It was the same time and place again. This time, Zhou Hui was fully prepared—a three-day-straight beard, a yellowed shirt collar, and even soy sauce stains on his cuffs.
He was squatting in the alley that Zhang Xuanhua had to pass through, and immediately started coughing violently when he heard footsteps.
"Ahem...water...is there any water..."
Zhang Xuanhua paused. Zhou Hui peeked through his fingers. The boy had his school uniform jacket tied around his waist, revealing a white shirt that was slightly damp with sweat and stuck to his waistline.
He swallowed and coughed harder.
"Actually... I haven't eaten for three days." Zhou Hui said hoarsely, secretly pinching his thigh and forcing two tears to flow, "My family went bankrupt, and my son was unfilial and kicked me out..."
Zhang Xuanhua looked at him silently, his blue eyes deep and unfathomable. Just when Li Shiquan thought he was going to fail again, the boy suddenly pulled out a lunch box from his schoolbag.
"Give."
Li Shiquan was stunned.
So simple? He took the lunch box with trembling hands (this time the shaking was real) and almost laughed out loud. What a business genius, but just a soft-hearted brat! He couldn't wait to open the box -
There was a note inside.
"Mr. Zhou, next time you pretend to be poor, remember to change your shoes. Your leather shoes are custom-made in Italy, and they even have your initials on the soles."
Zhou Hui's smile froze on his face. He slammed the lid shut, only to hear Zhang Xuanhua chuckle.
"Do you want to keep on pretending?" The young man put one hand in his pocket, tilting his head to look at him, his wolf-tail hair brushing the side of his neck. "Or should I just call Mrs. Zhou and ask her why her husband was scamming high school students on their way home from school?"
Blood rushed to his head. Zhou Hui stood up with a jerk, his reading glasses tilted to one side. "How do you know who I am?!"
Zhang Xuanhua calmly pointed at his wrist and said, "Your Patek Philippe is limited to three pieces worldwide. A financial magazine interviewed you just last week."
Zhou Hui subconsciously covered his watch, suddenly realizing that this action was tantamount to admitting his identity. Shame and anger coiled around his heart like a venomous snake. He ripped off his wig and age spot patch, revealing his once carefully groomed brown hair.
"Alright, Zhang Xuanhua," he said, taking a step closer. The fifty-year-old man's physique seemed particularly oppressive in his anger. "Since you know who I am, that's even better—I'm interested in you. Name your price."
Zhang Xuanhua's eyes turned cold instantly.
"Mr. Zhou, have you forgotten?" He took a half step back, his right hand calmly reaching for the side pocket of his schoolbag, "My last name is Zhang."
Zhou Hui scoffed, his words blurting out as alcohol and anger combined with shame made him say, "So what about the Zhang family? Your father was begging me to invest last year!"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xuanhua suddenly smiled. That smile sent a chill down Li Shiquan's spine, like the look a cheetah makes on a trapped antelope.
The young man slowly took out his phone and clicked on a recording.
"Name your price." "So what about the Zhang family? Your father begged me to invest last year."
Zhou Hui's face paled instantly. He reached out to grab it, but Zhang Xuanhua deftly dodged and sent the recording to a group chat right in front of him.
Group name: "Zhang Family (58)"
"What did you send?!" Zhou Hui's voice changed.
Zhang Xuanhua put away his phone, his blue eyes gleaming in the twilight. "Nothing much. I just wanted my dad, my uncle, my aunt, my cousins, and my grandfather to hear Mr. Zhou's 'brilliant opinion.'"
Zhou Hui's vision darkened. He saw the image he had painstakingly maintained in the business world crumble, the eager shareholders on the board, and his wife's cold gaze...
"You little—"
"Mr. Zhou," Zhang Xuanhua interrupted, his voice as gentle as if discussing the weather, "What do you think the Zhou stock price will drop if this recording appears on the financial channel when the stock market opens tomorrow?"
Zhou Hui was like a duck with its throat strangled, all his curses stuck in his trachea. He watched helplessly as the boy turned and walked away, his black wolf tail swaying gently in the evening breeze like a flag of victory.
Three days later, Zhou Group inexplicably lost three big orders, and all the partners were from the Zhang family faction.
The next day after school, Zhou Hui appeared at the school gate again.
This time he had done his homework - he wore real homeless clothes, even his underwear was changed to cheap goods, and there was not a single valuable thing on his body.
He squatted in the corner, watching Zhang Xuanhua and his classmates walk out talking and laughing, his heart felt as if it was clamped by an iron clamp.
Zhang Xuanhua, who always kept to himself, actually smiled at others?
Zhou Hui followed him as if possessed by some mysterious force. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Xuanhua suddenly stopped and said without turning his head:
"Mr. Zhou, the perfume you're wearing is a custom-made Creed. A bottle costs three hundred thousand. Even a beggar can't afford that."
The light words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Li Shiquan's head. He stood there, watching the young man's back as he walked away, and suddenly realized a terrible fact -
He, Zhou Hui, a fifty-year-old business tycoon, was actually fooled by a high school student.
What's even more terrifying is that he actually wants more.
(From then on, Zhou Hui never dared to appear on Zhang Xuanhua's way home from school again... at least not in public.)
—————————————————————
Xi Wanrong stood in front of room 2808 of the Hyatt Hotel, her fingertips trembling slightly as they hovered above the doorbell.
She took a deep breath and turned her phone to silent mode - Zhao Pingchi had just sent a message saying that he and his brothers would play games all night in the Internet cafe tonight, and attached a screenshot, with the word "Victory" displayed in large letters on the League of Legends interface.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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