Chapter Nineteen: You Must Keep Protecting Me!

"Whether you trust him or whatever you did with him, it has nothing to do with this."
"The food and drinks were brought in on his orders—now that something has happened, he must take responsibility."
Faced with pleas, Ye Wushang remained unmoved.
Lan Ruoxue’s face darkened, her voice cold: "Ye Wushang, don’t be so ungrateful."
"If you send Chuan Zhi to the police station today, the consequences will be dire!"
"So what?" Ye Wushang’s expression was blank.
Lan Ruoxue was furious. "You already hit his brother, and now you’re sending him to the police station."
"If the Sun family pursues this, they won’t let you off!"
Ye Wushang sneered, asking, "Are you worried they won’t let me off, or are you afraid your Lan family will be implicated?"
"What do you mean by that?" Lan Ruoxue was speechless.
She couldn’t understand why he was so stubborn.
Everything was for his own good, yet he turned it against her!
"I don’t care what you think. In any case, you can’t let them send him to the police station!"
"I don’t care what you say—he must be held responsible for what’s happened!"
With that, Ye Wushang glared at the shaved-headed man. "Why are you all standing around? Hurry up and take him away!"
"Yes, Mr. Ye."
The bald man personally escorted Sun Chuanlong out the door.
Sun Chuanlong struggled, shouting, "You useless fool, just you wait—I won’t let you off!"
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Lan Ruoxue, though grateful that Ye Wushang had saved her, grew anxious about the Sun family’s potential retaliation.
She immediately pulled Xu Wei aside and whispered, "Xu Wei, quick, call Sun Chuanlong."
"Tell him to find a way to get his brother out, and keep this matter quiet. Don’t let the Sun family find out."
"If they do, not only will my Lan family’s business be ruined, Ye Wushang will be dragged down too."
Xu Wei’s expression turned disdainful. "Director Lan, you’re overthinking things."
"This mess was caused by that useless fool—why should we clean up after him?"
"Isn’t he supposed to be so capable? Isn’t he pretending ignorance? Let him solve it!"
"Given your relationship with Young Master Sun, he shouldn’t blame you."
After a few words of reassurance, seeing that the time was nearly up, she added, "Director Lan, the banquet is about to start. We should focus on the agency rights..."
"Everyone."
At that moment, a young woman in business attire stepped onto the stage, microphone in hand, announcing in a clear voice, "For safety reasons, the An family has decided to temporarily cancel tonight’s banquet."
"The details of the rescheduled auction and location will be announced later."
"However, only companies with bidding certificates may participate."
"Security has been arranged outside—please leave in an orderly fashion."
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed with regret.
Though the mood was dampened, their lives were more important.
After the poisoning incident, all interest in the banquet had vanished.
Without hesitation, they lined up to leave.
Xu Wei was about to speak, but Lan Ruoxue suddenly said, "Xu Wei, go find Chuanlong first, and make sure to suppress this matter."
"What? Director Lan, didn’t I just say—"
"I told you to go, so go! Don’t argue!"
Lan Ruoxue raised her voice, speaking solemnly: "No matter what, Wushang just saved me—I can’t let him suffer retribution from the Sun family because of me."
"Besides, the Sun family patriarch has always looked down on the Lan family—I don’t want this to escalate. Hurry up!"

Xu Wei hesitated.
She knew that once Director Lan made a decision, nothing could change her mind.
Although she was happy to see Ye Wushang suffer at the hands of the Sun family, she was also afraid the Lan family would be implicated.
After some indecision, she finally nodded and hurried off.
"Wushang."
Lan Ruoxue tried to remain calm, approaching him with a serious expression: "I think we need to talk."
"There’s nothing for us to talk about."
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"We were married once—do you really care so much about your pitiful pride?"
Lan Ruoxue’s face was gloomy as she said, "Talk or not, it’s up to you. I’ve already delivered grandfather’s message..."
"Wait."
Ye Wushang instinctively stopped her. "You said grandfather asked you to talk to me?"
He had lived with the Lan family for three years.
He washed clothes, cooked, worked like a beast of burden.
Except for grandfather, not a single person had treated him well.
Though there was no blood relation, grandfather had regarded him as his own.
Especially on rainy days, when his illness flared up, grandfather would prepare medicinal herbs for his baths to ease the pain.
He owed grandfather a debt of gratitude.
He could ignore the Lan family, but not grandfather.
"He fell ill after our divorce."
"He insisted I find you, to speak with you face-to-face."
"I’m not giving you another chance, just delivering grandfather’s words—don’t get any ideas."
Even now, she believed everything Ye Wushang did was to win her back.
But Ye Wushang had no interest in discussing their relationship.
Grandfather had always been robust, yet now he was ill—clearly, the divorce was a blow to him.
Emotionally and morally, Ye Wushang felt he should talk to him, at least to ease his mind.
"Wait for me at the door. I have something to take care of, then I’ll go with you to see grandfather."
With that, Ye Wushang turned and walked away.
Watching his retreating figure, Lan Ruoxue fell into contemplation.
She had tried several times to talk, but he refused.
Yet at the mention of grandfather, he immediately agreed to return.
What did she mean to him?
Or was he simply using grandfather to pressure her, knowing reconciliation was useless?
"Ye Wushang, even though you just saved me, you’re still nothing but a lazy househusband in my eyes."
"Even if grandfather tried to make us remarry, I would never agree."
"Don’t hope for anything more!"
...
Inside the manager’s office.
Led by the bald man, Ye Wushang found An Lan.
"Wushang, come, sit down."
An Lan poured him a glass of water.
She had seen everything in the hall through the surveillance cameras.
She had to admit, Ye Wushang truly had skills—to notice poison in the food and drinks.
Moreover, he had managed to neutralize the toxins and save everyone in such a short time!
Otherwise, as the hosts, the An family would have been held responsible.
"No need to sit, I’m here for my things."

Ye Wushang shook his head, speaking bluntly: "You asked me to be your bodyguard tonight, responsible for security."
"Someone poisoned the food and drinks—I’ve resolved it, so..."
"So it’s not over yet."
An Lan interrupted him, taking out a beautifully decorated box and handing it to Ye Wushang. "This is the Hanlong Grass you wanted."
"But I hope you can continue this bodyguard job for a while longer."
"We discovered the poisoning, but the culprit wasn’t caught. The danger remains."
"Until Ghost Hand returns, I hope you’ll stay on."
Ye Wushang frowned.
He could sense the spiritual energy emanating from the box; it must contain Hanlong Grass.
With it, he could strengthen his cultivation and heal his sister.
Yet he did not reach for it, instead replying in a steady voice, "Miss An..."
"Call me Lanlan."
"Alright, Lanlan. As a friend, you asked me to protect you tonight, and I did."
"But now you want me to continue as your bodyguard—don’t you think that’s a bit much?"
An Lan smiled gently and shook her head. "First, I’m not threatening you. The item is right here, you can take it whenever you wish."
"Second, as you said, you protected me as a friend. Now, as a friend, I ask you to protect me again, just for a few more days."
"At least until I finish dealing with the agency rights for the An family."
"Of course, if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. The Hanlong Grass is right here."
With that, she pushed the box closer to him.
Moral obligation.
Ye Wushang felt helpless.
He knew that even if he refused, she would still give him the item.
But taking it without agreeing would make him seem ungrateful.
"Fine, I’ll protect you again. When and where?"
Ye Wushang nodded, putting the box away.
"Tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock, at Villa 101 in Panlong Court. Absolute secrecy is required."
An Lan took a deep breath, reminding him, "Since tonight’s attempt failed, they won’t give up so easily. I hope you’re prepared."
"You don’t need to remind me—I want to find out what the people behind this are planning."
Ye Wushang understood well.
The poisoners were likely from Jiaolong Group.
Besides their unknown feud with the An family, they appeared to have business dealings with the Lan family as well.
Even if not for the Lan family, for grandfather’s sake, he had to eliminate future threats.
With their agreement made, Ye Wushang left the office with the Hanlong Grass.
Just then, the bald man couldn’t help but approach, lowering his voice: "Miss, I don’t understand you."
"I admit Mr. Ye is capable—what he did in the hall won my admiration."
"If you truly value him, why not hire him directly for a large sum? Why these repeated temporary jobs?"
"You don’t understand."
An Lan shook her head, thoughtful: "Ye Wushang isn’t a common man—he won’t bend for wealth or beauty, nor bow to power."
"If you want him to willingly work for you, you must sincerely give to him."
"I believe, each time I employ him, the distance between us closes a little."
"I used to dislike Jiaolong Group, but now, I almost wish they’d cause trouble for me every day."
...