Waterways coursed through tens of miles of fertile land, reflecting the sparking lights and excitement of the Jin City.
The Chen family’s residence was located at the foothills of the East Mountain, away from the noisy streets of the city. It was a perfect location for seniors to enjoy their slow-paced retirement.
Ever since Chen Fan’s grandfather Chen Huaian retired from work, he had been living here and taking care of his small garden. Almost all of his children were successful and were working in big cities, except for his youngest son who ran away with his life to a small county.
The Chen Family might be nearly unheard of in the Jiang Nan Province; however, the family was deeply rooted in the Jin City and had connections in all areas of the city. Chen Huaian’s brothers were spread across the city, and together they formed a tight-knit family clan: the Chen Family of the Jin City.
Chen Huaian stood in front of his mansion and looked toward the end of the road while waiting for his family.
His stubborn third son was coming home today.
The thought of Chen Gexin made him heave a sigh. He was his favorite son, talented and smart ever since he was a little boy. Chen Gexin was admitted into the Qinhua University in the 80s and became the pride of the entire family clan. However, he was as stubborn as a donkey. His mind was clouded by the ink he drank at the university, in a fit of delusion and anger, he ran away with the Wang family’s daughter to the countryside just to prove himself right.
“Grandpa, we don’t know when Uncle Gexin is going to come eyet. Let’s just wait inside.” An attractive girl said.
“It’s alright, really. I exercise my old legs and arms with Tai Chi every day. I will be fine.” Chen Huaian waved a hand. “I haven’t seen Xiao Fan and Xiao Ya for a while. I wonder if they have grown taller?”
The old man murmured to himself. The older he got, the more he found himself talking to himself.
Chen Ning stood aside and listened to the old man’s murmur with a smile.
She was An Ya’s friend. They were both of the same age and went to the same university, and even their major was the same: business. Therefore the two had a lot of common interests. They both appreciated each other’s talents and enjoyed each other’s company.
However, she had little love for the son of Uncle Gexin.
“Stubborn, cold, naive little spoiled dip shit!” Chen Ning cursed in her mind and gritted her teeth.
Chen Fan’s parents rarely had time to look after him, and therefore, he used to be a savage little nightmare for the people around him. His temperament didn’t improve until he went to Chu Zhou City for school.
However, Chen Ning’s impression of Chen Fan remained the same as that when he was a little boy, and therefore, she didn’t have anything good to say about him.
“Uncle Gexin was exceptionally talented, and Auntie Yun was one of the toughest women in business I have ever seen, even An Ya has a lovely personality, how come their son turned out to be such a black sheep?” Chen Ning shook her head as she lamented.
As she thought so, a black VW pulled over to the entrance.
The Chen family emerged from the car.
“Dad!”
Chen Gexin and Wang Xiaoyun shouted.
Chen Huaian nodded. Chen Huaian and his sister came over to the old man and greeted him. “Grandpa.”
Chen Huaian was very pleased with his step-granddaughter. No one in the Chen family could rival An Ya’s talent and appearance. From time to time, he even attempted to set her up with his oldest grandson Chen An. However, An Ya resisted the idea and ended up upsetting the old man even till this day.
The old man shifted his gaze to Chen Fan; right away, he noticed something was amiss.
Chen Gexin and Wang Xiaoyun were still young in the eyes of Chen Huaian, who was already in his eighties. His rough and tumble life had given him a pair of keen eyes to pick up even the smallest details.
However, there and then, he suddenly felt that he knew practically nothing about his little grandson.
“Interesting. It’s only been half a year, how come Xiao Fan had changed so much?” Chen Huaian asked himself.
In other people’s view, Chen Fan had not changed at all. He was still reticent, and average in his looks and talent. However, in the eyes of Chen Huaian, the little grandson was full of unexplored latent talents. His sharp mind and iron-will were like that of an unsheathed blade, ready to take action.
Under Chen Fan’s ordinary appearance, he harbored a sense of pride that set him apart from everyone else.
The old man had only seen such an imposing manner in people who were at the top of the food chain. Plus, there was something more than just dignity in Chen Fan; in his eyes flickered a cold light that was indifferent to anything around him. Not until his gaze met with his father and sister An Ya did a small emotion ripple on his face
“This feeling is… very familiar…” Chen Huaian’s heart thumped heavily in his chest as he finally realized where he had felt the feeling before.
It was when he went to the temple and saw the statues of gods and buddhas. Chen Fan held the same indifferent expression as those immortals who viewed the earthly creatures as nothing but ants.
“Xiao Fan is only sixteen years old, how could he have such a transcendental demeanor? I am already in my eighties and yet, far away from becoming disillusioned with the earthly world.” Chen Huaian was rendered speechless.
As he thought so, his other children and grandchildren came out of the house to welcome the new arrivals.
They were Grandma, Families of the Great Uncle, the second and the third Uncles, the great auntie, and the second auntie.
Chen Huaian had four sons and two daughters, and Chen Gexin was his third son. Chen Ning was the daughter of Chen Fan’s great uncle.
He looked in the great hall of the family residence; it was packed with relatives who worked at key positions of various industries.
Needless to say, a family gathering like this was no match with that of the Wei family or the Tang family, much less the almighty Wang family of Yan Jin.
Chen Fan’s attention was elsewhere, and therefore, he didn’t notice the judging and jealous gaze of his uncles.
Of all the family members, the old man only rolled out the red carpet for Chen Fan’s family. Even when his most powerful son, the oldest one arrived, the old man merely stood up from the sofa to receive him. When any other offspring had arrived, he only nodded at them to acknowledge their presence.
Chen Gexin had been his father’s favorite ever since he was a child. As the most talented son of the old man, he married the princess of the Wang family. At the time, their marriage was the envy of all other family members.
However, their marriage soon took a dark turn, and Chen Fan’s father fell out with the Wang family. Chen Gexin suddenly fell from grace, and his marriage turned out to be a curse in disguise. He gained nothing from the marriage; worse, the Wang family tried to bring him to his knees in every way they could.
The jealousy of Che Gexin’s brothers and sisters turned into resentment. They started to alienate their younger brother and his wife, and the alienation eventually drove Wang Xiaoyun to leave for Zhong Hai to start her own business.
“OK, let’s catch up upstairs. Leave the kids here.”
Greetings over, Chen Huaian, rose from the seat and walked up to the stairs.
The adults in the room followed him, leaving their kids in the hall by themselves.
The third generation of the Chen Family was a much bigger crowd than the second generation. The dozen or so teenagers filled up the meeting hall.
They wore brand name clothing on their body and aloofness and pride on their faces. Chen Fan looked quiet and unassuming among his cousins.
The teenagers surrounded a pair of attractive looking boys and girls.
The boy was in his early twenties. His handsome face wore a golden rimmed glasses and held a steadfast expression. He was sitting at the center of the table. The boys and girls around him spoke to him in ingratiating tones.
The girl was elegant but aloof. Her beauty made her look like a forgotten orchid blooming alone in the hearts of forest.
They were the son and daughter of Chen Fan’s great uncle: Chen Ning and Chen An.
Chen An was the oldest among the third generation. He was graduated from the Transportation Institute of Zhong Hai and was regarded as the most talented person in the Chen family.
Chen Ning was not any less talented than her brother. She was studying as an Economics Major at Jin City University. She had already been admitted to the HF Business School. HF Business School was one of the most renowned business schools in the world. Its graduates were highly sought after by the investment banks at the Wall Street.
Compared to these two, the rest of the Chen Family had much less to show for.
Everyone except for Chen Fan sat around the two. Chen Fan sat in a corner, waiting for his tea to be steeped.
Except for Chen Fan, the other members of the third generation of the Chen Family grew up together in the same City. Therefore, they knew each other ever since childhood. Chen Fan, on the other hand, lived in a far away county and only met with the rest of the group once a year; he barely knew his cousins. Neither did his cousins make an effort to include Chen Fan in their clique.
An Ya could have been his companion; however, she was dragged away by Chen Ning to chat with her.
Compared to Chen Fan, An Ya was much more popular. She sat beside Chen Ning, and the two looked like two goddesses on a painting come alive. Her beauty and refined demeanor even rivaled that of Chen Ning.
A voice came to Chen Fan abruptly: “Xiao Fan, why don’t you join us?”
Chen Fan looked up and noticed An Ya was looking at him.
The army of cousins around An Ya looked to Chen Fan; their eyes were filled with all kinds of emotions: jealousy, mocking, judging, and indifferent.
Chen Fan and his parents were too special in this big family, so much so that his cousins didn’t know how to converse with this boy.