Chapter 49: Winning Zhu Ruoxue's Heart!

“So this is what happens when you get rich—you’re getting back at me, deliberately stealing my opportunities!”

“And what if I am?” Lin Fan curled his lips in disdain. “Have you forgotten how your Chen family treated me? You still have the nerve to talk big in front of me. If I haven’t taught you a lesson, it’s only out of consideration for the past.”

“This world is survival of the fittest. If you had any ambition at all, Zhu Ruoxue wouldn’t have ignored you. You brought this on yourself, you useless coward!”

Enraged by Lin Fan’s words, Chen Wei’s fury boiled over completely.

“I’ll kill you, you damn scum!”

With that, he leapt from the staircase like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

But in the next instant, with a loud crash, Chen Wei missed his mark entirely and slammed into the ground like a rubber ball.

The moment he jumped, Lin Fan reacted instantly and dodged his attack.

Chen Wei’s wails echoed through the stairwell, alarming Zhu Ruoxue’s parents inside the apartment.

When they saw it was Chen Wei, Zhu’s father erupted in anger.

“That good-for-nothing is here again? Get out! Or I’ll call the police! You harass Ruoxue every day—one of these days I’ll break your legs myself!”

“Oh, it’s Lin Fan! Come on in—what’s with the gifts? You don’t need to bother with that. Don’t pay any mind to that mangy mutt outside.”

Seeing Lin Fan, Zhu’s father’s attitude did a complete turnaround. Beaming, he pulled Lin Fan inside without another word.

Lin Fan ignored Chen Wei and exchanged a few pleasantries with the couple before asking in puzzlement, “Didn’t Ruoxue use her salary to buy a big new place? Why haven’t you moved in yet?”

When he gifted the apartment to Zhu Ruoxue, he’d warned her not to say it was from him—just tell her parents he’d advanced her a large sum of salary, which she used to buy the place.

“I read online that new apartments usually have strange odors. It’s best to wait a year or so for the toxic fumes to dissipate before moving in,” Zhu’s father explained, sounding quite reasonable.

Lin Fan was speechless. He’d bought a fully furnished unit, and the renovations had been completed long ago—there was no trace of any toxic fumes left. He could only conclude that the couple was being overly cautious, or perhaps they intended to keep the new apartment as Ruoxue’s future marital home.

Today, Zhu’s father had especially invited Lin Fan over as a guest.

Previously, Zhu Ruoxue had worked at a TV station for a meager salary. After Lin Fan signed her as a livestream host, she was suddenly transformed into a successful young socialite—her job was easy, and her income now surpassed both her parents’ combined.

They sensed that Lin Fan and Zhu Ruoxue might have mutual affection, and wanted to test Lin Fan’s intentions.

But Lin Fan didn’t give a direct answer, saying only that his company was still in its early development and he had no time to consider marriage—it might be a long while yet.

After dinner, the couple asked Zhu Ruoxue to take Lin Fan out for a walk—essentially, a date to help them get closer.

“Ruoxue, you need to find a way to deepen your relationship with Lin Fan. He’s still single, and there are so many women in his company. You have to seize your chance—don’t let anyone else snatch him up,” Zhu’s father advised meaningfully, pulling her aside before she left.

“Dad, I’m still so young. It’s way too early for marriage. If I rush into it now, I might even lose fans,” Zhu Ruoxue protested, full of reluctance.

She could already tell Lin Fan had little interest in her, and with Gu Qingcheng acting like the boss’s wife and dashing everyone else’s hopes, she’d long since decided to focus on becoming a top host instead.

But her father didn’t understand any of that and pressed his point.

“Who cares about fans? Having more fans isn’t as good as marrying well! I think Lin Fan is a good man—he’s not a womanizer. If you marry him, you won’t even need to work. You can enjoy life, do whatever you want, and never worry about the future. Isn’t that better?”

“There are so many women around him, and plenty are better than me. Why would he choose me?” Zhu Ruoxue grumbled, exasperated.

“That’s exactly why you have to seize the opportunity! I’ve said what I need to say. Think hard—what matters more, being a host or marrying into wealth?” With a meaningful glance, her father left the room.

When Lin Fan and Zhu Ruoxue came downstairs and stepped outside, they ran right into Chen Wei, still lingering nearby.

“You’re still here? Get out of the way!” Lin Fan’s gaze grew cold—he’d noticed the steel pipe in Chen Wei’s hand.

Clearly, Chen Wei meant to attack him tonight.

Bruises still marked Chen Wei’s face from his earlier fall, the swelling now tinged purple.

“Lin Fan, it’s bad enough you stole my woman, but you also beat me up! If I don’t cripple you tonight, my name isn’t Chen Wei! I’m going to expose your entire identity online and destroy you!”

“You call me a coward, but you can’t even admit what you are. Besides fighting, what else can you do? You can’t accomplish anything—a worthless loser who’ll never get married.”

Lin Fan showed not a trace of fear. As he spoke, he stepped in front of Zhu Ruoxue to shield her.

To Zhu Ruoxue, this only made him more admirable—her affection for him soared from 60 to 80.

In the company, only a handful of female hosts were truly enamored with Lin Fan, to the point that “secret crush” was hardly an exaggeration.

Like Qiao Xinxin, Zhu Ruoxue had been captivated by Lin Fan’s wealth and righteous charm, her heart quietly yielding—her affection now above 80.

In other words, as long as Lin Fan expressed his feelings, her affection could jump straight to 100.

“Damn you!” Chen Wei finally snapped, consumed by rage. In the past, he’d always been the one to berate and bully Lin Fan, who had never dared talk back. But tonight, Lin Fan had humiliated him again and again, igniting a murderous intent in his heart.

He raised the steel pipe high and swung it down at Lin Fan’s head.

Even the system chimed in, detecting a hatred value of 80 from an enemy.

[Ding! Detected: Chen Wei’s hatred value towards the host has reached 80 (affection -80). The host is about to face a life-threatening situation.]

[The host can redeem the ‘Golden Armor’ from the system store to avoid all harm for a short period.]

Lin Fan had already seen the Golden Armor in the system store.

It was a time-limited item with defensive properties, rendering him invulnerable for two hours—impervious to blades, bullets, and poison, surpassing even bulletproof vests.

But it required a hundred thousand in wealth to redeem.

All items in the system store—whether low or high level—had to be redeemed with wealth points. The higher the item’s level, the more wealth required.

Low-level items typically had a limited duration, while high-level items could become permanent after redemption and used long-term.

However, the store was currently only at the first authorization level, with no high-level items available yet—only low-level items costing a hundred thousand wealth points.

The Golden Armor was just one among them, along with others like Speed Card, Vitality Potion, Strength Pill, Camouflage Card, and so on—all low-level items, all available for a hundred thousand wealth points.