Chapter 147: Brothers at Odds

After seeing An Nan off, Hou Jianming returned to his villa with a satisfied look on his face. He lounged on the sofa, rolling walnuts in his hands, lost in pleasant daydreams.

Not long after, Zhu Dazhuang walked in.

Seeing Hou Jianming’s expression, he couldn’t help but ask, “Big Brother, what are you thinking about? You look so happy.”

Hou Jianming opened his eyes and saw the tall, muscular Zhu Dazhuang walking toward him. He squinted slightly—how had he never noticed before that his little brother actually had quite a bit of masculine charm?

He sat up a little. “Nothing much. What brings you here?”

Zhu Dazhuang replied, “I just finished patrolling the area with a few of the guys. There’s nothing much going on, so I thought I’d come by and chat with you.”

Hou Jianming motioned for him to sit, then asked, “We’ve taken in a lot of people from the Longhu Base recently. The villa district must be almost full by now, right?”

Zhu Dazhuang nodded. “Yeah, but luckily the new place we found is almost ready.”

Hou Jianming nodded in satisfaction. “After my birthday banquet, we’ll start using the new base. All new members will have to hand over double the usual food rations.”

“Understood, Big Brother.”

Hou Jianming thought for a moment, then added, “Except for your brother. The men he brought with him don’t need to pay rations either.”

A smile spread across Zhu Dazhuang’s face. “Thank you, Boss. Once things settle down, I’ll go see Er Kui myself.”

Hou Jianming rolled the walnuts in his hand and reminded him, “That kid’s stubborn. Talk to him nicely. If he really doesn’t want to join us, don’t force him.”

Zhu Dazhuang frowned. “That’s not up to him. Getting into your base is a blessing.”

Hou Jianming just smiled and leaned back on the sofa, saying nothing more.

Zhu Dazhuang glanced down at the two wine glasses on the coffee table. One of them hadn’t been touched at all. He looked at Hou Jianming and asked, “You seem to be in a good mood, Big Brother. Did Miss An just visit?”

Hou Jianming’s hand paused on the walnuts. “Why bring her up all of a sudden?”

He’d just been chatting with An Meili, and she kept bringing up the Second-in-Command. Now, talking with Zhu Dazhuang, he suddenly mentioned An Meili out of nowhere. Hou Jianming couldn’t help but feel a little wary.

But Zhu Dazhuang didn’t notice the shift in his mood. He answered seriously, “I saw Miss An when I was coming back just now.”

Actually, he’d seen not only An Meili, but also the handsome and dashing Gu Youcai by her side. The two of them were walking a dog together, laughing and chatting. Even though he was too far away to hear what they were saying, he could sense the warm and ambiguous atmosphere between them.

An Meili had never shown that kind of relaxed, happy expression around Big Brother.

Zhu Dazhuang hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back as he looked at Hou Jianming. In his eyes, Big Brother was smart and charismatic, but he knew women saw men differently. Even he had to admit that Gu Youcai was the kind of guy you couldn’t help but look at twice.

Then he looked back at Big Brother...

Hou Jianming noticed his expression and frowned in displeasure. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Zhu Dazhuang thought for a moment. Given the bond between them, there was nothing he couldn’t say. So he said, “Big Brother, do you really want to marry An Meili? To be honest, I just feel like she—”

Hou Jianming cut him off. “She what? Miss An is perfectly happy with me. You don’t need to worry about this. Nothing will go wrong.”

Zhu Dazhuang had no idea that his Big Brother had already been taken in by An Nan, eagerly looking forward to winning the beauty after the birthday banquet. Nor could he have guessed that An Nan had also planted seeds of suspicion, making Hou Jianming wary of him.

From the way Big Brother spoke, it sounded like he and An Meili were already an item. But remembering what he’d just seen outside, Zhu Dazhuang couldn’t help but advise, “Big Brother, I just don’t think she’s being honest. If her heart belongs to someone else but she’s still cozying up to you, she must have some ulterior motive!”

Her heart belongs to someone else?

Hou Jianming’s frown deepened.

An Meili had kept bringing up the Second-in-Command, and now Zhu Dazhuang was saying so confidently that she had feelings for someone else... Had something happened between those two behind his back?

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

His trusted brother, trying to steal his woman? There was no way he’d let that happen. But he didn’t want to lose Zhu Dazhuang, his capable right-hand man, either.

So he deliberately avoided the topic of “her heart belonging to someone else” and simply said, “There’s no need for you to bring this up again. I have my own plans.”

But Zhu Dazhuang thought Big Brother was being blinded by beauty, and grew even more anxious. “But even her name and occupation don’t seem real. An Meili—what kind of parent would name their kid that these days? And on the registration form, she put ‘butcher’ as her job. She does have a certain air about her, but she’s nothing like a real butcher.”

“In short, there’s something mysterious and dangerous about her. If she can’t even be honest about her name and background, how can you spend your life with her?”

Seeing Zhu Dazhuang getting worked up, Hou Jianming misunderstood him even more.

He hardened his tone: “All I want is her. Her name and her past don’t matter to me. If you have nothing else, go get some rest.”

His words were harsh—a clear dismissal.

Zhu Dazhuang’s words caught in his throat. He couldn’t say anything more, so he just replied, “Yes,” and got up to leave.

He thought to himself, Big Brother must be under some kind of spell from this woman, to the point where he won’t even let me speak. This had never happened before.

As he walked out, a vague sense of unease rose in his heart.

On the sofa, Hou Jianming watched his retreating back, frowning deeply...

In the days that followed, An Nan spent almost every day at Gu Zhiyu’s place, eating and training. Her progress was astonishing.

She eagerly challenged him to another match, and this time, An Nan finally came out on top.

She raised her eyebrows and said, “Once your arm is fully healed, let’s have another go!”

Gu Zhiyu, seeing her spirited and heroic demeanor, couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright!”

Fugui, the dog, was beside himself with happiness. Lately, his days were like those of an immortal—not only was his owner home every day, but he also got to see the handsome big brother all the time.

Gu Zhiyu not only coached An Nan, but also helped train the dog, so Fugui was improving rapidly too.

Unlike his owner’s hellish training methods, just having the handsome big brother around was enough to keep him motivated.

The only thing Fugui didn’t like was that annoying woman on the first floor, who was always trying to stick close to them.

She was just too annoying!"