Chapter 356: Demand for a Rematch
Chapter 356: Chapter 356: Demand for a Rematch
"That’s just wishful thinking on our part," someone objected. "Ning Xuan isn’t the type to be manipulated. If she disagrees, what can we possibly do?"
"If one of Ning Xuan’s Contractors were caught in a public scandal, wouldn’t that suggest the previous match wasn’t quite suitable? Then, if we were to demand a new match, wouldn’t that be perfectly reasonable?" one of them said.
"As far as I know, Ning Xuan’s Contractors are all completely devoted to her. There’s no way any of them would cause a scandal," Di Jingtian, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but speak up.
Di Jingtian was Di Youlin’s father. And while Di Youlin was merely Ning Xuan’s Contracted Slave, Di Jingtian was still somewhat familiar with the backgrounds of her various Contractors.
"Even if one of them were really caught in a scandal, it would just be the actions of a single individual. You could just deal with that person. That’s no grounds to demand Ning Xuan agree to a new match, is it?" Di Jingtian knew that for someone to bring this up, they must have already secretly targeted one of Ning Xuan’s Contractors.
Among Ning Xuan’s Contractors, all but Chen Nan came from powerful backgrounds. That made Chen Nan the most likely target.
"And what if Ning Xuan doesn’t want to deal with that person? Wouldn’t she then have to make a compromise?" the Ji Family Head, one of the seven members of the Elder Council, spoke up.
Ning Xuan was still unaware of the Elder Council’s scheming. She had already spotted Chen Nan in the crowd of onlookers. He appeared normal, but Ning Xuan could tell at a glance that something was wrong.
"Father, Cao Yulan not only brutally beat Chen Hao in public, she also worked with Jin Shanshan to drug him and me! Chen Hao is in bad shape; he needs to get to a hospital right away." Seeing Wang Mu and the others arrive, Chen Nan let out a sigh of relief, but his expression simultaneously turned grim.
The moment Jin Shanshan saw Chen Nan’s condition, she knew the plan had failed. She didn’t panic, though. ’After all, they need proof to accuse me of drugging them,’ she thought. ’Whether it’s a physiological reaction or drug residue, they have to produce evidence.’
’Without evidence, it’s just baseless speculation.’
Jin Shanshan discreetly sent a message to Ji Wuchen, informing him that the plan had failed and relaying the details of the situation.
"I’m being framed, Father!" Cao Yulan cried out. "I was angry, so I hit Chen Hao a few times, but I absolutely did not drug him! He’s my Contractor, why would I drug him?"
"If you don’t believe me, you can report this to the Inspection Department. I will cooperate fully with the investigation." As Cao Yulan spoke, she glanced at Jin Shanshan to gauge her reaction.
She had expected Jin Shanshan to jump in and object—in a situation like this, the one to object would be the one with a guilty conscience. However, Jin Shanshan didn’t. She just watched from the sidelines with a cool detachment, as if she couldn’t care less.
When all eyes turned to her, Jin Shanshan simply shrugged. "I didn’t drug anyone. I’m willing to cooperate with the investigation."
In that brief moment, Chen Nan’s face turned bright red, his heart pounded like a drum, and he could feel the blood rushing through his veins. The sensation was all too familiar: the explosive backlash of a fever period that had been suppressed for too long and could no longer be contained.
Chen Nan quickly grew dizzy. A restless agitation seized him from within, and the surging energy inside his body began to run rampant. He could feel himself about to lose control.
Suddenly, a familiar scent soothed his agitation. Chen Nan looked up toward its source and saw Ning Xuan walking toward him.
The moment Chen Nan saw Ning Xuan, his dizzy mind instantly cleared.
A wave of indignation washed over him, and his eyes instantly reddened. Chen Nan rushed to Ning Xuan and collapsed at her feet. "Lord Contract Master, are you here for me? Someone drugged the room. I already took an Inhibitor, but..."
Ning Xuan wore an embroidered long dress. She was tall, with pale skin and exquisite features. Compounding this was the fact that she had just returned from a six-month stint on the battlefield, and she carried an air of lethality about her. It was obvious she was no ordinary person.
Jin Shanshan had seen Ning Xuan before at the Central Star Military Academy and recognized her immediately. Even though Jin Shanshan was confident she had covered her tracks perfectly, she couldn’t help the panic that welled up inside her.
Seeing Chen Nan collapse, Ning Xuan bent down and swept him up into her arms. "Yun Han, go inspect the room. Collect any suspicious items. Watch the door and don’t let anyone slip out to tip someone off," Ning Xuan ordered.
"Yes, Contractor," Yun Han replied.
Ning Xuan prepared to leave with Chen Nan in her arms. Since the Inhibitor was no longer working, there was only one way left to relieve the symptoms of his fever period.
Chen Nan was her Contractor; Ning Xuan naturally couldn’t stand by and let something happen to him.
"Contractor, please save Chen Hao. Can you take him with us?" Chen Nan pleaded softly in Ning Xuan’s ear.
"Have you lost your mind?" Ning Xuan stared at Chen Nan, displeased. "Isn’t his Contractor standing right there?"
"Cao Yulan has been abusing Chen Hao for years, keeping him imprisoned here and refusing to let him return to the military. He doesn’t want to live like this anymore. Contractor, please, save him," Chen Nan pleaded again.
"All you do is make trouble for me." Ning Xuan instructed Lan Xin, who was always following her. "Take the one on the ground with you."
"You must be Ning Xuan. I am Bai Xiuyun, Bai Xiwen’s fourth older sister. You should call me your aunt." Someone from the Bai Family had approached Ning Xuan, while Bai Xiuying and Bai Xiuzhu watched on with anticipation.
Ning Xuan frowned at her words. "My apologies, but I’m not in the habit of casually acknowledging relatives. My parents never mentioned any other family, so if you wish to claim kinship, take it up with them. Don’t bring it to me."
With that, Ning Xuan carried Chen Nan away from the scene, leaving Yun Han to handle the aftermath.
Chen Hao, who was unconscious, was also taken away. The Cao Family members had initially tried to stop them but were blocked by Chen Nan’s father, Wang Mu. Forced to choose between the Cao Family and Ning Xuan, Wang Mu had obviously chosen to offend the Cao Family.
Meanwhile, at the Elder Council meeting, the Ji Family Head had already received a message from Ji Wuchen. He now knew that things had gone awry and that they had failed to get the photos they wanted.
The other members had also, through their own various channels, learned of the incident at Qianjin Restaurant.
"If you ask me, the Information Center should just order Ning Xuan to go through a new match. There’s no need to be so roundabout about it!" one of the elders declared.
"Indeed. Stirring up all this drama just makes our methods seem rather underhanded," another agreed.
"Just because your families don’t have any suitably aged youths doesn’t mean ours don’t."