Wang Yuyan pursed her lips and smiled, shrinking into his arms without saying a word.
Jiang Cheng then looked up at Xu Zhi, his gaze suddenly turning cold. The casualness faded, leaving only a daunting sense of pressure: "Xu Zhi, I originally thought you were just a clown and didn't bother to deal with you. But you really shouldn't have targeted me, and you certainly shouldn't have brought these nobodies to run wild on my territory."
He paused and gently placed Wang Yuyan on a chair.
Then he walked over to Xiao, looking down at his bruised and swollen face, his voice cold: "The people you sent are well-equipped, but unfortunately, you chose the wrong place and the wrong opponent."
Xu Zhi's face turned red and white in turns.
Wang Sheng stepped forward at the right time and whispered a few words into Jiang Cheng's ear.
After hearing it, the smile on Jiang Cheng's lips grew even colder: "Oh? You even wanted to film private videos of me and plant wiretaps?"
As Jiang Cheng's voice fell, Xu Zhi looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His face turned pale, but he forced a bewildered expression.
He stuck out his neck and shouted, "Jiang Cheng, what are you talking about? I don't understand! What private videos, what wiretaps? I have no idea!"
"Don't understand? It doesn't matter." He waved his hand dismissively, his tone very casual. "We are all respectable people, and I don't care to argue with you about this nonsense. Inviting you in today was just to have a cup of hot tea and catch up. If you want to leave, you can leave anytime; I won't stop you."
These words sounded polite, but to Xu Zhi's ears, they made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
What did he mean by "leave anytime"?
The offer to let him go contained no fear of the Xu Family.
Instead, it showed he didn't care about the Xu Family at all.
He clearly had something on him and was certain that he wouldn't dare to easily break out in open hostility!
A chill crawled up his spine. His clenched fists were covered in cold sweat, and the fear in his heart was overwhelming.
Yet Xu Zhi didn't give up and shouted, "Jiang Cheng, what are you talking about? I don't understand! What private videos, what wiretaps? I have no idea! Why did you bring me here for no reason? You even confiscated my phone; this is illegal detention!"
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng turned around and stared at Xu Zhi.
Instantly, a suffocating pressure made his face turn pale.
Slap—
A crisp sound echoed in the quiet Main Hall.
Without anyone noticing, Jiang Cheng had already walked up to him. The slap was fast and hard, hitting Xu Zhi directly in the face, knocking him sideways. Blood instantly seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Xu Zhi was dazed. Holding his face, his eyes were full of disbelief as pain and anger surged together.
But meeting Jiang Cheng's cold eyes, his bones felt like they had been removed; he couldn't even muster a thought of resistance.
Sitting in the Grand Armchair, Wang Yuyan was also startled and stood up, looking at Jiang Cheng somewhat helplessly.
Xu Zhi had just said his father was the richest man in China. Combined with his surname, Wang Yuyan had already guessed Xu Zhi's identity.
The few people on Xiao's side also trembled in fear.
Only Wang Sheng and the other security personnel's expressions remained unchanged.
"Illegal detention of who?"
"Il... illegal detention..." Xu Zhi's voice was trembling, and his volume had dropped significantly. He no longer had any of his previous arrogance.
Jiang Cheng looked down at him, casually rubbing the hand he had just used to slap him with his fingertips. His tone was as cold as ice: "Young Master Xu, don't talk nonsense about things like illegal detention."
Jiang Cheng looked up, his gaze sweeping across the Main Hall, his smile not reaching his eyes: "We have private cameras everywhere here, 360 degrees with no blind spots. Even a fly coming in would be filmed clearly."
Xu Zhi's face turned pale instantly, the color draining away completely.
"We won't do something as cheap as deleting records." Jiang Cheng leaned down and whispered in his ear, his voice very low but filled with contempt. "If you want these records, you can take them anytime. Not just to show your richest-man father, but even if you make them public, I, Jiang Cheng, have nothing to fear."
The last few words were like a knife to the heart.
Jiang Cheng's fearless attitude showed he didn't care about him or the Xu Family behind him.
That fearlessness was like a bucket of cold water, dousing Xu Zhi's last spark of struggle.
After a long time, he was like a deflated balloon, his head hanging low, his voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz: "The Facebook deal... was it your doing? You tricked me into investing tens of billions, and it all went down the drain."
There was no accusation, no roar, only a confirmation filled with grievance and resentment, without even the courage to question.
Hearing this, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Jiang Cheng's mouth, but the smile had no warmth: "Oh? The Facebook matter."
He strolled back to the Grand Armchair and sat down slowly.
As soon as he sat down, Wang Yuyan immediately poured him a cup of hot tea.
Jiang Cheng didn't look at Wang Yuyan but naturally took the cup. After taking a sip, he looked at Xu Zhi with a half-smile. "Young Master Xu, you make it sound like I could force you to invest. From beginning to end, weren't you the one rushing to follow my lead? I didn't force you. Or..." Jiang Cheng's tone shifted, his eyes suddenly sharp, "while you were following me, did you do something shady?"
The color drained from Xu Zhi's face again, left speechless by Jiang Cheng's casual question.
He opened his mouth but couldn't squeeze out a word for a long time.
He naturally hated Jiang Cheng, but he knew he was helpless in this situation.
Although Xiao had been caught, in Xu Zhi's view, things hadn't reached an absolutely uncontrollable state.
As long as the people behind the Xu Family didn't fall, he would be fine.
At most, he was being humiliated and slapped by Jiang Cheng.
He could endure it. Throughout history, which hero who made it big didn't endure?
The King of Yue slept on brushwood and tasted gall, and Han Xin even suffered the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs.
Wasn't that harder than this slap?
As long as he endured this, he would still be a leader among men in the future, and he would kill Jiang Cheng sooner or later.
After weighing the pros and cons, he spoke: "I have nothing more to say. It's late; can I leave now?"
Jiang Cheng turned his gaze to Xiao and his group kneeling on the ground, a cold smile appearing on his lips: "These people..." He paused, pointedly glancing at Xu Zhi, "will be sent to where they belong later. I reckon that even if Young Master Xu returns to the hotel safely tonight, he probably won't be able to sleep."
The people kneeling on the ground all turned their heads to look at Xu Zhi upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Xu Zhi warned them with his eyes again.
Their profession had its rules; they wouldn't betray him.
After all, if they betrayed him, they wouldn't be able to withstand his revenge.
"I came here today just to ask about the Facebook matter; everything else has nothing to do with me."
The mockery in Jiang Cheng's eyes was thick. "Don't understand? It doesn't matter." He waved his hand dismissively. "We are all respectable people, and I don't care to argue with you. Inviting you in today was just for a cup of hot tea. The tea has been drunk, and we've talked. If Young Master Xu has nothing else, please leave."
Xu Zhi felt as if he had been granted a grand pardon, but he didn't dare to appear too eager.
He could only stiffly twitch his mouth and turn around to leave in a disheveled manner.
Once out of the Courtyard House, the night wind blew, and Xu Zhi realized his back was soaked with cold sweat, feeling bone-chillingly cold against his skin. He scrambled into the car, his voice trembling: "Quick! Back to the hotel! No, to the airport! Back to Peng City immediately!"
He knew it wasn't that simple for Jiang Cheng to let him go so easily.
Although he was certain Jiang Cheng wouldn't illegally detain him.
But when he was actually allowed to leave, he became panicky instead.
Earlier, the words letting him go didn't contain any fear of the Xu Family.
Instead, it showed he didn't care about the Xu Family at all.
This meant Jiang Cheng had a better way to deal with him and felt that detention was unnecessary.
After a bumpy journey back to the Xu Family's old residence in Peng City, it was already early morning.
Xu Zhi didn't have time to rest and stumbled into his father's study.
Seeing his father sitting behind the mahogany desk with a livid face, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt.
"Dad!" His voice trembled with a sob. "I was plotted against by Jiang Cheng."