The Poorest Rich Man (Chen Hao) novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21 Brother Chen’s Speech Made Sense

Then again, he thought of the fact that the entire villa was owned by him and his sister. That gave Chen Hao a different sensation of excitement.

At this moment, Zhao Yifan and the rest of the girls came up.

Zhao Yifan had a ghastly expression.

After all, she had always treated Chen Hao as a poor loser and looked down on him.

Yet, now she felt as if she had to actually respect Chen Hao.

That made Zhao Yifan feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Chen Hao! How could you afford to come up here?”

As soon as she saw him, the first thing Zhao Yifan blurted out was the burning question in her mind. It was also the question that scared her the most.

She was afraid Chen Hao would tell her he was rich.

That would make Zhao Yifan even more uncomfortable.

“Exactly! Chen Hao, how could you afford this place? This place is very expensive!”

Lin Jiao’s tone became much more polite and even had a slight hint of shyness.

Zhuang Qiang and Li Hao also wanted to hear his explanation.

Chen Hao smiled and replied, “Oh, I just so happen to know the General Manager here. Thus, he invited me over here for a meal and I could bring my friends along!”

What?

Everyone looked confused.

Even if Chen Hao knew the General Manager, wasn’t this a bit too grand?

Zhao Yifan stared at Chen Hao.

Ma Xiaonan could not help but tell the truth.

She narrated how Chen Hao met with the General Manager and how they all came to the villa.

Zhao Yifan heaved a sigh of relief.

She asked, “Xiaonan, did you mean that Chen Hao saved the daughter of the General Manager? So the only reason he could purchase the famous and expensive Hèrmes bag as well as having this meal in the most luxurious area of the villa was all because of that?

Ma Xiaonan nodded her head. “Yes, Chen Hao got lucky. Good-heartedness often meets with recompense!”

Phew, that gave me a scare!

Zhao Yifan felt relieved.

Even Zhuang Qiang and the others heaved a sigh of relief.

Although Chen Hao was enjoying better treatment currently compared to them, who were rich second generation heirs, all these were just to return him a favor. After today, Chen Hao would still remain a poor loser.

After everything was cleared up, Zhao Yifan and the group of girls felt better.

Despite that, Chen Hao could tell that Zhao Yifan was not appreciative. However, she did not seem to despise him as much as before.

In her eyes, her presence was already saving Chen Hao’s face.

Chen Hao merely smiled in response to all of that.

“Have a look at that! Is that an oil painting? It looks like an oil painting from a famous master abroad! Is that real?”

All of them ate and drank, relaxing and enjoying themselves.

Then, Lin Jiao’s gaze fixated on four paintings each of a different style on the four pillars within the loft.

One of them was an antique oil painting. It was painted by a famous painter, well known in the history of other foreign countries.

Lin Jiao recognized it at first glance.

“It should be real…” Chen Hao smiled.

Barely anything was fake in this villa.

After all, a lot of money was invested.

“What do you mean it should be real? It is real!”

Upon hearing what Chen Hao said, Zhuang Qiang scorned.

He used to study abroad.

It was his strength to examine certain famous foreign works.

What a poor dude this Chen Hao is. He had the ability to treat all of us yet he made me spend 80,000 to 90,000.

And it was all for nothing!

Zhuang Qiang had no choice but to regain his reputation from elsewhere!

He confidently said,

“The beginning auction price of this painting has reached 1 million overseas. It is extremely valuable! The other three paintings within the loft of the villa are all rather expensive as well. Why else do you think it's so expensive to dine in here?”

“Oh my god! Beginning price of at least 1 million?!”

The group of girls were amazed.

Lin Jiao was even more excited. “I have to take a picture with this photo! A photo with all these famous paintings that cost a few million!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Chen Hao stood up and took down the precious painting. “If you all want to take a look, just take it down and have a look!”

“Hey, hey, hey! My god! Chen Hao, can you keep your hands to yourself? Damn! If you spoil the painting, who would be able to compensate for it?”

Zhuang Qiang stared angrily at Chen Hao.

Li Hao also sneered. “The manager only invited you for a meal. Do you think you are actually the host of this place?”

Zhao Yifan kept quiet but she was looking at Chen Hao.

She shook her head in disappointment.

Be it carrying himself or in terms of knowledge, Chen Hao was way behind compared to Zhuang Qiang.

No matter where he was, the vibe he transmitted was just unsightly! Far too unsightly!

Chen Hao’s intention of taking the painting down was to improve their relationship.

Instead, he was interpreted as being careless.

Oh well, whatever.

Chen Hao wanted to hang the oil painting back.

Who would have known that his hands would tremble and he did not manage to hang the painting securely. Coupled with that, a strong breeze blew in.

As such, the oil painting slipped out of his hands. It was blown out by the wind and fell straight into the waterfall below!

“Ah!”

The group of girls screamed upon seeing what transpired.

Even Zhao Yifan could not sit still and stood up in shock.

Oh god, this oil painting is screwed.

That’s 1 million down the drain!

Everyone subconsciously gulped.

Only Zhuang Qiang and Li Hao were laughing within their hearts. Damn! An oil painting that cost 1 million is gone just like that! The manager owes you a favor and the favor was returned by treating you to a meal here. Let us see how you handle this after messing up the painting!

Haha!

“Chen Hao, why don't we make a move instead? Since we are almost done eating!”

Ma Xiaonan asked carefully.

If they continued to stay here, Chen Hao would not be able to avoid paying the 1 million!

“Oh no, this is not good! Take a look downstairs! There are people coming up!”

Lin Jiao nervously said while pointing down.

Chen Hao also looked.

He saw Li Zhenguo with a few waiters. They had expensive alcohol on their trays and were walking up toward them.

Chen Hao guessed that they were here to propose a toast.

Chen Hao felt speechless.

He had already informed Li Zhenguo not to expose his identity as it was not the right time. Why was he here to propose a toast?

Very soon, Li Zhenguo arrived.

Zhuang Qiang naturally recognized Li Zhenguo.

“General… General Manager Li!”

Zhuang Qiang stuttered.

He did not expect the manager Chen Hao was talking about was Li Zhenguo, the tycoon of Jin Ling city!

Zhao Yifan was also shocked and she dared not open her mouth.

Chen Hao is so lucky!

Li Zhenguo nodded as a sign of regards toward them.

His gaze landed on Chen Hao and he respectfully said, “Chen…”

He suddenly recalled that Chen Hao had reminded him not to expose his identity.

As such, Li Zhenguo quickly rephrased and said, “Chen Hao, what are your thoughts on today’s arrangement? How do you feel? Are you satisfied?”

Chen Hao nodded and smiled.

At this moment, Zhuang Qiang gulped and said, “G-General Manager Li, Chen Hao messed up your oil painting. It fell into the water below!”

“Yes, General Manager Li. It’s Chen Hao’s fault! He insisted on removing the oil painting. In the end, the painting slipped and fell!”

Lin Jiao quickly pleaded innocence as well.

In a hurry, Ma Xiaonan explained, “But General Manager Li, Chen Hao did not do that on purpose!”

Yang Hui also stood on Chen Hao’s side. That was 1 million! How could he ever compensate that amount?

Li Zhenguo was very intelligent. How could he not have understood the situation?

Looks like not all of them are Young Master Chen’s friends. It’s also obvious Young Master had not revealed his identity.

Young Master Chen has always been conservative and maintained a low profile. Looks like he does not want to gloat and brag about things.

Li Zhenguo was not stupid. Furthermore, coupled with Chen Hao’s previous reminder, he was not going to expose Chen Hao’s identity just like that.

His expression changed.

“What! That oil painting was thrown down the loft?” Li Zhenguo trembled with rage and looked terrified. He looked as if he was very concerned about the oil painting!

The atmosphere became tense.

Ma Xiaonan quickly apologized. “General Manager Li, we are truly sorry!”

“Chen Hao, that famous painting costs 1 million… Moreover, my boss exceptionally likes this painting. How am I supposed to explain what happened?”

Li Zhenguo stared solemnly at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao knew that Li Zhenguo was trying to give him a graceful way of backing out of this predicament. This was the only way without exposing his identity.

Haha… Li Zhenguo is such an interesting person.

Chen Hao then acted as if he was in remorse.

“General Manager Li, I did not expect this to happen as well! You cannot fault me for this!”

“You are not to blame?” Li Zhenguo frowned.

Lin Jiao, who was standing beside Chen Hao, thought that he wanted to put the blame on her. She quickly said, “Chen Hao, it was you! The painting slipped out of your hands! Stop trying to put the blame on others!”

“Exactly! Have the courage to admit your mistake! Are you still a man?”

The group of girls also looked at him in disdain.

“I am guessing he is afraid of having to pay 1 million, and that’s why he is trying to lay blame on others!” Li Hao also sneered.

At the end of the meal, Chen Hao did not manage to close the gap between them. Instead, all he received were envious looks from them!

Chen Hao smiled bitterly.

Yet, he had to continue faking it. “General Manager Li, let me explain to you. I did take down the painting but you cannot fault me because there was a strong breeze. I was going to hang the painting back but the wind knocked the painting out of my hands!”

“Haha! He is actually trying to push the blame onto the sky and the air!”

The group of people expressed their contempt.

Zhuang Qiang also said, “Chen Hao, you are such a coward. You put the blame on the wind?! You really have a way of trying to get out of things!”

Li Zhenguo put on a front, as if he was deep in thought.

After some time, he patted his own head. “Chen Hao, I finally understood what happened. Looks like I have misunderstood you. This painting was blown down by the wind! You are really not to be blamed!”

“Yes. You all hung the painting here and the breeze was so strong!” Chen Hao followed up and said.

“Yes, yes. If you had not reminded me, I would have forgotten about that. Looks like we are responsible for this mistake!”

What?

Everyone’s mouth fell open.

Just like that, Li Zhenguo was convinced?

Zhuang Qiang felt as if there was a bone wedged in his throat. It felt extremely uncomfortable.

Zhao Yifan and the rest were even more confused.

“Alright. Since things have been cleared up, we should make a move! Thank you General Manager Li for your hospitality.”

Chen Hao grinned.

The show Li Zhenguo put on was really funny.

After everyone left, they all threw a confused look at Chen Hao.

Zhao Yifan felt that there was something amiss with Chen Hao.

“Chen Hao, you are so amazing! Just like that, you convinced General Manager Li who seemed very concerned about the painting!”

Ma Xiaonan was in admiration.

Zhao Yifan merely stood there and listened.

She was extremely confused. Was that the truth? Is that all there is to it?