Reborn as a Noble’s Son - Chapter 15
Chapter 15 – Chapter 14 The Loud Slap_1
Block C of the Beijing Restaurant, a building constructed in the 1970s. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang is standing at the entrance with Xiao Yali, the daughter of his second aunt.
Looking at the grandly decorated lobby of the hotel, Nie Zhenbang feels somewhat emotional. In his previous life, due to his disability, he had never been here. His relationships with his siblings were not good because of his attitudes, which could even be described as bad.
Looking back, in reality, his cousins from his aunts’ homes were all very caring towards him. It was just that, back then, Nie Zhenbang was blinded by resentment and despair, failing to appreciate their care.
“Zhenbang, did the sun rise from the west today? Little Nie Jiamin told me you’re treating me to a meal. Do you have money to spare? You wouldn’t be thinking of getting me to pay for it, would you? No worries, whatever you want to eat, I got it.” Xiao Yali, with an innate boldness, is nineteen this year. Instead of attending school, she hangs around in the social circle every day, making her one of the most active figures among the Nie family’s younger generation. This is why Nie Zhenbang wants to meet with her. Women, because of their gender, are naturally at a disadvantage in the officialdom. However, in the business field, the people in the circle of this metropolis city all have to save some face. After much thought, his eldest aunt’s daughter Deng Yun has gone abroad, and Deng Yun’s personality is not suitable for this, as for Nie Jiamin? This young fellow was bound to follow the path of the military in the future. The rest are too young. Only the second eldest sister is the most suitable one.
At this moment, Nie Zhenbang just smiled. He didn’t expect that his second aunt, who was always serious after she joined the army, had such moments of jest. He then pointed to the door and said, “Second sister, don’t rush, we can have either Western or Chinese food. However, we still have two more people to wait for.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an exceptionally rare Crown Prince-version motorcycle in in the country at that time stopped at the side, an authentic American Harley Crown Prince Motor. The body shone brightly.
Yang Anbang and Nie Jiamin got off the motorcycle. Yang Anbang, who was driving, casually hung his helmet on the handlebar. They left the bike at the entrance of the hall with no intention to move it, and walked towards Nie Zhenbang and Xiao Yali.
Upon seeing Xiao Yali, Yang Anbang’s face changed, and he said immediately, “Third Nie, didn’t you say there’s important business to discuss? Why did you invite her?”
“Yang Anbang, what’s with that tone? Don’t you know how to speak properly? What do you mean by ‘her’? Are you much older than me? It’s only three months, who do you think you are?” Xiao Yali immediately retorted sarcastically next to him.
Being the Crown Prince and Princess respectively, they hold nearly identical statuses. Xiao Yali speaks without any hesitation.
Yang Anbang was never known to be a complacent person. Hearing those words, his eyebrow twitched, and he retorted, “Oh ho, what’s with the fiery Xiao family girl today? Did your patriarch feed you gunpowder? Why do I smell the scent of jealousy? Could it be that you’re into me? No way. This handsome gentleman, how could I be attracted to your kind?”
“You!” Xiao Yali was getting frustrated.
Nie Zhenbang felt a headache coming on. How could he forget? In his previous life, these two constantly argued, neither one liking the other. The disputes grew deeper and eventually led to their elders being involved. It wasn’t until Xiao Yali joined the army that things finally calmed down.
Immediately, Nie Zhenbang stood up and said, “Stop, stop, stop. I mean, Second Sister Xiao, Second Brother Yang, both of you are second in your families, you both have second in your titles. Can you both not be so petty? Little Nie is laughing at our immaturity. Let’s stop fighting and focus on the matter at hand. This is a matter concerning the future of Earth and unification of the universe.”
‘Second’, which can mean someone pitiful or pathetic, is a term that became popular on the Internet twenty-odd years later. Nie Zhenbang blurted it out without thinking. Just as he was regretting his impulsive words, both people suddenly turned to him and said in unison, “Nie Zhenbang, who are you calling a dummy?”
“Oh my, isn’t this the Third Young Master of the Nie Family? Why, does the country bumpkin, the illegitimate child want to try some of the delicacies here as well? Well, it’s a good place, and you’ve probably never been here before. Since you’ve shamelessly entered the Nies’ home, of course you should savour the feeling of being a young master.” An extremely irritating voice sounded from not far away.
Again, it was Zhou Chen, in the previous life, the root cause of the Nie family’s suffering began with the Zhou family.
“Zhou Xiaoshe, what the hell are you talking about? Didn’t I beat you enough last time? You still owe us three respectful bows, didn’t you come here to make good on that? Forget it, we’re all acquaintances, you’re exempted from three. Considering your pathetic state, we’ll reluctantly let you off with one.” Nie Jiamin immediately jumped in.
Zhou Xiaoshe was Zhou Chen’s nickname because there was a “Chen” in his name. In the Chinese zodiac, “Chen” represents the dragon. Therefore, some people in the circle began to call Zhou Chen “Zhou Xiaoshe”.
In the circle, it is common for the younger generation to quarrel with each other, and the elders would not pay much attention to it. Especially when there’s a grudge between the elders, the conflict between the younger generation becomes more intense, which is what one might call a generational feud.
In the circle, the Nie family had always lived peacefully with everyone. In his previous life, Nie Zhenbang was disabled. Even now, Nie Zhenbang couldn’t figure out why the Zhou family treated the Nie family as adversaries. Why Zhou Chen picked on him. However, since Zhou Chen had inflicted pain upon him in the previous life, Nie Zhenbang decided to pay him back in kind in this life. Therefore, since Zhou Chen was bent on causing trouble, it was time to teach him a harsh lesson and make him tread lightly around him.
Several hangers-on standing next to Zhou Chen were apparently confused. Nie Zhenbang was the illegitimate son of the Nie family. Only a few families in Jingcheng knew about this. As for those from the provinces, they were obviously not privy to such information. Hearing Zhou Chen’s words, these hangers-on believed that Nie Zhenbang and Nie Jiamin were mere provincials from Jingcheng. Insulting their master was a severe offense. One of them couldn’t wait, he jumped out and yelled. “Hey, who do you think you are? Do you think you can provoke our Chen? Kneel down! Bow three times and then get the hell out of here!”
As soon as these words were out, not only did Nie Zhenbang turn pale, but the expressions of Nie Jiamin, Xiao Yali and Yang Anbang also changed. There were rules within the Jingcheng circle. One must never swear at or insult the elders, of course, this only applied to equals. If a family had fallen from grace, everyone would kick them while they were down, and no one would stand up for them.
However, the Nie family was now thriving, so such disrespect was crossing the line. Before Nie Zhenbang could respond, Xiao Yali sneered, “Zhou Chen, is this your dog? He’s extremely ill-mannered.”
Yang Anbang stood aside, amused by the drama unfolding around him. Although he didn’t yet know why Nie Zhenbang had asked to meet him, he was curious to see how Nie Zhenbang would handle this situation. Or perhaps, Yang Anbang wanted to evaluate whether Nie Zhenbang was capable of negotiating on equal terms with him.
Nie Zhenbang wore a cold smile on his face. Finally, an opportunity had presented itself. He’d been worried about not having a chance to establish himself within the circle. Luckily for him, Zhou Chen was cluelessly providing him with a perfect opportunity – it was as if the whole thing had been prearranged.
Despite Nie Zhenbang’s youth, his towering height and sturdy build were quite intimidating. He walked straight up to Zhou Chen and said grimly, “Zhou Stutter, is this your idea or his?”
Zhou Chen stuttered as a child. Nie Zhenbang knew about this nickname in his past life but never dared to use it. Yet, when he called Zhou Chen by this name now, he felt a wave of satisfaction washing over him. By contrast, Zhou Chen looked pale, as if he hadn’t heard that nickname in a decade. He could tolerate being called Zhou Xiaoshe, but Zhou Stutter was the ultimate insult to him.
His face darkened, Zhou Chen glared at Nie Zhenbang, his eyes shooting daggers. It’s a common saying not to hit someone in the face, but Nie Zhenbang was figuratively slapping him right now. Zhou Chen retorted, “Regardless of whose idea it is, what will you do?”
“What will I do? If it’s your idea, I’ll hit you! If it’s his idea, I don’t mind helping you teach this dog a lesson.” Nie Zhenbang said this with a smile, but his tone was domineering and left no room for debate.
“It’s my idea!” Zhou Chen’s courage wasn’t easily dampened. At this moment, if he backed down, he would appear weak and lose face.
As soon as he finished speaking, a loud slap echoed in the room. A red handprint promptly marked Zhou Chen’s face.
Zhou Chen was stuck in a difficult position. At this point, Nie Zhenbang’s words had already pushed him into a corner, if he backed down now, he would be seen as timid. Moreover, Zhou Chen had assumed that Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t dare to hit him. But he was mistaken, Nie Zhenbang had nursed a grudge against him for decades. Now that it had erupted, Nie was holding nothing back.
