Chapter Ninety-Six: The Bai Family’s Shadow

The next day, Zhao Fan deliberately got up early, made a circuit through the supermarket, then contacted Fang Tiancheng before heading to school.

The moment he stepped through the gates, the bell rang, signaling the end of morning study.

“Whoa, Brother Fan, you really came back?”

Chen Tianyu sprang to his feet, staring at Zhao Fan in disbelief. He had thought the words from yesterday were just a joke.

With a slap, Zhao Fan dropped the bag full of books beside Chen Tianyu. In the classroom, there was only one empty desk, and it was clearly the one He Yongshan had prepared for him.

“Do I look like someone who doesn’t keep his word?”

Chen Tianyu laughed awkwardly. “No, no, my mouth’s just too stupid. Come on, sit, sit.”

As someone returning after a long leave of absence, Zhao Fan drew quite a bit of attention that morning, but he did not mind in the least. His whole heart was in the books.

After lunch, Chen Tianyu and two others crowded around Zhao Fan’s desk.

“Brother Fan, after all these months, you’ve changed so much we can barely recognize you.”

Before leaving school, Zhao Fan’s grades had been among the best in the class.

But compared with the other top students, Zhao Fan was much more approachable, so he had always gotten along well with everyone.

Hearing that, Zhao Fan raised a brow and leaned back. “Did I grow a second mouth or an extra arm? Changed so much you don’t recognize me anymore? Fine, then write out this math problem for me.”

“...Come on, Brother Fan, I’m a complete academic loser. You want me to do math? Well, fine, fine, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

The speaker was called Duan Gaoxuan. He counted as someone fairly close to Zhao Fan, though only at school.

In Zhao Fan’s previous life, after he left school, he had never contacted Duan Gaoxuan again. He had only once heard news of him, and it seemed to be... that he had gone to prison.

Zhao Fan narrowed his eyes and, without a trace of obviousness, studied Duan Gaoxuan a few times.

Duan Gaoxuan was naturally lively, though in a different way from Chen Tianyu. He was the sort who could strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere.

He had real ability, which was a pity, because he had never walked the proper road.

Rubbing his chin, Zhao Fan thought that with Duan Gaoxuan’s talent, it would be a waste to let him wander astray. He ought to be pulled back, made to fight for a future, and then brought into the company later to handle business negotiations.

As for Chen Tianyu...

Zhao Fan turned his head, and Chen Tianyu instinctively shrank back. “W-what is it, Brother Fan?”

“You’d better study too. Let me tell you now, even if you can’t get into a top-tier university, you still have to get into an ordinary one. Understand?”

Zhao Fan wasted no words. As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed an exercise book over to Chen Tianyu.

The people who had crowded over just moments ago dispersed in an instant, afraid Zhao Fan would catch them and force them to do problems and study.

What a joke.

They were all hopeless students; how could they possibly understand those questions? Run, run for it.

Zhao Fan could not be bothered to deal with the people who had fled. Being popular did not mean he was close to everyone. At a time like this, of course he would grab onto the people he was actually close to.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll study the way I study. Don’t even think about running. We may still have half a year before the college entrance exam, but a whetstone sharpened at the last minute is still better than nothing...”

Zhao Fan became a second He Yongshan, droning on and on at Chen Tianyu and Duan Gaoxuan.

After that, he absolutely lived by his own words: whenever it was time to study, he would definitely drag Chen Tianyu and Duan Gaoxuan with him.

By day, he was busy at school; by night, he was busy at the company.

Under Zhao Fan’s influence, even the company’s working hours were changed.

Because of this, Zhao Fan simply adjusted the schedule, striving to keep no one from growing exhausted through excessive overtime.

Five days later, Fang Tiancheng called Zhao Fan and said everyone had been found and was now in the hospital.

It was lunchtime then. After thinking it over, Zhao Fan ultimately restrained himself.

“I’ll go over tonight.”

That evening, Zhao Fan found Chen Jianyu and Da Long’s hospital room.

Chen Jianyu and Da Long were talking. When they saw Zhao Fan come in, they immediately greeted him.

Chen Jianyu asked, “Brother Fan, why are you here?”

Da Long said nothing.

Zhao Fan examined the two of them, confirmed they were not seriously injured, and relaxed.

“What happened? I sent you to look into Wang Ying’s family, so why did you disappear instead?”

Chen Jianyu’s expression turned grave. “Brother Fan, that family is not simple.”

Zhao Fan froze. Wang Ying’s family was not simple?

What a joke. If they were really anything special, Wang Qiang would never have wound up in so much debt that Wang Ying had to trade herself for a bride price.

Of course, Wang Ying’s attempt to find someone to take responsibility for the child in her belly was also part of it, but at the end of the day, the real reason was still that her family had no backing and no money.

And in Zhao Fan’s previous life, Wang Ying’s family had never shown anything particularly unusual either. But Chen Jianyu was not the sort to speak without reason.

“Tell me in detail.”

“They’re connected to the Bai family. That day I went to the neighborhood where Wang Ying’s family lived to ask around. I didn’t expect to see Wang Ying come out with Bai Yu, the young master of the Bai family. I thought it was odd, so I followed them. Then I was discovered halfway there, and...”

At this point, Chen Jianyu looked embarrassed. Being caught while tailing someone was a sign of insufficient skill, and it was too humiliating.

Zhao Fan: “...”

Rubbing his brow, Zhao Fan turned to Da Long. “And how did you go missing?”

Da Long said quietly, “I also found a lead on the Bai family, and then I got caught.”

Fine. The two of them had both fallen into the Bai family’s hands.

Zhao Fan ground his teeth. He was rather curious what Bai Yu had been doing with Wang Ying.

“Do you know why Bai Yu was looking for Wang Ying?”

Chen Jianyu and Da Long both shook their heads. “No.”

“Not at all?”

Just then, the ward door was pushed open. Fang Tiancheng walked in from outside and said with a smile, “They may not know, but I probably do.”

Zhao Fan said, “Why?”

“The young lady of the Yang family publicly expressed that she has feelings for you.”

The young lady of the Yang family openly confessed feelings for him? Bai Yu was—

Wait.

“You mean Yang Yuqing?”

Every clash between Bai Yu and Zhao Fan had been because of Yang Yuqing.

Fang Tiancheng nodded, giving Zhao Fan a definite answer.

“Everyone in Yang City’s upper circles knows that the Yang and Bai families are destined to be joined by marriage, so even when a son or daughter comes of age, nobody dares tangle them up with those two families.”

No one had expected that in the middle of Yang Yuqing and Bai Yu’s story, a Zhao Fan would suddenly appear.

Fang Tiancheng stroked his chin. “Last time, the collapse at your shopping mall probably had traces of the Bai family behind it as well. Zhao Fan, this is going to be a little hard to handle.”

Zhao Fan: “...”

He truly had nothing going on with Yang Yuqing. They had barely met at all.

But Zhao Fan also knew that no matter how he explained it, Bai Yu would never believe him.

What was even more critical was that Yang Yuqing clearly did not like Bai Yu.

With a sigh, Zhao Fan said, “It’s fine. This won’t be enough to bring me down.”

To strike a snake, you had to hit its vital point. He needed to think of a way to sever the Bai family’s outstretched claws.

Time turned and the school’s half-monthly break arrived.

During that time, the classmates Han Chen had mentioned also came into the company.

Because Zhao Fan had been busy, he had not had a chance to meet them. This time, during the break, he specifically contacted Han Chen in advance and said he wanted to treat them to a meal. The time was set for noon, at Old Hong’s Private Kitchen.