Chapter 934 - 900: Scheming Woman

Bai Lan said, "Don’t overthink it. It’s not like I’m in love with you. You can consider me a friend or even a fan."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Bai Lan, I don’t really know you, and I’m not interested in getting to know you. There’s no need for me to beat around the bush. You’re definitely approaching me with some motive. Here’s a piece of advice: it’s best if we keep a proper distance. If we get too close, I might hurt you."

Bai Lan smiled, "I know how to protect myself better than most women, so you don’t need to worry. Even if I do get hurt, I won’t blame you."

Xu Chunliang said, "Our meeting was a premeditated setup from the start, and I don’t like scheming women."

Bai Lan said, "In that situation, I could have easily handled it myself. I didn’t ask for your help, you just wanted to play the hero. You always have such high self-regard. Are you so sure my plan was for you and not someone else?"

Xu Chunliang smiled, "Looks like I acted impulsively."

She clinked glasses with Xu Chunliang and downed her drink in one go, "Speaking of scheming, you’re not lacking in that department either. At the Dongzhou charity event, you deliberately provoked Li Xuanbin. The uproar over the China-Korea Industrial Park setting up in the mining area couldn’t have happened without your meddling."

Xu Chunliang tried to set his half-full glass down, but Bai Lan eyed him fiercely, pointing at his remaining half glass, "Are you a man or not?"

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, still challenging me, huh? He nodded and drank the rest.

Bai Lan called the owner over, and with a gesture of her slender white fingers, he understood right away. Before long, another dozen beers and two bottles of soju were brought over.

Xu Chunliang kindly warned her, "Drink less, this stuff hits your kidneys."

Bai Lan shrugged, "If you’re scared, just say so."

Xu Chunliang said, "Scared? I’m afraid you’ll get drunk and cling to me."

Bai Lan’s alluring eyes sparkled, "How about we make a bet? Whoever gets drunk tonight has to let the other do whatever they want, and afterward, no one takes responsibility."

Xu Chunliang thought the imperialist ambition to bring me down never dies. Thinking their beauty trap failed, they now try the ’inebriation strategy.’ Do you know my drinking capacity? Besides, I’ve reached the Innate Realm now. If I get drunk, I have a way to sober up. Do you have that skill? Challenging me to a drinking contest is like a naked man sitting on a stone, hitting rock with an egg.

The final outcome is inevitably a naked woman sitting on a stone, losing more than she gains!

Grandmaster Xu was in a rather artistic mood and accompanied Bai Lan while drinking three large mugs of beer.

Bai Lan’s cheeks were flushed, yet she showed no signs of intoxication, nor any sign of needing to use the restroom.

In terms of beer, she might just be the most impressive female drinker Xu Chunliang had ever met.

Xu Chunliang said, "That book ’Jindalai’ is well written. Is it based on your own experiences?"

Bai Lan said, "I’ve never lived in the North. I interviewed several North Korean defectors for that book."

Xu Chunliang said, "You have quite some talent. It’s unfair how the heavens gave you both talent and beauty."

"Thank you for the compliment. Recently, the rights to my book have been sold, and it’s already in the scripting stage. If all goes well, the movie of the same name will come out next year."

Xu Chunliang said, "Congratulations!" He proactively clinked his glass with Bai Lan.

Bai Lan downed her drink again. Xu Chunliang was quite puzzled; eight glasses in and her stomach didn’t even look large. How much can she hold? Is she a camel? He glanced at her chest, and maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed fuller.

Bai Lan said, "You sit tight, I’m going to the bathroom."

Xu Chunliang laughed, see? I made her break for the bathroom, trying to compete with me in drinking without knowing her limits.

Bai Lan got up and went inside, leaving her handbag on the chair beside her, seemingly trusting Xu Chunliang completely.

Xu Chunliang took special note of her midsection. Because of her skirt, nothing was apparent, but he was sure it must be quite bloated. Yet, Bai Lan maintained her graceful demeanor.

Xu Chunliang sighed inwardly, thinking about image, even if it becomes unbearable, you still have to maintain grace. He imagined her belly must be close to bursting.

Bai Lan was gone for quite a while. The restroom had a line, and during this time her phone rang twice, Xu Chunliang reminded her.

Bai Lan took her phone out of her handbag and glanced at it with a calm smile, "It’s the publisher urging me for my manuscript."

Xu Chunliang said, "Isn’t writing pretty exhausting?"

"It’s not that bad. I don’t have high demands in life. Writing is just a hobby."

Xu Chunliang said meaningfully, "Writing isn’t your main occupation, is it?"

Bai Lan looked into Xu Chunliang’s eyes, "Which eye of yours saw that?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I’m just guessing. But you don’t seem like a freelance writer, more like a commissioned ghostwriter. Whoever pays you, you write for them." He didn’t actually mean that; Bai Lan’s identity as a female writer is probably just a cover for her real job. Could she be a high-level PR for Lexus?

Bai Lan said, "Xu Chunliang, you’re deliberately trying to provoke me."

Xu Chunliang said, "Can’t blame me for that. You’re the one so close to Lexus, and I happen to have a bad impression of Lexus. Originally, I felt writers had a noble career and shouldn’t bow for five pecks of rice..."

"Give me a break, do you know what you’re doing? It’s called brainwashing, it’s called PUA. According to your standards, people like you are typical scumbags."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "We’re just chatting, why escalate to personal attacks?"

Bai Lan said, "Personal attacks? And with chicken soup too! Let me emphasize again, I helped Mr. Li write that story because I’m interested, otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken the job."

Xu Chunliang said, "Here’s a piece of advice for you, it’s best for women to stay away from two things: politics and history. It’s not that you absolutely can’t touch them, but countless examples throughout history show that you usually can’t handle them well, and if you insist on playing, it’s easy to get yourself in trouble."

Bai Lan said, "Thanks for the advice. I’m just writing a novel, don’t overinterpret it."

Xu Chunliang stood up.

"Where are you going?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You made me pee my pants from anger."

Bai Lan giggled.

When Xu Chunliang came back, he saw a burly Great Han chatting Bai Lan up, but Bai Lan didn’t even look at him and pointed at Xu Chunliang, saying, "My boyfriend’s back."

The man glanced at Xu Chunliang and sneered.

Xu Chunliang returned to Bai Lan’s side, "What’s going on?"

Bai Lan said, "Nothing, just a guy trying to flirt."

Xu Chunliang said, "According to the plot of your novels, is he going to cause trouble later?"

Bai Lan said, "If everything was written like you said, no one would read novels. Do you think I’m plotting against you again? Arranging for a few people to harass me so you can play the hero?"

Xu Chunliang said, "If that really happened, I definitely wouldn’t save you. You’re quite capable, normally five or six big guys can’t get close to you."

Bai Lan sighed, "You ruined my mood. You never see me as a good person, always scheming against you."

Xu Chunliang said, "Getting upset?"

Bai Lan said, "I’m full, let’s go back."

"Weren’t you going to settle things?"

Bai Lan said, "I’m not in the mood and I don’t want to give you a chance to take advantage."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "So that means you concede." He went to pay the bill.

Bai Lan tidied up her things and grabbed her handbag, waiting for him outside.

The man from earlier came over again, babbling in Korean to Bai Lan, clearly drunk.

After Xu Chunliang paid and left the store, he saw the scene unfolding and thought to himself, "I called it, another plot twist."

Bai Lan glanced at Xu Chunliang’s mischievous smile and suddenly grabbed a bottle from the table, smashing it hard against the man’s head. The man covered his head, now bleeding, seeming to regain some clarity.

Bai Lan’s second strike came, she lifted her leg and kicked the man hard in the groin.

The man’s screams tore through the night as his three companions came out from the fried chicken shop hearing the commotion.

Xu Chunliang stood by the door and stepped aside, thinking that not interfering in others’ internal affairs is a fundamental policy of our country. These guys are all from the Peninsula, let them solve it internally; if he got involved, it would become a diplomatic incident.

"Catch!" Bai Lan threw her handbag to Xu Chunliang, then charged like a fierce tigress at the three companions coming to help. Actually, they had just come out to see the situation and hadn’t decided to intervene, but Bai Lan struck first, taking them down instantly.

Returning to Xu Chunliang’s side, she took her handbag from him, "Let’s go!"

Xu Chunliang followed Bai Lan back to the hotel, watching her hips sway like willow branches and still sensing the lingering tension in the air.

Bai Lan walked a few steps, realizing Xu Chunliang hadn’t caught up, and turned back to smile at him, "What? Are you scared?"

Xu Chunliang said, "They didn’t provoke you, did you have to hit so hard?"

Bai Lan said, "I just wanted to prove to someone that I don’t need saving!"

Europe Business School invited a lot of academic celebrities to give lectures, and today it was Professor Qu Chuanfu from the renowned Shuimu University.

Usually known for his eloquence, Professor Qu didn’t do well today, mostly because Xu Chunliang was in the audience. Throughout the lecture, he kept sneaking glances at Xu Chunliang, feeling anxious, wondering if he misspoke or upset this demon. Ever since getting chastised last time, he had a deep psychological shadow from the event, not just mental but also physical.

Ever since getting beaten, Qu Chuanfu had never succeeded in private life again. Every time he tried to do it, he inexplicably felt a tightness in the rear, always sensing someone behind him, killing any mood.

Qu Chuanfu knew it was a mental block, and heartaches need heart medicine, but he simply couldn’t find the cure.