"Impressive, Chen Tianjiao."
Wu Zhaoyang said, "I can imagine that becoming your enemy would be a very unpleasant thing."
Chen Fan smiled, "So, Young Master Wu is my friend?"
"Of course."
Wu Zhaoyang nodded and said, "I don't want to be embarrassed like Shen Tinghao."
"Speaking of which, how did you and Shen Tinghao fall out? What exactly is this Changchun Pot that is worth him going to such great lengths?"
"It's a sort of antique," Chen Fan said. "When I acquired it in Jinling, he tried to forcefully buy it. I refused to give it to him, and that's how I offended him."
"It seems it's no ordinary item. When can I see it?"
"No problem," Chen Fan replied.
"Shen Tinghao, as a person, is not lacking in vision or ability. But like most of the Shen family, he's not very open-minded. You'll have to be careful," Wu Zhaoyang advised.
Chen Fan shrugged indifferently, "His resentment towards me is insignificant. As long as he bows his head in front of me. He might be the eldest young master of the Shen family, but in front of me, that identity won't help him much."
"That's indeed true."
Wu Zhaoyang nodded and said, "We're all of similar standing. In terms of ability, skill, power, and influence, few people can compare to you. You're an anomaly. I can only imagine how much of a headache Shen Tinghao must have dealing with you."
Chen Fan chuckled without concern.
The two spoke casually, but Fang Qiong, who was listening, felt a storm brewing within her.
Wasn't Chen Fan the manager of the Longteng branch? How could his status be comparable to that of that Young Master Shen?
And this Young Master Wu, though she didn't know what kind of top-tier aristocratic family the Wu family was, could tell that Wu Zhaoyang's status was absolutely extraordinary.
And Chen Fan was actually of comparable status to them?
She had initially thought Chen Fan's status was far inferior to Young Master Du Fumin and Yu Zhen, but it seemed it wasn't that simple?
"Shall we play a few more rounds?" Chen Fan asked.
"I'll pass," Wu Zhaoyang waved his hand and said, "That Zhiye, he was so arrogant when he appeared, and you crushed him. I didn't know you were this formidable earlier, I wouldn't have subjected myself to humiliation."
Chen Fan smiled, "Alright, let's find a place for some tea."
They had been chatting while playing ball. It wasn't exactly an alliance, but the intention of mutual exchange was very clear.
Wu Zhaoyang had nearly been assassinated at their previous meal and still hadn't found the mastermind. He couldn't let that go and was eager to take some action, wanting to gather more information from Chen Fan.
As for Chen Fan, becoming closer to Wu Zhaoyang would naturally be beneficial.
"Okay, this Nine-Five Supreme Club has quite a few things to do, but none of it is interesting. Tea is indeed better. Let's go."
At that, Wu Zhaoyang signaled to the waiting server, grabbed Chen Fan, and they walked out of the billiard room.
This time, Fang Qiong did not hesitate and immediately followed.
Chen Fan glanced back and didn't stop her.
This woman was quite sensible and well-behaved. She had kept score very well earlier, and Chen Fan didn't mind her following.
Of course, he was well aware of her small intentions to curry favor and build relationships, and he didn't find it repulsive.
Such things were too common. There were too many people who fawned and flattered.
In comparison, this Fang Qiong knew her limits and seemed to have a bottom line. In this regard, she was better than many.
Led by a server, the three of them arrived at a tea room.
There was a tea artist in the tea room. Fang Qiong sat next to the tea artist and consciously helped her make tea.
Chen Fan didn't mind and asked Wu Zhaoyang, "Regarding the Xingyue Lake project, who invited you to participate, Young Master Wu?"
This was something he had been wanting to ask Wu Zhaoyang.
"Who else could it be? Naturally, it's Du Fumin."
Wu Zhaoyang said, "What, is there a problem?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you, Young Master Wu."
Chen Fan said, "You know I'm involved in this project and have already invested four hundred and fifty million. If I were just the manager of the Longteng branch, what do you think would be the consequence if such a large investment ran into problems?"
Wu Zhaoyang pondered, "Held accountable by Longteng headquarters? That's a bit amusing."
Chen Fan smiled, "I'm talking hypothetically."
"To avoid being held accountable, it would be natural for me, a manager, to be at someone's mercy if such a huge loss couldn't be recovered."
"You mean, Du Fumin?" Wu Zhaoyang was taken aback. "Or Xu Yuntian?"
"I didn't say anything," Chen Fan smiled. "I'm just inquiring about the details of this project!"
Regarding the Xingyue Lake project, the information provided by Xu Yuntian was already very detailed, but some things wouldn't be written in the documents.
For example, who initiated the project and what its initial plans were.
These aspects would reveal a lot.
Chen Fan had already confirmed that Du Fumin was a member of the Brotherhood, but there should be someone behind him.
"The initial scale of this project wasn't this large. When Du Fumin approached me, it was just him and Xu Yuntian, meaning only the Du and Xu families."
"Then I participated in the investment, and then other families began to be brought in."
Wu Zhaoyang frowned and said, "The scale of this project is enormous, but the risk is actually not high. It's a good project. However..."
However, as more and more influential families and noble clans participated, a very large interest group was formed.
This might have been Du Fumin's and the Brotherhood's objective. Even if they couldn't recruit Young Masters like Li Qian and Yu Zhen into the Brotherhood, they could still utilize them in many ways.
As they were speaking, there was a knock on the door.
Then, several people strode in. At the forefront were Du Fumin and Xu Yuntian.
"Young Master Wu, President Chen, you're quite leisurely. Envy-inducing."
After entering, Du Fumin laughed heartily and said.
It was as if speaking of the devil, Wu Zhaoyang looked at Du Fumin and smiled, "Fumin, I haven't seen you since dinner. Where have you been?"
"Some friends came over, and I neglected Young Master Wu and President Chen. Please forgive us," Du Fumin said with a smile as he sat down. "Drinking and revelry are noisy. It's much more peaceful here with Young Master Wu and President Chen."
Xu Yuntian also chimed in, saying, "Li Qian's birthday banquet was lively, but with too many people, it gets noisy. It's nice to have tea and chat here. By the way, I arrived late. When I just came in, I saw Young Master Shen. He didn't look very happy. Did something happen?"
Wu Zhaoyang's expression turned a little strange. He glanced at Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Nothing much happened. You all know Tinghao. He's always been arrogant. He lost to President Chen in billiards, and he's probably not in a good mood."
"Is that so?" Xu Yuntian said in surprise, "Just because of that?"
"The stakes were a bit high. It was originally a bet of a hundred million, but President Chen didn't accept it. Instead, he agreed to do one thing for President Chen." Wu Zhaoyang didn't hide anything and said with a smile.
The others were all astonished.
Then, everyone sat together and chatted casually.
Looking at this lineup, Fang Qiong's heart pounded fiercely. She felt even more that Chen Fan was unfathomable and his background was truly extraordinary.
After chatting for a while, there was another knock on the door.
The door was pushed open again, and a group of people appeared at the entrance.
At this moment, the previously quiet tea room became even less so.
The person at the front laughed loudly and said, "I was wondering where everyone was. So, you're all here. Young Master Wu, Young Master Du, President Chen, Old Yu, you're all hiding in peace?"
It was Li Qian. He was clearly a bit drunk, his voice several decibels louder than usual.
Chen Fan glanced at him, then his gaze suddenly sharpened.
Behind Li Qian, several men also looked at Chen Fan, their pupils contracting sharply.