427: Chapter 427 That brat's bad luck, waiting for the crisis.

"How has Youyou been recently?"

Shen Yan poured himself a glass of barley tea, a thin layer of condensation beaded on the glass.

"Still the same as always, mischievous."

His voice was flat, betraying no emotion.

An Ran let out a light laugh.

"I saw her downstairs at your company building last time. She had two little pigtails, looking just like a porcelain doll."

"That little appearance really makes one's heart melt."

Shen Yan picked up a piece of freshly grilled meat and placed it on the plate in front of An Ran, not responding to her comment.

An Ran looked at him and continued,

"I remember she was clinging to your leg, quietly calling you 'Daddy.' My heart completely melted."

Shen Yan paused his movement for a second, then reached his chopsticks toward another piece of meat.

"She hasn't been very happy at kindergarten lately."

An Ran's eyebrows lifted slightly. "What's wrong?"

"There's a male classmate who always likes to pull her pigtails."

Shen Yan's tone suggested he was merely stating a fact unrelated to himself.

The silver chopsticks in An Ran's hand clattered onto the table.

"What?"

"Pulling a little girl's pigtails? What era is this? Are there still such ill-mannered children?"

Her voice carried obvious anger.

Shen Yan looked up at her, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion.

"It's just kids fooling around."

"That won't do!" An Ran immediately countered. "This matter can be big or small. What if Youyou, who is so well-behaved, gets bullied?"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Don't the teachers intervene? What about the other child's parents?"

Shen Yan took a sip of tea, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"The teacher mediated."

"I had a talk with his parents."

An Ran froze, looking at Shen Yan's impassive face.

She suddenly felt like the temperature in the private room had dropped a few degrees.

A simple "had a talk" coming from Shen Yan's mouth carried an entirely different weight.

She didn't press further on how the "talk" went.

An Ran picked up her chopsticks again, the anger in her heart inexplicably dissipating.

She even felt a bit of sympathy for that child's father.

"That little brat was unlucky,"

she muttered to herself.

Shen Yan didn't speak, focusing instead on grilling the meat.

Silence spread between the two, but it wasn't awkward.

The light from the charcoal fire reflected on Shen Yan's profile, outlining his sharp features.

"Next time I see Youyou, I'll bring her some pretty little dresses,"

An Ran changed the subject.

"No need for such trouble."

"It's not trouble. I like her,"

An Ran said as a matter of course. "Let her dress up like a little princess, then see who dares to touch her."

Shen Yan's mouth seemed to curve upward, the arc extremely slight.

"She will be very happy."

An Ran smiled, picked up the meat she had just grilled, and blew on the heat.

"That's more like it."

The barbecue meal concluded amidst this intermittent, casual chatting.

The charcoal fire gradually died down, leaving only dark red embers.

An Ran got up to pay the bill.

"Let's go,"

Shen Yan said concisely.

"Mm, be careful on the road,"

An Ran waved goodbye to him.

On the hotel bed, Shen Yan opened his eyes.

The sky outside the window was tinged with the pale white of dawn.

He had no habit of lingering in bed.

After taking a shower and changing into casual wear, his phone screen lit up.

It was a message from Ning Ke.

The time showed 6:30 AM.

"Good morning, CEO Shen."

"These are the developers I screened overnight. All of them have relatively good reputations and strength here in City S."

Below the message were four contact cards.

Finally, Ning Ke added another line.

"The last company on the list, Kaiyuan Construction's CEO Fang, is very honest, uses solid materials, but his company scale is a bit small and he isn't good at marketing, so he hasn't grown much."

"If you have any uncertainties while talking with them, feel free to ask me anytime."

Shen Yan replied with "Received, thanks a lot."

He tapped open the contact cards and scanned them briefly.

The information for the first three companies was glossy; they had undertaken many landmark buildings in City S, with brilliant resumes.

Only the last one, Kaiyuan Construction, had a profile that was overly plain.

Most of their undertaken projects were ordinary residential areas, and there were even a few old community renovation projects.

It truly lacked any highlights.

Just as he was about to put down his phone, a familiar electronic chime suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Random mission dropped!]

[Mission Content: Help Kaiyuan Construction's Fang Jian resolve the impending crisis.]

[Mission Reward: One piece of Advanced Intelligence.]

Shen Yan's fingertips paused over the screen.

Kaiyuan Construction?

Fang Jian?

It was the developer Ning Ke had mentioned last.

The missions released by the system had never been wrong, and the reward of Advanced Intelligence was priceless.

He didn't trust Fang Jian; he trusted the system.

Without hesitation, Shen Yan directly entered Kaiyuan Construction's company address into the map.

The navigation showed it was located in the suburban industrial park.

He picked up his coat and headed straight out the door.

An hour later, a ride-hailing car stopped at the entrance of an industrial park that looked quite aged.

Shen Yan got out of the car.

The air was filled with a mixed scent of engine oil and dust.

Kaiyuan Construction's office building, rather than being called a building, resembled a two-story temporary structure.

The blue paint on the exterior wall was already mottled, and a simple sign hung at the entrance: "Kaiyuan Construction Engineering Co., Ltd."

Shen Yan pushed the door open and walked in.

The space inside was not large, furnished with several old desks. A few Employees were hunched over, drawing blueprints.

A man in his forties, wearing faded work clothes and a worried look on his face, came forward to greet him.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Fang Jian, CEO Fang,"

Shen Yan stated calmly.

The man paused for a moment, then pointed to himself.

"I am Fang Jian. And you are?"

"Shen Yan."

He stated his name.

A flicker of confusion crossed Fang Jian's face; he clearly hadn't heard of him.

"I was introduced by Ning Ke. I want to discuss development projects."

Upon hearing the name "Ning Ke," Fang Jian's eyes instantly lit up.

"You are honored guest introduced by Mr. Ning! Please, have a seat, have a seat!"

He hastily led Shen Yan to the only area nearby that looked somewhat presentable—the reception area—and poured him a glass of water.

The cup was a disposable paper cup.

"I apologize, CEO Shen, my place is rather humble,"

Fang Jian rubbed his hands, appearing somewhat flustered.

Shen Yan didn't mind. He picked up the water cup but didn't drink.

"CEO Fang, I have a piece of land and I want to build a residential area."

His gaze swept over the engineering renderings hanging on the wall, and he cut straight to the point.

He didn't know exactly when the system's mission would occur, so he could only wait.

The best approach was to stay there legitimately, under the guise of a potential client.

When Fang Jian heard about a project, his spirits immediately lifted.

He quickly brought over a thick stack of brochures from his desk.

"CEO Shen, please look. These are all projects we've done before. Although the scale isn't large, you can absolutely trust the quality!"

"The rebar and cement we use are all the highest standard according to national specifications; we never cut corners on materials!"

As he spoke, he flipped through the brochures for Shen Yan to see, his eyes filled with undisguised sincerity and pride.

Shen Yan listened quietly.

He could tell that Fang Jian was a man of action, not a businessman.

Time ticked by second by second.

Fang Jian spoke until his mouth was dry, yet Shen Yan still showed no reaction.

Just as the atmosphere in the office began to feel stagnant, the door was violently kicked open with a bang.

Seven or eight ruffian-like youths swaggered in. The leader was a bald man whose thick gold chain swung wildly, dazzling the eyes.

"Fang Jian!"