Chapter Forty-Five: A Stalemate Among All Parties

The restaurant was crowded with young people, and even the owner, seeing the throng, dared not say a word. Looking at Chen Jianyu, Zhao Fan sighed. “Alright, I won’t waste time with you all. Take me to see the injured person first.”

After all, since Chen Jianyu had come to him for help, Zhao Fan felt he had to lend a hand.

Chen Jianyu nodded gloomily, and the group headed for the hospital.

Room 706.

The moment Zhao Fan entered, he saw a leg suspended in traction, and his brows rose.

“That’s quite an injury—his leg’s up in the air.”

Chen Jianyu coughed awkwardly. “He just… fell and hurt his leg.”

“Oh, just a fall? Injuries like this take a hundred days to heal. He’ll have to take care of himself.”

Looking calm and unconcerned, Zhao Fan chatted with Chen Jianyu as he sat beside the bed, then suddenly pressed down on the suspended leg.

A sharp gasp sounded, and the young man instinctively grabbed Zhao Fan’s hand. “It hurts, it hurts!”

Zhao Fan smiled. “So you do know pain. You used plenty of force in that fight—didn’t feel it then, did you?”

The young man, sensing something was off, shrank his neck. “Well, I had to protect myself, right? I couldn’t just stand there and let them hit me.”

“Hmph.” Zhao Fan snorted coldly. “Forget borrowing money; consider it an advance on your wages from me. I’ll deduct it from your monthly income proportionally.”

Chen Jianyu was stunned, then quickly lowered his head. “Thank you.”

“I’ll accept your thanks, but let me be clear: this is the first and last time. Don’t let anything like this happen again.”

Chen Jianyu gritted his teeth. “Don’t worry, it won’t.”

Zhao Fan nodded. “I hope you keep your word. Come on, let’s pay his bill.”

“Alright.”

The group quickly left.

After settling the payment, Zhao Fan went to Zhao Yun’er’s hospital room. The other family wasn’t there; Zhao’s mother was holding the little girl, talking softly. Whatever she said, the girl suddenly broke into a smile.

So small and fragile, she seemed as if a single breath might blow her away.

“Brother, why are you standing at the door and not coming in?”

The voice behind him pulled Zhao Fan from his thoughts. He stepped aside so Zhao Haitian could see inside.

“Yun’er hasn’t smiled like that in a long time,” Zhao Haitian said, a trace of melancholy in his expression. Ever since the leukemia diagnosis, Yun’er had lost her cheerful spirit, and her oppressive silence often pained him as a father.

Zhao Fan placed a hand on Zhao Haitian’s shoulder. “Once the bone marrow transplant is done, she’ll be back to normal. There’s a long road ahead.”

Zhao Haitian nodded with a smile. “Yes, a long road ahead.”

Just then, Zhao’s mother noticed the two outside and waved at them, holding Yun’er in her arms.

Zhao Fan quickly tugged Zhao Haitian inside.

“Mom, how have you been feeling lately?”

“I’m fine,” Mother replied. “The little one’s been much happier, right, Yun’er?”

Yun’er nodded eagerly. “I’m very happy.”

Zhao Fan’s features softened as he gently ruffled her hair. “As long as you’re happy. In a few days, you’ll have your surgery, and then we can all go home.”

Yun’er’s big eyes blinked. “Go home? Daddy, is it the home where Mommy is?”

At those words, all three adults went rigid.

Sensitive as she was, the little girl sensed the shift in atmosphere and immediately nestled closer to her grandmother.

Seeing this, Zhao’s mother hugged her tightly, heart aching. “Don’t be afraid, darling. Wherever you want to go, we’ll go. Don’t be scared…”

She patted Yun’er’s back, holding her as she moved to the side, shooting Zhao Fan and Zhao Haitian a reproachful glare.

“Don’t mind them. Not a word of comfort between the two.”

Zhao Fan was speechless.

So now the blame fell on him.

“Big brother,” he said, gesturing toward the little girl. “This one’s on you.”

With that, Zhao Fan announced he was off to buy something and beat a hasty retreat.

Zhao Haitian was left standing, frozen. Why run off so fast? He hadn’t even come up with a solution yet.

After some thought, he reached out to Zhao’s mother. “Mom, let me have her. I’d like to talk with her.”

“Talk? What can you possibly say to a child? Hold it in, whatever it is. Wait till after the surgery—don’t upset our Yun’er.”

Zhao Haitian, too, feared upsetting Yun’er. Hearing his mother, he quickly dropped the idea.

A week slipped by in the blink of an eye, during which Zhao Fan was constantly on the move—overseeing renovations at the new supermarket, caring for his mother and niece at the hospital, meeting with Mu Tianrong to handle the aftermath of the auction, while Xu An coordinated in Hong Kong.

With everyone’s efforts, the post-auction procedures were finally completed.

Meanwhile, rumors began circulating in Yang City about Zhao Fan’s bet with the Bai family.

“Didn’t they say if the auction went over a hundred million, the Bai family would give the land they’d just acquired to Zhao Fan? Why hasn’t anything happened?”

“They only made that bet because they were sure the item wouldn’t fetch that price. Now the tables have turned, it’s amusing.”

“The Bai family isn’t very generous.”

“The Bai family doesn’t handle things well.”

One comment after another, and in the end, public opinion coalesced around the view that the Bai family was incompetent.

Zhao Fan listened with a cheerful smile, finding it all the more entertaining, as though he were merely a bystander in this wager.

With the Bai family’s reputation taking a hit, they quickly organized a banquet where the family head, Bai Yongyuan, made a public statement, insisting they didn’t care about the land and that the delay was only due to paperwork.

“As soon as Zhao Fan appears, we’ll transfer the land immediately.”

Those attending the banquet—all close acquaintances—exchanged glances and agreed that the Bai family was indeed magnanimous.

The next day, Bai Yongyuan’s words spread from the banquet. Some admired him, others scoffed—a stalling tactic, they said. The Bai family wanted to keep both their reputation and the land. What a clever play.

Rivals of the Bai family saw an opportunity and immediately began stirring up related matters.

For a while, the whole city’s attention was fixed on the wager.

Whether by tacit agreement or deliberate effort, whenever the bet was mentioned, Zhao Fan’s name was carefully omitted.

So the crowd watching the spectacle had no idea who the Bai family’s opponent was—they only knew that there was a bet.

As the clamor grew, Zhao Fan was approached by Bai Yu, who arrived with more than a dozen men in tow. Zhao Fan fell silent at the sight.

“Master Bai, are you here to take my life?”

“Take your life? The Bai family are honest businessmen—we’d never stoop to crime.”

One of his men handed over a baseball bat, which Bai Yu weighed in his hand.

“Zhao Fan, I’ll get straight to the point. Give up the bet.”

“What if I don’t?” Zhao Fan arched an eyebrow.

“Then don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Facing the bat, Zhao Fan gave a cold snort. “Go on then—I’d love to see what you plan to do.”