Starting Check-in Reward: Tomson Riviera

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Luo Yue instantly pouted, aggrieved. She shot Ye Ling a vicious glare and said, "Don’t you forget, I still have to pretend to be your girlfriend when school starts! Watch out, or I’ll just find some random guy to cheat on you with!"

At that moment, Ye Ling was completely floored. He could only look at Luo Yue, utterly speechless.

’Lady, can you not get so into character?’

’And she’s even threatening to cheat on me...’

???

"I’m very busy right now. I don’t have time to play games with a little kid like you."

Ye Ling casually pushed the girl’s head back onto the sofa, then scooped up Zhao Cai from the corner and headed upstairs.

Luo Yue was clearly annoyed, but knowing she was no match for Ye Ling, she could only glare resentfully at his retreating back.

Of course, Ye Ling didn’t notice in the slightest. He carried Zhao Cai back to his room and they sat down, face to face.

Instantly, man and cat were staring at each other.

Zhao Cai gazed blearily at the human before it, a flash of human-like disdain in its large eyes.

’What does this idiot human want to do to me now!?’

"Hey little guy, you’re not afraid of bugs, are you?"

Ye Ling fell silent for a long moment before suddenly muttering under his breath.

His eyes scanned over Zhao Cai, and the stare immediately made the seemingly harmless little kitten feel a chill run down its spine.

"Heh heh."

A wicked grin spread across Ye Ling’s face. He picked up Zhao Cai, walked over to the home gym, turned on the treadmill, and placed the cat on the belt.

MEEEOOOW~

Zhao Cai gave its good-for-nothing owner a strange look. While it was still confused, the belt under its paws started moving backward at a rapid pace.

Zhao Cai instinctively began to walk, its four chubby little legs starting to trot as all the fat on its body jiggled.

For the past few days, all Zhao Cai had done was eat and sleep. It was undeniably much rounder than when Ye Ling had first brought it home.

The little guy’s belly fat was already starting to sag. If it got any chubbier, its four little paws might not even touch the ground anymore!

As Zhao Cai ran, it noticed the thing under its paws moving faster and faster. It immediately looked at Ye Ling with its big eyes and let out a series of annoyed meows.

"Since you’re not afraid of bugs, you need to get in shape. I’ll be counting on you to catch them for me in the future."

Ye Ling said with a light chuckle, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched the little cat.

’That’s what you get for not being afraid of bugs!’

’That’s what you get for being so cocky!’

’Now you know how tough life can be, huh?’

And so, under the tyrannical oppression of its wicked master, poor Zhao Cai began its march toward becoming the fitness champion of the feline world...

After tormenting Zhao Cai, Ye Ling’s mood finally balanced out. He finished his daily workout, soaked in a hot bath, and felt completely refreshed, as if he’d been restored to full health.

It must be said, Ye Ling was a real jerk for taking out his frustrations on such an adorable kitty!

Zhao Cai: In the end, I was the one who had to bear it all~

"Zhu Yun, get ready. I’m coming to the office in a bit."

After a moment’s thought, Ye Ling made the call and left Tomson Riviera.

He now recalled what Ning Ruoxi had told him about the art exhibition. Apparently, it always invited some of Xia Country’s most prominent figures to attend...

Ye Ling wasn’t interested in networking with those people. The crucial point was that Ning Ruoxi’s father, Ning Tianliang, would very likely be there.

As one of Xia Country’s most high-profile and successful contemporary entrepreneurs, his prestige was immense. If Shengding Group was sending out invitations, his name would undoubtedly be on the list.

Of course, whether he would actually show up was another matter entirely.

In fact, Shengding Group had invited Ning Tianliang to every major event they’d held in previous years, but he had never once attended.

This year, however, was different. Since Ning Ruoxi’s work was being exhibited, the chances of Ning Tianliang attending were quite high.

With his potential father-in-law likely to show up, Ye Ling could no longer remain nonchalant. He needed to make sure everything was arranged perfectly. Even if he couldn’t make a good impression, the least he could do was not screw things up, right?

’But... for someone of Ning Tianliang’s stature, would he already know about me and Ruoruo?’

Ye Ling felt a little hesitant on the way to the company.

Even though he was using that girl Luo Yue as a smokescreen, he didn’t think Ning Tianliang would be so easily fooled.

Never mind the fact that many people had seen him with Ning Ruoxi at Shengding Group; there was also that video of him beating up Yu Chenghao that a bystander had uploaded online...

If Ning Tianliang had seen that, things could get complicated.

’Forget it. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Worst case, I’ll just lay my cards on the table.’ Ye Ling mentally prepared himself.

’Getting the approval of someone like Ning Tianliang will probably be very difficult...’

But he wouldn’t back down.

Not even if he didn’t have the system!

Ye Ling parked his Pagani in front of the Shengding Group building. The moment he stepped out, two security guards jogged over.

"Good morning, Chairman."

The two said respectfully.

Ye Ling glanced at the two men and found them familiar. He suddenly recalled that they were the same guards from last time.

"You guys are still working here," Ye Ling said with a small smile.

"That’s all thanks to you, Chairman. You were magnanimous and spoke up for us. Otherwise, we would’ve definitely been fired," one of the guards said, his face full of gratitude.

’Spoke up for them?’

Ye Ling raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t recall doing anything of the sort...

However, he was quick on the uptake. ’It must have been Zhu Yun’s doing.’

"Alright, you don’t have to thank me. Just be responsible employees for the company. And could you park my car for me? Thanks."

With a small smile, Ye Ling turned and walked into the Shengding Group tower.

Watching Ye Ling’s retreating figure, the two security guards couldn’t help but exchange a look.

"Man, the Chairman may be young, but he’s really easy to talk to. He even said ’thanks’ just now!"

"Yeah, he’s a million times better than that asshole rich kid. No wonder someone like him is the Chairman!"

At that moment, Ye Ling’s image in their minds instantly became lofty and heroic.

As for a certain somebody still lying in a hospital bed, he suddenly let out two violent sneezes. His whole body shuddered, nearly tearing open several of his freshly bandaged wounds.

This person was none other than Li Xin, who had been sent to the hospital after being knocked unconscious by a taser.

Li Xin’s current state could only be described as utterly miserable. There wasn’t a single part of his body that was unscathed.

Ye Ling had certainly beaten him quite severely, but his current pathetic condition wasn’t actually Ye Ling’s doing—it was the work of those security guards.

The guy had often used his status as a director’s son to boss the guards around, and they had long since grown sick of him.

So, before taking Li Xin to the hospital, while he was still unconscious from the taser, they had given him a vicious beating.

That thorough beating had broken nearly every bone in his body. He had even come close to being paralyzed from the neck down!