Bai Wu’s eyes were scarlet red and he was fuming in extreme anger; his hand grabbed Ka Daiwen by the neck and interrogated her.