Having just removed his clothes and about to enter the bathroom, his phone, placed not far away, suddenly rang at that moment.
Ning Fan hesitated a bit. Who would call him at this time?
Picking up the phone, Ning Fan was somewhat surprised to see the name displayed was Chen Fengnan.
Pressing the answer button, he put the phone to his ear and casually responded.
"Ning Fan?" Chen Fengnan's familiar voice came from the other end of the line.
"It's me. Did you need something?" Ning Fan spoke nonchalantly, just responding without asking further, patiently waiting instead.
Chen Fengnan was a businessman, or at least, a clever man. When dealing with someone clever, you have to be even cleverer!
"It's been a while. Can't I just chat casually?" Chen Fengnan laughed lightly and asked.
"Sure, but I'm already naked and about to shower. Chatting with you bare-ass doesn't seem quite right. Let's do it another day, got to go now," Ning Fan nodded and casually remarked, but he didn't actually hang up. The phone remained at his ear.
Chen Fengnan on the other end of the line hesitated and quickly said, "Wait, wait, just a second."
"Oh? Still want to chat?" Ning Fan raised an eyebrow and asked.
Chen Fengnan was left speechless, choking on his words. With his status and position, it was rare for him to be at a disadvantage in front of others, but Ning Fan was just that kind of exceptional case, and yet he couldn't do much about Ning Fan.
After a few seconds of silence, Chen Fengnan's voice suddenly became serious, "People from Mingwang Pavilion have come again."
Ning Fan's pupils suddenly shrank. Mingwang Pavilion!
"To kill me?" Ning Fan asked.
"You stole the Nine Souls Jade from Mingwang Pavilion and killed their men; naturally, they won't let you go. Now, they have traced you and will soon find you," Chen Fengnan nodded and replied, thinking to himself, Isn't that obvious? If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't let you off either!
"Then let them come, no problem," Ning Fan shrugged, nonchalantly stated, considering Mingwang Pavilion a trivial matter.
"What I mean is, I can settle this matter with Mingwang Pavilion for you," Chen Fengnan hesitated slightly before starting to speak.
Perhaps Ning Fan truly wasn't afraid of Mingwang Pavilion, but he disliked such troubles. If someone could handle these issues, Ning Fan would naturally be happy to be free of them.
"Oh, thanks then. If there's nothing else, I'm going to hang up now; I still need to shower, and it's rather cold being naked," Ning Fan responded nonchalantly with a casual thanks, then moved to hang up the phone.
"You..." Chen Fengnan felt somewhat choked up and finally heaved a deep sigh, saying, "Okay, I know you like to get straight to the point, so I'll speak plainly. I'm helping you this time, and I hope you can do me a favor in return."
"That so? You should have said so earlier. Let's hear it. If it's something I can't help with or don't want to help with, then forget about it," Ning Fan said casually as he sat boldly naked on the sofa.
Knowing Ning Fan's personality and not minding it, Chen Fengnan organized his thoughts and began to speak, "I'm going to South America, the Amazon tomorrow to negotiate a deal. I want you to come with me."
"I'm not good at negotiating deals," Ning Fan scoffed, knowing full well that if it were just about business, Chen Fengnan wouldn't have involved him.
"Hehe… the Amazon is a perilous place by nature, not exactly a pleasant place, and the business I need to discuss there is rather tricky. This time's buyer is no easy mark either. You know, I'm a businessman, and businessmen fear death, so I hope you can accompany me to ensure my safety."
So, this was Chen Fengnan's real purpose.
"And the business we are about to discuss..."
"That's your business; it has nothing to do with me." Ning Fan interrupted, "That settles it. Have someone pick me up tomorrow. Anything else?"
On the other end of the phone, Chen Fengnan was taken aback. He had thought that persuading Ning Fan wouldn't be easy and had prepared a whole array of arguments, but it turned out they weren't needed.
Ning Fan had agreed so quickly that it actually surprised Chen Fengnan.
Chen Fengnan hadn't even had the chance to discuss the compensation for the trip with Ning Fan.
Ning Fan had his own considerations. Although Chen Fengnan couldn't be considered a particularly good person, he had helped Ning Fan before and given him two pieces of Nine Souls Jade. Such a debt of gratitude needed to be repaid.
Given that, he might as well make the trip, especially since Ning Fan had been feeling somewhat bored lately.
Just after hanging up the phone, Ning Fan was about to go back to his bath when he suddenly turned his head toward the door. After looking in that direction for a few seconds, the corners of Ning Fan's mouth slowly curled up. He silently slipped into a pair of shorts and floated lightly to the door.
Click. Ning Fan grabbed the doorknob in one smooth motion and swung the door open.
Outside, Xu Ruolan was maintaining a posture of eavesdropping on the door, still not recovered from her position.
Upon hearing the door open, Xu Ruolan's hair stood on end, and she let out an involuntary yelp, "Ah!"
"Miss Xu, what are you doing at my door so late? If there's something you want to see, just say it. We're all friends here; the price is negotiable," Ning Fan said with a smile on his face.
While hanging up the phone, Ning Fan had noticed Xu Ruolan eavesdropping at the door.
But he wasn't worried about her overhearing anything. The soundproofing of the villa was exceptionally good; other than someone like Ning Fan, it was impossible for ordinary people to hear any movement or voices inside.
When Ning Fan had just come in, Xu Ruolan had noticed him. She had intended to ask Ning Fan what exactly was going on outside, but she came out only to see Ning Fan had already returned to his room.
Initially planning to knock, she somehow ended up at Ning Fan's door and suddenly got the urge to eavesdrop.
And so, this scene unfolded.
Utterly embarrassing!
Moreover, Xu Ruolan hadn't heard anything, and she was caught red-handed by Ning Fan. What a loss!
"I... I... I was just passing by. Just passing by," Xu Ruolan stuttered in her explanation.
"Oh? Passing by?" Ning Fan questioned skeptically, glancing around with a more peculiar smile. His room was at the end of the corridor. Where could she possibly be going to claim she was 'just passing by'?
Xu Ruolan also realized the flaw in her words. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she retorted with wide eyes, "So what? This is my house. I can go wherever I want, can't I? And you, what are you doing wandering around in your underpants late at night?"
At that moment, Ning Fan felt like a total failure, defeated by a pair of underpants. If only he had known, he wouldn't have worn them at all.