CHAPTER 448: CHAPTER 448: INITIATING HELL MODE TRAINING

Li Haidong tried several times to squeeze back to Wei Lan’s side, but each time he ended up pushed away by a couple of clueless young men.

"Wei Lan!" Li Haidong was genuinely angry now, and for once called Wei Lan by her full name.

But this level of intimidation didn’t work at all. Wei Lan wasn’t fazed, and even found him annoying as she snapped back impatiently, "I’m not dead yet, so what are you shouting here for? Summoning spirits? Get lost and don’t bother me!"

Li Haidong was stifled, utterly aggrieved. Wanting to save Wei Lan face and avoid a public conflict, he swallowed his resentment, sat alone in a corner, and fiercely cut his steak with knife and fork, venting his frustration.

One particularly considerate young waiter even brought him a glass of red wine while smirking, "Taking care of the elderly is everyone’s responsibility."

Li Haidong’s grip on the knife and fork tightened; he nearly lost control and stabbed the cheeky youngster in front of him.

[Poor Uncle Hai, getting yelled at by Sister Wei Lan and mocked by youngsters. If I were him, I’d probably have a breakdown.]

[Is this the fate of middle-aged men? At a certain age, not only do you get despised by your wife, you also have to endure the sass of green tea youngsters. I truly feel for Uncle Hai.]

[The way Uncle Hai looks at Sang Ning—it’s as if he’s dying to assassinate her on the spot. He must be blaming her for Sister Wei Lan neglecting him.]

[Hahaha, Uncle Hai is mad, and the consequences are severe. No way will he love Sister Wei Lan anymore; he’ll probably hold a straight face while calling her young studs.]

[You guys are ridiculous—is there even a single bamboo shoot left on the mountain with all this digging?]

The young studs surrounding Sang Ning suddenly shifted their attention to Wei Lan. Wei Lan, being magnanimous, didn’t keep any of them to herself, but instead kindly asked Lu Yujing, "Xiao Lu, do you need any catering service?"

Lu Yujing was taken aback, waving her hands frantically, "No... no thank you, Auntie, I’m allergic to men."

As she spoke, she feigned a few coughs to prove her innocence and even scooted several chairs away, leaving the space completely to Wei Lan and the group of young attendants.

Lu Yujing’s expression was a mix of indescribable emotions, tinged with schadenfreude. Sang Ning just waits—if Li Juezhou found out she not only invited male models but also let them cozy up to his mother, stirring up conflicts between his parents, Sang Ning would have a lot to deal with.

After Sang Ning repeatedly requested, Song Shiye and Qin Feng finally agreed to put their shirts back on and obediently sat down to eat.

Meanwhile, Li Haidong had lost all interest. The happier Wei Lan became, surrounded by a group of young men, the more heartbroken he felt. He quietly left the table, borrowed a phone from Louis, and sneaked off to the coastline, preparing to vent his frustrations to Li Juezhou.

By this time, it was already mostly dark on New Island, but morning in China. When Li Haidong called Li Juezhou, the latter answered almost instantly, though the first thing he said was, "Sangsang, is that you?"

Li Haidong felt another wave of frustration—no wonder Li Juezhou answered the call so quickly; he must’ve seen the New Island IP and assumed it was from Sang Ning.

"Sangsang, huh? Do you know what your Sangsang has been up to behind your back?" Li Haidong unleashed a torrent of scolding, "Managing your company well is worthless if you can’t even manage your own woman!"

Li Juezhou quickly recognized the sharp tone as his father’s and dropped the tone he was using, "Dad, what do you mean by that?"

Li Haidong stoked the fire: "Sang Ning is having a grand time behind your back. On the beach, she called over a crowd of shirtless male models to serve her food. She’s practically forgotten about her boyfriend!"

Li Juezhou remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "Sangsang isn’t like that."

It wasn’t that Li Juezhou was overconfident; he’d been dedicated to fitness for years. His physique wasn’t the best of the best among men, but it was certainly top-tier. Even so, he’d hardly managed to tempt Sang Ning before. He didn’t believe that if Sang Ning were lustful, she’d deliberately overlook him.

"Kid, you’re still too young. Managing a company, I may not be as good as you, but in matters of love, you’re definitely less experienced than me." Li Haidong finally found an opportunity to assert his authority over Li Juezhou. With a cold chuckle, he said, "You don’t understand women. They might say ’no’ with their mouths, but their bodies are very honest. Young fox spirits these days are sweeter-talking and more uninhibited. If you keep acting like some high-and-mighty CEO, clueless about how to please her, why would Sang Ning stay loyal to you when she could have countless obedient men? Does she really need to hang herself on your tree?"

Li Juezhou fell silent again. There was clearly some misunderstanding his dad had about his demeanor in relationships, thinking he must act all standoffish. "Dad, I genuinely like and respect Sang Sang. I’ve never put on airs in front of her."

"Hmph, seems you still don’t understand what I’m saying. Watch the live broadcast yourself." Finding it useless to reason with his naive son, Li Haidong decided to end the call unilaterally.

After hanging up, Li Juezhou felt deeply uneasy. He’d promised Sang Ning he wouldn’t watch the broadcast, but his father’s words made it impossible not to wonder. Finally, after some intense inner turmoil, he decided to watch—but only for ten minutes. Once the time was up, he’d stop immediately.

The program was live, but New Island’s network had a delay compared to domestic networks. When Li Juezhou opened the stream, it happened to show a group of male models surrounding Sang Ning, eagerly handing her food.

His temple throbbed violently, and his long, dark eyes turned unreadable in their gloom.

The next scene came—Song Shiye deliberately taking off his shirt to cheer Sang Ning up. The sight hit Li Juezhou like a gut-punch. Unable to endure any more, he quickly closed the live stream.

Turns out, he really had grown old—not as uninhibited as these young men.

Li Juezhou felt as though he were soaking in a vat of vinegar, bubbling over with jealousy. Were those men so oily and greasy-looking because Sang Ning was starving?

A wave of insecurity washed over him. Suddenly, he found himself spiraling into self-doubt, convincing himself that this must be just the program team exaggerating things for ratings. He needed to trust Sang Ning.

Yet his father’s words, "Women love sweet-talking and uninhibited young men," lingered stubbornly in his mind. On impulse, knowing full well Sang Ning was filming, he couldn’t resist sending her a message on WeChat, attempting to confirm her feelings.

A simple "hello" was sent, only for him to see he had been blocked.

Li Juezhou: ??? Does this mean Sang Ning really feels tired of him?

Unbidden anxiety began to creep in, and he reflected on his past interactions with Sang Ning—had he been too reserved?

However, he still hadn’t realized how serious the situation was. To him, it was just a case of Sang Ning momentarily being dazzled by external distractions.

After a brief bout of jealousy, he surprisingly found himself filled with competitive determination. Once Sang Ning finished filming the program and returned, he was determined to make her see for herself that his physique was no worse than those random guys outside.

And so, thanks to Li Haidong’s meddling phone call, Li Juezhou embarked on over ten days of hellish fitness training, striving to present himself at his best for Sang Ning’s inspection.