The details of the lab were quickly finalized, and Chen Fan named it the Laboratory For Future Life Science. Chen Fan provided the funding while the Jin City University contributed with in-kind support such as space and labor. In the future, all results would be shared between both parties, however, Chen Fan reserved the right to purchase the other half of the rights on any of the research results.
Money was not a problem for Chen Fan. He had diverted part of his wealth to his mother in order for her to build her company. However, he still had a tremendous amount of wealth in his disposal, that did not even include the financial power of all the tycoons that supported him back in Jiang Bei.
The department of biology was ecstatic about the research contract. Each year, the government only gave Jin City University a few hundred million at the most, and when that money finally trickled down to the Biology, there would be less than a few dozen million. However, Chen Fan had invested fifty million at once just for the construction of the lab alone. The sudden inflow of cash stunned the managers of the university. Chen Fan had hired Xue Jiao as his representative and assigned her the job of monitoring the cash flow.
Xiao Xue was taken aback for a second. She had never thought that she would become a manager of a world-class lab from being a lowly teaching assistant. Such a position was usually filled by reputable professors. Her thesis advisor, for example, was hired to run a lab overseas.
After Chen Fan had arranged everything, he left for Business School.
The construction of the lab would take time. During that time, Chen Fan was just an ordinary student in the Business School, living a mundane college life. The carefree life started to grow on Chen Fan. He had been living under constant pressure to improve through intense battles for nearly five hundred years, and the life of a college student had been a much-needed vacation.
The first weekend after school started…
“Hey yo, let’s go hit the bar! It’s all on me!” Qiu Yilun shouted.
The young man had been touring the city in his BMW 330 every day and had visited nearly all the entertainment venues in the city.
“Young Lord Qiu, aren’t you afraid of Qian Lulu’s ire?” Chen Fan asked interestedly.
He knew that Qiu Yilun and Qian Lulu and been busy under the bedsheets. The fire of their young love was raging and it was wise to not tamper with it.
“ah-ah-ha! I mean. Lulu and her roommates are going with me as well.” Qiu Yilun smiled embarrassingly as he gave Qi Wangsun a glance. He had been trying to set up Qi Wangsun and Liu Xiaojin. The proposal to go to the bar was also part of the plan to set them up.
After everyone agreed to go to the party, Qiu Yilun set the time to Qian Lulu. All the boys rode in Qiu Yilun’s BMW while Zhou Qinya drove all of her roommates with her BMW mini.
The boys in Chen Fan’s dorm couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful girl.
Although the business school was filled with young men and women from rich families, two luxury cars appearing at the same time was still a rare sight around here. It was evident that Zhou Qinya’s family was the most powerful among her roommates. That also explained why Qian Lulu would fall for Qiu Yilun so quickly.
Most of the entertainment venue in the Jin City was located on the Queen’s Avenue. The street was bustling with life after night fell. It was packed with fancy cars and even fancier girls. It was as popular as Sushan Road in the Lin City in its reputation as a destination for club crawling.
“This BM club is run by a tycoon in Jin City. It’s very safe inside. We should be safe as long as we don’t look for trouble.”
Even as Qiu Yilun introduced the club to everyone, a manager of the club had hurried to greet them and offered them a private seating area.
The four girls had spent a few hours preparing themselves for tonight. Their faces were carefully painted and were decorated with glittering earrings. Tight night club dresses hugged their bodies and adding on a pair of high heels that were decorated with dazzling diamonds, they looked nothing like college students. Zhou Qinya’s look was much less earthly than the other girls. She wore a black short skirt that revealed her long and elegant thighs. On her feet, she wore roman sandals with straps. A pair of serpentine earring glittered under the neon light, making her look like a club queen.
On the other hand, except for Qiu Yilun, the boys were dressed in normal if not unimpressive clothes. Qi Wangsun wore a black-rimmed heavy set glasses, and looked nerdy as ever; Zhang Mu’s pudgy belly nearly sticking out of his Superman T-shirt; Chen Fan seemed to be wearing the same shirt every time the girls met him. Their casual attire made them stick out among the fashionable people around them like sore thumbs.
“Alright, we need to set the rules: Everyone has to drink tonight!”
As soon the waiters brought forward a few bottles of Whiskey and Bourbon, Pan Li opened a bottle and started to pour the contents into her cup.
Zhang Mu was inexperienced in refusing girls, much less attractive girls encouraging him to drink up every time he poured anything in his glass. Within a few minutes, his face had already turned red and a few minutes later, he rushed toward the washroom. Qiu Yilun seemed to know a few people that hung out in the club and he took Qian Lulu with him to greet them. The promise of meeting other rich and powerful men and women excited Qian Lulu.
Liu Xiaojin sat beside Qi Wangsun and tried to strike a conversation with him. After a few drinks, even the nerdy prodigy started to open up. Liu Xiaojin edged closer and closer toward him as the two started to whisper to each other intimately.
Chen Fan sat all by himself and neither was he drinking. Pan Li encouraged him to bottom-up his drink a few times, but Chen Fan outright ignored her. After a while, Zhou Qinya was also getting bored, so she started to talk to Chen Fan.
“Where are you from?”
“Jiang Bei.”
“Is Fang Qiong really your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“You are a shameless liar, you know that?”
“Humm…”
Zhou Qinya furrowed her brows after getting Chen Fan’s half-ass replies. Who would do that when an attractive girl was trying to strike a conversation? Who did he think he is?
Encouraged by Qian Lulu, she thought of giving Chen Fan a chance. However, after just a few minutes of conversation, she was already disappointed. She wouldn’t even want such a loser as her “spare tire”.
Other boys playing hard to get might be attractive to her, but Chen Fan’s attempt came off as arrogant and stupid.
There was nothing in Chen Fan that attracted her.
By then, a few men who were attracted by Zhou Qinya’s beauty came over to her with drinks.
“Hey, pretty, are you alone?”
Zhou Qinya hid in the booth, but her stunning beauty had attracted attention as soon as she entered the club. After observing the little bird from afar for a while, these men decided to make a move.
Zhou Qinya furrowed her brows and leaned toward Chen Fan.
“I am sorry, I’m with my boyfriend.”
These men were all over thirty, some were wearing Armani suits and belts from Hermes. One man reached out an arm as if to stretch his crinkled undershirt, but only to accidentally reveal the Vacheron Constantin he was wearing on his wrist. None of them looked particularly ugly, but they all carried such lewd intent and condescension.
If they were true gentlemen, they would have stopped right there. However, they were clearly not.
“Hey kid, are you still in university? Which one? Maybe I know your principal.”
Before Chen Fan replied, Zhou Qinya answered.
“We are from the Business School of Jin City University.”
“Business School?” Someone snorted contemptuously.
Everyone knew what the business school was about. It was a place for the heirs of rich families to get a degree only for the sake of getting a degree. Most students in business schools were useless brats.
“I was at a dinner with Principal Hu just last week. I can put in a good word for you next time I see him. We are also always looking for an intern.” One of the men handed out a business card.
Zhou Qinya glanced over the card and saw a few lines to titles suggesting the man was a manager of a company in Jin City.
Zhou Qinya looked to Chen Fan and waited for his reply.
“Get out of my face.”
Chen Fan said firmly, without even looking up at the man.
“How dare you!”
The men grunted. However as soon as he saw the large frame of Zhang Mu, he decided to let the matter slide for now and left. The same thing happened to another couple middle-aged men and by then, everyone in the club knew that there was a drop-dead gorgeous among them but she was with her protective boyfriend.
“Why do you refuse him, he said he would put in a good word for you.”
Zhou Qinya asked with furrowed brows.
“It’s none of your business, don’t you worry your pretty head about it, or I will throw you onto the street.”
Chen Fan said lightly as he took a sip.
“How dare you!”
Zhou Qinya gritted her teeth and wished she could teach Chen Fan a lesson there and then.
After a while, she finally gathered herself, and she realized that Zhang Mu alone should not have deterred so many eager men.
“Hey man, I heard you being an ass tonight. Telling people to get out of your face, didn’t you?”
A young man walked over to their table with an ugly grin.
“Brother Loong, my friend is just joking.” Qinya rose to her feet and replied as helplessness flickered in her eyes.
“Ah, it’s you, Qinya!”
The young man was called Loong Fei, the heir of an above-average family. As soon as he noticed Zhou Qinya, he let out a half-smile and then said: “You have forgotten about me, haven’t you? I have heard that you are hanging out with some hotshot from Jiang Bei. Not bad, not bad at all. ”
“Stop pulling my leg, Brother Loong.” Zhou Qinya’s smile disappeared.
“Brother Xu and Young Lord Hai are there as well, why don’t you go and have a few drinks with them?” Loong Fei said with a gloating smile. “I have to remind you that Brother Xu is the younger brother of Brother Xiao who owns this place. If you got Brother Xiao angry, regardless of how powerful your pretty little boyfriend is, he wouldn’t be able to save you.”
“Brother Xiao? Which Brother Xiao?” Qi Wangsun asked abruptly.
“Humph! There is only one Brother Xiao in Jin City.” Loong Fei flung back with a smug smile.
“Chen Xiao?” Other guests of the club suddenly pulled a dark face after realizing who he was talking about. Even Zhou Qinya’s face turned pale slightly. Everyone knew Chen Xiao and his habit of club crawling. He was one of the most important underbosses working for Tang Yuanqin and nearly half of the entertainment venues in the Jin City relied on his support to continue their business.
“Qinya, Brother Xu is in a bad mood, why don’t you say something nice to him and lighten up his mood a little? How big of a deal is that?” Loong Fei pressed on. He barely spared the girl’s friends a glance. He knew from the beginning that there was nothing between Zhou Qinya and Chen Fan due to Zhou Qinya’s extremely high standards.
Zhou Qinya hesitated.
Her beauty became well known in the city she grew up in ever since he was in high school. Brother Loong was one of her persistent pursuers. Since Zhou Qinya didn’t have a boyfriend then, she kept on seeing him but nothing serious happened between them. As soon as she entered university and started to see the rich heir from Jiang Bei, she quickly severed her ties with Brother Loong.
Brother Loong was still bitter about that. He had to watch as his prize slipped away between his fingertips. Zhou Qinya’s beauty was exceptional, and hard to come by.
Zhou Qinya was not afraid of Brother Xu, however, that did not mean she could ignore Brother Xu. Her parents were normal middle-class businessmen and owned only a few dozen million assets. On the other hand, Brother Xu was the heir of the reputable family clan in Jin City. The power of Brother Xu’s family had increased recently and therefore, if she ticked off Brother Xu, she might even drag her parents and their business down.