Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.
Plagued by Wu Guizhen and Shen Mengxue, Su Ming felt restless inside, yet there was nothing he could do.
Sometimes it's just like that, so close yet so far.
After tossing and turning, he eventually fell into a hazy sleep.
The next morning, Su Ming took An Kexin to school and casually asked about Dong Lanlan's situation lately.
"Lanlan is the same as before, nothing much really, but a few days ago she said she had a fight with her dad."
Hearing this, Su Ming pondered for a moment but didn't say anything further.
After An Kexin left, Su Ming went to Dong Lanlan's building based on his previous memories.
This is a fairly ordinary community, so ordinary it doesn't even have property management, just a security guard at the gate.
At the security booth, the old security guard was listening to some tunes.
"Sir, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, come on in, have a seat, and have some tea while we chat."
The old security guard was nice, welcoming even a stranger with a smile.
"Do you know the Dong Lanlan family?"
Upon hearing this, the old security guard became wary and looked at Su Ming.
"Young man, why are you asking about Lanlan?"
"I'm Lanlan's teacher. I wanted to find out some things because I noticed Lanlan has been really down lately, and I heard she had a fight with her dad yesterday."
Hearing this, the old security guard sighed.
"Lanlan is a good kid, but her parents are both scoundrels."
Seeing the old security guard like this, Su Ming frowned and leaned in to listen.
At the construction site, the project was proceeding methodically.
An Mo not only allowed Wanhong Group to proceed with the construction but also provided a lot of policy support.
Coupled with the 2 billion yuan from the Xue Family, the project's pace was continually accelerating.
For convenience, Chen Hong had Su Ming bring Yang Chang and Deng Zhigang over from Longcheng.
When they heard about the 2-billion-yuan project, the two of them were utterly stunned.
Now, wearing little white helmets, they looked like leaders.
Their demeanor was indeed somewhat amusing.
"How is it? Can we complete the project on time?"
"Don't worry, Sister Hong. Would we ever not handle what you ask us to?"
Deng Zhigang chuckled and confidently patted his chest.
This was something Brother Ming had arranged for him to do, so he had to pull it off splendidly.
As Chen Hong and Deng Zhigang were chatting, a worker suddenly rushed in from outside.
"Bad news, Brother Deng, bad news, someone's here!"
Upon hearing this, Deng Zhigang immediately picked up a hammer and went out.
"What's going on?"
However, when he reached the door, he was completely stunned.
There were over a hundred people on the other side, and each person was holding a steel pipe.
If that thing hits you, wouldn't you end up black and blue all over?
Seeing so many people, Deng Zhigang swallowed hard.
Upon hearing the commotion, Yang Chang also called over the construction workers.
The two sides began confronting each other at the entrance of the construction site.
"What are you doing? This is a Wanhong Group project!"
With so many people behind him, Deng Zhigang gained some confidence and shouted with pride.
"Wanhong Group? Just a piece of trash, really. Maybe once we were cautious around you, but not anymore."
The leader let out a cold laugh, looking at Deng Zhigang with amusement.
"Let me introduce myself: I'm Fan Cheng, and this here is Snake Pattern, the big boss!"
Beside Fan Cheng stood a man covered in snake tattoos.
The man, known as Snake Pattern, was a notorious figure in the Provincial City's underworld.
When the other side mentioned Snake Pattern, the workers behind Deng Zhigang started retreating.
They had heard about Snake Pattern's ferocity; once, a young man offended him while drinking.
This guy immediately chopped off that young man's hands and feet, turning him into a human stick.
He even burned his house down and hanged his parents inside; his sister was also taken away.
This incident established Snake Pattern's notorious reputation.
Furthermore, Snake Pattern has a little brother, whom Su Ming should knowโit's Dafei.
"Are you trying to go against the Fan Family? Do you have a death wish?"
To get this far, it took not only his own ruthlessness but also the backing of the Fan Family.
Compared to Brother Gui, the Fan Family provided much greater support to Snake Pattern.
Without the Fan Family's support, it would have taken Snake Pattern much longer to become the second-largest underground force in the Provincial City.
Snake Pattern's angry shout made many people swallow nervously.
At this moment, however, Chen Hong didn't retreat at all, stepping forward to face them.
"This project is approved by the higher-ups, and there's no rule saying that only the Fan Family can do the project. Are you here to cause trouble today? My Wanhong Group isn't easy to mess with either!"
As she finished speaking, a few men in security uniforms came out, all holding electric batons.
Though fewer in number, their faces were filled with determination.
This was Su Ming's proposal to replace all security personnel with former soldiers and increase their wages to protect the construction site's safety.
As for Chen Hong's words, Snake Pattern chuckled, his eyes wandering over Chen Hong.
"Such a beauty, truly not bad."
"If I could spend a spring night with her, losing ten years of life would still be worth it."
"Brothers, don't you think so?"
Snake Pattern's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
In an instant, numerous heated gazes fell upon Chen Hong.
"Sister Hong, step back; we'll handle this. If things look bad, you must quickly drive away."
Deng Zhigang and Yang Chang blocked in front of Chen Hong.
It's not important if something happens to them, but Chen Hong mustn't get hurt.
Otherwise, how could they explain it to Su Ming?
"What are you talking about? This is my construction site, and I won't allow anyone to act recklessly here!"
However, despite their words, they all knew that if a fight actually broke out, the workers behind them would hardly step forward.
No one dared to take on Snake Pattern, as their homes might be set alight at any moment.
Seeing the time was ripe, Fan Cheng stepped forward.
"Chen Hong, actually, our Fan Family is quite friendly and doesn't intend for things to escalate this far. If your Wanhong Group can agree to three conditions, we will naturally leave."
As he spoke, Fan Cheng raised three fingers.
"First condition, transfer 70% of the project's shares to the Fan Family."
"Second condition, Wanhong Group merges under the Fan Family, becoming a part of the Fan Group."
"Third condition."
Pausing here, Fan Cheng's gaze became greedy as he looked at Chen Hong.
"You, Chen Hong, need to spend one night with me, Fan Cheng, and this matter will be settled!"
