146: Chapter 146: The reporter has arrived!

The waiter hurried downstairs with Su Han's message, and the private room temporarily fell into an eerie silence.

Zhao Xiaodao broke the silence first, poking Su Han on the arm: "Old Su, are you really planning on just going out like this? Those reporters are people who eat you alive without spitting out the bones. What if they ask about the wound on your back, or force you to perform something like climbing a building with your bare hands? What will you do then?"

Before Su Han could answer, Lin Ruoxue handed him a tissue and said softly: "Wipe your sweat first. Although you look very calm, you have sweat on your temples."

"Thanks!"

Xiao Nuan nervously grabbed Su Han's sleeve, while Xiao Budian curiously poked her head out to peer toward the door.

At this moment, the door opened again, but it wasn't the reporters who entered; it was the hotel manager, followed by six security guards.

The manager had sweat on his forehead and looked apologetic: "Mr. Su, I am truly sorry to disturb your meal. There are too many reporters downstairs. We are doing our best to maintain order, but I'm afraid..."

"It's fine. Just let them come up as normal."

Before he could finish, Su Han's cell phone suddenly rang. The caller ID displayed "Wang Yuanchao".

"Hold on a moment." Su Han nodded to the manager and answered the phone: "Captain Wang."

"Su Han! You kid have become an internet celebrity now!" Wang Yuanchao's hearty laughter came from the other end of the line.

Su Han smiled helplessly: "The news travels really fast."

Wang Yuanchao said: "This isn't a small incident; the whole country is paying attention, so of course the news travels fast!"

"You kid, you can't avoid becoming famous now even if you wanted to."

Su Han said helplessly: "Captain Wang, please stop teasing me. I'm currently being blocked in the hotel by reporters. I just had the waiter go down to pass on a message; I plan to say a few words and then leave."

"We received news of that too." Wang Yuanchao's tone suddenly became serious: "Are you okay, kid? How is the wound on your back? I just had those brats from the War Eagle Squad check the traffic conditions. They said the area around the Regent Hotel is completely gridlocked. Do you want me to send troops to pick you up?"

"No need for the trouble." Su Han walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain to look down, "I've already had the waiter arrange for a reporter representative to come up. A brief interview to clarify the situation will be enough."

"How can that be! You are now a key focus for the entire military; everyone is watching your every move!" Wang Yuanchao's tone was serious.

"The military headquarters already notified the local Armed Forces Department ten minutes ago to go and maintain order. They should be arriving soon, so hang in there!"

"There's no need to make such a big fuss." Su Han lowered his voice, "I can handle it."

"Nonsense!" Wang Yuanchao said sternly, "You are representing the military's image right now; there cannot be any slip-ups! Listen, answer only what the reporters ask, and don't say a single word you shouldn't! Do you understand?"

"Understood."

After hanging up, Su Han discovered everyone in the private room was staring at him with various expressions—some shocked, some admiring, and there was also... Chen Hao's pale face.

"Su Han..." Lin Ruoxue spoke softly, her voice trembling slightly, "Are you really... a Major?"

Before Su Han could answer, Zhao Xiaodao had already jumped up: "Duh! That 'Captain Wang' on the phone earlier sounded like a military leader! Old Su, be honest, what exactly is your status right now?"

Su Han smiled helplessly: "Don't guess blindly, I'm just an ordinary military officer."

"Oh my god!"

Everyone turned to look, only to see a classmate staring at their phone screen, exclaiming: "Su Han, the internet says you are... the highest elder of that most famous and prestigious Su Clan in our city?"

The air in the private room seemed to solidify. The boy wearing glasses held up his phone, and the words "Highest Elder of the Su Clan" on the screen were painful to look at.

"The Su Clan?" Someone muttered to themselves, then gasped: "Is that the Su Clan that has opened over a dozen different businesses, and also has that martial arts school and security group?"

"Obviously! Is there any other Su Clan in our city that's as impressive as that?"

Another classmate quickly scrolled through their phone: "The news says the Su Family's real estate projects in the provincial capital alone are worth over a billion! And Su Wu's security group—I heard they even handle the security for the municipal government!"

Everyone's gaze slammed onto Su Han, as if they were looking at a stranger.

"Great... Great-grandfather?" Lin Ruoxue remembered how Xiao Budian addressed Su Han and finally understood it wasn't a joke. Her voice was trembling: "You are the elder with the highest seniority in the Su Family?"

Su Han scratched his head, only then remembering this detail: "I suppose so; the family generation rankings are quite early."

"Suppose so?" A male classmate jumped up and punched him on the shoulder: "You hid this too well! Back when we ate instant noodles at your place, I thought you were just a poor kid like us."

As soon as these words were out, the classmates immediately erupted into an uproar.

"In junior high, you always wore a washed-out school uniform; I thought your family situation wasn't good!"

"You even went to the internet cafe for all-nighters with us, fighting over five-yuan instant noodles to eat!"

"I remember one spring outing, you brought pickled vegetables and steamed buns, saying you liked eating that!"

Su Han spread his hands helplessly: "The Su Family rules are strict; the younger generation isn't allowed to be extravagant or wasteful before they come of age. Besides, I really do like eating those things."

"My god..." The boy with glasses pushed up his glasses, "Doesn't that make you a tenth-generation rich kid? No, the Su Family has been passed down for hundreds of years; calling you a twentieth-generation rich kid wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Teacher Liu and Teacher Wang exchanged a smile, and Teacher Liu sighed with emotion: "No wonder when I did home visits back then, there were always a few old men in Zhongshan suits standing at the Su Family's door. I thought they were neighbors; now that I think about it, they must have been the Su Family's guards."

Teacher Wang also nodded: "I saw the old master of the Su Family once when I was young; his demeanor was definitely not that of an ordinary person. Su Han's steady temperament really takes after his elders."

Chen Hao in the corner looked as pale as paper. The wine glass in his hand fell to the floor with a "clatter", and he didn't even notice the wine splashing and soaking his trousers.

He thought about the four gyms he had just bragged about, thought about that so-called real estate developer, President Zhang, and then compared them to the Su Family's multi-billion industry. He only felt a burning pain on his face, as if he had been slapped hundreds of times.

"No wonder..." he muttered to himself, "No wonder you were dismissive of my gyms, no wonder you didn't care at all about the rank of Major..."

It turned out that everything he had bragged about in front of him was nothing more than dust in his eyes.

"Chen Hao, are you okay?" A classmate wanted to step forward to help him, but was pushed away by him.

"Get lost!" He growled, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Su Han, "You knew I was showing off all along, didn't you? You were watching me make a fool of myself on purpose!"

Su Han frowned: "I didn't mean that."

"You did!" Chen Hao suddenly became hysterical, "You were playing me from the very beginning! Pretending to be a security guard, pretending to be an ordinary soldier, watching me show off in front of you like an idiot!"

He lunged violently toward Su Han, but was blocked by Zhao Xiaodao.

"Are you crazy?" Zhao Xiaodao pushed him back, "Who can you blame for wanting to show off? When has Old Su ever provoked you?"

Chen Hao stumbled back a few steps. Seeing the strange looks from the surrounding classmates, he finally broke down, covered his face, and crouched on the floor.

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and over a dozen reporters and media personnel swarmed in!