167: 167. Begging for mercy

Although President Yu's words were veiled and his voice was extremely low, the others present still sensed an unusual atmosphere from Xiao Hao's sudden change in expression.

Hiss, hiss, hiss... What exactly did that businessman, Yu Tianxiong, say on the phone?

How could it make Xiao Hao, who was always arrogant and used to being overbearing, show such... terrified and anxious expression?

"Mr. Xiao... Mr. Xiao... I..." Wei Rong started to speak, her voice tearful and at a loss, trying to understand the situation.

However, before she could finish, Xiao Hao suddenly turned his head. His normally lazy eyes were now filled with horrifying bloodshot veins, and deep within his pupils was unconcealable panic and a desperation that comes from being pushed to the brink.

He stared intensely at Wei Rong, his pent-up fury finding an outlet at this moment!

"Bitch! This is all your doing!"

Xiao Hao let out a beast-like growl, suddenly springing from the lounge chair. To everyone's astonishment, he grabbed Wei Rong by the hair and slapped her hard!

"Smack!"

The crisp sound of the slap was particularly jarring in the empty pool area.

Wei Rong screamed in pain, falling to the ground, a clear five-finger mark instantly appearing on her face.

She was completely stunned, not understanding why Xiao Hao would suddenly unleash his anger on her.

"Mr. Xiao... Mr. Xiao..." She covered her face, looking in terror at the frenzied Xiao Hao.

"Shut up!"

Xiao Hao gave her no chance to speak, kicking her several more times. His movements were brutal and undignified, as if he were beating a piece of trash.

"Immediately! Right now! Do exactly as Yu Tianxiong said! Wang Yuxi's contract! Terminate it! All the photos! Originals! Backups! Hand them all over to me! Do you hear me?! If you dare to play any tricks, I'll make your life worse than death!!" He roared hoarsely.

These words were like a thunderclap, stunning everyone present!

The two scions, one surnamed Zhao and one surnamed Li, gaped, looking at Xiao Hao in disbelief.

How could the person who was just now adamantly vowing to make the other party suffer the wrath of the Xiao family do a complete 180-degree turn after a phone call? How could he... how could he be so completely controlled by the other party, forced to humbly bow his head and relent?!

What fatal leverage did that Yu Tianxiong have over Xiao Hao?! This was no longer a simple business threat; this was clearly a chokehold on Xiao Hao's lifeline!

Wei Rong was in pain all over. She scrambled to her feet, tears and snot streaming down her face, speaking incoherently: "I... I'll go do it right now! Right away! Mr. Xiao, please calm down! I'll contact Wang Yuxi immediately!"

Disregarding her disheveled clothes, she picked up her bag and stumbled away, fleeing.

Xiao Hao watched Wei Rong's retreating back, but the frustration in his chest did not dissipate; instead, it grew even more frantic.

He suddenly kicked over a nearby beverage stand, sending glass cups and wine bottles crashing to the ground.

The three girl group members in the pool were even more terrified, their faces pale, huddling in the water, not daring to move or even breathe loudly.

"What are you looking at! All of you, get out!!" He roared at the trembling girl group in the pool.

The two men beside him exchanged glances. Finally, the bald man bit the bullet and cautiously stepped forward: "Brother Xiao... Brother Xiao, calm down. What exactly happened? Is it that Yu Tianxiong... Do you need our help..."

"No need!"

Xiao Hao roughly interrupted him. He took several deep breaths, calming his violently heaving chest, trying to compose himself.

"Just... just some personal matters. I can handle it myself. No need for you two to worry."

How could Xiao Hao possibly let them help? If even a hint of this matter leaked, he would be completely finished!

Right now, he just wanted to think alone, to figure out who, and where, leaked that huge secret! Was there an insider around him?

The scene was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of the pool water and Xiao Hao's gasps.

Just then, Xiao Hao's phone, which he had thrown on the lounge chair, rang again.

The sudden ring startled him like a bird shot by an arrow; his body trembled. He quickly grabbed his phone, thinking it was Yu Tianxiong again, but only relaxed when he saw "Ruihai Technology - President Zhang" displayed on the screen.

He answered the call, his tone impatient: "Hello, President Zhang?"

On the other end of the line, Zhang Haifu, the chairman of Ruihai Technology, said with a fawning smile: "Young Master Xiao, I hope I'm not disturbing your rest?"

"No, what do you want?"

"It's like this, there's a small company called Tingfeng Capital, completely out of its depth, causing trouble everywhere with some technology it has, especially that Yu Tianxiong, he's really arrogant! A few of us were thinking, could we ask you... or through your connections, to teach him a little lesson? To let him know that this market isn't for upstarts like him to mess around with..."

Normally, Xiao Hao might have casually taken on such a task, which would both display his power and bring benefits.

But at this moment, hearing the name Yu Tianxiong, he was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up!

"Deal with Yu Tianxiong?!"

Xiao Hao's voice suddenly rose, he said in a tone of shock and anger, "Zhang Haifu! I'm telling you, if you want to die, don't drag me into it! You deal with Tingfeng Capital's matters yourselves, don't bother me! Don't come to me for such things in the future either! I'm not familiar with him!"

After saying that, Xiao Hao hung up the phone directly, not giving the other party time to react.

On the other end of the line, Zhang Haifu, the chairman of Ruihai Technology, held his phone, listening to the dial tone, completely stunned.

He had originally thought that with his shallow connection to the Xiao family, getting Xiao Hao to exert pressure would be a sure thing, but he never expected such a violent, even... fearful rejection?

Zhang Haifu's brows were tightly furrowed, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

Xiao Hao... Young Master Xiao... even he didn't dare to deal with Yu Tianxiong?! What exactly was the background of this Yu Tianxiong?!

A chill quietly crept up Zhang Haifu's spine.

No, it seemed he had to re-evaluate Yu Tianxiong... On the other side, the still-shaken Wei Rong fled back to her car, locked the doors, and only then dared to breathe heavily.

Enduring the pain in her body, she didn't dare to delay. She immediately dialed Wang Yuxi's number with trembling hands.

This time, her tone was completely different from before, humble and with a hint of a sob. Upon hearing the call connect, she immediately said:

"Yu... Yuxi, it's me, Sister Wei... Before... before Sister Wei was wrong, Sister Wei apologizes to you! Can we... can we meet and talk? The contract... the contract matter is negotiable, termination! We'll terminate unconditionally! And... and those photos, the originals, the negatives, I'll return them all to you! Please... please ask President Yu to let me go..."