novelraw Chapter 917 - 916: Stepping on Him
Chapter 917 - 916: Stepping on Him
"So what if you heard it? Are you going to eat me?" The man said this, but in the end, he shut his mouth and quietly followed others out.
Soon after they left, Xu Ke appeared at the spot they had just vacated, a cold smile on his face that was frightening to behold.
No one knew how the story spread, but eventually, every guest visiting Shenghao knew about the falling out between Xu Ke and the He Family. The glory Xu Ke once had was now overshadowed by those waiting to step on him.
Some chose to wait and see, while others could no longer hold back.
"Get your lobby manager for me," said the guest in room 302, looking at the table full of wine glasses, addressing the waiter.
"Okay."
Seeing the unfriendly expression of the guest in the room, the waiter felt a bit worried for Xu Ke but still followed the request and went to find him.
"Manager, the guests in room 302 are asking for you, but they seem unfriendly and have ordered a lot of alcohol. Be careful."
Usually, Xu Ke was good to them, so even though Xu Ke wasn’t as powerful as before, the waiter was still willing to stand by him and do whatever he could.
"Thank you, I got it." Xu Ke smiled and acknowledged the waiter, then entered room 302.
The waiter’s words weren’t wrong; the guests were indeed unfriendly.
About ten people sat in the room, both men and women. The lead man had a cigarette in his mouth, his arm around a pretty girl, and he looked at Xu Ke with a brazen gaze.
"Xu Ke, huh? You’re quite arrogant. We asked for your help earlier and sent you so many gifts, but you didn’t accept any—either gave them away or threw them out. What, you look down on the gifts I give?" The man flicked his cigarette into a glass of wine.
The burning cigarette butt instantly turned black and floated on the surface, just like Xu Ke.
"I thought you could be in the limelight for a long time, but who knew it would only take this long for you to fall out of favor. The He Family doesn’t want you anymore; you’re a drowned rat." The man sneered, leaning back.
"The gifts I gave you were not cheap; I guess you can’t afford to pay them back. How about this, if you drink all the liquor in front of me today, I won’t make you pay back any of those gifts."
The man said, handing the wine with the cigarette butt to Xu Ke.
The others with the man looked at Xu Ke with glee and malicious joy. Seeing Xu Ke not taking the glass, they started jeering, "What are you waiting for? Take it and drink up. Are you disrespecting our boss?"
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
Voices echoed seemingly from all directions, overwhelming Xu Ke completely.
"Don’t count on it, I’m not drinking this," Xu Ke said with a cold smile, looking at the hand that remained extended.
The room’s atmosphere suddenly quieted down, and everyone stared at Xu Ke with incredulous eyes.
The man slammed the glass onto the table, the sound sharp and clear.
"What? You’re disrespecting me? You think the He Family still supports you? Believe it or not, I could make you walk out of Shenghao with just a word. Don’t you want your job?" The man grinned, looking at Xu Ke as if he were warning him not to be ungrateful.
"I don’t know if you can kick me out, but I know I can kick you out of Shenghao right now," Xu Ke replied with a sudden smile, his tone calm.
Xu Ke’s stance was clear, embarrassing the man in front of his friends, making his gaze even colder towards Xu Ke.
"You dare to talk to me like this? You think I really can’t do anything to you?" The man continued to threaten Xu Ke verbally, but the seemingly fearless expression of Xu Ke made him hesitate, even doubt the rumors, since they only came from hearsay and no one really knew the exact situation.
What’s more, He Chen hadn’t rescinded the promise of support for Xu Ke, and the man’s confidence wavered, wondering if he was being used by someone behind the scenes.
Just when he was considering apologizing to Xu Ke, the flamboyant man who had been discussing Xu Ke in the break room earlier came over, looked smugly at Xu Ke before leaning in to speak to the man.
"Don’t listen to his threats, making it seem like he has some backing. In fact, his relationship with the He Family’s young master has long been severed. It’s a fact known all over Shenghao; he’s just bluffing because you don’t know the situation here," the flamboyant man said.
Hearing this, the man raised an eyebrow at Xu Ke, "I almost bought into your act."
"If you don’t drink this today, you’re not leaving this room. I’ll take back every penny of the losses I suffered because of you," the man told Xu Ke.
Sitting beside him, the flamboyant man grinned challengingly at Xu Ke, mouthing the words: Serves you right.
"Are you saying you want to cause trouble at Shenghao?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow, returning the expression.
"So what if I am, so what if I’m not?"
"If not, that’s best. But if you are, take a good look where you are, and ask if this is a place where you can act recklessly. I’m Shenghao’s lobby manager, under its protection. Can you afford to mess with me?" Xu Ke grinned, stating calmly.
"Stop bluffing. You’re just Shenghao’s hired lobby manager; how can you drag Shenghao’s name into this? Besides, this is a personal matter; even Shenghao doesn’t involve itself in such things," the flamboyant man said, pretending it was an unintentional remark.
"Hear that? I wonder how you ever managed as a lobby manager. Your own staff undermines you in front of me, showing you must be unpopular, with so many ready to kick you while you’re down," the man said smugly to Xu Ke.
"You don’t know him. A while back, he caught the He Family young master’s interest, so he acted like everyone owed him something, never looking at us straight," the flamboyant man continued, emboldened by the man’s enjoyment, adding fuel to the fire.
Occasionally casting sidelong glances at Xu Ke as he spoke.
"People like him are insufferable when given power," the man, squinting, listened to the flamboyant man’s criticisms, refusing to let Xu Ke leave, making him stand there like a public execution.