Across from the Tianxiu Lake construction site stood a thirty-three-story skyscraper. On the twenty-seventh floor, in an office, Xu Shichang lounged in his chair, his feet propped on his desk, casually watching a live stream on his phone.
The broadcast was of the events unfolding at the Tianxiu Lake construction site.
The incident at the Su family on New Year's Eve last year had cost him dearly, but his father had instructed him to avoid provoking the Su family for the time being. Being unable to seek revenge for his grievances made Xu Shichang feel unprecedentedly stifled.
However, upon hearing Long Cheng's words at this moment, Xu Shichang burst into laughter. "Hahaha, Zhang Xing’an, you escaped once twenty years ago, but this time, you are destined to wear this cuckold's hat."
Xu Shichang was naturally aware of Long Cheng. As the deputy hall master of the Fengyun Hall, his status was extremely high, and even their Xu family dared not provoke him lightly.
Although the Xu family claimed to be the foremost family in Zhonghai, they only held that title in the open. In the hidden, unsavory underworld, it had always been ruled by Fengyun Hall.
Who would have thought that the deputy hall master of Fengyun Hall, who ruled the underworld of Zhonghai, had taken a liking to Su Yun.
The Zhao family, being a prominent family from Yanjing, placed considerable importance on their family reputation. Thus, when Zhang Xing'an made Su Yun pregnant, forcing the Zhao family's third son to give her up, it still came at a significant cost.
But Long Cheng, being a member of a gang, would not care about gossip. Therefore, once he set his sights on someone, even if Su Yun were carrying twins, Long Cheng might not give up.
This made the previously indifferent Xu Shichang suddenly filled with interest. He even opened a bottle of 1982 Lafite, summoned his secretary, and while enjoying fine wine and toying with a beauty, he watched the live broadcast.
At this very moment, besides Xu Shichang, families from Linzhou, such as the Zhou and Sun families, along with other prominent families, were closely monitoring the events at the Tianxiu Lake construction site.
When Long Cheng uttered those words, it sent both families into an instant frenzy. Regardless, any misfortune that befell the Su family was a welcome sight for them.
Similarly, Wanrong Group, also a well-known entity in Linzhou, was constantly observing the unfolding situation at the Tianxiu Lake construction site.
As the current chairperson of Wanrong Group, Xiao Xiaoxiao, despite her relatively amiable attitude towards the Su family and Su Yun due to Zhang Fan, could not deny that as fellow real estate developers, they were competitors.
Su Yun had left the Su family in her early years and had only returned to Huamao for just under a year. She was not very familiar with the unspoken rules and hidden powers.
But Xiao Xiaoxiao and Su Yun were different. Their Wanrong Group had a weaker foundation and had to go through considerable hardship to achieve their current standing. Therefore, she understood the implications behind the name Fengyun Hall.
"The deputy hall master of Fengyun Hall..." Upon hearing this name, Xiao Xiaoxiao, as an outsider, couldn't help but feel the gravity of the situation.
As merchants, especially real estate developers, the group they could least afford to offend was the government. Once the government was offended, obtaining land alone would become incredibly difficult.
However, in Linzhou, and even across Zhonghai, the entity one absolutely could not offend was Fengyun Hall.
Offending the government might make acquiring land or obtaining construction permits more challenging, but if Fengyun Hall were offended, forget about acquiring land in the future; simply surviving would become immensely difficult.
"Su Yun has managed to develop Huamao so rapidly within a year. She shouldn't be someone who doesn't know how to bide her time. Why would she confront Fengyun Hall head-on?"
Xiao Xiaoxiao couldn't understand. Unbidden, the image of Zhang Fan, soaring through the air on his sword with elegant grace, suddenly appeared in her mind.
"Could it be because of him?"
...
"How about it, Chairman Su? I believe my request is not unreasonable at all, is it?" Long Cheng still sat at the round table, his gaze fixed on Su Yun with a smile, a hint of unconcealed smugness in his eyes.
"Not unreasonable at all?" The surrounding onlookers heard this and, observing Long Cheng's lecherous grin, wished they could kill him.
However, when their eyes shifted to Su Yun, they were somewhat taken aback.
To brazenly declare his intention to snatch a married woman and make her his wife in front of her husband was incredibly disrespectful to any woman.
Yet, after Long Cheng spoke, they saw no trace of anger on Su Yun's face. Instead, a faint smile played on her delicate features.
"Could it be that Su Yun has also been interested in Long Cheng for a long time?" some of the more imaginative onlookers speculated.
...
Su Yun did indeed smile. It wasn't because Long Cheng's words amused her, but rather because his words reminded her of an event that had occurred twenty years prior.
And Zhang Fan was born during that time.
"It's indeed not unreasonable," Su Yun nodded. She then glanced at Xing Rong and walked towards him in her high heels.
"Chairman!" Lin Xi, standing behind Su Yun, was startled to see Su Yun actually walking towards Xing Rong and quickly called out.
The engineers within the construction site also grew anxious. Although Su Yun had shown a different side of herself to them yesterday, in their subconscious minds, Su Yun was still just a weak woman.
Moreover, Xing Rong exuded a sharp aura. Even standing there casually, he commanded an air of authority, clearly not an ordinary person.
"Be careful when you move. Just subdue her. Don't hurt her," Long Cheng said casually, taking a sip of tea.
Xing Rong nodded heavily. Since their deputy hall master had taken a liking to Su Yun, he naturally wouldn't dare to harm her.
As a grandmaster at the peak of True Qi, Xing Rong, with his extensive combat experience, was far superior to a martial artist like Su Yun, whose strength was boosted by spirit pills.
With his rich combat experience, he could even contend with a half-step Xiantian martial artist. However...
The moment Su Yun made her move, Long Cheng, who had been leisurely sipping tea, choked and sprayed it out. The arrogance in his eyes was instantly replaced by disbelief.
"Be careful, she's a Xiantian Grandmaster!" Long Cheng, forgetting his composure, quickly shouted at Xing Rong.
However, Long Cheng's warning came too late. As soon as his words fell, everyone heard a crisp slapping sound, followed by Xing Rong's body being involuntarily sent flying backward, eventually crashing into the construction site's perimeter wall.
With a loud thud, Xing Rong hit the ground, a bright red palm print slowly appearing on his face.
The construction site, which had been somewhat noisy moments before, fell into complete silence the instant Xing Rong crashed to the ground.
...
ps: I was on a business trip for the past two days and missed updating. My apologies, I will make up for it as soon as possible...