45: Chapter 45 The Disappointing Wang Hao

Late at night, the main gate of Villa 101 at Hongtai Dijing slowly opened, and Wang Hao drove his yellow Maserati inside quickly.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force. Before he even got out of the car, he put on a devastated expression, intentionally adding a sobbing tone to his voice, and wailed at the top of his lungs: "Dad! Dad! Help me, Dad!"

A servant nearby saw this and hurriedly stepped forward, making a gesture for silence, and whispered a reminder: "Young Master, please don't shout. The Master is resting in his bedroom right now!"

As if he hadn't heard a thing, Wang Hao rudely pushed the servant aside and continued running into the villa, maintaining his exaggerated sobbing tone the entire way.

Meanwhile, in a bedroom on the third floor of the villa, a middle-aged man around fifty years old, with somewhat thinning hair, an absurdly high hairline, and very conspicuous protruding ears, was leaning against the headboard, wearing black round-rimmed glasses, and reading a book with a yellow cover whose title was unknown.

This person was none other than Wang Hao's father, the chairman of Hongtai Construction Co., Ltd., Wang Hongtai.

Hearing his son's earth-shattering commotion, Wang Hongtai let out a long sigh, slammed the book in his hands shut with a loud slap, took off his glasses, helplessly threw on a bathrobe, got out of bed, and walked slowly out of the bedroom.

As soon as Wang Hao saw his father, he immediately dropped to his knees in front of Wang Hongtai, wrapped his arms tightly around his legs, and continued to wail: "Dad, you really have to save me this time! Otherwise, your son is finished! Wuwuwu..."

Although his sobbing was loud, there wasn't a single tear in his eyes; instead, they were flashing with a cunning light.

Wang Hongtai was long accustomed to his son's "cries for help" that occurred every few days. He watched his son's 'performance' coldly and said indifferently: "Alright, stop acting! Did you get into trouble with women again? I knew it. You, oh you, you will eventually be ruined by women in this life! Tell me, how much money do you want me to give you to settle it this time?"

Wang Hao raised his head, a trace of embarrassment and guilt appearing on his face, but he quickly covered it up. He hurriedly defended himself: "It's not that, Dad, I really caused a huge disaster this time!"

His eyes darted around, and he dared not look his father in the eye.

"Fine, fine, fine, get up first and then talk!" Wang Hongtai ordered, but Wang Hao insisted on staying down. "No! Dad, if you don't agree to help me, I won't get up!"

"Then stay kneeling if you want." Wang Hongtai clearly didn't buy this act. He shook his leg, broke free from Wang Hao's grasp, and walked coldly toward the sofa.

Wang Hao was just running his mouth in front of his old man; how could he really kneel there indefinitely...

Wang Hao immediately scrambled up from the floor, obsequiously poured his father a glass of water, and placed it carefully on the coffee table.

Wang Hongtai sat upright on the sofa, crossed his legs, looked at Wang Hao with a face full of disgust, and said in a deep voice: "Speak, what exactly happened!"

Wang Hao stood to the side, his Adam's apple bobbing as he nervously observed his father's expression, then stammered out what had happened tonight.

...

After hearing Wang Hao's account, Wang Hongtai stood up abruptly, his face livid. He pointed a trembling finger at Wang Hao, his tone filled with anger and disappointment, and roared: "What did you say?! Three million! Have you lost your mind? What exactly did you do? Did you go and hire someone to commit murder?!"

Wang Hao shuddered at his father's fury, but he quickly adjusted his expression, put on a wronged look, and defended himself: "Dad, listen to my explanation. I really didn't expect things to turn out like this. I just wanted to ask Brother Dao to help me teach someone a lesson and vent some anger. Who knew that kid was so good at fighting? Brother Dao's subordinates were no match for him."

As he spoke, he secretly observed his father's expression.

Wang Hongtai was shaking with rage. He shouted angrily again: "You little brat! How many times have I warned you not to hang out with those shady people! Now look, you've caused such a huge disaster! Three million! Where am I supposed to find three million for you!"

Seeing his father so furious, Wang Hao was a bit scared, but he still kept a smile on his face, a cunning light flashing in his eyes as he tried to ease the atmosphere: "Dad, stop joking with me. Three million isn't much money to you. You have to know, money can be earned again if it's gone, but you only have one son. If you can't come up with three million by tomorrow night, your son's life will really be over..."

The veins on Wang Hongtai's forehead bulged. He raised his hand and pointed angrily at Wang Hao: "How could I have given birth to such an unpromising son! It is a misfortune to the family, a misfortune to the family! If your mother's spirit in heaven could see you now, she would definitely regret giving birth to you!"

Hearing his father mention his mother, Wang Hao felt a moment of panic, but he quickly calmed down and retorted: "Dad, stop bringing up my mother at every turn. Didn't I learn to be the way I am now from you? Don't forget, if you hadn't been messing around with that mistress back then, my mother wouldn't have been so angry that she ended up in the hospital! This is called 'if the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will be crooked'!"

"Good! Very good!" Wang Hongtai was trembling with rage. "Your wings have hardened, and you dare to talk back! Since you're saying that, I won't pay this three million! You caused this trouble yourself, go solve it yourself!"

When Wang Hao heard this, he immediately panicked: "Don't, Dad, where am I supposed to scrape together three million!" His voice carried a sobbing tone; he was clearly genuinely scared.

"Aren't you capable? Aren't your wings hardened? If you have a way, go figure it out; if you don't, go die outside! I'll just pretend I don't have a son like you!" Wang Hongtai turned his head away in anger.

Seeing that his father was genuinely enraged, Wang Hao felt even more panicked.

He hurriedly grabbed Wang Hongtai's sleeve and begged while crying: "Dad! If you don't help me this time, your son is really finished. Brother Dao is truly ruthless. Don't forget what you promised my mother back then!"

Wang Hongtai let out a long sigh and sat heavily back down on the sofa.

He frowned and pondered for a moment before saying: "I can't scrape together that much money for you right now. If you have to, just sell the car first!"

"Dad! That was a birthday gift you gave me! Besides, it's only three million, how could you not have it?" Wang Hao defended himself eagerly, trying to make his father change his mind.

"Only three million? You really don't know the value of money until you're the one running the household!" Wang Hongtai sighed. "The company's money is currently tied up in projects. There was a problem with the client's audit, and the project payments have been delayed and not paid. The company's liquid funds have all gone to fill holes; where would I have extra money for you?"

Wang Hao's heart sank when he heard this, but he was still unwilling to give up: "Then what should I do? Even if I sell the car, it's not worth three million..." He was pacing around like an ant on a hot pan.

Wang Hongtai frowned and calculated, finally saying: "At most, I can scrape together two million for you. You'll have to find a way for the remaining one million yourself!"

After saying this, he ignored Wang Hao, turned to pick up his phone, dialed a number, spoke a few words, and hung up.

Wang Hao was secretly delighted. Brother Dao had only asked for two million to begin with, and he had been thinking of taking this opportunity to scam his old man out of a bit more, which was why he had reported three million.

He hadn't expected his old man to actually give him two million. Now his life was saved!

So, he readily agreed: "Good! Thank you, Dad! I'll figure out the remaining one million myself!"

"I'm warning you, this is the last time!" Wang Hongtai glared at Wang Hao and said, "Take this money to that so-called Brother Dao, and don't hang out with that crowd again in the future! Also, regarding that kid you wanted to teach a lesson, since it's already been recorded with the police, don't get involved anymore! Our Hongtai Construction is at a critical moment of going public; we absolutely cannot have any negative news, especially news related to organized crime! Do you understand?!"

When Wang Hongtai said this, his tone was unprecedentedly severe, making even Wang Hao feel a chill. He could only nod and agree submissively, while secretly plotting how to take harsh revenge on Qin Yi.

"Understood, understood, Dad, I get it! Don't worry, I promise, from now on I will never have any dealings with Brother Dao again..."

Wang Hongtai glanced at him coldly and continued: "That's good! Behave yourself during this time. As for those shady women, if you can avoid contacting them, then don't for the time being, to avoid any extra trouble! Alright, I'm tired. Tomorrow morning, Secretary Wu will bring the money over. Just wait at home."

Listening to his father's admonitions, Wang Hao felt dissatisfied, but he dared not show the slightest bit of it on his face. He obediently nodded in agreement, as if he were a well-behaved child.

"I'm warning you, if I find out again that you are hanging out with that so-called Brother Dao, don't blame me for breaking your legs!"

After saying this, Wang Hongtai walked straight toward the bedroom, leaving Wang Hao alone in the living room.

Watching his old man return to the bedroom, Wang Hao immediately felt much more at ease.

He leaned back on the sofa, casually propped his legs up on the coffee table, and completely relaxed.

However, a trace of malice and cunning flashed in his eyes, and he muttered to himself: "Qin Yi! You just wait! You made me lose two million for nothing! This time, I must cripple you!"