Chapter 678: 674. Children Still Need to Be Educated (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Ran's words caused quite a stir, especially for Tom and several others, whose gazes suddenly turned sharp.

Their families had long sensed that there was a mastermind behind the events of those years, but because they were desperate to maintain their family strength at the time, they had neither the time nor the energy to focus on it.

By the time they had recovered, the difficulty of investigating had increased significantly.

The key was that Zhang Ran had suddenly disappeared, leaving them at a loss.

Over these many years, they had only managed to uncover a few things, but without concrete evidence, they could only speculate.

Now, hearing Zhang Ran put it this way, they instantly understood that it was the Rhode Family pulling the strings behind the scenes back then.

In fact, when one thinks about it, the Rhode Family was the one that profited the most from the events of those years, so they naturally had great suspicion cast upon them.

Back then, because their families were experiencing a generational gap and the family members lacked capability, coupled with their refusal to delegate power to outsiders, many of their family industries were eroded away.

Upon hearing this, Qiaosilin's expression did not change, and a faint smile still hung on the corners of her mouth, "Brother Zhang, have you misunderstood something?"

"A misunderstanding? Perhaps." Zhang Ran said noncommittally.

He then looked at Aidan; this guy had been calculated against by Qiaosilin from the very beginning, used by her as a target.

Qiaosilin had never thought that Zhang Ran was truly foolish enough to notice nothing; if that were really the case, she wouldn't have liked Zhang Ran so much.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Qiaosilin had been preparing for today; she deliberately revealed feelings of disgust toward Aidan, or rather, expressed emotions that had previously been hidden.

Otherwise, with her personality, how could she reveal her emotions so openly, especially to provoke the emotions of those around her?

Plus, with her occasionally guiding him slightly, Aidan, that fool, couldn't perceive anything at all.

Her performance today was meant to detonate Aidan's emotions.

If not for these words from Zhang Ran, she would have flown into a rage on the spot and then made Aidan leave this place.

And at that time, Aidan's heart would surely have grown increasingly resentful toward Zhang Ran; a man's jealousy is no less than a woman's, and at times, it is even easier to go to extremes.

What's more, with Qiaosilin's secret guidance, Aidan would certainly have developed the idea of killing Zhang Ran.

When it came to implementation, it would be impossible for Aidan to find people from the Rhode Family, because many in the Rhode Family looked down on Aidan.

Then Aidan could only find people from his own family; once his family was deceived by Aidan, then regardless of success or failure, Zhang Ran would inevitably be at odds with their family.

These were all Qiaosilin's calculations, but at this moment, they had all become like smoke and clouds passing before the eyes.

Qiaosilin truly liked Zhang Ran, but she also truly wanted to kill Zhang Ran!

These two seemingly contradictory ideas were, in reality, quite normal for Qiaosilin.

Feelings could never dictate her choices!

She had never underestimated Zhang Ran, nor would she slack off just because Zhang Ran had disappeared for twenty-eight years.

The current Zhang Ran once again possessed the strength to compete with them.

Moreover, Zhang Ran's methods were extremely extraordinary; he had simply used Fengli Finance as bait to directly close the distance between himself and the wealthy figures here in Europe and America.

When the time came, no matter how he and the Rhode Family fought, these wealthy figures would only choose to stand by and watch.

They would not be like before, uniting to force Zhang Ran to concede and give up on continuing his revenge.

This was also the reason why Qiaosilin wanted to put Aidan's family and Zhang Ran at complete odds; when the time came, they would have reinforcements.

On the surface, neither of them showed any obvious emotions. Qiaosilin chuckled and said, "Brother Zhang, you really have misunderstood. By the way, I heard that Brother Zhang still isn't truly married; I wonder if I still have a chance?"

Qiaosilin did not care about her image at all and spoke very bluntly, but the more she did so, the more it provoked Aidan.

Being ignored time and time again, although Zhang Ran's words were there, the self-esteem of a man in his heart still made him feel incredibly gloomy.

Zhang Ran didn't look at Aidan either, just smiling as he said, "Whether I'm married or not has nothing to do with you. Not to mention that I don't like you, even if I did, I wouldn't dare marry you. Someone like you might just make off with my Zhang Family's assets at any moment."

Huo Zhiyuan spat softly, "Shameless."

Facing such a blunt rejection and sarcasm from Zhang Ran, Qiaosilin's expression still showed not a hint of shame or anger, as if what Zhang Ran said were merely simple greetings.

Zhang Ran looked at Jiasen and sighed, "Jiasen, I really didn't expect you to choose to do that. Did I do anything to wrong you back then?"

"No." Jiasen said after a moment of silence.

Qiaosilin interjected, "Brother Zhang, what do you mean by that? I don't quite understand."

She then looked at Jiasen, her eyes somewhat cold.

Zhang Ran chuckled and didn't speak further; the reason he asked that just now was for Tom and the others to hear.

Jiasen also reacted, his expression turning slightly ugly, though he quickly recovered.

At this moment, Aidan could barely hold back, but just then, several people walked in again.

Leading them was an old man, aged around seventy or eighty, but judging by his gait and mental state, the old man was in excellent health and didn't look like an old man at all.

Seeing the newcomer, Qiaosilin's brows furrowed instantly, while Aidan felt somewhat uneasy.

"Old Mr. Kuerdun." Zhang Ran greeted with a smile.

Kuerdun was the head of the Kuerdun Family and also Aidan's father.

"Mr. Zhang, I am truly sorry. The child in my family is ignorant and has made a spectacle of himself for you." Kuerdun kept a very low profile.

Aidan's face flushed red at this moment; he was fifty-three years old today, yet he was being called a child, which made him feel nothing but shame and anger.

Zhang Ran also smiled and said, "It's fine. Children, it's normal to be a bit willful, but you still need to discipline him well. After all, a child who always causes trouble for the family also needs to be educated; otherwise, if a misunderstanding arises, that is something no one wants to see."

At this moment, Aidan truly felt like a clown; being called a child by his father was something he could endure, but now that Zhang Ran was also treating him like a five or six-year-old child, he really couldn't take it.

"Zhang Ran, you..." Aidan pointed at Zhang Ran, just about to speak, but the next moment, a slap came across.

"Father, you..." Aidan looked at his father in disbelief.

"Shut up." Kuerdun's gaze was very cold, so cold that it made Aidan feel a chill in his heart.

"Apologies." When Kuerdun's gaze turned back to Zhang Ran, his eyes returned to their usual calm, as if it hadn't been him just a moment ago.