The lake-blue lines of the car's body were incredibly smooth and rugged, with a black roof—it was a sports car even more luxurious than a Lamborghini. If a Lamborghini was a top-tier sports car, this was a supercar.
An Aston Martin Vanquish, absolutely domineering! Although it was only a lower-priced model in the Aston Martin lineup, it still cost five or six million, definitely more expensive than Lu Chen's Lamborghini.
When Brother Kuan saw the sports car, he immediately stopped. His eyes widened: "Hey, isn't that Young Master Jin's car?"
Saying this, he ignored Lu Chen and ran over eagerly, running with a stoop, almost like bowing—it looked really difficult for him.
The other three thugs ran in the same way.
As for Old Tian, after being hit on the head by Brother Kuan, he cowered and didn't move.
The driver's side window of the Aston Martin-Vanquish rolled down, revealing a face wearing sunglasses and exuding a somewhat cold and aloof air. The young man, probably around thirty, possessed a commanding presence.
Lu Chen was slightly taken aback. He noticed a familiar face sitting in the back seat.
Wasn't that Shangguan Mingbo?
Mingbo also saw Lu Chen, his eyes meeting his with a look of hatred.
Lu Chen remained unfazed, offering a mocking smile.
As for the young man in sunglasses, Lu Chen had a pretty good idea. Young Master Jin, could it be Shangguan Jinwang? Zhuang Sicong's formidable rival?
He wasn't wrong.
Shangguan Jinwang removed his sunglasses and, surprisingly, looked in Lu Chen's direction first. He nodded and smiled at him.
Then, his gaze suddenly turned cold as he looked at Brother Kuan: "Little Kuan, what are you doing?"
Brother Kuan, now completely abandoning his brotherly demeanor, acted like a lackey. He bowed and scraped, saying, "Reporting to Young Master Jin, it's like this, we were handling business when...we encountered some jerk who wouldn't listen to reason and tried to stop us. We're settling scores with him! Please excuse the spectacle, hehe!"
In Brother Kuan's eyes, Shangguan Jinwang was a top-tier rich second-generation in Yunzhou City, and a very powerful figure at that, definitely not the kind who lives off his parents.
He absolutely couldn't afford to offend such a big shot; he'd be afraid he wouldn't even have the chance to fawn over Young Master Jin.
The problem now was that Brother Kuan had been so focused on bowing and scraping that he hadn't seen the benevolent smile Shangguan Jinwang had given Lu Chen.
"Blindfolded?" Shangguan Jinwang sneered. "Xiao Kuan, I think you're the one who's blind. You're getting more and more out of touch with reality. Do you even know who he is?"
"Ah...who is he?" Kuan was immediately terrified. Jinwang's tone was strange.
But that guy surnamed Lu, wasn't he from out of town? Didn't he say he didn't know anyone here?
Shangguan Jinwang's next words terrified Kuan even more.
"That's Director Lu Chen, the research director of our Flying Eagle Group's Flying Eagle Biological Research Company. You actually dare to confront him? You know who our company's safety director is, right? Xiao Kuan, are you courting death?"
This sinister voice instantly turned Kuan's face pale, and he was so scared he almost wet himself.
He was a nobody in Yunzhou City's underworld, but he had some connections. Wasn't the biological company's safety director the infamous underworld veteran, Pang Bei?
That's a senior boss that even Brother Kuan wouldn't dare lick his toes with!
And this young man surnamed Lu, at least in terms of position, is on par with Pang Bei—both are directors!
Furthermore, he's from the Flying Eagle Group. Although his surname isn't Shangguan, he's still a member of the Shangguan family.
"Ah? I...I..." Brother Kuan was filled with regret. How could he have provoked such a person? Damn it, why didn't he say so earlier? Of course, Brother Kuan didn't dare ask that question.
What he feared most now was Shangguan Jinwang's retaliation; that was the most direct thing.
He could only explain with a mournful face, "Young Master Jin, I...I didn't know he was your man, I...I..."
Shangguan Jinwang snorted, "My man? Little Kuan, you're wrong. I'm not worthy of having Director Lu as my man. I'm already very happy to be on equal footing with him."
He deliberately raised his voice, clearly wanting Lu Chen to hear.
Shangguan Jinwang then gestured with his chin forward, saying casually, "Also, didn't you see whose car Director Lu was driving? What was the license plate? Your eyes... how are they?"
"I...I..."
Brother Kuan was already speechless. Damn it, didn't I want to check the license plate first? Why didn't I? He looked up and immediately shuddered, a look of astonishment on his face: "This...how is this possible?"
The license plate number was "Fu Y: Z0686." To someone who didn't know any better, it was just a slightly better number, nothing special. But in Brother Kuan's eyes, it represented another high-ranking entity in Yunzhou City!
Fu, of course, refers to Fuhai Province, and Y is the abbreviation for Yunzhou City—everyone knows that.
The secret lies in what follows. The "Z" is reserved for the Zhuang family, one of the four major families in Yunzhou City, signifying their status and power. The "0" indicates that the driver is a top figure within the Zhuang family! The "686" at the end is secondary.
Brother Kuan's face wasn't just long; it was completely ruined.
Damn, just what kind of rich second-generation is Lu Chen?! He's a director in the Shangguan family's company and a top figure in the Zhuang family. Either of those identities is something a nobody like him can't afford to offend, let alone both!
His voice trembled as he said, "Young Master Jin, I...I...I'm sorry, I..."
"Don't apologize to me, it's not true!" Shangguan Jinwang waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I'm just giving you a heads-up, so you don't die without even knowing how."
Then, he looked at Lu Chen again and greeted him, "Director Lu, hello! I've long admired your name, but we've never met before. Meeting you today, you are indeed a man of great bearing, no ordinary person!"
Lu Chen felt a little nauseous, but he couldn't refuse a smiling face, so he took two steps forward and greeted him with a smile, "You must be Shangguan Jinwang, the young prodigy of the Shangguan family, Young Master Shangguan, right? I've also long admired your name. I've heard that Young Master Shangguan manages most of the Shangguan family's mines, and you're doing very well!"
Lu Chen was quite adept at speaking to different people, and he had just heard Zhuang Keluo mention Shangguan Jinwang.
Shangguan Jinwang laughed heartily, "I'm just living off my family's glory, enjoying a comfortable life. How can I compare to Director Lu! Young and promising, I envy him greatly. Although he's only recently become Beibei's research director, I hear he's quickly established himself. Our family holds an annual competition to select the top ten directors in the group, and I'm sure Director Lu will be at the top!"
He paused, then added, "Director Lu, from now on I'll call you Chen! Don't call me 'Young Master Shangguan' anymore, it sounds awful. Just call me Brother Jinwang. We're family, right? I heard Beibei really likes you; she tells everyone she meets that her ideal husband is none other than Brother Chen, haha!"
This made Kuan Ge, standing nearby, tremble with fear.
He knew, of course, who Beibei was. She was a top figure among the younger generation of the Shangguan family, with a status even more prestigious than Young Master Jinwang. And this young lady actually liked this man surnamed Lu so much?
Kuan swallowed hard, determined to curry favor with Lu Chen.
Lu Chen chuckled, "That's good, Brother Jin Wang, that sounds much smoother now."
"Alright, Chen, we'll definitely keep in touch from now on. I'll contact you sometime, and we brothers can have a good drink!" Then he waved his hand, "You're busy, don't worry, this guy won't dare to make things difficult for you! See you later!"
"Okay!" Lu Chen waved back.
And so, the Aston Martin-Vanquish drove away.
Inside the car, after a moment of silence, Shangguan Mingbo, sitting in the back, gritted his teeth and spoke up: "Brother Jinwang, I really don't understand why you'd bother trying to befriend that bastard Lu Chen. He's obviously a traitor; he's ostensibly the research director for Shangguan Bei, but he might actually be working for the Zhuang family!"
After a moment's thought, he added maliciously, "I'm telling you, Brother Jinwang, you really need to find a chance to give that girl Shangguan Bei a good talking-to. Hmph, that girl's got no guile, she's so naive, she might get screwed over without even realizing it!"
Shangguan Jinwang glanced at Shangguan Mingbo with utter contempt in the rearview mirror, then sighed and said, "Mingbo, I'm really worried about your father. What will you do in the future if you continue like this? Beibei doesn't have any guile? Beibei is more cunning than I am, otherwise, how could she have built such a successful biotech company in her early twenties?"
"You! You're not only naive, you're also clueless! You're a complete idiot! Why don't you call yourself Shangguan Stupid? That name suits you perfectly!"
The criticism was utterly blunt, leaving Shangguan Stupid's face turning pale, then red, then white.
Shangguan Jinwang continued, "Can't you see the situation? Shangguan Bei and Zhuang Keluo are both vying for that guy Lu Chen. It's not just because they're infatuated with him, but also because they have the foresight to recognize his talent. You could say Lu Chen can definitely help them go much further!"
He sighed again, saying, "So, I also need to cultivate a relationship with him. You shouldn't offend this kind of person if you can avoid it, but you should try to get them to your side if you can. If you don't understand this, you'll always be a nobody."
Shangguan Mingbo, his ears drooping, remained speechless.
Shangguan Jinwang's voice suddenly turned solemn: "And have you considered that Lu Chen might... be the one who helped Zhuang Sicong win the competition?"
"You mean he's some high-level Xuan cultivator? Impossible! He's so young, how could he be a Xuan cultivator? Brother Jinwang, you must be mistaken!" Shangguan Mingbo immediately expressed his disbelief.
Shangguan Jinwang said grimly, "Mingbo, I'm begging you, please don't disappoint me like this anymore! What's in your head besides eating, drinking, gambling, and womanizing? Lu Chen becoming the research director position that Beibei has been scrambling for so long at such a young age is already impossible enough! What else could be impossible?"