Setting up three formations at once was taxing even for Chen Jie. He consumed spirit stones and absorbed spiritual energy multiple times along the way, finally completing the formations by evening.
The three formations comprised one Spirit Gathering formation, one offensive formation, and one trapping formation.
Chen Jie activated the Spirit Gathering formation that very day.
Instantly, a gentle breeze swept through. Centered around the villa, the spiritual energy within a hundred-meter radius gradually became abundant.
Chen Jie nodded with satisfaction. "This Spirit Gathering formation can also provide energy replenishment for the other two formations!"
"The air is so fresh!" Wang Xiaoyan, who was chatting with He Yufei, noticed the difference as soon as the formation was activated and exclaimed.
"It's the same as the environment at Chen Jie's villa in Pingcheng's Xishan Villa! Even better!" He Yufei remarked.
"You know Xishan Villa too?" Wang Xiaoyan asked, surprised.
He Yufei subconsciously replied, "Yes, I used to live there."
She immediately regretted her words.
That was Chen Jie's residence. By saying that, wasn't she indirectly revealing that she lived with Chen Jie?
She quickly explained, "Due to work, Chen Jie asked me to move in when he left to manage the spiritual liquid in the villa."
Wang Xiaoyan's expression stiffened for a moment, then she smiled faintly and gently held He Yufei's hand.
Just then, Chen Jie arrived.
"Let's go!"
"Okay."
Since Chen Jie had to give the car parked in front of the villa to Li Ziling, he drove Wang Xiaoyan and the others to the sales office. After Wang Xiaoyan and Lin Mengjiao left in their car, Chen Jie went to school alone.
As for He Yufei and the two bodyguards, they stayed at the Qianlong Villa.
After all, Chen Jie couldn't have He Yufei staying with him right in front of Wang Xiaoyan.
Little did Chen Jie know that everything that happened at the Qianlong Villa sales office that day was witnessed by Zheng Qingshu.
After Chen Jie and his group left the sales office, Zheng Qingshu finally came to his senses. His legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground.
"So, Teacher Chen's status is this high?"
"Even Brother Lu's father, Lu Gang, is so respectful towards him!"
He was astonished by the sheer power.
He Yufei, the CEO of Shengtian, and Wang Xiaoyan, the president of Wang's Enterprise – weren't they both women of immense status?
Yet, women like them had such a relationship with Teacher Chen!
It was terrifying!
And then there was Lin Mengjiao, a devil who killed without batting an eye!
Ten billion!
A villa worth ten billion yuan was bought on the spot, and it was Lu Changbu who strongly insisted on gifting it to Chen Jie.
Only now did Zheng Qingshu realize how naive he had been to think that Chen Jie, merely a teacher, was incomparable to him!
If someone like that pursued Li Ziling, wouldn't it be effortless?
It turned out that Teacher Chen, like him and Brother Lu, was not short of money and had even stronger motives!
He was also going to the dance training center to pick up girls!
It was just that his level was much higher!
Zheng Qingshu had clearly misunderstood Chen Jie's intentions.
After Chen Jie left, he suddenly realized.
He was going to be late today!
Just then, his phone rang. It was his girlfriend, Zhang Ling.
"Zhang Ling, don't worry, I'm heading to school now!" Zheng Qingshu said with a wry smile as he answered Zhang Ling's call.
His original intention was just to fool around with Zhang Ling, with no thought of any future.
But for some reason, she refused to break up despite his repeated attempts, and she clung to him shamelessly.
This left Zheng Qingshu feeling helpless.
In the past, he could have simply given his girlfriends some money and they would leave. But that approach had no effect on Zhang Ling.
"Brother Zheng, you're not at school? I took the day off and was hoping to hang out with you!" Zhang Ling said on the phone.
"Oh? Where are you? I'll come find you now." A thought crossed Zheng Qingshu's mind. He wasn't particularly keen on going to Xuefei Dance today anyway.
With so many attractive women parading in front of him daily, he couldn't stay calm, yet none of them were his.
Zhang Ling told him her location, and Zheng Qingshu soon met her.
"Zhang Ling, let's go play a script-killing game today," Zheng Qingshu suggested with a smile.
Zhang Ling, however, did not agree. She said with a heavy heart, "No, we're not playing today."
"Oh? Then where are we going?"
Zhang Ling replied, "Let's go to my place."
"Your place?"
Zheng Qingshu felt a thrill. Going to someone's home was indeed more challenging than finding a hotel, something he hadn't done before.
"Is anyone home?"
"My mom is home." Zhang Ling said.
"What? Zhang Ling, this, this isn't right. I..."
Zheng Qingshu immediately realized that Zhang Ling wanted him to meet her parents.
Zheng Qingshu had never intended to be Zhang Ling's boyfriend for long, let alone meet her parents.
He instinctively wanted to refuse.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not asking you to meet my parents. I'm giving you a little treat today." Zhang Ling said.
Could it be...
Zheng Qingshu's heart pounded with excitement as he seemed to understand.
He mused that Zhang Ling, a woman, was even more adventurous than him.
With that thought, he immediately agreed.
An hour later, Zheng Qingshu drove Zhang Ling to her residential complex.
The complex where Zhang Ling lived was a mid-range community in the provincial capital, and her home was a spacious ground-floor apartment with a courtyard.
This indicated that although Zhang Ling wasn't from a wealthy family, her living standards were definitely comfortable.
However, Zheng Qingshu thought about it and found it unsurprising.
People who pursued artistic careers usually came from families with some background.
Families struggling with their livelihoods genuinely couldn't afford to send their children to study such things.
Moreover, the celebrity training center was a noble art school with exorbitant tuition fees. This was something even fewer people could afford.
"Let's go in."
Zhang Ling took Zheng Qingshu's hand and walked inside.
"Since we're not meeting your parents, should I hide?" Zheng Qingshu asked worriedly.
He feared being discovered with a woman in someone else's home and getting beaten up, as Zheng Qingshu had some self-awareness.
"No need, my mom is very open-minded. She won't make things difficult for you."
Zhang Ling said expressionlessly.
"Oh, then I can relax."
Zheng Qingshu felt something was odd about Zhang Ling but couldn't pinpoint it.
However, since this was Zhang Ling's arrangement, he put his mind at ease.
It wasn't until Zhang Ling rang the doorbell that Zheng Qingshu felt a profound sense of unease.
This was too brazen, wasn't it?
The next second, the door opened, and Zheng Qingshu's jaw dropped in surprise.
He pointed at the person and exclaimed, "You, you're Uncle Xia? What are you doing here?"
His jaw nearly hit the floor.
From what he understood of Zhang Ling, she didn't have a father.
And this so-called Uncle Xia, whose name was Xia Quan, was the biological father of Azhu!