It took almost ten minutes before Ye Zhenzhen returned, sounding none too pleased, "Ye Fang and Ye Shang ran off to follow Lucy."

Chen Cheng looked utterly bewildered, pretending as if he'd never met Lucy. "Lucy?"

"My neighbor, lives downstairs from you. Before..."

Chen Cheng had seen the plot, so of course he knew what was going on.

Lucy was indeed using a fake identity. She went to that company because her enemy's son worked there.

After Lucy first graduated, she experienced sexual harassment and was nearly raped. She managed to scare off the perpetrator by threatening suicide through wrist-cutting, narrowly escaping.

The perpetrator was an old hand at this. Back at the company, he turned the tables, spreading rumors everywhere that Lucy had seduced him.

This forced Lucy to leave the company at the time. That scumbag also spread the story within the industry circles, making it impossible for Lucy to find work.

The hardest part was that Lucy's parents, believing the rumors, didn't trust her innocence either. They said a girl like her had no self-respect.

The matter became so big that even the neighbors and the whole street were gossiping. Under the pressure of public opinion, Lucy could only flee—escape from the capital, flee the country, hiding in the shadows to lick her wounds.

She returned this time for revenge.

Unable to touch that old bastard for now, she went after his son—Li Qixing, who worked at Hongtai Asset Management.

Lucy was beautiful, with a mature, domineering aura, and her figure was curvaceous in all the right places. She dressed meticulously for work every day, driving Li Qixing wild with desire.

Lucy was waiting for Li Qixing to take the bait. Afterward, she would use the same tactics Li Xun had used on her, returning them in full to his son.

"I actually think you should stay away from that He Minhong," Chen Cheng said with a smile.

"Huh?" Ye Zhenzhen was a bit confused, then remembered Chen Cheng's attitude towards He Minhong yesterday. "Oh right, you don't seem to like her much. You just left directly yesterday."

"People who can't see things clearly are the most troublesome," Chen Cheng said, then looked at Zhao Rui. "Rui Rui, if you ever go upstairs to find Zhen Zhen in the future, remember to stay away from He Minhong in 2202."

Chen Cheng was someone who hated trouble the most, and clearly, He Minhong was a huge source of it.

"Huh? Why?" Zhao Rui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"To put it in your trendy terms, 'even a great Buddha should stand up and let her sit down.'"

"Ah, a 'do-gooder'?" Zhao Rui was surprised.

She often surfed the web, and online, the most criticized people were often the so-called 'do-gooders.'

Ye Zhenzhen wasn't too happy about this. Currently, she got along best with He Minhong and even occasionally gave her a ride to work. She glared at Chen Cheng. "What are you telling Rui Rui?"

"Kids these days mature early; they understand everything. Right, Rui Rui?"

Zhao Rui suppressed a laugh and nodded. "Mm-hmm, Sister Zhenzhen, don't always treat me like a kid. I know a lot."

"Mm, our Rui Rui is the smartest," Ye Zhenzhen said with a giggle, patting Zhao Rui's head.

Zhao Rui pouted. So much for not treating her like a child.

What did patting her head mean? Was it fun to pet her like that?

Hmph!

"Sister Zhenzhen, can you not pat my head?" Zhao Rui said in a plaintive tone.

Her little expression made Ye Zhenzhen burst into laughter. "Haha, okay, from now on, I won't pat our Rui Rui's head."

As she said this, her hand reached out and ruffled Zhao Rui's hair again.

Chen Cheng watched from the side, chuckling and shaking his head.

Ye Zhenzhen was quite mischievous. If you said east, she'd go west, always teasing you for fun. She lived such a simple, happy life. Her parents, the Ye family, had protected her too well; she never had to worry about material things. She was absorbed in her research, forgetting to eat and sleep, losing track of time.

After the meal, Chen Cheng drove the alphard, taking Ye Zhenzhen and Zhao Rui back.

It was past eight. If they returned too late, Zhao Hui would start bombarding them with frantic calls.

When going to pay the bill, he found it had already been settled. Chen Cheng nodded, quite satisfied with Yao Bin's attitude.

If this matter ended here, he wouldn't trouble Yao Bin again.

The 918 by the roadside was gone. The corner of Chen Cheng's mouth lifted. It seemed Little Yao was quite obedient.

Zhao Rui returned home to find Zhao Hui sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. She walked over and waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Dad~"

"Ah, Rui Rui, you're back." Only then did Zhao Hui snap out of it. He hadn't even noticed the door opening. "How was it? Did you have fun?"

"It was great," Zhao Rui said, her mouth curving into a crescent moon shape, looking quite happy. "I ran into Big Brother Chen and his friend when I went downstairs this afternoon. Big Brother Chen even introduced me to his friend, Sister Zhenzhen."

"Chen Cheng?" Zhao Hui's brows furrowed. He always felt there was something unusual about Chen Cheng living in the same complex, even the same building. "Rui Rui, tell Dad in detail how you met Chen Cheng."

Zhao Rui was drinking water and looked at Zhao Hui suspiciously. "Didn't I tell you yesterday? Dad, have you been under too much pressure lately? Your memory's not so good?"

Teased by his daughter, Zhao Hui glared, but his expression was full of doting affection. "You little rascal, tell me again from the start."

Zhao Rui sighed helplessly and recounted how Chen Cheng had brought her back.

"..."

"He asked if you had a younger brother?" Zhao Hui's frown deepened.

"Mm-hmm," Zhao Rui nodded. "Big Brother Chen said he had a friend whose daughter had the same name, but his friend also had a son."

"Mistaken identity?" Zhao Hui asked doubtfully.

Zhao Rui nodded.

"Dad, actually, this afternoon I didn't go play with Xiaoqi and Miao Miao." Zhao Rui looked at Zhao Hui with slight nervousness. She wasn't used to lying.

"Hmm? Then where did you go?" Zhao Hui asked calmly, looking at his daughter.

"I went with Big Brother Chen and Sister Zhenzhen to visit Big Brother Chen's elder brother's place. After the tour, while Big Brother Chen was discussing things with his elder brother, Sister Zhenzhen took me out to play."

As she spoke, Zhao Rui became animated, telling Zhao Hui about what she saw at Old Tan's place that afternoon.

"...Dad, do you know Big Brother Tan? What does he do? His place is huge; it felt like it would take forever to walk through."

"Later, Sister Zhenzhen told me that Big Brother Tan's place seemed more like a place specifically for receiving guests, not a home."

"Is it like the place at Uncle Wu's?" Zhao Rui asked curiously, looking at Zhao Hui.

Zhao Rui's 'Uncle Wu,' Wu Xianlong, was Zhao Hui's childhood friend and fellow townsman. When they were kids, a fire broke out in Zhao Hui's home, and Wu Xianlong saved his life. Now, Wu Xianlong was in the real estate business in Shanghai. The place Zhao Rui mentioned was a clubhouse Wu Xianlong owned in Songjiang.

Zhao Hui's expression turned serious. Tan Zongming... Chen Cheng, just what are you trying to do?

Zhao Hui rubbed his knuckles, his mind racing with thoughts.

"Dad?" Seeing her father lost in thought, the Little Girl couldn't help but call out.

"Mm, pretty much," Zhao Hui said with a smile, nodding at his daughter.

"Oh, okay," the Little Girl nodded gently, then remembered something. "Dad, this afternoon, Big Brother Chen told me to call Big Brother Tan 'Uncle.' Big Brother Tan refused and wanted me to call him 'Big Brother.' Big Brother Chen said Big Brother Tan was only about ten years younger than you, so 'Uncle' was appropriate. Big Brother Tan insisted I call him 'Big Brother,' following Big Brother Chen's lead."

"So what should I actually call Big Brother Tan?" The Little Girl looked conflicted, not understanding many social nuances.

Zhao Hui smiled. He had protected his daughter too well; she indeed didn't delve deeply into social intricacies. "Since you've already called him 'Big Brother,' just keep calling him that in the future."

He knew a bit about Tan Zongming's background.

Compared to Su Jianren's father, who had been a leader at the People's Bank, it was only stronger, not weaker.

Zhao Hui was quite happy for his daughter to have such a 'Big Brother.'

He himself naturally wouldn't try to curry favor, but he was glad for his daughter to have another influential connection.

Zhao Hui had become deputy branch manager at thirty-five; he had plenty of pride in his bones.

But it was also frustrating; he had been in this position for over a decade.

"Oh, okay," Zhao Rui nodded solemnly, thinking about what gift to bring Old Tan next time.

They said you should bring a gift when visiting; she hadn't this time, so she needed to remember to make up for it next time.

"Who is that Zhen Zhen?" Zhao Hui asked again.

"Sister Zhenzhen?" Zhao Rui grabbed Zhao Rui's arm. "Dad, let me tell you, Sister Zhenzhen is amazing. She has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford and now works as a researcher at an institute." She pointed at the ceiling. "She lives right above us in 2203."

"Oh, really?" Zhao Hui was also happy. It was clear his daughter had a great time today.

What Zhao Hui didn't know was that his little darling deliberately omitted the part where Chen Cheng stood up for her and crashed into four cars.

The Little Girl thought that if she mentioned it, her dad would definitely go find Big Brother Chen and scold him.

If that happened, what if Big Brother Chen didn't take her out to play anymore?

So, the Little Girl didn't mention a word about going to the racetrack to drive, let alone Chen Cheng ramming four luxury cars.

The Little Girl nodded vigorously, full of admiration. "I want to be like Sister Zhenzhen in the future, get a Ph.D.!"

Zhao Hui was naturally happy that his daughter was ambitious. "Good, our Rui Rui can study as long as she wants."

"Mm-hmm, Big Brother Chen said if I have any problems with my homework, I should go ask Sister Zhenzhen. When Sister Zhenzhen is home, I'll go to her place to do my homework."

Hearing this, Zhao Hui's mouth twitched. He was starting to get a sense of his junior brother's personality.

What a masterstroke of deflection.

Stringing the events together, Zhao Hui could at least determine that, for now, this junior brother had no ill intentions in getting close to Rui Rui.

"Okay," Zhao Hui nodded. "Remember to bring some fruit or snacks when you visit someone's home for the first time."

"By the way, do you still have money? If not, should Dad transfer you some more?"

"No need, I still have money," Zhao Rui waved her hand.

"Alright then, go wash up," Zhao Hui smiled, glancing at his watch.

...

"Who told you to bring the car back?" Old Tan looked at Yao Bin, frowning.

He knew Chen Cheng well—he was like the Mythical creature known for attracting wealth. Once a car was driven away by him, how could it possibly be returned?

...

On his way over, Yao Bin's friends had already texted him. The car was registered under an investment company, which was ultimately traced back to having countless connections with Tan Zongming.

Now, his suspicions were confirmed. He had kicked an iron plate—no, more like an iron mountain.

He spoke very cautiously, recounting the incident exactly as it happened, not daring to add or embellish a single detail.

"Brother, what's your name?" Once he understood the situation, Tan Zongming's face broke into a warm smile. He patted Yao Bin's shoulder like a good big brother looking out for his own.

Having such a big boss like Tan Zongming being so familiar with him made Yao Bin feel somewhat proud. He responded with a smile, "Mr. Tan, my name is Yao Bin. You can call me Little Yao. Yao Guangzhi is my dad."

Yao Guangzhi, Yao Guangzhi... Tan Zongming sneered inwardly. I hadn't even asked, and you spilled everything. Being so obedient makes it almost embarrassing to punish you.

"Oh, so it's Little Yao. Since you've brought the car, you should head back quickly." Tan Zongming raised his wrist to check his watch. "It's getting late. Mr. Yao must be worried."

"Ah, yes. Then, Mr. Tan, you should rest early too. I'll take my leave." Yao Bin smiled, his heart surging, mostly with excitement.

Old Tan smiled and nodded. "Alright, off you go."

After seeing Yao Bin off, Tan Zongming called his driver over. "Take the car to Ode to Joy and deliver the keys to Chairman Chen."

...

Chen Cheng looked at the keys handed to him by Old Tan's driver, feeling a bit bewildered. In all honesty, he hadn't intended to keep Old Tan's 918.

Well... he really hadn't planned on returning that alphard, though.

"Uh... Driver Zhong, then you can drive the alphard back," Chen Cheng said, handing over the alphard's keys to the driver.

"Chairman Chen, Mr. Tan only instructed me to deliver the car," Driver Zhong said, looking somewhat troubled.

Chen Cheng shrugged. What else could he do? It's better to accept graciously than refuse politely.

"Then, Driver Zhong, you can head back. Thank my big brother for me."

Driver Zhong nodded and turned to leave the 23rd floor.

After returning, Chen Cheng spent a little while on the 22nd floor before going back to 2301. He Minhong had said something to Yu Chuhui. Now, Yu Chuhui was on a video call, trying to trick her mother into coming to Shanghai.

While the girls on the 22nd floor were busy concocting the scheme to trick Mother Yu into coming to Shanghai, Chen Cheng left. He still had today's summary information to review.

Chen Cheng sat at his desk, looking at information from around the world on his computer, occasionally looking down to jot notes on his tablet.

This was a habit he'd developed over the years. He always analyzed events and predicted their future impact to decide if he needed to adjust his investment portfolio.

Chen Cheng stared at the financial statements of a company listed on New Home in less than two years since its founding, a scornful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Lucky?"

He typed on the keyboard, sending a message to Hong Kong. "Is that matter ready?"

[All in position]

[Then begin]

Just as Chen Cheng released the keyboard, about to call Anna for a long chat, his phone rang first.

Chen Cheng picked up his phone and looked—it was actually Andy.