Chapter 29: Offending the President

Upon hearing this, the man’s anxious heart immediately settled.

"Pfft, what a scare!" he thought. "I thought he was some big shot."

His attitude turned arrogant once more, and he looked down his nose at them: "Me? I’m from the Hai City Urban Planning Bureau! Do you know who I am? The Director of the Planning Bureau is my own uncle! I’m his nephew!"

Having said that, he gave a disdainful laugh: "Do you still think I’m being loudmouthed? You bumpkin!"

He expected the other man to be intimidated by his connections, but Huo Hanshen merely sneered: "Just a relative of the Planning Bureau Director, and you’re acting this full of yourself... tsk."

"What kind of attitude is that!" The man was instantly enraged.

Unfortunately, Huo Hanshen continued to mutter to himself: "It seems it’s time for the Director of the Planning Bureau to be replaced."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly and began typing something into his phone.

"Putting on a show!" The man rolled his eyes at Huo Hanshen, completely disregarding his words. "You dare look down on me? Who do you think you are!"

Just as he was cursing, his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from his uncle, the Director.

"I’ll deal with you later!" he threatened Huo Hanshen and Xu Xu, then answered the phone with a fawning tone.

"Hello, Uncle..."

"What the hell did you do, you brat!"

Before he could even greet him, the first words from the other end left him dazed. What? Why was he yelling at him?

"Who the hell did you offend? You’ve gotten me under investigation!"

"O-offended someone?" The man was stunned. "No way, I’m just performing official duties outside the Xu Corporation building. I haven’t done anything!"

"Are you sure? Did you see anyone with an extraordinary presence?"

Extraordinary presence?

He paused, and his gaze involuntarily fell upon Huo Hanshen. Could it be...?

He swallowed nervously: "Y-yes, there is someone."

"Then tell me, did you do anything to offend them? Speak clearly!"

Even as slow as he was, he realized something was wrong! Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his hand holding the phone began to tremble! After a moment of trying to calm himself, he hurriedly recounted the recent events to his uncle in detail.

"...Uncle, it shouldn't be a big deal, right? This guy shouldn't be anyone important." He was still clinging to a sliver of hope.

But in the next second, a roar from the other end of the line shattered his illusions!

"You idiot! Are you trying to get us killed?" The middle-aged man on the other end was furious, wishing he could strangle his dim-witted nephew right then and there. "Do you know who that is? That’s the newly inaugurated President! You moron!"

Hearing this, the man was completely stunned.

What? The... the President!?

"I... I... I really didn't know!" He was on the verge of tears, his voice trembling. "Uncle, what do I do now!"

"What else can you do? Apologize to the President immediately! Beg for his forgiveness! Otherwise, you and your parents can just wait for your end!"

With that, the man on the other end slammed the phone down in a rage!

"Uncle... hello? Hello!"

The man stood there, left hanging. How could he have known he would run into the new President just by stepping outside? Thinking of the nonsense he had just spouted in front of the President, the cold sweat on his forehead intensified.

He took a deep breath, then hurried over to Huo Hanshen, bowed respectfully, and said, "I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I’ll retract the fine immediately. Please forgive me!"

However, Huo Hanshen ignored him entirely, looking at Xu Xu with gentle eyes and asking her in a low voice if she had been frightened.

Seeing this, the man realized what was happening. He looked at Xu Xu, and remembering the offensive things he had said to her, he gritted his teeth and decisively slapped himself twice!

*Smack! Smack!*

The two slaps were crisp and clear, actually startling Xu Xu.

"I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said such terrible things to you! I’m a beast! I was wrong! Please forgive me!"

Xu Xu looked at the nervous man in front of her, feeling very strange. He had been so arrogant just a moment ago; how could he have changed so quickly?

Xu Xu couldn't help but glance at Huo Hanshen, wondering what he had done to make the man act this way.

It was just too strange! After all, wasn't Huo Hanshen just an ordinary civil servant? How could even the Director of the Planning Bureau have to show him such deference?

Yet, despite her many doubts, Xu Xu did not ask at that moment.

She looked at the bowing man and said coldly: "I'm sorry, I'm just an ordinary person, I don't have the power to help you!"

Not everything can be resolved just by apologizing!

The man panicked even more upon hearing this; didn't this mean she wasn't going to let him off the hook?

"Ms. Xu, I really know I was wrong! You can make me bear the consequences, but my family is innocent, please spare them!"

This left Xu Xu completely bewildered. What was he talking about?

Seeing that Xu Xu remained silent, the man assumed she was still angry and hurriedly spilled everything!

"Ms. Xu, I came to inspect today because I received a report from the young lady of the Xu family! The person who really wanted to target you was her!"

He regretted it so much! Why had he listened to her and come to make trouble? He had only wanted to build a connection with the Xu Corporation, and now look—he had ruined himself! Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth in hatred for the "culprit," Xu Yaru.

Xu Xu wasn't too surprised by his words; the only thing she hadn't expected was that Xu Yaru was capable of causing such trouble.

Xu Xu squinted slightly, lost in thought.

Just then, footsteps approached from not far away, and Xu Xu saw a large group of people rushing toward them with nervous expressions!

Among them, Xu Xu quickly noticed the middle-aged man in the lead—it was the Director of the Planning Bureau!

Was such a small matter enough to alarm the Director? Was he here to back up his nephew? After all, they were related.

Xu Xu’s expression turned serious as she considered how to handle the situation.

However... as the Director approached, he bypassed his nephew entirely and walked straight to Huo Hanshen, bowing respectfully: "Pres..."

He caught himself, seeing Huo Hanshen frown and give him a warning look. As a seasoned veteran, the Director immediately grasped the meaning and quickly corrected himself: "Mr. Huo, how come you didn't mention you were coming to Hai City in advance? We would have been prepared to welcome you!"