The words were laced with threat.
He had indeed liked Jiang Yuxin in the past, but it had been many years since graduation, and with Jiang Yuxin being married, he no longer felt anything for her.
Tricking Li Chonglou was purely an act driven by a sense of superiority.
It had nothing to do with Jiang Yuxin.
However, Li Chonglou's display of composure made him feel as though he had swallowed a fly.
Moreover, Li Chonglou had taken the seat opposite him, the one that rightfully belonged to Wang Dehai.
How could he stand for this?
"What if I don't leave?" Li Chonglou met his gaze and asked indifferently.
He had orchestrated this gathering, but it was Wang Dehai who had extended the invitations in his own name, so no one knew he was the one who organized it.
Wang Dehai was currently catching up with someone outside, so he couldn't explain.
Under these circumstances, he couldn't be bothered with Xiang Wenbin.
"Young man, be sensible and don't anger Young Master Xiang."
"Although the Xiang Group's development has been average in the past two years, it's not someone like you, a live-in son-in-law who relies on his wife, can afford to offend."
"You're not in the same circle, so don't try to force your way in, lest you get yourself into trouble."
Several middle-aged men advised him with ill intentions.
They were still giving Wang Dehai face; after all, they were in Desheng Grand Hotel and didn't want to cause trouble, otherwise, they would have already ganged up on Li Chonglou.
"See that, Li Chonglou?" Xiang Wenbin said smugly. "Everyone here is an influential entrepreneur in Qin Zhou."
"Their assets start at least at the million-level."
"And you? Just a son-in-law of the Jiang family, oh right, I heard the Jiang family is on the verge of bankruptcy."
"You won't even qualify as a beggar soon, because people like you who live off others, do you really have the ability to survive? I highly doubt it."
"You've made your scene, had your laugh, we have important matters to discuss."
"Now get out, and for the sake of our classmate relationship, I won't make things difficult for you."
"Otherwise, it will be too late even if you beg on your knees!"
By the end, Xiang Wenbin's face was filled with sternness.
He understood how to conduct himself.
In front of these uncles and elders, he had to put on a show and couldn't be overtly arrogant from the start.
But since Li Chonglou was ungrateful, he couldn't be blamed!
"Young Master Xiang, why get angry with someone crawling on the ground, a germ-infested maggot like him," a young woman sitting next to Xiang Wenbin said in a sweet voice, "Have some water to calm your nerves."
Li Chonglou watched their behavior coldly, shaking his head inwardly.
A bunch of nouveau riche without any substance.
They didn't even understand the basic respect for others, yet they wanted to stir up trouble in this tumultuous era?
They were all on the verge of bankruptcy, yet they were flaunting their superiority.
Although Wang Dehai lacked education, he was far superior to these people in terms of social skills.
Li Chonglou didn't want to say more than a word to these people unless absolutely necessary.
Since someone was causing trouble, he would settle the matter before continuing the discussion!
"Xiang Wenbin, I don't blame you for being ignorant in high school," Li Chonglou said calmly, his expression unchanged. "This gathering today was organized by me."
"Those who have antiques to sell can stay; you can leave."
His words instantly froze the smiles on everyone's faces.
Xiang Wenbin's eyes widened in disbelief, then quickly turned into a sneer: "You organized the gathering!"
"You've got some nerve, taking advantage of Wang Dehai's absence to elevate yourself so high."
"It seems you've learned quite a few skills in acting pretentious at the Jiang family these past few years."
He considered himself the most knowledgeable about Li Chonglou among those present.
After all, he had investigated extensively before to beat him up.
Although he hadn't seen him in years, he had heard many things about Li Chonglou in the class group chat.
Especially about being a live-in son-in-law at the Jiang family, constantly being humiliated and bullied.
This had long cemented his impression of Li Chonglou.
Such a person could not achieve anything.
And he certainly couldn't influence someone like Wang Dehai, a former underground figure.
"That's right, we were almost fooled by him. President Wang never said this gathering was organized by someone else."
"You little brat, who knows what malicious thoughts you're harboring, trying to trick us out of our treasures?"
"You're tired of living! You dare to trick even us?"
Xiang Wenbin's words made everyone react, and they began to shout in anger.
Li Chonglou, being insignificant, was not believed by anyone.
Seeing this, Xiang Wenbin sneered proudly: "So you're really not leaving?"
"Very well, I'm also looking forward to seeing you beg me on your knees."
Saying that, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
Upon connecting, he instructed, "You two come in and handle someone for me."
Soon, two tall and sturdy men in camouflage uniforms rushed into the private room and asked, "Young Master Xiang, who should we handle?"
"Make him kneel and call me grandpa a few times before throwing him out," Xiang Wenbin pointed at Li Chonglou, his expression full of mockery.
It was as casual as pre-meal entertainment.
The two responded and walked towards Li Chonglou, their expressions menacing.
Li Chonglou remained still, as steady as a mountain, as if he hadn't seen them.
Clang!
Just then, the door was pushed open, and a young man rushed in.
Seeing Li Chonglou, he quickly rushed to his side, panting with his head lowered, "Brother Li, my uncle asked me to introduce to everyone that he has some private matters to attend to."
Li Chonglou looked over, and it turned out to be an acquaintance.
It was Wang Dehai's nephew, Wang Jingwu, whom he had embarrassed last time.
Dressed as a general manager, his expression was extremely respectful.
It seemed the previous embarrassment had thoroughly taught him a lesson.
"Who do you call him? Brother Li?" Xiang Wenbin's pupils contracted, and he stopped his subordinates, asking in disbelief.
He naturally recognized Wang Jingwu, the lobby manager of Desheng Grand Hotel and Wang Dehai's nephew.
He was usually an arrogant and overbearing person, but now he was acting like a sycophant, bowing and scraping to this son-in-law.
What was going on?
"Ah, yes, Young Master Xiang, this is the new boss of our Desheng Grand Hotel, Brother Li, Li Chonglou," Wang Jingwu replied quickly. "Everyone is gathered here today because Brother Li asked my uncle to convene them."
"I'm truly sorry, I didn't notice earlier with so many people, please forgive me everyone."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged people at the table all looked embarrassed and dared not look Li Chonglou directly in the eye.
Especially those who had been sarcastic earlier, wishing they could find a hole to hide in.
Others saw them as glamorous, as big bosses.
But who present didn't know that they were almost bankrupt, all show and no substance.
The reason they came was that they heard Wang Dehai was acquiring their antiques and wanted to take the opportunity to raise some money for liquidity.
But now, they had offended the benefactor!
"Xiang Wenbin, are you kidding me? You're barking up the wrong tree without even recognizing people. How did your father teach you?"
"Exactly, this is everyone's future boss. You young guys have no foresight at all, wasting all these years!"
"Hurry up and apologize to Boss Li!"
Several people immediately changed their tune and began to berate Xiang Wenbin.
Xiang Wenbin's face turned ashen, extremely unpleasant.
He slammed his hand on the table: "What kind of people are you, fickle and opportunistic? Even if he's Wang Dehai's boss, so what?"
"I'm giving Old Wang face, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of him!"
"What the hell, a foolish son-in-law dares to act tough in front of me, don't you even look at yourself."
"Li Chonglou, I'm telling you, I'll make you kneel today!"
The thinking of young people and middle-aged people is completely different.
These shrewd bosses were all people who didn't care about face; if they cared about face, they wouldn't make money.
But Xiang Wenbin wasn't like that. He was at an age where pride was paramount.
Moreover, his family's company wasn't on the verge of collapse, so he didn't feel the urgency. He came today mainly to earn some pocket money.
Therefore, he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Young Master Xiang, Young Master Xiang, give us some face, don't escalate the situation, or it will be difficult for everyone," Wang Jingwu, seeing the situation, felt a chill down his spine and quickly walked up to Xiang Wenbin to persuade him.
Slap!
Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped to the ground by Xiang Wenbin.
He glared and roared, "What the hell do you think you are, asking for face from me?"
"Did you give me any face?"
After scolding, he gave a signal to his two subordinates: "What are you waiting for? Make him kneel for me!"
"Yes!" The two responded with muffled voices and reached for Li Chonglou's shoulders.
Li Chonglou's eyes turned cold, and his palm moved slightly.
These two were just ordinary people; they lacked the stability and power of Zhuzi, nor the profound techniques of Xu Lie.
Let alone being comparable to ancient martial arts masters like Shen Yishou.
They wanted to grab him?
Dream on!
Just as he was about to knock them both to the ground, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Who dares to move!"
"Xiang Wenbin, you're bold and suicidal!"
Everyone, including the two attacking subordinates, turned their heads towards the door, startled by the thunderous roar.
A middle-aged man in his fifties, with graying hair and a face like ice.
With his hands behind his back, he stared intently at Xiang Wenbin.
His eyes were burning with anger.
"Old Xiang?" someone recognized the middle-aged man's identity.
"Dad, why are you here?" Xiang Wenbin's pupils dilated, and his voice trembled slightly.
The arrival was his father, Xiang Jian, the chairman of Xiang Group.
Xiang Jian strode forward several steps to his son and immediately slapped him.
Slap!
It was extremely hard, causing Xiang Wenbin to stumble, cover his face, and tremble all over.
His eyes widened in disbelief: "Dad, you hit me?"
"I'm right to hit you, you little bastard. Causing trouble everywhere for me, who is Boss Li? Can you afford to provoke him!" Xiang Jian, enraged, stepped forward and kicked his son twice, knocking him to the ground. His son curled up in pain, holding his head.
After kicking him, he bowed respectfully towards Li Chonglou: "Boss Li, my son is blind and doesn't recognize your status. Please don't take it to heart."
"We've met a couple of times, do you still remember me?"
"Twice?" Li Chonglou looked at Xiang Jian and suddenly realized: "It's you, I remember."
He vaguely recalled that when he first met Lu Chenggong, in Fenglinxue, Xiang Jian was the one who wanted to treat him to a meal but was scolded by him for being unworthy.
The second time was at a charity auction, where Xiang Jian didn't dare to speak to him then.
No wonder the old man beat up his son.
It turned out he had connections with the Lu family.
Hearing that Li Chonglou actually remembered him, Xiang Jian's old face lit up with joy: "Boss Li, you are magnanimous, don't bother with my little beast."
"If there's anything you need, just ask, and I'll spare no effort!"
These words showed an extremely humble attitude.
Li Chonglou's relationship with the Lu family was so close, and his company was a subsidiary of the Lu family, meaning they were essentially his lifeline.
Offending Li Chonglou, with just a word to Lu Yunxu, could lead to his bankruptcy.
He had no courage for that.
If he hadn't happened to be here today, perhaps the little beast would have truly acted lawlessly and dug his own grave.
Hiss...
The people present all gasped.
Was this Li Chonglou not just Wang Dehai's friend?
What other terrifying identity could make someone like Xiang Jian so humble?