361: Chapter 361 Who would you choose? What kind of guy is this?

Night deepened.

Starlight and neon intertwined, ornamenting the bustling urban night view.

A black SUV steadily drove into the high-end residential complex named "Cuihu Yipin".

It was composed of dozens of brilliantly lit high-rise apartments, with lush green trees between the buildings, resembling an exquisite garden.

Fang Cheng held the steering wheel with both hands, slowing down the car.

In the passenger seat, Lin Chuqiao's fair cheeks revealed a charming, rosy flush, as if stained with rouge.

That was the slightly intoxicated look after drinking a little fruit wine.

Her naturally charming and affectionate eyes were even more watery at this moment, as if holding a pool of spring water.

She seemed still immersed in the gorgeous and tragic musical just now, and sighed softly:

"The Phantom hiding in the basement of the theater is like a lonely and powerful monster. His love is burning, paranoid, and unacceptable to the world..."

"Pity, Christine eventually chose Raoul in the sunlight, abandoning the masked monster hidden in the darkness."

Lin Chuqiao sighed softly, looking at the night view outside the window, and murmured:

"Is it possible that all love cannot rival the companionship of childhood sweethearts and worldly stability?"

With that, she suddenly turned her head and looked at the Yingjun side profile of the man beside her.

"Fang Cheng, what do you think of the plot of The Phantom of the Opera? If you were the female protagonist, who would you choose?"

Her eyes were bright, and her voice carried a trace of probing, as if she were obscurely metaphorizing something.

"What do I think?"

Fang Cheng was thinking about things, and upon hearing this, he turned his head to glance at her slightly intoxicated appearance and smiled:

"It's my first time watching a musical tonight, and it feels quite interesting. The audio-visual effects of the stage are great, more thrilling than watching a movie."

"Really?"

The light in Lin Chuqiao's eyes seemed to dim for a moment, and then she recovered her smile:

"Then next time you're free, I'll treat you to a new play. Perhaps you'll like it even more."

"Okay."

Fang Cheng smiled and nodded.

After the interview, Lin Chuqiao played host and went with him to dine at an elegant restaurant.

After lunch, the two found a quiet cafe and sat chatting all afternoon.

From law to psychology, from campus anecdotes to social happenings, time slipped away unconsciously.

When they got up to leave, it was already close to evening.

Lin Chuqiao suddenly said she very much wanted to watch a musical.

As it happened, the Dongdu Grand Theater had a touring performance by a world-famous theater troupe tonight, and the tickets were already bought, totaling two.

It was hard to refuse such hospitality, so Fang Cheng found it difficult to decline.

The two had dinner together and then walked into the glittering theater.

It wasn't until nine o'clock that the show ended and they came out.

Although he was on a date with this beautiful teacher, Fang Cheng wasn't without gains.

During the afternoon's conversation, he indirectly learned more about that "Professor".

The Professor was originally a native of Jiangbei Province in the Xia Country, extremely talented and arrogant of his talent.

More than ten years ago, because he was involved in a widely implicated public case, he was forced to go far away to a foreign land and almost vanished completely.

It wasn't until last year that he quietly returned to the country from Nanyang.

The Professor was an old acquaintance of Lin Chuqiao's father.

After their accidental reunion, the Professor gave Lin Chuqiao much guidance in spiritual cultivation, benefiting her immensely.

Therefore, Lin Chuqiao respected him greatly, treating him as a master and mentor.

As for what the Professor actually wanted to do this time returning to the country, Lin Chuqiao was vague about it.

She only said that the other party had a very lofty ideal, and everything he was doing now was to realize this ideal.

Lin Chuqiao also half-jokingly said.

If Fang Cheng wanted to understand in depth, he could apply to join this team, and perhaps the Professor would tell him personally.

Fang Cheng smiled at that time and didn't continue to pursue the question.

Screech——

A subtle braking sound rang out, and the black SUV stopped steadily downstairs of the apartment building where Lin Chuqiao lived.

"We've arrived."

Fang Cheng reminded softly.

"Mm..."

Lin Chuqiao responded, but didn't make any move.

She still sat quietly, seemingly wanting to extend this quiet time of being alone in the car by a few more seconds.

Finally, as if making up her mind, she picked up her handbag from the passenger seat and unbuckled her seatbelt.

The car door opened, and a cool night wind rushed in.

She extended a slender and beautiful leg wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, gracefully stepping onto the ground, and then her whole body nimbly slipped out of the car.

The beige skirt looked exceptionally soft in the night, setting off her exquisite and graceful figure just right.

Standing outside the car door, Lin Chuqiao bent down and waved at Fang Cheng through the car window.

"Bye-bye."

The blush on her cheeks added a few points of delicate brilliance under the illumination of the streetlights.

"Bye-bye."

Fang Cheng responded with a smile, not saying much more.

Then starting the engine, the car slowly drove away.

From the rearview mirror, that slender figure could be seen.

Lin Chuqiao was still standing in place, the streetlight stretching her shadow long, until she completely disappeared around the corner.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze, a vague ripple stirring in his heart.

The black SUV drove out of Cuihu Yipin and merged into the endless stream of main roads in the city.

The night view outside the car window flashed backward rapidly, neon flashing, bizarre and motley.

Fang Cheng casually turned on the car audio, and a soothing blues melody flowed out.

The lazy saxophone sound seemed to tell the inner thoughts of the urban night returnees.

Fang Cheng hummed this unknown tune casually, letting the neon lights outside the car window flicker on and off across his Face.

The postgraduate entrance examination was finally completely over.

He believed that in just a few days, the admission notice could be mailed to his home.

At that time, his mother should be very happy.

With one worry settled, Fang Cheng suddenly felt much more relaxed.

The admission time was in autumn, September, which was still a long time away from now.

For the upcoming period, he could completely Focus on practicing his skills.

Amidst his thoughts, a light blue translucent light screen emerged before his eyes.

[Speed Reading lv2 (109 / 500)] (Rapid Eye Movement, Memory Palace)

[Focus lv2 (340 / 500)] (Heartsteel)

[Culinary Arts lv1 (136 / 250)] (Knife Flower)

[Cleaning lv1 (217 / 250)] (Scavengers Eye)

[Driving lv0 (20 / 100)]

[Bone-setting lv1 (40 / 250)] (Brief Solidification)

[Acupoint Striking lv0 (26 / 100)]

[Tuina Massage lv0 (31 / 100)]

[Boxing lv3 (87 / 1000)] (Iron Fist, Infinite Combo)

[Sanda lv3 (42 / 1000)] (Dance of Lightning)

[Jiu-Jitsu lv2 (321 / 500)] (Elasticity)

[Muay Thai lv2 (247 / 500)] (Steel Bones, Super Armor)

[Tai Chi lv1 (183 / 250)] (Force Dispersion)

[Push-up lv3 (245 / 1000)] (Master of Strong Wrists, Qilin Arm)

[Squat lv3 (218 / 1000)] (The Aloof)

[Leg Raise lv3 (36 / 1000)] (Ape Waist)

[Pull-up lv3 (52 / 1000)] (Absolute Control)

[Back Bridge lv2 (409 / 500)] (Iron Bridge)

[Handstand Push-up lv2 (470 / 500)] (Air Walk)

[Running lv1 (42 / 250)] (Strong Wind Blowing)

[Qigong lv2 (103 / 500)] (Poison Resistance, Evergreen Unfalling)

[Meditation lv2 (251 / 500)] (Flame of Spirituality)

[Marksmanship lv2 (168 / 500)] (Ghost Shooting, Eagle Eye Vision)

[Blade Technique lv2 (276 / 500)] (Shadow of the Blade)

Looking at the progress bars of each skill on the panel, Fang Cheng silently made a leveling plan in his heart.

In terms of life skills, [Cleaning] just required doing a bit more housework usually, and it shouldn't take a month to level up.

Among the combat skills, apart from the lower-ranked [Tai Chi], the other items would require quite a bit of time and energy to upgrade.

Anyway, it couldn't be rushed.

Persisting in practicing Shadow Boxing for an hour every day, occasionally going to the club to take orders, finding a sparring partner, and steadily boosting experience would suffice.

Moreover, now he had more free time.

He could consider learning a few new combat arts to see if new skills could be unlocked.

As for [Handstand Push-up] and [Back Bridge] in the fitness skills, these two skills were not far from leveling up.

They could be taken as primary targets to push harder and strive to achieve Breakthroughs consecutively this week.

Fang Cheng pondered, his gaze subsequently falling on the medical skills.

[Bone-setting], [Acupoint Striking], [Tuina Massage]...

After the Chinese New Year, the progress of these three skills had stagnated for a long time.

It seemed he still had to find time to go to the martial arts clinic to help Master Lin and exercise his "Miraculous Hands Rejuvenating Spring".

After all, it was related to the leveling speed of the exclusive skill [Qigong].

The higher the Qigong Rank, the more defense, offense, and health preservation methods he would have.

When facing sudden dangers and enemies, he could also possess more powerful trump cards.

Thinking of danger, Fang Cheng's eyes tightened slightly, recalling the small interlude that happened at Wangjiang Tower last night.

The two assassins he ran into in the elevator were subdued by him and handed over to Ma Donghe to handle.

In the middle of the night, Ma Donghe called.

He said those two fellows had tight lips, only admitting they had accepted a mission to assassinate a member of parliament with the surname Zhao.

As for who the employer was and the reason for the assassination, they knew nothing.

Fang Cheng didn't pursue it further.

This kind of matter clearly involved struggles among the upper echelons, and that Councilor Zhao probably offended someone.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with him; he only instructed Ma Donghe to dispose of those two assassins cleanly without leaving any loose ends.

Fang Cheng glanced at the time displayed on the car's center console screen.

9:26.

Originally, Fang Cheng had thought of dropping by to find Xu Hao.

To fulfill his previous promise to teach him the second-layer Cultivation Technique of the Great Sun Burning Body Technique.

Of course, the actual idea was to use him as an experiment to deeply study methods to strengthen Mind Resonance.

That guy had said, however, that he was going to attend an important gathering of the Red Tiger Gang tonight, and he didn't know if it had ended by now.

...

In the west of Dongdu City, inside a heavily guarded private clubhouse.

In the spacious incense hall, red candles burned brightly, and incense smoke curled.

Hanging on the center wall was a huge red cloth, in front of which was a long offering table.

On the table was enshrined an imposing statue of Guan Yu.

The blue smoke emitted by the three high sticks of incense lingered and did not disperse in front of the divine statue.

On both sides of the incense hall, rows of Hainan huanghuali ring chairs were placed.

The chairs were filled with people, mostly wearing exquisite mandarin jackets, with solemn expressions and quite advanced age.

At a glance, one could tell they were well-known big shot figures in the Jianghu.

Among them, some were internal hall masters and Elders of the Red Tiger Gang, and others were heads of other factions who were on good terms with or subordinate to the Red Tiger Gang.

Tonight, they had all been specially invited to witness a special adoption ceremony.

On the coffee tables in front of everyone were exquisite tea sets, but at this moment no one had the heart to drink tea, and they were all discussing in low voices.

"Hey, what is the background of this adopted son that Brother Chen is going to recognize today?"

An old man with a goat-beard asked in a low voice.

"What background? I heard he's a punk pulled up from a lower hall, and used to be a pimp or panderer."

A fat man with a fierce Face curled his lips and said.

"A pimp? No way? How could Brother Chen take a fancy to such a person? And even recognize him as an adopted son?"

"I suspect, 80% of this kid is Brother Chen's illegitimate son outside, and now he's just finding an excuse to take him back."

"Illegitimate son? Impossible! Brother Chen is not even forty yet, and that kid looks like he's almost thirty. How does that add up?"

Xu Hao, sitting in the corner, cracked melon seeds while listening to the discussions of these old fellows, and couldn't help chiming in:

"Our gang leader has always done things not according to common sense, playing for novelty."

"It's normal that your old antiques' minds can't keep up and you don't understand."

"You!"

An old man with a fiery temper immediately glared angrily.

The person sitting beside him hurriedly pulled his sleeve and persuaded in a low voice:

"Don't provoke him. This kid is the newly appointed hall master of the Red Tiger Gang, 'Mad Dog Xu'. Be careful he bites you."

Hearing this, the old man's heart skipped a beat. Having seemingly heard of this moniker, he could only resentfully swallow his anger.

Just at this moment, a light cough sounded.

The people who had been whispering to each other immediately closed their mouths and unanimously looked toward the inner room.

Following that, a sound of footsteps came, and a few figures walked out from the inner room.

At the head was none other than the leader of the Red Tiger Gang, Chen Chen.

Today he wore a well-tailored black suit.

Secretary Liu, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, accompanied him by his side.

There was also a tall, thin, somewhat handsome young man following at the back, whose expression appeared somewhat nervous; it was Xiaosa.

Chen Chen walked to the center of the incense hall, looked around, and laughed loudly:

"Brothers and friends, thank you for honoring me with your presence today."

"The Red Tiger Gang's development to this day relies entirely on the concerted help of the brothers within the gang and the Face given by friends outside."

"I, Chen Chen, have always been clear on rewards and punishments, recognizing and valuing talent. Anyone who genuinely follows me will have banknotes and beauties in abundance. But if anyone dares to harbor a double mind, don't blame me for being ruthless and emotionless..."

His voice suddenly turned cold, his gaze sweeping over everyone present like a knife:

"I've heard that recently some friends have been getting a little too close to the Dongcheng Association..."

As soon as these words fell, the atmosphere of the entire incense hall instantly dropped to freezing point.

Cold sweat seeped from the foreheads of several big shots, who subconsciously picked up their teacups but didn't dare to drink.

Seeing everyone's reactions, Chen Chen suddenly burst out laughing, breaking the suffocating silence:

"Just joking, everyone don't be nervous."

"Calling everyone together this time isn't really a big deal. Mainly, I discovered a rare talent within the gang, whose ability and character both make me deeply appreciate him."

"Therefore, I've decided to adopt this talent as my adopted son. Inviting you all here today is just to witness it."

While speaking, he turned sideways and beckoned to Xiaosa behind him:

"Jianren, come over and show your Face to the Seniors and uncles."

Xiaosa took a deep breath, suppressed the nervousness in his heart, stepped forward, and bowed to everyone:

"Seniors, uncles, junior Xiao Jianren. Please take care of me in the future."

Standing in front of these big shots whom he could only gaze at from afar, Xiaosa felt his heart pounding heavily, "thump, thump."

He had never imagined that a punk who had struggled at the bottom of society for over a decade could one day stand here and become the Focus of everyone's attention.

He knew in his heart that all of this was actually bestowed upon him by the Leader.

It was the Leader who completely changed his destiny.

From today on, he must use his ability and value to repay this kindness.

"The auspicious hour has arrived, the ceremony begins!"

Secretary Liu chanted loudly.

Xiaosa tidied his collar and knelt down before the statue of Guan Yu.

Secretary Liu held a scroll and loudly chanted the congratulatory message.

Afterward, Xiaosa picked up a cup of fragrant tea that had long been prepared, held it high above his head with both hands, and respectfully handed it to Chen Chen.

"Godfather, please drink tea!"

"Ah, good, good, good!"

Chen Chen took the teacup, drank it down in one gulp, and then reached out to pull Xiaosa up: "Adopted son, good."

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Inside the incense hall, warm applause instantly broke out.

The various big shots stood up one after another, stepping forward to congratulate, offering generous gifts prepared long ago, and saying all sorts of flattery.

They all understood in their hearts that this young man named Xiao Jianren would have a limitless future starting today.

Perhaps in the future, the entire Red Tiger Gang would be his.

Only Xu Hao sat imposingly in his chair.

Looking at Xiaosa, who was surrounded by the crowd, he muttered with a jealous expression:

"What's with this kid's background? Damn it, his status has climbed faster than mine!"

End of chapter.