Chapter 193

“All right, it’s no big deal. Hang up.”

Zheng Bin: “…”

Zheng Bin: !!!

No one understands him!

The whole world doesn’t understand him!

Zheng Bin didn’t even know why he felt so awkward, but ever since he found out that Jiang Luo was gay and with Mr. Huo, he hadn’t felt right in his own skin.

Uncomfortable and restless, he went out to hang with friends—and, of course, trouble followed.

While playing basketball with several young masters, during a break, he overheard people sitting on the sidelines:

“…just a damn ass, so disgusting.”

“Yeah, disgusting as hell.”

“Probably selling his ass, otherwise how could he run such a big business?”

“I used to think well of him, but now I see how disgusting he really is.”

“You think he’s naughty in bed? With that face… ugh…”

“What did you just say?! What are you talking about!?”

Zheng Bin slammed the basketball to the ground, jumped up, and pointed angrily at the group: “Which one of you hasn’t hung out with Jiang Luo? Which of you didn’t seek him out when doing business?”

“And now you sit here like fatherless or motherless children, talking trash!?”

“F*** you all!”

He charged at them, fists flying…

In Su City, at a multi-story private residence resembling a restaurant, every floor was set with round tables and chairs. Staff were busy moving tables and covering chairs, the whole place bustling with activity.

Huo Zongzuo’s secretary and Jiang Luo’s young secretary, Lu, were checking seat counts and guest lists floor by floor.

Not far off, Xue Zhizhong was sweating as he personally directed the placement of items.

The secretary rushed over: “Mr. Xue, no need to trouble yourself, Lu and I can handle it.”

“No problem, I’m just helping out. I’ll leave soon,” he replied, then called out to nearby workers: “Careful moving that, watch out!”

Soon, he directed decorations to be hung on the ceiling: “Over there! Over there! I said over there! Are you deaf?!”

Lu and the secretary exchanged amused glances.

Lu whispered: “Mr. Xue really is something. Wherever there’s a chance to flatter Mr. Huo or Mr. Jiang, he’s there.”

“Don’t be fooled by how he looks now,” the secretary murmured. “Years ago, I don’t know how he offended Mr. Huo, but his biggest club, ‘Dongfang No.1,’ was investigated, closed for six months, bleeding losses, he even cried outside the entrance.”

“If Mr. Jiang hadn’t thought he was useful and kept him on, who knows where he’d be now—probably moving bricks on some construction site.”

Lu: “He knows how to flatter, flattery for both Mr. Jiang and Mr. Huo at the same time. Who could beat him at that?”

Xue Zhizhong got a call, stopped directing, and went aside to answer, bowing and nodding over the phone: “Yes, yes, I sourced the red backing paper. Mr. Huo, is this okay?”

At the hospital, Jiang Luo entered and looked up to see Zheng Bin sitting in a chair, grimacing as a nurse applied iodine to his arm.

“Oh!” Jiang Luo teased, walking over: “The eldest young master conquering America? What’s with the stance?”

“F*** off!”

Zheng Bin spotted Jiang Luo and immediately shouted, then yelped: “Nurse!! Be gentle!!”

The nurse, a fifty-year-old lady, applied iodine efficiently, not mincing any movements.

“Ahh!!!”

Zheng Bin screamed like a slaughtered pig.

Once everything was done—the iodine applied, bandages stuck, nurse gone—Zheng Bin and Jiang Luo were alone in the treatment room.

Jiang Luo leaned over him casually, his usual relaxed demeanor in place, and asked: “Why did you get into a fight with Wang Chong and the others?”

“You love playing with them, right?”

Rubbing the bandage on his forehead, Zheng Bin glared: “I love playing my a**! If I play basketball with them again, I’m a dog!”

Jiang Luo snorted.

Zheng Bin glared back: “And you’re laughing!”

For whom was he even worried? Jiang Luo knew exactly.

“So, what did they say about me?”

Zheng Bin went silent, just rubbing his forehead.

Jiang Luo said calmly: “They said I’m disgusting. Do you think I’m disgusting?”

Zheng Bin glared, and that glare carried all the young master’s pent-up grievances.

His eyes reddened as he shouted: “We’re so close, why do Wang Chuang and You Junyu know before me?”

“If it hadn’t been exposed that day, would you have hidden it from me forever?”

“Why am I the only one out of four who didn’t know? Are you excluding me?”

Jiang Luo laughed: “Who’s excluding you?”

“Wang Chuang—I told him, he’s my childhood friend, always knew. You Junyu figured it out on his own. You didn’t see it, so you blame him for noticing first? Or me for not telling you?”

Zheng Bin shouted: “But you didn’t let me know like everyone else! I only found out from the speakers!?”

“What’s my relationship with you?”

“What’s everyone else’s relationship with you?”

“I knew with them at the same time, didn’t I? Aren’t I your best brother!?”

Jiang Luo: “Oh… so that’s what you care about.”

Smiling, he asked: “I’m gay—doesn’t disgust you?”

“Disgust your mom!”

Zheng Bin cursed: “F*** you! You kept it from me all this time! I tell you everything, and you tell me nothing!”

Clearly upset, he repeated: “Four people! Four! And I didn’t know!”

Jiang Luo snorted: “Stop acting like a child, crying your eyes out.”

“Who hit you? I’ll deal with them later.”

“F*** you.”

Zheng Bin still cursed: “I treat you as a brother, and you don’t tell me! F*** you!”

“Alright.”

Jiang Luo coaxed: “There’s a highway from Haicheng to Jiangsu still closed. In a couple of days, I’ll take you racing.”

Zheng Bin’s eyes lit up: “Really!?”

He jumped up: “You promise! You promise!”

Arm in arm, they left the hospital together.

Jiang Luo asked: “Got the invitation for the birthday banquet?”

“Got it,” Zheng Bin replied, casually. “Next weekend, right?”

“Yes, don’t worry, I’ll definitely go.”

The birthday banquet was held at a private estate in Su City, a six-story, square-shaped tower.

That evening, cars lined both sides of the road outside the estate, extending far down the street. The nearby guest parking lot was full of cars too.

At the main entrance, Jiang Luo and Huo Zongzuo were present with their secretaries and senior executives from Zhikun and Shengfei companies, greeting a constant stream of arriving guests.

“Mr. Jiang, Mr. Huo.”

Chairman Qiu arrived with his wife, eldest son, and youngest daughter, Qiu Xin.

“Mr. Qiu.”

Jiang Luo and Huo Zongzuo greeted them, shaking hands with the family.

His wife asked: “Hosting the banquet here? This isn’t a hotel, right?”

“Private residence,” Huo Zongzuo explained, “borrowed from a friend.”

He added: “There are many guests today. If anything is overlooked, please forgive us.”

Qiu Xin looped her arm through Jiang Luo’s, whispering: “Can you believe it? I thought you’d have to keep a low profile after the leak.”

She covered her mouth, muttering: “That idiot Wang Chaohai got so scared in Japan, now in the UK he’s seeing a neurologist.”

“You really are something,” she said, annoyed. “If we wanted to get back at him, just leave him in Haicheng. With all of us here, there’s no way he could escape a little punishment.”

Jiang Luo laughed: “Miss Qiu, you speak as if it’s obvious. Who else invites him and me to a birthday party?”

“If you hadn’t invited him, he wouldn’t have tangled with me, and that day’s mess wouldn’t have happened.”

“Ah…” Qiu Xin felt a little guilty. “I was hoping you’d teach him a lesson at my birthday party.”

“How was I to know he’d go crazy and dare to…”

“Xin Xin!” Mrs. Qiu called from nearby.

“I’ll chat later,” Qiu Xin said, turning around.

Jiang Luo and Huo Zongzuo continued to greet other guests.

Inside, Xue Zhizhong held the guest list, directing arrivals: “Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen, your seats with your wife are on the third floor. Take the stairs here, yes, yes. Staff upstairs will guide you.”

The estate was lively. Guests immediately noticed the fresh decorations—flowers, ornaments, and red carpets.

At each table, guests found premium cigarettes, fine wine, and a delicately wrapped box of chocolates at each seat.

The wine and cigarettes were expected, but the chocolates… this…

At one table, guests picked up the chocolates, exchanging surprised looks.

Qiu Xin picked one up and burst out laughing. “You really did it, Jiang Luo. Impressive!”