Chapter 366 - 249: A Slap

Chapter 366: Chapter 249: A Slap

Holding a glass of champagne, Zhuang Yingcheng watched Lin Chu, who was standing by the band. He took a small sip, a complicated look clouding his eyes.

’Heh.’

’Ten billion?’

’Even if he really is worth ten billion, saying it like that, in a place like this, makes him look like a clown playing to the gallery—even if he tries to pass it off as a joke.’

’What truly wealthy man, what real powerhouse, needs to flaunt their riches like that?’

’It’s one thing for others to say it about you, but it’s something else entirely when you say it about yourself.’

’Of course...’

’...there was another possibility—he was trying to set up a scam, to swindle people out of their money.’

As a financial capital, such things were not uncommon in Xiangjiang. Every time someone orchestrated a scheme, a whole crowd of Celebrities would get involved. Many stars would endorse a project only to find out later that they had been scammed themselves.

Lost in thought, Zhuang Yingcheng lightly tapped his knuckles on the table and lit a cigarette.

The incident from two nights ago was, for all intents and purposes, over.

However, the heart-pounding fear still lingered, so much so that for the past two days, he hadn’t gone anywhere without at least four bodyguards.

He’d developed a phobia of being outgunned.

"Brother, what woman bit you last night? Your lips are all bruised."

"I was going to ask earlier, but I decided to let you save some face."

A young man in a white suit pulled a chair over and sat down beside Zhuang Yingcheng, asking with a sly grin.

His tone, however, carried a faint, yet unmistakable, hint of mockery.

A little while ago, the three brothers and their two uncles had been in the second-floor living room, accepting Jackie Chan’s "mediation."

As an outsider, Jackie Chan hadn’t said much. He simply adopted the air of an elder and had the five of them promise that while they could fight over the inheritance, they must not put their lives on the line.

With this outside intervention, the five of them made their promises, even signing an agreement in black and white.

On the surface, they had reached a reluctant truce.

Of course, Jackie Chan knew in his heart that such promises and contracts were nothing more than a superficial gesture.

Wealth moves the hearts of men, and it often costs them their lives.

But he had only gotten involved at Zhuang Yingcheng’s request. His ability to help was limited, and getting them this far was the best anyone could hope for.

Zhuang Yingcheng looked at his most arrogant younger brother and smiled serenely. "Fajing, your mouth is for eating. If you don’t know how to speak, you can just shut it. It seems I didn’t beat you enough when we were children."

Their father had carefully chosen the names for his three sons: Yingcheng, Meirei, and Fajing. They were names with an international vision, a reflection of the territories their father had planned to divide among them.

In fact, their father had planned it all out long ago.

Unfortunately, his death had been too sudden. For a great family that had prospered for decades, a time like this was truly no different from the fall of a dynasty.

His third brother, only twenty-one years old, had always cultivated the image of a spoiled heir. But after their father’s death, he had suddenly become dangerously sharp.

With just a few moves, he had shockingly become the one with the most capital, even securing the backing of two foreign consortiums.

This gave Zhuang Yingcheng a major headache.

’Brothers, born of the same mother and father.’

’And now they were on the verge of putting bullets in each other’s backs.’

To the outside world, he, as the eldest son and eldest grandson, was the true heir to the family. But of course, his second and third brothers refused to acknowledge it.

"Alright, cut the crap," Fajing said. "I’ll say it again: crawl back to your Peng City. I’m not happy about what happened today. I have to give Jackie Chan face, but letting an outsider meddle in our family’s business? Is your head full of shit?"

Zhuang Fajing’s handsome face was faintly contorted with rage.

’His brother was useless, yet he was arrogant. He loved to posture and play at making grand alliances, but he always failed miserably. A complete idiot.’

’If he ever actually took control of the company, it would be a disaster for everyone.’

Zhuang Fajing’s voice was low, spoken almost directly into Zhuang Yingcheng’s ear.

To any onlookers, it looked as if the two brothers were smiling and whispering to each other.

But to the one on the receiving end, the words had a very different taste.

Staring impassively at his brother, Zhuang Yingcheng was about to say something, but Zhuang Fajing had already stood up, buttoned his jacket, and started walking with a smile toward Lin Chu and Jackie Chan.

...

"Uncle!"

"President Lin!"

"Hahaha, wow, just looking at your faces, you two look so similar... Uncle, he’s not your illegitimate son, is he?"

Zhuang Fajing boomed with laughter, making the inappropriate joke in front of everyone.

The expressions of the men in suits and women in evening gowns standing nearby changed slightly; they stared at him in disbelief.

It was well-known that Jackie Chan had a reputation as a philanderer.

And his relationships with his publicly acknowledged children weren’t exactly good.

As for whether he had any other illegitimate children, nobody knew.

But this was the kind of thing that not even the gossip rags dared to report on.

And now, had the Zhuang Family’s third young master completely lost his mind?

A flicker of anger appeared in Jackie Chan’s eyes.

’To be humiliated to my face by a guest at my own party?’

’What is Ah Jing doing?’

SLAP!

A sharp, slapping sound suddenly rang out.

It was Lin Chu.

The slap wasn’t particularly powerful, but it was fast. Before Zhuang Fajing could even react, a fiery sting spread across his face.