Leaving is not an option, staying is not an option either.
In the end, Ye Chen decided to see what Zhang Jingshan really wanted.After a boring wait on Ye Chen's part, about ten minutes later, a bright red Porsche Panamera pulled up in front of him."What do you want?" Ye Chen frowned, looking at Zhang Jingshan stepping out of the car."Mr. Ye, shall we find a place to talk?" Zhang Jingshan said."I don't think it's necessary. If you have nothing to say, I'll leave. I have other business to attend to," Ye Chen shook his head."Mr. Ye, where are you headed? Let me give you a ride, we can talk in the car," Zhang Jingshan said quickly.Ye Chen thought for a moment."Why not, a ride is free."Without hesitation, Ye Chen nodded, opened the passenger door, and got into the car.As the Panamera began moving again, Zhang Jingshan noticed that Ye Chen still had the brown paper bag he had given him the day before."Mr. Ye, weren't you going to the bank to apply for a card? Why is the money still in your hand?" Zhang Jingshan asked."Who said you need to deposit money to apply for a card?" Ye Chen glanced at him, feeling a bit annoyed.The strange attentiveness from Zhang Jingshan puzzled him.As Chen Yinuo had said, someone like Zhang Jingshan, with his status, wouldn't care about him.Was it because of the string of prayer beads?It was just a business transaction between strangers, nothing more!"Well, I see. Mr. Ye, where are you headed?" Zhang Jingshan shifted the topic."Over to Jinlin Mansion in the West City," Ye Chen answered straightforwardly."Jinlin Mansion? Isn't that the cheapest real estate project in all of Jiangzhou?" Zhang Jingshan said, glancing at the paper bag in Ye Chen's hand, suddenly confused."Are you really planning to buy a property in Jinlin Mansion?""Mr. Ye, even though the prices are low there, the area is surrounded by slums and it's not likely to develop in the next ten years. If you buy there..."Before Zhang Jingshan could finish, Ye Chen interrupted him."Just get to the point. What do you want from me?"Zhang Jingshan had no choice but to drop his unsolicited advice and switch to a more serious tone."Mr. Ye, after hearing your advice, I checked last night in that woman's room and found the pinhole camera, just as you said. It was a trap, a setup to create leverage to threaten me!"Ye Chen was taken aback.Zhang Jingshan solved the situation so quickly?"So, you're here to thank me?" Ye Chen smiled."Thanking you is one part of it!"Zhang Jingshan paused, then added, "The other part is, I want to know how you knew that someone would set up a trap for me?"That was Zhang Jingshan's real intention!Though he knew Ye Chen wouldn't directly answer, he wanted to judge from his expression whether there was any suspicious clue.However, he had no idea he was facing someone who had once owned billions in assets, an eighty-nine-year-old who had experienced it all.Compared to someone like Ye Chen, Zhang Jingshan was like a child, and there was no way he'd be able to spot any hints or tricks.In Zhang Jingshan's peripheral vision, Ye Chen remained completely calm and composed."I've already told you. I saw your aura was off, and had a feeling you were going to run into a romantic mishap. And your Yunshan Network company is full of them!" Ye Chen said, keeping his tone casual."Is that all?" Zhang Jingshan asked. "Mr. Ye, don't you think that explanation is a bit far-fetched?"Had it not been for last night's incident, Zhang Jingshan would have assumed Ye Chen was just a business acquaintance who had given him a prayer bead out of pure chance. At most, it would've been a favor in return for the transaction, and nothing more.But after last night's event, besides the debt he owed Ye Chen for the favor, he was genuinely curious about how Ye Chen knew what was going to happen."Don't tell me you think I'm in cahoots with the person who set this up? That I was trying to use this opportunity to get close to you and plot something?" Ye Chen laughed dismissively."No, no, no! Mr. Ye, you misunderstood! What do I have that you'd want? Just a small network company that recruits live-streaming hosts for e-commerce sales. And my grandfather, a retired former municipal official. There's nothing about me worth your attention! And if you hadn't warned me, I can't even imagine what would've happened next. Not only would I have been ruined, but my entire family would have been dragged down with me! I'm just confused, though, about how you knew there was a trap waiting for me!" Zhang Jingshan quickly explained.He added, "That's all!""Same answer: instinct! If Mr. Zhang insists on digging deeper, I'll have to get out of the car because I can't explain it any further!" Ye Chen replied."Instinct, again! This is nonsense."Zhang Jingshan, who wasn't a superstitious person, couldn't believe such a vague explanation."One person, a stranger, somehow has the instinct to sense a trap waiting for me? Ridiculous!"The car fell into a heavy silence.After a moment, Zhang Jingshan broke the silence."Mr. Ye, aren't you curious about what kind of trap it was?""I'm not interested in gossip, especially if it has nothing to do with me."After a pause, Ye Chen added, "But if Mr. Zhang really wants to share, I'm all ears.""It's the top female host in my company, the one I have a private relationship with. No one knows about it. She set up a pinhole camera in her bedroom and made it look like I was forcing myself on her in bed, hoping to use that as leverage to blackmail me. She wanted me to use my grandfather's connections to help get her ex-boyfriend's younger brother, who's been sentenced to ten years for drug trafficking, out of prison. This ex-boyfriend used her past to threaten her, forcing her to create this opportunity to blackmail me. Do you understand now, Mr. Ye?"Zhang Jingshan spoke, his eyes never leaving Ye Chen's face, trying to read his reactions.But to his disappointment, Ye Chen remained calm and indifferent."Yeah, I understand! Congratulations, Mr. Zhang, for solving this issue and avoiding a potential crisis!" Ye Chen smiled.But inside, he was astonished by the full truth.In his previous life, he knew that Zhang Jingshan had been tricked by a female host named Yi Yi, which led to his family's ruin, but the full details of the story had never been revealed. He hadn't paid attention to the matter years later, so perhaps that's why he never learned the truth.In the calmness of Ye Chen's demeanor, Zhang Jingshan was left disappointed.But this disappointment only made him more curious about Ye Chen.Taking aside the sharp eye Ye Chen had when buying antiques and the warning he gave regarding the Yi Yi incident.Someone who was so composed, tight-lipped, and secretive, surely couldn't be a lazy, worthless gambler?Unlikely!For a moment, Zhang Jingshan felt like Ye Chen had gained a layer of mysterious aura."Enough about congratulations, Mr. Ye. You really helped me. Without your reminder, I can't imagine what would've happened! How about this, Mr. Ye, let's have lunch together to thank you. And I'll introduce you to a friend, the CEO of Huaxing Trading!" Zhang Jingshan chuckled.At first, Ye Chen was instinctively about to reject the offer.But hearing that Zhang Jingshan wanted to introduce him to the CEO of Huaxing Trading, he quickly changed his mind.Not for anything else, but because that was the company where Yi Yi worked.If he could build a good relationship with the CEO, Yi Yi's days at the company would definitely become much smoother."Alright, I'll go, but only after I've paid the deposit for the house!" Ye Chen nodded.At that moment, the Panamera had reached the Jinlin Mansion's sales office, as indicated by the GPS.