The fleet didn’t enter the city center; instead, it went straight toward the Thousand Water Lake Resort.
The Thousand Water Lake was a freshwater lake of exceptional water quality. It was well known for the Black Emerald Shrimp it produces. Fearing that any industrial development would populate the water, the government had banned any factory to be built around the vicinity of the lake.
Because of its pristine natural condition, many tourists flocked to the lake.
As soon as everyone was out of the parking lot, they saw a man waiting for them by the entrance.
“Brother Liu, you didn’t have to come personally.” The young man hurried to Liu Ten at the entrance and greeted him with an unctuous smile.
“These are your friends, aren’t they. I would let anyone down but you, Zhao Shen.”
The man was Liu Teng.
Like uncle like nephew, he also shaved all his hair and looked just like a younger version of his uncle.
Zhao Shen hurried to introduce everyone to Liu Teng.
Liu Teng was in his early twenties; however, his mannerisms were much more mature than his age, and he carried a stately and impervious quality about him in everything he did.
When Zhao Shen introduced Yang Chao and Mo Hill, he simply glanced over them as his eyes barely stopped on their faces for more than a second. When he was introduced to Li Yichen, he simply nodded, and a smile didn’t break over his face until he was introduced to Chu Minhui.
“Nice to see you all. Let’s move.” Zhao Shen was about to introduce the rest of the group to Liu Teng, but he was cut short by Liu Teng as the latter urged the group to enter the resort.
He didn’t even notice Jiang Tanqiu and Chen Fan.
The expectant smiles on Jiang Tanqiu and Xiao Qian’s faces quickly turned into a frozen awkward one. However, the person who gave them the cold shoulder was so out of their league that they could only swallow down their pride and kept their silence.
A few minutes walk on a path finally led them to a vantage point where they could see the entire landscape of the resort.
“It’s so pretty! Those cottages look just like those at Bali.” Zhang Yumeng exclaimed.
Even Jiang Churan and Xu Rongfei’s eyes turned into stars. It was as if they had entered a tropical island. Palm trees, white sand, bikinis, and hot studs, it was a perfect setting for a romantic encounter.
Liu Teng said proudly as he led the way forward.
“Half our resort is on water and the other half on land. There are twelve luxurious above water cottages and fifty seven themed suits. Every room and cottage have staff on call for room services at all times.
“To top it off, we have both open and indoor hot springs for our guests. It’s perfect for winter.
“Food-wise we have practically anything you can think of. Australian Lobster, Icelandic Caviar, Italian Truffle, or Japanese Tuna, we have them all.”
Lights flickered in the girl’s eyes as Liu Teng went on about the VIP treatment that would pamper them for the next few days. Even some boys were excited about their stay.
“Brother Liu, I wager that this resort cost a fortune.” Li Yichen pushed up his glasses and asked carefully.
“The initial budget was one hundred and twenty million, but in the end, it came up to be just shy of two hundred million.”
“This is an impressive investment! You made Zhou Tianhao’s gig in Chu Zhou City look like peanuts.” Mo Hill exclaimed.
“Hehe, Zhou Tianhao, you say?” Liu Teng burst out laughing. “He is just a lackey of the Wei Family.”
Liu Teng was going to continue to take a few jabs at Zhou Tianhao, suddenly a moment of epiphany hit him and made him change the topic.
“Sorry, I have some other matters to attend to. I will see you around dinner.”
He then left the party without saying goodbye.
After Liu Teng was gone, the guests from the Chu Zhou City started to talk about how impressed they were by Liu Teng.
Liu Teng was only three or four years older than them; however, he was already in charge of a company that was worth billions and rubbing shoulders with other successful business tycoons. Compare to Liu Teng, even the most successful ones of them would have to wait for ten if not twenty years to achieve the same level of success.
“No wonder he is the top young leader of Clear Water.” Li Yichen exclaimed.
Xiao Qian lowered her head in silence; no one knew what she was thinking.
Afterward, the young boys and girls went into their own room and unpacked their luggage before regrouping at the cafeteria.
As soon as Chen Fan arrived in the cafeteria, he was stopped by Jiang Tanqiu.
“What’s wrong with this Liu Teng? He gave us the worst suites.”
“Oh? What is going on?” Chen Fan asked.
Jiang Churan shook his head aggrievedly and said, “I have checked with the front desk, the resort had 12 VIP suites, and 57 themed suites. Chu Minhui and Li Yichen were both put in two of those VIP rooms, and the rest of them, except for you and me were all gotten high quality themed suits. The rooms that you and I are staying at were the worst of all the rooms in the resort.”
Chen Fan furrowed his brows as he remembered that his room number was fifty-six.
Jiang Tanqiu complained, “My room is fifty-seven. The smaller the number, the better the room is. Any room that had a number above 50 were considered subpar in both furnishing and level of service.”
“It’s free; just get over it.” Chen Fan shook his head.
However, Jiang Tanqiu’s face remained troubled.
He had finally able to bring Xiao Qian with him out on a date; however, they had to stay in a dilapidated shed while his girlfriend had to watch other people live in luxurious theme suites.
Xiao Qian was riled up after realizing that her room was even worse than that of Lou Xiaoxiao, much less Jiang Churan and Xu Rongfei.
After everyone arrived at the restaurant, everyone started to praise the quality of their accommodations.
Li Yichen had even offered his number eleven mansion to Jiang Churan; however, his offer was politely rejected by Jiang Churan with a kind smile.
Xiao Qian sat in a corner as indignation and jealousy grew and festered inside of her.
The other couples accommodations were equipped all kinds of appliances; some even had their own swimming pool and sauna rooms. However, she had to stay in a fishing shack and can only access public hot springs.
“I have spent so much effort on finding a good boyfriend, but in the end, I have found a useless loser!”
She looked to the group of dashing young men including Li Yichen, Chu Minhui, and Yang Chao, and then she looked back at her boyfriend and his queer friend Chen Fan who hadn’t spoken a single word with her so far; she heaved a sigh and then shook her head helplessly.
Jiang Tanqiu had noticed his girl’s troubled look; he hurried to drag Chen Fan with him to the food bar to get her some Australian lobster: her favorite food.
Soon after the two left for the food bar, Liu Teng arrived at the cafeteria.
“How does everyone like their room? Is everything alright?” Liu Teng asked.
“We are more than satisfied, Mr. Liu. Thank you so much!” Yang Chao said with an ingratiating smile.
Liu Teng didn’t even acknowledge Yang Chao; he looked straight to Chu Minhui.
Chu Minhui was the only person of the entire group that was worth his time. Part of the reason that he decided to do Zhao Shen a favor was that he wanted to meet Chu Minhui.
Although he was in the reserves of the Cang Dragon unit, when he finally became an official member, he would have at the least the rank of Lieutenant in the Army and have a bright future ahead of him. Most of the official members of the Cang Dragon unit became generals in the military after they retired from the special unit.
Chu Minhui nodded and said, “I am very happy with the arrangement, thank you, Brother Liu.”
“Haha! I am relieved that you say so!” A broad smile finally broke over Liu Teng’s face.
Once everyone sat down at the table, dishes quickly arrived at the table.
Everyone chatted with each other as they enjoyed the meal, and soon, the topic arrived at the recent news in the Jiang Bei region.
“I have heard that in a week or so, The Third Lord Wei is going to host a gathering of all tycoons in the Chu Zhou City. Even that mysterious Master Chen is going to turn up.” A young man put in.
“That is correct.” Li Yichen nodded. He gave Yang Chao and sidelong glance and then added, “The meeting will be held at my friends, Yang Chao’s hotel.”
“Oh?”
After the revelation, people from the Qin Shui city regarded Yang Chao with much more respect in their eyes.
This meeting was going to be a meeting of the most powerful men and women in Jiang Bei, and therefore it only fitted for the meeting to be hosted at the most prestigious venue. The fact that the tycoons trusted Yang Chao and his family spoke loudly of his family’s influence.
“Ah, I remembered that Brother Yang’s family runs a five-star hotel. Sorry that I had ignored you earlier.”
Liu Teng stood up and apologized.
Yang Chao hurried to his feet and held his wine cup with both hands. “There is no harm done. My family really just runs a hotel; it is nothing compares to Brother Liu’s family business.”
“Young Lord Teng, can you tell us more about this so-called Master Chen?” A woman with heavy makeup put in.
“Yea, please Young Lord Teng. You said you went to that tournament and you should have seen him.” Another boy said.
“Brother Liu, why don’t you tell us ?” Even Zhao Shen had become curious about Master Chen.
Jiang Churan put down her chopsticks and looked to Liu Teng expectantly.
Everyone had heard so much about this mysterious master. However, no one had ever seen him in real life.
“Hehe.” Liu Teng put down his wine cup and cracked a smile. “Indeed. I have accompanied my Uncle to Qin Yang County, and I have seen Master Chen in person.”
“What does he look like?” Zhang Yumeng shouted like a fangirl.
“He is very young, probably the same age as us.” Liu Teng said slowly.
“Get out of here!” Everyone was struck with disbelief.
They all have heard that Master Chen was young, but they had been thinking somewhere along the line of thirty or early twenty.
“That’s incredible! Who could be that powerful in his twenties?” Lou Xiaoxiao gasped.
“No kidding! He should have just finished university, yet he is already as famous as some of the most powerful men in Jiang Bei.” Jiang Churan exclaimed.
Her eyes lost focus when she thought of Chen Fan. If Chen Fan really was Master Chen, she would choose Chen Fan over Li Yichen in a heartbeat.
“But that is impossible.” Jiang Churan shook her head disappointedly.
Chen Fan was not Master Chen by a long chalk.
“Master Chen?”
Chu Minhui’s interest was piqued upon hearing the name.
He thought he was one of the most successful teenagers in the Jiang Bei region for joining the Cang Dragon unit at such a young age. However, Master Chen’s achievement had outdone him utterly.
“Boohoo! It would be so cool if I could meet Master Chen in person.” Zhang Yumeng exclaimed as her eyes turned into hearts.
Her admiration for Master Chen was shared with everyone else at the table.
“Damn, if my boyfriend was Master Chen, I wouldn’t have to be treated so badly.” Xiao Qian heaved a sigh. The thought of Jiang Tanqiu’s lack of achievements and ambition made her very disappointed.
However, the name “Master Chen” sounded very familiar to her and she couldn’t remember where she had heard it from.
“Damn… Where have I heard it before?” Xiao Qian lamented.
“He had achieved great success at such a young age, how did he do that?” Li Yichen was taken aback by how young Master Chen could be.
“Hehe, Master Chen’s power is beyond your wildest imagination!” Liu Teng siad with a smirk. “I was right there, beside my uncle, and I saw Master Chen…”
Suddenly, he saw Chen Fan and Jiang Tanqiu at the entrance, coming back from their trip to the seafood bar. Words froze in his throat as he was unable to continue.
“Chen… Chen… Chen…”
After stammering out the same word for a few seconds, he stopped talking altogether.