Rose seemed disappointed. She could see that Yang Chen was still in contemplation on whether or not he should talk about it. So she did not pry.
On the other hand, Yang Chen suddenly remembered a question that he was meaning to ask. He lifted and placed her on his lap and asked,
Babe, answer me honestly. Were you disobedient during my absence? How did you injure yourself?
Rose pouted and said with grievance,
No, I didn’t… I had your permission.
My permission?
Yes.
Rose nodded and replied,
Didn’t you allow me to collaborate with Green Dragon Society to expand our forces in other provinces? I’ve been busy taking over forces from the underworld in the north at Jiangsu Province.
Listening to Rose’s explanation, Yang Chen could finally piece together the whole story.
After Rose finalized matters with Liu Qingshan, they tried to accelerate their expansion by dividing forces. Liu Qingshan started from his base in Beijing and headed down south while Rose’s Red Thorns Society expanded to the north of Zhonghai.
Their plan seemed foolproof—striking from two ends would weaken their opponents control around the centre. Within a year or two, the power of the underground syndicates from the eastern-central coastal province certainly wouldn’t be able to hold off the largest gangs from Beijing and Zhonghai. When that has happened, the territories would be split equally amongst them. They would then go their separate ways by expanding in the southwest and northwest.
Unfortunately, the forces from Jiangsu Province adjacent to Zhonghai were stronger than anticipated. After the largest syndicate there White Wolf Society was attacked by the Red Thorns Society, they fought back with unimaginable ferocity to regain lost ground. Their conflict had lasted the better part of a week.
The elites in Red Thorns Society were trained by Sea Eagles. Although they were nowhere near the actual Sea Eagles, their skill could at least rival the lower rank troops in the special forces.
Unexpectedly, not only were the people from White Wolf Society evenly matched with the elites from Red Thorns Society, they had managed to cause severe casualties to them.
Chen Rong was originally entitled with the entire task. Rose was initially willing to sit this one out in favour of allowing her successor to train. However, Rose was not able to control her desires. In another words, her feistiness and competitiveness in her underworld descent were reignited. Excited, she went to the temporary base set up in Jiangsu Province in an attempt to lead her men into battle.
During an intense battle, Rose fought with a burly man from White Wolf Society. She was surprised that the middle-aged man was so exceptionally skilled. Moreover, he was even a practitioner of cultivation.
Rose thought that with Yang Chen’s guidance and Sea Eagles’ training, she would be unrivalled in the underworld. To her surprise, White Wolf Society possessed fighter far superior to her.
Due to negligence, when her opponent suddenly exerted his internal strength, Rose took the hit head on. As a result, she lost all feeling in her limbs. With this injury in play,her speed was impaired causing her to be struck from behind!
Had Rose’s body not been strengthened by Yang Chen’s blood, she would’ve suffered injuries far worse than the ones she had sustained. Even if she didn’t lose as much blood as she thought, it would take her at least two months before she could start walking again.
Yang Chen was unfamiliar with the Chinese underworld so he had no thoughts when he heard White Wolf Society. Currently after hearing Rose’s narration, he asked,
So what’s the situation in Jiangsu Province now?
Rose said reluctantly,
I didn’t expect an expert of internal energy to be a recruit in White Wolf Society. Their fighters were much stronger than I anticipated, so we lost the high ground. The police and military forces were not going to tolerate anymore fights as it was. Hence, I told Rongrong to withdraw our troops back to the border of Zhonghai. How frustrating! White Wolf Society had concealed themselves so well in the recent years. We lost so many men but didn’t gain anything in return.
Yang Chen saw how Rose was panting with rage, he caressed her florid cheeks and gently said,
Babe, how desperately do you wish to expand your forces?
Huh?
Rose noticed the complication in his words. She blinked innocently and asked,
Hubby, are you okay?
Yang Chen laughed and tenderly answered
To be honest, I was furious when I saw you injured upon coming here.
Rose guiltily lowered her head and replied,
I’m sorry. I’ll be more cautious next time.
Sorry? I’m mad at myself.
Yang Chen grabbed her hand and patted her hand.
I’m angry at my failure to protect you. This isn’t the first time that you’re injured. Even though I could heal you instantly, I’m worried that one day I won’t be there to heal you on time.
Rose panicked when she sensed Yang Chen’s self-blame. She quickly shook her head and said,
No, it won’t happen again. I’ll never put myself at risk anymore. I’ll work behind the scenes instead. I promise!
But I can’t treat you like this,
Yang Chen said and forced a smile.
It’s been tough enough for you to be with me. I need to care for you wholeheartedly and give you my help in everything I can. However, I can’t devote all my time to you. I can protect you but I be by your side forever. I can’t treat you like a canary and keep you from doing what you like. It’s no different from me locking you in a cage!
I know that you are passionate about your career in the underworld. Plus, you were raised in that kind of environment. Changing the way you think is not an option right now. I can’t bear to keep you in this empty house. The reason why I promised to let you work with Green Dragon Society was because I was afraid that you were unhappy with this lifestyle. However, now that you were injured… I have come to realize that I cannot provide you with the happiness you deserve.
Rose suddenly reached out and covered Yang Chen’s mouth with her hands. She shook her head slightly.
Don’t say anything else. Since you’re rarely free to keep me company, let’s hang out, shall we? I’ve been feeling slightly under the weather staying at home all day.
Yang Chen sighed helplessly. He nodded and replied,
Alright, go get changed then. I’ll be waiting for you here.
Rose grinned and kissed Yang Chen on his cheek. She then swiftly ran upstairs. It would seem as though she had fully recovered from her injuries.
Ladies had always taken a long time to get ready and even for someone like Rose who wasn’t particular with appearance, she was no exception. Yang Chen waited downstairs for approximately twenty minutes before she showed up neat and tidy.
She was dressed in a loose grey silky top, matched with a bluish-green skirt and black leather wide sandals. She looked especially refreshing with her hair tied up.
Yang Chen was pleased to see her looking so brilliant, and allowed Rose to hold onto him as they left the house.
After getting into the car, Yang Chen started the engine and didn’t know where to go. He asked,
Babe, where would you like to go?
Rose put on her seatbelt and pondered for a while.
Hubby, what do youngsters nowadays do when they go on a date?
Yang Chen replied with a smile,
What do you mean by youngsters nowadays? Are we really that old? What we do is what youngsters do!
Rose chuckled and said,
Oh, I just remember that someone here is younger than me. No wonder he is so sensitive about age.
Hiss…
Yang Chen angrily stared at Rose and said,
Don’t talk about age. I was just born one or two years later. It’s not that big a gap.
Yang Chen was annoyed at Rose for pointing out so bluntly that he was younger than she was. Moreover, he was embarrassed that he used to call her ‘Sister Rose’ before he started dating her.
On the other hand, Rose knew that Yang Chen wasn’t actually angry. Smiling, she said,
Little Hubby, what say we go out now and do the things youngsters do.
<i>Little Hubby?!</i> he thought.
Yang Chen snapped and stared at Rose’s bosom with his evil eyes. He said,
Babe, if you keep calling me that, I’ll have to take action right here right now.
Rose subconsciously leaned towards the car door after hearing what he said. She shut her mouth and tried to suppress her laughter. She really didn’t feel like doing embarrassing stuff with Yang Chen in the car. Besides, the car was parked by the road and was not tinted in the slightest. Should she fail to resist, it would be humiliating if this shameless man pounced on her.
Furthermore, there were men from Red Thorns Society stationed around her house. As the boss, she couldn’t be seen bullied by her own man.
