Chapter 99: The other party isn't worthy of his courteous treatment

"Goodness, there's actually someone this formidable and yet this low-key? I hadn't heard a thing about this person before—what a guy, you're too strong." Zhao Cong exclaimed, finally understanding why his father valued him so much.

"That's right. If it weren't for the recent online uproar, he'd probably have stayed this low-key, and plenty of people who provoked him wouldn't even know how they died."

Zhao Dewen patted his son's shoulder: "So, you, son, hurry up and go—remember to put on a good show."

"Alright, I got it." Zhao Cong now understood the importance of this matter.

Zhao Cong's arrogance in his circles was notorious; many people would be frightened upon hearing his name, but his arrogance wasn't like that toward everyone.

In other words, his arrogance was directed only at those weaker than him; in front of Xiao Ming, he had no right to be arrogant.

Someone who could make his father value them so much—how could he have the gall to be arrogant?

Soon, after making preparations, Zhao Cong set off for the Yuxi Villa District.

He knew that super luxurious villa in the Yuxi Villa District—his father had taken a liking to it earlier, but later he heard it had been bought by an ultra-wealthy tycoon.

His father inquired everywhere, but in the end came up empty-handed!

He hadn't expected the other party to have such a formidable background.

After explaining his purpose to the guard, the guard called to verify, and Zhao Cong soon arrived at Xiao Ming's living room.

"Please wait a moment, I'll fetch the master." Butler Xi instructed a servant to pour tea for Zhao Cong, then went to the study to call Xiao Ming.

"Sir, the Young Master of the Zhao family has arrived." Butler Xi reported respectfully to Xiao Ming.

"Hmm, I'll go down now." Xiao Ming nodded, rose from the study, and went to the living room.

As he came downstairs, he saw Zhao Cong dressed very formally.

After descending the stairs indifferently, he didn't bother with pleasantries toward Zhao Cong and simply sat down—let alone Zhao Cong, even if Zhao Dequan were here, he wouldn't need to be overly polite, for the other party lacked the qualifications to receive his courtesy.

However, the guest is a guest; although he needn't be overly courteous, proper etiquette toward visitors is still required. After sitting, Xiao Ming lifted his eyelids to look at Zhao Cong and said, "Young Master Zhao has arrived, please take a seat."

"Wow, you must be Uncle Xiao Ming? You're way too young." Zhao Cong, a frequent mover in upper-class circles, had exceptionally high emotional intelligence—no doubt about it.

His usual arrogance was merely because those people weren't worthy of his courtesy, but now facing someone like Xiao Ming, a big shot, he could still tell what mattered.

After Xiao Ming spoke and invited him to sit, Zhao Cong sat upright while complimenting Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming smiled faintly, gesturing for him to drink tea.

Zhao Cong lifted the cup, took a careful sip, and exclaimed, "Wow, this tea is really good."

"Huh? You know tea ceremony? Come, tell me." Xiao Ming said with mild interest.

"Top-grade Longjing—this is West Lake Longjing among Longjings? This tea is supreme; not to mention its price, not to mention that money alone can't buy it. Only someone like you, Uncle Xiao, a wealthy and prestigious big shot, is qualified to afford it." While talking about tea, Zhao Cong lavished more praise on Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming listened, nodded: "Hmm, pretty good."

"This kid, his emotional intelligence is quite good."

He couldn't help but feel in his heart that Zhao Dequan had succeeded early, and besides raising Zhao Cong by his side all along, growing up near Zhao Dewen naturally rubbed off on him, and having always been a wealthy child, his experience and EQ were truly not bad.

Unlike his own son, who understands nothing.

With such fine Longjing, if Xiao Yunzhe were to taste it, he might say, "Aren't all teas basically the same?"

Afterward, Xiao Ming and Zhao Cong drank and chatted about tea for a while, then Xiao Ming got to the point.

Xiao Ming set down his cup, looked at Zhao Cong, and said, "Today I asked you to come because I want to inquire about someone." Zhao Cong nodded.

"Uncle Xiao, go ahead and ask; if I know it, I'll certainly tell you everything." Zhao Cong replied respectfully.

Wanting to inquire about a person, turning to him is naturally right—his years in upper-class circles weren't wasted; anyone with a bit of status or standing, he hardly knows anyone he doesn't.

"Do you know this person, Zhu Luo?" Xiao Ming asked.

"Zhu Luo?" Zhao Cong looked surprised at Xiao Ming, then replied, "I didn't expect that the person you, Uncle Xiao, want to inquire about is Zhu Luo."

"From your reaction, you must be very familiar with this person." Xiao Ming nodded satisfactorily: "Tell me about this person—what kind of person are they?"

Xiao Ming's attitude suddenly turned serious.

Zhao Cong, having long mingled in various circles, excelled at reading people's expressions; seeing Xiao Ming's attitude shift, he instantly grasped how important this person's information was to Xiao Ming, and hurriedly told him everything he knew about Zhu Luo.

"Zhu Luo is quite famous in upper-class circles, a well-known internet celebrity, but his fame differs from other influencers; online many say he's a wealthy second- or third-generation scion, his family extremely rich, a young master with an immensely powerful background—but that's not the case."

"He is indeed a young master from a wealthy family, but the wealth he has at home isn't quite what we understand as wealth; this is a long story, Uncle Xiao, I'll just mention a few key points."

"Uncle Xiao, have you ever heard of the Honghuan Group?" Zhao Cong asked.

"That gambling family, right? I've heard of it a bit, but I'm not really familiar—what's the connection between Zhu Luo and the Honghuan Group?" Xiao Ming asked.

Zhao Cong nodded firmly: "Yeah, there is, and it's a major one—Zhu Luo's father is one of the major shareholders of the Honghuan Group."

Zhao Cong spoke succinctly: "Many netizens don't understand why Zhu Luo is so lavish, yet his background can't be dug up at all—even those bigwigs in the business world have no connection to him whatsoever."

"Thus, people think it's because his background is too huge and his power too strong, allowing him to stay so hidden, but that's not the fact—his background can't be uncovered because he simply lacks any overt background to expose."

"Put bluntly, it's because his background cannot see the light of day." Zhao Cong said.

Having said that much, Xiao Ming already understood.

Within Wuxingguo, aside from him, there is no second hidden big shot like Xiao Ming.

Other hidden big shots are either protected by the authorities due to their identity, or like the Zhu Luo family, they cannot be brought into the open.

"Zhu Luo, his father is a major shareholder of the Honghuan Group." Zhao Cong snorted, then continued: "In Xilin, among the six major gambling conglomerates, the Honghuan Group occupies one; his father's assistant—formerly a middleman in gambling—later made his fortune through this."