Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 18

Upon learning that Sun Wuzhong had clearly expressed his loyalty, Cheng Jinyang couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

Jingkou, soon, will be my territory!

Although this place is somewhat close to the frontlines of the Central Plains and could be attacked by demons infiltrating the Jianghuai defense line at any time, it’s still a piece of land with plenty of manpower, isn’t it?

Manpower and territory, those are the foundations of an empire!

Brimming with enthusiasm, he led his men to the entrance of the Dajiang Gang, where a group of armed refugees were already waiting, along with a few heavily made-up women who looked like hostesses from private rooms. They fluttered over like butterflies, calling out sweetly, “Lord Sima!”

Hearing this title, Cheng Jinyang first shuddered, and then a thick metal barrier suddenly rose, quickly separating him from the approaching women.

“Careful! Assassins!” the girl Qingqing beside him shouted, manipulating the metal to wrap around him and retreating rapidly.

Li Qingwan, on the other hand, darted forward, intercepting the women by grabbing them at the waist and tossing them away to avoid them being harmed by Qingqing’s metal spikes.

The scene fell silent for a few seconds.

“My lord!” The armed refugees in the front row fell to their knees in panic, declaring they had no intention of assassination. The women who had been thrown aside were pale with fright, scrambling to get up and flee.

“Stand down, Qingqing,” Cheng Jinyang said with a helpless smile. He knew Chu Qingqing was deliberately causing trouble, “This is probably a misunderstanding.”

“What if assassins disguised themselves as these women?” Miss Qingqing asked seriously.

“You think I’d let these women approach me so easily?” Cheng Jinyang retorted.

This answer greatly satisfied Chu Qingqing, so she hummed and retracted the metal barrier, then stood back behind Cheng Jinyang, saying, “Fine, but if you dare lie to me, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll kill them all!” Miss Qingqing threatened.

This little jealous pot, Cheng Jinyang thought to himself, amused.

Inside the gang headquarters, Sun Wuzhong, who had learned about the commotion outside, rushed out with a grim expression.

He slid to his knees in front of Cheng Jinyang, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.

Cheng Jinyang quickly helped him up.

Having already rehearsed once with Liu Daojian, his acting skills were now quite polished. He soon calmed Sun Wuzhong down, easing the atmosphere.

Xing Yuanzhi and the others, in Cheng Yuexian’s group, soon arrived as well.

Upon learning what Sun Wuzhong had done to welcome “Lord Sima,” the girls all cast angry, disdainful, or contemptuous glances at him.

Sun Wuzhong was quite helpless. A Biandu Sima is still an officer, right? Who brings their family along with the army? If I had known you were such a family man, I wouldn’t have brought those flamboyant women here!

However, this also proved that the ladies in this lord’s camp were an important political force, so could he possibly pursue a strategy in that direction later?

Hmm, although I’m not very good at this, a few of my brothers have pretty daughters…

Back to the main point, with the two largest refugee gangs in Jingkou having surrendered, Cheng Jinyang ordered notices to be sent to the smaller gangs, commanding them to submit to the government forces promptly.

Failure to comply will result in consequences at their own risk!

Leaving part of his forces to oversee operations in Jingkou, Cheng Jinyang himself turned back to Jiankang—after all, it was almost New Year, and as the clan leader, he had to return to distribute New Year gifts.

Compared to the wild, chaotic, and impoverished Jingkou, the city of Jiankang, 70 kilometers across the river, remained bustling and prosperous.

When the girls returned, they even felt a sense of disorientation, as if it had been ages.

Back in her room, Cui Xiaoniang dove onto the bed, rolling around happily:

“Ahhh, home is so much more comfortable!”

“Hey, you haven’t even taken off your clothes!” Xing Yuanzhi exclaimed in shock.

“So what, it’s not your bed.” Cui Jinqi sat up, provocatively twisting around, “This is my and Jinyang’s bed, I can dirty it however I want.”

Xing Yuanzhi: …

She indignantly looked at Cheng Jinyang (Aren’t you going to say something!), only to see him opening the bookshelf, taking out a stack of red envelopes, and casually handing one to her: “It’s New Year, Yuanzhi. Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year.” Xing Yuanzhi took the red envelope and suddenly felt she couldn’t stay angry anymore.

Oh well, it’s New Year’s.

“Happy New Year!” Cui Jinqi also received a red envelope, eagerly opened it, and counted, “Why is it only a thousand! Clan Leader Cheng, your family business is so big now, this amount should be at least ten times more!”

“100 bills are too thick to fit in the envelope,” Cheng Jinyang explained. He then turned to give a red envelope to Wang Wanrou, “Happy New Year.”

Miss Wang was sitting at her desk reading a book. She didn’t even look up and just replied with a hum. Cheng Jinyang didn’t mind; everyone was used to the young lady’s demeanor, so he placed the red envelope on the desk next to her.

“If it doesn’t fit in the envelope, you can transfer it electronically!” Yang Wangshu, who was typing on the side, said, “A thousand is too little; it’s not even enough for me to buy two orders.”

She was then grabbed by Cheng Jinyang, who stuffed the red envelope through the gap in her mask, “Take the money and shut up!”

“Come on, we’re not kids anymore, isn’t it nice just to get New Year’s money?” Chu Qingqing joked, accepting the red envelope and counting it briefly, “By the way, how about we go out tonight?”

No one responded. After all, they had just returned from Jingkou, and the girls were all too tired to have the energy for going out.

“I’ll go with you,” Li Qingwan said with a smile.

“Boo hoo, Qingwan, you are truly my lifelong best friend.” Miss Qingqing hugged her, pretending to cry. Teacher Li, caught between laughter and tears, patted her back.

“Here’s yours, happy New Year.” Cheng Jinyang handed her a red envelope.

“Thank you, I feel a bit embarrassed,” Li Qingwan said with a smile, accepting the envelope.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, don’t consider yourself an outsider,” Cheng Jinyang responded with a smile.

After handing out the red envelopes to the girls, Cheng Jinyang went to the family council hall. Accompanied by Cheng Yuexian and Cheng Huaiyan, he distributed New Year’s goods to the family members lined up to receive them.

This was also a part of strengthening family cohesion, and as the family head, he had to be present in person.

After finishing the distribution, it was almost 10 PM. Cheng Jinyang left the family estate and saw two tall golden figures standing at the entrance.

“Happy New Year, Sister Xinnan.” Cheng Jinyang handed her a red envelope.

“Why are you giving me a red envelope?” Princess Nankang looked surprised and declined to accept it, “I should be giving you one.”

She took out a red envelope from her sleeve, “Here, happy New Year.”

“It’s okay to exchange red envelopes,” Cheng Jinyang forced the envelope into her hand and then turned to Princess Luling, producing another red envelope, “Happy New Year, Sister Nandi.”

“Oh, you even prepared one for me?” Luling was also quite surprised. She had originally been out shopping with her sister, who suddenly said she wanted to see Jinyang.

She had just tagged along but didn’t expect to get money too.

“Of course, you saved me last time,” Cheng Jinyang said with a smile.

“As long as you remember, but I didn’t prepare a red envelope for you,” Luling laughed as she accepted the envelope, stuffing it into her collar.

“Want to come in and sit for a while?” Cheng Jinyang invited.

“No, it’s already 10 o’clock,” Nankang shook her head with a smile, “I just heard you came back from Jingkou, so I came to check on you.”

Thinking back to the past, Jinyang was just an ordinary young man with no strength to tie up a chicken, always needing her protection during missions and jobs. Now, he was not only the family head but also surrounded by people who could protect him…

“Let’s go,” Nankang held Luling’s hand and flashed a bright smile, “See you next time.”

“Sister,” Luling still wanted to say more, but her sister pulled her away. After walking about tens of meters, she couldn’t help but ask, “You came all this way just to say Happy New Year to him?”

“Yeah,” Nankang raised an eyebrow, “What else?”

“Romance! Hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes! Spend the night together!” Luling looked exasperated.

“It’s not the right time yet,” Nankang gazed into the distant night, “But that day will come.”

Cheng Jinyang stood at the family estate entrance, watching their figures fade into the distance until they disappeared around the street corner. He then turned back with a sense of melancholy.

He still had one last red envelope left, feeling somewhat heavy.

But there was no way to give it out now.