Just as Chen Fan and Wei Jingxiong both thought they were being ambushed by an assassin—an unexpectedly comical scene unfolded.
"Idol! My idol! I finally found you!"
A pudgy figure rushed forward and threw himself onto the ground, hugging Chen Fan's leg with overwhelming excitement.
Seeing who it was, Wei Jingxiong's mouth twitched as he blurted:
"Zhu Hongyi?"
"Hello, Boss Wei!"Zhu Hongyi turned his head to greet Wei Jingxiong, but still clung tightly to Chen Fan's leg.
"Zhu Hongyi? You're from the Zhu family?"
Chen Fan asked with a frown.
"Yes, idol!"
Zhu Hongyi nodded eagerly, eyes gleaming with admiration.
"Stop calling me 'idol.' Get up first."
Chen Fan said, clearly uncomfortable—being hugged on the leg by a grown man was just too awkward.
"Right away…"
At Chen Fan's command, Zhu Hongyi quickly stood up and smoothed out his clothes.
"Idol, hello! I'm Zhu Hongyi, direct descendant of the Zhu family. I deeply admire you. I want to be your little brother—please don't say no!"
Zhu Hongyi pleaded sincerely.
"Be my little brother? Weren't you just with Chen Yicui?"
Chen Fan asked, remembering clearly having seen him standing beside her earlier.
"About that… idol, I was tricked by that green tea b*tch Chen Yicui. I didn't realize who you were. I really apologize for offending you earlier."
Zhu Hongyi gave a formal bow, expressing genuine remorse.
"Please let me follow you, idol!"
He added earnestly.
Watching this unfold, Wei Jingxiong couldn't help but reassess Zhu Hongyi.The kid had a good eye, realizing early to latch onto someone like Chen Fan—definitely showed some sense.
"Be my little brother?"
"I'm not accepting any underlings right now."
Chen Fan refused directly.
He didn't know Zhu Hongyi well, and the guy was just with Chen Yicui. Not to mention, he was from a powerful family. Who knew what his real intentions were?
Rejected, Zhu Hongyi visibly deflated—looking utterly devastated.
After bidding farewell to Wei Jingxiong, Chen Fan turned and left.
Left behind were only a dejected Zhu Hongyi and the contemplative Wei Jingxiong.
Looking at him, Wei offered a pointed comment:
"Kid, your instincts aren't bad—you know to cling to Mr. Chen's leg. But you want to be his follower, and all you did was say it?"
"When you came to visit me, you brought expensive gifts. But now that you want to follow someone like Chen Fan, you just ask without offering anything?"
"Others might give face to the Zhu family. But to Mr. Chen, your status is worthless."
"Hmm?!"
Zhu Hongyi's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
Of course!He wanted to follow his idol, but all he did was talk.
Why would someone like Chen Fan accept that?
He needed to prove himself, earn his idol's approval. Only then would he be accepted.
"Thank you, Boss Wei! Thank you!"
Zhu Hongyi bowed deeply, then trotted off determinedly.
Chen Fan clearly had bad blood with the Chen family—so he knew exactly what he had to do next.
"This kid has potential."
Wei Jingxiong muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Chen Yicui had returned to the Chen household, intending to seek help from other family members.
But once again, she couldn't find the old master of the family.
"Fourth Uncle, where's Grandpa? I've come several times and he's never home."
She asked a slightly chubby middle-aged man from the family.
His name was Chen Jinping, the old man's fourth son, one of the core members of the Chen family and a favorite of the patriarch.
"Oh, your grandfather went out of town with your eldest uncle. They'll probably be back in a few days."
He replied.
"Out of town?"Chen Yicui looked disappointed.
"By the way, you seem upset. What happened?"
Chen Jinping asked with concern.
"Oh… Fourth Uncle, I ran into Chen Fan again. I tried to put him in his place, but he completely humiliated me."
She said, clearly embarrassed.
"That brat again!"
Chen Jinping's face darkened instantly.
"Alright. Here's what you do—go find Xingrong, have him step in and teach that punk a lesson. Maybe even drag him back to marry the Xu family's daughter."
He added.
Chen Xingrong, his eldest son, was one of the most promising among the younger generation of the Chen family. He stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, with strong martial skills. He was already the leader of a local underground force in Jiangzhou, commanding nearly a hundred men. He was doing quite well for himself.
"You want Xingrong to handle it?"
Chen Yicui's eyes lit up.
"You and Xingrong should settle this matter quickly. When your grandfather returns, we'll present him with a pleasant surprise."
Chen Jinping smiled.
Of course, he mainly wanted his son to use this chance to shine and win more favor from the old man.
With Xingrong's abilities, putting down Chen Fan would be like crushing an ant.
"Got it, Uncle. I understand."
Chen Yicui nodded, already imagining Chen Fan panicking at the sight of Xingrong.
With that, she left excitedly to find her cousin.
Twenty minutes later, Chen Fan arrived at Wangjiang Pavilion.
Today, he was meeting with Jiang Hao, the largest shareholder of Tengfei Group, who had reserved a private room there.
When Chen Fan arrived, Jiang Hao and his trusted aide—Tengfei's current CEO Zheng Xingde—were already waiting.
After brief introductions, Jiang Hao got straight to the point.
"Mr. Chen, did you know you've offended Feng Yanli?"
"Feng Yanli?"
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow—he honestly hadn't heard of this.
Jiang Hao gave Zheng Xingde a look, and the latter began explaining the whole situation.
"This morning, Feng came to see me, hoping I'd join forces with him… to push you out of the company."
Jiang Hao added.
"He wants us to team up and force you out."
"Oh? So what's your decision, Mr. Jiang?"
Chen Fan asked, smiling.
He knew very well—if Jiang Hao brought this up so openly, there had to be another motive.
"Hahaha, Mr. Chen, you're a sharp one."
Jiang Hao laughed heartily.
"You're right—I do have a proposal. I've never liked Feng Yanli. Instead of partnering with him, I'd rather work with you. But…"
Halfway through, he suddenly paused and gave Chen Fan a meaningful look.