When Chen Fan returned the East Mountain Villas, Wang Xiaoyun and Chen Gexin had already made their way back to Jin City. As soon as Wang Xiaoyun saw her son, she rushed to Chen Fan, hugged him, and held him for a long while.
“Mom, don’t worry, I am back. There is no one on this planet that can harm me. Don’t you worry about me.” Chen Fan held his mother in his embrace and whispered softly into his mother’s ears. Meanwhile, he turned to look at his father.
Chen Gexin was just over forty, but his hair was already tainted with streaks of white. Over the past year, this quiet and proud man had held against tremendous pressure.
He said nothing to Chen Fan but nodded approvingly at him.
“Xiao Fan, stay here in Jiang Nan Province with your ma and pa, OK? We don’t need cultivation, we just need each other.”
Tears welled in Wang Xiaoyun’s eyes as she pleaded.
“Mom, the fate of the Chen family lies on my shoulder. If I don’t gain more strength through cultivation, what happened last year will happen again, if not worse. I have killed too many people in the last couple of days, if we don’t keep our enemies under our boots, not even the Cang Dragon and General Li would be able to protect us.”
Chen Fan said slowly.
Wang Xiaoyun realized that she didn’t think her words through, so she wiped the tears away from her cheeks and put on an embarrassed smile.
“Xiaoyun, with Chen Fan’s return, I doubt anyone in China would dare to mess with us. You can rest assured that the pride of our Chen family is going to soar in the world like a dragon.”
Chen Huaian let out a peal of laughter.
“Just so. I have gotten many phone calls from the Ji Family, Tang Family, and the Nin Family. They all wanted to visit me, but I turned them all away.” Wang Xiaoyun let out a thin smile.
“Mom, once I have some time, I will teach those ungracious SOB a lesson.”
Chen Fan said as a cold light danced in his eyes.
What happened in Russian taught Chen Fan a valuable lesson and made him realize that he had been too soft on his enemies before. If he had completely wiped out the Ji Family, Tang Family, and the Nin Family earlier, they wouldn’t even get the chance to turn their backs on him.
“Mom, what happened to Sister An?” Chen Fan asked.
“She went back to An family for me, for the Jin Xiu Group.” Wang Xiaoyun said as a pang of regret flashed in her eyes. “The An family came to us, asking for An Ya. An Ya refused to leave for An family at first, but when Jin Xiu Group’s future was hanging in balance, the An family offered a deal that changed her mind. They offered to protect Jin Xiu Group in exchange for An Ya. An Ya was gone the next day without even telling me her decision. I am sorry… I didn’t protect her as I should have.”
Wang Xiaoyun broke into tears again as she recounted the heartbreaking moment.
An Ya had been with her longer than Chen Fan. In some way, An Ya was closer to her than Chen Fan was.
“It’s OK mom, I will pay the An family a visit and bring Sister An back.”
Chen Fan said firmly as two golden flames lit up his eyes.
“Ok.”
Wang Xiaoyun nodded quietly.
“Grandpa, ma and pa, we need to think ahead of us and be more strategic. We should rope in those families who had treated us fairly to our side, make them our close allies. Those who we could still tolerate, we will give them a lesson that they wouldn’t forget. As for those who have done us wrong, we will kick them out of the city or outright wipe them out. We need to establish our absolute authority in Jiang Nan Province.”
Chen Fan looked around him as he announced firmly.
“very well”
Chen Huaian nodded.
The Chen family had been organized too loosely to defend against the Song Family. Now Chen Fan was back and the first thing he wanted to do was to establish a family caucus to centralize the decision-making process within the family. Chen Fan would strengthen the Chen family to a point that it would hold its own while Chen Fan was away.
“Ah right, Xiao Fan. General Li Wuchen and Red Sparrow have done us a great service. When you have time, you need to thank them.”
Chen Gexin put in.
“Yes, dad. I got it.”
Chen Fan nodded.
“What are you going to do to the Fang family and the Su Family?”
Wang Xiaoyun continued, hesitating. “Xiao Qiong had checked on us from time to time while you are away, and so did Mingde and Susu. However, I have heard that the Su Family of Wu Zhou City seemed to have second thoughts about your marriage proposal and Lord Su, Su Zhengde had been talking to the Ji Family again.”
“Hehe. Mom, you can’t fix stupid.”
Chen Fan cracked a derisive smile.
Chen Fan had never seen the Su Family as a threat. He knew that the key to his marriage was Fang Qiong instead of anyone else.
“My only concern is if Xiao Qiong is going to be mad at me for leaving her alone for so long. I didn’t even have time to bid a proper farewell before I left.”
Chen Fan grimaced.
For the few days that followed, Chen Huaian, Chen Gexin, Wang Xiaoyun, and Chen Ning started to put their plans into action. Their tasks were to solicit loyalties from friendlier families clans by extending olive branches.
Together with Chen Fan, they played the game of the “Good cop and the Bad cop” and quickly subjugated the tycoons of Jiang Nan. They knew they have much of an option anyway.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan was already back at the Jin City University.
Fang Qiong was sitting quietly in the Jin City University Library, going over the work of Nobel prize winner Laureate Robert F. Engle. She wore a white sweater underneath a plain slim-fit peacoat. Her jeans had been broken-in and with the perfect shade of indigo. Her long straight hair reached her shoulder like a river that fell off a sheer drop.
Zhong Yaoyao sat quietly in boredom beside Fang Qiong.
As she grew older, her features became more nymph-like. She was in a dance rehearsal so she was still in her skin tight dancing outfit that revealed two breathtaking hills of pleasure on her chest. Under her belt, she wore a pair of black short skirt and knee-high socks.
Most people in the library glanced at the two drop-dead gorgeous ladies from time to time, barely able to focus on their studies.
“Fang Qiong and Zhong Yaoyao are not only BFFs but also the two hottest girls at Jin City University. They have many admirers on campus.”
“Fang Qiong was always cold and distant to most male students, and Zhong Yaoyao was even worse! She is not as aloof as Fang Qiong, but she is a heartbreaker. No one seems to know what is on her fickle mind.”
“What do you think they are doing here in the library? Are they waiting for a boy?”
Everyone murmured to each other under their breath.
“Fang Qiong, what are we doing here? I thought we are going to find your husband, why are we wasting our time here in the library?”
Zhong Yaoyao’s patience finally wore out. She asked Fang Qiong angrily.
She had been rehearsing a show for next month’s welcoming ceremony for the freshmen. The moment she got the message from Fang Qiong, she screamed at the top of her lungs, startling other dancers and darted out of the dance studio without even change into her normal clothing.
“I didn’t tell you to come with me, and neither did I say I am going to look for him. I am just waiting for him to show up, I know he will.”
Fang Qiong turned a page on the heavy book and answered evenly.
“You!”
Anger contorted Zhong Yaoyao’s face.
However, the thought of Chen Fan and his unimaginable power made Zhong Yaoyao lower her head and turned down a notch.
“What an asshole. He left you hanging for a year in a complete dark. Even as people started to believe that he was dead, you still believed in him and waited for him. Who would know that he did pull through and come back? Hey, have you heard what he had did in Jiang Nan Province?”
“I thought I had gone crazy when I first heard it from my dad. He told me Chen Fan had killed SIXTEEN family lords! Adding other tycoons he had killed, he had killed over five hundred people! Out there in the streets, people are using his name to scare children now.”
Zhong Yaoyao said with a mix of fear and admiration. Then her voice grew colder and said:
“Hehe, I wonder what the Su Family is going to say to Chen Fan. They have been hot on your heels, trying to make you change your mind to marry their heir. That woman called Su Qian was particularly annoying. Without you holding me back, I would have slapped that bitch many times. Chen Beixuan is not going to let them get away with that, I wonder what kind of havoc he is going wreak this time.”
Fang Qiong furrowed her brows and said nothing.
She was disappointed by what the Su Family had done over the year.
“How did you find someone so powerful and charming and why do I keep on meeting losers? I thought that Korean Oppa was going to be my Mr. Right, but he turned out to be a spy and had gone mad after whatever Professor Chen did to him.”
Zhong Yaoyao complained.
“Ah right.” Zhong Yaoyao’s eyes lit up with excitement as she suddenly remembered something: “Didn’t you tell me that your husband and Professor Chen are the same person? How could anyone change his look in such a short period of time?”
“You will know how when you see him.”
Even as Fang Qiong said that Zhong Yaoyao let out a surprised cry.
Fang Qiong looked up and saw a tall handsome man walk over to them. His long dark hair reached his shoulder and his eyes were black and incandescent at the same time. The sublime features on his face and his statuesque body made him look like a god.
“Miss, may I have the honor of sharing the table with you?”
Chen Fan let out a warm smile and said courteously.
“I am sorry, this spot is reserved for my husband.”
Fang Qiong paused a second before she answered and looked down at her book.
“Well, I am your husband.”
A familiar voice drifted into her ears. This time, Fang Qiong recognized Chen Fan’s face right away and threw herself into his arms.
“Where have you been? I have been waiting for you for so long!” Fang Qiong broke into tears.
“I am sorry.”
Chen Fan squeezed the girl a little as a pang of guilt rose inside of him.