Chapter 458 — Bringing Humiliation Upon Himself

Yet Zhang Dianhai did not doubt that Lou Dayan was lying. Lou Dayan had come from Songjiang, and he knew far more about such matters than Zhang Dianhai did; if a man like that said so, then it could not be false.

In an instant Zhang Dianhai's face went red and then white, his embarrassment beyond all measure. Only moments before he had been endlessly mocking Yang Ce, calling him a bumpkin who had never seen the world—and now the man had turned on his heel and become his own patron.

Zhang Dianhai could have cursed himself. He had truly judged a man by his looks. He had failed to see that a great personage was sitting right here. No wonder Guan Xiaoxiang had dared to come; no wonder Yang Ce had dared to declare that Guan Xiaoxiang could raise a hundred million in investment!

A hundred million—with the status of Yang Juehuan, was that not a matter of a single word? And he, Zhang Dianhai, had actually doubted it, had actually sneered that Guan Xiaoxiang could not raise it. This was nothing but bringing humiliation upon himself!

Of course, bringing humiliation upon himself was the least of it. Now he could only hope that Yang Yongjin did not hold a grudge against him.

And what did Yang Cenbin's words just now mean? Did they mean he had taken offense, or that he had not taken the matter to heart at all?

"Brother Yang... I am sorry. I did not know you and Little Guan were friends. Otherwise, I would never have dreamed of coming between them—I would have been eager to climb such a connection. How could I have tried to separate them?" Zhang Dianhai no longer cared what Yang Ce meant by it; he had decided to examine his own faults first. Whatever Yang Ce meant, self-examination could never be wrong.

Zhang Hualan's eyes were wide as well. She stared in disbelief at her father, who had always held himself so high, now lowering his head to Guan Xiaoxiang's friend. What... what on earth was going on?

Zhang Hualan did not know Yang Juehuan's identity, and she was truly at a loss to understand her father's behavior.

But she did know that, from this moment on, her father would probably never oppose her relationship with Guan Xiaoxiang again, because what he had said was that he would have been eager to climb such a connection.

Could it be that Guan Xiaoxiang's friend possessed some extraordinary identity?

"Heh, it is nothing. As Zhang Hualan's father, naturally you want a good home for your daughter," Yang Linyue said mildly. "But your approach was a little extreme. No one succeeds by birth; life is full of opportunity, and who knows when a man's chance may come!"

"Brother Yang is right. I will remember it always!" Zhang Dianhai said without pause.

"A hundred million, to be honest, really is a little too little." Yang Ce shrugged. "I intend to take Guan Xiaoxiang under my wing personally. I expect his future achievements to be far from limited to that hundred million. Your requirement is still too low!"

Zhang Dianhai's face went red and then white, utterly embarrassed and ashamed. He said to himself, If I had known earlier that Guan Xiaoxiang was working under you, then even if my daughter had refused, I would have hurried her into marrying him. Why would I have needed to stage such a farce?

"Brother Yang is right. I will remember it!" At this moment Zhang Dianhai could only hasten to admit his fault.

By now even Lou Dayan was somewhat dumbstruck. Only now did he understand that Yang Ce had come to stand up for Guan Xiaoxiang, and that this Guan Xiaoxiang was the future son-in-law Zhang Dianhai had meant to make things difficult for!

At that thought Lou Dayan could not help but find it rather amusing. This Zhang Dianhai—clever all his life, foolish for a moment. Could a man whom Brother Yang was willing to champion be a man of small achievement?

"You are Lou Dayan, are you not? Sit down and eat something with us," Yang Ce said, gesturing to Lou Dayan with his hand. "It is a good time to tell me about the hotel."

"Yes, yes!" Lou Dayan hurried to sit down, taking the seat beside Little Wang.

Zhang Dianhai, who had originally been seated in the place of honor, now dared not remain there. He hurried over as well and sat down beside Lou Dayan.

Lou Dayan and Zhang Dianhai told Yang Ce about the hotel's situation. Yang Shuoxuan only meant to gain a general understanding; he nodded, then rose to his feet. "Very well. Things are developing nicely here, and I am satisfied. Little Wang, later on, tell Xiaolu about their matter."

"Understood, Brother Yang!" Little Wang nodded and took out his phone to note it down.

"Thank you, Brother Yang!" Lou Dayan and Zhang Dianhai were instantly beaming and hastened to express their thanks.

"Deputy General Manager Zhang, Xiaoxiang and Xiaolan will come with me in a moment. There is no problem with that, I trust?" Yang Cenbin addressed Zhang Dianhai by his title, so his words carried a faint tone of command; if Zhang Dianhai did not agree, he would be showing himself ungrateful.

Of course, at this moment Zhang Dianhai could not have wished for anything more than to have Xiaolan and Xiaoxiang go along and spend more time in contact with him. This could only bring him endless benefit! With his daughter's connection to Xiaoxiang, his family was bound to rise to prosperity!

Yang Ce waved a hand, indicating that Lou Dayan and Zhang Dianhai need not see him off, and left the hotel together with only Little Wang, Guan Xiaoxiang, and Zhang Hualan, making his way to the parking lot.

"Xiaolan, you see? I told you Brother Yang would have no problem with it. Now you have seen it for yourself! Uncle Zhang has finally agreed to us being together!" Guan Xiaoxiang said excitedly.

"Brother Yang, thank you!" Zhang Hualan, however, was not as jubilant as Guan Xiaoxiang; she came first to thank Yang Ce.

"It is nothing. This is what I promised Xiaoxiang." Yang Heng smiled. "Let us go. We will find a quieter place and talk about your future plans."

"Brother Yang, you are too good to me. For the rest of my life, Guan Xiaoxiang will follow you as his boss!" Guan Xiaoxiang said, rather agitated. "You cannot abandon me, all right?"

"Heh, I will not," Yang Heng said with a smile.

"Boss, when Xiaolan and I have a child in the future, how about we have him acknowledge you as his godfather?" Guan Xiaoxiang said eagerly. "And then arrange a betrothal between our child and yours?"

"..." Yang Mo was somewhat speechless. "Are you not thinking a little too far ahead?"