Quan family mansion, Quan Tianxi watched the giant television screen, his eyes unblinking.
Third, second, first... "Yes~" He jumped up, his face flushed with excitement, and he quickly made a phone call.
Soon, a pleasant female voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Second brother, what's wrong?" Quan Jiu asked.
Hearing the address "Second Brother," Quan Tianxi's heart melted. The corners of his mouth almost reached his ears. Jiu Jiu calling him Second Brother, Jiu Jiu's voice was so nice.
"Jiu Jiu, I'm here to congratulate you. Your movie has become number one on the annual movie charts."
Quan Jiu was slightly surprised. She remembered that it had been hovering around third and fourth place before. After all, it was a work by a new director and featured all new actors. Compared to some big-name celebrities, the popularity would naturally be a bit lower.
How did it suddenly jump to first place today? Quan Jiu searched on her tablet, and indeed, all rankings for popularity, influence, and other metrics were number one. Even the top trending search was reporting these statistics.
New director Jiang Nanchen, new actors Xing Di, Liu Wenwen, and the mysterious screenwriter nine were once again trending on hot searches. There was even a peculiar hot search: "#@Wei Tao, find nine#".
Quan Jiu found it both amusing and exasperating. If she were Wei Tao, she would be utterly frustrated right now.
Wei Tao was indeed extremely frustrated. After much thought, he called Quan Jiu, but her line was busy. Unable to do anything, he had to hang up and continue to be frustrated.
As for Quan Jiu, she could figure out the reason for the ranking with a little thought. The last time she asked Quan Tianxi to help her fend off Tai Shu Su Lian, she had casually mentioned wanting to top the charts. She had just said it in passing, but Quan Tianxi had definitely taken it to heart.
The higher the ranking, the harder it was to surpass. Moreover, the top few positions were held by capable individuals, so it was conceivable that Quan Tianxi had spent a considerable amount of money to boost her ranking.
Quan Jiu felt a pang of concern for the money, but she couldn't refuse her second brother's good intentions. She decided to pretend to be surprised and said, "Really? It was third or fourth before, that's great! My 'Nine God nine's' first battle back home has finally been fought beautifully. My value must double next year."
Quan Tianxi had indeed spent money to boost the ranking, but to him, it was just small change. As long as his sister was happy, he was happy.
"That movie was really good. I was just planning to show it to Mom and Dad so they could see it too," Quan Tianxi said happily. He paused, remembering that Jiu Jiu might be on set, and quickly prepared to hang up. "Oh, you're still filming, right? Then I won't bother you."
"No, I took a few days off. Right now... I'm going somewhere you wouldn't expect," Quan Jiu teased.
Somewhere unexpected? Quan Tianxi's face lit up with joy. Could Jiu Jiu be secretly coming to the new district to visit them? He pretended to be unaware, asked a few more questions, then hung up the phone. He then hurriedly instructed Di Wang to investigate.
Soon, Di Wang provided the information. The person had indeed entered the new district, but their direction was towards the Tai Shu clan.
Quan Tianxi immediately thought of the conflict between Tai Shu Su Lian and Jiu Jiu. Without a second thought, he quickly called Quan Tianyang and then hurried out with his men.
Meanwhile, Quan Jiu and Chu Rong arrived at the entrance of the new district. It was an inconspicuous alley, only wide enough for one car, and it led to a dead end at the bottom.
However, as the car drove to the end of the alley, Chu Rong presented a credential. The wall, which looked like it could collapse at any moment, slowly split open from the middle, revealing a metal quadrilateral space within.
Chu Rong drove in, and Quan Jiu watched as the wall slowly closed. Then, the car vibrated slightly, and she could feel it descending rapidly.
After an unknown duration and number of levels, the sensation of descent suddenly stopped. Then, as the iron gate ahead opened, the scene before them became clear.
It was like Alice stumbling into Wonderland. Here, though there was no Queen of Hearts or Mad Hatter, the paths paved with blue bricks on both sides resembled a large botanical garden, filled with all sorts of flowers and trees, birdsong and fragrant blossoms, completely different from Quan Jiu's imagined new district.
She admired and marveled as she went. The houses in the new district were very old-fashioned, mostly ancient-style courtyard buildings. The further she went, the more it felt like traveling back in time, as if walking on ancient city streets.
"I didn't expect the new district to be like this," she leaned against the window, almost forgetting that she was here to cause trouble.
Chu Rong deliberately slowed down the car, not rushing to the Tai Shu residence. Instead, they toured the city. By half-past eleven, the car finally stopped in front of a restaurant.
The two leisurely had lunch and then browsed for a while longer before slowly heading to their destination.
Tai Shu Su Lian, after her second failed attempt, dared not act rashly again. However, she secretly had Di Wang investigate to find out Quan Jiu's relationship with the Quan family in the new district. Unfortunately, this time, even Di Wang couldn't gather any useful information.
Tai Shu Su Lian wanted to inquire with Qu Yi again, as the Qu family's capabilities far surpassed the Tai Shu family's. But before she could set out, an unexpected person intruded upon the Tai Shu residence.
Quan Jiu, along with Chu Rong. Accompanied by a hundred burly and powerful bodyguards.
This group, so abruptly and provocatively, appeared at the main entrance of the Tai Shu residence.
Upon hearing the news, Tai Shu Su Lian immediately went to the main entrance. Seeing Quan Jiu standing at the forefront, dressed in a black tight-fitting outfit that accentuated her graceful figure, her eyes were sharp and piercing, like an assassin poised to strike.
"The Hundred Ghosts Army. I never expected to see the renowned Hundred Ghosts Army of the Chu Corporation at our doorstep. Director Chu, your enthusiasm is truly intoxicating," Tai Shu Su Lian said, her eyes filled with allure as she looked at Chu Rong.
The Hundred Ghosts Army was an elite bodyguard force cultivated by the Chu Corporation for generations. Almost all martial arts champions each year came from this team. Each of the hundred individuals could take on ten opponents.
This was clearly a declaration of intent to cause trouble.
Chu Rong averted his gaze with disgust, remaining silent.
Quan Jiu smiled lightly and walked gracefully, step by step, towards Tai Shu Su Lian. She said haughtily, "You were the one who initiated contact the previous few times. It's only polite to reciprocate. Although it's a bit late..."
"Bang~" Quan Jiu unexpectedly struck Tai Shu Su Lian in the abdomen with a punch. She exhaled lightly, "You're finally here, aren't you?"
That's right, today she was here specifically to cause trouble.
Tai Shu Su Lian, struck by the punch, doubled over in pain, like a boiled shrimp. She exhaled a breath of turbid air and glared at Quan Jiu, "You have great courage, daring to barge into the stronghold of our Tai Shu clan. Today, I will let you know what it means to come and never return."
"Oh, really? Unfortunately, you won't have the chance to see it," Quan Jiu took a small step back, moved her left foot forward, and with her right leg gathering strength, delivered a swift spinning kick that landed squarely on Tai Shu Su Lian's chin.
The force of this kick was so great that as Tai Shu Su Lian was sent flying sideways, she even spat out two bloody teeth.
But she was not unaccustomed to hardship. She did not faint from the blow. Gritting her teeth, she stood up, spat out a mouthful of blood, drew the dagger she carried, and attacked Quan Jiu.
Quan Jiu was prepared. She drew the soft whip from her waist and proceeded to beat Tai Shu Su Lian soundly.