No More Pretending, Let's Lay It All Out

The boy staggered again from the slap.

He looked up and saw blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Do you... do you know who I am?"

"Go away, whoever you want," Zhang Yang chuckled. "If you're not happy and want to get revenge, fine, I'll be waiting."

It's a trivial matter, nothing that can't be resolved.

Although there is always someone better, Zhang Yang is not the type to be so arrogant as to act recklessly.

He knew perfectly well how serious this matter could be.

"Fine, you said it. If you've got the guts, don't you dare leave!" The boy wiped his mouth with a tissue and stood a few steps away from Zhang Yang, uttering threats.

"Hmm, I'm not leaving, you come here." Zhang Yang stood still, his eyes meeting those of the girl supporting her boyfriend.

He blinked gently.

The girl was startled, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her head in a flustered manner.

A moment later, Zhang Yang turned and walked into the restaurant to continue the drinking session that was not yet over.

As soon as you walk in, the drinks continue.

"Brother, where have you been? Come, let me have another drink with you." Du Xiaochen pulled him, "A deep bond is a deep drink, I'll never forget your kindness, brother, bottoms up!"

He tilted his head back and drank it down, revealing a genuine sense of emotion.

Zhang Yang smiled, raised his glass, and toasted him.

Everyone watching was quite curious about just how much Zhang Yang had helped Du Xiaochen that the dignified young master Du would react this way.

"Xiaochen, stop hiding it and just tell us! How much did Brother Zhang actually help you?" everyone asked with a laugh.

"A huge favor." Du Xiaochen laughed, but didn't say anything.

That massive project, costing nearly two billion yuan and becoming the world's tallest Ferris wheel, not only made his amusement equipment company a fortune, but also made him an overnight sensation. Everyone in the group was full of praise for him.

Even his own sister and brother-in-law had to avoid his sharp edge.

Seeing that he's on track to take over, wouldn't you say this is incredibly helpful? It's practically like being given a second chance at life!

Later that evening, the drinking session continued to be thoroughly enjoyable, with both hosts and guests having a great time.

A large group of people walked out of the restaurant together.

As soon as he stepped out, Zhang Yang saw the boy standing calmly by the Wind Child he had seen before, down the steps.

The long-legged girl was also there.

Around them, seven or eight short-haired, blond-haired thugs stood with their arms crossed, waiting.

"That's him!" the boy suddenly pointed.

The henchmen all looked over and were about to come up.

Then, seeing the large group of people in front of them, they were all slightly taken aback, turned around and looked at the boy with questioning expressions.

The boy was stunned as he looked at the group of people in front of him.

"Du Xiaochen?!"

"Tao Zhan?" Du Xiaochen stepped forward, frowning. "Are you looking for trouble with this entourage?"

Zhang Yang, standing to the side, burst into laughter.

How come... these two groups know each other? Judging from Du Xiaochen's tone, they're probably not on good terms. That makes things easier.

"They're looking for me," Zhang Yang said with a smile.

"Brother, is someone looking for you?" Du Xiaochen asked. "Did Tao Zhan offend you?"

Zhang Yang casually recounted the whole story.

"It's alright, bro, let's fight!" Du Xiaochen sneered. "I've disliked this kid for a long time, always acting all high and mighty."

"Du Xiaochen, your friend?" The boy named Tao Zhan temporarily dismissed a few of his underlings and stepped forward, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"This is my brother." Du Xiaochen stepped forward, looking down at him. "If you know what's good for you, call him 'brother'."

"Your brother?" Tao Zhan, his lip still bruised, raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Isn't your sister the one who beat you up so badly? Oh, by the way, I heard you were desperate and grabbed a sugar daddy, even sending Apollo away. Was it him? Ha... you're really something."

"You son of a bitch..." Du Xiaochen stepped forward, ready to slap him.

"You dare!" Tao Zhan glared, taking a step back. "If my brother-in-law finds out, you'll be in big trouble."

"Your brother-in-law?" Du Xiaochen frowned.

"You don't know, do you?" Tao Zhan laughed upon seeing this. "My sister recently got engaged to Ye Junyi, the young master of Huahai Group. From now on, Brother Ye will be my brother-in-law. How about that? How does it compare to you, this brother who mistakes a clay idol for a real Buddha?"

Du Xiaochen's raised hand froze in mid-air.

"Scared now?" Tao Zhan sneered. "My brother-in-law's Huahai Group is preparing to acquire the Pudong landmark Vantone Bank Tower. How could you possibly imagine their financial strength?"

Silence reigned all around.

Du Xiaochen looked at Zhang Yang beside her.

Zhang Yang remained calm as always, and looked at him with a smile.

He gritted his teeth, a surge of strength welling up inside him, and without thinking, he slapped down the hand that was hanging in mid-air.

Snap!

The slap was loud.

Tao Zhan covered his mouth, looking at Du Xiaochen in disbelief, seemingly unable to believe where he got the courage to attack him.

"You dare to scare me? So what if your brother-in-law is Ye Junyi?" Du Xiaochen said coldly.

"Alright." Zhang Yang walked up with a smile, put his arm around Du Xiaochen's shoulder, and said gently, "Xiaochen, getting angry is bad for your health."

"Brother, he just needs to be taught a lesson," Du Xiaochen said.

Zhang Yang patted Du Xiaochen on the shoulder to comfort her, then looked at Tao Zhan.

"What are you going to do?" Tao Zhan was still wary of Zhang Yang and couldn't help but take a step back.

"You said your brother-in-law's family is planning to acquire the Vantone Bank Tower? How come I didn't know?" Zhang Yang lit a cigarette and asked with a smile, "Stop bragging."

"Who do you think you are? What makes you think you know about this kind of business?" Tao Zhan sneered. "And why should I let you know?"

In the darkness, the sparks from Zhang Yang's cigarette flickered.

"Kid, don't keep talking like you're some big shot." Zhang Yang casually tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out. "Go back and ask your brother-in-law who owns this building now. Acquisition? What a joke... Did I even agree to the acquisition?"

Suddenly, Du Xiaochen looked up, her eyes filled with wild joy.

"Brother... could it be... could it be..."

"Guess." Zhang Yang smiled without saying a word, then glanced at the group of people still standing in front of him. "Kid, get out of the way."

Tao Zhan's eyes were now filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Because what Zhang Yang just said was really intimidating.

The way he spoke, as if the acquisition was just a matter of his word.

On what grounds?

"I'll definitely remember this debt, you, and you..." He spoke with a fierce but restrained expression, his eyes sweeping over the people in front of him before he turned and left without hesitation.

A moment later, the car lights came on, and the Wind Child had sped away in an instant.

As soon as he left, Du Xiaochen excitedly ran up to Zhang Yang to ask for confirmation.

"Brother, you just said..."

"Did I say anything?" Zhang Yang said half-jokingly, "Anyone can say something scary."

"Others might be able to, but I know you definitely won't, Brother Zhang. You're different." Du Xiaochen's eyes were almost fanatical, and her head was buzzing.

The Vantone Bank Tower!

It has been one of Pudong's landmarks for many years and is part of the Lujiazui skyline.

Owning this building would be incredibly magnificent and a symbol of great significance, but acquiring it would require at least several billion yuan.

Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine; it's terrifying.

But then I thought, if this happened to Zhang Yang, it would be shocking, but not so shocking... After all, Brother Zhang's wealth is so immense, the Beijing Industrial Park alone is worth hundreds of billions, and any project he's given would have a budget of over a billion.

He stared intently at Zhang Yang, hoping Zhang Yang would nod in agreement.

A group of guys and girls from the supercar club gathered around, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Everyone was looking at Zhang Yang.

All eyes turned to Zhang Yang, filled with fervor.

"Wait... what are you doing?" Zhang Yang found it a bit funny.

"Brother, Brother Zhang, please tell us!"

"Brother Zhang, just tell me."

Someone was looking down at their phone, fiddling with it, when they suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "There's a rumor going around that the Vantone Bank Tower was just acquired this afternoon for 5.8 billion!"

Everyone looked at Zhang Yang again.

"Okay, I'm the buyer, I'm coming clean." Zhang Yang smiled, no longer hiding anything.

He's not the type to show off on purpose.

However, there's no need to deliberately hide your wealth in this situation; sometimes it's appropriate to show off your financial resources.

The surrounding area was instantly thrown into turmoil.

Everyone's eyes changed.

Originally, they treated Zhang Yang with considerable respect, because people judge others by their own character, and Du Xiaochen's attitude spoke for itself; Zhang Yang's formidable strength was beyond question.

However, they still couldn't figure out how strong they were or how deep their foundation was.

If this is unclear, it's like trying to catch the moon's reflection in water or looking at flowers in a mirror—their attitude, though warm and respectful, is ultimately somewhat hesitant.

But now...

Has the Vantone Bank Tower, one of the landmarks on the Pudong skyline, been acquired for 5.8 billion yuan?

This... this... what incredible wealth!

Take their respective companies, for example. Although some of them have market capitalizations of tens or hundreds of billions, market capitalization is still market capitalization.

Each company's net profit attributable to the parent company is only a few hundred million yuan per year.

Spending 6 billion to buy a building? The combined annual net profits of all the companies here wouldn't be enough.

Furthermore, having the money and being willing to spend it are two different things. It's like an ordinary person who works hard to save a million dollars; would they be willing to spend it all on a car or some non-essential item?

All of this demonstrates that Zhang Yang's wealth is as vast as the ocean, far exceeding these billions.

This is someone who truly controls immense wealth!

"You guys always ask me what Brother Zhang did for me?" Du Xiaochen suddenly spoke up. "Ever since I took over my family's amusement equipment company, things haven't been going well. It was Brother Zhang who gave me a project worth over a billion yuan, which made my dad look at me differently... Don't you think that's an incredible favor?"

"A project worth over a billion yuan, what is it?" someone asked, gasping in astonishment.

"A Ferris wheel," Du Xiaochen said with a smile. "Brother Zhang has a film studio in Beijing with an investment of several hundred billion yuan. My Ferris wheel is tentatively set to be the tallest in the world, and it might be called the Beijing Eye in the future."

Zhang Yang stood by, smiling but saying nothing, letting Du Xiaochen say what needed to be said for him.

It is said that after entering the pass, great Confucian scholars will come to debate the classics for me.

In this light, the ancients were right.

Although he remained silent, he conveyed a thousand words, and his image at that moment appeared to them as imposing and awe-inspiring.

"Brother Zhang, you are simply..." One young man's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.

Brother Zhang's wealth is as vast as the ocean; with such a pillar of strength available, why not seize it?

"Brother Zhang, bro, please mentor me sometime."

One by one, the people around him stepped forward, their previous respect turning into groveling and subservient behavior, as if they were following Zhang Yang's lead blindly.

The companies owned by this group of people span all walks of life in Magic City. While they may not be the leaders in their respective industries, they are certainly well-known. In Magic City, they have a deep and extensive network of connections.

Now, these rich second-generation heirs all claim to be their leaders.

His own network of relationships unexpectedly appeared and spontaneously surrounded him.

Of course, Zhang Yang also knew that unchanging interests were the cornerstone of maintaining the relationship. It was fine to provide these underlings with food, drink, entertainment, and a grand show, but to truly use them for his own purposes, he needed to exchange favors and have the opportunity to make money together.

"Brother Zhang, please look after me more often in the future." Lin Yinuo also grabbed Zhang Yang, looking like a little fangirl.

"You still need my protection?" Zhang Yang asked in surprise. "Don't you have a bunch of lackeys and sycophants following you around like beck and call?"

Don't be fooled by the way these rich kids act like their little brothers and sisters in front of me. Every single one of them has at least ten or eight followers around them.

Pick any one of them out, and they'd be considered big brothers or rich kids in their own little circles.

Once a single sentence is uttered, countless followers will scramble to do it and curry favor.

"They're good at flattery, but not at anything else," Lin Yinuo shook her head. "A thousand or ten thousand of them wouldn't be worth a single word or a finger from you, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Yang felt comfortable hearing this.

But then I thought... damn it, this Lin Yinuo is criticizing others, but isn't she herself playing the role of a sycophant right now?

It's just that because it's a girl flattering him, even though he knows it perfectly well, the feeling is still different...

Ban Liao...

"Brother Zhang, why don't you take care of Yu Nuo?" one of the guys joked. "Don't let her rebellious attitude fool you, that's only with other people. In front of Brother Zhang, she'll be completely obedient and gentle."

"That's right, Brother Zhang, Yu Nuo is expressing her feelings, so please accept it."

Everyone around her was making jokes about Lin Yinuo.

"Say that again!" Lin Yinuo glared around, then turned to Zhang Yang, her face pleading, "Brother Zhang, please protect me."

"Alright, stop joking. We're all friends, we should help each other out if needed." Zhang Yang smiled, glanced at his time, and said, "It's getting late, how about we call it a day?"

He knew that someone might suggest going to a nightclub and partying until midnight. But to be honest, he'd already had his fill of fun today. He wasn't really interested anymore, so he figured he'd call it a day.

Now, he naturally doesn't need to care about what others think.

As long as he's happy and content, that's all that matters.

Besides, no one present would object to how he acts.