60: Chapter 60 Chen Fan's "Rustic" Romance

The clamor of the night market was like a pot of boiling water, filled with the scent of cumin, cheap perfume, and sweat.

Su Wanqing was so busy she didn't have a moment to rest; the loose strands of hair on her forehead were dampened by sweat and clung to her cheeks.

While skillfully flipping the squid on the iron griddle, she also had to deal with impatient customers urging her to hurry up with their orders.

"Boss, are my fried noodles ready yet?"

"Right away! Just give me another minute!"

Chen Fan had just finished delivering beer to two tables and, taking advantage of a lull, snuck over to the stall next door that sold mobile phone accessories.

The stall owner was a young man with dyed yellow hair, currently hunched over the table playing a video game.

"Boss, I want this whole row of couple phone cases." Chen Fan pointed to the ones hanging in the most prominent spot, which were printed with cheesy pick-up lines and cartoon pig heads.

The yellow-haired kid was startled and nearly dropped his phone. "Mister, are you stocking up? There are over twenty of these in this row."

"Less talk, scan the code." Chen Fan took out his phone, and with a beep, transferred five hundred yuan. "Keep the change, the rest is a service fee."

He picked up the pile of colorful phone cases, turned around, and stopped a young couple who had just finished buying milk tea.

"Handsome, beautiful, do me a favor." Chen Fan smiled like a salesman and shoved two phone cases printed with 'I'll support you' into the young man's hands. "These cases are yours for free, provided you go to that squid stall and say something to the lady boss cooking there."

The young man looked confused. "Say what?"

"Just say..." Chen Fan pointed to Su Wanqing's back. "Boss, your husband says you're the prettiest girl in this night market, and he won't marry anyone but you for the rest of his life."

The boy and girl exchanged glances. Looking at the phone cases in their hands—which happened to be their model—and then at Chen Fan's "lovestruck" expression, they burst out laughing.

"Alright! You really know how to play, mister!"

A few minutes later.

Su Wanqing was busy sprinkling scallions when the young couple approached.

"Boss!" the girl called out crisply.

Su Wanqing paused, looked up, and wiped the sweat from her brow. "What would you like to eat?"

"Nothing." The boy smirked and pointed to Chen Fan, who was hiding behind a utility pole not far away. "That mister over there asked us to tell you that you are the prettiest girl in this night market, and he's stuck with you for life!"

After saying that, the two shook the phone cases in their hands and ran off, giggling.

Su Wanqing's face turned bright red, and she nearly dropped the spatula in her hand.

Before she could recover, another couple walked over.

"Boss, someone said you are his sweetheart, his honey-sweet treat..."

Then came the third couple, the fourth couple...

A corner of the night market seemed to have turned into a massive confession scene. The surrounding diners stopped eating, and shouts of encouragement and whistles rose one after another.

"Oh my, beautiful Su, is your man wholesaling romance?" Auntie Zhang from the next stall laughed and slapped her thigh. "With these cheesy pick-up lines one after another, it looks like we can't do business tonight. I'm already full just from eating all this dog food!"

Su Wanqing was so embarrassed she wanted to bury her head in the iron griddle; her face was as red as a ripe tomato. She glared fiercely at Chen Fan, who was hiding in the shadows snickering, and mouthed the words: "Crazy!"

Although she was scolding him, the cloud of worry that had shrouded her brow for years quietly dissipated a little on this night, which was filled with the atmosphere of everyday life and cheesy romance.

Chen Fan leaned against the utility pole, watching Su Wanqing's expression—shy and angry, yet unable to hide her smile—and felt more content than if he had made ten billion.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated violently.

The playful smile on Chen Fan's face vanished instantly, and his eyes grew colder than the night.

He turned and walked into a dark, deserted alley nearby and pressed the answer button.

"Speak."

A steady, modulated male voice came from the other end of the line. The codename was [Tianshu], the top-tier commercial operator assigned to him by the system.

"Boss, the hunt is over." Tianshu's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were reporting the weather. "The stock price of Tiansheng Group has hit rock bottom, and the bank has just officially frozen all of Wang Tiansheng's assets. The father and son of the Wang family are on their way to the airport. Should we intercept them?"

Chen Fan fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

The flickering light illuminated his cold, stern face. He was a completely different person from the silly uncle who had been handing out phone cases just a moment ago.

"No need to intercept." Chen Fan exhaled a ring of smoke. "Like stray dogs, let them run. The further they run, the harder they'll fall. What I want is the company, not those two pathetic lives."

"Understood." Tianshu paused. "And the asset restructuring..."

"Initiate the Devour Project." Chen Fan flicked the ash off his cigarette, his tone as casual as if he were talking about buying cabbage. "I want all of Tiansheng Group's quality assets, strip away the bad debts, and merge them into Huihuang Group. Also, liquidate and package that large flat of Wang Tiansheng's in the city center, along with all the luxury cars and antiques under his name."

"Understood. When do you need the documents?"

"Monday." Chen Fan looked at the bustling lights at the mouth of the alley, a hint of doting in his eyes. "My son has just learned how to be a rich second generation; I need to prepare a proper welcome gift for him."

"Received. The shareholders' meeting will be held on time next Monday at 9:00 AM. At that time, Tiansheng Group will be completely renamed to 'Xingchen Holdings' and will become the first wholly-owned subsidiary under the young master's name."

He hung up the phone.

Chen Fan stood in the darkness for a few seconds until the cigarette burned out.

He stepped on the cigarette butt, ground it with his toe, adjusted his collar, put that happy-go-lucky smile back on his face, and walked out of the alley.

Back at the stall, Su Wanqing was blushing and scolding him.

"Chen Fan! How old are you, still playing these kinds of tricks? Don't those phone cases cost money? You spendthrift!"

"Hehe, as long as you're happy, I could buy this whole night market if I wanted to." Chen Fan took the plate from her hand and began to clean up the table with deft movements. "Alright, alright, let's pack up. We've earned enough for tonight."

Su Wanqing rolled her eyes at him but didn't say anything else. She just quietly tucked the pink pig-head phone case that hadn't been given away into her apron pocket.

While Su Wanqing went to push the cart, Chen Fan took out his phone and sent a text message to Su Muyang.

There was no unnecessary chatter, just a short line of text:

【Next Monday at 9:00 AM, come to the top floor of Huihuang Group. Come sign for the empire you've conquered.】

After sending it, he put his phone back in his pocket and watched Su Wanqing push the little pink electric scooter over.

The night breeze was slightly cool; Chen Fan rubbed his hands together and walked up to meet her.

The hunt was over; next, it was time to enjoy this hard-won, ordinary life.