A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage) novel Chapter 5

Night had fallen.

The watery moonlight glimmered and a cool breeze sang softly through the air.

A young man stood quietly on the misty bank of the lake. His gaze was deep as he looked at the ripples forming across the lake.

Yunzhou was a water city. Since time immemorial, it was known for having more water than land. And Yunwu Lake was Yunzhou city's largest freshwater lake. Because it was covered with mist all year round, it gained the name of "Yunwu" (Misty Cloud).

"Young Master, I have kept you waiting." From behind him came the voice of an old man. It was Han. If anyone from the Chu family was here, they would be shocked to see the head butler of the Chu family, the most favored retainer of their family head, behaving so servilely towards this young man.

"Has he left?" The young man asked lightly as he continued to stare at the lake.

"Yes, Young Master. The family head has already left. And he told me to look after you in secret. So it will be more convenient for us to communicate in the future. Even if we are discovered, no one will find out my real identity."

Ye Fan nodded and spoke slowly: "Han, for my sake, you had to shoulder a heavy burden and endure sufferings at the Chu family. Thank you for your hard work."

"Young Master, you are too kind. If you had not saved me back them, I would have aleady died in the wilderness. From that time onwards, I have pledged my loyalty to you. Never mind ten years, I will gladly endure a hundred years of suffering for your sake. As long as I can help you fulfill your long-cherished wish, I will have no complaints."

Ye Fan smiled lightly and patted Han's shoulder. "Thanks."

"Young Master, words of thanks are not necessary. I owe everything I have to you. And all these years, I have followed your orders and secretly supported various powers throughout Great China. After ten years, our efforts have borne fruit. There's the boss of Yunzhou city, Li Er. And the Wang family of Beiquan city. And..." The old man excitedly recited the result of his hard work to Ye Fan, as if he was a gardener showing off his prized flowers to his master.

"Young Master, when are you returning to the Chu family? I believe, when you return, all those people who have looked down on and humiliated your mother will regret what they did.” Han looked at Ye Fan, a light of hope glimmering in his eyes. He had the air of an undercover soldier who was praying for the triumphant return of his king.

Ye Fan shook his head. "Han, it's not time yet. Operation Spark needs more time. But it's near completion. When I return to the Chu family, this spark will ignite a prairie fire!"

Ye Fan clenched his hand and his eyes shone with an unfathomable light.

Profound respect rose up within Han as he looked at the twenty-something young man standing before him. Most probably, even the Old Master did not think that the "low-born" person despised by the Chu family was a dragon among men.

Ten years ago, Ye Fan was just a teenager, with an air of childlike innocence still about him. But what the Chu family did to Ye Fan and his mother had left him with a temperament beyond that of other men.

During those years at the Chu family, Ye Fan had managed to recruit many servants to his side. Han was just one of them.

After they were driven out of the family, Ye Fan came up with Operation Spark. He had given his mother's dowry to Han. Through the old man and the influence of the Chu family, they had invested in various down-on-their-luck people throughout Great China.

"The best investment is in people!"

"At first, they may be only sparks. Weak and unknown. But I believe, given enough time, the sparks will ignite a fire that will burn across the prairie!"

Most likely, nobody would think that the speech was made by a teenager. When he had first heard the speech, Han had been deeply impressed by Ye Fan's farsightedness and the maturity that was beyond his years.

And now, ten years had passed and Ye Fan's plan had borne fruit. And this deepened Han's respect for Ye Fan. It wasn't just gratitude that Han was feeling, but also deep admiration for the farsightedness of Ye Fan's plan!

"Yes. When the time comes, I will throw open the gates of the Chu family and welcome you, Young Master. I await the return of the king!”

Whoosh~

Chu Wen-Fei then proceeded to a deserted corner to make a phone call. "Dad, have you prepared the betrothal gifts? Make sure they are expensive. The more expensive the better. Add a million and one in cash too. The people from the Qiu family are here. The Chu family can't afford to lose face in Yunzhou. If people talk about the gifts, you will be the one to lose face." Chu Wen-Fei laughed cheekily.

"Piss off, you unfilial son. And don't call me dad!"

"You stole the household register and got married in secret. You really have got guts."

"Since you are so capable, go handle your engagement and wedding by yourself."

A man howled in anger from the other end of the line.

"Dad, I only wanted to give you a grandson, to continue our family line." Chu Wen-Fei replied timidly.

"Screw you! Everyone in Yunzhou's high society knows with the exception of Qiu Mu-Cheng, all the daughters of the Qiu family are petty gold-digging bitches! How dare you marry a woman like that? You have brought shame upon our family!"

"And she wants betrothal gifts? A million in cash? Screw you. Tell this to the gold-digging bitch. Even if I die, she will not get a single cent of our money!"

"Betrothal gift? I won't give a single penny!"

"I don't want a gold-digging bitch like her to be my daughter-in-law! Not even if they are giving her away for free!"

And with a slam, the call ended.

Chu Wen-Fei was troubled. What could he do? He had just promised Qiu Mu-Ying that he would get her expensive betrothal gifts. If he could not come up with anything, there would be hell to pay.