The villainous second male lead at the beginning? No! He's the white moonlight!

"What? Wang Shu, you mean my original name should have been An Lan? The 'Lan' in 'vast and magnificent waves'?"

After comforting her for more than half an hour, Ye Linyuan, who was listening to An Wangshu talk about everything that happened to her in the An family, was stunned and asked in disbelief.

"The 'Lan' in 'calm and uneventful' means that your parents hope your life will always be peaceful, expansive, steady, and far-reaching."

"It's all because of me, this jinx..."

At this point, An Wangshu's eyes dimmed again.

If it weren't for myself...

"No, no, no, this isn't your fault. Perhaps it's because the name An Lan carries a huge karmic burden..."

Ye Linyuan quickly tried to dissuade him, saying that although no one in this world knew about the Immortal King An Lan, he did, and this might be the cause of the whole affair...

The thought that if he hadn't been switched, his name would have been An Lan made Ye Linyuan feel a little ashamed.

However, when talking about Anlan, we have to mention Perfect World. And when talking about Perfect World, we can't help but mention One Leaf Covers the Sky and Sacred Ruins. It just so happens that the online novels in this world are still in their infancy. If I were to release Perfect World, One Leaf Covers the Sky and Sacred Ruins, their IP value would probably be no less than that of Marvel or even Pokémon in this world!

After all, novels only generate IP, but what makes IP generate huge value is a self-reinforcing commercial loop that extends from novels, movies, TV series, animations, games, comics, to merchandise, theme parks, music, publishing, and fan fiction!

If I remember correctly, the Marvel IP was worth $42.4 billion in my previous life in 2009. Before I transmigrated, at its peak (during Marvel 4), the IP was valued at a staggering $1500 billion! (This part can be checked with Yuanbao; if it's wrong, blame Yuanbao, not me!)

In other words, if handled properly, the "Covering the Sky Trilogy" can also generate huge profits in the hundreds of billions of US dollars!

The most skillful maneuver was that the Ye Group's business happened to include entertainment and gaming, and the Ye Group's entertainment and gaming sectors were among the best in the country!

Moreover, this is only the "Covering the Sky" trilogy; he had read countless classic novels in his previous life. If he could copy them all...

hiss~

At that moment, Ye Linyuan felt as if he were seeing a trillion-dollar IP business empire beckoning to him...

"Brother, what are you thinking about? You're practically drooling."

Ye Linyuan was probably having too much fun, because he didn't respond to An Wangshu for a while. This made An Wangshu subconsciously snuggle into Ye Linyuan's arms and tease him in a coquettish tone.

"Cough cough cough, what do you mean by drooling? I just thought of a way to make money."

Money...

An Wangshu couldn't help but snuggle closer to Ye Linyuan's chest again, and said sweetly.

"Brother, you're amazing!"

"Haha, I also think I'm the best in the world, so Wangshu, don't cry anymore, or your best brother will worry."

"By the way, brother, why hasn't Ruoxi returned yet? Could something have happened to her?"

Ye Linyuan was taken aback. Xiao Ruoxi had indeed been gone for quite a while. After thinking for a moment, he spoke.

"Let's go take a look."

"Yes, I'll do whatever my brother says."

On the other side, at the entrance of the Western restaurant, Xiao Ruoxi looked at Pei Sijing, who was beaming with pride, with an unfriendly expression and a cold tone.

"Hey Pei, if you have any self-respect at all, stay away from me. Just looking at you makes me sick!"

If it were the Pei Sijing of the past, he might have felt sad because of Xiao Ruoxi's words, but now he has a better prey. Xiao Ruoxi is nothing to him, especially since she is mentally ill.

"Xiao Ruoxi, what are you barking about? Do you think I'm still the Xiao family's dog you can order around at will? Remember, you can only order me around if I want to. If I don't want to, you're not even as good as a dog!"

"Pei Sijing, you're asking for it!"

In front of Ye Linyuan, Xiao Ruoxi is gentle and charming, always smiling sweetly, but in front of others, she has a bad temper!

Her slender, jade-like hand clenched into a fist, the veins on the back of her hand clearly visible, carrying a force powerful enough to break an ordinary person's bones as she slammed it toward Pei Sijing's heart.

"You asked for this!"

Facing the person she once had her eye on, Pei Sijing raised her hand to block, then sneered and threw a punch without hesitation, showing no mercy and even using all her strength.

Snapped--

Xiao Ruoxi was quite strong; after easily blocking the attack, she immediately launched a counterattack, and the two quickly began exchanging blows.

With her years of training in the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, Xiao Ruoxi gained the upper hand and even a slight advantage. However, the difference in strength and stamina between men and women quickly became apparent, and before long, Pei Sijing was suppressing Xiao Ruoxi.

The fight between the two attracted the attention of many customers in the vicinity.

"My God, is this a performance? It looks so exciting!"

"It's definitely a performance, otherwise, would they be fighting for real? This is clearly a routine."

"The owner of this Western restaurant is quite something; he actually came up with such a way to attract customers. No wonder the business is so good."

"Yes, but what surprised me the most was where the boss found these two actors, the man is handsome and the woman is beautiful."

"Probably some unknown, obscure martial arts actor?"

"Holy crap, something's not right. This guy seems to be using a lot of force with every thrust; there's a whooshing sound!"

"You mean...?"

"This is a real fight! Call security!"

"Yes, yes, security guards, security guards!"

"Call the police immediately!"

"..."

Just as the crowd was in chaos, Pei Sijing seized the opportunity and slammed a powerful punch into Xiao Ruoxi's face, instantly changing Xiao Ruoxi's expression.

If that punch lands, I'm afraid I won't be able to save my face...

If I become ugly, how can I attract Brother Yuan...?

Thinking of this, Xiao Ruoxi gritted her teeth and, relying on the super strong core strength she had gained from her usual training, kicked out with her right leg towards the spot where Pei Sijing would surely defend. She was gambling that Pei Sijing wouldn't dare to take the risk of this tactic of attacking Wei to rescue Zhao!

Pei Sijing was bolder and more ruthless than Xiao Ruoxi had imagined. He was willing to take a kick from Xiao Ruoxi with his own balls in order to ruin her face!

Brother Yuan...

Seeing the fist so close at hand, Xiao Ruoxi's face turned deathly pale. Her mind wasn't on anything else, but on her own sun...

The next instant, everything spun around. By the time Xiao Ruoxi reacted, Ye Linyuan had already shielded her behind him, and Ye Linyuan had caught Pei Sijing's punch with one hand.

This scene brought a collective sigh of relief to the surrounding customers.

"Good job, bro!"

"Wow, that's awesome, handsome guy!"

"That bastard is a real jerk, how could he lay a hand on such a beautiful woman? Brother, let's teach him a lesson!"

"Where did this kind of scum come from? He pollutes the air while alive and pollutes the land when he dies."

"Bro, beat him up! Beat him hard! Beautiful women are a scarce resource, and this guy actually wants to destroy that scarce resource. Beat him to death!"

"..."

In this era, there may not be many people who dare to do good deeds, but even fewer people will mock someone who has been rescued. Most of the time, people will still offer a few words of praise, as if they are proud of it.

Ye Linyuan was well aware of this, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it; it's human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Moreover, Pei Sijing's punch was very heavy. Even an ordinary person would suffer a broken finger or fracture at best, and might even need to go to the emergency room at worst.

"Pei Sijing, have you even considered what would happen to Ruoxi if that punch landed!"

Ye Linyuan's voice was cold. He hadn't been this angry in many years. The last time he was this angry was probably four years ago...

He originally thought that Pei Sijing should be the male lead in a certain plot, and Xiao Ruoxi, even if she wasn't the female lead, should at least be a supporting female character.

As the male lead, he would never be ruthless towards the female lead or the female supporting character, so even though Xiao Ruoxi mocked Pei Sijing as a servant of the Xiao family today, he didn't really care.

But now the facts tell him that he was wrong. The male lead has changed and become even more ruthless than him, the villainous second male lead!

In fact, Ye Linyuan had already figured out one thing: regardless of whether Pei Sijing was the male lead in a certain story, he was first and foremost a human being. A human being has joys and sorrows, has his own thoughts, and is capable of being ruthless to those he hates!

If An Wangshu hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have come out. In fact, if he had come out any later, given the power of Pei Sijing's punch, Xiao Ruoxi would probably have been ruined for life.

He felt the power of that punch very clearly. This punch would not only disfigure her, but could even kill part of Xiao Ruoxi's brain!

Even if they survive in the end, they will probably live a very painful life!

That bastard Pei Sijing, I'm going to kill him!

...............................

happy New Year!