27: Chapter 27 Mom's Marriage-Pressing Phone Call

Outside the Jiangnanli Private Kitchen, the sun was scorching.

Su Nianyao stood in the shade, looking at Chen Fan, twisting the hem of her shirt with both hands, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Dad, I really can't go to where you're staying. I have a part-time job at two in the afternoon, handing out flyers for a newly opened music store. I've already promised them, I can't go back on my word."

Chen Fan looked at his daughter's face, slightly damp with sweat, and felt a pang in his heart.

This girl had been scared by poverty and was used to being sensible. Even after just eating a meal worth tens of thousands, and even knowing her biological father had struck it rich, she still didn't dare to easily stop her frantic pace.

"Alright." Chen Fan didn't force her, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair blown by the wind behind her ear. "It's a good thing to be reliable. Go on, but don't overwork yourself. If that boss dares to withhold your pay, tell me, and I'll turn his music store into a bathhouse."

Su Nianyao giggled, waved her hand, and pulling the still-dazed Xiaoya, ran toward the distant bus stop.

Watching his daughter board the crowded bus, the smile on Chen Fan's face slowly faded.

A silver-gray supercar glided in front of him like a ghost.

Its streamlined body, exaggerated rear spoiler, and the beast hidden under the hood with over a thousand horsepower—a Koenigsegg One:1, one of only six in the world, with a landed price of nearly 100 million.

This was what Tian Shu had just had someone deliver.

Chen Fan opened the car door and sat into the low cockpit.

The engine roared, the sound waves exploding.

Pedestrians on the side of the road were startled, hurriedly raising their phones to take pictures. But before they could press the shutter, the silver-gray lightning had already torn through the air and disappeared at the end of the street.

...

Twenty minutes later, Dragon Bay No. 1.

The massive iron gates slowly opened to both sides, and two rows of uniformed security personnel were already lined up waiting, saluting in unison.

The car stopped steadily in front of the main building's fountain.

Tian Shu, in a crisp gray Zhongshan suit, stepped forward quickly to open the car door for Chen Fan.

"Boss."

Chen Fan got out of the car, tossed the keys casually to Tian Shu, and walked inside while unbuttoning his cuffs, his stride brisk.

"Go get three cards made."

Chen Fan walked into the luxurious lobby with a ten-meter high ceiling, his voice echoing in the vast space, exuding an unquestionable aura of dominance.

"ICBC Centurion Black Cards, the kind with unlimited credit limits."

He walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the sparkling river outside, and held up three fingers.

"The account holders are to be Su Wanqing, Su Muyang, and Su Nianyao."

"Also, deposit one billion in cash into each card as pocket money. Tell the bank that I want top priority today; if anyone dares to delay by even a minute, I'll transfer all the hundreds of billions in deposits I have there elsewhere."

Tian Shu followed behind with a notepad in hand, not even batting an eyelid.

"Understood. It will be done within half an hour and delivered directly to your study."

For the current Chen Fan, billions were nothing more than a numbers game.

His overseas assets generated enough interest daily to buy half of Jiangcheng.

He had owed them too much in the past; now, he would make up for it in the simplest, most brutal way possible.

Money couldn't buy time, but it could buy happiness, dignity, and 99% of the freedom in this world.

Just then, the private phone in Chen Fan's pocket vibrated again.

That old Nokia ringtone sounded exceptionally jarring in this magnificent palace.

Chen Fan took it out and looked, his scalp tightening.

It was Mom again.

He hadn't finished speaking at the dinner table before hanging up; the old lady must have realized what was happening and was coming to hold him accountable.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Mom..."

"Chen Fan! You heartless brat! How dare you hang up on me just now?!"

On the other end of the line, Zhao Xiulan's loud voice exploded like firecrackers, full of vigor, making Chen Fan's ears ring.

"Do you think your wings have grown strong just because you've been delivering food? Let me tell you, your uncle's eightieth birthday is a big deal for our Chen family! Your Younger Male Cousin, Chen Kai, is a manager in the big city, he's bought a house and a car, and this time he's bringing his wife and second child back to kowtow!"

Zhao Xiulan grew more and more excited as she spoke, her voice choked with frustration at his lack of success.

"Look at you! You're thirty-five! You have no money, no house, and you couldn't even keep a wife! Do you know how the gossiping women in the village talk about me behind my back? They say I, Zhao Xiulan, must have committed sins in my past life to have given birth to a bachelor loser like you!"

Chen Fan held the phone, listening to his mother's scolding, but he didn't feel annoyed; instead, a long-lost bitterness welled up in his heart.

His mother scolded him so fiercely because she cared.

During the five years he was missing, and the half-year he spent struggling as a delivery driver, his mother must have endured plenty of cold looks in the village.

"Mom, calm down, have some water."

Chen Fan walked over to the leather sofa and sat down, his tone gentle. "Who said I don't have money or a house? I'm doing quite well right now."

"Doing well, my foot! That little bit of money you make delivering food isn't enough to buy a few steamed buns!" Zhao Xiulan didn't believe it at all. "Enough, I don't want to hear your bragging. On the eighth of next month, you must get back here! Even if you have to rent one, you must rent a decent set of clothes; don't disgrace our side of the family!"

"And! I've already asked your Second Aunt to arrange a blind date for you. It's Widow Wang from the next village. Although she has a child, she has big hips, which means she's good for childbearing..."

Chen Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Widow Wang?

If he really brought Widow Wang back, Su Wanqing would chase him to the moon with a kitchen knife.

"Mom, stop, stop!"

Chen Fan hurriedly cut her off, leaned back, crossed his legs, and looked at the brilliant crystal chandelier above, his tone carrying a hint of mystery and pride.

"Forget the blind date. I have a wife."

The other end of the line suddenly went quiet.

After several seconds, Zhao Xiulan's suspicious voice came through: "Where did you trick a young girl from this time? Let me tell you, renting one with money won't work!"

"It's not rented."

Chen Fan looked at the old photo from nineteen years ago on the coffee table, his fingers gently stroking Su Wanqing's young face in the picture, his eyes as gentle as water.

"Mom, it's her. I found her again."

"That... that girl from the Su family?" Zhao Xiulan's voice suddenly shot up an octave, full of disbelief. "She... she is still willing to be with you?"

Back then, Chen Fan had abandoned his wife and children for money. Zhao Xiulan had always felt guilty about this, feeling like she owed that girl.

"Yes, she has forgiven me." Chen Fan told a little lie to put the old lady at ease. "Not only that, Mom, sit tight, don't fall over."

"What would I fall over for? Hurry up and speak!"

"Our Chen family has descendants." Chen Fan said, enunciating every word, each one heavy with significance. "Twins, nineteen years old. They look like me, very handsome."

Beep... beep... beep...

A busy signal came from the other end.

Clearly, the old lady had been so shocked that her hand shook and she hung up, or perhaps the phone fell to the ground.

Chen Fan looked at the darkened screen and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He could imagine his mother's current state: surely sitting on the stone mill at the entrance of the village, mouth wide open, eyes staring blankly, then slapping her thigh and shouting to everyone she met, "I have a big grandson!"

"Tian Shu."

Chen Fan put down the phone, stood up, and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window.

Below his feet was the bustling Jiangcheng.

In the distance, the Tiansheng Group building looked somewhat glaring in the sunlight, but in Chen Fan's eyes, it was nothing more than a sandcastle about to collapse.

"Boss." Tian Shu appeared behind him like a ghost.

"Prepare the private jet." Chen Fan looked out the window, his gaze deep. "Once we take care of these flies in Jiangcheng and get Wanqing and the children settled, we'll return to our hometown."

"Since we're going back for the birthday celebration, we must return in style."

Chen Fan straightened his collar, the lazy aura around him dissipating, replaced by the dominance of a ruler.

"I want the whole village to know that Zhao Xiulan's son is not a loser, but a dragon in this river."

"Also, go look into that Younger Male Cousin, Chen Kai. If he's honest and well-behaved, fine, but if he dares to be snide in front of my mom..."

Chen Fan sneered, leaving the sentence unfinished.

But Tian Shu already understood what he meant.

"Yes. And... what about the young lady?"

Chen Fan glanced at the wall clock.

4:30 PM.

The part-time job at the music store should be ending soon.

"Get the car ready. Bring out that bentley mulsanne."

Chen Fan turned and walked out, a doting smile appearing on his face.

"My princess should be getting off work. Since she won't come, I'll go invite her myself. Even if I have to tie her up, tonight she must know exactly how vast an empire her father has built for her."