He could never have imagined that his simple attempt to take advantage of Xu Ling'er, to force her into submission, would unintentionally lead him to step on such a massive piece of iron.
No, this wasn't just iron, it was solid steel.
His money, his power, his influence, everything he possessed, was all given to him by Zeng Wang.
He was merely a dog by Zeng Wang's side.
Now, this dog had bitten the master's honored guest.
This was suicidal!
If Zeng Wang didn't publicly kill him, this dog, as atonement, how could he appease the honored guest's anger?
Upon realizing this, Zhao Tianci felt as if his parents had died, his heart shattered and his courage lost.
He immediately flipped over and knelt on the ground, begging in a choked voice, "Mr. Zeng, my brain is full of shit, I am ignorant, I am muddled."
"Please, in consideration of my ignorance, spare me this time, Mr. Zeng. I will never look down on people again."
"Give me a chance, Mr. Zeng..."
It had to be said that Zhao Tianci's ability to get to where he was showed he was extremely sharp-witted.
An ordinary person might have been bewildered for a long time, unable to process or unwilling to lower themselves.
Such behavior would only anger Zeng Wang further.
But he was remarkably straightforward, kneeling to beg for mercy on the spot.
No matter what Li Chonglou's relationship with Zeng Wang was, they couldn't possibly trouble him again.
As for the saying that a man's knees are made of gold, to him it was all nonsense.
Nothing was as good as money.
He had clearly thought about the consequences if he lost Zeng Wang.
Unfortunately, Zeng Wang didn't even glance at him. He strode quickly to Li Chonglou and, with a face full of politeness, apologized, "Mr. Li, I was just in a board meeting and didn't expect to cause you so much trouble."
"It's my responsibility, entirely my responsibility."
"Zhao Tianci is blind and ignorant, he's just a dog, please don't hold it against him."
Although Zeng Wang appeared to dismiss Zhao Tianci with disdain, his words were subtly making excuses for his subordinate.
For no other reason than Zhao Tianci, despite his average abilities, was sharp-witted and understood his employer's thoughts.
Over the years, he had brought Zeng Wang much happiness in the company.
In this regard, he had made invaluable contributions.
Offending Li Chonglou had indeed made him very angry, but firing him over this would also be a loss.
After all, playing the role of a good-natured mediator wouldn't hurt.
Seeing Zeng Wang, the chairman of Ginza, personally approach and humbly apologize, Xu Ling'er, who was holding Li Chonglou's arm, widened her beautiful eyes.
This...
To her, Zeng Wang was a sky she could never reach, no matter how hard she looked up.
But why was this sky so low in front of Brother Chonglou, so low that he could touch it with a single gesture?
Just who was this Brother Chonglou?
He was too unfathomable.
In an instant, Xu Ling'er's nervousness vanished, her eyes filled with admiration.
The hand holding Li Chonglou's arm tightened even more.
Li Chonglou understood Zeng Wang's intentions, but he didn't intend to let Zhao Tianci off the hook today.
So, he said indifferently, "This dog not only threatened my friend, proposed the 'ice-breaking culture,' but also wanted to send us to prison."
"You've really raised a good dog."
As soon as he said this, Zeng Wang's expression changed immediately.
He hadn't expected this turn of events, that Zhao Tianci, this scoundrel, had been untruthful.
As chairman, how could he not know about the "ice-breaking culture" prevalent in the company?
In fact, this was an unstated game among high-level executives.
It couldn't be spoken of openly, but no one would tear down this fig leaf.
Even he himself was no exception.
After all, with money and power, women were eager to throw themselves at him. What was wrong with playing around occasionally, as long as it was harmless?
But what he hadn't expected was that Zhao Tianci had dared to extend his reach to Li Chonglou's friends.
And within his own company.
This matter had escalated significantly.
He knew exactly who Li Chonglou was.
After a single meal, he had managed to bring down a formidable figure like Li Hanlong. Could he afford to offend such a person?
Not to mention being as close as brothers with Ning Lang, with a relationship far more solid than his own with Ning Lang.
Just for Ning Lang's sake, he didn't dare to offend Li Chonglou.
Otherwise, despite being the boss of Ginza, he could be ruined in an instant.
And now, Li Chonglou had made his stance clear, not wanting to let go of his subordinate. As the owner, what could he do?
Thinking of this, he turned and pointed fiercely at Zhao Tianci, scolding him, "You scoundrel, you're lawless, you're seeking death."
"Hurry over and kowtow to Mr. Li as an apology!"
"If you anger him, even the immortals can't save you."
With things reaching this point, how could Zhao Tianci not understand?
This young man, whom he had mistaken for a delivery driver, was actually a ruthless individual whom even Zeng Wang dared not offend.
It was over, it was completely over for him today.
His broken finger had no hope of recovery, he could only bear it himself.
He then used his knees as feet, crawling towards Li Chonglou, looking as pathetic as a maggot.
But in his heart, he was viciously cursing Li Chonglou to die a terrible death.
"What's going on here?" Just then, Ning Lang returned from the restroom and asked confusedly, looking at the scene.
Immediately, Li Chonglou calmly recounted the events.
Hearing this, Ning Lang's brows shot up in anger. He strode forward and kicked Zhao Tianci, who was crawling towards him, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Then he coldly reprimanded, "Old Zeng, you still dare to keep this scum in the company? Don't blame me for being ruthless!"
He valued loyalty above all else and detested such individuals who used their power to bully women.
Moreover, he had dared to provoke Li Chonglou.
Kicking him was already an act of kindness and leniency on Ning Lang's part, a result of his self-cultivation over the years.
If it were during the years of fighting for dominance in Yong'an, he would have simply beheaded him with a single stroke.
Zeng Wang, who had initially hoped Li Chonglou would be magnanimous and spare Zhao Tianci, sighed repeatedly upon hearing this.
Zhao Tianci, that short-sighted fool, whom had he offended? He had offended this immense trouble.
With Ning Lang speaking, and his fierce demeanor, could he still protect him?
Unless he no longer wished to live.
Even if he didn't want to punish Zhao Tianci, he had no other choice now.
He immediately reprimanded in a cold tone, "You scoundrel, go to finance immediately and collect your salary."
"From now on, Ginza cannot accommodate a great Buddha like you."
"Remember, don't let me see you in Yong'an again!"
"Throw him out!"
These words were final.
Instantly, Zhao Tianci, who had been kicked and lay face down, heard them. His eyes turned ashen, his face ashen.
It was over, completely over.
Even Zeng Wang couldn't protect him, openly firing him.
He wasn't even allowed to stay in Yong'an, his hometown.
What did this mean?
It clearly meant that he knew too many of Zeng Wang's private secrets, and as long as he stayed in Yong'an, he could become a handle at any time. To prevent such trouble, Zeng Wang had directly issued a blacklisting order to his once loyal dog.
With Ginza's financial strength and influence, once this was said, no company in Yong'an, except the Xiao family, would dare to take him in.
Otherwise, it would be seen as opposing Ginza and Zeng Wang.
The loss would outweigh the gain.
Over ten years of effort and flattery were all lost in an instant.
At this moment, Zhao Tianci's ashen eyes shot out a beam of venom.
He stared directly at Li Chonglou.
It was him, this unremarkable young man, who had caused him such misery. If not for him, why would he be in such a predicament?
He was merely playing the 'ice-breaking game' that even high-level company executives played.
Zhao Tianci was dragged out of the work hall by several security guards, like a dead dog, under the watchful eyes of everyone.
His heart filled with immense hatred, he muttered, "You little bastard, if you won't let me live, I won't let you live well either!"
As he left, the employees started discussing amongst themselves.
"Zhao Tianci, this black sheep, has finally been kicked out. Our good days are about to begin."
"I didn't expect that young man to be so fierce. Even the chairman has to be respectful in front of him. If I had known, I would have gotten along with Xu Ling'er."
"Too cool. If my boyfriend were even a tenth as handsome as him, I'd be willing to lick his feet for the rest of my life..."
...
People's mouths are like the weather in the mountains; they change in an instant.
Those who had been gloating and thought Xu Ling'er was a green tea were now spitting venom at Zhao Tianci and praising Li Chonglou.
This was the workplace, vividly describing the human nature of profit-seeking.
Li Chonglou's hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people, so he could naturally hear these discussions.
Feeling a surge of disgust, he didn't want to stay there, so he took Xu Ling'er and Ning Lang and turned to leave.
Zeng Wang quickly followed.
The other directors also followed.
However, the elevator couldn't accommodate so many people, so Zeng Wang rushed them to another elevator.
He himself accompanied Li Chonglou and the others to the first-floor shopping mall.
"Mr. Li, about what happened just now... please don't take it to heart. Don't worry, I will definitely compensate this young lady properly," Zeng Wang said with a smile, leading everyone to the place he intended to allocate to Li Chonglou.
"No need. Xu Ling'er won't be working at your company anymore," Li Chonglou refused calmly.
Xu Ling'er made a funny face, "Yes, Brother Chonglou is going to open a shop here, isn't he? I want to be his employee."
As they walked, Xu Ling'er had already found out.
Li Chonglou intended to open a 1,200-square-meter antique shop here and was short of staff.
So, she volunteered.
Li Chonglou certainly wouldn't refuse. After all, she was an acquaintance, and this girl was quite likable.
However, she lacked work experience and couldn't be the store manager, so she would have to learn first.
As for the store manager position, he already had someone in mind.
Zeng Wang chuckled at this, showing an understanding expression.
Then, he personally introduced the situation of this area to Li Chonglou.
This area was located in a corner of the Ginza shopping mall, less desirable than the prime retail spaces.
But this didn't matter to Li Chonglou, and the area was large enough.
After having the contract brought over and signing it, they arranged for the renovation time, politely declined Zeng Wang's invitation for a meal, and the group left Ginza.
By this time, the sky outside had begun to darken, and the sun was about to set.
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Chonglou asked Zheng Rui to help send Xu Ling'er home first.
Then, he made a phone call to Xiao Yun.
He arranged to have dinner at Han Palace.
"Why didn't you bring that little girl from earlier? Aren't you afraid your god-sister will be jealous?" Ning Lang teased.
"I'm going to discuss business, and she's not suitable for such occasions," Li Chonglou smiled. "Brother Ning, it's time for you to find a wife. Otherwise, you're too gossipy, you know?"
His words made Zheng Rui stifle a laugh.
However, Ning Lang glared at him, making him quickly suppress it.
Soon, the three arrived at Han Palace.
Xiao Yun was already there with a girl, personally welcoming them at the entrance.
It was Lin Weiwei, who had sold him the apartment.
Seeing Li Chonglou get out of the car, she immediately walked towards him with a flushed face.