184: Chapter 184 Legendary Figures of Sichuan Province

Qin Lang walked up to the table, his gaze lingering on Su Ye's face. He lowered his head slightly to look down at Su Ye, a hint of provocation in his eyes. The conflict between the Qin Family and Su Ye had long since become irreconcilable. As someone who had risen from humble beginnings and carved out a massive business empire during that chaotic era, how could Qin Lang not understand this?

If it were any other time, seeing Yu Chen and Chen Ze by Su Ye's side, Qin Lang might have backed down. But things were different now; he had a powerful backer behind him. Even if a conflict arose, Qin Lang didn't think he would suffer any losses.

"Isn't this President Su? What a coincidence."

"I didn't expect to run into you here. What's this? Bringing your little girlfriend to try out horseback riding?"

Qin Lang's tone carried undisguised provocation, and when his gaze swept over Zhao Sihan, it was filled with contempt.

Zhao Sihan was gnawing on a lamb chop. Seeing him speak like that, she immediately slammed the chop back onto the plate, wiped her mouth, and stood up:

"Who the hell are you? Talking all sarcastically like that! It's none of your business that we're here to ride horses! You old bastard."

Su Ye pressed down on her hand, looking at Qin Lang with cold eyes, and said:

"Sihan, sit down."

He then stood up. At over 1.8 meters tall, he was half a head taller than Qin Lang, carrying an aura of sharp edge. It was as if the two of them had swapped positions in an instant.

"President Qin, long time no see. It seems you've been doing well lately."

Qin Lang sneered, staring at Su Ye without taking a step back as he said:

"Thanks to you, I'm not dead yet."

"Last time, you nearly drove my Qin Family into the mud. I haven't settled that score with you yet."

Just then, Liu Hongbo walked over slowly. He patted Qin Lang on the shoulder with a gentle smile on his face, though his eyes were bottomless:

"Old Qin, don't be so hot-headed. Everyone is here to eat; harmony brings wealth, after all."

He turned to look at Su Ye and extended a hand.

"President Su, I've long admired your name. I am Liu Hongbo."

A thought flashed in Su Ye's mind—this was the legendary figure he had heard about while dining with Yan Zheng and Chen Ze. He hadn't expected to meet him so soon, and—it seemed they were currently on opposite sides.

Su Ye looked at his extended hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and then gripped it, saying:

"President Liu, nice to meet you."

Su Ye could feel that Liu Hongbo's hand was firm. The grip wasn't tight, but it carried an invisible sense of pressure.

Yu Chen stood up at this moment, shaking the yellow pear wood prayer beads in his hand, and looked at Liu Hongbo with a smile:

"President Liu, I didn't expect you to like eating here too."

Chen Ze also stood up, his gaze darting between Qin Lang and Liu Hongbo with a hint of vigilance, but he didn't speak. With the strength of their Chen Family, they were still lacking a bit; they hadn't reached the level to engage directly with Liu Hongbo.

Liu Hongbo had naturally noticed Yu Chen and Chen Ze earlier. As for the latter, Liu Hongbo would just smile and dismiss him; he was too weak to be of interest. But the former was someone he had to take seriously; the Yu Family had the strength to go head-to-head with him.

Liu Hongbo smiled and replied:

"The roast whole lamb here is quite good. I come to taste it occasionally."

Then, his gaze swept across the Old Snow beer on the table:

"President Yu, President Chen, President Su, you are quite grounded, drinking Old Snow in a place like this."

Su Ye calmly shielded Zhao Sihan behind him while pressing a hand on her shoulder; he was afraid that Classmate Xiao Zhao might get excited and crack Qin Lang's head open—she was truly capable of doing that.

"My girlfriend likes it, so I'm just keeping her company for a few drinks."

Then, a gentle smile curled at the corners of his mouth, and with calm, unruffled eyes, he said:

"If you don't mind, President Liu, why not sit down and have a drink?"

Liu Hongbo pointed to the cigar bar not far away and said:

"No thanks, I have friends waiting over there."

"However, I would like to chat with President Su about some business matters. I wonder if President Su is interested?"

Su Ye raised an eyebrow. He knew Liu Hongbo was a big shot in the capital circle, holding a lot of resources. Him taking the initiative to talk like this definitely wasn't simple.

"Oh? What does President Liu want to talk about?"

Liu Hongbo leaned in closer, lowered his voice a bit, and said:

"I heard that President Su acquired Future Technology with full funding?"

"My investment company is very interested in this. I wonder if there is a possibility of cooperation?"

Qin Lang was stunned, unable to help but exclaim:

"President Liu, this Su Ye—"

Liu Hongbo raised his hand to cut off what Qin Lang was about to say, then continued speaking to Su Ye:

"President Su, I've always liked a saying: there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. When the interests are great enough, even blood feuds can be set aside to sit down and talk properly, don't you think?"

Su Ye looked at the smiling Liu Hongbo, and a chill rose in his heart. Qin Lang's attitude clearly showed he had defected to Liu Hongbo. Combining this with the information he knew before, the fact that he hadn't managed to finish off the Qin Family once and for all last time must have been because Liu Hongbo had intervened.

Now, Liu Hongbo could turn around and sell out his newly acquired lackey just to talk to him about investing in Future Technology—it had to be said, Liu Hongbo was a man of deep schemes, and interests came first.

Yu Chen chuckled, twirling the yellow pear wood prayer beads in his hand, and said with a smile:

"Oh my, it seems Little Su's Future Technology is a hot commodity. President Liu wants a slice of the pie too?"

"I talked to Little Su about this last time, but Little Su didn't agree."

Yu Chen's meaning was very clear: I, Yu Chen, have a good relationship with Su Ye and he didn't agree; do you think Su Ye would agree with you, given that you have an indirect conflict? Moreover, standing behind Su Ye is me, Yu Chen of the Yu Family, not just some stray cat or dog. Even though you, Liu Hongbo, are powerful, you'd better not get any ideas.

Everyone present heard what Yu Chen meant. Only Classmate Xiao Zhao was still staring with wide eyes at Qin Lang, who had just started the trouble.

Qin Lang, with a gloomy face, said slowly:

"President Yu seems to have a really good relationship with President Su."

Last time it seemed like Su Ye had made the move, but as far as he knew, Yu Chen and Chen Ze had also done a lot of pushing and provided cover; otherwise, the Qin Family wouldn't have realized it only when they were on the brink of death.

Chen Ze spoke up at this point. He admitted that the Chen Family couldn't afford to provoke Liu Hongbo, but who was this Qin Lang, a small-time thug, to dare interrupt?

"President Qin, your tone is quite sarcastic. It seems you weren't beaten enough last time, as you're still able to chirp and bark now."

Qin Lang's eyes widened in anger, ready to explode, but Liu Hongbo intervened to smooth things over:

"Alright, alright, let's not spoil the mood."

"I was just asking casually. If President Su is interested, you can contact me anytime."

Liu Hongbo then handed Su Ye a business card:

"I have things to attend to, so I won't disturb your meal any further."

After speaking, he patted Qin Lang on the shoulder, signaling for him to leave. Before leaving, Qin Lang glared fiercely at Su Ye:

"Su Ye, we'll see."

Watching the two walk away, Zhao Sihan looked at Su Ye, puzzled, and said:

"Old Su, why did you stop me? If you hadn't stopped me earlier, I would have cracked that old dog's head open with this bottle of Old Snow. I don't know what he's barking about. He doesn't look like a good person; he's like a eunuch from ancient times, all gloomy and sinister."

Su Ye fiddled with the business card in his hand and explained:

"He is Qin Lang, the power-holder of the Qin Family here in Sichuan Province. I had some grudges with his little dog before. I originally wanted to finish them off in one go, but someone interfered."

Su Ye put away the business card, his expression somewhat heavy:

"As for that Liu Hongbo, he is a big shot in the capital circle and a legendary figure in Sichuan Province. I'll talk to you more about him later. However, meeting him for the first time today, I found him to have very deep schemes. I don't know what his intentions are for taking the initiative to talk to me about cooperation this time."

Yu Chen sighed:

"Liu Hongbo is not easy to deal with. He holds too much capital. If he really sets his sights on Future Technology, it's not a good thing."

"But it's understandable. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Future Technology is a hot commodity. As long as enough capital is provided and it develops step by step, it will yield ten times or even higher returns in a few years."

Classmate Xiao Zhao waved her little fist indignantly and said:

"Why are you afraid of him!"

"If he dares to bully you, I'll ask my dad for help! My dad knows quite a few people in the Northeast; he can definitely help you deal with him! If that doesn't work, I'll go back to the Northeast and bring people back to finish him off, regardless of whether it's the Qin Family or the Liu Family."

Su Ye smiled and patted her head:

"No need, I can solve it myself. Besides, this is a society ruled by law now, so don't bring out that stuff from your dad."

Zhao Sihan picked up her wine glass, rolled her eyes at Su Ye, and said:

"Why are you being so polite with me! And I was just saying that; my dad doesn't do those things anymore."

"Come on, let's drink! Don't let those two annoying people ruin the mood!"

Chen Ze also raised his glass:

"Right! Let's drink! No matter what tricks they play, we'll meet them head-on, step by step!"