Hearing him mention his sister, the image of that cold woman in a wheelchair immediately popped up in Ling Chen’s mind.
Unfortunately, this kind of woman can only be admired from a distance, not toyed with.
Brushing aside distractions, he smiled and patted Nanrong Hao on the shoulder, saying, "Don’t worry, I won’t beat you up. I’ll treat you to a meal later, will you grace us with your presence?"
Beside them, Jiang Hao frowned and said, "Chen is giving you face by inviting you to dinner. Do you dare not go?"
"Going, going, definitely going." Nanrong Hao wore a mournful expression, crying inside. Cousin, you’re too harsh.
"Jiang Hao, you go ahead and find a restaurant with him. I’ll stop by the office and then come over." With that, Ling Chen headed straight to the office.
Entering the office, he saw a slightly overweight middle-aged man, covering his swollen cheek, picking up items scattered on the floor.
As the chubby boss looked up and saw Ling Chen at the door, he instantly flew into a rage, cursing loudly, "Ling, you’ve got some nerve showing your face here."
Ling Chen hurriedly said, "Boss, calm down, please listen to me explain."
"I don’t want to hear any explanations." The chubby boss shouted angrily, "Just get lost, don’t bother coming to work tomorrow. My small place can’t afford someone as big as you."
"Boss, it’s not my fault this time. Someone else came looking for trouble," Ling Chen pleaded with a pained expression. With no degree and no connections, it had been difficult to find this job. If he were to be fired, he would have no choice but to work on a construction site.
"Enough talk!" The chubby boss pointed at his swollen cheek, furious, "This is all because of you. If you don’t leave now, believe me, I’ll have someone throw you out."
Ling Chen felt helpless; the boss was seriously upset, and it looked like he couldn’t keep this job after all.
It was all Su Lin’s fault. If she hadn’t come making trouble, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
With resentment, Ling Chen turned and left the company. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to settle his salary with the boss. Originally over eighteen hundred yuan, he begrudgingly watched as the boss deducted several hundred for damage costs, which pained him greatly.
When Ling Chen arrived at the restaurant, Jiang Hao had already found a private room with Nanrong Hao. The dishes hadn’t been served yet, and everyone was there boasting and chatting.
"Brother Chen." Everyone stood up in unison to greet Ling Chen’s arrival.
Seeing Nanrong Hao sitting there unmoving, Jiang Hao waved his hand and smacked him on the back of his head, scolding, "Hurry up and stand up."
Nanrong Hao dared not disobey, feeling like he was in a den of wolves, afraid of offending these fellows. His delicate skin couldn’t withstand their punches.
Seeing how these ruffians respected Ling Chen so reverently, he was particularly curious about what this guy’s background was. Could he really just be a courier?
Ling Chen walked up to the main seat Jiang Hao had reserved for him and grinned, "Everyone, take a seat. We’re all friends here, no need for formalities." Then, pointing at Nanrong Hao, he tapped the seat next to him and said, "Mr. Nanrong, come, sit next to me."
Nanrong Hao, having learned his lesson, didn’t hesitate and quickly moved to sit beside Ling Chen, squeezing out a smile uglier than crying on his handsome face, "Ling... Mr. Ling, it’s my cousin who wants to cause trouble for you, not me at all, really. If you want revenge, go find her, please don’t come after me."
"Don’t worry, I invited you here just for a simple meal, don’t overthink it," Ling Chen said with a smile, patting his shoulder to reassure him.
"Mr. Nanrong, let me ask you something," he shifted the conversation, "What does your sister do?" Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy. That Su Lin wants to trouble me, I must figure out her background."
Nanrong Hao honestly replied, "My sister is still in college, she’s a senior this year."
Ling Chen tsked a few times; students these days really are well-developed. Thinking of Tang Shiyun, only eighteen this year and already showing a promising figure, definitely a future beauty.
After asking a few questions, he had a rough understanding of Su Lin’s background: a rich family, parents running companies abroad, typical rich kid, no wonder she’s spoiled.
"And your older sister?" Ling Chen blurted out. For some reason, he couldn’t forget that Nanrong Wanqing.
"My older sister? Why are you asking about her?" Nanrong Hao looked at him suspiciously.
Ling Chen awkwardly smiled, "Oh, nothing, just asking casually."
He really was just asking casually; that kind of woman was too far beyond his reach, he was merely satisfying his own curiosity, nothing inappropriate.
"My older sister is the Chairman of Hongyu Group." Mentioning his big sister, Nanrong Hao seemed very proud, almost brimming with excitement, "Not bragging but, nationally, there aren’t many who can stand shoulder to shoulder with my sister. She started participating in managing the family business at fifteen and officially took over at eighteen, becoming the youngest chairman. In everyone’s eyes, my sister is absolutely a genius."
"Your sister is the chairman of Hongyu Group?" Jiang Hao exclaimed in disbelief. "For real? You’re not making this up, are you?"
"Who’s making things up, you can check online if you don’t believe me."
Seeing Jiang Hao’s shocked face, Ling Chen asked, "You’ve heard of Hongyu Group?"
"Chen, do you not know? It’s like the most powerful enterprise in our East Sea City. I heard the government issued the paperwork, and our Old City area is set for redevelopment. All the old buildings are going to be demolished and replaced with garden complexes. This redevelopment project is led by the government, but funded by the Hongyu Group. Think about it, such a massive area in Old City, the renovation will cost billions, probably only Hongyu Group in our East Sea City has that kind of financial strength."
"Is that so." Ling Chen glanced at Nanrong Hao with a smirk, "Never would have guessed Mr. Nanrong’s family was that rich."
Feeling his ominous gaze, Nanrong Hao thought to himself this was bad; this guy must be eyeing their family wealth for extortion.
While he was caught up in his worrying thoughts, Ling Chen already looked away, impatiently saying, "It’s been so long, why hasn’t the food been served yet?"
"I’ll have someone hurry them along." Saying so, Jiang Hao delegated a lackey to go find the restaurant owner.
"Jiang Hao, you’re quite something, just a few days not seen and you’ve already gathered so many underlings."
Jiang Hao grinned, "All thanks to brother Chen’s help. Five Miles Street, known as the golden street — restaurants, tea houses, arcades, hotels, all the businesses cram onto this street, the protection money alone every month is tens of thousands. Hearing that I took over here, many rogues from Old City area came to join me."
"Do well, try to keep the illegal activities to a minimum," Ling Chen advised.
People who mix in the underworld can hardly avoid illegal activities; the key is controlling the extent. That’s why he reminded Jiang Hao, whatever you do, stay within limits, don’t go overboard.