86: Chapter 86 An Accidental Encounter with My Older Brother at the Night Market

The night market in Yunzhou is the place in this city that feels the most alive at night.

Rows of smoky barbecue stalls stretch on, and the sound of sizzling meat, clinking beer bottles, and shouts of drinking games converge into a wave of heat that hits you right in the face.

Chen Fan, wearing a faded undershirt and flip-flops, clutched a handful of freshly grilled lamb skewers and was struggling to squeeze his way out of the crowd.

"Excuse me, excuse me! It's hot! The oil is hot!"

He shouted while shielding the skewers in his hand, terrified they might get knocked over.

Su Wanqing just loved this particular "Fatty Auntie's Barbecue," insisting that the flavor was more authentic than anything made by the five-star chefs at home.

Just as he squeezed out of the crowd, Chen Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

On the sidewalk not far away, a group of people stood out completely.

Seven or eight burly men in black suits and earpieces formed a semicircle, guarding a middle-aged man in the center tightly.

The middle-aged man was about forty-five or forty-six, his hair combed meticulously, and the navy blue handmade suit he wore looked expensive—it could probably buy out half the stalls on this street.

He held a freshly bought grilled squid skewer, frowning as if trying to figure out whether the thing was actually edible.

Surrounding diners walked around them, pointing and whispering, assuming some high-ranking leader had come down for an undercover inspection.

Chen Fan looked at the middle-aged man, and his eyelid twitched violently.

That was his own brother, Chen Jian.

He was the current public head of Beijing Chen Family, a tycoon controlling hundreds of billions in the energy industry.

"Why did this old guy run all the way to Yunzhou?" Chen Fan muttered to himself, subconsciously wanting to turn and slip away.

After all, his current identity was "a small business owner who rose from delivering food," and if his big brother saw him in this state, there was no telling what kind of commotion it would cause.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Chen Jian just happened to look up, his gaze sweeping across the crowd like a searchlight before locking firmly onto Chen Fan's face.

Time seemed to stand still in that second.

Chen Jian's hand loosened, and the untouched grilled squid skewer fell to the ground with a "plop," splashing a few drops of grease onto his polished leather shoes.

His mouth opened slightly, and that aura of a big shot, who would remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, shattered instantly.

"Boss, what's wrong?" The female assistant beside him was startled and quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe his shoes.

"Don't move!" Chen Jian shoved the assistant aside, his eyes fixed straight on Chen Fan, a "gurgle" sound escaping from his throat.

The bodyguards around him also sensed something was wrong; their hands moved in unison to their lower backs, locking onto Chen Fan with fierce gazes.

Just then, in the bustling crowd around Chen Fan, a few faint, almost imperceptible auras suddenly appeared.

A few passersby who seemed to be buying milk tea or squatting to smoke stood up silently, subtly cutting off all of Chen Jian's bodyguards' attack routes.

Those were the "Shadows."

As long as the other side dared to make any move, even if they were his own brother's bodyguards, they would be taken down in an instant.

Chen Fan sighed and waved his hand.

The murderous intent in the shadows instantly dissipated.

Helplessly, he took a bite of his lamb skewer and, shuffling in his flip-flops, walked over nonchalantly.

"Brother, the squid fell. That doesn't fit your 'thrifty and frugal' persona." Chen Fan walked up to Chen Jian, grinned, and flashed a mouthful of white teeth.

Chen Jian swayed violently, as if someone had struck him with a cudgel.

He reached out with a trembling hand, wanting to touch Chen Fan's face but fearing it was just an illusion. Finally, he grabbed Chen Fan's arm tightly, his nails digging into the flesh.

"Third brother?!"

Chen Jian's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of uncertain sobbing, "Is it really you? You bastard! Nineteen years! Nineteen whole years! Everyone at home thought you had died out there!"

"Aren't I living just fine?" Chen Fan didn't cry out in pain, letting his big brother hold onto him. "There was no other way back then. If I hadn't run, would those old fogies have let me go?"

"But you couldn't even send a message!" Chen Jian's eyes instantly reddened. This man, who was usually decisive and ruthless in the business world, was now slightly uncomposed. "For your sake, Mom has almost cried her eyes blind! Every Chinese New Year, she would leave a set of bowl and chopsticks for you, and she wouldn't listen to anyone who tried to persuade her otherwise!"

Hearing about his mother, Chen Fan felt a pang in his heart, and the playful smile on his face vanished.

"Brother, I had my reasons." Chen Fan lowered his voice. "This place is too crowded and full of prying eyes; it's not the place to talk."

Chen Jian sniffled, forcibly suppressing his emotions and recovering some rationality. He looked around; indeed, the place was full of passersby holding up their phones to take pictures.

"Let's go, we'll talk in the car." Chen Jian grabbed him and wanted to leave.

"No, Wanqing is still over there waiting to eat the skewers." Chen Fan broke free from his big brother's hand and waved the lamb skewers in his hand. "They won't be good if they get cold."

Chen Jian's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief: "You… you're making your own brother stand here in the cold wind just for a few skewers of barbecue?"

"The world is huge, but a wife eating is the biggest priority." Chen Fan chuckled, pulled out his phone, and opened his photo album. "But brother, I have something good to show you. I guarantee you won't be angry after seeing it."

Chen Fan handed over the phone; on the screen was a family photo.

In the photo, Chen Muyang was acting cool with a straight face, Chen Nianyao was smiling like a flower, and Su Wanqing was leaning gently on Chen Fan's shoulder. The family of four looked happy and harmonious.

Chen Jian's gaze fell on the two children's faces, and his pupils constricted.

"This… this is…"

"Do they look like us?" Chen Fan said triumphantly. "The boy is called Muyang, and the girl is called Nianyao. Fraternal twins, just turned nineteen this year."

Chen Jian held the phone, his hands shaking even more violently than before. He looked at Chen Muyang in the photo, then at Chen Fan in front of him, muttering incessantly: "Like! Too much like it! These brows and eyes are carved from the same mold as our dad when he was young! And this girl, this nose, it's exactly the same as you when you were little!"

Two lines of murky tears flowed down Chen Jian's cheeks.

The Chen family was thin on descendants in this generation. Chen Jian himself had three daughters, and his second brother's family had had no news at all. The old man's greatest regret before he passed away was not seeing a grandson for the Chen family.

Who would have thought that this third brother, who had run away from home for nineteen years, would quietly do something so big, directly adding a pair of fraternal twins to the Chen family!

"Good! That's good!" Chen Jian slapped his thigh in excitement, looking even happier than when he had successfully negotiated a project worth hundreds of billions. "Our Chen family has an heir! Third brother, you are a great contributor this time! If Mom finds out, her illness might even be half cured!"

He suddenly looked up and grabbed Chen Fan: "Let's go! Take me to see my sister-in-law! I want to see which family's girl is so blessed to have made such a great contribution to our old Chen family!"

As he said this, Chen Jian was about to charge into the crowd, looking as if he couldn't wait to overturn the surrounding stalls.

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother, slow down!" Chen Fan quickly grabbed him. "We can meet, but we have to get our stories straight first."

"Get our stories straight?" Chen Jian was stunned. "What stories?"

Chen Fan leaned into his ear and said quickly: "Wanqing's parents are also here, that is, our father-in-law. My persona in front of them is 'a small business owner doing import and export trade,' the kind with an annual income of one million. Don't blow my cover later; don't mention any hundred-billion-dollar groups, and definitely don't mention our family's background."

Chen Jian frowned, looked Chen Fan up and down in his undershirt, and said with a look of disdain: "An annual income of one million? With this outfit of yours, people would even believe you're a street vendor. Fine, I get it. It's just pretending to be poor, right? I'm good at that."

He turned and waved to the assistant behind him: "None of you follow me; stay far away. If anyone dares to call me Chairman later, I'll deduct half a year's bonus!"

After saying that, Chen Jian adjusted his suit, put on what he thought was a very "approachable" smile, and gave Chen Fan a nudge.

"Lead the way! I want to see what this sister-in-law, who has our third brother so infatuated, actually looks like."

Chen Fan looked at his big brother's aura of wealth that couldn't be hidden no matter what, and felt a bit nervous.

This act was not going to be easy to pull off.

But he had no choice; he had to bite the bullet and lead this "trillion-dollar family head" toward the greasy barbecue stall.

At this moment, Su Wanqing, who was sitting on a small stool chewing on chicken feet, had no idea that a big shot capable of shaking the entire Yunzhou business world was charging toward her with the mindset of "meeting the in-laws."