Chapter Ninety-Four: The Disappearance of Two People

"Zhao Fan, Zhao Fan, Zhao Fan, stop right there!"

Wang Ying rushed after him as if she had gone mad, trying to grab him, with Liu Meiyun and Wang Qiang following behind, both of them simmering with anger.

It had been humiliating. Far too humiliating. Zhao Fan had to make amends.

"Stop! Zhao Fan, don't you dare run!"

Wang Qiang quickened his pace and lunged in from behind to seize him.

The next second, Zhao Fan's fist struck squarely across his face.

Bang!

Wang Qiang crashed hard to the ground.

Wang Ying and Liu Meiyun both froze; then the latter flew into a rage.

"Zhao Fan, stop right there! How dare you, how dare you..."

Zhao Fan snapped his head around. His dark, glacial stare fell on Liu Meiyun's face, cutting off the rest of her words in an instant.

"I don't care what schemes your Wang family is plotting. Since the engagement is off, forget about there ever being another chance. Listen carefully: I'm not the same Zhao Fan I used to be. If you still insist on clinging to me..."

His gaze swept over Wang Qiang's legs.

He had not yet finished when Liu Meiyun pounced.

"Zhao Fan, if you dare lay a hand on my son, I'll risk my life to kill you, aah!"

Zhao Fan merely lifted a hand, and Liu Meiyun immediately shut her eyes and shrieked.

Hmph.

A look of disdain flashed across Zhao Fan's face. This was the family that had once driven the Zhao clan to the brink of ruin. Looking at them now, they were nothing more than bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong.

"If you keep pestering me, your son's legs won't need the debt collectors to break them. I'll do it myself."

With that threat tossed over his shoulder, Zhao Fan turned and left.

Wang Ying and Liu Meiyun wanted to chase after him, but Wang Qiang was still screaming in pain, so the two of them had no choice but to stay and check on him.

What they did not know was that Zhao Fan, after leaving, had already made up his mind to have someone dig into the Wang family's affairs thoroughly.

If the Wang family kept its distance and never showed itself before him, that would be fine. But if they dared stir up trouble again, they could not blame him for being ruthless.

No sooner had he thought of it than he acted. That afternoon, Zhao Fan contacted Chen Jianyu and asked him to help investigate the Wang family.

Chen Jianyu agreed at once and said that at the latest, there would be results within three days.

Zhao Fan waited three days, but instead of hearing the results Chen Jianyu had promised, he received news that Chen Jianyu had gone missing.

Because the matter had happened so suddenly, Zhao Fan temporarily set aside any thought of calling the police and planned to ask Dalong and the others from the Azure Dragon Society to look into it.

Ah yes, the Azure Dragon Society no longer existed. Everyone had been taken in by Zhao Fan and was now working in shifts at the two supermarkets.

Of course, Zhao Fan had not simply taken them in for nothing. The wages he paid were worthy of their labor.

When Dalong heard that Chen Jianyu had disappeared, he did not hesitate and went to investigate.

Who would have thought that after this investigation, Dalong would also vanish without a trace.

By now, matters had reached a point where Zhao Fan had no choice but to go to Fang Tiancheng.

He did not hide anything and told him everything from beginning to end.

Fang Tiancheng listened and found it strange. "By your account, the trouble started with the Wang family, but you also said they were ordinary people. Do they really have the ability to keep two men like that?"

Chen Jianyu could perhaps be called careless, but Dalong already knew Chen Jianyu was missing before going to investigate. How could he possibly have gone without taking precautions?

In truth, that was exactly what Zhao Fan found strange as well.

"Whatever the case, those two really did disappear because of the Wang family."

Fang Tiancheng said, "I'll arrange an investigation and help you find them as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

"My duty."

After Fang Tiancheng left, Zhao Fan went to the school.

When their homeroom teacher, He Yongshan, saw him, he gave a cold snort and turned his head away at once.

Zhao Fan coughed awkwardly and sidled over. "Old He, still mad?"

"Hmph!"

He Yongshan's snort grew even louder.

Zhao Fan sighed. "Old He, I'm only doing what's best for myself. You know I was out of school for a while, and I missed too much of the foundation. Even if I go back, it would be hard to catch up. In any case, I'm going to take the national college entrance exam sooner or later. What difference does a year make?"

"What difference?"

He Yongshan exploded. He sprang to his feet and jabbed a finger against Zhao Fan's forehead.

"This year you've still got the spirit to fight. Will you still have it next year? Zhao Fan, you're still patient enough to study now because you still have that will in you. Dare you promise that you'll have the same will next year? In the past six months, how much have you really learned?"

When He Yongshan finished, Zhao Fan fell silent.

Over the past six months, he had studied, but not much.

There had been too many things demanding his attention. He simply could not spare the focus.

He Yongshan sighed and pulled out a test paper. "I won't keep nagging. The more I say, the more annoyed you'll get. Here, do this paper and let me see where you stand."

Zhao Fan: "..."

This was going to be a disaster.

That was what he thought, but his hands were quick and decisive as he sat down and began the paper.

The three major subjects took him three hours. He Yongshan spent less than half an hour marking them, and the score was abysmal.

Smack!

He Yongshan slammed the papers down in front of Zhao Fan. "This is the result of your six months of self-study at home? Three core subjects, and you only passed one: Chinese. Zhao Fan, are you absolutely sure you actually want to take the national college entrance exam?"

In the exam, the three major subjects were the key to scoring. If only one of the three was passing, then this score...

He Yongshan pressed a hand to his chest. "Get out. Seeing you here just makes my temper rise."

Zhao Fan left in silence.

He had not expected that, despite feeling he had studied quite well, his performance on paper would be so poor.

Did he really need to go back to school?

Tap.

A hand landed on his shoulder, but Zhao Fan did not turn around.

Tap.

Again, but still Zhao Fan did not move.

"Boss Fan, you aren't completely crushed by Old He's blow, are you?"

Zhao Fan glanced at Chen Tianyu. "Quit gloating. Didn't Old He crush you too?"

The moment Chen Tianyu heard that, he immediately wilted.

"How could he not? He almost crushed me to death. I was starting to think I wasn't even human anymore."

Chen Tianyu was feeling very low, but he soon perked up and asked about his older brother, Chen Jianyu.

"Is your place really that busy lately? My big brother hasn't come home in several days."

Naturally, Zhao Fan could not tell him that Chen Jianyu was currently missing.

"Yeah, things are busy. I sent him out for an inspection. In short, he won't be back anytime soon."

A flash of envy appeared in Chen Tianyu's eyes. "Really? That's wonderful."

When would he ever reach that level?

Without realizing it, Chen Tianyu said the words out loud.

Zhao Fan rested a hand on his shoulder. "No need to envy him. If you can get into university, your future will be even better than your brother's."

Chen Tianyu gave a strained laugh. "If I could get into university, I wouldn't be standing here envying my brother."

He knew very well that he wasn't smart enough and did not dare even imagine getting into university.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about that. The more I talk, the more I feel I'm wasting my breath. When are you planning to go back to school?"

Zhao Fan was about to say that he had never planned to, but the words died on his lips.

Was he going to throw everything into the fight this year, or wait until next year?

What He Yongshan had said was harsh, but it was the truth.

In the future, Zhao Fan was destined to be busy. He could still spare the time now, but next year might be different.

Chen Tianyu looked puzzled. "What are you thinking about?"

"In two days, I'll go back."