Chapter 231: It Was Love At First Sight!

Chapter 231: It Was Love At First Sight!

[Now entering, Mr & Mrs Rick and Ning Tang!]

The booming announcement echoes through the grand entrance, drawing every eye in the room to us. With Ning'er resting her delicate hand on my left arm, we step forward into the massive ballroom.

A sudden hush falls over the crowd as a handful of high-society guests from the Japan Empire and the China Empire recognize Ning Qian instantly. Whispers break out across the floor, mouths dropping open as her full name ripples through the gathering gossip.

I cast a side glance at her, realizing I need to investigate the history of my new wife's Noble Clan the first chance I get.

"Don't waste your time, because I am not really a part of that Clan, they just have my last name," Ning'er murmurs softly, her voice barely a whisper against the background music. "What? I have studied your style, and I know you will background check me later, so just ask instead of being a sneaky pervert, humph."

I pull her a fraction closer, keeping a perfectly smooth expression while my mind races with devious thoughts. Damn girl, I hope you really do have mind-reading abilities, because if you can hear what I plan to do to you tonight, your face will turn bright red.

"Oh, nice face my dear, but no, I do not use mind reading," she whispers back, a teasing glint in her eyes as she notices my silent smirk. "You are just far more predictable than you think you are, and I even know exactly how you will handle the men here tonight, fufu."

"Ning'er, just realize that with every single second that passes, I am upgrading you into an older model," I retort under my breath, matching her playful stride.

She lets out a soft pout, leaning in slightly to pinch my arm with a sharp squeeze. I barely even feel it, letting out a dark smirk because my physical cultivation has advanced to the point where only my eyes and my balls remain vulnerable to pain.

"I am only four years younger than you, yet you act like I am some kind of middle-schooler, bastard!" she huffs, her fingers tightening against my impervious sleeve. "You will definitely regret this in the future when I am still incredibly attractive and you look like an old man."

"Won't happen, considering my Dad and Grandfather still look like they are in their twenties, so which one of us do you think will actually age faster?" I ask, giving her a smug look.

"Rick, do you genuinely enjoy angering me?" she asks, her deep blue eyes narrowing as she glares up at me.

"Yes, absolutely," I reply instantly.

"Huh? Why?!" she demands, her pace faltering for a fraction of a second before she recovers her composure.

"Because I think you are incredibly cute when you let out your raw frustration," I explain, looking directly into her eyes. "You normally suppress your true feelings around others, which frustrates you deeply, so agitating you is the only way I get to see the real you."

"So all this time you have been bad to me, you actually do not hate me?" she asks, her voice softening as a look of realization dawns on her face.

"What? I never said I don't like you, silly," I chuckle, squeezing her hand against my arm. "I just told you that I love teasing you, which is exactly what couples do when they are in a relationship."

Before she can process my words or pursue her train of thought, a familiar couple navigates through the crowd toward us.

Kameko practically drags Keven by his sleeve, while Keven looks like he wants to melt into the floorboards out of sheer embarrassment. He clearly just realized his own billionaire boss is married to a world-famous Chinese noblewoman, and he wants to avoid prying into my private affairs, but his wife has entirely different plans.

"Boss Rick, you actually know the well-known Miss Ning Qian?" Kameko chirps loudly, her eyes wide with excitement. "Wait, I heard her introduced as Mrs Tang just now?"

"Ning'er dear, this is the CEO of Velvet Groups publishing, Keven Kyoto, and his wife and right-hand woman, Kameko," I introduce them smoothly, gesturing toward the couple. "And as you heard, Ning'er is officially my wife now, so what are you two doing at this event?"

Kameko flashes a wicked grin, knowing my reputation as an absolute ladies' man all too well.

"Boss, I already told you before that Akeno and I belong to Noble Clans here, so of course we would be invited to Prince Fuji's eighteenth birthday party, fufu," Kameko laughs, nudging her husband. "But had I known you were going to crash the party, I would have forced Keven to come along just to watch whatever massive show you plan to put on, because my Boss is anything but boring, right dear?"

"Cough, Rick, she has already been drinking quite a bit tonight, so please just ignore her... please?!" Keven begs, his face turning bright red as he bows his head in apology.

Ning'er steps forward with absolute elegance, her posture radiating noble grace. "Well, I will be moving back to Eurasia with the two of you very soon, so I look forward to getting to know my husband's close friends and coworkers, please take good care of me," she says warmly.

"So, how exactly did you and the Boss get together?" Kameko asks, leaning in close to catch the juicy gossip.

Ning'er turns to look at me, her eyes overflowing with a hilariously fake, exaggerated loving gaze as she speaks with utter confidence. "It was absolute love at first sight, and the moment he asked me to marry him, I just couldn't help but say yes, right husband?" she asks sweetly.

"Hmm, wasn't it actually love at second sight? And I am pretty sure you were the one who asked me, right wife?" I counter, refusing to let her rewrite history.

She blinks dumbly at me, her cheeks flushing as she remembers our second meeting and the fact that she did, technically, propose during her vow.

Taking a deep breath, she recalls my earlier comment about teasing her because I care, and she quickly shifts her strategy. "It seems my husband does not possess a single romantic bone in his entire body and is only good at playing with my heartstrings," she sighs heavily.

Ning looks down at the floor, placing a gentle hand over her lower belly while projecting an aura of pure heartbreak. Keven and Kameko instantly whip their heads toward me like spectators at a tennis match, their judging eyes screaming that I am a cruel, heartless monster.

I stare at her in utter disbelief, completely stunned by how easily this little girl is dropping a tactical nuke on my reputation. Realizing I have completely lost this round, I throw up my hands in absolute surrender. "Ah, well, maybe it really was love at first sight, I guess I am just a bit shy about admitting it," I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.

Although all three of them know I am completely full of shit, Ning'er beams with pride at her small victory. She turns back to the couple, ready to steer us away before I can ruin her narrative again. "Mr and Mrs Kyoto, I need to take Rick to meet some more guests, so I will catch up with you on the cruise ship later if that is alright?" she asks gracefully.

With a final nod, she drags me away from them, instantly dropping the tragic act to pout and poke her finger hard into my chest. "You better stick to my version of our meeting from now on, Rick... or I will absolutely not let you sleep with me tonight," she threatens, her voice deadly serious.

I stiffen instantly, staring down at her intense expression as my brain momentarily short-circuits.

"Wait, you actually want me to sleep with you again?!" I ask stupidly.

"I swear to the Immortal Dragon, even if you are a powerful reincarnator, you can be as dumb as a rock sometimes," she groans, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. "You are my husband, Rick, and your absolute duty is to put a child inside me, which means you need to inseminate me, so why are you acting like I am the inexperienced one here?"

Goddammit, I am definitely not going to be gentle with her tonight! She constantly finds ways to make me look completely foolish, or maybe I really am an idiot and I am only just realizing it now.

"What happens if it takes a really long time to get you pregnant, then?" I ask, trying to regain the upper hand.

She looks up at me with genuine pity in her eyes, patting my arm condescendingly. "Then you will simply keep trying until you get the job done, and if I happen to enjoy the process by then, you will just have to continue," she explains calmly. "We might even have more than one child until I successfully give birth to a boy, and with your virility record, I might already be pregnant, so stop acting like a child, Rick."

Holy crap, this girl is completely domineering in our marriage, forcing me to quickly manufacture a blatant lie to protect myself. "Actually, I was severely affected by the poison earlier and had to take the antidote, so my fertility has completely bottomed out right now," I lie smoothly.

I smile inwardly, thinking this excuse will perfectly cover the cultivation flaw that limits my fertility, similar to the exact issue Sam is facing with his massive harem. However, Ning'er just flashes a silly, knowing smile and drops a truth bomb that makes me completely lose my cool.

"That is completely impossible, Rick, because you are patient zero—the exact person whose body created the cure for that poison in the first place," she states matter-of-factly. "The venom comes from the Dire Cobra in Central Africa, and your own white blood cells before the age of eighteen were used to synthesize the absolute cure."

My jaw drops as she continues to break down my entire family history without breaking a sweat.

"Knowing that you were the true reincarnation of the Yellow Emperor, your Father had secret agents steal blood samples from you during your routine checkups and occasional hospital stays," she reveals. "He never worried about the physical abuses you suffered because the Yellow Emperor is completely unkillable until the age of eighteen, and your blood was the perfect panacea for rare venoms and advanced cancers, meaning you are entirely immune to the cobra venom and the cure synthesized from your own cells."

"The FUCK!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

Ning'er slaps her hand over my mouth, shushing me quickly as nearby nobles turn their heads in surprise. "Your blood is the exact reason my mother stayed alive all the way until you turned eighteen, which was when her body finally developed a total immunity to the treatment because it can only be used for so long," she whispers, her eyes softening with genuine emotion. "Then her body finally gave out... so thank you, Rick."

I look down at her, my mind spinning as the pieces of the puzzle finally click into place. Why the hell is she telling me all of this right here in the middle of a crowded ballroom with everyone staring at us?!

So my Dad never worried about my safety because Scott never stood a chance of actually killing me. This explains everything Tina told me during our very first meeting about my bizarre resilience.

Shit, Ning'er is looking incredibly sad again, the painful memory of her mother casting a dark shadow over her face.

I do the only thing that ever seems to work with her, moving instinctively to shatter the heavy mood and stop the prying gazes of the surrounding crowd. I reach out, gently lifting her chin with my fingers, and press my lips firmly against hers in a deep kiss.

Most of the nearby guests quickly avert their eyes, wanting to avoid looking like total voyeurs at a formal royal gala. Ning'er's eyes widen in surprise before softening, melting into the kiss as she realizes I am just trying to comfort her and shift her focus away from the past.

She gently pushes against my chest after a long moment, a radiant, triumphant smile returning to her face. "So, like I said, you are incredibly virile, natural poisons cannot impede your body, and the odds of me being pregnant right now are exceptionally good," she teases, brushing a stray hair from her face. "Now prepare to enjoy the marital acts I am generously allowing you to perform tonight, and come along with me to meet the other guests, you bastard conman."

Fuck me, my absolute best excuse is completely gone. Well, when she doesn't get pregnant over the next few weeks, she can just lay the blame squarely on my father's shoulders—yup, that is definitely my ticket out of this.

Ning guides me across the polished floor toward a crowded circle of men and women belonging to the younger generation. The moment they turn to look at us, the arrogant dynamic is instantly recognizable; this is Prince Fuji and the elite crop of Japanese Nobles.

A handful of young ladies from the China Empire are also hovering around the perimeter of the group, batting their eyelashes and doing everything in their power to get close to the Prince.

Ning shifts her strategy entirely as we close the distance to the royal circle. Instead of maintaining our loose stance, she reaches down, takes my left hand, and places my arm firmly and protectively around her thin waist.

Her fingers press into my skin, anchoring my grip to ensure I understand that I am absolutely not allowed to let her go tonight. I feel a sudden surge of respect for her in my heart, realizing that when things get serious, she remains fiercely loyal to me. She refuses to send mixed signals to any other man in this room, completely shutting down the Prince before he can even attempt to make a move. Her position next to me is clear and absolute, so I tighten my grip, pulling her warm body just a bit closer to my side so she knows I will never let go.

As we finally close the gap toward the gathering of about fifteen young adults, she leans her head up toward my shoulder, her breath brushing my ear. "The man I married must keep me safe, so do not dare to disappoint your wife, Rick," she whispers softly, her eyes locked onto the approaching nobles.

I lean down instantly, catching her off guard by planting a fast, firm kiss directly onto her soft lips before she can pull away.

A collective gasp ripples through the surrounding crowd, and I catch the sight of several high-society onlookers literally gnashing their teeth in pure envy. I break the kiss and flash a smug grin at the royal heir, mentally telling the arrogant royal brat to suck it.

A bright crimson blush floods Ning's cheeks from the sudden public display of affection, but she quickly plays along with my bold rhythm to maximize the impact. She looks directly at the young royal heir, her posture radiating absolute poise.

"Happy eighteenth birthday, Prince, and please accept our apologies for arriving late, as my husband and I were terribly delayed back at our hotel room," she says smoothly. "Rick completely forgot the electronic combination for my travel trunk, leaving us scrambling just to get my dress out."

I smile inwardly, utterly delighted by how intelligently she just threw high-octane gasoline directly onto this massive social bonfire. I do not even have to exert any effort to piss the guy off myself because my brilliant girl is already doing the heavy lifting for me.

"Yawn... Sorry about the delay, but I haven't slept a single wink in the past two days," I add, waving my hand dismissively while offering a massive, lazy yawn right in front of the royal crowd. "Hello, Prince, and just know that any friend of my Ning'er is automatically a close friend of mine too, ha-ha."

Ning casts a brief glance back at me, her eyes overflowing with absolute satisfaction as she realizes just how destructive we are when we operate as a team. We possess the unique ability to completely infuriate anyone in the entire world without breaking a sweat.

Her lips curl upward into a beautiful, wicked smile as the Prince stiffens, his expression darkening completely as he prepares to deliver his formal welcoming speech.