Chapter 718
: So Embarrassing
Xu Bo'an had seen many luxurious places, but he was still taken aback by the extravagance of this place.
The entrance hall is enormous; many city outdoor plazas don't even have such a large space.
On the starry dome, many huge crystal chandeliers hang down neatly, making the overall shape look like stars falling to earth. The light they cast illuminates every corner of the hall as bright as day, a stark contrast to the night outside.
The hall is supported by many thick pillars that reach the ceiling. They are carved with all kinds of galloping horses, and every little movement and every strand of hair is very clear. They are so lifelike that it seems as if the horses might gallop out of the hall at any moment.
In the central circular space of the hall, there was a circle of oval tables and sofas, with plenty of food and drinks on display.
Many people speaking various regional accents were chatting while dressed in expensive fine clothes.
These people are adorned with jewels, clearly indicating they are quite wealthy. This is understandable, as those who can afford to ride horses must be very well-off.
"Mr. Li, oh my Mr. Li, congratulations! I heard you got your hands on a top-quality yellow horse, you're really lucky. Do you have any other connections? You can introduce me to some."
"Hey... what's that compared to what you've got, Lao Zhao? You've heard that someone supposedly found a whole batch of purebred Shire horses overseas, over fifty in total! That's real luck."
"Oh? Which lucky guy is it? The Shire horse is one of the earliest domesticated warhorse breeds in the world, and it is also the largest horse in the world. Many people like this kind of foreign horse. These days, purebred Shire horses are very rare."
"Yes, these horses are incredibly valuable. Why aren't we so lucky?" someone sighed.
"Hehe, this is nothing. I heard that someone has even managed to get their hands on more than twenty Andalusian horses."
"Haha, you're talking about Old Lin, right? I heard that he got it from a primitive tribe in a primeval forest in the Americas. Apart from some food and cloth, he didn't spend much at all. That's incredibly lucky."
"Good heavens, this is a real windfall. A few years ago at an auction, a purebred Andalusian horse sold for nearly 20 million. Even if not all of them are top-quality, more than 20 horses would still be worth more than 100 million. It would take a month to win the lottery every day."
Listening to the casual conversation of the group, Zhang Kai gasped repeatedly.
Goodness, I can't even get a word in edgewise when these people are talking about top-quality horses. The most expensive horse at my racetrack is only a few hundred thousand, while these people's horses easily cost over a million or even tens of millions. It's simply incomparable.
Since it was their first time here, no one came up to greet Xu Bo'an and Zhang Kai. The two simply looked around the place casually and walked forward slowly.
Seeing a restroom ahead, Zhang Kai greeted Xu Bo'an and was just about to go to the restroom when he heard a strange voice coming from the side.
"Hey, isn't this Mr. Zhang from Jiangzhou? I remember your racecourse only has a few dozen ordinary horses, right? Since when did a small business owner like you become qualified to participate in this trade fair? Is this trade fair qualification something you could possibly get your hands on? Tell me honestly, Mr. Zhang! You didn't sneak in here, did you!"
Xu Bo'an and his companion looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man dressed in an extravagant gold suit and wearing a huge diamond ring, hands on his hips, like a crab baring its fangs and claws, mocking Zhang Kai with unrestrained laughter. The laughter was like a cold rain of arrows, shooting towards Zhang Kai.
His voice was sharp and shrill, drawing the attention of those around him, followed by a burst of quiet murmurs.
After all, gossip is a human talent. Although these people usually appear serious and dignified in front of their subordinates, in this situation, everyone is equally talkative, and having some topics makes it easier to get closer to each other. Therefore, Zhang Kai suddenly became the object of many people's pointing and whispering.
Zhang Kai's expression changed slightly, but he quickly suppressed his dissatisfaction and regained his composure.
This guy is right. Logically speaking, he's just a small business owner with only a few dozen ordinary horses at a racecourse.
Although he currently owns over a hundred horses at his racetrack, some of them are boarded up by others, especially some high-end breeds. They are not considered his own.
So in this hall where everyone is a big boss or a tycoon, my own net worth is really nothing special.
However, Zhang Kai wasn't so lacking in confidence, after all, he had come with Xu Bo'an this time.
Although he didn't know Xu Bo'an's true background, someone who could buy up hundreds of horses at once was definitely not a nobody.
Moreover, the fact that a rich second-generation like Qu Feifan could show such respect to Xu Bo'an is not a privilege that ordinary people can receive. At the very least, Xu Bo'an's status must be much higher than Qu Feifan's.
It was this confidence that allowed Zhang Kai to quickly calm down.
Having accompanied such an important figure, Xu Bo'an couldn't possibly stand by and watch him be bullied, could he? Besides, he had been quite respectful to Xu Bo'an all this time. Even if he didn't care about Xu Bo'an, he should at least show him some respect. Xu Bo'an was counting on him to take care of his Akhal-Teke horse, so for the sake of the horse, Xu Bo'an should at least do him a favor.
How should I put it? It might feel like a dog relying on its master's power, which doesn't sound nice, but it really makes me feel at ease.
In short, it feels like having a powerful backer, which is really great.
Sure enough, when Xu Bo'an saw that Zhang Kai hadn't dared to utter a single word after being mocked, he knew that Zhang Kai definitely couldn't afford to offend that person.
After all, they were colleagues and friends, so Xu Bo'an couldn't just ignore this matter now that it had come to this.
If this had happened before, Xu Bo'an wouldn't have known the other party's capabilities and naturally wouldn't have recklessly stood up for them.
But now that Xu Bo'an has a cheat code, he's completely different. To put it bluntly, I never care how powerful or strong my opponents are. In any case, most people I see are definitely not as strong as me.
Even if there were one or two such cases, and things came to a point of no return, Xu Bo'an could simply use his divine sense to consume some of his incense and vow power and retreat into the bonsai world.
I have a cheat code, who am I afraid of?
Therefore, seeing Zhang Kai's submissive appearance, Xu Bo'an immediately frowned slightly and asked Zhang Kai in a low voice, "What? An enemy?"
Zhang Kai chuckled sheepishly and explained carefully, "I guess so. This was one of my former upstream suppliers. If you really think about it, about a third of the horses in my racecourse were bought from him. We used to have a pretty good relationship, but one time I reserved two horses for a client and had already paid him the deposit. However, the market was fluctuating a lot at that time, and when it came time to deliver, this guy didn't want to complete the transaction at the price agreed in the original contract. He insisted on paying more!"
You've already signed a contract, so naturally the business can't be done this way. I definitely can't agree to that, since I have a contract with the client beforehand. The client certainly won't want to pay more, and of course, I'm even less willing.
So things couldn't continue, and a lawsuit had to be filed. That's how I had a falling out with him. We didn't work together anymore. We usually went about our own business peacefully without much contact, but I never expected to run into him here!
Xu Bo'an nodded slightly. He could tell that Zhang Kai wasn't lying, so the guy opposite him really wasn't a very good person.
Seeing that Zhang Kai did not reply, the person opposite him became even more smug, assuming that Zhang Kai knew he was in the wrong or had backed down, and therefore he was even less inclined to let him go.
"What? You're too scared to speak? Did I hit the nail on the head? You really managed to sneak in?" As he spoke, the man approached Xu Bo'an and Zhang Kai, looking at Zhang Kai with disdain, occasionally glancing at Xu Bo'an with eyes full of contempt.
After all, in his view, anyone who could associate with someone of Zhang Kai's caliber was probably of a similar caliber to Zhang Kai, so he was completely fearless!
When he saw the other party standing in front of him, criticizing him and even bringing Xu Bo'an into the fray, Zhang Kai finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Zhang Kai glared at the other person and immediately retorted through gritted teeth, "How I got in is none of your business. You're not one of the organizers here, so why are you babbling on and on?"
Zhang Kai is also a businessman, so he naturally understands human relationships and social dynamics.
Now that Xu Bo'an has started to get involved in this matter, they naturally can't just ignore him.
However, Xu Bo'an is not Zhang Kai's biological father, so it cannot be said that Zhang Kai does nothing and Xu Bo'an will run up to stand up for him on his own.
I have to act as a pawn to make Xu Bo'an understand my attitude towards doing things!
Many people don't fail to encounter helpful people; rather, they fail to seize the opportunity when such people appear!
To put it simply, it's like if a kind person sees a pickpocket on a bus and is willing to help you, you should at least show some appreciation in return.
You can't expect someone to kindly catch a thief who stole your things, and you, to avoid trouble, just cower in silence or outright deny any involvement. That would be incredibly disheartening.
Zhang Kai's actions were not superfluous. Seeing Zhang Kai's attitude, Xu Bo'an smiled slightly, then stopped Zhang Kai and said softly, "Sigh, Mr. Zhang, this is where you're wrong."
This gentleman's intentions were good; perhaps he was a staff member here, specifically responsible for verifying the identity information of attendees, much like a watchdog chained up at someone's gate.
The owner of that house wasn't its watchdog, but as a watchdog, it had every right to do its job, right?
When Xu Bo'an first spoke, the person opposite him was somewhat smug.
Thinking to himself that his guess was right, the guy next to Zhang Kai was indeed no big shot. He was so frightened by his words that he backed down and betrayed Zhang Kai, siding with him as an enemy.
But this guy's happiness didn't last long before he was infuriated by Xu Bo'an's next words.
He wasn't stupid; Xu Bo'an's words clearly implied that he was being compared to a watchdog, so how could he not be angry!
Zhang Kai was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately echoed Xu Bo'an, saying, "Oh, Mr. Xu, you're right. I didn't think this through, and I apologize for the embarrassment. Mr. Feng, please forgive me. I was abrupt just now, and I really didn't know you'd changed industries. May I ask..."
"What the hell do you want to ask! Shut up! You're the watchdog, your whole family are watchdogs! I..." Before Zhang Kai could finish his sarcastic remarks, the guy surnamed Feng lost his temper and interrupted him with a shout.
However, he was interrupted by external interference before he could finish speaking.
This interference is a simple and brutal slap in the face.
Xu Bo'an raised his hand and slapped Boss Feng across the face, forcing Boss Feng to stop his incessant rant.
He looked at Xu Bo'an in disbelief at first, then roared in fury, "You dare hit me! I'll kill you!"
He had barely finished speaking, and his arm was already halfway up when Xu Bo'an swiftly slapped him again.
"Who do you think you are? We are participants who walked in through the main entrance with a clear conscience after passing through the verification at the gate. You are speaking rudely here. Beating you up would be too lenient. If I were the organizer here, someone like you would be kicked out."
Boss Feng was completely stunned.
Firstly, she didn't expect anyone to dare to make a move here. Secondly, he wasn't stupid; he finally realized the harsh reality that he couldn't beat Xu Bo'an, which was a big problem!
As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid!
Although Boss Feng was furious, after witnessing that Xu Bo'an was truly capable of hitting people, Boss Feng dared not offend Xu Bo'an again.
Firstly, being beaten really hurts, and secondly, it's really embarrassing.
In the eyes of so many fellow professionals at the scene, she was so delicate and beautiful that she was beaten so badly that she had no chance to fight back.
Even if you are in the right, you have already lost face big time.
In the future, when people talk about this incident, no matter where they are in the right, the fact that they were slapped twice will be a topic that people will find hard to let go of.
Fortunately, this matter can be glossed over in a single sentence. If I hadn't been able to see the situation clearly and had been beaten even worse, then the embarrassment would have been even greater.
So, Boss Feng, holding back his anger, gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I won't hold a grudge against you on such an important occasion today, but this isn't over. You wait and see, the organizers of the conference will definitely not sit idly by." (End of Chapter)