Chapter 3090: Fend for Yourself

A few hours later, the flight carrying Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan finally landed at Dubai International Airport.

The moment the plane landed, Xiao Changkun turned off his phone's flight mode and stared at the signal icon in the top right corner, waiting for the phone to search for communication signals and data networks.

Xiao Changkun had specifically activated international roaming for calls and data before leaving, so after waiting for a few dozen seconds, the phone successfully connected to the internet.

And with the successful connection, his phone suddenly popped up with multiple WeChat notifications.

However, Xiao Changkun, who had been anxious the whole way, couldn't care about checking WeChat. He directly opened his call history and called Zhang Ermao.

At this time, Zhang Ermao was in his office, preparing to go to Master Hong Wu's place for a routine inspection.

Although he had pinned the apology letter to the top of his Moments, causing his reputation in the antique street to be ruined and making him suffer many strange looks from people around him, he couldn't care about these things anymore, because he could still distinguish what was important.

He understood in his heart that the most important thing for him now was to work hard, and to work wholeheartedly, without being affected by any side issues. Only in this way could he repay Master Ye's mercy.

Seeing Xiao Changkun's call at this moment, he hesitated for a moment before pressing the answer button and said calmly: "Chairman Xiao, you've landed in Dubai, right?"

Xiao Changkun asked impatiently: "How is the bronze Buddha matter? Did you get it back for me?"

Zhang Ermao said: "I'm sorry, Chairman Xiao. I can't handle this matter. Please find someone else."

Xiao Changkun exploded as soon as he heard this.

This was the first time Zhang Ermao, who had always been obedient and flattering to him, had refused him so firmly, which made him very unhappy. He immediately roared: "Zhang Ermao, what is this attitude?! What do you mean you can't handle it? You were the one who had people sell the item. If you don't get it back for me, who will?! I'm telling you, you must handle this matter for me, otherwise, I'm not done with you!"

Zhang Ermao said very calmly: "Chairman Xiao, you can do whatever you want about this matter, just don't come looking for me again."

"You..." Xiao Changkun was choked with anger, gritted his teeth, and cursed: "Good for you, Zhang Ermao! Are you trying to swallow the item yourself behind my back?! I warn you, you'd better not try to play your clever tricks on me! If you don't solve this matter for me, I'll go find my son-in-law! I'll call him right now, and don't blame me for not leaving you any face then!"

Zhang Ermao sighed helplessly, his tone softened slightly, and he whispered: "That... Chairman Xiao... how about this... don't be in such a hurry to get angry, and don't be in such a hurry to call Master Ye. You should take the trouble to look at my Moments first. After reading it, you can decide whether you want to call Master Ye."

Xiao Changkun frowned and asked: "Moments? What Moments? What did you post on your Moments?"

Zhang Ermao said: "You'll know when you look."

"Good!" Xiao Changkun said sternly: "Don't hang up, I'm looking right now! I want to see what kind of tricks you can play on your Moments!"

As he spoke, he immediately switched the phone to speaker mode and then switched the interface to WeChat.

On WeChat, dozens of people were talking to him. He was surprised, not knowing why so many people were looking for him just because he took a trip to Dubai.

But he couldn't care about that now. He hurriedly clicked on his Moments and scrolled down for a long time before he found Zhang Ermao's apology letter.

He clicked on the picture and read it roughly. Suddenly, he felt a buzz in his head, and the whole world started spinning.

He never expected that Zhang Ermao would publicly disclose the whole matter on his Moments, and even attach his name and information. Wasn't this dragging him down to die together?!

Xiao Changkun was furious and cursed in a panic: "Zhang Ermao, what the hell do you mean?! Are you trying to kill me by posting such a Moments?!"

Zhang Ermao said: "Chairman Xiao, I have deeply realized my mistake. Earlier today, I personally went to Boss Zhou's shop to offer a humble apology. I will not interfere in this matter in any form in the future. You should hurry up and try to remedy it too."

Xiao Changkun went crazy. He held the phone with both hands and roared at the microphone at the bottom of the phone: "Zhang Ermao! Delete this Moments for me right now! Then post a clarification Moments saying that you framed me on purpose and that I, Xiao Changkun, was not involved at all!"

Zhang Ermao said indifferently: "I'm sorry, Chairman Xiao. It can't be deleted, and it can't be posted."

Xiao Changkun hadn't expected Zhang Ermao's attitude to be so bad, and he said angrily: "Zhang Ermao! If you don't delete it, I'll call my son-in-law! I'll have him order you to delete it!"

Zhang Ermao gave a hum and said: "Then call Master Ye and see what Master Ye says."

After saying that, Zhang Ermao added: "By the way, Chairman Xiao, I have things to do and can't talk to you much. But I have one last thing to remind you: the nature of what we did is indeed fraud. You'd better return the illicit money to my brother's card as soon as possible, and then have my brother return the money to Manager Zhou. Otherwise, if it really blows up, I'm afraid you won't be able to clean up the mess."

"Bullshit!" Xiao Changkun was furious and questioned: "If I can't clean up the mess, can you?"

Zhang Ermao said righteously: "I didn't take the money! That three hundred thousand was transferred directly from my little brother's card to you. I didn't take a single cent, and it didn't even pass through my hands!"

"Even if the matter blows up, at most I'm an accomplice, and the nature isn't that serious."

"Besides, I'm different from you. I went to apologize today and publicly apologized on Moments, and I have already obtained Boss Zhou's forgiveness. If it really blows up, Boss Zhou can give me a letter of forgiveness, and I'll basically be fine."

"But you will be a different story. The amount you're involved in counts as huge. If it blows up, not only will you have to return the money, but you might even have to go inside for a few years at your age. That would truly be a loss that outweighs the gain."

Xiao Changkun was terrified and hurriedly asked: "You're fine, what about me?"

Zhang Ermao said: "You just return the money and apologize by the way."

Xiao Changkun said angrily: "I've already let Zhou Liangyun pick up over nineteen million for nothing, and you still want me to return this three hundred thousand?! Are you messing with me?"

Zhang Ermao said: "Then you can fend for yourself."

After saying that, Zhang Ermao hung up the phone without waiting for Xiao Changkun's response.

Xiao Changkun held the phone, trembling and twitching all over, not knowing if it was from anger or fear.

Ma Lan, who was on the side, hurriedly asked him: "Husband, what did that Zhang Ermao say? Is he not going to get the item back for us?!"

Xiao Changkun was distracted by her, and the phone slipped from his hand. He tried to catch it in the air twice but failed. It was Ma Lan who was quick-witted and grabbed the phone back.

Only then did Ma Lan notice that his face was already covered in sweat, and she hurriedly asked: "Husband, what's wrong with you?"

Xiao Changkun came to his senses and cursed in a panic: "This damn Zhang Ermao! He's trying to kill me! He posted everything on his Moments. Isn't this dragging me into a fire pit?!"

After speaking, he suddenly came to his senses and said with wide, tearing eyes: "Damn! Moments! No wonder so many people sent me WeChat messages! Where's my phone? Give it to me quickly!"

Ma Lan subconsciously handed him the phone and asked nervously: "Husband, what happened?"

Xiao Changkun said: "I don't have time to tell you this now. Wait for me a moment."

As he spoke, while the plane was still taxiing to the parking stand, he hurriedly browsed the unread messages on WeChat.

When he saw the message from Chairman Pei, his heart skipped a beat.

Whether he earned the two hundred thousand or not didn't matter; the key was that he couldn't lose the position of Executive Vice Chairman. The Calligraphy and Painting Association had four Vice Chairmen, but only one Executive Vice Chairman. This was definitely the second-in-command. As long as Chairman Pei was promoted, the Executive Vice Chairman would definitely succeed him.

Xiao Changkun had been looking forward to the day he became Chairman for the past few days, so he could truly hold his head high. Zhang Ermao exposing this matter—if it implicated his status in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

So, he hurriedly clicked on the voice message Chairman Pei sent him. Playing it didn't matter, but it immediately made him so nervous that his upper and lower teeth started chattering.

In addition to the first one, Chairman Pei also sent another voice message. After playing it, he heard Chairman Pei say: "Oh Changkun, the matter you and Zhang Ermao did together is having a bigger and bigger impact now. Several leaders who ate with us last time called me to ask about the specific situation. They didn't expect you to do such a thing. You said we finally established a good communication foundation at Tianxiang Mansion last time, and you pulled such a stunt. Now everyone is avoiding you. Even if I want to pull you up, I can't!"

Xiao Changkun was terrified and muttered in a panic: "It's over, it's over. It's over now. With Zhang Ermao pulling this stunt, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive in the association..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly wiped his cold sweat and replied to Chairman Pei: "I'm sorry, Chairman Pei. I just arrived in Dubai, and the plane hasn't even stopped yet. This matter is not at all what Zhang Ermao said. Zhang Ermao is slandering me! You must not believe his one-sided words! I will definitely hold him legally responsible!"

As soon as the message was sent, Chairman Pei's voice call came through.

Xiao Changkun answered immediately and asked nervously: "Chairman Pei, what is the situation in Jin Ling now?"

"What is the situation..." Chairman Pei sighed and said helplessly: "After Zhang Ermao posted this Moments, everyone in the association is coming to me to complain, demanding that you be removed. They feel you are not qualified to serve as this Executive Vice Chairman, and you are not even qualified to remain in the association. People from several brother units also ran over to ask me about the situation."

"You don't know, this bunch of people are more gossipy than the last. They don't have much ability in their work, but they are better at eating melons than anyone else. Even if you gave them two acres of watermelon fields, they could eat them all in one go. I am currently using the excuse that the situation is not yet clear to suppress the matter for now, but this matter still needs to be handled. You still have to tell me, were you involved in this matter? If you weren't involved, can you provide definitive evidence to refute Zhang Ermao's Moments post?"

"I..." Xiao Changkun didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Naturally, he wanted to say he wasn't involved, but words were not proof. And Zhang Ermao's attitude toward him was extremely bad now. If he denied it, but Zhang Ermao held onto him, he definitely wouldn't be able to beat him. After all, what he said was the truth.

But if he admitted he was involved, wouldn't that be set in stone in Chairman Pei's eyes?

By then, if Chairman Pei fired him from the Calligraphy and Painting Association, wouldn't his career be completely ruined?

Thinking of this, he had a rare flash of inspiration. He didn't answer the question Chairman Pei raised, but instead asked: "Chairman Pei, in your opinion, how should I prove that I wasn't involved now?"

Chairman Pei didn't think much and said straight: "Changkun, if you really weren't involved in this matter, then we must take strong medicine! We must report it to the police! Just tell the police that this Zhang Ermao is attacking you personally and damaging your reputation, and demand that the police thoroughly investigate this matter. After the police investigation, they will definitely release a result. As long as the police result says you weren't involved, then no one can splash dirty water on you!"

"I..." Xiao Changkun was so scared that his heart and liver trembled.

Report to the police? Wasn't that seeking his own death?

Just as Zhang Ermao said, once the police got involved, he was the one who took the money, so his responsibility would definitely be the greatest.

What's more, Zhang Ermao had already obtained Zhou Liangyun's forgiveness. If the police didn't pursue him, wouldn't he have to bear it all himself?

Thinking of this, Xiao Changkun stammered: "Chairman Pei, you also know that Zhang Ermao is Master Hong Wu's man. You also know Master Hong Wu; he has a good relationship with me. If I don't give his little brother some face, it's somewhat unreasonable."

Chairman Pei said thoughtfully: "Hmm... what you said makes sense. I heard that this Zhang Ermao is still Master Hong Wu's advisor now, helping Master Hong Wu manage quite a few businesses."

After speaking, he suddenly remembered something. His voice immediately rose an octave, and he said loudly: "Changkun, that's not right! Since Zhang Ermao is Master Wu's man, and he knows you have a good relationship with Master Wu, how could he dare to splash dirty water on you? What is going on? Is what Zhang Ermao said true, or did he eat a bear's heart and leopard's gall and insist on going against you?"

Xiao Changkun wished he could slap himself. He wanted to find a reason to stall the police report, but he didn't expect to expose a fatal bug.

So he hurriedly said: "Of... of course he is going against me. Chairman Pei, this matter also needs to give Master Wu some face, so don't be too anxious. I will call Master Wu right now and let Master Wu see how to handle it!"

Hearing him mention Master Wu, Chairman Pei felt relieved and said: "Yes, yes, yes. You call Master Wu quickly and let Master Wu manage that Zhang Ermao well. The best way is to let Master Wu put pressure on Zhang Ermao and force Zhang Ermao to post a new Moments, and in the new Moments, state clearly that everything he mentioned about you, Xiao Changkun, was false framing!"

Xiao Changkun instantly ignited hope and said hurriedly: "Good! I'll call Master Wu right now! I believe that for the sake of my son-in-law, Master Wu will definitely help!"