“Haven’t you heard, the freshman Fang Qiong from the business management faculty has a boyfriend now.”
“Yes, I had just heard the news. It’s really fast isn’t it?”
“What? I didn’t hear about it at all.”
Even as everyone discussed the news, follow-up news already started to spread across the campus. It turned out that Fang Qiong’s boyfriend was a no-account from the business school.
A highly sought after campus flower was taken so easily by a rich heir from the business school. It was a brazen insult to all the male students of the Jin City University. Overnight, Chen Fan had become the public enemy at the Jin City University.
Meanwhile, the two who were involved in the scandal were affected by stink eyes around them. They met up every morning for breakfast and at the school library. In the evening, they would hang out around Jin City.
Although Chen Fan and Fang Qiong hadn’t seen each other for six years, it didn’t take long for them to rekindle their old flame.
Along the Jinlin River, inside a mid-level dim-sum restaurant.
“Xiao Fan, do you still like chocolate as much as you used to?”
Fang Qiong asked coquettishly as she pushed a plateful of chocolate balls toward Chen Fan.
“Well, you haven’t changed either and still liked cold drinks. Don’t you remember that when you were on your period, the cold drinks always gave you cramps?” Chen Fan flung back at her.
“Stop it, you! don’t make fun of me!” Fang Qiong replied hotly.
Whenever she talked to Chen Fan, She transformed from a cold and aloof goddess into a cute and down to earth girl-next-door. If Song Zhe, Zhong Yaoyao and their friends were here to see what she was like, they would be very surprised.
“Ah-ha! That’s the Xiao Qiong I remembered.” Chen Fan replied readily.
Fang Qiong paused a second as the smile on her face slowly disappeared. She said with a disheartened voice.
“We have all grown up, you know. After I moved to Jin City, I felt so lonely. I knew nobody at the school while everyone else around me is so… much better than me. But the helpless and loneliness finally drove me to work harder in order to blend in with new friends. Plus, Father’s health is deteriorating ever since we moved here, he was about as helpless as I was, so I was his only helper. ”
Chen Fan listened quietly as the girl started to fill him in on what she had gone through in the six years. He had heard of some of the events in his past life, but for some, it was the first time he ever heard of them. Slowly, Chen Fan felt a strong warm feeling rise inside of him,
“Xiao Qiong, don’t you worry. You have me now, and I will share carry the burden with you, and protect you. If it is the world you want, I will conquer it and hand it to you on a platter.”
Chen Fan reached out and hold on to the girl’s hand as he said solemnly.
Fang Qiong panicked slightly and then said softly: “Xiao Fan, if I don’t work hard, who will support my family? Who will run Ming De Group? I am an only child of my father and his only hope.”
Fang Qiong paused and then smiled broadly: “It’s true that I have my own dreams, but it is not to conquer the world. I want to study at the best university in the world to learn from the best and to see what the real elites of the world are like.”
Chen Fan pulled his hand back and smiled back at Xiao Qiong. He was very pleased with Xiao Qiong’s answer.
That was the Fang Qiong he had remembered. Wherever she was, let it be on the earth or in the Cangmin Immortal Realm, she was always more ambitious and strong-willed than him.
“Go ahead and fight then, Xiao Qiong. I will always be here for you and catch you if you fall. In the end, you will realize that the world is already wrapped up nicely in my pocket, waiting for you to ask for it.”
Chen Fan looked away from the girl and into the distance. He saw fireworks across the river.
Flashes of sparkling fireworks pierced the dark night and lit up the opposite bank of the river.
Jin City, Wan Rong Royal Wood Community, Mansion number one…
Wan Rong Royal Wood Community was a top real estate development by the Wan Rong Group. The cheapest house here was worth well over ten million yuan. Mansion number one was worth as much as twenty million. However, this house was never put up for sale since the developer, Sheng Ronghua had given this property to his son as a gift.
Shen Junwen was sitting in the office on the second floor. He studied a pile of papers before him attentively.
“Young Lord, that is all I can find about Chen Fan.” A middle-aged man encased in a brand name suit said respectfully.
As a high-level manager of a public company, he made millions a year and his decision would affect thousands of people. However, when he stood before Shen Junwen, who was younger than twenty, he scarcely dared to breathe.
The man knew the ruthless methods of the handsome young man. There were many veterans of the company who followed his father Sheng Ronghua since the inception of the company, and some of them had looked down on the young man. Those men were all kicked out of the company without any severance pay, worse, some were even sent to jail.
“Chen Fan, born in 1990, eighteen years old. He is from Chu Zhou City in Jiang Bei. He attended Si Shui Primary School and then Si Shui County high school. He was transferred to Ivy League High School at the Chu Zhou City at grade twelve. He didn’t participate in the National University Entrance Exam, and as to how he was able to get into the Business School remains unknown.”
Shen Junwen read the profile quietly.
He had never taken Chen Fan too seriously, as he was convinced that this ordinary-looking young man posed no threat to him at all. However, the rumors that were spreading among the students about Chen Fan and Fang Qiong finally caught his attention. Fang Qiong was his ultimate prize, as well as his bottom line that he would fiercely uphold.
Shen Junwen was a cunning man, and he knew the importance of planning. Therefore, he didn’t act out immediately; instead, he did thorough research on Chen Fan’s background. After he had gathered all the info he needed, he would then decided on the method he would use to deal with Chen Fan. He could either outright murder Chen Fan or pressure the Fang family to separate the two.
He was very confident that Chen Fan would not pass Fang Qiong’s mother’s scrutiny. She was a materialistic woman and she would not allow her daughter to date a no-account.
“Family background: his father is Chen Gexin, an officer at the Si Shui County who is in charge of Agriculture Drainage. He was from the Chen family of Jin City, and was the third son of Chen Huaian.”
Shen Junwen was lighthearted when he read the first half of the sentence. If his father was just a county officer, the Shen family could easily quash Chen Fan’s entire family with ease.
However, after he read the second half, he suddenly furrowed his brows.
“Chen Fan is from the Chen family of Jin City?”
Being a member of the Chen Family of the Jin City wouldn’t mean a thing half a year ago, however, the Chen family’s influence had suddenly surged of late. All three leaders of the Chen family had made a breakthrough in their business and careers and at times, they were now competing directly with the Shen family.
“No wonder he is so full of himself. He is from the Chen family.”
A slight concern started to flicker in Shen Junwen’s eyes.
However, he was still very confident in his competition with Chen Fan. The Chens were a prudent lot and they would not put all of their eggs in one basket, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be Chen Fan since Chen An was a much better candidate for that role than Chen Fan. On the other hand, Shen Junwen was the sole heir of the Shen family and therefore, he wielded the collective might of the Shen family.
“His mother is Wang Xiaoyun. She is originally from Yan Jin and now she is the CEO of the Chens Group as well as the owner of the Jin Xiu Group in Zhong Hai.”
Shen Junwen’s face paled after he read about Chen Fan’s mother.
“Oh-shit! He is Wang Xiaoyun’s son!”
Compared to Chen Gexin, Shen Junwen was much more familiar with Wang Xiaoyun. Wan Rong Group and the Jin Xiu Group were the two largest real estate companies in China and they were direct competitors. The Jin Xiu Group seemed to had even outgrown Wan Rong Group within the last six months as they started to acquire as many plots in the Zhong Hai as they could. The housing price just started to rise, and already, the Jin Xiu Group had stood out among other real estate groups and was considered the biggest winner. Wang Xiaoyun was named the Queen of Jin Xiu because of her incredible success.
“I thought Wang Xiaoyun only has a daughter called An Ya, where does her son come from?”
Shen Junwen started to feel the pressure.
“He is not only the heir of the Chen family, the son of Wang Xiaoyun but also a childhood friend of Fang Qiong…”
Finally, Shen Junwen panicked.
Chen Fan turned out to be a tough nut to crack. Since Chen Fan’s family power was on par with his, the tools he could use against Chen Fan was limited.
“I bet Fang Qiong’s mother would pleasantly accept Chen Fan as her daughter’s boyfriend if she knew Chen Fan’s family background.”
Shen Junwen thought to himself.
He knew Fang Qiong’s mother very well. She had been trying to set up her daughter up with him solely because of her greed. She would easily ditch Shen Junwen if another rich heir turned up who happened to be Fang Qiong’s childhood friend.
“But there is a silver lining. Chen Fan seemed to be of average talent. He even skipped his last year of high school and missed the National University Entrance Exam altogether. In the end, he could only attend second class colleagues such as the Business School at the Jin City University. I can definitely capitalize on that.”
Shen Junwen tapped the table rhythmically as Chen Fan’s weakness started to surface in his mind.
Although Chen Fan’s family background was on par with his, his abilities were much inferior to him.
Even as the age of eighteen, Shen Junwen was already considered the elite of the city. His upbringing had groomed him into the heir of the Wan Rong Group with decisive actions and an incredible wealth of knowledge. On the other hand, Chen Fan resembled a rich brat who would only waste his life away while doing nothing.
Shen Junwen wagered that he would score much higher in Fang Qiong’s parents’ mind than Chen Fan.
“Humph! He is just a useless spoiled brat and he is deemed to lose in this competition.” Shen Junwen let out a cold smile as he started to plot his scheme.
Suddenly, he heard a voice at the door.
“Good morning, my lord.”
The door of the study swung open and a stately looking middle age man walked in. He was followed closely by a long-haired old man.
“Dad, Uncle Lin, why are you guys back so quickly?”
Shen Junwen rose to his feet and asked curiously. He didn’t expect his father to be back from Jiang Bei so quickly.
The middle-aged man was the owner of the Wan Rong Group, the richest man in Jiang Bei: Sheng Ronghua.
“I got back as soon as I heard the news. Someone is competing with us on the East Mountain Meadow project. Our application was about to get approved, but Qin Hua that asshole had rejected it the last minute!”
Sheng Ronghua said with furrowed brows.
“East Mountain Meadow project is the most critical project for our company and we have poured so many resources into it already.” Shen Junwen exclaimed. “Who dares to screw us over? Is it anyone from our province or is it a federal company?”
“Neither. A friend of mine told me that it is the Chen family of Jin City.” Sheng Ronghua shook his head and said: “That’s very strange, isn’t it? We have never crossed each other’s lines. Why would they want to sabotage our project at such a critical moment? Do they want a war with us?”
“Chen family of Jin City?” Shen Junwen was shocked.
He wondered if the incident was related to his investigation of Chen Fan.
“That is really strange indeed. Chen family shouldn’t have interfered with the East Mountain Meadow project.” Sheng Ronghua paced back and forth in the room and a pile of paper on the desk caught his attention.
“Why do you have his information?”