Chapter 71: Drowsy Qin Yun
Chen Dong met up with Qin Yun. Two vans were parked next to each other. One was full of bodyguards. In the other, besides the driver and the bodyguard in the passenger seat, Qin Yun was alone in the back. Chen Dong boarded that van.
As soon as he boarded, Qin Yun quickly scooted over, gesturing for Chen Dong to sit beside her.
She had changed her outfit, now wearing oversized sunglasses that hid most of her face. Her long hair was tied back simply. She wore a black women's blazer over a white casual shirt, paired with black slacks and open-toed sandals.
Qin Yun seemed to disregard any boundaries with Chen Dong. As soon as the van started moving, she snuggled up close to him, practically leaning half her body against his.
Chen Dong was about to push her away and say something, but he realized that less than a minute after he'd boarded, she had actually fallen asleep.
Qin Yun was utterly exhausted. Ever since parting ways with Chen Dong, she hadn't dared to sleep. She felt no sense of security at all and had been in a constant state of fear and anxiety.
'She deeply regretted not having kept Chen Dong on as her bodyguard.'
When Chen Dong had said he wasn't going to the He Family's birthday banquet, she had been prepared to skip it entirely, even if it meant offending the He Family and giving up her stardom. But then, unexpectedly, Chen Dong called her again.
It was only upon seeing Chen Dong that Qin Yun felt a sliver of security. With him sitting beside her, she could finally let down her guard and drift off to sleep.
Lower River was very close to Jiangzhou, only about a four-to-five-hour drive. This was roughly the same distance as to Tianjiang, but Tianjiang was upstream, while Lower River was downstream. Jiangzhou was situated between the two.
Sleeping in the van wasn't very comfortable for Qin Yun, and she kept encroaching on Chen Dong's space throughout the journey. At first, she merely leaned against him. Then, she was hugging his arm. Finally, she laid her head right in his lap.
This led the driver and the front-seat bodyguard to wonder if this kid was their boss's lover. They had never seen their boss in such an undignified position before.
Chen Dong, however, didn't mind. 'If she wants to sleep, let her,' he thought. 'Besides, she smells nice.' He had no indecent thoughts and simply watched the scenery pass by to stave off boredom.
The van arrived in Lower River without incident. Chen Dong woke Qin Yun, who looked dazed and clearly hadn't slept enough. There was a trace of drool at the corner of her mouth, and a wet patch had formed on Chen Dong's pants from it—in a rather awkward spot.
The two bodyguards in the van knew what had happened, but seeing the spot on Chen Dong's pants still sent their imaginations running wild—to say nothing of those who were unaware of the situation.
The person waiting to receive them was once again the pot-bellied He Xiang. When he saw Chen Dong and Qin Yun getting out of the van together, he looked like he had just eaten shit. Then, when his eyes landed on Chen Dong's pants, his expression turned even uglier, as if the shit he'd eaten had gone bad.
Qin Yun followed He Xiang's gaze and finally noticed the drool stain on Chen Dong's pants. Instantly flushing with guilt and embarrassment, she pulled out a tissue and tried to wipe it for him.
Chen Dong frowned and sidestepped her. 'I can't believe they're making such a big deal over a small stain,' he thought. He immediately circulated his True Qi to dry the fabric.
He Xiang's expression turned thunderous. 'So not only did those two wretches get up to no good in the van on the way here, but now they're flaunting their relationship right in my face! And he's even using his power to threaten me!'
But faced with Chen Dong's capabilities, He Xiang knew any threats he might make would be futile. So, he said nothing more. With a grim expression, he led the group to the He Family compound.
As the He Family grew over the generations, its numbers swelled until a single manor could no longer house everyone. It had since expanded into several interconnected manors, forming a large compound. The people of Lower River called it the He Family Manor.
He Xiang first led the group to a massive plaza at the center of the compound, where a stage had already been erected. Qin Yun was scheduled to perform her song and dance on it tomorrow, so he had brought her to get familiar with the setup.
Part of the reason Qin Yun had arrived a day early was to check the venue and prevent any performance mishaps that might embarrass the He Family. If anything went wrong, not just she, but her entire entertainment company would be held accountable.
There were already quite a few people on the stage: opera singers, acrobats, and even a few local celebrities from Lower River. The opera singers were the most numerous, as the He Family's Patriarch was particularly fond of opera.
The man overseeing the stage was around thirty years old. His eyes were murky and his skin was pallid—he had the unmistakable look of someone who had overindulged in debauchery.
He had his arm around a beautiful, glamorously dressed woman. She wore a strapless, sequined, form-fitting minidress that showed off her legs, which were clad in black stockings and bright red high heels.
Seeing He Xiang arrive, the man greeted him with a grin. "Third Uncle, when is this big celebrity of yours getting here? We're all waiting to see if she's as fine in person as she looks on TV."
He Xiang shot back, clearly annoyed, "Isn't she right behind me?"
The man was He Kaiyu, the eldest son of the He Family's main branch. He had been doted on since birth; the He Family couldn't bring themselves to scold or discipline him. Unsurprisingly, the inevitable happened: he was raised to be completely useless.
Much like He Xiang, he was useless at everything but chasing women. Because He Kaiyu's behavior—lazy, inept, and skilled only in squandering the family fortune—so closely mirrored He Xiang's, the rest of the He Family grew to resent and exclude He Xiang, even believing he was the one who had led He Kaiyu astray.
But that wasn't true. In fact, He Xiang despised his nephew. Early on, his nephew had used the family's favor to steal several of his women. The fact that He Xiang's women were being stolen by his nephew became common knowledge, causing He Xiang to lose all face in Lower River.
He Kaiyu paid He Xiang's dark expression no mind; he was used to it. He craned his neck to look past him and his eyes fell upon the graceful figure of Qin Yun. He couldn't help but swallow hard.
He declared arrogantly, "Damn, she really is a looker. Got a great build! Just a shame about the sunglasses, I can't see her face properly!"