88: Chapter 88: Quite a Fateful Encounter

Chapter 88: What a Coincidence

Clap, clap, clap —— Clap, clap, clap ——

Enthusiastic and endless applause rang out inside the training hall.

An elderly man dressed in a Tang suit with gray hair and beard stepped leisurely into the venue, surrounded by several bodyguards in black.

Manager Li and two other senior company executives attended to him attentively, constantly nodding and bowing.

All the employees of the club lined up neatly in several rows, like an honor guard receiving an inspection, welcoming the arrival of the chairman with the most enthusiastic attitude.

The elderly man wore a smile, waving as he walked.

He didn't seem to have the airs of a big shot at all.

Fang Cheng was also standing in the crowd, following along and clapping.

The seemingly ordinary wealthy old man before his eyes was the club's mysterious big boss, the chairman whom he never got to see year-round.

According to information revealed by colleagues, his surname should be Shen, and he could trace a distant relative relationship with Coach Shen Haoming.

Yet Manager Li seemed to make a slip of the tongue, always respectfully addressing him as Chairman Shen.

The elderly man walked up to the red-carpeted podium, his gaze slowly sweeping across the audience below.

Was it just an illusion?

Fang Cheng felt that his gaze seemed to linger on him for an extra second.

Chairman Shen took the microphone diligently presented by Manager Li, then said straight to the point:

"Thank you for all your hard work, everyone. With your help in the club, I have always felt completely at ease."

"Of course, the company will not treat you unfairly or ignore the hard work you have put in. I have already instructed little Li that starting this March, everyone's salary will be increased by a certain percentage..."

As soon as these words were said, there was an immediate uproar below the stage.

The employees could no longer care about maintaining their image in front of the boss, all whispering excitedly among themselves.

Manager Li reacted quickly, taking the lead and clapping vigorously.

Seeing this, the others closely followed suit.

For a moment, thunderous applause erupted, mixed with cheers that kept ringing endlessly.

Chairman Shen's style of doing things was crisp and neat. After drawing a simple pie in the sky, he gave his concluding remarks:

"I hope everyone will continue to make persistent efforts in the new year and create even better achievements!"

The big boss spoke very few words. As the supporting act, Manager Li naturally could not let the atmosphere turn cold.

He first followed Chairman Shen's speech, taking the opportunity to lay on some heavy flattery.

Then he spoke eloquently and inspiringly, showcasing the shared vision between himself and the company.

If not for Chairman Shen giving a cough, he probably could have spoken tirelessly for a full hour.

With the polite formalities over, the next part was the award ceremony for the outstanding employees that everyone cared about most.

Everyone whose name was called walked up to the stage and lined up in a row, waiting for the boss to personally hand the red envelope into their hands.

Ranked third, Fang Cheng also stood in the queue, waiting quietly.

"Young man, I've heard about your performance. It's very good."

Chairman Shen walked up in front of him, holding a red envelope with both hands and solemnly handing it over.

Fang Cheng smiled and bowed slightly, receiving it with both hands very politely.

Just at this moment, one of the bodyguards in black standing behind Chairman Shen suddenly became extremely tense, fixing his eyes firmly on Fang Cheng.

This feeling was like a beast encountering a fiercer of its own kind, its fur bristling all over, instinctively showing vigilance and defense.

Fang Cheng felt slightly stunned and glanced at that ordinary-looking bodyguard in black.

When looking at him from a distance just now, there was nothing noteworthy about him.

But close up, one could faintly sense a fierce and sharp Aura coming from him.

In Ma Jianguo's words, this was the manifestation of a Martial Artist whose blood and Qi were full, reflecting outward from the heart.

Chairman Shen was quite calm, patting Fang Cheng's shoulder meaningfully and encouragingly saying:

"Keep working hard. We might meet again in the future."

Before Fang Cheng could ponder the meaning of these words, the man had already walked toward the next outstanding employee.

Ten minutes later, the commendation meeting ended.

The chairman seemed very busy; after presenting the awards, he left in a hurry.

The preparation work originally arranged by the club's senior management to welcome the boss's inspection thus fell through.

However, the employees had a relaxed mindset, discussing animatedly and overflowing with a joyous atmosphere.

Among them, the few who won the outstanding employee award were sought after even more.

Fang Cheng also had a group of people surrounding him, asking questions with curiosity.

"A-Cheng, did you and the chairman know each other for a long time?"

"We don't know each other."

Fang Cheng decisively shook his head.

Obviously, Chairman Shen's special treatment just now had also caught the attention of many people.

"You don't know each other? How come I feel like the way he looked at you was just like a grandfather looking at his grandson?"

A coach said half-believingly.

"Can you even speak properly, you guy? If Fang Cheng were the chairman's grandson, he would be driving a luxury car and sitting in a manager's office right now, instead of coming to be a sparring partner."

Coach Xu walked over and couldn't help but retort.

"That's not necessarily true either. Haven't you seen in TV dramas where a rich Young Master starts as a cleaner in his own family's company, then meets a Cinderella and wins the beauty's heart..."

Fang Cheng shook his head speechlessly, shutting his ears to those increasingly outrageous speculations.

He guessed to himself that it was probably because Majima Goro had spoken some complimentary words to Chairman Shen back then, which was why he was being treated differently today.

Thinking of this, he weighed the bulging red envelope in his hand.

Without needing to count specifically, he could feel the sense of fulfillment brought by a thick stack of cash.

The method of depositing the bonus directly into a card really wasn't as intuitive or as grand as this.

Take a good look at it!

Fang Cheng carefully put the money away.

His flat wallet instantly became bulging.

He couldn't help pondering to himself how he should spend this bonus.

Meanwhile.

A row of expensive black sedans filed out from the downstairs parking lot one after another, driving onto the highway.

Inside the luxury sedan at the center, Chairman Shen leaned against the sofa, closing his eyes to rest.

"Chairman, do you feel that kid is trustworthy and worth investing in?"

The bodyguard in black sitting beside him asked respectfully.

"I can't see any problems."

Chairman Shen did not open his eyes, slowly saying: "I trust Mr. Majima's evaluation of him."

The bodyguard nodded in agreement:

"I have investigated his family background and life experiences. Aside from his father being a suspected murderer, everything else is very clean..."

As he spoke, the cell phone in his hand suddenly rang with a harsh ringtone.

He quickly pressed the answer button.

"Mhm, mhm, I know."

After hearing what the person on the other end said, the bodyguard turned to look at the old man beside him, his expression appearing somewhat hesitant:

"Chairman, A-Liang sent word that another one of the small Gangs attached to us has been annexed by the Red Tiger Gang."

"Hmph."

Chairman Shen's eyelids suddenly lifted, revealing a pair of eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"If a tiger conceals its claws and teeth for too long, it will be overlooked by others. It's time for us to show our muscles as well..."

"However, how should we deal with those experts of mysterious origin?"

Hearing this, Chairman Shen knitted his brows tightly and rubbed his forehead:

"Let's discuss it in detail when we get back."

...

Linggang District, second-hand market.

This place was close to the international port, a hotbed of all sorts of people.

Not only were there many parallel imports and knock-offs of electronic products sold here, but it also concealed some high-risk, ultra-lucrative dark industries.

After receiving a bonus as high as twenty thousand yuan, Fang Cheng stayed at the club for another afternoon and took on two sparring classes.

At dusk, he took a taxi here, preparing to replace his previously rented second-hand phone by buying one outright with cash.

At this moment, he had just come out of a communication store.

He was fiddling with accessories like the charger additionally given by the store in his hand.

As he raised his head to look at the road, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a familiar figure as robust as a bear.

"Ma Donghe?"

Fang Cheng was somewhat surprised to meet him here, feeling that they shared quite a bond.

Looking at his appearance of glancing around, he seemed to be looking for someone.

Just as he wanted to step forward to greet him, Fang Cheng's gaze suddenly congealed.

Because at this moment, he saw that behind Ma Donghe, there was unexpectedly still a guy with a sneaky expression.

It looked like he was trailing him.