Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Zha Ce broke out in a sweat. He glanced at the two girls across the table and saw that they too looked utterly indifferent, as if they had never heard his name at all. He could not help sighing inwardly. What sort of people were around this fellow? Wherever he went, girls screamed for him and men worshipped him as a hero. How was it that here none of that applied?

"Just a bit of dabbling," Zha Ce said with a dry laugh. "Might I ask—the lady who hit my car that day—"

"She's not here. If you have anything to say, say it to me." Yang Mo said with some impatience. He had finally managed to sit down and enjoy a meal with Zhou Yanning and Lin Yanhe, and this fellow had to come barging in.

"Then..." Zha Ce was not sure what the two girls across from him were to Yang Juehuan, or how much they knew, so he did not dare ask outright. Otherwise—his identity was a secret to begin with, and by asking carelessly he would only let more people learn of it.

"Then what? Do you have business here or not?" Yang Wenru frowned at Zha Ce. Why was this fellow acting like a woman? And him the heir to an assassin family, no less.

"When will you be finished eating? I'd like to talk to you alone," Zha Ce said after a moment's hesitation.

Yang Ce was truly losing patience. "If you have something to say, say it. If not, forget it. I'm busy eating here. Are you going to say it or not? If not, get lost."

"I wanted to talk about the business in Europe," Zha Ce said in a lowered voice.

Yang Puqi was startled. He glanced at Zha Ce, then said, "Give me your phone number. I'll contact you when I have time."

"All right." Seeing that Yang Ce was finally willing to deal with him, Zha Ce hurriedly handed his business card to Yang Puqi. But at that moment he felt even more certain that Yang Ce knew his identity—because the moment he mentioned the business in Europe, Yang Ce had immediately agreed to talk with him.

"You can go now." Yang Ce pocketed Zha Ce's card and began shooing him away. Zha Ce might be the heir to some European assassin group, but what the hell did that have to do with him? Yang Ce was the heir to the King of Assassins himself—no need to stand on ceremony with this man.

Zha Ce knew there was no point in staying any longer. He nodded, stood up, and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly settled on Zhou Yanning. She looked vaguely familiar to him, and he could not help asking, "Miss, you look very familiar to me. I feel as though I've seen you somewhere. Might I ask your name?"

Yang Xutang was overcome with revulsion at Zha Ce's words and glared at him. "Listen here, little Zha, do you have business or not? If not, get the hell out and stop harassing my wife. That pickup line of yours is far too stale."

"I—" Zha Ce gave an awkward smile. "It's not a pickup line. I really do find you familiar. Forgive my impertinence—is your surname Zhou?"

Zhou Yanning and Yan were both stunned at once. Zhou Yanning had not said a single word just now, and neither Yang Ce nor Lin Yanhe had called her by name. How did this man know her surname?

"How do you know?" Zhou Yanning looked up at Zha Ce, baffled, and frowned. "Do you know me?"

"It really is you." Zha Ce nodded and said with some delight, "Zhou Yanning. I've seen your photo before, at someone else's place. You're even prettier than in the picture."

"Is that so?" Zhou Yanning was entirely unmoved by Zha Ce's flattery. She was only puzzled that he had seen her photo. "Where did you see my photo?"

"Ha ha, a friend," Zha Ce said with a smile. "How about I take you out to dinner some other day?"

"I said, are you ever going to stop?" Yang Ce glared, his eyes cold as he fixed them on Zha Ce. "Are you leaving or not?"

"Leaving." Zha Ce was startled by the killing intent Yang Ce had flashed in that instant, yet inwardly he was astonished. If Yang Ce knew his identity and still dared to speak to him like this—then did he actually know who he was, or had that woman simply been talking nonsense that day?

To be continued.

1045. The New Demolition Policy

Zha Ce rose somewhat awkwardly and raised both hands to show his innocence. "I was just talking off the top of my head. I'm going—right now."

"I won't see you out," Yang Linyue said flatly.

Zha Ce felt rather gloomy. To think he'd actually been afraid of an ordinary young man—and yet Yang Ce seemed to know his identity, which left him itching with unease.

After Zha Ce left, Yang Mo complained with some helplessness, "That guy is truly baffling."

"He is. But I can't figure out how he knows me. Strange." Zhou Yanning frowned. "What did you say his name was? Zha Ce?"

"Yeah, Zha Ce. He's a race car driver—they call him the God of Racing." Yang Yanzhou said, "What, don't tell me you're planning to dig up everything on him once you get back, you computer genius?"

"That's the plan." Zhou Yanning smiled. "The guy's a real pain. He knows who I am—if I don't find out who he is, I'd be at far too great a disadvantage."

Yang Shuoxuan paid it no mind. He didn't think Zhou Yanning would be able to dig up Zha Ce's true identity—after all, Zha Ce would never reveal anything connected to his real identity to anyone or to the media, so all she'd likely find online was information about him as a racer.

After that, no one disturbed them again, and the three ate rather happily. When the meal was done, Yang Ce paid the bill, and he and Zhou Yanning and Lin Yanhe left the hotpot restaurant together.

Tomorrow was the first day of school, so the three needed to get back early to tidy things up. Zhou Yanning was easy enough—after her injury, Yang Ce had already bought duplicates of everything she could possibly need at school, one for one, and put them in the villa. Lin Yanhe, though, had a great many things at home, so Yang Ce had to take her back first.

When they reached the shantytown, Yang Jiyan was surprised to find that at the spot where the demolition company's office had once stood, several prefab buildings had appeared at some point, hung with a banner reading "Demolition Company Temporary Office."

Yang Ce was momentarily stunned. What's this demolition company still doing here? Then it hit him that something was off—because he clearly noticed there were far more neighborhood residents here than back when Ma Fengzi had been around, and nearly every face wore some degree of smile.

A closer look told him why: the demolition company's signboard had been changed to Mingyang. Then it occurred to him—Dekang Real Estate had already passed into his own name. No wonder the residents had turned so enthusiastic. Yang Ce had mentioned the matter to Bao Lin before: the demolition compensation had to be paid in full, not doled out as stingily as Wei Dekang had done. These residents had gotten real benefits, so naturally they were happy.

Lin Yanhe hadn't been home in days and had no idea so much had happened. Seeing the neighbors all hurrying here to process their demolition paperwork, she assumed the company had issued the residents some final ultimatum, and she couldn't help but sigh.

Over the years this had happened again and again, and the demolition company's attitude in the past spoke for itself. Lin Yanhe knew the residents were no match for Dekang Real Estate at all, so her heart ached. "Yang Ce, I don't know how things are at my home. I never thought the demolition company would be in such a hurry—I've only been gone a few days and they've already started tearing things down."

"Don't worry." Seeing Lin Yanhe's anxious look, Yang Jiyan smiled and comforted her.

Naturally, Lin Yanhe didn't read much into it—she assumed Yang Ce was merely comforting her. She quickened her pace slightly, eager to see how things stood at home as soon as possible.

But when she got home and saw the result of the demolition arrangement, Lin Yanhe was stunned. "What? After our house is demolished, we get a duplex?"