At that moment, the man who walked into the private room was none other than the powerful Jiangzhou figure—Wei Jingxiong.
"B-Boss Wei?"Chen Xingrong's voice trembled.
He was merely one of the underground leaders in Jiangzhou. Even the top boss of their organization had to show utmost respect to Wei Jingxiong.
"Are you planning to tear down my restaurant?!"Wei Jingxiong asked coldly.
Huh?!
Everyone was stunned by his words.
His restaurant?
"This Tan Family Cuisine… it belongs to you, Boss Wei?"Chen Xingrong asked in shock.
"That's right..."Wei Jingxiong nodded.
This was also the reason why he had previously considered taking over Chen Fan's Wangjiang Pavilion. But after learning of Chen Fan's true identity, he completely changed his mind.
"I'm sorry, Boss Wei. This is my fault. We'll take this guy outside and settle it there,"Chen Xingrong hurriedly offered, attempting to drag Chen Fan out.
"Insolence!!"Wei Jingxiong's sudden roar caught Chen Xingrong completely off guard.
Instead of calming down, Wei Jingxiong became even more furious.
"You actually dared to lay hands on my guest? You've got some nerve…"A terrifying smile flashed across his face.
In all of Jiangzhou, there were only a handful of people bold enough to do something like this.
"What?""What do you mean, Boss Wei?"Chen Xingrong was confused.
"What do I mean? Chen Fan is my guest! And you're trying to lay a finger on him? Are you trying to stomp all over my reputation?!"
Wei Jingxiong's voice was cold as ice.
What?!
Chen Fan… was Wei Jingxiong's guest?
What kind of international joke was this?
Who even was Chen Fan? How could a person like him be invited to dine with a figure like Wei Jingxiong?
"Boss Wei, I…"Chen Xingrong wanted to explain, but Wei Jingxiong raised a hand and cut him off.
"Have your boss come talk to me. You're not qualified."
Wei Jingxiong ordered.
Knowing full well he wasn't qualified to argue, Chen Xingrong reluctantly contacted his boss—Bai Lingyuan.
Once Bai Lingyuan found out that Chen Xingrong had offended Wei Jingxiong, he rushed over in a panic.
"Get out!"Wei Jingxiong barked at Xingrong's underlings.
Faced with the wrath of a true Jiangzhou overlord, none of them dared disobey. They quickly filed out, leaving the room.
"My apologies, Mr. Chen. I was delayed by some matters. For something like this to happen in my own restaurant, please rest assured—I'll give you a satisfactory explanation."
Wei Jingxiong bowed slightly to Chen Fan in apology.
"Waiters—serve the food."
Soon, plates of gourmet dishes were brought in.
Chen Fan and Wei Jingxiong chatted as they ate.
Seeing Chen Fan casually sharing a meal and laughing with the legendary Wei Jingxiong—and sitting with him as an equal—left Chen Yicui and Chen Xingrong utterly dumbfounded.
"How did Chen Fan gain the recognition of someone like Wei Jingxiong?"Chen Yicui couldn't wrap her head around it.
The last time Chen Fan had visited Wei Jingxiong, it might have been under the pretense of the Xia Group's name.
But now, they were chatting like old friends—this didn't add up.
Wei Jingxiong was Jiangzhou's most feared and respected figure. His personality was domineering and ruthless. Even if Chen Fan had some special connection with Xia Mengmeng, or was dating Xia Ruoshui, the president of the Xia Group, it still shouldn't make Wei Jingxiong treat him like this.
At this moment, Chen Yicui had no choice but to admit:Chen Fan had earned this position on his own.
But how?!Chen Fan was just a disowned member of the Chen family—a total loser.
Why was he now able to sit as an equal with Wei Jingxiong?
No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't understand it.
As for Chen Xingrong, he stood there like a statue, completely stunned.
Chen Yicui didn't understand the underworld, but he did.
And he knew very well what it meant that Chen Fan could sit at the same table as Wei Jingxiong.
Even his own boss couldn't do that!
The man he once looked down on, who had no standing in the Chen family… had now become someone so powerful, so terrifying, it left him speechless.
"By the way, Mr. Chen," Wei Jingxiong said with a mysterious smile, "I invited you here today because there's something important I'd like to discuss with you. I'm sure it'll interest you greatly."
"It'll interest me?"Wei Jingxiong had piqued Chen Fan's curiosity.
"It's not convenient to talk about it with others around. I'll speak to you privately in a bit. I promise—you won't be disappointed."
Wei Jingxiong assured him.
A few minutes later, Bai Lingyuan arrived.
"Your subordinate dared to attack my guest. You know what to do,"Wei Jingxiong said coldly, not even giving Bai Lingyuan a chance to speak.
"Boss Wei, this is my failure in leadership."Bai Lingyuan bowed apologetically.
"Why are you still standing there? Get over here and kneel! Apologize to Boss Wei and his guest!"
Bai Lingyuan commanded.
Kneel and apologize?!
Chen Yicui was dumbstruck.
That meant… Xingrong would have to kneel and apologize to Chen Fan?!
How could this be?
Wasn't Xingrong supposed to crush Chen Fan?
Why did it end up with Chen Fan crushing Xingrong instead?
After a brief hesitation, Chen Xingrong took a deep breath, stepped forward, and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Boss Wei, Chen Fan… I, Chen Xingrong, was wrong!"
He apologized and even kowtowed once.
"From this moment on, I withdraw from Jiangzhou's underworld."
Chen Xingrong knew the rules. After what happened today, there was no way he could remain in Jiangzhou's underground scene.
Everything he had built up, all the years of effort—it was all gone in an instant.
He had left the Chen family because he couldn't compete with his cousins.
Now that was over too.
Turns out, Chen Fan wasn't the worthless one—he was.
At that moment, Chen Xingrong's eyes became lifeless. He looked like a man who had been completely broken.
Next to him, Chen Yicui was equally devastated.
"Get lost."Wei Jingxiong waved his hand, clearly done with them.
"I'm sorry, Boss Wei. Thank you, thank you…"Bai Lingyuan bowed deeply and quickly led everyone out.
Soon, the private room was quiet again, with only Chen Fan and Wei Jingxiong remaining.
"Mr. Chen, I've heard a bit about your past with the Chen family..."Wei Jingxiong began.
Wei Jingxiong got straight to the point.
"The important matter I want to talk about… is related to the Chen family."
"President Chen, did you know that the old master of the Chen family secretly left Jiangzhou a couple of days ago to go out of town?"
"I didn't,"Chen Fan shook his head.
"I know the reason why Old Master Chen left Jiangzhou in secret."
Wei Jingxiong explained:
"I found out about it by chance yesterday. It involves a secret of the Chen family, and I thought it would definitely interest you—that's why I invited you for this meal."
A secret of the Chen family?
Chen Fan's interest was immediately piqued.
"This time, Old Master Chen left Jiangzhou quietly with his eldest son. Their destination was Wanheng Software Group, a major company in our Zhonghai Province. They went to discuss a partnership."
Wanheng Software Group?
Hearing the name, Chen Fan frowned slightly. He had indeed heard of the company.
Wanheng Software Group was one of the leading tech enterprises in Zhonghai Province, with incredibly strong backing.
But as far as he could recall, the Chen family had never been involved in the software industry.So why were they visiting Wanheng?
Noticing Chen Fan's confusion, Wei Jingxiong continued:
"Word is, Wanheng Software Group plans to build a massive industrial park in Jiangzhou. They're currently looking for a local real estate developer to take on the construction."
"If someone secures this project, the profit could easily be tens of billions. That's why Old Master Chen went to Wanheng in secret—he didn't want to alert the other major real estate firms in Jiangzhou."
"Old Master Chen sees this project as absolutely critical—he's determined to win it!"
So far, Wei Jingxiong had shared this explosive news with only one person—Chen Fan.
"I see…"Chen Fan fell into deep thought.
The Chen family was indeed involved in the real estate sector—and it was one of their core businesses.
As he mulled over what Wei Jingxiong had said, a bold idea began to form in his mind:
Sabotage the Chen family.
Undercut them.