Chapter 160: Banquet Warning

At 8:00 PM, Zhao Fan arrived precisely on the top floor of the Tianyuan Hotel.

In the spacious private dining room, An Zhen was already there, accompanied by someone Zhao Fan recognized.

"President Zhao, long time no see."

Zhao Fan's lips twitched slightly: "Indeed a long time no see, Officer Fang."

That's right, the person greeting Zhao Fan was none other than Fang Tiancheng, whom he had met previously through an antique smuggling case.

Come to think of it, Zhao Fan and Fang Tiancheng hadn't crossed paths for quite a while.

"Judging by Officer Fang's complexion, life has been treating you quite well lately."

Fang Tiancheng laughed heartily: "You could say that. After that case was resolved, I had a period of nothing much to do. But President Zhao, you've been through quite a lot during this time, haven't you? Just hearing about those incidents made them sound difficult, yet I never expected President Zhao to pull through them all."

"Just luck."

Zhao Fan replied indifferently, taking a seat before casting his gaze upon An Zhen.

"President An."

An Zhen smiled: "President Zhao, today's banquet was arranged rather abruptly. I hope you won't mind the same-day notice."

"Given an invitation from President An, let alone a same-day notice, even if I were told after it had already ended, I, Zhao Fan, would still make the trip. President An's courtesy must be respected."

An Zhen chuckled: "Heh..."

As they spoke, another guest arrived, followed by the rest one after another. Within ten minutes, everyone was present.

They were Gong Chengjun, the newly appointed president of the Yangcheng branch of Xia Bank; Fu Hongxing, the director of the Public Security Bureau; Bai Yongyuan, head of the Bai family; Yang Tiancheng, head of the Yang family; and Wu Qingfeng from Yuanhong Group.

Eight people sat around a single table, every single one of them a heavyweight figure in Yangcheng.

Zhao Fan surveyed the room without a trace of obviousness. Aside from Gong Chengjun, the new president of Xia Bank's Yangcheng branch, everyone else was an acquaintance of his.

Fu Hongxing's presence was entirely normal, but what surprised Zhao Fan the most was Wu Qingfeng.

As the president of Yuanhong Group, Wu Qingfeng was tacitly referred to in Yangcheng as the "Second Master." Generally speaking, almost no one could compel him to attend an invitation, yet An Zhen had somehow managed to bring him here.

The clash in Haicheng had made Zhao Fan realize that there was more to Haiyuan Supermarket than met the eye, but he hadn't expected the forces behind An Zhen to be even greater.

An Zhen raised her wine glass and stood up: "I am extremely delighted that everyone could make it today. Come, let me toast you all with a drink first."

With that, she downed the contents of her glass in a single gulp, then turned the rim downward to show it was empty.

The men seated around the table were hardly going to let An Zhen drink alone. The moment she sat back down, they each picked up their fully poured glasses and emptied them as well.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew warm and lively following that toast.

Zhao Fan lowered his gaze, trying his best to minimize his presence.

The matters intended for discussion at tonight's banquet were likely far weightier than he had anticipated; it would be wiser for him to keep a low profile.

Yet, even as Zhao Fan wished to remain low-profile, the others at the table had no intention of letting him blend into the background.

Bai Yongyuan spoke up: "I hear that President An is also in the supermarket business. President Zhao here, sitting at our table, also built his enterprise starting from a supermarket. The two of you must have plenty to talk about, right?"

An Zhen smiled: "We certainly have plenty to talk about, and I was even hoping to collaborate. Unfortunately, President Zhao—ah, never mind that. Come, President Bai, I toast you."

She shared a drink with Bai Yongyuan.

After sitting back down, Bai Yongyuan remarked with pointed implication: "President Zhao certainly seems to prefer fighting battles all on his own."

An Zhen raised her eyes, her gaze landing squarely on Zhao Fan: "So that's how it is. Such bold resolve, President Zhao. Come, let's have a drink."

Zhao Fan smiled faintly and clinked glasses with her.

"What bold resolve to speak of? It's merely stumbling along through trial and error on my own. Whatever profit or loss comes of it is entirely my own burden to bear, simply to avoid implicating anyone else."

"President Zhao loves to joke. With Feiteng's current scale, it's only bound to grow more and more successful—how could it ever implicate anyone?" Yang Tiancheng took over the conversation, seamlessly shifting the topic to going public.

"I wonder if President Zhao has ever considered taking Feiteng public?"

Take Feiteng public?

Zhao Fan's eyes flickered slightly as he offered a modest smile: "Family Head Yang really knows how to joke. My Feiteng is nowhere near the standards required for an IPO. If nothing else, we simply don't have enough time to meet the requirements for listing."

"Judging by President Zhao's words, it sounds like you've actually researched going public." An Zhen stood up and refilled Zhao Fan's empty glass. "There are many paths to an IPO, President Zhao. You mustn't trap yourself on a dead end."

*I haven't even given a passing thought to going public,* Zhao Fan thought to himself.

However, he couldn't voice those thoughts aloud. He merely smiled and toasted An Zhen in return.

Afterward, the conversation drifted and wound in circles. Zhao Fan remained tight-lipped throughout, only speaking up when a question was directed straight at him, and otherwise keeping entirely silent.

By 10:30 PM, the banquet came to an end. Bai Yongyuan and Yang Tiancheng left first, followed shortly by Zhao Fan and the rest of the guests.

Inside his car, Zhao Fan rested his hands on the steering wheel, narrowing his eyes slightly.

A few minutes later, he pulled out his keys and stepped out of the vehicle. Tonight's banquet had truly left him completely in the dark about what they were really aiming for.

"Beep, beep, beep—"

A car horn sounded from nearby. Zhao Fan followed the sound and recognized a very familiar vehicle.

"President Zhao, we meet again."

The car window rolled down, revealing Wu Qingfeng's face.

Zhao Fan smiled: "Long time no see, Second Master."

"Get in the car. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Alright." Zhao Fan got into the vehicle. "I wonder what the Second Master wants to discuss with me?"

"That An Zhen."

Zhao Fan's mouth curved into a wry smile: "And what does the Second Master have to say about her?"

"The three great families of Kyoto—An, Jiang, and Du. The latter two are evenly matched, but the An family has always stayed out in front. Do you know why?"

The three great families of Kyoto?

Zhao Fan's pupils contracted slightly. An Zhen actually belonged to the An family! No wonder—no wonder Haiyuan Supermarket's expansion had proceeded so smoothly.

"The An family pursues both politics and commerce," he replied in a calm tone.

Wu Qingfeng nodded: "Indeed, they pursue both politics and commerce, but that's not the crucial point."

"That's not the crucial point?" Zhao Fan frowned. "What else is there?"

"The members of the An family are united."

Zhao Fan was slightly taken aback. The An family was united?

"You might think that family unity isn't a big deal, but the reason the An family has managed to leave the other two great families far behind relies entirely on their mutual support. If you want Feiteng to progress smoothly, I advise you to cooperate with the An family. It will be to your benefit."

Wu Qingfeng spoke at great length, finally revealing the true purpose behind his words in his very last sentence.

Zhao Fan looked over at him: "Second Master, since when did you become a lobbyist?"

Wu Qingfeng smiled faintly: "It's simply for your own good. Speaking the truth doesn't make me a lobbyist."

"I just wonder how much of that 'truth' spoken by the Second Master has to do with An Zhen."

"Not much, maybe ten percent at most. Zhao Fan, the only reason I'm reminding you is out of regard for our past familiarity and cooperation. As for whether you choose to heed it, that's entirely up to you."

Silence descended upon the car after that, lasting until the driver announced, "We've arrived at Yilan TianDi."

Zhao Fan offered his thanks and stepped out, watching as the car drove away with a complex expression on his face.

Wu Qingfeng's reminder genuinely irritated him.

Since when did the An family's power mean he *had* to cooperate with them?

This time, he simply refused to cooperate with the An family out of pure principle.

Turning around, Zhao Fan walked back into his home.

Two days of peaceful routine passed by before Zhao Fan received another invitation from An Zhen—once again for a banquet that very evening, with just the two of them.