At Al-Basma Café, Alex was enjoying his usual moments, deeply immersed in reading one of his favorite books and sipping his warm coffee. The place was peaceful, filled with an atmosphere of comfort, until the door opened and a small woman entered with a little girl beside her.
In a soft voice, the woman said, "Hello, sir. I brought my daughter with me today. I hope you don't mind."
Alex lifted his eyes from the book to see the little girl with big blue eyes clinging to her mother. Her innocence was captivating, and he smiled quietly as he replied, "Of course, I don't mind. You have a very lovely daughter."
The mother smiled shyly and said, "Thank you."
Alex leaned slightly toward the little girl and gently asked, "What's your name, little one?"
The girl replied in a faint voice as she approached him, "My name is Yan Ran."
The corner of Alex's lips curled into a warm smile, and he softly said, "Do you like chocolate milk, Yan Ran?"
The girl paused for a moment, tilting her head in curiosity: "What is chocolate milk?"
Alex was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected a child her age not to know about chocolate milk. He looked at her mother, Xia Wan'er, whose features bore deep sorrow. She said in a voice filled with sadness, "Unfortunately, our circumstances have been very tough. Yan Ran hasn't had the warm childhood she should have had."
Alex pondered inwardly. He knew that Xia Wan'er, the wife of the War Emperor, had lived a life full of hardships before her husband's return, but he never imagined it had reached this extent. Thinking about the War Emperor and how he destroyed her life made him feel disgusted with him.
But he held back his emotions and looked back at the girl with an encouraging smile: "Chocolate milk is a warm and delicious drink that children love. Would you like to try it, Yan Ran?"
The girl nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling like stars: "Yes! I want to try it."
Alex chuckled softly and said, "Alright, sit here. I'll get it for you right away."
While preparing the drink, Xia Wan'er noticed a slight smile on her daughter's face. It was a rare sight that filled her heart with warmth. After a few moments, Alex returned with a cup of chocolate milk and gently placed it in front of Yan Ran: "Here it is. Let it cool a little, it's hot."
The girl began blowing softly on the cup, then took a small sip. When she tasted the drink, her face lit up with happiness: "Oh my! It's so delicious, I love chocolate milk!"
Alex smiled warmly and jokingly said, "Don't call me uncle; I'm not old enough for that. You can call me big brother."
Yan Ran laughed and said, "Okay, big brother."
That moment was filled with joy. Alex gently patted the girl's hair as she laughed innocently. Xia Wan'er felt a sense of relief seeing her daughter smile from the heart. For her, this was more than she had hoped for in a long time.
Xia Wan'er whispered to herself as she looked at her daughter tenderly: "I hope she stays happy like this always."
In the brightly lit streets of Shanghai, Lin Fan walked through one of its luxurious avenues, surrounded by the scent of opulence. With a sly smile on his lips, his eyes gleamed as he gazed at the beautiful women filling the place.
"Hmm, how wonderful it is to be surrounded by all this beauty," he muttered to himself as his eyes roamed the area. "But I have bigger plans; I need to visit the Jiu family, one of the most powerful families in Shanghai. The family patriarch, Jiu Wan, owes me for saving his life when he was in Europe. He will be the perfect ally in promoting my new company, and this will open many doors for me. Hahaha... this will be my launching point to success."
"Tsk, that slut from the Su family was supposed to help me with that, but it doesn't matter. I'll make sure she regrets opposing me."
As Lin Fan walked, he quickly sensed something unusual. He paused for a moment, then turned around.
As soon as he turned, he found himself surrounded by twelve people, all dressed in black with masks covering their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. He asked with a voice full of confidence: "Who are you? And what do you want?"
One of them stepped forward slightly and asked in a dry voice: "Are you Lin Fan?"
"Yes, and what's it to you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the twelve people attacked him together. Lin Fan was a skilled fighter, so he managed to resist for a while, but soon realized that they were professionally trained. The pressure on him increased with every moment, and he began to feel that things were getting worse.
"Damn it!" he thought to himself. "They are professionally trained; if this keeps up, I'll be killed."
Lin Fan gathered his Qi energy inside him and attacked them with force, managing to overcome five of them. But the remaining seven didn't give up easily. They drew their swords and attacked him directly. He tried to defend himself but suffered several serious wounds.
"I have to escape!" Lin Fan screamed in his mind. He quickly turned and tried to flee, but a strong blow to his back knocked him to the ground. He felt intense pain in his body, and when he tried to get up, he discovered that his body had suffered slight paralysis. He focused on his wounds and noticed a black substance seeping into his body.
"Damn it, the swords are poisoned!" Then he saw the sword approaching his leg, and at that moment, he realized he was about to lose his feet. He muttered in despair, "What the hell! Why has everything been going against me since I returned to China?"
As despair crept into his heart, a powerful punch came from one of the attackers, causing the masked person to retreat. The seven turned towards the person who intervened in their affairs and found a man dressed in sportswear, with dozens of other men behind him.
One of them angrily asked: "Who are you? And why are you interfering in the affairs of the Shun family?"
The man in sportswear spoke in a calm and confident tone: "We are from the Jiu family. We apologize for the intrusion, but this person is a guest of our family. We ask that you show some respect and withdraw."
But the assassins from the Shun family did not retreat, knowing that failure in their mission meant a fate worse than death. They attacked the others without hesitation.
The Jiu family's servants were surprised by the suicidal attack launched by the assassins. One of them shouted: "Don't let anyone harm the patriarch's savior!"
The seven Shun assassins clashed with dozens of Jiu family members. The battle was intense and exhausting, leaving only two Jiu servants alive. One of them, panting, said: "Damn them! We almost lost completely."
The surviving servant approached Lin Fan, who was lying on the ground, barely able to move, and said: "Hello Mr. Lin Fan, I've been sent by my family's leader, Jiu Wan, to invite you. I think it's dangerous to stay here."
Lin Fan replied in a weak but determined voice: "Alright, lead the way."
In a spacious room wrapped in luxury, a young man of twenty-nine years old sat, of medium build, with blond hair flowing over his shoulders. Before him stood one of his servants with respect.
"So, has that woman been evicted from the house she rented?" The young man asked coldly, his eyes looking away as if the matter wasn't worth his attention.
The servant replied with a slight bow: "Yes, young master Shen, but she found work at a newly opened café."
The young man smiled slightly and said in a calm tone filled with malice: "Alright, make sure to threaten the café owner to fire her immediately."
"I will, sir."
The young man paused for a moment, then asked: "How are things going with Miss Jiu? Has she agreed to the partnership offer with us?"
"Sorry, sir. We haven't received any response from her yet."
His blue eyes shifted in contemplation before he added quietly: "And has she responded to Shen Han'er?"
"No, sir, she hasn't responded to her either."
A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he said in a low voice: "That's good. At least she hasn't shown any interest in Shen Han'er. I want you to devise a perfect plan to make her agree to our offer. I don't want to see my cousin taking the spot of the next heir to the company."
The servant bowed once more, saying: "As you wish, sir."