Chapter 25: Plaything

Lin Changyuan looked up and down at Xu Yuan, who was dressed very plainly, and quietly whispered into Ye Hao’s ear, “Old Ye, your plaything hasn’t been successfully transformed yet.”

Ye Hao’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably, but he couldn’t lose his temper on the spot, so he just smiled and said, “Old Lin, jokes like that shouldn’t be made lightly.”

“Alright, alright, I spoke out of turn. Everyone, please have a seat.”

Lin Changyuan arranged for the three to take their seats, and Xu Yuan casually sat down on a chair, lighting a cigarette for himself.

Xu Yuan had participated in this kind of entertainment gathering once in his previous life, but he was not the target of the amusement.

Xu Yuan was extremely disgusted by this behavior. These so-called elites, having already failed to satisfy their physical emptiness, were now starting to target the spiritual.

The “entertainment” they referred to was not objects, but people. They would transform an ordinary person into an elite who appeared identical to them on the outside.

And without the other party noticing, they would humiliate them in every possible way. That feeling of toying with others brought immense satisfaction to their spirits.

“Xu Yuan, this is a no-smoking area, don’t you know?” Chen Yuhang said with a smile. Though his tone was calm, his gaze was both questioning and proud.

Xu Yuan looked shabby and poor; how could he compare to him? All the successful people present were his “friends,” and he wanted to flaunt his success.

“Yuhang, do you know Mr. Xu?” Lin Changyuan looked at the scene with great interest.

The two playthings actually know each other.

“Yes, he is my junior’s boyfriend, probably a student at the Finance University.

Young people are inexperienced; President Lin, please forgive them,” Chen Yuhang seemed to be pleading with Xu Yuan, but in fact, he was putting himself in a very superior position.

Zhang Chao also sensed the awkward atmosphere and nudged Ye Hao’s arm.

Ye Hao didn’t want to offend Xu Yuan either. He originally intended to speak up to defuse the situation, but when he saw Xu Yuan’s mocking gaze, he closed his mouth again, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his lips.

These guys in suits and ties think they’re watching a monkey, but they don’t realize they’re monkeys themselves.

“Little brother, we were just tasting tea earlier. This is good tea; it would be a pity to miss it.” Lin Changyuan spun the crystal turntable, and the pot of so-called good tea was rotated in front of Xu Yuan.

Hearing Chen Yuhang say that Xu Yuan was a student, he was even more certain that the other party was a pastime brought by Ye Hao.

Xu Yuan took a deep drag of his cigarette, leaned forward to smell it, then lay back in the chair, crossed his legs, and said nothing, just staring at Lin Changyuan.

This old bastard thinks of me as a pastime!

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense, and the so-called elites present all looked strangely at Xu Yuan, this “pastime.”

“President Ye, is President Lin very poor?” Xu Yuan asked Ye Hao with a feigned look of confusion.

Ye Hao understood what Xu Yuan meant and said with a smile, “How do you mean?”

“A pot of tea so bad it can’t get any worse, and you still call it good tea? Even my foot-washing water tastes better than this. President Lin, do you want to try some?” Xu Yuan said with a grin, looking at Lin Changyuan.

Xu Yuan wasn’t afraid to offend these scumbags. The only reason he was still sitting in this seat was to show face for Ye Hao and Zhang Chao.

“Xu Yuan, why say such tasteless things! Don’t come across as so rude!”

Before Lin Changyuan could speak, Chen Yuhang jumped in to show off.

“Stupid and unaware of it.” Xu Yuan really didn’t want to stay any longer, so he stood up and glanced at Zhang Chao and Ye Hao.

“Aren’t you guys leaving?”

Ye Hao and Zhang Chao also smiled and did not intend to stay any longer; they both stood up one after another.

“Little brother, why speak so harshly? Old Ye, can’t you control your people?” Lin Changyuan looked at Ye Hao with displeasure in his eyes and said in a low voice.

The so-called elites present remained silent, but their gazes toward Xu Yuan were all very sharp.

“Old Lin, I just told you, you can’t joke around like that.”

General Xu is not a plaything I brought along,” Ye Hao chuckled. This Lin Changyuan’s company is on the verge of collapse, yet he still has the mood to enjoy being superior.

Xu Yuan didn’t bother to pay attention to these people and walked straight out, with Zhang Chao following behind, shaking his head helplessly with a smile.

The atmosphere at the table had frozen to the extreme. As Ye Hao was leaving, he said to everyone, “That Xu Yuan you treat as a plaything just signed a 40 million contract and transferred the money on the spot. Do you understand what that means?

I remember, Old Lin, your company’s cash flow was cut off, right? Go beg him now; maybe there’s still a chance to save it.”

After saying this, Ye Hao no longer paid attention to the expressions of those present, only patting Lin Changyuan on the shoulder.

Ye Hao originally had no intention of offending this group, but now he felt it was much better to offend them than to offend Xu Yuan.

“40 million in working capital?” Lin Changyuan’s expression was complicated at this moment.

Chen Yuhang was even more stunned; he couldn’t believe that Xu Yuan came here just to sign a contract.

40 million! Why is he so rich?!!

All the so-called elites present were thoroughly slapped in the face, after all, without taking out a bank loan, no individual could produce 40 million in liquid assets.

“President Lin… don’t get angry over such a trivial matter, it’s not worth it. That Xu Yuan is just bluffing with borrowed authority,” Chen Yuhang said with an awkward smile, still holding on to the last shred of hope in his heart.

“Aren’t you the one who said he’s just a student?” Lin Changyuan finally dropped the act, his face twisted with rage, no longer resembling the successful man from before.

Chen Yuhang was slightly stunned and frowned. He could be humble because he had no money, but he believed that everyone was equal in dignity, because that was the only reason he could confidently sit at this table: “President Lin, there’s no need to insult people, right?”
Lin Changyuan grabbed Chen Yuhang’s collar fiercely and said, “Do you really think you’re one of us?

We give you money, dress you in designer clothes, just to amuse ourselves!
We just want to see what a monkey looks like when it’s dressed up!”

Hearing this, Chen Yuhang was a bit stunned, wanting to speak up in rebuttal but not knowing what to say.

“Damn it, take off the clothes you bought from me and get the hell out!”

Lin Changyuan was very angry. He had treated Chen Yuhang like a monkey, but today he was treated like a monkey by Xu Yuan! So he chose to vent all his anger on Chen Yuhang.

“President Lin, I was wrong!” Chen Yuhang was completely panicked. Only now did he realize that everything he had was given by this man, so he clung to Lin Changyuan’s thigh and begged for mercy.

At this moment, all of Chen Yuhang’s pride was crushed to pieces, leaving him without a shred of dignity, as if he were truly a monkey begging its master for mercy.

But all of this was his own choice. Couldn’t Chen Yuhang realize that he was being toyed with like a monkey?

But he would rather believe that all of this was a reward from heaven, that without effort, he would gain the respect of these so-called elites.

  ……

“What a bunch of scum,” Zhang Chao said helplessly, shaking his head with a smile. His gaze shifted to Ye Hao, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, “Old Ye, don’t misunderstand, I’m not talking about you.”

“You slyly indirect bastard, how many times have I damn well refused Lin Changyuan? Today I just happened to run into him, really couldn’t push it off. But I guess he probably won’t come looking for me anymore.” Ye Hao smiled awkwardly and said.

“What does Lin Changyuan do?” Xu Yuan glanced at Ye Hao and asked.

“Boss of Qian Yue Capital, why do you ask?” Ye Hao gave Xu Yuan a strange look.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp and profound as he said, “Take him down!”

Xu Yuan generally does not make enemies for himself, but once he offends someone, he crushes them completely.

Hearing this, both Zhang Chao and Ye Hao took a deep breath.

Those words were too arrogant! But they did not think Xu Yuan was lying.

Ye Hao smiled sullenly and said, “Well… Lin Changyuan won’t last long. Their company’s cash flow has been cut off. They’ve been trying to get me involved just so I can help.”

Are young people nowadays really this fierce? They come at you wanting to kill right away.

The sharpness in Xu Yuan’s eyes disappeared, as if he had returned to a harmless appearance, smiling as he looked at the two and said, “Alright. Since that’s the case, I’ll be going first.”

The school has a curfew; if you’re late, you can’t get back in.”

“Mr. Xu, how about I give you a ride?” Ye Hao felt a chill down his spine; he almost forgot that Xu Yuan was still a student.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you, Mr. Ye.”

…

“Do you know the Shenlong set? I, Brother Yuan, ordered four sets directly! How awesome is that?”

“Have you ever drunk Rémy Martin?”

“Have you ever seen the Ace of Spades?”

At the campfire site in the suburbs, Li Rui was drunk and bragging with everyone.

Qian Jialun and Zhang Long were also speechless. Why does this guy get so drunk so quickly? Fortunately, Xu Yuan didn’t come, otherwise it would have been really awkward.

If Xu Yuan were here, he would definitely spot two familiar figures in the crowd.

“Wan’er, that Yuan Ge mentioned by Li Rui, could it be Xu Yuan?” Xia Ke whispered quietly into Lin Wan’er’s ear.

Lin Wan’er held a bottle of beer, her cheeks slightly flushed, and said drowsily, “I don’t think so.”

“Classmate, can I have your contact information? My name is Zheng Jian, and I’m the class monitor for daily affairs.”

Zheng Jian looked at the stunningly beautiful Lin Wan’er and shamelessly leaned in closer.

Because of the class monitor incident, Zheng Jian was not liked at all by the girls in their class; only the students from Imperial Capital Finance paid any attention to him.

Xia Ke looked at this sharp-featured boy, her eyes filled with ill intent, and frowned as she said, “Sorry, her phone is dead.”

“No, it’s not. The phone has power.” Lin Wan’er was clearly drunk, squinting her eyes and smiling as she took out her phone, shaking it a couple of times.

Xia Ke was stunned—how could he still be undermining her like this?

Lin Wan’er smiled, revealing two dimples, and with her originally fair face flushed red, she looked very charming.

Zheng Jian was somewhat stunned; it was the first time he had seen such a beautiful girl.

“Classmate, how about I scan your code?” Zheng Jian wanted to take advantage of Lin Wan’er’s drunkenness to get her contact information.

Unfortunately, the drunken Lin Wan’er seemed not to hear him at all; she opened her phone and flipped through the contacts.

“Hey… Xu Yuan! I’m drunk and feeling a bit unwell, carry me home!”