Chapter 376 Acting Cheap
As the Pan Family had invested heavily initially, the company's closure resulted in a catastrophic loss that took years to recover from.
One could say that if the company hadn't been closed, the Pan Family might not have remained a minor noble house, but have become a mid-level one instead.
Therefore, Pan Junbin harbored a strong dislike for Haicheng.
At gatherings like this, when he encountered the rich second generations from Haicheng, he always took the opportunity to undermine them.
For the past few years, these charity gatherings were attended by Jiang Yuheng.
Humiliating Jiang Yuheng had become a fixed program for him every year.
Now, as Pan Junbin approached, Jiang Yuheng knew that nothing good was coming his way.
Pan Junbin arrived in front of Jiang Yuheng, didn't say a word, and just raised his hand to slap Jiang Yuheng across the face.
Jiang Yuheng's cheek turned red immediately.
There's a saying that you should not hit the face, especially on such occasions.
A direct slap to the face was the ultimate humiliation.
If Jiang Yuheng didn't do something, get some revenge, he would become a laughingstock forever.
"You motherf..." Jiang Yuheng rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight with Pan Junbin.
He was ready to go all out, regardless of the consequences, to get into a fight with Pan Junbin, or else he really would have no face left to live.
However, just as he raised his fist, Pan Junbin let out a cold laugh, "I heard that your company is entering the provincial city and investing a lot. If my family were to meddle with the project you're investing in, causing the project to fail, I suppose your family would suffer a terrible loss, wouldn't they?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuheng's fist froze in mid-air.
What Pan Junbin said was true; their family had invested a great deal in the entertainment city project they were collaborating on in the provincial city.
If it succeeded, they could advance further; if it failed, it would be absolutely devastating.
Jiang Yuheng had come two days early to pave the way for his father; just yesterday afternoon, his father also arrived and signed the contract.
This project was crucial to their family.
Jiang Yuheng could not allow his impulse to destroy the project.
Because he knew that Pan Junbin indeed had the capability to make it happen.
Despite the Pan Family only being a minor noble house in the provincial city, their connections among noble families were incredibly formidable. If it came to a real fight, the Jiang Family was no match, especially since this was the provincial city, the Pan Family's home ground.
"Heh, not fighting back now? I'm letting you hit me, do you dare?"
Pan Junbin chuckled with an annoying grin and leaned his face closer, taunting Jiang Yuheng to hit him.
Jiang Yuheng's face turned an ashen iron hue, wanting desperately to punch Pan Junbin to the ground.
But reason told him that he couldn't do it.
Otherwise, the entertainment city project might face ruthless targeting by the Pan Family.
If the project failed, that would be a real problem indeed.
Alas, save face or not, he couldn't just let his family suffer over a moment of pride.
Jiang Yuheng sighed inwardly, slowly lowered his hand, and unclenched his fist.
However, in the face of Jiang Yuheng's restraint, Pan Junbin didn't plan to let him go, but became even more arrogant, patting his own cheek, "Come on, hit me. I've put my face right here, and you still don't dare. How worthless can you be! I think all of you from Haicheng are trash!"
Slap!
Yet, no sooner had his words finished, than a sharp slap resonated.
Pan Junbin staggered, almost falling to the ground.
His cheek swelled up at a visibly rapid rate.
Pan Junbin's arrogance had already drawn the attention of those around.
Seeing that Jiang Yuheng had been slapped by Pan Junbin and didn't dare to strike back, many shook their heads.
Some thought Pan Junbin was going too far, others thought Jiang Yuheng was spineless, but there were those who understood Jiang Yuheng's position.
Regardless of their thoughts, not one person was willing to lend a hand.
No one wanted to offend Pan Junbin for Jiang Yuheng's sake.
But to their surprise, the young man standing beside Jiang Yuheng actually struck Pan Junbin.
This certainly caught them by surprise.
Looking at the young man, they felt a mix of unfamiliarity and deja vu.
The unfamiliarity came from the fact that they had never seen this person at the gatherings in previous years.
Clearly, he must have come to attend this year for the first time.
Walking alongside Jiang Yuhang, he must be from one of Haicheng's wealthy second-generation families, here to forge connections.
The sense of deja vu came because many felt they had seen this young man somewhere before.
Whether he was unfamiliar or not,
they all had a common thought in their minds, which was that this young man had quite the nerve, daring to strike Pan Junbin during his first time at the gathering.
Keep in mind, any person here could at least match Jiang Yuhang in standing, and most were even more formidable.
Yet this young man dared to hit Pan Junbin like that, probably out of ignorance is bliss.
Many shook their heads.
"Holy shit, you actually dared to hit me, you..."
Pan Junbin was instantly furious, but before he could finish his sentence, the other party raised his hand and slapped him again.
Smack!
This slap was even louder than the first, and it hit the other side of the face.
That side of the face swelled at a visibly fast rate.
It was only then that the young man shook his hand and said with a light smile, "This is the first time I've seen someone so shamelessly asking to be hit. If I didn't satisfy him, I'd feel like I was letting myself down, letting down the country. Jiang Yuhang, what do you think?"
Jiang Yuhang's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Xu Yang to make a move on Pan Junbin.
When he came to his senses, he was deeply touched.
He knew Xu Yang had hit Pan Junbin to help him regain his face.
By now, the sound of murmuring had begun to spread.
"Who is that by Jiang Yuhang's side? He's so audacious, giving Pan Junbin two slaps outright."
"I don't know, but if he's with Jiang Yuhang, he's probably one of Haicheng's rich second generations."
"Isn't Jiang Yuhang the most badass among Haicheng's rich second generations? Why do I feel like this guy is even more badass than Jiang Yuhang?"
"I think so too. Could it be that there's a new rich second-generation in Haicheng even more badass than Jiang Yuhang?"
"Even if there is someone and even if they're more badass than Jiang Yuhang, beating Pan Junbin, that's not going to end well."
"Yes, the Pan Family is a prestigious family from the provincial city, albeit a minor one, but not something Haicheng's wealthy families can compare to."
"Do you guys feel like this guy looks somewhat familiar?"
"Yeah, I just can't remember where I've seen him before."
"Really? Is he famous or something?"
"Holy shit, it can't be him, can it?"
"Who, do you know him?"
"He seems to be the boss of Haicheng's Bottoms Up, Xu Yang! Let me check the news, damn, it's him!"
"What, it's actually Bottoms Up's boss Xu Yang!"
"I heard he's a self-made man who became a billionaire within a year. Just his Bottoms Up alone, some estimate that in five years it could become a hotpot empire worth a hundred billion, and by then he'll be a solid hundred-billionaire, the youngest ever!"
"Some say he will become the youngest top tycoon in Huaxia, even the world's top tycoon!"
"I can't believe he's here too."
"He definitely seems even more badass than Jiang Yuhang, and not by a small margin."
"That's right, Haicheng's Prosperous Furniture was brought down by his Yang Xin Investment."
"Even though he's badass, getting into it with Pan Junbin will be troublesome; he could get knocked back down a peg."
"Heh, no matter what, watching him slap Pan Junbin like that, we're in for a good show."