When Fang Qiong and the other guests finally got into the garden, Tang Yifei had already regained her former appearance. She was walking beside Chen Fan, carrying on a seemingly amicable conversation with him.
However, those who paid attention to Tang Yifei would find out her body was still shaking slightly. Every time she looked to Chen Fan, her eyes were filled with marvel and admiration.
Chen Fan’s power had far exceeded Tang Yifei’s imagination.
He was not only able to kill ten martial artists in less than a minute, but also able to dictate her fate using the Yi Wood Spirit Qi. What he did was the stuff of legends. He could either kill or save her on a whim. However powerful and influential she was, she couldn’t do anything should he decide to turn her into a vegetable.
“Sister Yifei, what were you doing earlier?” Fang Qiong asked.
“Oh, it was nothing. I and Mr. Chen had run into a little problem, but it’s all good now.” Tang Yifei brushed a strand of loose hair off her forehead and managed a smile.
Sensing Tang Yifei’s hesitation, Fang Qiong decided to leave it at that. She then looked to Chen Fan and was greeted by Chen Fan’s warm and relaxed smile. Seeing Chen Fan was unharmed, Fang Qiong felt a heavyweight was off her mind.
However, the sight had caught Shen Junwen by surprise and stunned him.
What the hell was going on? Why was Chen Fan talking so amicably with Tang Yifei? Shouldn’t they be at each other’s throats? Wasn’t that gunfire he had just heard?
He was the renowned Master Chen of Jiang Bei, while she was the daughter of the local tycoon in Jiang Nan Province. They should be rivals, not friends.
Little did he know that Tang Yifei had already been completely subjugated by Chen Fan, mind and body. She would never think of fighting against Chen Fan again.
“Chen Fan.”
Shen Junwen squeezed out a smile and tried to keep calm after seeing Chen Fan was coming toward him. Before he could finish his greeting, Chen Fan slapped him on the face and the force staggered him.
“How dare you?”
Shen Junwen covered his face and shouted in disbelief.
Chen Fan didn’t use even one percent of his power, otherwise, the slap would have outright killed Shen Junwen. However, the insult didn’t sit well with Shen Junwen. He was the heir to the Wan Rong Group, the son of the richest man in Jiang Bei. Not even his parents had ever slapped him like this, much less anyone else.
He rounded his eyes in fury as a poisonous flame danced in his pupils. He looked as if he wanted to kill Chen Fan there and then.
“I can not only slap you but also kill you. Do you want to try death?”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes as a cold light flashed within.
Shen Junwen was taken aback at first, and then he quickly reminded himself that the seemingly ordinary boy was not a student from Si Shui County, but the renowned Master Chen of Jiang Bei. Even his father was concerned that Master Chen would show up at their doorstep and slaughter the entire household.
So thinking, a wave of terror came over him.
“Tang Yifei must have snitched on me, and told Chen Fan about our plot. Is the Tang family Chen Fan’s ally now?”
As Shen Junwen’s mind raced, he forgot to answer Chen Fan’s question.
“Chen Fan, what have you done?”
As development finally setting in, Song Zhe and the others shouted hotly: “Who do you think you are? How dare you slap Junwen? ”
Song Zhe felt a pang of disbelief. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Chen Fan’s hand landed on Shen Junwen’s face. He was the son of Shen Roufen, slapping him was a public insult to the entire Shen family.
Even Fang Qiong seemed distraught by the situation.
She knew Shen Junwen well. Despite his polite public appearance, he was vengful and spiteful toward his enemies. He had gained a seat at Wan Rong Group’s board partly because of his ruthless methods. If the Sheng family decided to avenge the humiliation, Chen Fan might not be able to handle it.
She looked to Tang Yifei anxiously, hoping Sister Yifei would able to quell Shen Junwen’s anger.
To her surprise, she watched as Tang Yifei furrowed her brows and castigated Sheng Junwen: “Shut up! Who gave you the audacity to insult Mr. Chen?”
“Sister Tang?”
Song Zhe was set back on his heels by Sister Tang’s sudden outburst. None of them could understand why Tang Yifei was on Chen Fan’s side. Did Chen Fan win over Tang Yifei in that a few private minutes they spent in the garden? No… not likely. Chen Fan was not even Tang Yifei’s type.
“Shen Junwen, the Tang family will always remember what you have done. Now get the hell out of here.”
Tang Yifei gave Shen Junwen a cold stare and then said.
Shen Junwen picked himself up and left the garden without saying a word. Chen Fan didn’t stop him and watched indifferently as Shen Junwen exited the garden. Shen Junwen didn’t change at all from his past life, however, instead of plotting against Chen Fan by himself, he tried to kill him with a borrowed sword.
“Master, do I need to do away with him?” Tang Yifei closed in onto Chen Fan and asked quietly under her breath.
She hated Shen Junwen for instigating the feud between Chen Fan and her. Without his encouragement, she would never act against Chen Fan and would not have fallen from grace to become Chen Fan’s slave.
“Kill him? death is too easy for him. If I wanted to kill him, I could have done that a long time ago.” Chen Fan let out a burst of mocking laughter. “I want him to fall slowly, crushing his hopes one and a time. When he is finally hopeless and hapless, I will then deliver the killing blow.”
Tang Yifei quivered after hearing Chen Fan’s words.
She wondered what kind of bad blood there was between Chen Fan and Shen Junwen. Chen Fan seemed to loath Shen Junwen more than he would to an ordinary love rival. However, little did she know that Shen Junwen was Chen Fan’s arch-enemy, he was the mastermind behind Chen Fan’s miserable life in his past life. He had robbed him of his lover, toppled his company and very likely killed his mother. In this life, Chen Fan would not let Shen Junwen and the Shen family get off the hook so easily.
Meanwhile, Song Zhe and the other guests would only stare.
They couldn’t believe their eyes as the previously aloof Sister Tang whispered to Chen Fan intimately like a close friend. She wouldn’t even spare most men a glance much less talking to them.
Even Fang Qiong registered that something was off. However, she didn’t think Chen Fan had cheated on her. She was simply confused by the sudden improvement of the relationship between the two.
Zhong Yaoyao was quiet and she wagered that, just like her, Tang Yifei was also under the spell of the asshole.
However, the thought of Chen Fan subjugating the mind of Tang Yifei, the queen of the Jiang Nan Province somehow gave her a strange pleasure. It was the pleasure of being conquered and tamed by an incredibly powerful man.
After the party was over, Fang Qiong gave Chen Fan a ride home.
No one spoke a word about what had happened today until they were close to the school.
“Xiao Fan, how come Sister Tang became so friendly with you? And why did Sister Tang suddenly hate Shen Junwen so much?”
“What happened in the garden is complicated. I can’t say much about it if Tang Yifei keeps quiet about it. But, in a nutshell, I saved her life.” Chen Fan said, trying to skip the details.
Fang Qiong was a smart woman, and her mind quickly linked Chen Fan’s answer to the gunshot she had heard.
As realization dawned upon her, she covered her mouth to stifle a cry: “Did the Shen family send assassins to kill Sister Tang?”
Chen Fan cracked a smile and kept his silence.
Fang Qiong took his silence as acquiescence. She knew Chen Fan wouldn’t lie to her, even if he did, he was very bad at it. Tang Yifei’s 180-degree turn of attitude toward Chen Fan seemed to explain her suspicion. She nodded and said: “That explains it then. That’s why Sister Tang said the Tang family will forever remember what Shen Junwen had done.”
“But isn’t the Shen family fighting a war with the Chen family? Why did they piss off Tang family at such an inconvenient time? They can’t win a war while being sandwiched in between two powerful foes.” Fang Qiong looked confused, nothing seemed to add up so far.
Seeing Fang Qiong’s perplexed look, Chen Fan laughed in his mind, but didn’t offer any explanations.
“Xiao Fan, you should stay away from Sister Yifei. She is a very special person in the province, and very dangerous as well.” Suddenly, Fang Qiong turned around and looked at Chen Fan with grave concern.
She hesitated a little and then fished out a Jade pendant from under her shirt.
“A stranger called Chen Beixuan gave this to me. He said it can protect me from harm. Xiao Fan, maybe you need it more than me…”
“No, I am fine. I am just an ordinary student and won’t get involved in the elites’ circle. Don’t worry about me.” Chen Fan pushed open the car door. Before he stepped out, he waved at Fang Qiong and said: “Xiao Qiong, don’t think too much. Go home now.”
Fang Qiong didn’t drive away until Chen Fan disappeared behind the school gate.
She was confused by the unnerving and anxious feeling when she thought Chen Fan was in danger. She wondered if she was in love with her childhood friend.
After the party at the Green Vines Club, Chen Fan’s life returned to normal.
The battle between the Shen family and the Chen family suddenly ceased. It was as if nothing had happened between the two factions. However, everyone knew that this was the calm before the storm. Both sides were charging up their energy, preparing to deliver a final blow to their opponents. Meanwhile, Chen Fan was enjoying his relaxed and joyous life at school.
The only change in his life had been Zhou Qinya’s attitude toward him. She started to invite him out for lunch and dinner more often and with Pan Li in tow. It was obvious that Pan Li hadn’t given up on Chen Fan yet.
He also made progress on setting up the lab. The Jin City University had taken the matter very seriously and worked on it diligently. Once the lab was completed, it would be a state-of-the-art facility for equally state-of-the-art research projects. It was the university’s only hope to catch up with other more renowned institutions such as the Huaqin University.
At the end of each class, he made sure that there were enough time for the students to ask questions.
His audience slowly grew and even many professors started to attend his class. The more they learned from Chen Fan, the more they were impressed by Chen Fan’s knowledge and vision for the future.
Fang Qiong and Zhong Yaoyao were among his die-hard fans and they had never missed a class.
After the class was over, Xue Jiao came over to him and asked hesitantly: “Professor Chen, do you have time next week to attend an International Biology Conference?”
“International Biology Conference?” Chen Fan was caught by surprise.
A light glinted in Han Dongyu’s eyes who happened to overhear the conversation.