Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

Liu Piaopiao watched Su Ran walk ahead of her, his hands behind his back, scratching first one spot, then another. Amused, she called out with a laugh, "Hey, Su Ran, why are you dawdling?"

Su Ran looked back to find Liu Piaopiao staring at him with a probing gaze. "I feel pretty uncomfortable walking in front, too," Su Ran said, looking ill at ease. "How about we walk side by side?"

Liu Piaopiao shook her head with a smile. She took two steps forward in her high heels, the slit of her cheongsam parting with the movement. As she came to a halt beside him, her elegant posture perfectly accentuated the S-curve of her dress. "Is this better?"

"I’m good now."

Su Ran brought his hands down from behind his back.

The two walked shoulder to shoulder down the path to the backyard.

"Um... how should I address you? Sister Piaopiao? Ms. Liu?"

"It doesn’t matter. It’s just a name. Call me whatever you like."

"Alright, Sister Piaopiao." ’Women like to be addressed in a way that makes them feel younger,’ Su Ran thought. He’d always known how to sweet-talk.

"Heh..."

Liu Piaopiao glanced at him, shaking her head with a small smile. "When I said earlier that you were a celebrity in our family," she said, "it was because Li Tai, the head of the Sichuan Shengshi Group, was visiting and mentioned how you exposed Wang Changyue for using my daughter’s painting in a scam. That happened, right?"

"Oh, so it was about that. You all know already?"

"We all know. Why else would I have let you in?"

"Then what about the painting?"

"Don’t ask me about that. Let’s keep things separate. Whether my father-in-law is willing or not will depend on you. However... seeing as you exposed Wang Changyue, I suppose I can put in a few good words for you."

"Thank you, Sister Piaopiao. I have another question. Why is this residence called ’Peach Blossom Nunnery’?"

"My father-in-law named it. It comes from a poem by Tang Yin, the famous representative of the Wu School..."

In Taohua Village stands my Peach Blossom Nunnery,

Within the nunnery, a Peach Blossom Immortal dwells.

The Peach Blossom Immortal plants peach trees,

And plucks the blossoms to trade for wine.

Let others laugh at me for being too wild and mad,

I laugh at them for not seeing through the charade.

Look at the tombs of the heroes of the Five Tombs,

With no flowers, no wine, they are now but tilled fields.

"Do you understand now?"

"Oh... I see. It seems Teacher Shan is quite the free and unconventional spirit."

"Yes. Come on, my father-in-law is in the backyard."

Su Ran nodded and continued following Liu Piaopiao toward the backyard. His curious eyes darted left and right, taking everything in. Suddenly, at the end of a long corridor to his right, he spotted a quaint, antique-style building. The gate to its small courtyard was open, and the fragrance of a yellow michelia blossom drifted out to greet him. A few pink and green *hanfu* were hanging out to dry in the yard.

’That must be the private quarters of Sister Piaopiao’s daughter, Shan Weizi.’

’But... one of those *hanfu* looks familiar, doesn’t it?’

Su Ran didn’t stare. He looked straight ahead, and after a dozen or so meters, they emerged from the path into the backyard. As expected of a family of scholars, the yard was arranged with poetic and picturesque grace. Su Ran’s gaze swept from left to right before snapping back to the wall directly in front of him. To his astonishment, he saw a white-haired old man ’humping the wall’!

’What the hell!’

Su Ran froze, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. ’What kind of maneuver was this?’

Colloquially, this was ’humping the wall.’ To describe it, the old man stood with his legs slightly apart and his hands on his hips, repeatedly striking the enclosure wall with his lower abdomen.

THWACK!

THWACK!

THWACK!

The force was immense. The trajectory of his balls, however, was a mystery.

"Dad~" Liu Piaopiao called out, walking toward the old man with a beaming smile.

’So the wall-humping old man was Shan Changqing.’ Su Ran was stunned. ’He’d imagined a titan of the Art World to be a certain way, but not... this way. The contrast was jarring.’

Shan Changqing grunted. "Just a minute. I have twenty more to go. Nineteen... eighteen... seventeen..."

Su Ran let out a snort he couldn’t suppress. ’Honestly, he usually wouldn’t laugh unless he absolutely couldn’t help it.’ When he saw Liu Piaopiao glare at him, he immediately stifled his laughter, stepped forward, and asked, "Sister Piaopiao, what kind of exercise is Teacher Shan doing?"

Liu Piaopiao said, exasperated, "It’s one of those things the old folks in the park do. Sometimes he even does that neck-hanging thing, where he hangs his neck from a tree with his whole body suspended in the air. Ugh, I’ll never understand what goes through the minds of the elderly."

’Honestly,’ Su Ran thought, looking at the so-called health exercise, ’even if I dared to try it, Liu Jinyu would never let me.’

"Three... two... one!"

With one final, heavy thud, he twisted his waist, looking completely relaxed. As he turned and walked over, Su Ran noticed an actual dent in the wall, clearly formed from this daily ritual of impacts. ’Truly impressive!’

"Dad," Liu Piaopiao called again, walking up with a smile to help the old man sit at the stone table before pouring him some tea. She was a cultured and considerate daughter-in-law; she managed Shan Changqing’s daily life and kept the entire household running in perfect order.

"And who is this young man?"

Shan Changqing had noticed the other young man in the yard. He took a sip of his West Lake Longjing Tea and glanced over. When Liu Piaopiao leaned in and whispered "Su Ran" in his ear, his expression flickered and his eyes grew curious. He glanced at Liu Piaopiao, and she nodded, confirming that this was indeed *the* Su Ran.

Su Ran: ’??? Do I somehow have some kind of status in the Shan Family?’

"Oh! So you’re the one who saw through Wang Changyue’s scheme! Li Tai was singing your praises to me for quite a while, hahaha..."

Shan Changqing roared with laughter and rose to his feet. He strode over with a gust of energy, circled Su Ran, and sized him up. "Not bad, not bad. Quite handsome." As he spoke, he gave Su Ran a friendly punch on the chest, then pursed his lips. "You’re just a little on the thin side."

Su Ran gave a goofy grin and rubbed his chest. ’The punch wasn’t too hard, but it packed a lot of force. He must have learned a few moves from his in-laws,’ he mused. ’After all, his daughter-in-law’s father is the Sect Leader of the Spirit Sword Mountain Sect.’

’A titan of the Art World and an ’Alliance Leader’ of the Martial World... what a powerful combination of families. Shan Weizi truly has everyone doting on her.’

’If anyone ever dared to mess with Shan Weizi and break her heart,’ he thought, ’wouldn’t the entire Spirit Sword Mountain Sect issue a warrant for the whole Martial World to ’execute’ the scumbag?’