125: Chapter 125 The Feast at Hongmen

The story splits in two.

After leaving the Xinglong Branch, Chen Hao, while taking the bus, first received a sarcastic message from Lin Xiaomeng's alternate account, which he immediately blocked without a second thought. Not long after, he received a message from Shayiva.

"CEO Wei guessed correctly. If I hadn't come to the branch today, it would have been harder than ascending to heaven for you to get hired."

Chen Hao smiled and typed a reply.

"So, I got hired successfully?"

"Of course. Why else would I have made such a big fuss to come over?"

"I troubled you. Should I thank you then?"

Shayiva was mixed-race. Although she was proficient in Mandarin, she couldn't detect the hidden meaning in his words.

"No need for thanks. This was CEO Wei's arrangement. You must be successfully hired so the plan can proceed smoothly. Also, do you have any plans for tonight?"

Seeing the hint Shayiva sent, Chen Hao gave a wry smile. This Foreign Girl really got addicted quickly; was she already proactively asking him out?

"If nothing unexpected happens, I start work tomorrow. I need to prepare well tonight, so I probably won't be free this evening."

Shayiva sent another message, her tone full of disappointment.

"Alright. As CEO Wei instructed, I will assist you during this period. Contact me anytime if you need anything or miss me."

Just as Chen Hao was about to reply, Zhang Menglu called, her voice extremely anxious from the start.

"It's bad! Boss Jiang Tao asked me to meet him for a detailed discussion. What should I do? Is he planning revenge against me?"

Chen Hao calmed down and said, "It shouldn't be. Don't be afraid. I'll be at the commercial street shortly. Let's meet and talk in detail."

After hanging up, Chen Hao analyzed the situation seriously.

If his guess was correct, Jiang Tao had definitely chickened out. Therefore, his purpose in asking Zhang Menglu to meet was likely to apologize.

After all, Chen Hao held his leverage. If it came down to mutual destruction, Jiang Tao probably wouldn't dare!

It wasn't that Chen Hao was overly confident; this was an assessment of human nature.

Chen Hao arrived at the commercial street, at the goddess token hosiery store. The first floor was a mess, full of cardboard boxes that hadn't been unpacked yet. Zhang Menglu was not on the first floor.

Chen Hao hurried to the second floor and saw Zhang Menglu pacing back and forth in a panic. Seeing Chen Hao return, she looked as if she had found her anchor.

"What should we do? Should we just run away and hide? Go to Guangcheng, leave right now."

Yesterday, Chen Hao went to repay the debt alone and didn't bring Zhang Menglu along, so her panic and fear were normal reactions.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here. Nothing will happen to you."

Under Chen Hao's comfort, Zhang Menglu finally managed to calm her emotions.

"Tell me, what exactly did Boss Jiang say on the phone?"

Zhang Menglu explained the situation.

"He just said he invited me to lunch to clear up the misunderstanding."

Zhang Menglu worried this was a Banquet of Hongmen. If she went and they detained her, restricted her freedom, or kidnapped her for revenge, what then?

"What kind of thing wouldn't a person like Jiang Tao do?"

Under Chen Hao's strenuous reassurance, Zhang Menglu was not as terrified, but she was still somewhat worried.

It was almost noon, and the meeting time was approaching. Chen Hao insisted on attending the appointment, and Zhang Menglu couldn't argue with him, so she could only accompany him.

They took a taxi to the five-star hotel, the same one where they met yesterday. Chen Hao already knew that Jiang Tao had shares in this hotel.

Familiar territory, it was the same private room as last night, only this time there were no Bodyguards guarding the door.

When they pushed the door open, there was no one inside. Jiang Tao hadn't arrived yet.

Chen Hao pulled the trembling Zhang Menglu, and the two entered the private room first to wait.

Not long after, the private room door was pushed open, and a man with a fierce expression entered. His gaze was sharp, his eyes like hooks, and he carried an indescribable aura about him.

As soon as he entered, he walked straight to one of the seats, crossed his legs, and stared silently at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao did not show weakness either, meeting his gaze calmly, causing the temperature in the private room to drop by several degrees.

A little while later, several more people entered the private room one after another. Chen Hao hadn't seen any of them before and didn't know them. They were likely idle members of the underworld.

They all seemed to know each other, either calling each other by nicknames or nodding in acknowledgment. After sitting down, all of them stared intently at Chen Hao, wearing expressions that suggested they were trying to kill him with their eyes.

The temperature in the private room was very low, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense, like swords drawn and bows bent.

Not long after, the private room door opened again, and Jiang Tao made a grand entrance amidst the admiration of the crowd.

"Boss Jiang."

"Brother Tao."

"Boss!"

These people all stood up to greet him.

Zhang Menglu also wanted to stand up, but Chen Hao pressed her down at the critical moment, preventing her from making any move.

"Everyone is here. Start serving the food,"

Jiang Tao called out to the underlings outside the door, proactively picked up a bottle of Maotai, and began pouring it into the decanter while opening it.

"Let me introduce everyone to each other. These people are all shareholders in the campus loan business. This gentleman is a rising star in the Jianghu (underworld)."

Jiang Tao didn't know Chen Hao well and wasn't sure how to introduce him, so he used 'rising star' instead.

Everyone at the table was arrogant and conceited, each acting as if they were better than everyone else. Upon hearing he was a rising star, they all became interested.

Someone asked curiously.

"What is your name?"

Chen Hao replied neither subserviently nor aggressively.

"My name is Chen Hao."

"No wonder he's a rising star; I've never heard of him."

This remark resonated, and the whole room burst into laughter.

Chen Hao did not get angry but smiled back, retorting.

"Our industries are different, so it's normal you haven't heard of me. After all, I haven't heard of any of you either."

As soon as he said this, the laughter immediately stopped, and the atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Everyone stared at Chen Hao with ill intentions, as if trying to see right through him.

Jiang Tao quickly smoothed things over, holding the decanter and pouring a glass of baijiu for everyone.

"As the saying goes, the later waves of the Yangtze River push the former ones, and the former ones get washed up on the beach. It's the world of the young now. We old folks should know when to quit, or we won't even know how we died."

Jiang Tao had very complex motives for arranging this gathering today.

First, it was a test—not just testing Chen Hao, but also testing whether everyone could stand together.

Second, he wanted to muddy the waters. The campus loan business involved massive capital flow, and he, Jiang Tao, couldn't produce such a large sum of money. Therefore, the Financial Backers behind the scenes, who were also investors and shareholders, were being pushed to the front to divert the disaster.

If Chen Hao behaved too aggressively at today's banquet and these many people couldn't suppress him, Jiang Tao would have to take the easy way out, accept any penalty, lower his stance, and seek reconciliation.

If that failed, he would propose washing his hands of the business, protecting himself by lying low, and at least leaving with his life intact.

But if Chen Hao was suppressed by everyone, it would indicate that he didn't have that much power. In the dark law of the jungle where the weak are prey to the strong, even if it didn't reach the point of irreconcilable enmity, at least Chen Hao would be wary of everyone's influence and restrain himself from going too far.

As expected, after Jiang Tao stated his position, the shareholders' fighting spirit was ignited.

"What nonsense about the former waves being washed up on the beach? Ginger is spicier when it's old. Young people shouldn't be too arrogant; it's useless!"