The people swallowed hard, a few tugging at the collar of their tops. It was suffocating in here, yet the air was colder than the North. What was scary about this scene was not the smack that rang throughout the room, but the strikingly tall, lean, and charismatic man blocking it.Nothing was more terrifying than seeing his dangerous placid expression. It was hard to read his emotions when his eyes were so lifeless. Publicly displaying anger was one thing, but acting so calm was another. Looking at the man"s ashen face while he held Zheng Tianyi"s hand was like looking at Yama himself. The people could practically see the wispy ghosts swirling around the man as a heavy air of cruel death hanged around him.
"Yang Feng…" Zhao Lifei breathed out in shock. He had pulled her back from the blow, one arm tightly wrapped around her waist, pressing her lithe body into his perfectly tailored dress. The other had blocked the smack and was now holding Zheng Tianyi"s wrist, bending it in an unruly matter.
His lethal and deadly stare was centered on the imbecile in front of him. "I should break your wrist right now." Yang Feng muttered, enough for Zheng Tianyi to hear the threat, but quiet enough where the crowd did not.
Zheng Tianyi"s face was morphed into shock. He had been so busy with trying to uplift Zheng Corporation, he did not have enough time to pay attention to the news about Yang Feng and Zhao Lifei"s relations.h.i.+p. He thought the incident at the banquet last time was just a random gesture of kindness towards a pitiful and pathetic woman. Why was the scene repeating itself again?
"Yang Feng, you"re hurting me." Zheng Tianyi scowled, yanking his hand back but Yang Feng twisted it further, a dark look on his face.
Zheng Tianyi bit hard on his tongue to prevent a painful cry from escaping. The pain was so intense, he was beginning to break out in a cold sweat. He did not want to embarra.s.s himself in front of Xia Mengxi and Zhao Lifei. That would hurt his pride more than it would harm his body.
"If blacklisting you was not enough, I could do much more than that." Yang Feng released Zheng Tianyi, shoving him back.
He knew if he wanted to hurt the human waste in front of him, the best way to do so was attacking the company and then capturing him later on.
This was a celebration banquet with hundreds of pairs of eyes trained on them, it would be too messy and problematic to deal with him in public.
"I"m surprised you"re attending tonight"s banquet Mr. Zheng, especially when you have a failing company to worry about." Yang Feng nonchalantly added on.
Everyone was suddenly reminded of the enormous stock drop of Zheng Corporation. Major partners.h.i.+ps pulled out, the company"s value was decreasing, and the projects they had in mind were halted. Shouldn"t the CEO be slaving his life away at the company, instead of mingling at a banquet with his lover?
Zheng Tianyi"s right eye twitched. He ground his teeth, his hands itching to punch something. d.a.m.n you, Yang Feng! It wasn"t enough that you had to plummet my company, but you also had to humiliate me in public like this?!
Zheng Tianyi stopped his delusion of seeing Yang Feng as a friend. It was clear the latter drew a line a long time ago, but Zheng Tianyi had just seen it.
He opened his mouth, ready to say a comeback, but was reminded of who exactly Yang Feng was. This man can end him without lifting a finger. The Zheng was one of the most powerful family in Shenbei, but the Yang influence did not stop in this city alone. Their power stretched beyond Shenbei and all the way across the seas.
Even if Zheng Tianyi was to mobilize his men, they were not strong enough to oppose two households — if Zhao Moyao decided to join in. Without a doubt, Zheng Tianyi knew he would.
This would be a losing battle. He was utterly cornered.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Yang Feng mused at the silence, his eyes belittling the trash in front of him. "Pathetic." He shook his head, the insult ringing across the room.
People eager to get on Yang Feng"s good side quickly chimed in agreement.
"Hah, he was so confidently insulting the future Madam Yang, now he"s as quiet as a falling feather!"
"My board of directors was advising me to pull out of Zheng Corporation, seeing his state now, I guess I should."
"Tsk, this isn"t the first time he tried to hit a woman. And he even attempted to slap Zhao Lifei. What a fool."
Zheng Tianyi felt himself tremble with angst, his eyes burning, as the back of his neck flushed from how angered he was. He saw red.
Xia Mengxi placed a hand on his chest when he took a step forward, as if he was going to strike Yang Feng. "Sweetheart, don"t do it." She gently whispered, like an angel singing in his ears. "It"s not worth it." She cooed, patting his chest.
Zheng Tianyi squeezed her waist in an attempt to calm down. He remembered his purpose here. It was to broaden his network and improve his connections. He did not come here to embarra.s.s himself.
"President Yang, let us settle this dispute privately. If you"d like, we can have a chat—"
"You"re not worth my time." Five simple words were enough to end Zheng Tianyi"s crumbling reputation. If he wasn"t worth Yang Feng"s time, he should not be worth the time of other CEOs.
Swiftly, Yang Feng strolled off with Zhao Lifei in his arms. Everyone"s eyes were trained on them until they disappeared down the halls, then the gazes s.h.i.+fted to the embarra.s.sing couple.
Zheng Tianyi"s face became blank as a canvas. He was dumbfounded by the response, his mouth agape and at loss for words yet again.
"Well, there goes the end of Zheng Corporation."
"Hey, Second Young Master Li, you should advise your father to stop trading with Zheng Corporation before its too late."
"My company was thinking of accepting their latest collaboration project, luckily, this happened before I signed any papers."
"Five generations of wealth was ruined by one person. What a family disappointment. If I was Mr. and Mrs. Zheng, I would"ve disowned him long ago."
"He made a fool out of himself for choosing a commoner over a wealthy heiress, and now he"s reaping what he sowed."
"This is what happens when you think with a d*ck and not a brain."
The people sneered at Zheng Tianyi, turning their backs to him the same way they did to Zhao Lifei. The wealthy society was like a spinning wheel, everyone was always fighting to be the very top, eager to drag and push everyone to the bottom if they could soar high.
Their humiliating words became swords that impaled Zheng Tianyi from left to right to the point where his face became ashen and pale.
Everyone was eager to push him down and kick him harder now that he was. It was all that they were waiting for — the downfall of the tyrannical King.
Phone calls were being made in the background as heirs consulted their fathers, executives informing the board of directors, and with each pa.s.sing second, the Zheng stocks were plummeting.
Zheng Tianyi felt himself crumble, his eyes in a daze. Was it truly over for him? Was the company his ancestors worked so hard to build completely destroyed within the span of a week?