Chapter 144: Old Flame

Upon hearing Zhuge Taxue's words, Chen Hao immediately realized that this girl was a lesbian. No! She was bisexual, swinging both ways. Chen Hao had just officially established a relationship with Fan Yirou today, and he certainly didn't want the duck that had already landed in his pot to fly away with someone else, especially another woman.

It wasn't that Chen Hao lacked confidence in himself, but rather that Zhuge Taxue possessed an overwhelming charm. Even though Fan Yirou had conventional orientations, living under the same roof every single day meant there was no guarantee Zhuge Taxue wouldn't try to take advantage of her. Even if it was another woman, Chen Hao had no intention of letting anyone take liberties with his future wife.

Observing Chen Hao's conflicted expression, Zhuge Taxue burst into hearty laughter. "Hahahaha! I couldn't tell, Chen Hao, but you really care about your girlfriend, don't you? Relax! I was just teasing you. Don't worry, even though we just met, we can barely be considered friends now. I have no intention of stealing your thunder!"

Chen Hao looked at Zhuge Taxue with a mixture of suspicion and doubt, maintaining a skeptical view of her words.

"Hey!" Zhuge Taxue feigned dissatisfaction. "What is that completely distrustful look in your eyes supposed to mean? Do you take me for a liar?"

Chen Hao remained silent. At that moment, Dong Xin had already returned.

Chen Hao hastily blurted out, "Damn it! You just vanish out of nowhere and then suddenly reappear. Can't you give a heads-up beforehand? Besides, where did you take Vivian?"

Dong Xin looked at Chen Hao as if he were an idiot. "I told you just a moment ago that I was taking her back to my place. Did you not hear me?"

"I heard you, but who knows if you were lying?" Chen Hao curled his lip in disdain.

"What reason would I have to lie to you? If I wanted to harm that little girl, I could have easily done it while you were offline in the game. Why wait until today to make a move right in front of you?" Dong Xin explained.

"Hmph!" Chen Hao continued to scoff coldly. "Who knows if you're deliberately using Vivian as bait to lure me into your trap!"

Dong Xin frowned, seeming unable to understand why Chen Hao's attitude toward her was so hostile. "Chen Hao, I don't get it. Why do you keep hurling insults at me?

Fine! I admit our first meeting wasn't very pleasant. But I already apologized to you for that earlier. You surely aren't petty enough to hold a grudge against a woman forever, are you?"

Chen Hao glanced at her sideways. "You think I'm mad at you purely because of that resignation incident? If so, you're severely underestimating me.

You don't understand? Very well! Let me spell it out for you in detail. Let's leave the resignation aside—that wasn't entirely your fault, and I made mistakes too.

But what about everything after that? I assume you didn't come to Kestar just out of boredom for a vacation or a business trip, right? Don't think I'm unaware that you didn't arrive at the hotel two days earlier than us. I already inquired at the front desk; both penthouse suites on the top floor were only booked today.

Aside from the one Mengyan and the others are staying in, which I reserved a couple of days ago, the other suite was clearly booked just today, and the check-in time was after ours. How do you explain that?"

Seeing Dong Xin rendered speechless, Chen Hao offered a cold chuckle and pressed on. "And furthermore, today you had me drive your car back to the hotel. Do you have any idea what kind of trouble that caused me?

If I hadn't been capable enough, Mengyan and Yirou might never have seen me again starting today!"

Zhuge Taxue pouted and rolled her eyes. She knew Chen Hao was referring to the physical altercation that occurred when he met Guo Yunhai. Putting aside the fact that Guo Yunhai himself had admitted he was no match for Chen Hao, even if Chen Hao had been an ordinary person, Guo Yunhai would never have intended to deal a fatal blow.

Guo Yunhai was no fool; naturally, he knew how to exercise restraint. If Chen Hao hadn't also been a martial arts expert, there was no way Guo Yunhai would have exerted his full strength. Much like earlier when she herself was cornered by petty street thugs, Guo Yunhai hadn't gone overboard when he stepped in to save her—he had simply beaten them off.

Listening to Chen Hao grandstanding and lecturing Dong Xin here left Zhuge Taxue utterly speechless. She could never have imagined that such an upright-looking young man could possess such a scheming and dark side.

Dong Xin was somewhat bewildered, feeling that Chen Hao was simply being unreasonable and making a fuss over nothing. Unhappily, she retorted, "Wasn't it just asking you to help drive my car back to the parking garage? Is there any need to fly into such a rage? And what kind of trouble could driving a car possibly cause? My car has standard registration and valid papers, and it passes annual inspections normally. It's not like you don't have a driver's license—as long as you don't run red lights or drive drunk, what trouble could there possibly be?

If you're going to pick a fight, at least come up with a reasonable excuse, will you?"

Chen Hao shook his head. "That's not the point at all. After I drove your car back to the hotel, I was spotted by your old flame, and that guy interrogated me about my relationship with you without any regard for right or wrong. And then... I suppose I don't need to spell out the rest, do I?"

"Whose old flame?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" A rare blush crept across the tomboyish Dong Xin's face, whether from anger or embarrassment. Then, as her gaze shifted to Zhuge Taxue, a realization seemed to dawn on her.

"Are you Zhuge Taxue?" Dong Xin asked.

Zhuge Taxue was startled for a moment before instinctively nodding. "That's right! You know me?"

Dong Xin shook her head. "I only know of your existence because I heard that big dummy Guo Yunhai mention you when we were chatting once."

Following that, Dong Xin turned her gaze back to Chen Hao. "Could the old flame you were talking about be Guo Yunhai?"

What could Chen Hao do other than nod?

"Well, that explains it! How on earth did you end up hanging out with Zhuge Taxue? So it was because of that big dummy! Surely a mere Guo Yunhai isn't enough to make Young Master Chen feel troubled, is it?" Dong Xin said knowingly, clearly possessing a profound understanding of both of their respective capabilities.

From the nickname Dong Xin used for Guo Yunhai and the tone of her voice, Zhuge Taxue and Chen Hao could easily discern that Dong Xin held zero romantic interest in Guo Yunhai; if anything, she seemed to look down on him slightly. It appeared the poor, giant Guo Yunhai was truly suffering from unrequited love!

Chen Hao and Zhuge Taxue realized this simultaneously and let out a synchronized sigh. "Sigh..."

The two exchanged glances and smiled knowingly, everything understood without a word.

Failing to grasp what the two of them were up to, Dong Xin asked with a puzzled look, "Did I guess wrong? You couldn't beat Guo Yunhai?"

Sensing that Dong Xin had misinterpreted the meaning of their sigh, Chen Hao explained, "That's not it at all. Although Guo Yunhai is no match for me, our skirmish drew out an elderly senior who is far more formidable than either of us. Fortunately, my attitude was deferential enough, otherwise I'd have been in deep trouble.

Yunhai wasn't as fortunate as me; he got disciplined by that senior expert and even ended up needing me to take him to the doctor. But precisely because of that, Guo Yunhai and I started chatting, became new friends, and through him, I met Zhuge Taxue."

"Yet what does any of that have to do with you losing your temper at me?" Dong Xin demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"It might not have anything to do with you personally, but you can't deny that you've been tailing me and getting close to me all this time! Furthermore, in order to get cozy with us, you deliberately buddy up with Yirou and Mengyan. What on earth are you trying to accomplish?" Chen Hao asked indignantly. "If I didn't consider the fact that we met once when we were kids and our fathers know each other, I'd definitely teach you a lesson."

"Oh?" Dong Xin raised an eyebrow. "You remember what happened when we were kids?"

"Nope! I only remember meeting you once back then, and I don't recall anything else!" Chen Hao declared righteously.

"Pfft—" Zhuge Taxue spat out a mouthful of air. Noticing the two of them looking at her, she waved her hands hurriedly. "Nothing, nothing! Pay no attention to me, you two carry on!"

"I'll explain that reason to you later! Actually, my tracking you isn't meant to harm you at all; on the contrary, it's to protect you!" Dong Xin sighed. "This isn't a very convenient place to talk about it. Once we get out of here, I'll find some time to give you a detailed explanation! For now, let's just get you two out of here first!

Once you're out, wait for me in the teahouse; I'll come pick you up. Is that big dummy Guo Yunhai with you guys as well?"

Chen Hao nodded. There was no point in hiding that, so he told her directly.

"Alright, pardon me!" As soon as Dong Xin finished speaking, her entire avatar began to emit a searing, exceptionally bright white light. It wasn't Chen Hao's first time witnessing this, so he simply shook his head. "Sigh... having to commit suicide every single time we log out is such a hassle..."

Shortly after, upon experiencing a familiar wave of dizziness, Chen Hao and Zhuge Taxue woke up simultaneously.

The awkward scenario Chen Hao had feared upon waking did not materialize; his hands were not clamped onto Zhuge Taxue's chest. He discovered that the two of them were lying inside the private tea room from earlier.

Only, he was lying flat on the floor while Zhuge Taxue was stretched out on the table. Fortunately, Guo Yunhai hadn't covered them with a blanket, otherwise the sight would have been infinitely more alarming.

"You two are finally awake!" Guo Yunhai's anxious and worried voice rang out. "What on earth happened? It was just a stumble, weren't it? How could both of you pass out together like that, completely unresponsive no matter how much I called out?

Besides, given your martial arts skills, Chen Hao, not only did you fail to catch Taxue, but you managed to fall down right alongside her? Were you trying to take advantage of her on purpose?"

Chen Hao waved a hand dismissively. "Deliberately causing yourself to trip just so you can take advantage of someone—what kind of warped logic is that? Wouldn't it have been much simpler for me to just catch her directly?

Stop talking nonsense. I'm hardly in the mood for jokes right now."

Guo Yunhai stared at the two of them curiously, sensing that both of them seemed fully aware of their fainting spell and appeared to understand the exact cause. What the hell is going on here?

Knowing the extent of Guo Yunhai's curiosity, Chen Hao cleared his throat and imitated Dong Xin's tone. "I'll fill you in on the details later! Right now, let's get ready; someone is coming to pick us up shortly."

"Huh? Pick us up?" Guo Yunhai froze. "Who? Why are they picking us up? Where are they taking us?"

Chen Hao replied with a deadpan tone, "Your old flame!"