NOVEL WEB Chapter 13: I’m a Busy Man!
[DING!] Choice 1 has been selected! Reward delivered: Psychology Skill - Beginner level!
[DING!] The Host has prioritized the plot over family matters! WARNING: This choice may negatively impact your family image!
Shen Zeming's lips curled up into a slight, knowing smirk upon seeing those transparent notification screens. 'Who said I ignored the family meeting?'
While pondering his machinations, they finally arrived back at the front office lobby after descending the stairs from the second floor.
But then, An Rong suddenly leaned in close, the faint floral bouquet of her expensive French perfume wafting through the air as she pressed her lithe body against Shen Zeming's arm in a provocative manner.
"Thank you for coming, Brother Shen!" she purred in a saccharine tone, her full crimson lips curving into a coquettish smile as she batted her long lashes. "How about I treat you to a delectable meal as a small token of my gratitude?" Her fingers trailed slowly down his suit.
Shen Zeming's gaze flicked dismissively to the face of his phone, checking the time with an air of cold indifference before turning back to An Rong with a thin, inscrutable smile playing across his chiseled features.
An Rong's smile faltered ever so slightly at his lukewarm response, her eyes flickering with a hint of bruised pride, but she quickly regained her sultry composure. "A pity. Well, have a safe journey then, Brother Shen."
She stepped back, waving with one slender, perfectly manicured hand as Shen Zeming's sports car roared back to life. The tires squealed as it peeled away, her long raven tresses whipping dramatically in the breeze kicked up by the accelerating engine's growl.
…
Meanwhile, inside the sleek, leather-upholstered interior of the luxury sport cart, Shen Zeming felt a strange tingling sensation as a wealth of psychological knowledge flooded directly into his mind.
His eyes briefly flickered with an eerie luminescence, like data streams being downloaded into his cerebral cortex.
As he gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles tightening, and navigated the winding city streets, the pedestrians around him became living case studies for him to analyze with his newly acquired psychological prowess.
However, before he could begin dissecting their persona quirks and biases, a translucent screen materialized abruptly in his field of vision.
[DING!] Congratulations to the Host for successfully making the heroine doubt her opinion of you, gaining +50 villain points!
[DING!] Current relationship value with Wei Feng: -80 -> -75!
Shen Zeming's lips curled into a faint, smirk as he processed the notification. Just +5? That's too little,but, well...
He had expected this, having remained calm and ignored Wei Feng from the start. 'The more you ignore a woman, the more curious she becomes, like a fish waiting to be baited.'
'Now, let's see if Uncle has done his job,' Shen Zeming muttered to himself.
With a few deft taps on the touchscreen console, he initiated a call to the family butler, his personal enforcer. The phone screen flickered as the call connected with a crackle of static.
"How is it, Uncle?" Shen Zeming's chilling voice cut through the line as he mashed the accelerator pedal to the floor.
The powerful engine roared, propelling the sport car forward at breakneck speed.
The family butler's voice crackled through the phone's speaker, laced with urgency. "Not good, Young Master. The lord and lady have been demanding your presence, and the lord's brother has been speaking harshly about you."
Shen Zeming's brow furrowed ever so slightly as muffled shouts filtered through the call, lending credence to the butler's words. There was an undercurrent of choreographed chaos woven into the background noise.
"Okay, I'm on the way. Hold them off as much as you can." His deep voice remained impassive as he ended the call without waiting for a response.
However, instead of increasing speed, Shen Zeming gradually eased off the accelerator, the powerful engine rumbling down to a throaty purr.
There's no way the situation is as urgent as they're making it seem, Shen Zeming thought.
His eyes narrowed to slits as the cogs of his mind began turning, newfound psychological insights enhancing his perception.
First, the background noise - though he couldn't discern the individual words, the tone sounded scripted, as if someone were reading lines fed to them.
Second- his though trailed off...
The butler's delivery reeked of theatrical embellishment unsuited for the circumstances, his inflections over-the-top as if reacting to a life-or-death crisis rather than a familial disagreement.
As these revelations crystallized, Shen Zeming slowed the McLaren's pace, guiding it off the highway and merging onto the main road leading toward the family's corporate high-rise.
Yet when he applied the brakes, there was no response - the car's speed remained constant despite his inputs. 'So, they're trying to make it look like an accident?'
A sardonic smirk played across Shen Zeming's chiseled features as he snorted derisively. There must be a trigger or condition that caused this malfunction. He swiftly pulled over and exited the car, thumbing through his contacts to place another call.
"Young Master?" A rough, gruff voice answered after a few rings.
"Pick me up on [xxx] Road," Shen Zeming instructed calmly, his tone betraying no hints of the treacherous situation.
"Alright." The line went dead without any further questions asked.
Shen Zeming leaned back against the sleek obsidian metallic chassis of the high-performance sports car, the fading warmth of the engine compartment radiating against his back.
'Second...-Uncle was insistent that I come immediately,' he murmured to himself, steely eyes narrowing as he surveyed his surroundings.
The rumble of approaching engines drew his gaze - several large black SUVs were rapidly approaching from the distance. "Perfect, that was quick." A smile spread across Shen Zeming's face, anticipating the inevitable clash to come.