NOVEL NEXT Chapter 285: Oh no!
"Wow, now just any Tom, Dick, or Harry thinks they can claim to know the Patriarch of the Sun Family?"
A voice like a drake's call reached them, and Xu Hao and others immediately looked over.
A tall and thin middle-aged man, accompanied by a heavily made-up woman, walked toward them. The woman was wearing a low-cut V-neck black evening gown, that accentuated her figure, prompting the security guard to steal a couple of looks.
"What are you looking at? Keep staring and I'll gouge out your eyes!"
To their surprise, the woman burst into a fury, pointing at the security guard and cursing, "Is my noble body something a lowly guard like you can lay eyes on?!"
The man wrapped his arm around the woman, snorting coldly, "Guard, you've annoyed my little sweetheart! If you want to keep working here, kick this kid out immediately; he's an eyesore. Otherwise, you can wait to be fired."
By now, the security guard had recognized who the man was. He was none other than Zhang Pangde, the third son of the Zhang Family, one of the Seven Small Families of Huadu.
Any member of the Seven Small Families was not someone a mere security guard like him could afford to offend. With just a few words, they could have him packing his bags and leaving immediately.
Hua Du International Hotel wasn't owned by any one person but was a joint property of the Four Great Families and the Seven Small Families. So who would dare to trouble a shareholder's relative?!
Yet, telling a lie against his conscience to drive Xu Hao away was something he found somewhat difficult to do.
He said to Xu Hao, "Sir, if you don't have an invitation, you cannot enter. Please leave."
At that moment, the woman huffed, "This young man speaks so arrogantly—didn't he say he was invited by the Patriarch of the Sun Family? So, why don't we ask the Patriarch himself whether this kid is telling the truth or not?"
Zhang Pangde then sneered, "What I enjoy the most is exposing people's hypocrisy and ensuring their lies have nowhere to hide! Though I can't speak directly to the Patriarch of the Sun Family—I know my place, I'm not qualified—I can have my older brother ask the Patriarch if he really did invite anyone."
With that, he called up the Patriarch of the Zhang Family, his older brother.
He relayed the situation to his brother, and after a bit, he received a response.
After hanging up, Zhang Pangde sneered, "Kid, your lie has been exposed! My older brother is sitting at the same table with the Patriarch of the Sun Family right now. He just asked the Patriarch, and was told that no special guests were invited. So, this whole story is your own fabrication, isn't it? And your aim was to sneak in, right?"
The woman, who had sharp eyes, noticed Xiao Lan peeking out from behind Xu Hao. She immediately grew jealous of Xiao Lan's pure and innocent face, which made her feel quite inferior. Her eyes shifted, and a scheme formed in her mind. If she could offer this young girl to the sons of the big families, it might bring her many benefits, mightn't it?
She suddenly spoke softly, "Little sister, you must be this guy's girlfriend, right? Can't you see? He's just trash, a lowlife that only knows how to swindle and deceive. Are you still planning to stick with him? Come with me instead. We're both women, and women should help each other. I'll take you into the Jianghu and help you spot and discard all those scumbag deceivers!"
Xiao Lan pouted. She might be naive, but she wasn't stupid. This woman had been so aggressive just a moment ago, and now she was suddenly acting so gentle. Couldn't she hear the hidden motives behind her words?
...
Inside the banquet hall.
Rows and rows of large, round tables were set out in an orderly fashion, and seated at these eight tables were the influential bigwigs of Huadu City.
The ones seated at the first table were the big bosses among the big bosses.
The Family Heads of the Four Great Families and the Seven Small Families, Chen Hai, and three other heavyweights, along with an elderly man with a somewhat bloated figure.
All eyes were clearly fixed on this elderly gentleman, who occupied the place of honor at the head of the table.
However, at that moment, Sun Decong, the Patriarch of the Sun Family, suddenly changed expression and muttered, "This isn't good!"
Zhang Zilong, the Patriarch of the Zhang Family, immediately asked, "Brother Sun, what's wrong?"
The Zhang Family had been deliberately courting the Sun Family's favor recently, hoping for their strong support to ensure the family business thrived. That made Zhang Zilong deeply concerned about every move Sun Decong made.
Sun Decong said, "Did you just ask me if I had invited a special guest?"
"Yes, and you said no." Zhang Zilong was puzzled and didn't understand.
Sun Decong slapped his thigh, "Damn! I forgot—it might well be him! My nephew reminded me, but I was busy with other things at the time and didn't pay much attention. After all, if he wanted to come, no one would dare stop him, so I forgot to arrange an invitation for him. But what I didn't expect was that he'd try to enter properly and even used my name! Worse, I just denied it!"