Chapter 172: No Cure for Regret

Hearing these words, Pan Yixuan’s face instantly turned ashen.

Previously at the Yang residence, he and Yang Yunhua had been as thick as thieves. Moreover, Yang Yunhua had repeatedly vowed to form an alliance with the Pan family and help them take down the Zhao family!

Yet now that trouble had struck, Yang Yunhua had immediately turned hostile and pretended not to know him. How could he possibly stomach this?

With a heavy thud, Pan Yixuan dropped to his knees in front of Bai Qiming, crying and wailing loudly, "Mr. Bai, please don't listen to this old bastard’s nonsense! What does he mean by saying I came up with the ideas for him? What does he mean by saying I instigated him? He is the head of the Yang family, while I am merely a young master of the Pan family. How could I possibly instigate him? Dealing with Jiang Hao and Su Qingli was entirely his own decision! Now he is trying to make me take the blame—how can that be right?"

Pan Yixuan's words made Yang Yunhua tremble with rage.

With a sharp crack, Yang Yunhua delivered a fierce slap across Pan Yixuan's face.

Smack!

Pan Yixuan was knocked flat onto the ground, his cheek swelling up rapidly.

Pointing a trembling finger at Pan Yixuan, Yang Yunhua spat and cursed, "You dog, how dare you spout such utter nonsense in front of Mr. Bai? If you hadn't badgered and incited me repeatedly, would I ever have gone against Mr. Jiang and Ms. Su? I am the head of the Yang family, after all—why would I lower myself to bicker with two juniors? It’s all your fault, you brought this upon us! Pan Yixuan, if you dare utter another word of nonsense, I will finish you off today!"

However, finding himself in the midst of a life-or-death crisis, Pan Yixuan refused to retract his words despite the threats.

He insisted, "It was Yang Yunhua himself who wanted to deal with Jiang Hao and Su Qingli! It has nothing to do with me! Mr. Bai, you are a discerning man; you surely know I am being framed! He just wants to make me his scapegoat so he can shirk all responsibility! Mr. Bai, do not let him deceive you!"

Turning his head toward Yang Yunhua, Pan Yixuan then cursed him without an ounce of restraint, "Yang Yunhua, you old bastard! What did you promise me before? You made all sorts of fine promises, and now you suddenly turn your back on me and pretend you don't know me? Is that how you behave? Since you show no loyalty, don't blame me for being unrighteous! You brought this entirely upon yourself!"

"You... you... you're going to be the death of me..."

Yang Yunhua’s face turned livid with fury, making it look as though he were about to suffer a heart attack.

By this point, the members of the Su family present found the scene both utterly ridiculous and deeply shocking.

Yang Yunhua, the formidable head of the Yang family, was actually squabbling with Pan Yixuan, the young master of the Pan family, right in front of a crowd without a shred of dignity left.

The two of them were behaving like a pair of rabid dogs, tearing into each other and making an absolute spectacle of themselves, utterly humiliating their families to the core!

Yet precisely because of this, they gained a profound appreciation for the terrifying power of the Bai family.

A single phone call from Bai Qiming had panicked Yang Yunhua to such an extreme, even driving Yang Yunhua and Pan Yixuan to turn on each other as mortal enemies. That alone spoke volumes.

And just how formidable must Jiang Hao be, seeing as he was connected to someone of Bai Qiming's stature?

Others would break their legs trying to curry favor with the Bai family to no avail, yet Bai Qiming had taken the initiative to visit Jiang Hao’s villa as a guest. What an immense honor that was!

Su Tianming, Old Mrs. Su, Zhang Liping, Su Bingming, and the other members of the Su family all cast stunned gazes toward Jiang Hao, scarcely believing that such a colossal crisis could be resolved with such effortless ease.

Suddenly, Bai Qiming spoke up, "Alright, that’s enough. Stop."

Yang Yunhua immediately clamped his mouth shut, and Pan Yixuan did the same. With Bai Qiming issuing the command to halt, neither of them dared to continue their verbal sparring match.

Bai Qiming glanced at Yang Yunhua, then at Pan Yixuan, heaved a sigh, and turned his gaze toward Jiang Hao, as if silently asking for his verdict.

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Hao said, "Since it was all just a misunderstanding, let's leave it at that. After all, it's better to resolve grudges than to keep forging new ones."

Upon hearing Jiang Hao’s words, Yang Yunhua’s face blossomed with wild delight.

He hurriedly stepped forward, bowed deeply to Jiang Hao, and said with deep emotion, "I never expected Mr. Jiang to be so magnanimous. It truly commands my utmost admiration. Mr. Jiang, I misjudged you before and committed many acts against your interests. I sincerely beg for your forgiveness."

"I forgive you," Jiang Hao said calmly.

By now, Bai Qiming had already inflicted the best and most appropriate punishment upon the Yang family by terminating their business partnership—a blow that would undoubtedly deal a devastating shock to the family.

Furthermore, since Yang Yunhua had humbled himself and conceded defeat, this was undeniably the best possible outcome.

What else could be done? To push the matter further would only make things worse.

If the Yang family were truly driven into a desperate corner and decided to drag Jiang Hao down with them in a mutual destruction pact, what would happen?

Jiang Hao himself wasn't afraid, but he had to consider Su Qingli!

It was precisely for this reason that Jiang Hao magnanimously chose to forgive Yang Yunhua.

Nodding in agreement, Bai Qiming said, "Since Jiang Hao has forgiven you, I have nothing more to say. Let it rest at that... Family Head Yang, you may leave."

With that, Bai Qiming turned as if to head back inside the house.

Yang Yunhua hastily called out, "Mr. Bai, please stay your step... Um, since Mr. Jiang has already forgiven me, then the partnership between our two families..."

Bai Qiming let out a cold laugh.

Things had reached this stage, and Yang Yunhua still harbored fantasies about continuing their partnership?

What an absolute pipe dream!

Without a shred of politeness, Bai Qiming retorted, "Yang Yunhua, now that our Bai family has terminated our partnership with your Yang family, there is zero possibility of us ever restoring it in the future. You had better go look for other distributors, alternative sales channels, and different business partners."

Bai Qiming’s words plunged Yang Yunhua into an abyss of despair, as if he had been cast into an icy cellar.

He was filled with regret—regret so intense it felt as though it might kill him.

Had he known things would turn out this way, nothing could have persuaded him to adopt Pan Yixuan’s advice and repeatedly target Jiang Hao and Su Qingli!

Yet of what use was regret now?

There was no medicine in this world to reverse the past!

"Family Head Yang, it’s time for you to leave," Jiang Hao issued a cold order of expulsion.

What more could Yang Yunhua say?

He let out a long, weary sigh, turned around, and walked dejectedly out of the courtyard of the East Suburb Villa, before getting into his car and driving away.

Once Yang Yunhua had departed, the attention of everyone present immediately converged upon Pan Yixuan.

Indeed, Yang Yunhua was gone, but this fellow Pan Yixuan was still right here!

Moreover, Pan Yixuan was currently bound tightly from head to toe with ropes, rendering him utterly incapable of leaving even if he wanted to!

Seeing everyone’s gazes locked onto him, Pan Yixuan felt a suffocating wave of embarrassment.

Squeezing out a stiff, awkward smile, he looked at Jiang Hao and stammered, "M-Mr. Jiang, since you’ve forgiven even Yang Yunhua, how about you forgive me along with him?"

"Weren't you always so arrogant? Weren't you always so domineering? Weren't you always harboring designs on my beloved?"

With a faint smile, Jiang Hao walked right up to Pan Yixuan.

Hearing those words, Pan Yixuan turned deathly pale and shook his head frantically at breakneck speed.