Chapter 516: 512. The Arrival of Huang Lin (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

"He lives here?" Cheng Mei looked at this residential complex, somewhat dazed.

The environment of this complex was far from what she had imagined; she had not expected Zhang Ran to live in just such an upper-middle-class complex—not too bad, but certainly not very good either.

At the very least, compared to Zhang Ran's net worth, such a complex was completely inconsistent with his status.

Huang Lin, however, was not surprised. "Zhang Ran was never a person who liked to indulge himself, or perhaps his idea of indulgence is different from others."

At this moment, Huang Lin looked a bit aged, yet also appeared much more relaxed, as if he had set down a heavy burden.

After filling out the registration form at the entrance, Huang Lin walked in with Cheng Mei; they had not notified Zhang Ran.

Walking inside the complex, Cheng Mei felt somewhat conflicted, but after looking at the relaxed-looking Huang Lin beside her, she didn't know why, but she felt this was actually quite good.

After all these years, Huang Lin was truly too tired, and she was tired too.

Cheng Mei was never a "strong woman" by nature; for all these years, she had simply grown accustomed to staying by her husband's side, so she had always forced herself to learn.

To share some of the pressure for her husband.

Especially in the last year, she had watched with her own eyes as her husband often couldn't sleep, having to take sleeping pills to drift off.

Now it was fine; having decided to concede, he was also relaxed, and there was no need to worry about the future.

Neither of them was in a hurry, just walking slowly through the complex, looking for Zhang Ran's home.

When they finally found Zhang Ran, they were both stunned, because at this moment, Zhang Ran was leisurely playing chess with a group of old men, arguing a few sentences from time to time, without a hint of tension.

It was as if the business war outside that was about to turn the world upside down had nothing to do with him at all.

Seeing this situation, the corners of Huang Lin's mouth twitched involuntarily, and then he smiled helplessly.

Huang Lin walked to Zhang Ran's side; He Yong, watching from the sidelines, did not stop him, though there was a look of surprise in his eyes.

"Eat!" Zhang Ran used a cannon to trade for the opposite old man's chariot, a smug look appearing on his face, feeling he had made a huge profit.

The old man opposite was indeed even more smug, but just as his hand was raised, he heard a voice say, "He is clearly baiting you; you can't move like that."

As he spoke, he reached over and helped Zhang Ran make a move.

"You fellow, how can you be so ignorant? Don't you know that spectators shouldn't speak?" the old man said angrily at once.

Zhang Ran also turned his head to look and discovered it was Huang Lin. There was not the slightest look of surprise on his face, and he just smiled, though he said, "Right, spectators shouldn't speak; you fellow really don't understand anything."

Although he said that, Zhang Ran did not move the chess piece he had already placed back to its original position.

As soon as the old man saw Zhang Ran's expression, he knew that Zhang Ran was definitely going to regret this move, and it wouldn't matter who came; he was so angry he was huffing and puffing.

Watching Zhang Ran's shameless appearance, Huang Lin felt speechless, thinking he really had been meddlesome.

Immediately, Zhang Ran ignored Huang Lin and continued playing chess with a smile. It was precisely because of this move that Zhang Ran saw through the old man's strategy, and not long after, he delivered a checkmate!

The old man was so angry he couldn't even speak properly. "I'm not playing with you anymore; you fellow have no chess etiquette at all."

"Heh heh, let's not call the kettle black; when you regretted your move yesterday, did I say anything?" Zhang Ran said with a chuckle.

"That wasn't me regretting a move."

"Right, right, right, when you regret a move it's not called regretting a move, but when we do it, it's a lack of chess etiquette. Old brother, were you a professional contrarian before you retired?" Zhang Ran said, his tongue sharp.

"You fellow, I'm leaving, I'm not playing with you." The old man stood up and left directly.

No one on the side tried to persuade him; such scenes happened almost every day. Zhang Ran was not polite to them at all, and his mouth was never forgiving.

Zhang Ran also stood up and said deliberately, "I'm not playing either; who are you trying to scare?"

Upon hearing Zhang Ran say this, the old man immediately turned around and sat back down. "Hurry up and move; I get annoyed just seeing you."

Zhang Ran chuckled and didn't retort, saying to Huang Lin, "Let's go, come to my place and sit for a while."

After finishing, he saw Cheng Mei and immediately smiled. "Little Sister Cheng is here too?"

"Hmph hmph, are you surprised that I'm here?" Cheng Mei huffed.

Zhang Ran said, "I was actually hoping you'd come. What, are you worried your Old Huang is being bullied?"

Cheng Mei curled her lips and said, "Who's worried about him? I just wanted to see what you've become after all these years."

"Heh heh." Zhang Ran chuckled twice, the meaning quite clear.

Huang Lin said speechlessly, "Alright, are you not surprised at all that I'm here?"

"Surprised by what? You're not a fool; if you didn't come at this time, you wouldn't have another chance," Zhang Ran said indifferently.

Huang Lin's expression stalled; it was just as he thought. This was the final chance Zhang Ran was giving him. If he chose to resist to the end this time, then what he would face would likely not be a good outcome.

"So fragrant, this place of yours is nice. What variety are these flowers? How come I've never seen them?" As Cheng Mei walked near Zhang Ran's home, she smelled a faint fragrance, which felt quite refreshing to the heart and soul.

Zhang Ran smiled and said, "They are some varieties I cultivated myself."

"How about you bring some back for me later?" Cheng Mei said.

"No," Zhang Ran said crisply and clearly.

"You're still as stingy as ever," Cheng Mei pouted.

"If I were stingy, I wouldn't have given your husband such great authority back then," Zhang Ran huffed.

Cheng Mei was not polite either. "At that time, besides Old Huang, who else could have taken on that role?

And don't make it sound so nice; you were just being lazy. If you have the ability, manage it yourself."

"Hmph, I won't lower myself to the level of a woman like you," Zhang Ran cold-snorted, though these words actually touched his heart.

The main reason really was because he was lazy, but that was only part of it; more importantly, Zhang Ran had too many industries, and he simply couldn't manage them all.

But saying so much to Cheng Mei was really just bickering; there was no need to take it too seriously.

"Xiao Lu, go buy some meat; we have guests at home today," Zhang Ran said to Liu Lu, who was tidying up in the living room.

Liu Lu nodded, greeted Huang Lin and the others, and went out to buy groceries.

She had long since become accustomed to new guests coming to the house, and she didn't recognize Huang Lin and his wife; Liu Lu had never been very concerned about business matters.

After sitting down, Zhang Ran poured tea for the two of them and said, "Taste the flavor of this tea."

Huang Lin really did taste it carefully, but just as he was about to speak, Zhang Ran waved his hand at him and said, "Don't bother speaking; do you think I don't know whether you can drink tea? Little Sister Cheng, I know you're an expert at tea tasting; why don't you tell me about it?"