Chapter 50 Explosive News
As the class came to an end, the market analysis lecture finally wrapped up. The bald professor packed up his books and laptop and hurried out immediately after the bell rang.
Ever since Lei Bin answered that question earlier, his mind had been a bit scattered during the lecture. He felt that even with all his academic knowledge, he could not explain the subject as thoroughly and clearly as Lei Bin had.
"The descendants of the Lei family are truly terrifying. I thought that Lei Lie from the past was already formidable, but this fellow is even more incredible," the professor thought, filled with awe toward the Lei family now. Little did he know that Lei Bin had simply cheated.
After class, Lei Bin did not get up from his seat right away. Instead, he watched Baili Xue, wondering when she would leave.
Strangely enough, Baili Xue did not leave immediately after the class ended either. She remained seated at her desk, as if she were waiting for something.
"Could she be waiting for me?" Lei Bin felt a surge of secret delight and prepared to walk over.
Before Lei Bin could even stand up, another fellow rapidly approached Baili Xue’s desk. As if by magic, a bouquet of flowers materialized in his hands. With a face full of infatuation and longing, he said, "Baili Xue, I have confessed my feelings to you many times. Although you have always rejected me, I will never give up. Because my feelings for you are completely sincere, and no matter what kind of resistance I encounter, I will keep pursuing you until you agree to be my girlfriend. From the very first moment I saw you, you became the entirety of my future life."
"Damn it, what a shameless bastard," Lei Bin muttered angrily as he witnessed this scene.
The other students, who had been about to leave, paused in their tracks upon seeing this. Besides, most of the people in the classroom had come specifically for Baili Xue. Since she hadn't left, naturally, they hadn't either. In an instant, the classroom erupted into whispers and murmurs.
"Who is this guy? Why is he so relentlessly clingy? So shameless."
"Shh, keep your voice down. That’s Royce, the son of Federation General Soros. He’s notorious for being petty. If he hears you talking like that, watch out for trouble."
"So that’s Royce? I heard he’s an absolute playboy who has messed with countless girls on campus. He tries to hook up with any pretty face he sees and dumps them right after. And now he’s chasing Baili Xue?"
"That’s him alright. The defining trait of this kind of guy is total shamelessness. Even though his reputation is in the gutter, he doesn't care at all. What an utterly brazen freak."
Hearing the discussions around him, Lei Bin felt even more indignant, realizing what a shameless wretch this guy was.
"Damn it, such a shameless scoundrel actually dares to hit on my wife. He’s got a death wish." Furious, Lei Bin prepared to step forward and chase the guy away.
However, before he could make a move, another person had already reached Royce's side and said coldly, "Royce, a guy like you who goes around tricking ignorant girls shouldn't come here to make a fool of yourself in front of Baili Xue. Do you really think Baili Xue would ever look at you? Take a good look in the mirror and figure out who you are. Do you think you're hot stuff just because your old man is a general?"
"Ha, another challenger appears."
The arrival of this new person made Lei Bin curl his lip in disdain once more. Frowning as he took a closer look, he saw a handsome young man standing over a meter eighty tall, with an upright posture, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, and a broad mouth.
Yet, as Lei Bin looked at him, the young man's facial features seemed oddly familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
"Hmph, Fang Tan, do you really think your Fang family is anything special? You tried to suppress the Lei family, only to get beaten down like dogs. Especially your useless younger brother—is he still alive? Someone brazenly beat up a member of your Fang family, and now they're standing right over there, yet you don't even dare to let out a peep. If I were you, I would have found a place to commit seppuku long ago," Royce retorted mercilessly without a moment's hesitation upon hearing Fang Tan's words.
"Huh? He’s actually from the Fang family? He's Fang Hao's brother? No wonder he looked so familiar. Damn it, he's eyeing my wife too. This is absolute madness." Hearing Royce say that, Lei Bin immediately understood who this Fang Tan was.
"Our Fang family's business is none of your concern, and don't compare me to that trash Fang Hao. He is him, and I am am. As for the debts owed to our Fang family, we will collect them sooner or later. A petty street thug doesn't amount to much," Fang Tan said, casting a fierce, thinly veiled murderous glare directly toward Lei Bin's side.
Hearing this, Lei Bin arched his eyebrows, a surge of anger welling up within him as he prepared to act.
At that exact moment, Baili Xue, who had remained seated the whole time, suddenly stood up and said indifferently, "Excuse me, please make way. I am leaving."
Seeing that Baili Xue was about to leave, Fang Tan immediately retracted his gaze, looked at her affectionately, and said, "Baili Xue, I have something I want to tell you. Could you step outside with me alone for a moment?"
Baili Xue raised her head to look at Fang Tan and replied coldly, "Is there anything you can't say right here? I'm very sorry, but I already have a fiancé. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to go out alone with another man."
"What?" As soon as those words dropped, they triggered a massive wave among the crowd, and the entire classroom exploded into an uproar.
"What the hell? The situation is what? Baili Xue has a fiancé? Who the hell is he? I'm going to obliterate him!"
"Seriously! My goddess! Who on earth could possibly be worthy of Baili Xue? If I find out who he is, I'll tear him into a hundred pieces and feed him to the dogs!"
"This is completely intolerable! How could Baili Xue possibly have a fiancé?"
...
Hearing this, a wave of wild joy swept through Lei Bin's heart. Baili Xue had actually admitted to having a fiancé in front of so many people. Viewed this way, she didn't oppose this marriage at all, which meant her impression of him was still quite good.
He hadn't expected to win a beauty so easily; happiness truly came so suddenly.
As for the murderous intent from the other students who were ready to hack him into hundreds of pieces, he completely ignored it. It wasn't like he had never been hacked into pieces before—metaphorically speaking, of course.
"What? You... you... how is that possible?" Fang Tan and Royce were momentarily unable to accept this reality, their eyes filled with a complex mixture of anger, reluctance, jealousy, and other turbulent emotions.
"Who is it? Could it be Ye Xiang?" Fang Tan's fists clenched tightly, his eyes burning with endless resentment and fury.
Hearing Fang Tan's question, Baili Xue did not answer. Instead, she turned slightly and cast her gaze toward Lei Bin.
The moment Baili Xue looked his way, everyone in the room turned stupid and dazed. The entire classroom fell into an absolute, pin-drop silence.
Baili Xue turning to look at Lei Bin conveyed one unmistakable meaning: her fiancé was Lei Bin.
Seeing Baili Xue looking over, Lei Bin felt slightly awkward. He gave a couple of light coughs, hopped right onto his desk, vaulted across the aisle, cupped his fists toward the crowd, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, folks. I know everyone's feelings are a bit rough right now, but from now on, Baili Xue is my family's wife. Please stop harboring any thoughts about her. Thank you all for taking care of her over the years; I'll be the one taking care of her from now on, so please rest assured."
With that, Lei Bin smiled warmly and walked toward Baili Xue.
"What the hell? How is it him?"
"Damn it, it's actually him. There's no justice in this world!"
"No way, my goddess!"
...
Instantly, the classroom erupted into chaos once more. Everyone looked at each other, finding the whole thing utterly unbelievable, yet upon deeper reflection, it all made a strange kind of sense.
The relationship between the Baili family and the Lei family had always been good. An alliance through marriage between the descendants of the two families seemed entirely normal. However, because it involved Baili Xue—the goddess of their hearts—the entire nature of the matter changed drastically.
The male student who had been chatting with Lei Bin for half the day stood completely frozen as he watched Lei Bin walk toward Baili Xue. After a long while, he slammed his fist onto the desk and shouted loudly, "Damn it, this punk is way too sneaky! If I had known this, I would have beaten him up first!"
Fang Tan and Royce finally snapped back to their senses as they watched Lei Bin approach. Both of them glared at Lei Bin with looks that could kill.
"How is this possible? Baili Xue, you're being forced into this, right? I know it! This is oppression by your family, a political marriage! There can't possibly be any genuine affection in a marriage like this. Baili Xue, as long as you nod, I can take you away right now—" Fang Tan poured his heart out in supreme agony, desperately wanting to express his desire to elope with her.
Hearing Fang Tan's words, Baili Xue replied coldly, "I'm sorry, Fang Tan, but I am already Lei Bin's fiancée. Please show some respect and stop saying things like that. I appreciate your admiration, but it's more than I can accept."
Upon hearing Baili Xue's words, Fang Tan's gaze turned vacant for a moment. Then, a vicious expression washed over his face as he stepped directly into the path between Lei Bin and Baili Xue.
Having already been burning with anger from Fang Tan's previous remarks, Lei Bin's temper flared even higher now that Fang Tan dared to block his path to Baili Xue. He stepped forward and said coldly, "What does a lackey of the Fang family think he's doing?"
"What did you call me?" Upon hearing Lei Bin's words, Fang Tan's expression changed drastically in an explosion of fury, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.
Lei Bin said with utter disdain, "The Fang family used to be nothing more than a servant and a dog to the Lei family. Later, as your influence grew, you actually turned around and bit your master. The masters couldn't be bothered to argue with you, and yet you really started thinking you were above the heavens."
"You're spouting nonsense! You're courting death..." Veins bulged on Fang Tan's face as he heard Lei Bin's words. An intensely powerful aura erupted from his entire body, and he prepared to strike.
The reason Fang Tan was so enraged was because Lei Bin had struck his soft underbelly.
In the past, the Fang family had indeed been a minor family subordinate to the Lei family. Later, as their power grew and they fell out with other factions within the Lei family, they broke away.
At the time, the head of the Lei family could not be bothered to deal with such disputes, so they simply allowed the Fang family to break away without issuing any punishment.
However, this was an event from the distant past, and ordinary people knew nothing of this secret.
Lei Bin had beaten up Fang Hao a few days ago and had Xingmeng investigate the history of the Fang family, which was how he had uncovered this hidden truth.