Chapter 48  : Xu Ao Of Hai Dong

“Fei-Fei, I have heard that it’s your seventeenth birthday. I had come all the way from Hai Zhou to celebrate with you.” The middle age man spoke scholarly like a university professor.

He smiled to his daughter apologetically and then gave his wife a warm smile. “I am the father, of course, I need to be here for her birthday.”

Auntie Xu’s face softened a little and then said wistfully: “Do you still remember us?”

The middle-aged man rushed to her and embraced her firmly as he whispered some placatory words into her ear. Auntie Xu struggled to break free, but she didn’t try very hard. She then rested her head on the man’s shoulder and started sobbing quietly.

Tears gleamed in Xu Rongfei’s eyes, and she threw herself into the arms of the man and started crying as well.

“He is Fei-Fei’s father? I thought she only lived with her mom.”

“I have heard that her father had abandoned both her and her mother and married another rich woman in another city. Who would have thought that he is back now.”

“Judging by his entourage, he is doing pretty well for himself. I wonder if he is going to help out his ex-wife and daughter.”

A swell of murmurs rose among the guests after seeing this development.

Chen Fan had kept his silence; he looked over the shoulder of Fei Fei’s dad and saw a grizzled old man.

This old man had two muscular arms. His blue veins ran across his forearms, looking like withering dragons in the clouds. His eyes were half closed and glinted from time to time. All the brawny bodyguards looked at the old man with a great measure of fear and respect.

“Another Internal Force user who had reached Phenomenal Success. He is at least as powerful as Linbao and Elderly Man Wei.”Chen Fan exclaimed in his mind. Who was Xu Rongfei’s father? Why would he need the protection of a powerful Internal Force user?

Suddenly, Chen Fan heard someone exclaim incredulously: “Is it just me or Fei Fie’s father looks like Lord Ao.”

“Lord Ao? Who the hell is Lord Ao?” Everyone gaped at the speaker, and none of them had heard of such name in Chu Zhou City.

Having followed Old Man Zhen around for many years, Han Yun knew a lot more than her younger friends. She suddenly exclaimed with a quiet but excited voice:

“Xu Ao of Hai Dong”

Han Yun’s words shocked everyone.

Although no one had heard of Lord Ao, Xu Ao of Hai Dong was a household name in Jiang Bei region.

Hai Dong was a city under the jurisdiction of Hai Zhou City. Hai Zhou was close to other cities such as Zhong Hai and Jin and was one of the most developed and largest cities in the Jiang Bei region. Xu Ao was the richest man in Hai Zhou City if not the entire Jiang Bei Region.

Just like Xin Zhong of Tian He City and Third Lord of the Chu Zhou City, he was one of the most powerful tycoons in the region. Compared to him; Zhou Tianhao was nothing but a pawn.

“I have heard that Xu Ao’s protector was a powerful family from Southern China who had deep roots in the Chinese industry. Because of the powerful backing, No one dared to ruffle Xu Ao’s feathers. I had never thought that Xu Ao was Xu Rongfei’s father!” Li Yichen’s face hardened as he started to see Xu Rongfei as a very different person.

He always considered Xu Rongfei a beautiful doll—beautiful but powerless. She was popular solely because of her looks.

However, if her father was indeed Xu Ao, she had more influence than most of her classmates. No one in Chu Zhou City would even dare lay a finger on her.

“But I know that Xu Ao had his own wife and kids. Is Fei-Fei his... bastard daughter?” Zhang Yumeng spoke quietly under her breath.

“Not likely. I have heard that Xu Ao’s son is only ten years old. He must have had Fei-Fie first, got divorced and remarried again.” Han Yun said as she shook her head.

Bastard or not, it didn’t change the fact that she was Xu Ao’s daughter and it must have been a well-kept secret. Should Zhou Tianhao know that he would never dream of making such a racket in the bar and demanded Xu Rongfie to drink with him.

After a while, the tears on the mother-daughter pair’s faces were replaced with joy. The family of three finally walked to the guests together.

“Welcome to my daughter’s party. I think some of you might have already known who I am. I am Xu Ao of Hai Zhou. Thank you all for looking after Fei-Fei over the past few years.”

Everyone stood up from their seats after they have heard Xu Ao’s name.

Xu Ao looked to Chu Minhui and asked, “Minhui, how is your father?”

“Thank you for asking, Uncle Xu. He is doing well.” Chu Minhui stood up and spoke in a respectful voice.

It was evident that Chu Minhui had known who Xu Rongfei’s father was all the while.

Xu Ao nodded approvingly.

He looked around and asked. , “Who is Chen Fan?”

Everyone was taken aback by the question. They searched for Chen Fan and found him in a corner.

Everyone was convinced that Chen Fan was in knee-deep trouble today.

Chen Fan stood up readily and nodded at Xu Ao, “Nice to see you, Uncle Xu. I am Chen Fan.”

Xu Rongfei pulled an unnerved face and then jerked at her father’s arm “Daddy! Don’t be mean. He is a nice person.”

“I haven’t spoken yet. Haha. I wanted to see him in person because I have heard so much about him that my ears are about to bleed.” Xu Ao jested. He turned to the other guests momentarily and then said:

“I didn’t mean to crash the party; please continue!”

Xu Ao walked to the dining table and sat down at the center seat.

After Xu Rongfei sat to his left, Xu Ao called Chu Minhui to sit next to his daughter. Although he didn’t speak a word to Chen Fan, everyone knew that he was sending a clear message to the boy.

No one spoke a word, and many people hoped for more drama to surface.

Xu Ao was a scholarly man, and he spoke with an even and refined voice. Soon, everyone relaxed and forgot that he was the most powerful man in the entire Jiang Bei region.

“Auntie Xu, I have heard a mysterious Master Chen had shown up in the Chu Zhou City. Is that true?”

As the discussion at the table touched upon recent news, Zhang Yumeng raised a question curiously.

Auntie Xu worked at the TV station, and therefore she would be the first person to know the ins and outs of recent developments in the city.

She nodded and said, “Indeed, I have heard of him.

“I have heard that Old Man Zhen and The Third Lord of Wei respected him immeasurably. Even the experienced Master Qi vouched for his ability. He is said to be even more powerful than the grand masters from Hong Kong.”

“Is there really such a thing as Dharma Spells?” Some teenagers asked curiously.

“I am not too sure either.” Auntie Xu answered with knotted brows. “However, those who had met Master Chen all claimed that he could cast spells and is very good at it.”

Suddenly, Xu Ao spoke up, “As for this Master Chen, I think I can shed some light on the topic.”

Silence fell to the dining table as everyone looked to Xu Ao. He was the most resourceful person at the table, and therefore, it was not surprising that he knew much more than Auntie Xu.

“Have you guys heard of Xin Zhong of Tian He City?” Xu Ao spoke slowly.

“Yes, he is the boss of the Yuan Hai Group. He runs a shipping fleet and owns some assets overseas as well. Quite a resourceful man at least in Tian He City.” Chu Minhui chimed in to show off his knowledge.

“That’s him.” Xu Ao nodded approvingly.

Chu Minhui shot Chen Fan a smug glance.

Chen Fan lowered his head and pretended that he didn’t even see Chu Minhui.

Xu Ao continued: “Xin Zhong had brought with him some hot shot master and set up a con for Third Lord of Wei. However, one of the Third Lord’s men, Master Chen, had seen through the fraud and defeated Xin Zhong’s grandmaster in a battle. ”

“Xin Zhong ran back to Tian He City and lost forty-five million yuan to Master Chen.”

“Forty-five million!” Everyone gasped.

At their age, the most amount of money they had used was in the tens of thousands. They found it hard to comprehend what it was like to suddenly gain so much money. It was nearly half of Zhang Yumeng family’s entire assets.

“So the master Chen really is the real deal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to kick Xin Zhong out of Chu Zhou and extort forty-five million from him.”

“Touche!”

Everyone nodded as their eyes were filled with respect for Master Chen.

On his debut appearance, he had driven the powerful Xin Zhong back to his city and earned a tremendous amount of money. It was as legendary as a legend could get. Even these teenagers powerful fathers and grandfathers paled in comparison with what Master Chen had achieved.

“I wonder what Master Chen is like. Oh, it would be so nice to marry him?” Zhang Yumeng said with an infatuated face.

“What if he is an old man? Plus, what are you going to do with Yang Chao?” Jiang Churan jested.

“Humph, if Yang Chao can be less of a loser, I might stay with him.” Zhang Yumeng said as she gave Yang Chao a hot glance.

Yang Chao let out a stupid smile and scarcely dared protest for himself.

Even as everyone was marveling at the mysterious Master Chen, Han Yun looked surreptitiously to Chen Fan, who was sitting in the corner and lamented.

“How would you react if you knew that Master Chen is among us right now.

“However, I will keep this a secret from everyone. This is the opportunity of a lifetime; I cannot let it slide away.”

The thought had lit up the eagerness and desire in Han Yun’s eyes.