The guest was Boss Yan, who Chen Fan had encountered when he first met Third Lord Wei and Master Wu. Ever since Boss Yan witnessed the power of Chen Fan’s lightning wielding ability, he was utterly enthralled by Chen Fan’s power. He had helped Chen Fan a great deal by offering numerous precious materials while the latter constructed the Misty Mountain Array.
Boss Yan was called Yan Shigao. He often called himself Xiao Yan or Fatty Yan and refused to be called Boss Yan while he was in front of Chen Fan.
“Yes, it is me. Master… Mr. Chen.” Boss Yan smiled unctuously turning his eyes into two slits.
“Why are you here?” Chen Fan asked curiously.
He was not surprised that Fatty Yan could have traced his footsteps to his family estate. The Chens were a reputable family in the Jin City, and therefore, as soon as he revealed his identity, anyone could have deduced that he was from the Chen family of the Jin City.
“I came here to wish you a happy new year.” Boss Yan said with a smile.
Chen Fan’s fame had surged in the Jiang Bei region. Since sales of the Yun Wu Spirit Water were solely under his direction, many people wanted to get on his good side. Fatty Yan was a smart man, and he had been planning this visit a while ago and wished to be the first person to show up to wish Chen Fan a happy new year.
By then, Second Uncle had finally reached Chen Fan’s table. He shouted: “Boss Yan, Boss Yan! Wait for me.”
When Second Uncle arrive at the table, he gave Chen Fan a disdainful look before he turned over to Yan Shigao and said: “Boss Yan, come with me to the main hall. These tables are for youngsters. You are our honored guest and deserve a better seat.”
To his surprise, the previously amiable Fatty Yan straightened his back and put on his usual overbearing look. He gave Chen Qianxin a sidelong glance and grunted.
“Who the hell are you? Didn’t you see that I am speaking with Mr. Chen?”
Second Uncle was taken by surprise by the reply. He paused a second and then said: “I am the CEO of The Chens Group. Didn’t you come here to see me?”
“Humph!” Fatty Yan nodded haughtily without sparing Chen Qianxin a glance. He lowered his body and asked Chen Fan with a smile: “Mr. Chen, do you think I should pay tribute to your grandpa and father?”
“Yea, yea. Go now.” Chen Fan waved a hand impatiently.
Fatty Yan spun around and scurried past Second Uncle toward the main hall.
Second Uncle was left dumbfounded. The corner of his eyes twitched in a fit of anger. The other youngsters at the table were also shocked by the development.
“That fat man is here for Chen Fan?” More than one people felt the rug was pulled from under them.
“The Yans Group was not any smaller than The Chens Group. Why was Boss Yan giving Chen Fan so much respect?” Chen Xu and Chen Ning asked the same question in their minds.
Chen An furrowed his brows and wagered that the guest had nothing to do with Wang Xiaoyun. After all, Jin Xiu Group was a real estate company, and the Yans Group was a textile firm, it was unlikely that the two would know each other.
By then, even the adults sitting in the main hall felt something was amiss.
“Did Boss Yan came here for Chen Fan?” An Auntie of Chen Fan asked curiously.
“Could it be one of the third brother’s friends? He is from Chu Zhou City close to third brother.” Fourth Uncle asked confusedly.
Everyone looked toward Chen Gexin in unison.
Chen Gexin was not any less confused than the others at the table. He was a middle-class man from a remote county, yet, Yan Shigao was a renowned billionaire in the big city. He knew of Yan Shigao since he had met him many times at public events, but he didn’t think that Yan Shigao should have known him.
“If he really is Third Lord Chen’s friend, we all had to reevaluate Third Lord Chen’s resourcefulness. It might appear that he didn’t waste his life in the small county after all.”
Some people calculated in their mind.
The Yans Group were a reputable firm in the Chu Zhou City. There were less than three people at the table whose wealth had exceeded Yan Shigao. His name could be heard across the entire Hu Dong Province.
However, what happened next shocked everyone.
As soon as Boss Yan entered the main hall, he walked past Great Uncle and everyone else and straight to Chen Gexin. He bent double when he was close and bowed deeply.
“Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen, I, Xiao Yan, wish you a happy new year.”
Everyone watched in surprise as a billionaire bowed to Chen Gexin and his wife as a child would to his elders.
The development caught Chen Fan’s parents off guard. Chen Gexin hurried to grab Boss Yan and helped him to stand up. “Boss Yan, you are a much more respectable gentleman than me. Oh, you.”
“No, no, no… Compared to you and Mrs Chen, I am nothing.” Yan Shigao shook his head vigorously.
He fished out a delicate gift box from his bag and handed it over to Wang Xiaoyun with both hands. He announced that it was a small new years gift for Mrs. Chen. Being put on the spot, Wang Xiaoyun had to accept the gift despite the confusion.
“Well, I have wished you a happy new year, and my business here is done. I shall not disturb your family reunion any longer and take my leave right now.”
Despite everyone at the table insisting Yan Shigao stay for the banquet, Yan Shigao left the room.
Even after Yan Shigao was gone, people were still dumbfounded by the sudden development. What was going on? They felt that Yan Shigao was not a powerful magnate at all; instead, he looked more like a contractor trying to build a client relationship.
Chen Fan nodded pleasedly.
He appreciated that Fatty Yan was smart enough to take his leave as soon as he dropped off the gift. It was just enough time to leave a good impression for Chen Fan’s parents without getting on Chen Fan’s nerves.
“Are you sure he really is that Boss Yan from Chu Zhou City? Why does he look like a hired actor?”
Second Auntie murmured to her husband.
Although she tried to speak quietly, everyone in the main hall heard her remark.
Chen Gexin pulled a taut face while Wang Xiaoyun snorted. “Gexin had worked near Chu Zhou City for two decades. It’s impossible not to recognize him.”
“What kind of boss acts like him? It seemed that he thinks Third Brother is the tycoon, not the other way around.” Second Auntie refuted.
“That’s enough.” Chen Zhenxin announced somberly.
Even Great Uncle had many questions. Chen Gexin was the only person who had met Yan Shigao before, so he saw where the suspicion were coming from. However, even if the guest was a hired actor, it was not the right time to find out the truth.
“Xiaoyun, what did Boss Yan give you? Let’s see.” Fourth Auntie asked.
Everyone looked at Wang Xiaoyun expectantly.
Doubts suddenly sprouted in Wang Xiaoyun’s mind. She had never met Yan Shigao either, but she believed her husband’s judgment. However, what if Boss Yan was up to something else and gave a poor gift to make her a laughing stock?
“Indeed, Xiaoyun. He is a billionaire; we all want to see what kind of gift he could afford.” Second Auntie chimed in.
Seeing the conversation had caught more and more people’s interest, Wang Xiaoyun knew she had to oblige.
“Fine, so be it.” Wang Xiaoyun gritted her teeth and opened the box.
Inside the delicate gift box was a pair of semi-transparent jadeite bracelets wrapped in gold foil.
The bracelets were green in color and were unmarred by imperfections. Wang Xiaoyun gently lifted the two bracelets and clanked them together, making them sing a musical note. She then raised the bracelet to look at them against the sunlight; it was perfect emerald green.
“These bracelets…”
Everyone at the table were upper-class elites and knew the ins and out of jewelry very well. Seeing the supreme quality of the bracelets, many gasped.
“It’s a pair of authentic semi-transparent green jadeite bracelet of the highest grade. It’s worth over ten millions at least.” Boss Li from the Reed group exclaimed.
“More than that. It is devoid of any imperfections. I say it would cost at least twenty million.” Another tycoon put in.
“Hold on. I remember now! This was the pair that got auctioned off at Christie’s. a few weeks ago. It was called Spring in a Mansion.” One of the guests who happened to be a jeweler exclaimed.
“This pair of Spring in a Mansion was in the display case of Lao Fengxiang Jewelers for centuries. It had fetched over fifty million HK yuan. Rumor had it that the buyer was a tycoon from Jiang Bei.
“The green of spring filled the mansion with crisp musical notes. That was the meaning behind its name.”
“Spring in a Mansion!”
“Fifty Million HK yuan!”
“Tycoon from Jiang Bei!”
Surprise was written all over everyone’s face. Who would have thought a small gift would be worth ten Ferraris. Such wealth, and such generosity!
By then, no one doubted that the guest really was Boss Yan since no one else could have afforded such a gift.
However, another question quickly rose inside of everyone’s mind. Fifty million was not a small number, even for Yan Shigao. Why would he purchase such an expensive gift for Wang Xiaoyun?
Second Auntie and Fourth Auntie’s eyes were green with envy.
Pretty Jewelries were the soft spot of every woman. Second Auntie unconsciously pulled her sleeve over her wrist to cover up her own bracelet that was worth only seventy thousand yuan.
“Gexin, we need to return it.” Wang Xiaoyun turned to Chen Gexin and said.
Chen Gexin shook his head with an expression that read: “not now.” Later, when the gathering was over, he would visit Boss Yan in person to find out why would he gave such an expensive gift.
Chen Gexin was also confused why Boss Yan didn’t come to see him first; instead, he stopped by Chen Fan’s table for a while. Could it be that he was here for Chen Fan?
The thought amused Chen Gexin. He shook his head and disregarded the possibility. He knew his son better than anyone else.
The rest of the guests all acted as everyone expected. Second Uncle heaved a sigh and was convinced that Boss Yan was a rare exception.
Sensing the flow of guests were about to stop, Chen Xu regained some confidence, and he said with a smug smile:
“Xiao Fan, not bad! Your family finally scored a guest. A huge improvement from last year.”
Everyone could tell the contempt in his words.
Chen An furrowed his brows. Although Boss Yan was the only one who came, he was more influential than most of the gusts of other families.
“I might have underestimated my Uncle Gexin.”
Chen An thought to himself. Despite the appearance of Yan Shigao, Chen An was confident that he and his father’s positions were unchallenged.
Even as he thought so, the doorman announced another guest.
“Zhen Jiulin, Owner of the Zhen De Group from Chu Zhou City, arrives!”