Chapter 196: Which Girlfriend?
Zhou Fan glanced at the time. It was about time for lunch, so he used a hot pot meal to dodge Chen Yao's question.
Sitting in the hot pot restaurant, Zhou Fan first sent a message to Chu Yan, saying something had come up and he needed to take two or three days off. Naturally, Chu Yan was not happy. They hadn't seen each other for so long, and now that he was finally back, he had something else to do!
Only after Zhou Fan made all sorts of promises—vowing that after this busy period, he would spend twenty-four hours a day with her—did she reluctantly agree.
"Pfft! Who knew you were so scared of your wife!" Chen Yao, her mouth slick with oil from the meal, had watched Zhou Fan ask Chu Yan for time off. After he hung up, she couldn't help but sputter with laughter.
"What do you know? It's not fear, it's respect. Respect, you get it?" Zhou Fan looked at Chen Yao in mock disgust, took a napkin, and instinctively wiped her mouth before wiping his own clothes.
For Zhou Fan, it was a very casual, small gesture, but it left Chen Yao stunned.
"Send two skilled guys to the Chen Group by car, then proceed according to the plan!" Zhou Fan first called Zhang Lei, then immediately dialed Fan's number.
"Stop nursing your injuries. It's about time you got some exercise. How's gathering your men coming along? Only seven including you? That's plenty. Help me keep a close watch on the Chen Group. I'm going to lure the snake out of its hole!"
After hanging up, Zhou Fan took a bite of overcooked mutton, thought for a moment, and picked up his phone again to call Zhang Long. "Bro, have you eaten? No, no, don't worry about me, I'm having hot pot with a beautiful lady right now. There's something I need your help with. Find me a few shell companies to attack the Chen Group's stock. That's right, the more ruthless, the better. No need to hide it, no need to hold back!"
"Is all this for that bet?" Chen Yao asked, unable to resist, when she saw Zhou Fan finally start to focus on his food.
"This is all just the side dish. You and I are the main course," Zhou Fan said with a mysterious smile. "Besides, didn't I promise you I'd have some fun with you? Once we finish eating, we'll get started. How about it?"
"Okay. Although, I kind of feel like I'm being used as bait!" Chen Yao agreed readily, trusting that Zhou Fan wouldn't let her get into any real danger.
Chen Yao really enjoyed the hot pot. It had been a long time since she'd eaten out so casually like this.
After leaving the hot pot restaurant, they went to a shopping mall. Looking at the dazzling array of women's clothes with their frightening price tags, Zhou Fan felt a massive headache coming on. Especially since that girl, Chen Yao, even dragged him into a Heart Clothing store!
Fortunately, when Chen Yao went to the fitting room, Zhou Fan escaped to a bench set aside for men and called Qian Rong. "Keep a close watch. In twenty-four hours, we move on schedule. Take control of everything!"
'To beat an enemy, you have to be more ruthless, more shameless, and more unprincipled than they are. Otherwise, you'll be the one who gets beaten!'
"Zhou Fan, come over here for a second!" Just then, a deliberately hushed voice called out. Zhou Fan looked up and saw Chen Yao's head peeking out, beckoning to him.
"What's wrong? You don't want me to come in, do you? Let me tell you, that's not happening!" Even as Zhou Fan said this, he kept trying to peek through the crack in the door, making Chen Yao so angry she wanted to knock him out with a single punch.
"In your dreams! Go get me this same color and style, but one size up!" Chen Yao shot Zhou Fan a furious, embarrassed glare and handed out a red piece of Heart Clothing.
After taking it, Zhou Fan turned and glanced at the dozens of display racks, shaking his head speechlessly. 'Asking me to find it? You might as well ask me to go duel Elder Witch!'
"Excuse me, miss. My girlfriend said this one is a little small and wants one size up, but I can't find it. Could I trouble you for a moment?" Zhou Fan happened to see a woman browsing nearby, so he walked up behind her, tapped her on the shoulder, and asked politely.
But, the moment she turned around, she froze, and Zhou Fan froze too.
"Hey, Sister Chen, what a coincidence! You're here shopping for Heart Clothing too?" Zhou Fan laughed awkwardly, but inwardly he was already cursing. 'Damn it, of all the people, why did I have to run into Chen Yi?'
"Well, well, if it isn't our busy man. Haven't seen you in days, I thought you were on a business trip. Turns out you're out shopping with your girlfriend!" Chen Yi said sarcastically, crossing her arms. "Is this size not right for President Chu? Is President Chu that... well-endowed? I really couldn't tell!"
"Huh? Although this isn't for Xiaoyan, Xiaoyan does actually need a size up too. I can vouch for that!" For some reason, Zhou Fan actually answered her seriously.
"It's not for President Chu? Then which girlfriend are you with? Let your big sister here give you some advice, so that when President Chu asks about it later, I can give her an honest report!" Chen Yi instantly seized on the key part of Zhou Fan's words, her tone turning sarcastic again.