Chapter 209
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Chapter 209 The Son Must Take After His Father
Xue Ruyun was wearing a form-fitting cream-colored dress today, with a cherry-red short-sleeved blazer over it. Her eyebrows were meticulously done, her hair carefully pinned up, her skin flawless, her figure curvaceous, and that undeniable mature woman aura was fully on display.
This ripe, intoxicating quality was not only devastatingly effective on younger men but also had a significant impact on middle-aged men.
The man sitting across from Xue Ruyun appeared to be in his thirties, burly with a fleshy face. He wore a gold chain as thick as a pinky finger around his neck, a large gold watch, and a conspicuous gold ring on his hand. With his typical nouveau riche appearance, he looked somewhat greedily at Xue Ruyun across from him, quietly swallowing his saliva.
Of course, only those unfamiliar with him would think he was just in his thirties. In fact, this robust man was well into his forties and had been working in the bar industry for many years. His fleshy face made his appearance seem relatively unchanged by time.
“Mr. Zhang, may I ask why you invited me here today? What kind of cooperation did you want to discuss?” Xue Ruyun asked after taking a small sip of coffee.
She strongly disliked the way the man opposite was looking at her. If this Zhang Hao couldn’t say anything substantial, Xue Ruyun was prepared to leave.
Her time was precious and couldn’t be wasted like this. However, if there was an opportunity, she didn’t want to miss it—that was why Xue Ruyun had accepted the invitation and come.
Zhang Hao swallowed another large gulp of saliva, shifting his gaze from Xue Ruyun’s heaving chest, and said with a smile: “It’s like this, I now have several bars under my management, and the scale is growing. Take this Forest Bar, which I acquired previously—its current revenue is more than triple what it was when I bought it.”
If Su Rui were here, he would certainly recognize this burly man named Zhang Hao as the fellow he encountered when he first took Lin Aoxue out for hot pot. On that occasion, he had a drinking contest with Su Rui involving extremely spicy hot pot broth and was nearly choked to death, utterly humiliated.
“Yes, Mr. Zhang is a skilled businessman, growing bigger and bigger, with both Dicot and Forest. Small bars like ours simply can’t keep up with your pace,” Xue Ruyun said coldly. She had thought Zhang Hao actually had some business cooperation to discuss, but now it seemed she had overthought things.
“Ruyun, don’t say that. We can make money together, cooperate for mutual benefit, and progress hand in hand,” Zhang Hao said, taking a sip of red wine, the lustful light in his eyes growing stronger.
Hearing Zhang Hao say “progress hand in hand,” Xue Ruyun felt an inexplicable wave of nausea, and goosebumps nearly rose all over her body.
Who would want to join hands with such a person? Wouldn’t that be too disgusting?
A crude person trying to speak in such a refined manner was truly uncomfortable to witness.
“Mr. Zhang, please speak plainly. Beating around the bush has no real meaning,” Xue Ruyun said.
“Dealing with a smart beauty is indeed refreshing.” Zhang Hao chuckled: “I’ve noticed that your Max Bar is doing very well, and I’m interested in buying it. What do you think, Ruyun?”
“You see my bar is doing well, so you want to buy it?”
So the fox finally shows its tail?
Xue Ruyun leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs, with a hint of mockery in her smile: “When you saw Forest Bar thriving, that’s when you decided to acquire it, isn’t that right?”
“Of course, businesspeople don’t work without profit. If a bar isn’t doing well, I wouldn’t be interested,” Zhang Hao said, his eyes fixed on Xue Ruyun’s crossed legs. He clapped his hands and smiled: “Ruyun, regarding the price, I’ll definitely make you satisfied. You can rest assured about that.”
“But I don’t want to sell,” Xue Ruyun replied. How could she possibly sell Max Bar? It was her foothold in Ninghai and the base from which she was gradually launching her counterattack against the Xue family. If she sold it now, wouldn’t all her previous efforts be wasted? All her hard work would have been for nothing!
Even if Zhang Hao offered a sky-high price, Xue Ruyun would absolutely not sell the bar that contained so much of her heart and soul. Not everything can be measured by utility; some things have nothing to do with money.
What Xue Ruyun didn’t know was that Zhang Hao’s methods weren’t exactly above board. Previously, when he wanted to buy the thriving Forest Bar, its original owner refused to sell. So Zhang Hao hired gangsters to severely beat the owner. Between the injuries and intimidation, Zhang Hao acquired the bar for practically nothing.
“As long as the price is right, there’s no deal that can’t be made in this world,” Zhang Hao said, his eyes greedily scanning Xue Ruyun’s body.
“Mr. Zhang, I’m sorry, but if it’s about other forms of cooperation, I might be willing to talk. However, if it’s about selling Max Bar, that’s absolutely impossible.”
Zhang Hao still didn’t give up: “Ruyun, you should know that I was in a bad mood today, but as soon as I saw you, the clouds cleared immediately.”
“Oh? I didn’t realize that a faded flower like me would be so appealing to Mr. Zhang,” Xue Ruyun said, taking a sip of tea. “But I wonder who could have affected your mood so badly?”
“It’s like this,” Zhang Hao’s face filled with anger at the mention of the matter, completely different from his lecherous expression earlier. “My son got his head broken by someone yesterday, and his car was smashed. I heard that person is coming to cause more trouble today. Tell me, how can I swallow this insult?”
“I see, no wonder Mr. Zhang is in a bad mood,” Xue Ruyun said, having guessed most of the story. It must be that Zhang Hao’s son Zhang Xuanqi, accustomed to being arrogant and domineering, had provoked someone even more aggressive and was taught a harsh lesson.
Hearing this news, Xue Ruyun was actually quite pleased. Zhang Hao had risen in the bar industry over the past few years with Li Yang’s help but was widely disliked for his arrogance. Like father, like son—Zhang Xuanqi was no good either. It seemed quite fitting that someone had taught his son a lesson.
“But, Ruyun, even though my son was beaten and I was in low spirits, as soon as I saw you, my mood immediately improved. Do you know why?” Zhang Hao placed his hairy black hand on the table, his expression brightening as he chuckled.
His son was injured, yet he still had the mood to flirt with a beautiful woman—from this point alone, he clearly wasn’t a good father.
“Why?” Xue Ruyun asked instinctively, though she immediately regretted it—even a fool would know the answer, and nothing good would come from his mouth.
“Because I’ve admired you for a long time,” Zhang Hao said, his eyes showing what he believed to be “sincerity.” “Ruyun, from the first time I saw you, I felt an urge to be with you. You and your name are like clouds in the sky, like the colorful sunset glow…”
When such a crude person tries to express himself with delicate words, it always feels extremely nauseating. Hearing his words, Xue Ruyun’s stomach churned, and she nearly threw up.
“Mr. Zhang, please stop. I really don’t deserve such words.”
Xue Ruyun stood up, grabbed her purse, and turned to leave.
“Ruyun, you can’t leave!”
“Why can’t I?”
Zhang Hao gave a signal with his eyes, and two men immediately stood up, blocking Xue Ruyun’s path!
“What’s this, Mr. Zhang? Are you using force?” Xue Ruyun said coldly upon seeing this. “I told you before, Max Bar is not for sale, no matter how much money you offer!”
“Xue Ruyun, you’re refusing the easy way and choosing the hard way!” Zhang Hao stood up with a chuckle. “I gave you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. This is my territory—did you think you could come and go as you please?”
Xue Ruyun didn’t back down a step, seemingly not nervous at all, coldly looking at Zhang Hao: “Do you know what consequences you’ll face for doing this?”
Looking at this delicate beauty, Zhang Hao wasn’t worried she could cause any trouble. “Come, take her to the room,” he ordered.
Zhang Hao had been planning for this day for a long time but hadn’t expected it to be so simple. Seeing that the beautiful woman was about to fall into his hands, and that he would soon be removing her clothes one by one, Zhang Hao already felt a fire burning in his lower abdomen, desperately needing release!
The two men, hearing Zhang Hao’s words, immediately moved to grab Xue Ruyun. She reached into her bag, gripping a self-defense knife, coldly watching everything unfold.
Strangely, as a woman, she should have been nervous at this moment, but Xue Ruyun’s heart was very calm.
The reason was that she kept hearing a sentence in her mind, something Su Rui had once told her—don’t worry when you’re in danger, I’ll be by your side.
Although Su Rui wasn’t here now, Xue Ruyun remained calm. She had a knife in her bag, pepper spray, and she was a black belt in Taekwondo. With these resources at her disposal, if used properly, she had a chance to escape safely.
She knew that the first thing she needed to do was not panic. She had to find the best opportunity to leave this place safely!
Zhang Hao might look strong, but he was just a worthless drunk. When alone with him later, Xue Ruyun was sure she could find the perfect moment!
However, at that moment, one of the henchmen suddenly came running in, panicked!
“Boss, boss, something terrible has happened!”
The henchman shouted as he ran, stumbling and nearly falling!
“Damn it, do you know what you’re doing?”
Zhang Hao, seeing his plan about to succeed only to be interrupted by this henchman, was furious.
In his view, even if the sky were falling, nothing should interfere with his possession of Xue Ruyun right now!
His son Zhang Xuanqi had his head broken and was now resting in the bedroom of the bar’s back room, but Zhang Hao wasn’t concerned at all because, to him, nothing was more important than this beautiful woman! At this moment, she was all he could see!
