Chapter 205: Meeting Old Friends

"This whole place is yours?" I asked Third Brother in disbelief.

Third Brother smiled, patted my shoulder, and said, "How about it? Pretty impressive, right? Let me tell you, I paid a heavy price to get this place back then. Now, this entire building is mine!"

Hearing this, I was stunned. "What? The whole building is yours?"

Third Brother nodded smugly. It was clear he wasn't lying. I never expected Third Brother to be this powerful now. An entire building—that isn't something you can get just by having status. It requires financial power, influence, connections, and status. Lacking even one of those would make acquiring this place impossible.

"Damn, that's amazing, truly impressive. This must have cost a fortune, right?" I exclaimed.

"Not that much, just a few tens of millions. After all, our city is a fourth or fifth-tier city, so property prices are cheap. If it were a big city, that definitely wouldn't be enough!" Third Brother said with a smile.

I couldn't help but marvel inwardly. He spoke of tens of millions so casually. What on earth had Third Brother obtained over these past few months? It felt like he had acquired a cheat code or a protagonist's halo; he was just impossibly impressive.

"What exactly happened to you these past few months? You've suddenly become so powerful!"

"Let me tell you, I earned all of this through hard work. I'll tell you about it slowly. Let's go inside first!"

Third Brother led me and Xiaohuan into his villa. The interior was quite normal, not overly luxurious—perhaps because I had lived in the Zheng family home for a while. Still, it was much better than where we had lived before, and it was exceptionally spacious. The bottom floor was even a private club, reserved for eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Xiaohuan stayed upstairs, while Third Brother and I drank and chatted downstairs. Through my conversation with him, I learned that ever since I fell into the moat, they had searched for me for a long time but found no news. Eventually, they assumed I was mostly likely dead. Afterward, Sister Shuang and Sister Ling began supporting Third Brother’s rise to power, making him the boss over Huang Laohu and Chen Ling. As for the Li family, because they were always extremely cautious in their dealings, no evidence could be found against them. Coupled with the Li family’s incredibly strong network of connections, they had been flourishing over the past few months. If it weren't for Sister Ling and Sister Shuang backing him, Third Brother likely would have had a hard time.

Currently, the situation in S City was divided into three factions. The first was led by the Li family, the second was the faction led by Third Brother, backed by Sister Shuang and Sister Ling, and the rest were ordinary families who hadn't picked a side. These families generally chose neutrality to protect themselves.

Third Brother told me that after my accident, Sister Shuang and Sister Ling had gone mad for a long time, taking many people to cause trouble for the Li family. They had nearly crippled the Li family. If it weren't for some incident, the Li family probably wouldn't be as glorious as they were now. As for what that incident was, Third Brother didn't know either; he only knew that someone had specifically helped the Li family, and the other party's strength made both Sister Shuang and Sister Ling very wary.

Hearing that Third Brother was in opposition to the Li family, I felt even more suspicious. I believed Third Brother couldn't possibly be unaware of the things Huang Laohu had done. After all, that guy had many experts under him who were potion-enhanced; Third Brother must have known, yet he didn't stop it, allowing Huang Laohu to act that way. What exactly was his goal?

I didn't ask these questions directly to Third Brother because he had changed. His eyes were filled with power, money, and such factors. I felt it was better to investigate these things secretly myself. Besides, things weren't necessarily as they described; only what I saw with my own eyes was the truth.

I chatted with Third Brother for a while and then returned to my room. In this place, I discovered that there were many people monitoring the room where Xiaohuan and I were staying. Most of these people were Third Brother’s men. Why would Third Brother send people to watch us? Was there something he was uneasy about? I suddenly felt that the reason Third Brother kept us here might just be to make it easier to monitor us. And the person who betrayed me back then might even have been Third Brother. I couldn't afford to let my guard down here.

It seemed that in a couple of days, Xiaohuan and I would need to find another place to stay. Even though this was Third Brother’s place, I still didn't feel at ease. If it were just me, it wouldn't matter, but I couldn't let Xiaohuan be in the slightest bit of danger—not even a one-percent chance.

I also told Third Brother to invite everyone over tomorrow for a gathering. After all, I hadn't seen everyone in a long time, and I truly missed them.

As I looked outside, I suddenly spotted a figure that left me in disbelief. It was Zhang Yinuo. However, she was currently talking to Third Brother. Third Brother’s mood seemed very agitated at that moment, and he kept saying something to Zhang Yinuo. I even saw Third Brother try to hug her, but he was pushed away by Zhang Yinuo.

Seeing this scene, I was stunned. Since when were Third Brother and Zhang Yinuo this close? Were they trying to date?

Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered that before my accident, Third Brother’s expression and the way he addressed Zhang Yinuo seemed to have changed. Could it be that Third Brother had fallen for Zhang Yinuo? The two of them seemed to be having an argument; Zhang Yinuo angrily threw something on the ground and then left in a rage. It looked like Third Brother’s confession had failed, though that wasn't certain—after all, it was all my speculation, and I hadn't heard a word of what they actually said.

The next day at noon, I brought Xiaohuan to a hotel near our old school. When I arrived with Xiaohuan, I found that Third Brother had already arrived. Third Brother came over to greet us and said to me, "Fourth, you're finally here. Let me tell you, the girls have been waiting impatiently for you!"

Hearing Third Brother’s words, I asked suspiciously, "Who? Didn't I only tell you to find the few people we used to hang out with?"

Walking inside, I discovered that Zhang Yinuo and Chen Ling were both there. When they saw me arrive, they both ran over excitedly. If there hadn't been other people around, they probably would have hugged me. Zhang Yinuo remained as cold and detached as ever, saying nothing, but one could see from her eyes that she was very emotional.

As for Chen Ling, that girl rushed straight over, tears streaming down her face as she hugged me and cried, "Brother Yang Yun, you scared me to death! I thought I would never see you again!"

When Xiaohuan saw Chen Ling rush over to hug me, her face puffed up in anger. She ran over, quickly pushed Chen Ling away, and snapped, "What are you doing? How can you be so shameless, hugging someone the moment you see them? You really have no shame!"