Chapter 465 Famous Painting: Finger is Working Overtime
Lu Mingfei didn't know much about Pompeii; most of his knowledge came from hearsay, gossip, and Caesar's criticisms.
The most firmly established label attached to the nominal head of the Gattuso family by the outside world is that of an Italian stallion, always either sowing seeds or on his way to sowing seeds.
His career can be described as dedicated and conscientious, making indelible contributions to the tabloid industry in Italy and even the whole of Europe.
Caesar also said that his father spent at least 300 out of 365 days a year with beautiful women of different styles, and the remaining 65 days were probably a break to allow his hardworking seed-laying tool to recuperate.
The head of the Chen family, who is always busy with family affairs and looks like an elite entrepreneur, is actually Odin's loyal henchman behind the scenes.
The head of the Gattuso family, who spends his days doing nothing but flying around the world chasing women and sleeping with them, is far more suspicious than Chen Tianmu.
This guy had ample time to commit crimes, and his movements spanned the globe, making him the perfect guise for all sorts of clandestine activities.
The trope of pretending to be weak to deceive others, the hidden master in plain sight, and the trope of a clown transforming into the ultimate boss—Lu Mingfei had seen it too many times in novels and anime, and was already used to it.
However, despite his inner complaints, Lu Mingfei still gave Angers face.
Promise him that there is a cause for every grievance and a debtor for every crime. If Frost and Pompeii are indeed not related to the revenge he seeks, then they can be left alone.
Of course, this is on the premise that they don't walk right into the line of fire.
Otherwise, don't blame Lu Mingfei for unleashing his dogs to bite people.
Angers didn't know exactly what Lu Mingfei was investigating, but he was well aware that with the power and decisiveness Lu Mingfei had shown, he was no longer someone he could stop or control.
Getting such a promise, which isn't really a promise, is already the best outcome.
After that topic ended, they talked about some seemingly insignificant matters concerning the Chen family that actually had a huge impact on Eastern mixed-race people and even the entire mixed-race world, before Angers took his leave.
After seeing Angers off, Lu Mingfei looked at Erii, who had already turned on the TV and connected to the game console, transforming from a model kit enthusiast into a gaming addict, and couldn't help but smile:
"Come on, let's play a round. I'll go easy on you this time."
All he has to do now is wait.
Once Su Enxi and Jiu Demai have gathered more intelligence, and once all the clues have gradually been laid out, they will eventually weave a large net to capture Odin and all his henchmen.
When I'm bored, I play video games with Erii. Watching her lose repeatedly and then letting her win a few rounds and smiling is quite a unique experience.
But before Erii could even win this time, she already wore a confident smile. She grabbed Lu Mingfei's right hand and narrowed her ruby-like eyes like a little fox:
"This time, let's try playing games with one hand."
The game controller has a left joystick and right buttons. She is right-handed and her thumb is more flexible in controlling the joystick.
She refused to believe that she could continue to be defeated by Lu Mingfei all night long.
Seeing that the girl had also learned to think crookedly, Lu Mingfei was greatly pleased and immediately showed her what a god of games he was.
With his current physical abilities, let alone giving up with one hand, if he wanted to, he could even use both hands and his feet to play games and still make Erii question her existence.
...
Meanwhile, at the Chen family mansion, a silent yet thorough transfer of power was taking place.
In just two days, with the strong support of Chen Tianmu, who was promoted from stand-in to official, Nuonuo has regained her position as the first heir of the Chen family.
She could even make herself the only one, since no one can take her place.
Those brothers and sisters who used to envy, be jealous of, and hate her, and who would openly or secretly sabotage her, are now all trembling with fear at the sight of her. They dare not even breathe loudly, let alone resist.
For these Chen family members who were used to acting according to Chen Tianmu's wishes, anyone who opposed their father was opposing all of them.
The reason why Nono was ostracized in the past was because she was rebellious and always went against her respected father.
But now, the situation has reversed.
Chen Tianmu has reconciled with her and has clearly designated her as the future head of the Chen family and the only successor.
So, no matter how turbulent their hearts were with resentment and jealousy, they could only be respectful and obey their father's orders.
This is similar to the emperor declaring the crown prince by his golden words. Even if the other princes and princesses are dissatisfied, as long as the emperor is alive, no one dares to jump out and say that they object.
It's completely sealed.
Nono originally thought that truly taking control of the Chen family, this intricate and powerful entity, would be more difficult than she had imagined.
But to her surprise, the Chen family was managed by Chen Tianmu like an iron barrel, with a highly centralized internal structure, completely under his sole authority.
As long as he, the head of the family, gives the order, the entire Chen family will run like a precise and efficient machine, rushing in the direction he points, with almost no noise.
What she was taking over was a family machine that had already been lubricated, with all the gears meshing tightly and running smoothly.
She doesn't need to learn how to start it up, because the machine itself is already running at high speed.
She only needs to control the direction to make this powerful family machine turn exactly according to her wishes.
Moreover, she didn't need to spend any time or effort to eliminate Chen Tianmu's past confidants or appease the people within the family.
Because those core members who had committed numerous crimes alongside Chen Tianmu would be personally eliminated by the patriarch to whom they had sworn allegiance.
The charges were established, the evidence was conclusive, the procedure was just, and the process was efficient.
We were ready to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first?!
This is the first time in Nono's life that an enemy has not only handed over the country but also actively helped her wipe out all the remnants of the previous dynasty and unstable factors.
She wasn't someone who craved power, but in just two short days, she had to admit that the feeling of having great power and being able to decide the life or death of others with a single glance was indeed very satisfying.
Wow, so this is the joy of playing on a custom server.
However, she was also clear-headed enough to know who had bestowed upon her all this power that seemed so readily available.
Even without Lu Mingfei, she would still be that canary who thought she had escaped her cage but had only moved to an even bigger one, with a bratty kid living inside her.
Therefore, she did not become arrogant.
Most of the time, aside from needing to understand and familiarize himself with how the massive Chen family machine operated, he spent most of his time alone with Caesar and taking care of Ricardo.
After the surgery led by Lu Mingfei, Ricardo's growth function, which had been stagnant for more than ten years, was finally reactivated.
His mind and body are developing and growing at a visible rate.
In just two days, he gained 200 grams!
During a normal baby's growth spurt, they might only gain a few dozen grams a day at most. However, Ricardo's bloodline was exceptional enough that his growth hormones finally had a chance to work, causing him to grow rapidly.
I reckon it will soon be able to complete the transformation from crawling to walking.
Moreover, when he called his sister, it was no longer the Tianjin-style "jiji," although it still had the soft and sweet tone unique to children, but the pronunciation was obviously much more standard.
In addition, Ricardo learned a new word—brother-in-law!
Nono was certain that she had never taught him to say that word.
Therefore, the culprit can only be...
She glanced sideways at Caesar, who was playing with Ricardo by holding a rattle.
Previously, Ricardo was always taken care of by Nono herself. When Caesar occasionally played with him, he was basically always within Nono's sight, so there was little chance for him to secretly do something to corrupt the child.
However, in the past few days, Nono has been busy taking over the Chen family, which inevitably distracted her. This gave Caesar plenty of opportunities to spend time alone with his brother-in-law and cultivate their relationship, and he successfully taught Key this crucial title.
When Nono first heard Ricardo call him "brother-in-law," she just rolled her eyes at Caesar in annoyance and didn't correct him, but instead gave Caesar an elbow.
She knew perfectly well that Caesar was using this method to distract himself.
After all, the next victim of Lu Mingfei will be the Gattuso family.
Caesar's feelings toward the Gattuso family were actually somewhat complicated. He despised the family's hypocrisy and profiteering, but he only thought about breaking away and drawing a line between them. He never thought that the family might disappear into the annals of history because of someone.
Nono wouldn't make decisions for him, nor did she intend to offer him any comfort. She just needed to stay quietly by his side like this.
Caesar was proud; he wouldn't let others make decisions for him and then conveniently shirk responsibility.
All the decisions he makes are based solely on his own conscience.
As night deepened, the two sat in the garden behind the Chen family mansion, admiring the sky filled with... well, no stars, under the cool moonlight.
However, an airplane flew overhead, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.
In the stroller next to him, little Ricardo was humming and waving his little hands to grab the rattle in Caesar's hand.
The scene was harmonious, a picture of peaceful and tranquil life.
“Nono,” Caesar suddenly spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night, tinged with a hint of amusement, “What if my family falls on hard times in the future and we can no longer be a good match?”
Without a second thought, Nono replied, "I'll take care of you."
Upon hearing this, Caesar frowned, feigning distress: "But I'm not used to living off a woman."
As the eldest son of the prestigious Gattuso family, he has always relied on his abilities, not his looks, to make a living.
"Then you can try to live off a woman." Nono raised an eyebrow and, like a female pervert, reached out and pinched his pectoral muscles.
Caesar's heart skipped a beat, and he grabbed her hand: "You know, I can never be tough in front of you."
Nono intertwined her fingers with his, feeling the warmth between them. Looking into his eyes, her voice was soft yet exceptionally firm:
"No matter what decision you ultimately make, I will be with you, just as you have always been with me."
Caesar gazed at her, his icy blue eyes reflecting the moonlight and her silhouette.
The two gazed at each other under the tranquil moonlight, their shadows on the ground drawing ever closer until they slowly overlapped.
Just as the atmosphere was perfect, and both sides were preparing to conquer each other—
"ah!"
A childish exclamation rang out.
The two suddenly separated, and under the moonlight, they performed "Puppet Show".
Turning my head, I saw that Ricardo had climbed out of the stroller at some point, with half of his body hanging outside as he tried to pick up a rattle that had fallen to the ground. He was about to fall face down on the grass.
Caesar reacted quickly, reaching out his arm to catch the little guy just before he hit the ground completely and pulling him back into his arms.
Ricardo was completely unaware of the danger. Given his physical condition, even if he fell, he wouldn't be hurt. At most, he would just need to take another shower. He relentlessly tried to grab the rattle on the ground.
Caesar watched this scene, sighed helplessly, and then couldn't help but chuckle.
The romantic atmosphere that had just begun to build was instantly destroyed by this unexpected little incident.
Nono wiped her mouth, picked up the rattle from the ground, cleaned it, and handed it to Ricardo, giving Caesar a disgruntled glare.
Caesar shrugged innocently, but a smile he couldn't hide played on his lips.
In the same month, a thousand miles away, another young couple did not choose to book a hotel room, nor did they return to the luxury mansion that Hui Mingfei had purchased in Peacock Mansion. Instead, they took a taxi to the entrance of a rather old and dilapidated residential area.
The community has excellent landscaping and lush trees; in layman's terms, it's a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Chu Zihang and Xia Mi walked hand in hand along a cement path mostly covered with fallen leaves, heading deeper into the woods.
A dilapidated villa sat alone at the end of a path, surrounded by layers of trees. In the dim light, it was indeed eerie, no wonder the neighborhood children thought it was a haunted house and dared not go near it.
But tonight, this haunted house has its lights on for the first time ever.
Chu Zihang stared at the furniture, which was completely covered by dust cloth, with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes.
The last time I came here was to pick up Xia Mi to go to the mountain city.
Although he helped Xia Mi clean the villa, his memory was still sealed at the time. He only vaguely felt that the place was somewhat familiar, but had no recollection of it at all.
Now all those precious memories have been unlocked, and everything I see feels inexplicably familiar, as if I have returned to my childhood when I was young and ignorant and was taken home by the Dragon King's daughter.
Well, strictly speaking, even in his youth, he still couldn't escape the fate of being abducted by the Dragon King's daughter.
He was originally planning to go to Cheng Shuangfan's place tonight. Zhao Xuzhen had already packed his things and would be able to board the plane back to Beijing early tomorrow morning.
However, Xia Mi said she was a little homesick and worried that rats might damage the furniture in her house.
The reason was absurd, but Chu Zihang still followed.
Anyway, Lu Mingfei didn't urge him, and even hinted that he should take advantage of the situation... no, strike while the iron is hot. It's rare for the two of them to come out and meet each other's parents, so he should speed up the progress of the strategy.
However, Chu Zihang was mostly passive in this relationship.
It's rare to take the initiative, so it's a defensive counter-attack.
Watching the girl wander around the living room, touching this and that, he began to wonder where he should sleep tonight.
If I remember correctly, her house only had one room that could sleep in.
(End of this chapter)
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