"You look really beautiful today," Nie Yan complimented as he stared into Xie Yao's eyes. How she looked today was no doubt charming enough to move countless hearts and drive most men wild with lust.
Sensing Nie Yan's burning gaze, Xie Yao didn't dare to look him straight in the face. "You think so? I'm not used to wearing this kind of dress, I feel really awkward." She was secretly elated by his compliment. If it weren't for the fact she knew Nie Yan would be here today, there was no way she would've agreed to wear such a revealing dress.
Nie Yan started recalling the various events of his past life, becoming lost in a river of memories.
"Nie Yan, what are you thinking about?" Xie Yao asked, seeing Nie Yan with his head in the clouds.
"It's nothing." Nie Yan shook his head as a warm smile surfaced on his face.
The two chatted for a while before Xie Yao's father called her over.
"I have to go. When the banquet ends, do you mind sending me home?" Xie Yao stared at Nie Yan.
"Sure." Nie Yan nodded, then let out a chuckle. "Many men would kill for the opportunity to chauffeur such a beauty."
Hearing Nie Yan's teasing words, Xie Yao cutely pouted before walking back over to her father.
Nie Yan leaned back in the sofa, sipping on his glass of juice. Several women, who could best be described as snobbish, tried to approach him, but he couldn't be bothered with them. He politely greeted them with a smile before shooing them away. Since they had seen him close to Xie Yao, they wanted to dig up his background and use him to get closer to Xie Yao. He naturally wouldn't pay them any heed.
A while later, an older woman approached Nie Yan and sat down on the sofa beside him.
"You're Nie Yan?" she asked.
Nie Yan looked at the woman. She was wearing a low cut dress which was dangerously revealing. Her figure wasn't bad, but she was what men liked to call a butterface. Although she shared a slight resemblance with Xie Yao, It was akin to comparing a wilted corpse flower to a blooming lotus. She could only use heavy make-up to mask her coarse skin and elapsed youth. Even though she was only in her thirties, there were already numerous wrinkles on her face with noticeable crow's feet around the eyes.
"And you are?" Nie Yan didn't recall ever meeting this woman before. She was old enough to be his mother, yet she dressed so gaudily.
"I'm Xie Yao's aunt, Xie Yi," Xie Yi replied, then continued on in a haughty tone, "I already know who you are. You're one of my niece's classmates, Nie Yan."
Nie Yan wasn't happy with the tone Xie Yi was taking with him. But since she was Xie Yao's aunt, he held his tongue.
"I see… It's nice to meet you, Auntie," Nie Yan greeted.
"When did I say you could call me auntie?" Xie Yi sneered.
Returning courtesy and kindness with abuse, huh…? Nie Yan's eyes narrowed, staring coldly at Xie Yi. If it weren't for the fact she was Xie Yao's aunt, he would've long since cussed her out.
"Xie Yao is the young lady of the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups. Do you honestly believe you're good enough for her? I've already investigated your background. I know your family only recently came into a bit of riches. You're nothing but new money. Do you really think you can climb up to the highest rung of society by tricking Xie Yao into falling for you? Don't get too far ahead of yourself! Remember your status. The Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups will never allow a lowly peasant to marry their precious little princess!" Xie Yi coldly stated, obvious mocking in her tone.
Nie Yan clenched his fists in anger. He normally wouldn't tolerate this kind of behavior for long, especially from such a noisy person sticking their nose in where it didn't belong, preferring to shut them up early with more direct and physical methods.[1] But he held himself back. One because she was a woman. Two because she was Xie Yao's aunt. Retaliating would reflect badly on Xie Yao. He owed her too much, both in his past and present life. For her sake, he endured this humiliation.
"Oh, did I happen to strike a nerve?" Xie Yi coldly smirked. "Do you want to hit me? Don't think you're so amazing just because you got into the Top Military Academy! Let me tell you something. The Top Military Academy means nothing to people like me, just another university, that's all. Compare yourself to some of Xie Yao's other pursuers. Liu Rui is the son of the second largest shareholder in the Dragonsoar FInancial Group, and Fan Yuan is one of the heirs to the Euro Fortune Financial Group. Then look at you, simply a deluded toad dreaming of eating swan meat."
Nie Yan naturally knew this wasn't how Xie Yao felt. But that didn't make the words sting any less.
"Are you done?" Nie Yan stared at Xie Yi with an icy gaze.
Xie Yi was somewhat scared by the vicious look in Nie Yan's eyes. But after recalling the promise Fan Yuan gave her, she refused to back down.
"Not backing down, huh? Do you really think you're qualified to stand on equal footing with the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups? Large financial groups only care about one thing, profit. If Xie Yao marries Liu Rui, the Dragonsoar Financial Group's executive layer will become more united. If Xie Yao marries Fan Yuan, the Euro Fortune Financial Group will become closely tied to the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups. What can you offer?" Xie Yi gazed at Nie Yan in disdain. "That's why you should just give up on getting together with Xie Yao!"
「Bang!」Nie Yan shattered the glass in his hand. Xie Yi's words had ruthlessly stabbed into his heart like steak knives. Venomous as they may be, they did carry a hint of truth. What could he offer Xie Yao? After all, he was a nobody right now.
Even though he had reincarnated in the past, he was still at the mercy of the flow of history. He could only accumulate power bit by bit. Even though he achieved a great many things in these past three months, he was nothing compared to the large financial groups that had weathered decades or even a century.
Xie Yi felt her scalp turn numb as her eyes widened in fear. She knew what Nie Yan shattered wasn't ordinary glass. Its hardness was comparable to a human skull. Recalling she had just incensed such a ferocious individual, she had an intense urge to bolt out of her seat right now. She couldn't help but worry if he was really brave enough to assault her here.
Xie Yi summoned up her courage, then continued on, "Fan Yuan is the young heir of the Euro Fortune Financial Group while you're just the mongrel son of some second-rate, upstart company's president. Take a look in the mirror. Don't you have any shame trying to latch on to the Dragonsoar Financial Group's thigh like some kind of parasite? Hmph!"
Nie Yan narrowed his eyes, flaring with killing intent. "Are you done? If so, get the hell out of my sight!"
"Vulgar brat! You don't know what's good for you! I wonder how your parents raised you. With just your lowly background, you should stay far away from Xie Yao! You and her live in different worlds!" Xie Yi didn't dare to stay any longer, rising up from her seat and skittering away in haste.
Nie Yan sat on the sofa, his chest heaving in anger before gradually calming down. Xie Yao had stayed by his side through two lifetimes, so she clearly didn't share the same opinion as her aunt. But Xie Yi's piercing words still lingered in his mind. If he tried to pursue Xie Yao with his current status, he would be seen as nothing but a sponge trying to climb up the social ladder. Xie Yao might not care, but his pride as a man wouldn't allow it!
Nie Yan had no plans of leaving Xie Yao, since he would only be surrendering to Xie Yi's evil scheme and giving her what she wanted. He wondered who that vile woman was acting as a mouthpiece for.
When Xie Yi returned to the front of the banquet hall, she secretly exchanged glances with Fan Yuan. This naturally didn't escape Nie Yan's eyes. He coldly chuckled. He wasn't the type to easily let go of grudges.
Send people to sort Xie Yi out? Nie Yan wouldn't resort to such lowly methods. Not to mention as Xie Yao's aunt, she still had a bit of status in the Glory Financial Group. It would be tantamount to slapping the Glory Financial Group's face. Then his chances of getting with Xie Yao would become even more of an impossibility!
The best way to deal with these kinds of people was to one day rise above them, then crush them beneath your feet by throwing their own words back at them!
Nie Yan's enrollment into the Top Military Academy was equivalent to a protective talisman. All he needed to do was bide his time. He would have plenty of opportunities in the future to make himself stronger!
Nie Yan's heart softened as he gazed at Xie Yao. She had watched over him for so long in his past life. If he wasn't strong enough to keep her by his side in this life, he would be an utter failure as a man. If one day the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups refused to let him marry Xie Yao, what could he do? The only option was to force them to yield with absolute power!
Nie Yan didn't have much time. Nevertheless, every step he took so far was firm and steady.
Nie Yan took out his phone and called up Tang Yao.
「What's up? Did you get your acceptance letter yet?」Tang Yao excitedly asked after picking up.
「Yep, came in the mail this morning.」
「You sure are amazing. Back in Ninjiang, your grades ranked in the top five at best. Who knew you would be so amazing all of a sudden. My old man even praised me. He said I might be a failure for not getting into the Top Military Academy, but at least I have a good eye for friends. He even gifted me my own Taiga Black!」
Nie Yan chuckled. It seemed Tang Yao's father was in a really good mood. A Taiga Black certainly wasn't cheap.
「Do youremember what I told you to do about Wei Kai? Any updates?」Nie Yan asked.
「That brat would love nothing more than to latch onto our coattails. But he's a wolf. He might be useful to send against our enemies, but I'm worried one day he'll turn around and bite us in the butt,」Tang Yao said in a somewhat worried tone.
「It's fine. If he has even half a brain, he wouldn't dare.」
「Since you're set on using him, let me know when you're free. I'll set up the meeting between you two.」
「Tell him he'll have to stop some of his shadier practices,」Nie Yan said.
「I already have. That brat knows his limits.」
Nie Yan had always been meaning to meet up with Wei Kai. However, he never had the time. In the past, he didn't have any interest in helping his father operate the family company. But if he wanted to be worthy of Xie Yao, he would have to focus his efforts on growing the business into an entity rivalling the Glory Financial Group, Dragonsoar Financial Group, and Century Financial Group. His father had recently been secretly eating away at the shares of the Century Financial Group. He wondered how that was progressing.
Asskickers United had to put more effort into propping up the War God Tribe too. After all, the War God Tribe was the foundation of the Nie Family's future. Acquiring more strongholds was the only way they could stably grow their share in the virtual reality industry. The Nie Family's current resources could support three Basic Strongholds at most. Any more would have to wait until they accrued more capital since the investment required for each real-world business district was steep.
[1] Mad Snail is a lot more crude in the raws, writing that Nie Yan would just straight up deck her in the face with a right hook. For obvious reasons, I've changed it to be a bit more palatable.