Chapter 275: Father and Son

After finishing his guild affairs, Nie Yan checked the time and found that there were only four or five minutes left before the game ended, so he logged out.

When he went downstairs, he found that his father and mother had already left home. They were always busy with company matters, getting up early and returning late every day. The living conditions of Nie Yan’s family had improved significantly compared to before. With the help of Nie’s parents, many relatives and friends had also escaped poverty and were now helping them run the company. As for Nie Yan’s maternal uncle, aunt, and other relatives, they remained in Ningjiang. Their lives weren’t particularly difficult, but they couldn’t enjoy the luxurious lifestyle they had in Nie Yan’s past life. Without those parasites, Nie’s parents’ company would surely develop even better.

Nie Yan’s phone rang.

“Nie Yan, did you cause trouble at school?” Nie’s father’s deep voice made Nie Yan feel a bit fearful. Even when he was in his twenties in his previous life, he was still afraid of his father.

Nie Yan’s father was an extremely strict man, and this sense of reverence had deeply penetrated Nie Yan’s bones. Like many people, Nie Yan wouldn’t fear even the strongest enemies, but when his father raised his hand, he would immediately run away with his head tucked between his legs. In fact, Nie Yan’s respect and love for his father far outweighed his fear.

“I heard you seriously injured a classmate, and he has to stay in the hospital for several days.”

“That was a martial arts competition. We exchanged greetings, and everyone agreed beforehand that any injuries would be our own responsibility. He had already passed the first military academy test, who knew he would be so weak that he fell down after just one kick.” Nie Yan muttered, although he had indeed taken advantage of Liu Rui unfairly.

“Dare you talk back!” Nie’s father coldly snorted.

Nie Yan immediately fell silent, not daring to speak, as he didn’t dare to provoke his father’s anger.

“When that classmate returns to school, you should apologize to him. Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? The person you hit is the son of a major shareholder of the Longyue Corporation, which is a powerful conglomerate dominating the entire South China region.” Nie’s father scolded.

“Did he come looking for trouble?” Nie Yan asked, his eyes flashing with a hint of murderous intent. If Liu Rui dared to target his parents, Nie Yan would never let him off!

“No, fortunately, the president of Longyue Corporation stepped in to mediate. Besides, since he was injured during the competition, they don’t have much to say. Still, you need to exercise more discretion in your actions in the future.” Nie’s father said sternly.

“Yes.” Nie Yan could only reluctantly agree.

Nie Yan ended the call, feeling quite unhappy but helpless. At that moment, Nie Yan thought a lot. In real life, relying solely on individual effort wasn’t enough—he needed to build his own foundation. Where should he start? He thought of Wei Kai. In his past life, Wei Kai had indeed enjoyed a period of glory, but eventually fell due to a lack of strong backing. Previously, Wei Kai had requested to join the Bull Man Tribe, but Nie Yan and Tang Yao had kept him waiting.

After thinking for a while, Nie Yan decided it was time to meet him. He would do so after class.

In Nie Yan’s parents’ office, the decor was very simple, with several desks covered in various documents.

After ending the call, Nie’s father’s previously stern face softened, and a slight smile curved his lips.

“What’s so happy that you can’t even close your mouth?” Nie’s mother gently poured him a glass of water beside him.

“You gave birth to a good son. The little brat got into a fight on the first day of school and seriously injured someone, making him stay in the hospital for several days.” Nie’s father chuckled.

“You’re actually happy that he beat someone.” Nie’s mother glared at him, finding him somewhat unreasonable.

“It was in the arena! Whoever gets hit has to take it without complaint! This is what they call a tiger father doesn’t have a dog son! This Liu Rui is the son of Liu Ding, the second largest shareholder of Longyue Corporation. I heard he had already passed the first military academy’s test. My son knocked him down in just one move, meaning my son is even stronger than him. He’ll definitely get into the first military academy. Why shouldn’t I be happy? I should go celebrate with a few drinks!” Nie’s father laughed heartily, clearly delighted. As for the matter of beating someone, what man doesn’t have a bit of grit? Knocking down a few people in the arena was common enough.

“Won’t there be a problem with offending Liu Ding? Xiao Yan was too impulsive.” Nie’s mother expressed her concern.

“So what if we offended him? If the sky falls, his father will hold it up. At worst, I can ask my old comrades to handle it. I’m not afraid of Liu Ding. Besides, the president of Longyue Corporation has already spoken, stating it was a normal competition. They can’t find any fault with us. What’s there to fear?” Nie’s father said loudly. He had served in the military and seen the world, having experienced gunfire and artillery. He wouldn’t panic over such a small matter.

Soldiers always carried a certain roughness that couldn’t be suppressed. Nie’s mother could only remain silent. Although Nie’s father was strict with Nie Yan, and used to scold and beat him when he was naughty, he actually loved Nie Yan very much deep down.

“Although your two old comrades are now military district commanders, I doubt they would be willing to help!” Nie’s mother said. Even if there had been friendships in the past, they might have faded over time.

“Old comrades who have shared life and death experiences, real brothers who have risked their lives together—they wouldn’t turn their backs on me. If they do, I’ll beat them up myself. Not just me, old Liu and old Lin won’t stand for it either!” Nie’s father replied.

Although Nie’s mother was still worried, hearing Nie’s father speak like this eased her concerns a bit. She then called Nie Yan, urging him not to cause trouble at school. After all, it was a prestigious school, and every student there had some kind of background.

Nie Yan received two calls in a row and could only smile bitterly. After hearing his father’s words, he was also quite surprised. Liu Rui turned out to be the son of Liu Ding, the second largest shareholder of Longyue Corporation. It was rare for that guy to keep such a deep secret and not flaunt it. No wonder in his previous life, Xie Yao had mentioned that Liu Rui’s family was well acquainted with hers. They were all part of Longyue Corporation. It seemed Nie Yan had underestimated his opponent.

That kick had indeed felt satisfying, but it had also brought some trouble.

In the future, he needed to be more cautious in his actions and not act impulsively.

Since trouble had been caused, he should think about how to deal with it. Nie Yan also needed to start building his own power base, or he might be devoured by others. If he could secure a place at the First Military Academy, things would be easier. Once he entered the First Military Academy, others generally wouldn’t dare to target him.

Liu Rui would be in the hospital for a few days and wouldn’t be seen at school recently. Nie Yan took a car to school.

When Nie Yan walked into the classroom, there were only a few students inside. Xie Yao was sitting by the desk, seemingly absorbed in something. She wore a pink short-sleeved top with a white skirt, giving off a youthful and vibrant vibe. Her hair was tied into a ponytail without any adornments. In the morning light from the window, she looked like an angel.

It was a scene as dreamlike as a vision of faith.

This beautiful desk mate was frowning in deep thought. From the side view, her face was as smooth and fair as jade, with delicate eyebrows and eyes like painted strokes.

Nie Yan sat down at his seat and looked at Xie Yao from the side. She was still the same beauty, and he felt a deeper emotion. In two lifetimes, in his previous life, he had only dared to steal glances at Xie Yao from the corner of his eye. In this life, his mindset had completely changed.

“Xie Yao, good morning,” Nie Yan greeted.

Xie Yao turned her head, looked at Nie Yan, and smiled slightly. “Good morning.”

Looking at Nie Yan, she felt a bit dazed. The Nie Yan in the game, Nie Yan, and the real-life Nie Yan were somewhat different. Suddenly, she thought she had found a way to get closer to Nie Yan—approaching him through his two different identities, and then revealing that they were actually the same person. What would Nie Yan’s surprised expression be like? She suddenly had a little mischievous thought.

“Today seems to be the martial arts class,” Nie Yan said, noticing Xie Yao was a bit distracted.

“Oh, yes, there are still twenty minutes before class starts,” Xie Yao replied, snapping back to reality.

Nie Yan remembered that Xie Yao was always the most enthusiastic during martial arts classes. In his previous life, when they were in high school, Nie Yan had been slightly stronger than Xie Yao, naturally, since he was a boy, and physical strength alone was much greater than a girl’s. However, back then, Nie Yan had never dared to even look at Xie Yao directly, let alone engage in a sparring match with her.

The martial arts class was about to start soon, and Nie Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit excited, recalling the beautiful and heroic image of Xie Yao wearing a martial arts uniform in his previous life.

Just then, Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and others walked into the classroom together. Seeing Nie Yan, they immediately approached excitedly.

“Hey, bro, I heard about what happened. Yesterday, you guys were really awesome,” Zhai Hao said excitedly. He had heard some news about the Bull Man Tribe and was astonished, greatly admiring Nie Yan. He had never seen anyone as impressive as Nie Yan. The president of the Bull Man Tribe—this was a legendary figure, yet he was right in front of him, making it hard for him to believe. Even when he got up in the morning, he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Zhai Hao had promised to keep Nie Yan’s identity a secret and hadn’t spread it around.

Li Rui and others also greeted Nie Yan, then looked at Xie Yao beside him and nudged Zhai Hao.

Zhai Hao understood and said to Nie Yan, “We’ll chat later.”

The twenty minutes before class were a good time for Nie Yan and Xie Yao to be alone. If they wanted to chat with Nie Yan, they could do so during the martial arts class later.

They returned to their respective seats.

A male classmate beside approached Zhai Hao boastfully, “Zhai Hao, I just leveled up to 27 and got a silver piece of equipment. Let’s fight next time we log in?”

“I won’t fight you.”

“Why not? Are you scared?”

“Pfft, I’m not scared. Who do you think I am?”

“Let’s bet something.”

“Fine, let’s bet.” Zhai Hao was amused. “You think level 27 is something to brag about? I’ll beat you up and give you a good stretching.”

Hearing the conversation from Zhai Hao’s side, Nie Yan smiled. In his previous life, he had often participated in such student duels, occasionally managing to gain some loot.

Nie Yan turned his head, and Xie Yao turned her head too, typing something on the computer. Feeling Nie Yan’s gaze, her curved eyelashes fluttered slightly, revealing her inner unease.