CHAPTER 390: CHAPTER 390: PURELY SICK, RIGHT?

Lian Qi was stunned by the punch, clutching his face as he turned around, "Wei Lejun, are you freaking crazy!"

Lian Qi felt utterly aggrieved. He had been acting out of goodwill, yet ended up taking a beating.

As Wei Lejun’s other fist was about to land, Lian Qi raised his hand to block it and then grabbed her shoulders, shaking her furiously.

"Come on, snap out of it! We’re allies now, we can’t just start fighting each other!"

His words had zero effect. Having been deceived repeatedly, his credibility with Wei Lejun was already deep in the negatives.

Wei Lejun grabbed one of Lian Qi’s hands and started dragging him forward, "Who’s listening to all your crap? You’re better off going back to doing grunt work."

"No way!" Lian Qi clung tightly to Wei Lejun with both hands, refusing to let her go.

"I know I tricked you before, it was my fault. But I’m genuinely repenting now; can’t you give me another chance?" Lian Qi said earnestly, his face full of sincerity.

Wei Lejun shook her head and replied coldly, "No way!"

"Fine, fine, clearly you still don’t trust me. How about I repent properly this time?" Lian Qi said, letting go of Wei Lejun’s hand.

Just as Wei Lejun was starting to feel suspicious, she saw Lian Qi clench his head and charge straight toward a large tree.

In that instant, Wei Lejun’s heart almost stopped from fright—was Lian Qi out of his mind?

Look at the size of that tree! What if he damaged his brain and became an idiot?

Her body reacted faster than her brain, and Wei Lejun sprinted forward before landing a kick straight at Lian Qi.

Right as Lian Qi’s head was about to hit the tree trunk, she sent him flying with that kick.

A painful groan echoed, and Wei Lejun turned her head away in discomfort, unable to bear watching.

Great. He didn’t become a fool from hitting the tree, but he probably got kicked into foolishness by her instead.

The spot Wei Lejun kicked happened to be Lian Qi’s side, and she hadn’t held back.

Lian Qi sat on the ground, groaning incessantly, sounding just like some old man nursing an injury.

Wei Lejun wanted to apologize, but the words stuck in her throat. Ultimately, all she managed was a flippant, "Serves you right! Why didn’t I kick you to death!"

Sitting dejectedly on the ground, Lian Qi rubbed his sore waist gingerly, then looked up at Wei Lejun and said weakly, "You kicked me, fine, guess you’ve vented enough now!"

"Consider that kick my act of atonement. Trust me one more time—just sneak out a few of those semi-finished products, and I promise I’ll lead you straight to victory this time!" Lian Qi said, rubbing his waist while trying to persuade her.

His words provided an easy way out, and Wei Lejun took it: "Fine, let’s call it even with that kick. I’ll get you some semi-finished products, and we’ll leave it at that. As for victory, don’t overthink; who’s leading whom isn’t clear yet!"

Lian Qi paused his waist rubbing, chuckled warmly, and said, "Don’t worry, just watch—we’re definitely taking first place!"

As they slowly walked back toward the riverbank together, Wei Lejun couldn’t help but think she was sick, seriously sick. Why on earth was she repeatedly trusting Lian Qi’s garbage promises?

Then again, this time didn’t count. She wasn’t placing any hope on Lian Qi, not really. The only reason she agreed to his request was to compensate him for that kick.

When they neared the riverbank, per their earlier arrangement, Lian Qi quietly hid while waiting for Wei Lejun’s signal.

When Wei Lejun returned to the riverbank, Sang Ning was the first to spot her.

Before Wei Lejun could approach, Sang Ning came directly to her side, "Good thing you’re back—we were just about to go looking for you."

No matter how arrogant and brash she usually was, when her mind was troubled, Wei Lejun couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Her gaze wavered slightly as she met Sang Ning’s eyes: "What’s there to look for? I’m a grown-up—can I really get lost?"

Sang Ning gave Wei Lejun a knowing glance and teased, "You never know; someone might just abduct you."

Wei Lejun had a faint feeling that "someone" in Sang Ning’s statement carried hidden meaning, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

After all, Lian Qi had hidden far away—Sang Ning shouldn’t have been able to spot him.

Scanning the area casually, Wei Lejun noticed Qin Feng and Hu Yirun hard at work. Worried that Sang Ning might catch on to something, she hastily changed the subject, "You caught those two little thieves, huh? Better keep an eye on them this time—don’t let them escape again!"

Sang Ning shook her head nonchalantly, "No worries, they’ll come back whether or not they run."

Wei Lejun wasn’t eager to keep chatting with Sang Ning; she constantly felt like Sang Ning could see right through her. Luckily, Huang Chengzi ran up cheerfully to greet her, rescuing her from further conversation.

"I’ll go work with Chengzi now," Wei Lejun said as she followed Huang Chengzi to leave.

Sang Ning suddenly called out to her, wearing a mischievous smile, "You seem so much gentler these days."

Like someone had struck a nerve, Wei Lejun snapped back, her fiery temper instantly resurfacing: "Gentle? You’re gentle! Your whole family’s gentle!"

"Thanks for the compliment. Guess I was imagining things—no way that dog-like temper of yours could change on a whim," Sang Ning said with a hint of mockery.

Wei Lejun finally breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she was a total paper tiger. Three sentences from Sang Ning were enough to throw her entirely off balance.

After Wei Lejun walked off, Sang Ning slowly turned her head, glancing toward a specific patch of bushes. Chuckling softly, she realized they were all just actors in Wei Lejun and Lian Qi’s little show.

Since Huang Chengzi was constantly worried about Wei Lejun’s situation, Sang Ning found herself splitting her attention to observe the surroundings every now and then, keeping track of Wei Lejun’s return.

Having exceptional eyesight was its own headache. For instance, just now, Sang Ning had spotted Lian Qi hiding, and she briefly debated whether to shout, "Hey, stop hiding, I can see you!"

But when Wei Lejun smacked Lian Qi on the head and shoved him deep into the bushes, Sang Ning decided to let it go.

Even after being deceived so many times, Wei Lejun still chose to trust Lian Qi. Sang Ning couldn’t help but wonder just how tolerant Wei Lejun could be toward him.

Sang Ning had already guessed that Lian Qi planned to stir up trouble, but she hadn’t yet figured out his exact intentions.

It wasn’t until Wei Lejun started stirring things up with Qin Feng and Hu Yirun that Sang Ning finally caught on: Wei Lejun planned to hand over everything she had!

"If I say your semi-finished products don’t meet the standards, then they don’t meet the standards—what’s with all the backtalk?" Wei Lejun criticized Qin Feng and Hu Yirun’s semi-finished work without restraint.

She insisted their products were defective and should be thrown into the bushes.

Feeling aggravated by someone attacking their hard-earned labor, Qin Feng and Hu Yirun were already annoyed as it was.

Fine, defective is defective, whatever. But then Wei Lejun decided she absolutely had to lug their semi-finished products to an annoyingly far-off spot to discard them—what kind of nonsense is that?