From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 134: Chapter 108: Officially Stepping into the Circle

As evening fell, Su Chen stood at the gate of his courtyard house, looking out.

Soon, two Hongqi sedans came into view.

Su Chen was quite familiar with these cars. The one in the lead belonged to Xiao Chen—he’d ridden in it several times. The one behind it was Jiang Yang’s, which he had seen when they’d had dinner before.

’I didn’t expect Jiang Yang and the others to come too,’ Su Chen thought. ’Now I’m really curious who this friend Brother Cheen mentioned is!’

How could he not be curious? Anyone Xiao Chen would personally bring along, with Jiang Yang and the others as company, couldn’t be a simple character.

The cars pulled smoothly into the temporary parking spots at the entrance.

The doors opened, and five people got out. Su Chen was very familiar with three of them, but the two who emerged from Xiao Chen’s car were a surprise.

One was plump, the other was skinny.

The slightly heavier man looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven. He had a faint smile on his face that made him seem exceptionally friendly; seeing him gave Su Chen the false impression that he could open his heart to him.

’He’s no simple character,’ Su Chen muttered to himself.

The other one was different. His face was expressionless, but his gaze was incredibly sharp. When Su Chen met his eyes, he felt like he was being watched by a hawk.

"Yo, you actually came out to greet us personally. I’m a little flattered!" Xiao Chen teased, looking at Su Chen by the gate.

Jiang Yang chimed in, "Yeah, you never did this when we came before. Talk about playing favorites!"

"Hahaha~ I heard Brother Cheen was bringing a friend over. If I didn’t come out to greet you, I was afraid he’d make things difficult for me later!"

"Do I seem like that petty of a person? As punishment, you’re not allowed to drink later!" Although Xiao Chen said this, a flash of amusement crossed his eyes.

"Brother Cheen, how is that a punishment? That’s obviously a reward for him!" Chen Yao said with a laugh.

They all knew Su Chen couldn’t hold his liquor well and was always the first one to pass out at the table. Forbidding him from drinking was just looking out for him.

Su Chen chuckled and turned his gaze to the two men beside Xiao Chen. "Brother Cheen, and these two are?"

Xiao Chen clapped the plump man next to him on the shoulder. "This fatty’s name is Ye Feng, from Peng City. Don’t be fooled by his honest-looking face—he’s got a wicked mind. You better keep an eye out around him. If he sells you out, don’t come crying to me!"

Hearing this, the plump Ye Feng swatted his hand off his shoulder in mock annoyance. "Don’t listen to Brother Cheen’s nonsense. You can tell just by looking at me what an honest person I am!"

With that, Ye Feng stepped forward and formally extended his right hand. "Hello, Ye Feng. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please look after me in the future!"

Su Chen immediately shook it. "Hello, Su Chen. I’m afraid I’ll be the one needing you to look after me!"

Ye Feng was about to chat with Su Chen a bit more when Xiao Chen’s voice cut in...

"Alright, Feng-zi, you two can talk later. Let me finish the introductions first!"

Ye Feng nodded, but his eyes darted back and forth between the tall, skinny man beside Xiao Chen and Su Chen. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, as if he were getting ready for a show.

Before Xiao Chen could make the introduction, the tall, skinny man stepped forward and introduced himself in a somewhat cold tone: "Northwest, Yun Tianqi."

’Yun Tianqi?’ Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat. ’So the man himself has come knocking!’

He shot a sidelong, slightly resentful glance at Xiao Chen, only to find him with his arms crossed, looking ready to watch a play unfold.

"Hello, Su Chen!" Su Chen could only force himself into the situation. ’As long as I’m not the one who’s embarrassed, it’s fine!’

"Hmph, you’ve got some nerve, kid," Yun Tianqi said, shaking Su Chen’s hand.

Seeing his confrontational stance, Su Chen couldn’t possibly back down. He replied in a nonchalant tone, "So-so. Third best in the world."

"Uh..." At these words, not only Yun Tianqi, but also Xiao Chen, Ye Feng, and the others behind him were dumbfounded.

"Hahahaha! Gutsy. I like it. From now on, we’re all friends!" Yun Tianqi suddenly burst out laughing.

The scene left Su Chen stunned. He was acting so cold and aloof a moment ago, so how had he suddenly become so enthusiastic?

Just then, Xiao Chen walked over and draped an arm around Su Chen’s shoulder. "Don’t mind him, that’s just how he is. He usually looks all high and mighty, but once you get to know him, he’s a total clown!"

Su Chen shot a surprised glance at Yun Tianqi, silently complaining to himself, ’Looks really can be deceiving. The one who seems friendly is secretly full of schemes, and the one who looks cold and aloof is actually a chatterbox...’

"Brother Cheen, everyone, please come in!"

Su Chen led the group into the courtyard house.

As they reached the front courtyard, Xiao Chen and the others noticed a lot of bustle coming from the kitchen area, where many chefs in white uniforms were busy at work.

Fortunately, the kitchen was exceptionally large, featuring not only a Chinese-style kitchen but also a Western-style one, a pastry station, and more, all within a space of sixty square meters. It had been specially renovated.

"Su Chen is quite attentive," Yun Tianqi muttered under his breath. He could tell that the chefs were all top-tier masters from five-star hotels.

Passing through the Hanging Flower Gate and entering the central courtyard, even Ye Feng and Yun Tianqi, who had seen their fair share of the world, were stunned to see the scenery of a Suzhou Garden within a courtyard house.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I never would have thought you knew how to live so well, Su Chen. You’ve moved a whole Suzhou Garden into your courtyard!" Ye Feng teased with a smile.

Su Chen couldn’t accept such praise, not when the original owner was standing right next to him.

"This isn’t my good taste. I just inherited what Brother Cheen had already set up!"

"Hm?" Ye Feng and Yun Tianqi’s gazes snapped in unison toward Xiao Chen.

Seeing this, Xiao Chen briefly explained the whole story, and the two of them nodded in thought.

"Su Chen, I brought you a gift! This is wine aged for forty years. There are only twelve bottles in existence, and I brought six for you. Come and get it, I’m exhausted!" Jiang Yang, who was trailing at the back, said, panting.

Only then did Su Chen notice that Jiang Yang was holding a box, but for some reason, it looked incredibly familiar.

"Forty-year vintage? Jiang Yang, something’s not right with you. You didn’t mention this at dinner last night. You were hiding it, weren’t you, you little sneak!" Yun Tianqi said, annoyed.

Hearing this, Jiang Yang’s heart sank. ’All I wanted was to show off in front of everyone, how did I forget about the drinking part? A miscalculation!’

"Ahem, I only remembered when I was leaving the house. There happen to be six bottles here today, so you can drink your fill!"

Yun Tianqi shot Jiang Yang a look. "Who wants to drink your wine today? I’ve got my heart set on that collector’s edition Maotai!"

Jiang Yang placed the case of wine on the table. "If you don’t drink it, I will. You have no idea how good this wine tastes. It’s really something!"

As he spoke, he patted the case of wine on the table proudly.

Seeing Jiang Yang’s proud display, a flicker of curiosity appeared in everyone’s eyes. ’Could this wine really be that good?’

"Su Chen, hurry and have someone put this away before they drink it all!"

Su Chen, who had been watching from the side with amusement, saw Jiang Yang’s gesture and beckoned to Jiang Hui, who had just entered from the front courtyard.

Jiang Hui hurried over. When he saw the case of wine on the table, he thought he was being reprimanded for not putting things away properly and leaving wine lying around.

"Sir, I’m sorry, it’s my fault for leaving the wine out. I’ll put it away immediately!" With that, Jiang Hui picked up the case of wine from the table to take it away.

The others were completely baffled by Jiang Hui’s words. Left out? Didn’t Jiang Yang just bring this?

From the butler’s tone, it seemed this wine was either very common or Su Chen already had some; otherwise, the butler wouldn’t have said such a thing.

"Su Chen, what’s going on? You have this wine too?"

Jiang Yang quickly figured it out. He had gotten this wine from Sicong. Logically, since Su Chen’s relationship with Sicong was so good, he should have some too.

Once he understood, Jiang Yang slapped his thigh, annoyed with himself for making such a bad move today.

Su Chen saw the confusion on everyone’s faces and said with a smile, "Come on. Let’s go down to the basement, and you’ll understand."

As they entered the living room, Xiao Chen saw two bronze animal heads displayed in the center of the room and stopped in his tracks.

"Huh? The snake and ram heads? Su Chen, how do you have these? Are they real or fake?" Xiao Chen’s voice was tinged with excitement.

Su Chen noticed his reaction and wondered why Xiao Chen was so emotional. "Of course they’re real. The head of the Arno family personally gave them to me when I was in Paris."

"The Arno family!" Everyone gasped.

At their level, they paid attention to major affairs and knew, to varying degrees, about the top families. The Arno family was naturally within their scope of knowledge.

They were known as the number one family in Gaul and ranked among the top ten in all of Europe. For the patriarch of such a family to personally give a gift to Su Chen was astonishing.

For a moment, the way Ye Feng and Yun Tianqi looked at Su Chen became complicated.

Although they had been willing to befriend Su Chen before, with Xiao Chen’s backing, it had been purely out of respect for Xiao Chen.

But now things were different. Ye Feng and Yun Tianqi had already placed Su Chen on the same level as themselves.

Yun Tianqi now understood what Xiao Chen had told him before: befriending Su Chen would only benefit them.

As they came to this realization, the expressions on their faces softened.

Although Xiao Chen, Jiang Yang, and Chen Yao already knew about Su Chen’s background and that he was the largest individual shareholder of the Louis Vuitton Group, they hadn’t expected him to be held in such high regard by the Arno family.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath, turned to Su Chen, and said with great solemnity, "Su Chen, can you give these two animal heads to me?"

"Brother Cheen, if you want them, just take them with you after dinner tonight!" Su Chen agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Their relationship alone was worth more than two bronze heads. Besides, Xiao Chen had helped him unstintingly in the past.

"Alright. Your big brother owes you one for this!" Xiao Chen said with a smile, patting Su Chen’s shoulder.

Seeing Xiao Chen’s reaction, Su Chen grew curious about why he valued these two animal heads so much. "Brother Cheen, is there some story behind these?"

Xiao Chen grinned. "I can’t tell you for now. It’s still under discussion. Just remember that this is very important, and we might need your help later on!"

"My help?" Although Su Chen was confused, he knew that hearing those words from Xiao Chen carried a different weight.

After a moment’s thought, Su Chen’s expression turned serious. "Brother Cheen, call me anytime you need me!"