Chapter 123: Chu Feng Becomes a Star

The gentleman sat on the sofa, while not far from him stood Mr. Pan, the very man Jack had mentioned. Upon hearing the gentleman’s words, Mr. Pan trembled all over.

“Sir, I know I was wrong. I had no choice—my family urgently needed money,” old Pan said, immediately dropping to his knees before the gentleman. As the gentleman’s trusted aide, the money given to him was enough to buy two houses in the capital city.

“Explain everything,” the gentleman said, seated on the sofa, holding a glass of red wine. His mood seemed unusually good today; he was willing to hear about old Pan’s family affairs.

“My son suffers from a rare illness and needs treatment in the United States. The surgery alone costs five million dollars. The money you gave me, I used to buy property and maintain a mistress. That’s why I took money from your pocket without telling you,” old Pan confessed, recounting the entire story. When he first started working for the gentleman, he was just a fresh university graduate. The gentleman, impressed by his intelligence, took him under his wing.

For thirteen years since then, the gentleman had given him no less than five million annually. Unfortunately, all that money had gone to support the mistress—buying cars and houses for her. Now, with his child ill, he had no funds left for treatment.

“If I’m not mistaken, you still have elderly parents in their seventies, a wife, and a four-year-old son,” the gentleman remarked, as if he had been to old Pan’s home and knew his family situation well.

Old Pan didn’t understand the meaning behind those words and remained kneeling, afraid to look up.

“Rest assured, go ahead. From now on, I will take care of your family. I will ask the big boss to find the best doctors in the United States to treat your son’s illness and will also provide your family with a house,” the gentleman declared.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he moved swiftly to old Pan’s side, seizing his neck and twisting it forcefully. Old Pan’s neck broke instantly.

It couldn’t be said that the gentleman was cruel; rather, old Pan was insatiably greedy and should never have taken the money without permission. Had he confided in the gentleman earlier, he would surely have helped him.

“General, aren’t you going to admit defeat now?” Old Chen cheerfully pointed at the chessboard, addressing Ziyan.

Ziyan was a skilled player indeed; she and Old Chen had battled over the chessboard for thirty minutes before a winner emerged.

“I admit defeat. Your skills truly surpass mine,” Ziyan said with a straightforward disposition, gracefully acknowledging her loss.

“Chufeng, take a lesson. Even a girl can play chess this well. Look at your subordinates—they’re a mess,” Old Chen teased.

Chufeng sighed helplessly. As a doctor working long hours at the hospital, he barely had time to study chess.

“Old Chen, you should get some rest at noon. Staying up too long will wear down your health,” Chufeng glanced at the clock—half past twelve—and noted Old Chen hadn’t eaten yet.

Just as Chufeng finished speaking, Old Wang came in carrying food. Nowadays, Old Wang took charge of Old Chen’s meals.

Chufeng put the camera away while Old Wang set the dishes on the table. He had brought plenty this time, seeing that Ziyan was also there to keep Old Chen company over chess.

The group sat on the sofa, eating together. Afterward, Ziyan helped clear the dishes, behaving especially dutifully in front of Old Chen, like a little sister.

“Chufeng, you’re quite the online celebrity now, almost rivaling some big stars,” Old Chen said as he rested, while Old Wang and the others chatted on the sofa.

“When did I become a celebrity? I haven’t acted in any dramas—how could I be a star?” Chufeng was puzzled by Old Wang’s words.

“Look at this. The moment I first saw it, I thought you must have trained in acrobatics,” Old Wang said, handing Chufeng his phone, where a video was playing.

Chufeng watched it and recalled: the first time Han Xuefang was kidnapped, he rode a bicycle to the abandoned factory. A car almost hit him, but he leapt onto its roof with bike and all.

That moment was caught by a passerby and posted online. Within two hours, it had over ten million views and dominated major websites and trending lists for days.

Many netizens began to dig into Chufeng’s background, but regrettably, his information was classified. They could find very little.

“I think you should wear a mask when you go out. Otherwise, you’d be swarmed like a celebrity,” Old Wang said, now eager to take a selfie with Chufeng and post it online.

“I don’t want to be treated like some rare curiosity. It was a desperate move at the time—just a normal reaction. Why are you all so amazed?” Chufeng’s tone carried a hint of pride. He had improvised under pressure and never expected to be filmed and go viral.

Chufeng, Old Wang, and Ziyan chatted in the room for a while. Old Wang had errands in the afternoon and left, leaving Ziyan and Chufeng alone.

“Chufeng, let’s go for a walk,” Ziyan said suddenly, breaking the silence with a somewhat awkward invitation.

“Uh, alright then,” Chufeng was momentarily surprised but quietly closed the door with Ziyan, and the two went out together.

On the first floor, they ran into Han Xuefang. Seeing her eyes reddened, Chufeng felt a mix of awkwardness and pity. She must have cried the night before.

“Hey! Brother, isn’t this the hottest driver online? His face looks just like him,” a young girl, there for a medical visit, recognized Chufeng but hesitated and asked her brother.

“Yes, that’s definitely him,” the girl’s brother said after scrutinizing Chufeng and comparing him to the video.

“Let’s go get his autograph,” the little girl tugged her brother’s hand and ran to Chufeng.

“Driver brother, can you sign my autograph? I really like you,” she said.

Chufeng had just been about to leave with Han Xuefang when the little girl approached him.

Being called “driver brother” startled Chufeng so much that his legs nearly gave out.

“Little one, why do you call me ‘driver brother’? Do you know me?” Chufeng looked at the girl, bewildered by her words. Was it because of that video?