Chapter 66: You Brought Shame and Disgrace Upon the Zhang Family, You Deserve to Die

"Understood, Miss Chu," Lin Meina replied timidly.

She was terrified, dreading another round of beatings.

Zhao Qiang was merely acting like a dog leaning on its master's power; otherwise, she would never have ended up in such a miserable state.

Chu Mengyao nodded with satisfaction. "Now all of you, get out of here!"

Granting a pardon, Sun Zhi Xiong and Lin Meina scrambled away in a panic through the Chu family gates.

After they left, Zhao Qiang looked at Chu Mengyao and said helplessly, "Miss Chu, why did you have to go that far?"

Now that their relationship had been exposed, the matter would undoubtedly reach Zhang Zihao's ears.

He had originally come here just to ask for help, but now Zhang Zihao would surely assume that the two of them were romantically involved.

Chu Mengyao rolled her eyes at him, her tone filled with dissatisfaction. "What? This young lady helped you, and you aren't even grateful? Had I known you were so unappreciative, I should have had someone beat you up before stepping in."

Zhao Qiang smiled bitterly. "That's not what I meant. I just didn't want to bring you trouble."

If Elder Chu wanted him to marry into the family, he might actually manage to persuade Chu Mengyao.

Although he cared for little Taotao, he did not love Chu Mengyao. Matters of the heart could not be forced.

Compared to Chu Mengyao, Zhao Qiang preferred someone like Gao Lan—gentle and obedient, rather than an overbearing female CEO like Chu Mengyao.

The crux of the matter was that he simply could not handle such a woman. With her high education and lofty ambitions, he could never integrate into her world.

Chu Mengyao snorted. "You think I wanted to meddle in your affairs? If I hadn't felt sorry for you, I wouldn't have bothered lifting a finger."

Inwardly, she was overjoyed, wishing only that Zhao Qiang owed her even more favors.

She currently held a budding, unspoken affection for Zhao Qiang, accompanied by a tiny trace of admiration and fondness.

Yet her prideful nature forbade her from bowing her head; she was, after all, the eldest daughter of the Chu family.

To make her openly declare her love for a man was quite impossible.

A wave of emotion stirred in Zhao Qiang's heart, though it went no further.

He had crossed paths with her solely for the sake of his daughter, and he resolved that they should avoid frequent meetings in the future.

"Regardless of everything, I still have to thank you."

Chu Mengyao turned her face away. "Spare me that routine. Just behave yourself from now on and stop embarrassing this young lady."

"There won't be a next time, Miss Chu. Let's keep our contact to a minimum from now on."

Zhao Qiang spoke with unyielding determination. "Remember what you promised me: let Taotao come home with me."

Zhao Qiang had no desire to ever set foot in the Chu family residence again; it was hardly a welcoming place.

As for becoming a resident son-in-law, that was an absolute impossibility.

Having offended the Zhang family, Zhang Zihao likely still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve that he had yet to deploy.

He needed to go home, settle his parents, and then finalize his divorce from Liu Ruyan.

When Chu Mengyao offered to have someone drive him back, Zhao Qiang flatly refused.

Instead, he hailed a taxi by the roadside and returned to Bright Garden Apartments.

---

It was imperative to move immediately and find a safer place. Lingering here any longer might invite unforeseen disasters.

He explained the situation to He Fen and Zhao Hai, warning them that he might have offended a powerful family.

Specifically, because he had crossed paths with Liu Ruyan's paramour, this place was no longer safe to live in.

He still had several million in his bank account, swindled from Zhang Feiyang, which was more than enough to buy a home in a high-end residential complex.

He had actually purchased a property there some time ago, and they could move in directly today.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, both He Fen and Zhao Hai readily agreed.

Zhao Qiang called a moving company, and the family relocated to a much more upscale neighborhood.

The elderly residents of Bright Garden Apartments were buzzing with gossip, though fortunately, many of them had already seen the news.

They all knew that Zhao Qiang had confronted the man who cuckolded him, who turned out to be the CEO of a major corporate group.

Fleeing now clearly meant he felt the place was no longer safe.

The fierce feud between the Zhang and Chu families had become the talk of the town, dominating the headlines in Imperial City.

Much of this was thanks to the live-streamer friends summoned by Chu Siqi, who had broadcast the entire spectacle live.

This had propelled Zhao Qiang into the male lead of the stream, creating a viral sensation across the internet.

Combined with the earlier sensationalized paternity dispute involving Zhao Qiang and Liu Ruyan, the whole affair had reached a fever pitch.

Zhang Zihao, the heir of the Zhang family, had cowered in fear and refused a paternity test, turning himself into a laughingstock across the entire internet.

Overnight, the reputation of the Zhang family plummeted disastrously.

Business partners abruptly tore up their contracts one after another, plunging the Zhang family into a severe crisis.

Inside the spacious and opulent living room of the Zhang estate, Zhang Zihao sat on the sofa, consumed by anxiety.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He answered it to hear the tearful voice of his female secretary: "Mr. Zhang, it's terrible! Business partners are calling one after another to cancel their contracts, and their stance is completely unyielding!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zihao's face turned ashen. In a fit of rage, he hurled his phone violently to the floor, then snatched up a nearby vase and smashed it against the ground, shattering it into a thousand scattered shards.

"What on earth is going on here?!" he roared.

Nearby, Zhang Hongye was equally furious, trembling with rage. "Such a favorable situation, and now our relationship with the Chu family has been utterly ruined! Zhang Zihao, is what Zhao Qiang said true?"

Zhang Zihao bit his lip tightly and remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Hongye understood instantly, his anger flaring even higher. "It seems it is true! You actually kept a mistress on the side, and were foolish enough to let people track you down to your doorstep! Do you realize that the Zhang family has become the target of public criticism, and our position in the business world is hanging by a thread?"

Zhang Zihao raised his head and forced a calm demeanor. "Dad, Elder Chu has always favored me the most. He certainly won't just sit by and do nothing."

With that, he hurriedly picked up his phone to call Elder Chu and offer an explanation, but the line remained stubbornly busy.

Zhang Zihao's expression darkened further as he muttered to himself, "Could it be that the Chu family has no intention of going through with the marriage alliance after all?"

Convinced that Zhao Qiang was the mastermind behind all this, Zhang Zihao was consumed with rage. He immediately dialed Zhao Qiang's number and, the moment it connected, began cursing furiously into the receiver: "Zhao Qiang, you bastard! Why are you trying to ruin me like this?"

On the other end of the line, Zhao Qiang merely gave a faint smile, his tone calm yet laced with mockery: "Zhang Zihao, you brought all of this upon yourself—you deserve it! For the filthy deeds you committed, you should have expected a day of reckoning like today."

---

Zhang Zihao was beside himself with rage. "Zhao Qiang, don't get cocky! I won't let you off the hook!"

Zhao Qiang let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with utter disdain. "Hh, Zhang Zihao, you'd better figure out how to clean up your own mess first!"

"You cuckolded me, and yet you say you won't let me off?"

"Please, Zhang Zihao, I'm the one refusing to let you off!"

Zhao Qiang crossed his arms, looking at Zhang Zihao with mockery. "I have plenty more moves lined up, so get ready to take them on!"

With a resolute gaze, Zhao Qiang knew that the first round of retaliation had barely concluded; he could not afford to remain passive.

Going on the offensive was his current priority, and he intended to use a war of public opinion to prevent the Zhang family from ever recovering.

Directly confronting the Zhang family was clearly irrational, and he was well aware that single-handedly, he could never shake their standing in Imperial City.

Fortunately, internet culture was powerful enough that a single spit from every netizen could drown the Zhang family.

As long as he stood on the moral high ground and exposed all the filthy actions of the Zhang family to the public—

When a giant tree falls, everyone pushes it over. He believed there were plenty of people waiting to see the Zhang family make a fool of themselves, and those people would become his allies.

"Zhao Qiang, starting right now, you're fired!"

Panting heavily, Zhang Zihao spoke with vicious malice. "You'd rather throw away an annual salary of one million just to go against me! I was actually planning to give you a raise, but you've ruined it all!"

"Since you're so willing to act as Chu Mengyao's lapdog, get ready to bear the brunt of my fury!"

At this point, Zhang Zihao was nearly out of his mind, driven solely by the desire to make Zhao Qiang understand the miserable consequences of crossing him.

"Mr. Zhang, really?"

Far from showing any fear, Zhao Qiang burst out laughing. "That's simply wonderful! Thank you so much for firing me. Oh, I'm just so terrified!"

An annual salary of one million, only to work himself to the bone for a man who had cuckolded him, while being forced to accept that humiliating reality—such an absurd notion made Zhao Qiang find the whole thing profoundly laughable.

"Since you've fired me, you'd better prepare to compensate me one hundred million!"

The corners of Zhao Qiang's lips curled upward in a triumphant smile.

"What one hundred million? What are you even talking about?"

Frowning deeply, Zhang Zihao was utterly bewildered, completely failing to understand Zhao Qiang's nonsensical rambling. "Compensate you one hundred million? Have you lost your mind dreaming about money?"

"Young Master Zhang, have you forgotten? We signed a contract."

Zhao Qiang said unhurriedly.

Prompted by these words, Zhang Zihao suddenly snapped back to reality.

He had indeed signed a contract with Zhao Qiang beforehand, realizing now that all of this had been meticulously premeditated.

"Zhao Qiang, you planned this all along, didn't you?"

Zhang Zihao trembled with fury. "You set me up! You deserve to die!"