Chapter 209: Meeting Liu Yanran

Tang Chen always thought the System was shameless in his mind. From the first time they met, when it rewarded him with xiaolongbao, to the puzzle it gave him now, this damn System’s rewards were always thirty percent awesome and seventy percent trash.

When he recalled how this jerk first met him and said it would help him become the ultimate tall, rich, and handsome guy, Tang Chen increasingly felt the System was just Tang Sanzang’s way of torturing him.

The System calmly said, “Dear Host. Time flies, and the stars shift. It has been so many years since this System met you. Your intelligence is still stuck in the same place. Do you really think this is just an ordinary puzzle?”

Tang Chen twitched his mouth and said, “Young Master doesn’t want to hear your pretentious talk. You’d better give me a reason to accept this item, or I won’t let this go.”

A face appeared in his mind, the System’s physical form, twitching its mouth as it said, “Dear Host, without further ado, please read the item description yourself.”

“Item description: I Assemble, I Assemble Assembly Item. It looks similar to an ordinary children’s puzzle, but actually, this pile of scattered puzzle pieces contains mysterious and immense power. As long as the Host assembles the puzzle back to its original form, you can summon the Wish-Granting Dragon, which will then fulfill one of your wishes.”

The more Tang Chen listened to this description, the more off it sounded. Especially when he heard the part about summoning some dragon, his face turned dark and he cursed, “Damn you, you lousy System! You’re messing with me again, right? Do you think this is Seven Dragon Balls? Assemble the puzzle and summon a dragon? Man, you’ve got the wrong set again!”

Tang Chen swore he really wanted to destroy this damn System. Did it really think he couldn’t tell this was exactly like gathering the Seven Dragon Balls to summon the dragon? How dare you pull this so blatantly?

The System said arrogantly, “Dear Host, whether you believe it or not is your business. This System just wants to tell you that all items given by the System are great. If you don’t believe it, you can try assembling it yourself.”

Tang Chen felt a bit tempted and said, “System, I’m definitely not the first to get this reward, right? Did any of your previous Hosts complete it? Did they summon the dragon?”

For some reason, the System seemed a bit embarrassed and said, “Dear Host, I regret to inform you that none did. Although the puzzle’s power is immense, according to this System’s calculations, correctly assembling the puzzle would take at least several hundred years. They couldn’t live that long, so… you get it.”

Get it? Get your big damn egg! Tang Chen angrily stuffed the puzzle into the car’s front drawer. He now fully realized the System was just playing with him. Damn it.

Ding ling ling!

Just as Tang Chen was feeling upset, Yang Mi called. He answered right away and said, “Wife, are you missing me? Don’t worry, I’ll be home soon.”

Yang Mi said apologetically on the other end, “Tang Chen, it’s not that. I might have to sleep at my place tonight. My mom is sick.”

“Mother-in-law is sick? What’s wrong? Should I come over?” Tang Chen quickly asked. Yang Mi’s mom was his mom too, of course he’d be concerned.

Yang Mi explained, “It’s nothing serious, just a recurring health issue. Dad isn’t home, so I need to go back to take care of Mom tonight. I won’t be coming back, and you shouldn’t come either. You’ve worked hard today; rest well at home.”

Tang Chen thought for a moment and then said, “Alright then, I won’t go. Take care of yourself, and send my regards to Mother-in-law. I love you.”

“Me too. I’m home; I’ll talk to you tonight.” It seemed Yang Mi was in a hurry on the other end. She said this quickly and then hung up.

Tang Chen rubbed his nose and said somewhat helplessly, “With my wife not home, what’s the point of me going back to sleep alone tonight?”

At this thought, Tang Chen suddenly realized that his life seemed unable to go on without Yang Mi.

Just as Tang Chen was driving aimlessly, a pink car ahead seemed to have some trouble. With a bang, the pink car suddenly braked and stopped right in front of Tang Chen’s car. It seemed the car had a flat tire.

Tang Chen cursed under his breath about the delay. Then the door of the pink car opened, and a woman in high heels and a white long dress stepped out. Tang Chen looked and thought, what a coincidence—it was Liu Yanran.

Tang Chen opened his car door and walked over, saying happily, “Police Sister, what happened?”

Hearing someone call her, Liu Yanran turned around and saw Tang Chen walking toward her with a smile. She said in surprise, “Tang Chen, it’s you. What are you doing here?”

Tang Chen grinned and said, “This is what they call life’s constant reunions. What’s wrong with your car? A flat tire?”

Liu Yanran said angrily, “Look for yourself. A nail punctured it. I don’t know who’s so nasty, throwing nails on the road.”

Tang Chen crouched down and saw a long steel nail stuck in Liu Yanran’s rear tire. Talk about bad luck.

Just as Tang Chen was about to figure out how to help Liu Yanran, a short, scruffy-looking man with shifty eyes walked over. He smiled and said, “You two, car trouble? Need repairs? Our repair shop is just up ahead.”

Following his pointing finger, Tang Chen and Liu Yanran saw a rather shabby auto repair shop. Liu Yanran, probably in a hurry to leave, said without thinking, “That’s great. I was just worried about how to fix it. Could you please have someone tow my car over there?”

The man chuckled and said, “Of course. Our repair shop is here to serve customers. Just a moment.” With that, he turned and ran back to the repair shop.

Tang Chen narrowed his eyes and said to Liu Yanran, “Police Sister, don’t you think it’s strange? This repair shop is too close by. And how did this guy get here so quickly when there’s still some distance?”

Liu Yanran didn’t overthink it like Tang Chen and just said, “Maybe it’s a coincidence. Don’t overthink it; let’s just get the car fixed and leave.”

Tang Chen grunted in agreement and said, “I hope I’m just being paranoid. By the way, Police Sister, why are you dressed like that today? Not working?”

Liu Yanran shook her head and said, “I had some matters today, so I didn’t go to work. Oh, Tang Chen, I haven’t asked you—after we parted at the Police Station last time, did you go see the Provincial Governor or do something? Why was Liu Jiangnan removed and transferred, and why was Uncle Chen reinstated? You had a hand in all this, didn’t you?”

Tang Chen shrugged casually and said, “Do you think that’s possible? How could I have the power to make the Provincial Governor do things? Anyway, as long as it’s resolved, that’s fine, right?”

Liu Yanran twitched her mouth. Seeing that Tang Chen didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t press further.

At that moment, the worker from the repair shop came back with others and used a tow truck to pull Liu Yanran’s car into the shop.

Tang Chen and Liu Yanran also went inside. The place wasn’t very big and looked dirty, with car parts scattered all over the floor.

“Big Brother, this is the lady’s car,” the man who had spoken to Liu Yanran earlier called out to a fat man. It seemed this fat man was their Boss.

“Miss, don’t worry. Our guys are really skilled here. We’ll definitely fix it for you,” the fat man said with a northeastern accent, revealing a set of big yellow teeth that looked quite disgusting.

Liu Yanran smiled politely and said, “Then I’ll trouble you, Boss. I need to leave soon, so please hurry.”

The fat man didn’t say more and quickly got to work.

Seeing Liu Yanran’s worried expression, Tang Chen smiled and said, “Police Sister, don’t worry. It’ll be fine. By the way, where are you in such a hurry to go?”

Liu Yanran’s eyes grew distant as she said, “Nothing much, just going home to visit.”

“Home?” Tang Chen was surprised and then asked curiously, “I’ve known you for so long but never asked where you’re from. Police Sister, where is your home?”