Watching Xiang Yong leave, Yang Kai let out a breath, genuinely surprised at how easy that guy had been to brush off.
But he'd barely enjoyed two days of peace before Xiang Yong showed up again. Just seeing the man gave Yang Kai a headache, and there was no hiding from him either, so he could only greet him: "Brother Xiang, you're here?"
Xiang Yong rushed up to him, looked left and right, then leaned in and whispered, "So? So? How'd it go?"
"How'd what go?" Yang Kai was completely lost.
"Did Little Die ask about me? Did she miss me? Was she crying and begging to come find me?"
"Uh..." Seeing the eager look on Xiang Yong's face, Yang Kai almost couldn't bear to tell him the truth, so he could only say, "Not sure. I haven't seen Miss Die You these past two days either. I just got here and have been busy tending the orchard."
"Worthless!" Xiang Yong shot Yang Kai a sidelong glare. "Why didn't you go ask around? So useless—what good are you?"
Yang Kai's mouth twitched. He had no idea what to even say to that.
Xiang Yong flung his arms wide. "Fine, I'll go ask myself!"
He swept past Yang Kai and charged straight toward Die You's orchard. A short while later, the familiar sound of chaos erupted from that direction once again, along with Xiang Yong's cries of pain...
A few moments later, Xiang Yong came hobbling back, nose and face bruised and swollen, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. The sight made Yang Kai's heart skip a beat.
Stopping in front of Yang Kai, Xiang Yong fumed, "What kind of rubbish idea was that? It didn't work at all! Little Die hit me even harder this time!"
Yang Kai sighed. "Brother Xiang, there's something I'm not sure whether I should say or not."
"Out with it!" Xiang Yong snorted coldly, reaching up to wipe the blood from under his nose.
"There are plenty of fish in the sea..."
Xiang Yong burst into laughter. "Sure, there are plenty of women in this world, but in this lifetime, I've set my heart on Little Die and Little Die alone! Even if the most beautiful woman in the world stood before my eyes, I wouldn't spare her a single glance. This was sealed the moment Little Die saved my life all those years ago. She is destined to be my woman! If anyone dares lay a finger on her, I'll devour his flesh and drink every last drop of his blood!"
Hearing this, Yang Kai felt a grudging respect. He truly hadn't expected Xiang Yong to be so devoted. His method of pursuing women was annoying, to be sure, and his judgment left much to be desired—but his sincerity was undeniable.
Then again, for all that Xiang Yong was insufferable, his feelings for Die You were beyond reproach. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep coming back for more after getting beaten half to death every single time.
"Would you ever make a move on Little Die?" Xiang Yong suddenly whipped his head around, fixing Yang Kai with a savage glare, his eyes brimming with murderous intent—as though a single wrong word from Yang Kai would cost him his life on the spot.
"I've only known Miss Die You for a little over two months. She's a stunning beauty far above my station."
"You'd better mean that!" Xiang Yong grunted. "If you dare try anything with her, I'll tear you to shreds."
"I wouldn't dream of it!"
"I've got a job for you." Xiang Yong put on a grave expression and, without waiting for Yang Kai to agree, issued his orders. "Keep an eye on Little Die's place. If anyone dares pester her, you tell me immediately and I'll go deal with him. Understood?"
Yang Kai nodded wordlessly.
Only then did Xiang Yong's expression brighten. He reached up to touch one of his wounds, winced as the pain flared, hissed through his teeth, and strode off down the path.
He'd barely taken a few steps when he suddenly turned back. "Oh, one more thing—remember what you said last time."
Yang Kai was puzzled. "What did I say?"
Xiang Yong said, "Last time you said the income from your plot and my plot should both go to me. Fine, your crappy little plot doesn't bring in much anyway, so I'll let that slide. But my plot brings in twenty Open Heaven Pills every year—remember to pay up."
Twenty? Yang Kai's eyes widened. This was an outright lie. The plot wasn't exactly small, but Xiang Yong neglected it completely, spending all his time chasing after Die You. Apart from the standard annual wages for menial workers, there was no way it generated any significant extra income.
Twenty pills was flatly impossible—it was pure extortion.
Just moments ago, Yang Kai had felt a measure of admiration for Xiang Yong's devotion, but now it was clear that hateful people truly had their hateful reasons.
He couldn't be bothered to argue the point anyway. For someone of his current means, twenty Open Heaven Pills were hardly worth fussing over.
No sooner had Xiang Yong left than Die You appeared, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, Brother Yang Kai. I've caused you trouble."
"It's nothing to do with you," Yang Kai waved her off. This whole mess had been orchestrated entirely by that bastard Zhou Zheng. If anyone was to blame, it was him.