Hearing these words, several of them wore looks of astonishment.
Who didn't know that Fang Yan's family had been cast out by the clan, plunging overnight from wealthy heirs to the very bottom?
Where did he get the audacity?
Sun Chen couldn't help but frown deeply. *If it weren't for Wan'er's sake, you wouldn't even be qualified to sit here.*
To be so arrogant!
At this moment, Su Wan'er stood up. "Fang Yan, what's wrong with you? Everyone is just joking around."
"Fang Yan, what are you losing your mind for? You couldn't even find a job after graduation—who are you trying to put on airs for?"
Wang Jianyu stood up and shouted, snatching up a full bottle of beer at the same time.
Fang Yan glanced at him. "Want to fight?"
"Is it some new thing for me to beat you?" With that, Wang Jianyu raised the bottle to swing.
However, Sun Chen pressed down on his hand.
"Enough, Jianyu. You can't fight here," Sun Chen said calmly.
Wang Jianyu was stunned.
Du Xuebin also stood up from the side. "That's right, Jianyu. Don't you know whose turf this is? Starting a fight here will cause huge trouble."
"Whose?" Wang Jianyu asked, looking unconvinced.
These were all wealthy second-generation heirs, and Wang Jianyu had rarely taken any losses in the past. If he was pissed off, why would he care whose turf it was?
"This is Brother Dao's turf."
Brother Dao!
Hearing those two names, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Wang Jianyu immediately put down the beer bottle and sat back down, clearly feeling lingering fear.
"Young Master Sun, thank goodness you reminded me, or I really would have caused huge trouble."
Beside them, Liu Tingting lowered her voice and asked, "Jianyu, who is Brother Dao?"
Wang Jianyu wiped away some sweat. "Lord Zhong's closest subordinate. His nickname is Pian Dao, and everyone in the underworld calls him Brother Dao."
"Lord Zhong?"
Liu Tingting's expression shifted, obviously having heard of the name.
Sun Chen nodded. "Lord Zhong can be considered a legendary figure in Tianzhou. Back in the nineties, he seized the West Suburb docks through sheer ruthlessness, and the brothers under him were all men who held their lives cheap. All the water transport business in that area is under Lord Zhong's protection."
Hearing this, Su Wan'er grew somewhat frightened. "Y-You mean gangsters?"
Sun Chen smiled. "They aren't ordinary gangsters. Anyone in Tianzhou who wants to run an entertainment business has to check in with Lord Zhong first; without paying a cut, you simply can't operate. Moreover, Lord Zhong has a dozen or so large companies under his banner and extremely solid ties with the Public Security Bureau. He has successfully washed his hands clean and is considered an entrepreneur now."
Fang Yan understood this sort of thing well. The underworld was all about killing and licking blood from the blade, but once someone made it big, none of them failed to want a clean slate.
Transforming overnight from a gangster into a boss allowed dirty money to be laundered clean at the same time.
Seeing that Su Wan'er was a bit scared, Sun Chen smiled faintly. "Still, my old man has some friendship with Lord Zhong. Two years ago, that project at Chengxuan Mansion belonged to Lord Zhong. My father's old trade was construction, so he got involved as well."
Hearing this, several people nearby revealed looks of envy and admiration.
"Good grief... Young Master Sun, I only knew that the old master currently does investment promotion, but it turns out his construction days were this glorious too!"
"Yeah, cooperating with Lord Zhong, plus official connections—the old master really plays both the black and white sides!"
The girl beside Du Xuebin spoke up. "Xuebin, we should hang out with Young Master Sun more in the future. There's a future in it!"
The girl was named Li Qian, and she was Du Xuebin's girlfriend.
Sun Chen smiled with confidence and raised his cup. "Don't worry, once you're in my family's company, I'll have your back. Everyone will prosper in the future."
The group raised their glasses and cheered.
At that moment, Su Wan'er bit her lower lip slightly. "Um... Sun Chen, there's something I'd like to ask a favor for."
As she spoke, she couldn't help glancing at Fang Yan again.
However, Fang Yan couldn't be bothered to care at the moment, looking casually around the room—clearly, his mind wasn't here at all.
"Huh? Wan'er, why are you being so polite with me?"
"I was thinking... could you help arrange a job for Fang Yan?"
Su Wan'er had enjoyed a privileged background since childhood and this was her first time asking anyone for a favor, so she inevitably felt a bit embarrassed.
"What? You want him to enter my company?" Sun Chen froze, then looked at Fang Yan with undisguised disgust in his eyes.
"Please! Wan'er, you know what tier Young Master Sun's company is," Li Qian said.
Liu Tingting nodded. "Qianqian is right, Wan'er. How could you help Fang Yan find a job? It lowers your status too much."
Wang Jianyu looked at Fang Yan and let out a cold snort. "Look at him. Even if someone asks for help, they should have some attitude, right?"
Su Wan'er hurriedly nudged Fang Yan. "Fang Yan, why don't you... make your stance clear?"
She was dead set on helping Fang Yan secure a job, if only to make up for the hurt she had once caused him...
Only then did Fang Yan turn his head. "Make my stance clear? Why should I make my stance clear? Did I say I wanted to go?"
Hearing this, Wang Jianyu said coldly, "What are you putting on airs for, Fang Yan? With your qualifications, Young Master Sun wouldn't want you anyway!"
"Exactly! Who does he think he is, acting all high and mighty!"
Sun Chen sneered, "Fang Yan, we're old classmates. If you wanted to come to my company, you could just say so. A grown man, and you actually have Wan'er speak on your behalf?"
Fang Yan looked at Sun Chen, then turned his gaze back to Su Wan'er.
"You asked me to come today, and I came. Is that everything?"
Su Wan'er knitted her delicate brows. "What is wrong with you, Fang Yan? Don't you know I'm trying to help you?"
Fang Yan slowly shook his head. "I don't need any help. Miaoxue, let's go."
With that, Fang Yan and Fang Miaoxue stood up to leave.
Seeing this, Sun Chen tightened his brow. Putting on airs right in front of him—was this guy completely ignoring him?
Just as he was about to stand up, he saw two drunken men stagger past carrying beer bottles. One of them lost his balance, and the liquor from his bottle spilled directly onto Du Xuebin's shoulder.
"Damn it, are you blind? Where the hell are you spilling that?"
Du Xuebin jumped straight up.
At the same time, Wang Jianyu and the others rose to their feet as well.
The two men looked at Du Xuebin with fierce glares in their eyes.
One of them gritted his teeth and said, "Little bastard, what did you say? Are you looking to die?"
As he spoke, the man raised his fist and threw a punch.
Thud!
Du Xuebin was knocked to the ground on the spot.
He scrambled back up, forgetting all about Brother Dao's turf, and hoisted a beer bottle, smashing it down toward the man's head.
Crash...
Blood immediately began to flow from the man's head. Clutching his skull, he roared, "Little punk, you dare hit me? Call everyone over here!"
The man evidently had some muscle behind him; at a single word, a dozen or so people immediately swarmed over from around the bar.
Seeing this scene, the music in the bar stopped abruptly. The sound technicians, the waiters—everyone turned their attention toward this side.
And Fang Yan and Fang Miaoxue, who had been on the verge of leaving, found themselves innocently surrounded.
Fang Miaoxue instinctively clutched her brother's arm. "Brother..."
Fang Yan patted Fang Miaoxue. "Don't be afraid, Big Brother is here."
Seeing these people, Du Xuebin grew somewhat terrified. He never could have imagined the other party would pull out this kind of formation.
Wang Jianyu hurriedly spoke up. "Bro... brothers, everything's negotiable. There's no need for this, right?"
The man clutched his head, blood seeping through his fingers.
"Little bastard, you were pretty fierce when you swung that beer bottle. Swing it again!"
Slap!
With that, a heavy blow landed across Du Xuebin's face, and blood instantly welled from the corner of his mouth.
Sun Chen stood up. "Brothers, he's already taken a beating. Can we just call it square?"
"Call it square? Today, every single one of you—you hit me, so consider yourselves unlucky!"
With that, the man flicked his hand forward, and several thugs began closing in toward the center.
Su Wan'er, Liu Tingting, and Li Qian were all terrified, sitting frozen on the sofa without daring to move.
Fang Miaoxue was trembling all over with fright; when had she ever laid eyes on a scene like this?
Right at that moment, a voice rang out.
"We're not with them. Let us leave first."
The crowd looked over. It was none other than Fang Yan.