Chapter 30: Kneeling and Bowing

The other customers present in the lobby all stared at Jiang Hao with looks of utter shock. They simply couldn’t believe that such an ordinary-looking young man, dressed plainly from head to toe without a single brand name in sight, had truly just bought this luxurious villa worth thirty million! How could this be possible? Are the truly wealthy these days all so low-key?

The most incredulous of all, of course, were Pan Yixuan and Zhou Chen. While the others were merely surprised and amazed, the two of them felt not only shock but fury. Jiang Hao had actually purchased the thirty-million villa, which meant he had won this extravagant wager, and the losers were Zhou Chen and Pan Yixuan. According to their bet, Zhou Chen and Pan Yixuan were supposed to kneel and kowtow to him!

Jiang Hao glanced at Pan Yixuan and Zhou Chen with a calm smile and said, “I’ve already paid thirty million Huabi and signed the contract. This villa now belongs to me. So, I’ve won this wager, haven’t I?”

Zhou Chen and Pan Yixuan exchanged glances, neither uttering a word.

Jiang Hao continued, “According to our agreement, you two should fulfill your promise and kneel to kowtow to me.”

Zhou Chen could no longer contain himself, his voice trembling as he said, “Jiang Hao, don’t push things too far!”

Jiang Hao laughed twice, his face full of satisfaction. “Me, pushing things too far? The ones who went too far were you. Zhou Chen, you’re the sales manager at Zhao Real Estate’s sales center. I came here as a customer, yet not only did you fail to treat me with courtesy, you even joined with Pan Yixuan to mock and insult me, and even tried to drive me out. Is this how you do your job as a manager?”

At these words, Zhou Chen’s expression changed dramatically. After all, the general manager Zhao Ziyun—who was also the Zhao family’s eldest son—was right there, watching everything unfold! Jiang Hao’s words were nothing short of a death sentence for him.

Pan Yixuan, gritting his teeth, glared hatefully at Jiang Hao and asked, “Jiang Hao, do you really want to go to the bitter end with me? I admit I made a miscalculation today. Why don’t we each take a step back, and pretend none of this ever happened?”

He thought that as the eldest son of the Pan family, lowering himself to say such words would surely prompt Jiang Hao to agree sensibly. Yet, to his astonishment, Jiang Hao slowly shook his head.

“Pan Yixuan, so what if you’re the eldest son of the Pan family? To be honest, I, Jiang Hao, have never regarded you or your family as worth my attention. I’ve already given you plenty of chances—it was you who insisted on standing against me, time and again! And now you want me to back off and let you go? Impossible.”

Jiang Hao’s words left Pan Yixuan seething with rage.

Just then, Zhao Ziyun, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke. “Pan Yixuan, both the Pan and Zhao families are considered prominent in Maple Leaf City, but after today, it’s clear your family is no match for ours. As the Pan family’s eldest son, you break your word and go back on your promises. Do you realize how much this will damage your family’s reputation? From now on, whenever people speak of the Pan family, they’ll say you’re untrustworthy, disregard your commitments, and are not worth associating with.”

Zhao Ziyun’s words were like holding Pan Yixuan’s feet to the fire. If Jiang Hao were the only one insisting, Pan Yixuan might still try to weasel out, but now that Zhao Ziyun was involved—and was clearly siding with Jiang Hao—Pan Yixuan found himself at a complete loss.

Before Pan Yixuan could respond, Zhao Ziyun turned a cold gaze on Zhou Chen. “Zhou Chen, regardless of what’s happened, you’re still my sales manager at Zhao Real Estate Group. You represent the Zhao family’s image. It’s best if you honor the agreement with Mr. Jiang and kneel to apologize.”

Zhou Chen was utterly defeated. He turned desperately to Pan Yixuan, hoping for rescue, but Pan Yixuan was in no position to help anyone now. After a long hesitation, Zhou Chen sighed, then slowly knelt down.

He dropped to his knees before Jiang Hao and, gritting his teeth, kowtowed three times. “Mr. Jiang, I, Zhou Chen, apologize to you here and now!”

Jiang Hao paid him no heed. Throughout this spectacle, Pan Yixuan had always been the main actor; Zhou Chen was merely a lackey, a petty clown Jiang Hao couldn’t even be bothered to notice.

“Well, Pan Yixuan, are you going to kneel or not?” Jiang Hao pressed, his tone growing stern.

The customers present, eager to watch the drama unfold, began to cheer and jeer. “That’s right, eldest son of the Pan family, kneel already!” “A man should keep his word!” “If you don’t kneel, your reputation is finished!”

Hearing so many voices urging him to kneel, Pan Yixuan’s shoulders began to tremble.

Zhao Ziyun laughed heartily. “Who would have thought, the Pan family’s eldest son is actually so concerned about his reputation. But if you refuse to kneel, you’ll only disgrace yourself further! At this point, you’d best be a good sport—kneel, kowtow, and apologize to Mr. Jiang. You’ll lose face, but at least you might save some dignity for your family.”

“Enough of your sarcasm, Zhao Ziyun! You act as if you care about me, but everyone knows you just want to see me humiliated!”

Pan Yixuan snapped, pointing furiously at Zhao Ziyun’s nose.

Zhao Ziyun sneered, his voice icy. “I was offering you a way out, but since you’re so ungrateful, I won’t be polite any longer. Men! Help Pan Yixuan kneel and kowtow to Mr. Jiang!”

At his command, more than a dozen security guards rushed forward. They were all staff at the sales center, loyal to the Zhao family, and at Zhao Ziyun’s order, they didn’t hesitate to act.

“Zhao Ziyun, what are you doing? Do you really want to oppose me and the Pan family? I won’t let you get away with this!”

Pan Yixuan shouted, struggling with all his might. But how could one man resist more than a dozen guards? In less than five seconds, seven or eight hands had pinned him firmly to the ground, forcing him to his knees before Jiang Hao in utter humiliation.

“Make him kowtow!” Zhao Ziyun commanded mercilessly.

“Yes, sir!” the lead guard replied, grabbing Pan Yixuan by the hair and forcing his head to the floor.

“That’s only one. There are still two more,” Zhao Ziyun said coolly.

Jiang Hao glanced at Zhao Ziyun, then smiled and said, “Thank you, Master Zhao, for your assistance. Otherwise, this faithless scoundrel would never have kept his promise.”

“Ah, I simply didn’t want him to be branded as someone who doesn’t keep his word,” Zhao Ziyun replied with a wave and a chuckle.