Chapter 180 Kind Sister! The Wall Between Heaven and Hell
"Ping'an…"
Xu Ruoshui murmured the name, sighing softly, her beautiful eyes fixed on the handsome, affectionate man in front of her. The name of her brother felt like a heavy stone in her heart, dragging down the buoyant feeling of being with Shen Anyu.
She parted her red lips and slowly said, "An'yu, since you're willing to listen, I've been feeling troubled and burdened by this matter lately. I'll tell you about it."
Shen Anyu nodded gently, smiling as he gestured for Xu Ruoshui to speak, his posture relaxed and inviting.
"I'm willing to be your listener and share your worries and troubles. Sometimes, a burden shared is a burden halved."
[Ding! Detected Xu Ruoshui's favorability +1. Plundered +3000 destiny value!]
Xu Ruoshui felt a warmth in her heart that spread to her fingertips. Her delicate and beautiful face blossomed into a lovely smile towards Shen Anyu—a smile so pure it could melt ice.
She blurted out, almost without thinking, "An'yu, you're truly a wonderful person. I wonder who will be fortunate enough to be your wife?"
After saying this, a blush appeared on Xu Ruoshui's fair cheeks, spreading rapidly like ink in water.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart was pounding against her ribs.
She hadn't expected to blurt out such words. It was simply too immodest! It sounded like she was hinting, probing, or even proposing.
This was not something a refined lady should say. For Xu Ruoshui, a well-bred young woman from a prominent family who had always adhered to strict etiquette, it was the first time she had ever spoken such forward words to a man she had just met (formally).
However, after speaking, Xu Ruoshui didn't look away. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Shen Anyu, filled with an inexplicable tension and anticipation. She wanted to know the answer. She needed to know.
Shen Anyu found it amusing.
He glanced imperceptibly at the decorative screen to his left—where he knew Xu Ping'an was lurking, his eyes practically spitting fire—then looked deeply into Xu Ruoshui's eyes.
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a magnetic whisper.
"I also hope to spend the rest of my life with a gentle, virtuous, and beautiful woman."
He spoke of spending the rest of his life, not of a wife.
It was a classic scumbag tactic—ambiguity. He promised companionship, not a title.
Although Liu Mi, Su Hongmian, and others all wanted to contend for the main position of Mrs. Shen, Shen Anyu would not give away this carrot easily. The position of the legal wife was a strategic asset.
For a top Young Master like Shen Anyu, how could he do such a foolish thing as giving up a whole forest for one tree? He wanted the forest, the land, and the sky above it.
But Xu Ruoshui misunderstood.
Because she was precisely the kind of gentle, virtuous, and beautiful woman Shen Anyu described. His gaze seemed to outline her features as he spoke.
She believed Shen Anyu was referring to her.
Her cheeks instantly flushed a deeper shade of crimson. She felt lightheaded.
Especially feeling Shen Anyu's deep and ardent gaze, Xu Ruoshui's heart pounded even more violently. Even her fair and delicate earlobes were tinged with a blush, making her look incredibly edible.
...
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an is furious, plundered +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an is envious and jealous, plundered +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an's mentality exploded, plundered +30,000 destiny value!]
...
"Shameless! Shameless! Shameless! I've never seen such a brazen scoundrel…"
At this moment, lurking behind the decorative partition, Xu Ping'an was roaring in his heart. His eyes were fixed on Shen Anyu through the gap in the wooden screen, practically spitting fire.
He had never seen such a brazen scoundrel in his two lives (if he counted his rebirth/awakening).
Xu Ping'an had previously witnessed at Modu University how the three goddess school beauties—Su Hongmian, Liu Mi, and Jiang Linlin—all had intimate entanglements with Shen Anyu. It was a chaotic scene of jealousy and harem drama.
Xu Ping'an envied—no, despised—such a philandering scumbag like Shen Anyu, who was dating three women at once, to the extreme! He hated him because he wanted to be him.
And now?
Now, in front of his pure, innocent sister Xu Ruoshui, this wolf was pretending to be a sheep! He was pretending to be single and affectionate!
Xu Ping'an was utterly disgusted. He felt like vomiting.
"This bastard! He is lying to her face! I must expose his true colors, or else my sister will surely be deceived by him! She will become the fourth victim!"
Xu Ping'an clenched his fists, veins popping with anger, fuming with rage. His knuckles turned white.
He already had a good impression of his sister Xu Ruoshui. During his adolescence, living under the same roof, seeing her in casual clothes, smelling her scent... he had even indulged in wild fantasies. Those fantasies were suppressed only by the iron law of their blood relation.
But earlier, when exposed by the [Gao Duan] martial arts gym staff, the devil in Xu Ping'an's heart was roused. The lock was broken.
'We are no longer biological siblings. We have no blood relation.'
'Why can't we be together?'
He was a man with a Golden Finger, with a [Damage Reflection Aura], and his future was bright! He was destined to be a King!
Xu Ping'an fantasized that if a gentle, virtuous, and beautiful woman like his sister Xu Ruoshui could become his wife... it would be the ultimate victory. It would be a slap in the face to the parents who kicked him out.
'And my second sister, Xu Ruoxue... that ice beauty... perhaps I can take them both...'
However, seeing this scene before him shattered his delusion.
Xu Ping'an knew that if he didn't do something right now, his sister Xu Ruoshui might be tricked away by Shen Anyu. She might fall into his arms tonight. And by then, it would be too late. The cabbage would be eaten by the pig.
"I won't let it happen!"
Xu Ping'an suddenly stood up from his crouching position. He dusted off his cheap jeans.
He prepared to rush towards Shen Anyu and Xu Ruoshui's private booth, shouting at the top of his lungs that Shen Anyu was a philandering scumbag who was dating multiple women. He would create a scene. He would destroy the atmosphere.
At this moment, he didn't even care if it would be awkward to appear in front of Xu Ruoshui looking like a stalker. He didn't care if he would hear Xu Ruoshui's true opinion of him.
In Xu Ping'an's mind, there was only one thought: to expose the true colors of that bastard, Shen Anyu, and save his woman!
He took a step forward, charging like a bull.
Bang!
But just then, he seemed to be blocked by a wall.
An invisible, solid wall.
With a loud thud, Xu Ping'an slammed face-first into nothingness. He clutched his forehead, crying out in pain, stumbling back.
"Ouch! What the hell??"
Xu Ping'an looked up, rubbing his bruising nose, and was instantly dumbfounded.
In front of him, there was clearly nothing but air. The entrance to the semi-private booth was open. But he couldn't pass.
There was a transparent glass barrier—or something like it—blocking his way to the private room where Shen Anyu and Xu Ruoshui were dining.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an's mentality shattered, plundered +9999 destiny value!]
It was Shen Anyu's [God-level Telekinesis], forming a localized barrier. A wall between the protagonist and his desires.
...
"What's going on? Is this a ghost wall?"
"Manager! Restaurant manager, come here! Why is there suddenly a transparent glass barrier here? Get it out of the way, quickly!"
Xu Ping'an was livid. He slammed his hands against the invisible wall. Thud. Thud. It felt cold and hard, like steel.
He tried to push it open, straining his muscles, but he couldn't budge it at all. It looked so thin and transparent, yet it felt as heavy as a mountain.
What he had awakened was the [Damage Reflection Aura], a passive divine skill. If someone punched him, they would break their hand. But he didn't have any active offensive abilities or super strength. He couldn't break a barrier created by telekinesis.
The restaurant manager appeared, sweating slightly. He had been watching from a distance.
He walked over, smiling professionally but with cold eyes as he looked at Xu Ping'an.
"Sir, please lower your voice. You are disturbing other guests."
"About that barrier... we don't know. Perhaps the esteemed guests inside don't wish to be disturbed! Some people have an aura that repels unwanted visitors."
The manager made up a nonsense excuse, but his tone was firm.
Xu Ping'an's expression changed. He looked inside the booth with increasing anxiety.
He could see them perfectly. He could see Shen Anyu pouring tea for Xu Ruoshui. He could see Xu Ruoshui laughing, her hand covering her mouth. They were in a different world, separated by an invisible divide.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I knew it! That Shen pretty boy had ill intentions. He even made such preparations. He used some trick! I absolutely cannot let him succeed!"
Just as Xu Ping'an was racking his brains, trying to figure out a way to break the barrier or shout loud enough to be heard through the soundproofing, the restaurant manager stepped in front of him, blocking his view.
"Guest," the manager said with a forced smile, his patience wearing thin.
"I've observed that you've been here for a long time. Wandering around, hiding behind plants. Do you need to order?"
"Our restaurant requires an order to be seated, especially now during lunch rush hour. Every seat is money. There are no empty seats for non-customers or loiterers."
As a resourceful restaurant manager of a high-end establishment, he wouldn't usually be so impolite; harmony brings wealth.
But just now, he had received a message directly from his superior's superior's superior—the General Manager of the entire hotel chain. The message was simple: Young Master Shen inside is a distinguished guest of the highest order. Treat him like an Emperor. Ensure absolutely no disturbances. Or you're fired.
As for Xu Ping'an, this troublemaker dressed in cheap clothes... the fact that the restaurant manager hadn't kicked him out yet was already due to the specific instructions of that esteemed guest inside (who wanted an audience for his show).
But now, the guest seemed to be enjoying his meal. The manager couldn't just stand by and watch Xu Ping'an continue to cause trouble and potentially ruin the mood.
Xu Ping'an's face immediately turned awkward. His face burned with humiliation.
He couldn't leave; he had to keep an eye on them to prevent Shen Anyu from deceiving his sister Xu Ruoshui.
But ordering?
If he were still the Young Master of the Shanghai Xu Family, it wouldn't be a problem. He would have ordered the most expensive dish just to spite them.
But now... he touched his pocket. He was short on cash. He had spent most of his money on the bail (which his mother paid back, but he was still broke).
At this high-end Cantonese restaurant, a single dish of shrimp dumplings could cost hundreds. A main course was thousands.
How could he afford to order?
He stood there, blocked by a manager, mocked by an invisible wall, and tormented by the sight of his "sister" falling in love with his enemy.
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