Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

Remember this name: . Remember this domain name: . Good books won't lead you astray.

After seeing Li Yunrui off, Zhou Cheng summoned a servant to clean up the mess in the study.

The broken porcelain shards were picked up one by one, the tea stains were carefully wiped dry, and the incense burner was refilled with fragrance. The faint scent of ambergris filled the air, dispelling the lingering mist and haze.

The waiter left the room.

Zhou Cheng sat back down at his desk.

"Fan Xian..."

Thinking about what the woman said before she left, he never expected that Fan Xian would accidentally be the first to discover that Li Yunrui was pregnant.

After thinking for a moment, he dismissed his concerns.

Based on his understanding of Fan Xian, he knew that kid wouldn't tell anyone.

Li Yunrui is, after all, Lin Wan'er's mother. Now that Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er are about to get married, if Li Yunrui's reputation is ruined, Lin Wan'er will also lose face.

Whenever Lin Wan'er is involved, Fan Xian will almost always give in unconditionally.

Li Yunrui, on the other hand, couldn't understand any of this and only wished he could kill Fan Xian immediately.

She invited Ye Liuyun to help her, and is now waiting for his reply.

Whether Ye Liuyun would make a move or not, Li Yunrui thought he would, and Zhou Cheng also thought he would.

Li Yunrui was unaware that even if Ye Liuyun intervened, Fan Xian was destined not to die.

Although Ye Liuyun was the chief retainer of the Junshan Society and had long been supported by Li Yunrui's money while traveling the world, that favor was far less than the connection he had with Wu Zhu and Ye Qingmei.

Li Yunrui's idea of ​​having a Grandmaster kill Fan Xian was purely wishful thinking.

Don't say Ye Liuyun wouldn't kill him; any other grandmaster would have done the same.

The best way to kill Fan Xian now is to get a few high-ranking ninth-grade assassins to help him.

Unfortunately, Li Yunrui was unaware of this.

"This is an interesting opportunity. Not only can we gain a favor for free, but we can also put pressure on the Crown Prince."

Zhou Cheng tapped his fingers on the table, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Although he had already prepared a script for the crown prince, the script was ultimately too rigid.

If the crown prince were to actively cooperate, the results would naturally be even better.

Compared to the time when the censorate used Fan Xian to do a favor for Chen Pingping, this time, the favor for Fan Xian has to be done through Fan Ruoruo.

"Fan Ruoruo..."

……

For the next two days, Zhou Cheng sent invitations to the Fan residence every day, inviting Fan Ruoruo to meet, but all his efforts were in vain, with no response whatsoever.

He then summoned Teng Zijing and learned the whereabouts of the invitation.

Since that day in the Imperial Study, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have also sent many invitations to the Fan residence under the pretext of various gatherings and poetry recitals.

Those invitations weren't even seen by Fan Ruoruo before Fan Xian threw them directly into the wastebasket.

Zhou Cheng's invitation was different from the treatment given to the Crown Prince and the others.

His was deliberately picked out by Fan Xian and thrown to the servants as toilet paper.

From Teng Zijing's words, Zhou Cheng learned that Fan Xian still deeply resented his proposal to marry Fan Ruoruo and was deliberately doing this to disgust him.

However, he didn't seem to care after hearing it.

Since a formal invitation was not accepted, Zhou Cheng had Teng Zijing deliver a letter to Fan Ruoruo privately.

There's nothing we can do; he has connections in key positions!

Teng Zijing hesitated only slightly before agreeing.

The next day, at Yishi Residence.

It was still that same private room, the "Top Class" located right on the street, where you could see the bustling street as soon as you opened the window.

Golden sunlight streamed in through the carved window, casting dappled patterns of light on the rosewood table, like brocade draped with broken gold.

The aroma of tea wafts through the air, the fire in the stove is burning gently, and a pot of orchids in the corner is blooming with tiny white flowers. The fragrance of the orchids blends with the aroma of the tea, creating a truly delightful experience.

Fan Ruoruo arrived at the appointment on time.

Today she wore a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her hair simply styled in a bun, adorned only with a plain silver hairpin, looking as elegant as if she had stepped out of a painting. The hem of her skirt swayed gently with her steps, unhurried and unhurried. As she entered, her eyes were slightly lowered, her eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her cheeks, her steps composed, showing no sign of nervousness.

Upon meeting, she bowed to Zhou Cheng with impeccable manners.

"Ruoruo thanks Your Highness."

The letter Zhou Cheng gave her was about how Fan Sizhe had secretly partnered with the Fourth Prince, Li Chengping, to open the Baoyuelou restaurant.

In the original storyline, the third prince, Li Chengping, has become the fourth prince due to his sudden appearance.

The opening of Baoyuelou by Versace and Li Chengping was actually orchestrated by the Second Prince, Li Chengze.

Li Chengze knew that it would be difficult to control or make Fan Xian submit through normal means, so he set up a scheme.

Taking advantage of Versace's greed, naivety, and eagerness for quick success, he was persuaded to partner with the Fourth Prince to open a brothel.

Having learned from his previous failure to open a bookstore, Versace kept his involvement in running a brothel a secret, with no one in the Versace household aware of it.

After receiving the letter, Fan Ruoruo spent the entire morning questioning Fan Sizhe to get the facts straight.

She knew someone was going to use Versace to set a trap for Fan Xian, and Zhou Cheng's early warning of this matter eliminated a huge hidden danger for Fan Xian.

Although she understood that Zhou Cheng also harbored ill intentions, Fan Ruoruo still felt indebted to him and decided to come as promised.

She didn't even mention this to Fan Xian.

She knew Fan Xian would definitely not agree to her coming, and that Fan Xian would have to repay the favor himself.

Zhou Cheng raised his hand in greeting, his smile gentle.

"Miss Ruoruo, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat."

Fan Ruoruo sat down opposite him, her posture dignified, her hands folded on her knees. She looked up at Zhou Cheng, her gaze clear as water, and cut to the chase:

"Regarding Versace, I must thank Your Highness for reminding me. I've come here to repay Your Highness's favor. May I ask what business Your Highness may have with me, or what I may do for you?"

Zhou Cheng slowly poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of her. The tea was clear and steaming, swirling gently in the white jade cup.

"Speaking of favors... Miss Ruoruo owes more than just this one."

Fan Ruoruo was slightly taken aback.

Zhou Cheng picked up his teacup, took a small sip, put it down, and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the edge of the table.

"I requested His Majesty to grant me a marriage in the Imperial Study, but Miss Ruoruo was able to choose her own marriage—Miss Ruoruo, you don't think that was an accident, do you?"

Fan Ruoruo's expression hardened.

She naturally knew that Zhou Cheng had asked Emperor Qing to grant him a marriage in the Imperial Study.

That day, Fan Xian ran back to the manor excitedly, saying that Ruoruo could now choose her own husband. She was happy at the time, and then asked him to explain what had happened.

Even now, she is secretly grateful.

"Your Highness did this on purpose?" She stared at Zhou Cheng. "But why?"

Zhou Cheng put down his teacup.

"Everyone says Miss Ruoruo is the most talented woman in Kyoto, why don't you guess?"

Fan Ruoruo frowned and pondered.

She certainly didn't believe everything Zhou Cheng said; she had her own considerations.

She hadn't thought about it in detail before, but now, after a little thought, she realized the problem.

Zhou Cheng is engaged to Ye Ling'er, the daughter of the Ye family.

With the Ye family's marriage agreement already in place, even if Zhou Cheng were foolish, he should know that Emperor Qing would not grant him another marriage.

Even so, he still begged.

Was he really doing it on purpose?

The sunlight outside the window cast interplay of light and shadow on Fan Ruoruo's face, and her eyelashes trembled gently, like a butterfly fluttering its wings.

"Is Your Highness doing this for my brother Fan Xian?" she asked slowly. "You want to do favors for those around my brother, making them indebted to you, and thus gain their support?"

Zhou Cheng looked at her and nodded slightly.

"While not entirely correct, it's half right. I did want Fan Xian to owe me a favor, but—"

He paused, his gaze intense.

"He truly admires Miss Ruoruo and wants to marry her."

This is a very direct statement, one could say it's completely unvarnished.

Fan Ruoruo didn't expect Zhou Cheng to be so direct. She subconsciously avoided his burning gaze, her ears turning slightly red.

However, she quickly calmed down after remembering the many rumors about the other person.

She lowered her eyes and curled her lip in disgust.

In terms of appearance and background, Zhou Cheng is naturally impeccable.

But she learned from Fan Xian that although the person in front of her was not as absurd as the rumors suggested, he was by no means a good person either.

"Your Highness is joking." She kept her eyes downcast, her voice cold. "Ruo Ruo has talent but no beauty. If it weren't for her brother Fan Xian, how could she have caught Your Highness's eye?"

Zhou Cheng watched her little expressions with great interest.

"Miss Ruoruo is too modest. Actually, I really think highly of you."

As the most talented woman in the capital, Fan Ruoruo is not only proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also deeply influenced by Fan Xian's modern ideas, and has a way of thinking close to that of modern people.

Her learning ability far surpassed that of ordinary people, and she later became a medical expert who practiced both medicine and toxicology, and was able to use surgery to treat and save lives.

Zhou Cheng highly values ​​Fan Ruoruo's medical skills.

Perhaps as a grandmaster he doesn't need it much, but the women around him do.

After all, this is an era where women risk death just by giving birth, and no one can guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen.

"Your Highness, please stop talking."

Fan Ruoruo's expression darkened.

"Your Highness is already engaged to the daughter of the Ye family, and Your Highness is a man of many affections and has many confidantes around you, so why would you need Ruoruo?"

With Fan Xian watching over her, she heard plenty of gossip about Zhou Cheng.

She knew that just two days ago, this man had taken his woman on a trip to the outskirts of the city.

Objectively speaking, Zhou Cheng was indeed very good to his women, but she also heard that Zhou Cheng took four women out with him, two in his arms and two close by on the carriage.

If she really marries him, she won't even know where to sit when taking a car.

To be honest, she couldn't quite figure it out either.

Although she wasn't familiar with Ye Ling'er, she had heard of her. She couldn't understand how such a proud girl like Ye Ling'er could tolerate being with other women.

"Passionate and loving?"

Zhou Cheng smiled.

"Miss Ruoruo truly lives up to her reputation as a woman of great talent. If you want to say I'm a womanizer, just say so, but you do it in such a tactful and sweet way."

He poured himself another cup of tea, picked it up, and gently blew on it.

"Miss Ruoruo is still young and doesn't understand—a man's infidelity isn't always a bad thing."

Just like in the original storyline, when you confessed your feelings to Fan Xian and were rejected, you probably wished that Fan Xian would be even more of a womanizer and more incestuous.

Fan Ruoruo pursed her lips, not wanting to speak.

Influenced by Fan Xian from a young age, her thoughts differed from those of ordinary young ladies.

In her view, this was just sophistry from a lecherous man.

She didn't want to dwell on these topics.

"If Ruoruo can choose her own marriage, and if Your Highness did so intentionally, then Ruoruo thanks Your Highness."

She stood up, her expression aloof. "It's just that Ruoruo has no plans for marriage yet, and only likes devoted men, which disappoints Your Highness."

"If Your Highness does not clearly state your purpose, please allow me to take my leave. The Fan family will repay the favor done by Versace at our own pace."

After saying that, she turned around and made a move to leave.

Zhou Cheng took a leisurely sip of tea and put down his teacup.

"If Miss Ruoruo leaves like this, Fan Xian might not be able to return from Northern Qi."

Fan Ruoruo stopped abruptly.

She turned around, stared at Zhou Cheng, her eyes filled with barely concealed anger.

However, her anger quickly subsided, and she raised her chin slightly.

"Your Highness, are you going to use my brother to threaten Ruoruo? Impossible!" Her voice was full of certainty. "You have no idea how capable my brother is. Even if someone tries to kill him, he will complete the mission and return safely!"

The tone of his voice conveyed absolute trust in Fan Xian, leaving no room for doubt.

Zhou Cheng found it interesting.

His posture, his eyes, and his tone made no attempt to hide his admiration for Fan Xian.

He truly deserves to be called the world's number one brother-obsessed character in Joy of Life!

He smiled softly.

"Ruoruo, my understanding of Fan Xian is actually better than yours. You could even say that I understand Fan Xian better than Fan Xian himself."

Fan Ruoruo didn't speak, forcibly suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, silently chanting in her heart, "Be a lady!"

"Blindly confident in one's older brother is not a bad thing. However, everything must be based on reality."

Zhou Cheng stared into Fan Ruoruo's eyes.

"Fan Xian is indeed powerful—but no matter how powerful he is, can he withstand a Grandmaster?"

Grandmaster.

The moment those three words were uttered, Fan Ruoruo's expression inevitably changed.

Her brows were almost furrowed into the shape of a "川" (river).

She said uncertainly:

"Grandmaster? What do you mean? Your Highness wouldn't be saying... there's a Grandmaster trying to kill my brother, would you?"

Her first reaction was bewilderment, and her second reaction was disbelief.

What kind of person is a Grandmaster?

That was an existence that transcended imperial power.

She thought Fan Xian was the most outstanding person in the world, and even if he became a Grandmaster, he would still have a bright future. But Fan Xian was only an eighth-rank official. What merit did he have to trouble a Grandmaster to take action?

Zhou Cheng squinted his eyes.

"Ruoruo, you don't know me well yet. Once you do, you'll know—I never lie."

"If I say there are grandmasters, then there will naturally be grandmasters."

He chuckled softly.

"You don't want your brother to be in danger, do you? So you'd better listen to my arrangements."

Fan Ruoruo stood there, her brows furrowed, hesitant and uncertain.

……

About half an hour later, Fan Ruoruo returned to the Fan residence.

As soon as she entered the backyard, she saw Fan Xian walking briskly from the direction of the study. He had gone to the Observatory to discuss matters related to his mission today, and only learned that Fan Ruoruo had gone out when he returned home at noon. He was currently in a state of great anxiety.

"Ruoruo!" He came up to her, looking her up and down. "Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?"

Upon seeing Fan Xian, Fan Ruoruo's expression became somewhat unnatural.

After trying to clear her mind of all the distracting thoughts, she took a deep breath.

"Brother, that bastard Versace actually partnered with someone to open a brothel behind the family's back."

Fan Xian was taken aback.

"What? Opening a brothel?"

He turned around to confront Versace, his sleeves already rolled up.

Fan Ruoruo grabbed him and gripped his sleeve with her fingers.

"Brother, don't worry. The matter has been resolved."

Fan Xian stopped and looked at her, his chest still heaving.

Fan Ruoruo briefly recounted the events at Baoyue Tower.

Fan Xian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Fan Sizhe's business had failed and that he had even been beaten up by Fan Ruoruo, but he also found it amusing.

"So..." He looked at Fan Ruoruo, "you just went to see Prince Cheng?"

Fan Ruoruo nodded and loosened her fingers from his sleeve.

"Since I owed them a favor, I went. We had a meal at Yi Shi Ju and chatted for a bit."

Fan Xian frowned.

"Just eating and chatting? It's that simple? That guy didn't say anything crazy? Talking to that lunatic, I always feel like he can't say anything decent."

Fan Ruoruo couldn't help but laugh, her lips curving into a smile.

"It's not that exaggerated!" She paused, her smile fading slightly. "But brother, you're right—Prince Cheng is truly a lunatic!"

Fan Xian was taken aback.

He had only said it casually, but he didn't expect Ruoruo to agree. She never speaks ill of others behind their backs, so what was wrong with her today?

"What did that guy say?"

Fan Ruoruo: "Prince Cheng said that if you go to Northern Qi, a Grandmaster will come to kill you."

Fan Xian rolled his eyes after hearing this.

Grandmaster?

Even though Li Yunrui had made some harsh remarks to him early on, he didn't think he deserved to be personally taken down by a Grandmaster.

Moreover, it's still a question whether Li Yunrui can even invite a Grandmaster!

After more than half a year, his martial arts progress has taken another step forward, and he is only one step away from the ninth rank.

The only problem is that he is somewhat greedy and reckless, which reduces his control over the domineering true energy, and he occasionally experiences a surge of qi and blood.

Although there were some minor issues, he was confident that even if a ninth-rank official came to kill him, he could either defeat them or escape.

Moreover, for his safety, Wu Zhu had already set off for Northern Qi yesterday. Although Wu Zhu didn't say much, Fan Xian knew that he was going to deal with troubles that he couldn't handle on his own.

"That Li Chengcheng is a lunatic, always spreading alarmist rumors!" Fan Xian waved his hand, his tone tinged with disdain. "From now on, whatever happens, your brother will take responsibility. It's good for you to stay away from him. That bastard is a toad trying to eat swan meat; don't give him the chance. I'm afraid he'll be driven mad by lust and do something bad to you."

Fan Ruoruo blushed.

"Brother, what are you saying! This is Kyoto. Even if he is a prince, it's impossible for him to... Sigh! Never mind, I don't want to talk about him."

Fan Xian wanted to say something more, but Fan Ruoruo had already turned away.

"Brother, I'm going back to my room to rest!"

Fan Ruoruo waved her hand behind his back, then ignored Fan Xian and quickly walked into her room.

Fan Xian frowned, looking at Fan Ruoruo's back with some unease.

Fan Ruoruo closed the door, then collapsed onto the bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing Fan Xian made her mind a jumbled mess.

She naturally had many things she hadn't told Fan Xian yet.

For example, when she called Zhou Cheng a lunatic, it wasn't because a Grandmaster wanted to assassinate Fan Xian.

Instead, that guy said—

Fan Xian is not her biological brother.

She said if she liked Fan Xian, she should confess her feelings as soon as possible...