My Wife Is a Superstar

Chapter 927 As Expected Of A Crime Lord

After Ning Ran was done with her makeup, she noticed that Qiao Zhan and Ruan Anxi had dozed off in their respective cars. At the same time, their subordinates were glaring at each other warily. Qiao Zhan hadn't planned on sleeping, but when he saw Ruan Anxi snoozing, he decided to close his eyes for a while to demonstrate his contempt for the latter.

Little did he expect to actually fall asleep. Drowsiness was indeed a contagious thing.

“D*mn it, how can you fall asleep with the villain right in front of you? Where's your sense of danger?”

When Ning Ran gave the muscular Qiao Zhan a nudge, she felt that his muscles were so hard that they didn't seem real to her.

He's not very bright despite his physical prowess. Why does he have to train himself to this extent? Just to scare his enemies?

When Qiao Zhan opened his eyes to be greeted by the sight of Ning Ran, embarrassment descended upon him. “I wasn't sleeping, Madam...”

With a wave of her hand, Ning Ran reassured him, “Don't worry about it. Let's go home now.” Nevertheless, Ruan Anxi quickly alighted from his car upon Ning Ran's return. “Ran, didn't we agree for me to send you home?”

Ning Ran flashed a smile at him. “That's not necessary. I'll see you in the evening.”

Staring at Ruan Anxi, Qiao Zhan thrust his chin into the air. “Madam is not interested in riding in your car.”

Ruan Anxi's persistence showed no sign of diminishing. “Ran, I'll leave after sending you home. I'll definitely not be in your way.”

“There's really no need to. My children are at home, and it might disturb them to see me come back in a stranger's car,” Ning Ran explained.

After a brief silence, Ruan Anxi relented. “All right then, I'll see you in the evening.”

With that, he drove off together with his subordinates.

“That's it? Since when did he become so compliant?” Qiao Zhan couldn't believe his eyes.

“Let's just go,” Ning Ran ordered as she got into the car.

She then gave Nan Chen a call immediately.

“Ruan Anxi has left?”

Ning Ran was surprised by the question. “How did you know?”

"Since you invited him to the banquet, it would be rude for him to cling onto you.”

“That's what I thought. This proves that my assumptions are correct,” Ning Ran replied smugly. "Even then, don't forget the hordes of reporters that will be in attendance. It would be devastating for us if someone recognizes him given who he is. After all, neither of us can afford to bear the backlash from associating ourselves with the kingpin of South East Aploth's underworld. Don't you think you're taking too big of a risk?” Nan Chen asked.

“I'm sure you're well aware of how closely he's watching us now that he's here. There's just no way we can shake him off. On top of that, he has a huge bodyguard entourage. Even though they don't show up beside him, they have no qualms about causing trouble if his life was in danger. Also, don't forget how ruthless he can be. He's capable of dealing us an extremely damaging blow with just a snap of his fingers. I know this plan isn't ideal, but we're left with no other choice,” Ning Ran explained.

“In that case, we'll have to get him to keep his identity a secret. He needs to pretend to be someone else.”

"Got it. I'll tell him to disguise himself so that no one will know it's him.”

“No, you shouldn't do it. I'll get Qiao Zhan to talk to him. He is not worthy of either of us making requests of him.” Nan Chen's reply was tinged with displeasure.

Ning Ran naturally empathized with him, for she would be equally upset if she were in his position. But Qiao Zhan and Ruan Anxi have always been at loggerheads. Would Qiao Zhan be able to convince him to do it?

Despite her reservations, Ning Ran decided to accept Nan Chen's decision.

After ending the call, she conveyed Nan Chen's instructions to Qiao Zhan, who responded in an agitated manner.

"What's there to discuss? We should just capture him and be done with it. This is Flower City—we can crush him any time we want to.”

“It's not that simple. Ruan Anxi isn't your typical villain. He's extremely intelligent and has put in place multiple layers of defenses to protect himself. To have survived living on a knife's edge all these years is a testament to his capability. Besides, he bears no ill will this time, so don't antagonize him,” Ning Ran advised.

“But I have no way of calling him as he's using a satellite phone. How am I supposed to get in touch with him?”

“We'll just wait for him to call me. He'll probably want to talk about the banquet.”

Just as Ning Ran predicted, Ruan Anxi called her later in the day.

It was a video call made over the Internet, and one could deduce from the background that he was in a hotel.

At the wave of his hand, two pretty ladies entered the video holding two suits each, a sight that took Ning Ran by surprise.

What is he up to? Is he selling outfits on a livestream? Has the crime lord turned over a new leaf by becoming a seller on social media?

“Ran, which suit do you think looks good?”

Ruan Anxi stepped aside, allowing Ning Ran a clear view of the outfits.

It was then that Ning Ran realized he wasn't selling anything. Instead, he was getting her to choose his outfit for the banquet.

It seems the kingpin is sincere this time.

Ning Ran reciprocated by giving the outfits a good look. “The black one suits your aura.”

“What kind of aura might that be?”

Ruan Anxi ordered the black suit to be left behind and the others to be taken away.

The question felt loaded to Ning Ran. She was afraid of going overboard by describing his aura as that of a crime lord

After all, no ordinary criminal had airs that came close to Ruan Anxi's.

The aura he exuded was a combination of nerdiness, insidiousness, murderous intent, and a myriad of complicated qualities.

If Ning Ran was honest with herself and cast aside his identity and vocation, she felt that Ruan Anxi had a unique figure and charm.

This special background and experiences had molded him into someone that easily stood out from the ordinary man.

Ning Ran's tongue-tied response elicited a gentle chuckle from Ruan Anxi. “And here I was, thinking that you were going to comment that I have the air of a villain.”

"Oh, right. Mr. Ruan—"

“Don't call me Mr. Ruan. Someone like me doesn't deserve such respect. Instead, you can call me Anxi. In fact, my dear Anxi would be even better.”

Ning Ran was rendered speechless.

“Ran, I know what you're thinking about. You're worried that my presence at the banquet might compromise your and Nan Chen's reputation if I was to be recognized. I couldn't care less about the impact on Nan Chen, but I do care about you, so don't worry. No one will know who I really am.” Ruan Anxi waved his hand while speaking.

Thereafter, another pretty girl came over with a tray. On top of it was some sort of black object. Once Ruan Anxi picked it up and put it over his head, Ning Ran quickly realized that it was a wig. The former's hair wasn't short to start with, but the wig had even longer hair, so much so that he could even bun it up.

Thereafter, he even put on a pair of glasses, diminishing the venomous look in his eyes.

All in all, he looked a lot kinder and was no longer as intimidating as his usual self.

“Can you still recognize me now?” Ruan Anxi smiled at the camera.

Ning Ran reciprocated with one of her own.

Ruan Anxi was inherently handsome, while the fact that he was thin gave his face a chiseled look. Thus, with the help of the wig and glasses, one would easily mistake him for an artist.

Finally, he waved a document at the camera. “Ran, I'm a reporter from Star Daily, and tonight, I'll be asking you some questions.”

Ning Ran was in awe of his resourcefulness. I would expect nothing less of a crime lord—no wonder he has never been caught.