After Being Betrayed I Married the Glamorous CEO-Chapter 136: Keep Pretending with Me, Why Don’t You?!

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Keep Pretending with Me, Why Don’t You?!

GULP!

Hong Tianzhao swallowed hard. Faced with Shen Fanyun’s maneuver, he was at a complete loss. The incessant ringing of the phone pierced his ears...

Xu Tai and Chen Lie’s faces were also ashen. They glanced at each other, their hearts pounding violently.

Could this kid be bluffing, trying to scam them?

This was Shen Junhuan, after all, a peerless figure even in Capital City. A legend of such caliber—how could Shen Fanyun possibly know him? They had been in Capital City’s circles for years and never had the opportunity to connect with Shen Junhuan. Could someone who just randomly popped up in Hangcheng City truly have an intimate relationship with him?

"Hello!" a deep, slightly magnetic voice came through the phone.

It was clear the two were familiar with each other. The voice on the other end wasn’t the least bit arrogant and, sure enough, it followed up with, "What’s wrong?"

While holding Hong Danggui with one hand, Shen Fanyun spoke with Shen Junhuan. "I’m in Hangcheng City dealing with a few things."

"Then, I happened to run into some friends of yours. They say they have a good relationship with you and hoped I’d let them off the hook out of respect for you. What do you think?"

Hong Tianzhao, Xu Tai, and Chen Lie looked at one another in dismay. Since they had never seen Shen Junhuan in person, they couldn’t tell if the voice was real.

In the end, the clever Xu Tai quickly pulled out his phone, found a recording of Shen Junhuan’s voice from a public appearance, and compared them... CLATTER! His hand trembled, and the phone dropped abruptly to the ground without warning. This previously dashing tycoon from Capital City was now so pale he was drained of all color.

"It’s... It’s real," he stammered. "That’s really Mr. Shen’s voice!"

HISS!

Hong Tianzhao and Chen Lie were barely able to stand. Their hearts pounded in terror as they tried to compose themselves, but the effort only amplified their dread.

"My friends?" Shen Junhuan asked. "Put one of them on. I’ll ask them myself, and then I’ll know."

Shen Fanyun and Shen Junhuan conversed with ease. By now, Shen Fanyun had already put Hong Danggui down and taken a seat in the center of the room. After settling in, he finally looked up and asked the trio, "So, who’s going to take the call?"

Hong Tianzhao was silent.

Xu Tai was silent.

Chen Lie was silent.

What were they supposed to do? They were just running a bluff, using Shen Junhuan’s supreme reputation to give themselves courage. Who could have known that Shen Fanyun actually knew the man? He had even called Shen Junhuan right in front of them.

Ten seconds passed. Then twenty. A full minute went by.

Hong Tianzhao, Xu Tai, and Chen Lie all chose to play dead. The scene astonished the dignitaries present. Logically, if they truly had a good relationship, they would have each other’s contact information. So why was Shen Fanyun the one initiating the call? And if they were so familiar, why didn’t they dare to answer the phone?

HISS! Hong Danggui already sensed that things were going terribly wrong. His uncle’s expression was worse than if his own father had died. This...

"Hey, don’t waste my time," Shen Fanyun urged again.

Without exception, the three continued to play dead. Visible beads of sweat had formed on the foreheads of Hong Tianzhao, Xu Tai, and Chen Lie. None of them dared to move, so no one wiped the sweat away.

Left with no choice, Shen Fanyun put the call on speakerphone.

"They don’t dare to answer," he said into the phone. "How about this? I’ll just tell you their names, and you can see if you recognize any of them."

"The first is named Xu Tai."

Shen Junhuan paused for two seconds, then denied it flatly. "Don’t know him."

Xu Tai paled even further.

"Then, Chen Lie?" Shen Fanyun continued.

This time, Shen Junhuan took an extra two seconds, but his reply was the same as before. "Never heard of him. I have no such friend."

Chen Lie’s legs trembled.

"Are you sure?" Shen Fanyun pressed, adding, "These two told me they drink with you all the time, that you’re as familiar as can be."

CLICK!

Shen Junhuan immediately hung up and started a video call. Shen Fanyun accepted, turning the volume to maximum. "Which acquaintance are you talking about?" Shen Junhuan’s voice boomed. "Did I forget someone? Let me see what they look like."

"Oh," Shen Fanyun replied, aiming the phone’s camera at Xu Tai and Chen Lie.

The two so-called tycoons from Capital City were scared out of their wits. Faced with the camera, both of them unnaturally shielded their faces.

The crowd was dumbfounded. What the hell is going on? Why would good friends be afraid to see each other, especially on a video call?

"Hmph?" Shen Junhuan grunted impatiently. "What’s wrong with these two little scoundrels?"

"You still don’t understand?" Shen Fanyun raised an eyebrow.

"Heh. These days, it seems any riffraff dares to use my name to swagger around town," Shen Junhuan scoffed. "They came from Capital City, did they? No matter. When I get back to Capital City, I’ll personally meet these two scoundrels and ask them if they’re tired of living."

Shen Junhuan was furious. It was one thing for them to use his name to act tough, but to try it on Shen Fanyun of all people... he didn’t know if they had terrible luck, or luck that was entirely too good!

THUD. THUD.

Xu Tai and Chen Lie couldn’t take it anymore. They suddenly dropped to their knees and began kowtowing frantically toward Shen Fanyun. "We’re sorry, we’re so sorry!"

"We were fools to lie! Please, be merciful and spare us!"

"We’re terribly sorry! We were too rash; we truly had no intention of deceiving you, we’re sorry!"

This was no time for games. Shen Junhuan had already made it clear he would investigate. If they didn’t apologize now, they might as well be waiting to die.

Watching this scene unfold, Hong Danggui felt his heart turn to ash. So, they really didn’t know the Nine-patterned Dragon after all. He glanced at his third uncle. The man’s brow was dark and his eyes were lifeless, as if half his soul had fled his body.

It was then that Shen Fanyun remembered Hong Tianzhao was still there. He spoke into the phone again. "I have another one here—someone who can supposedly make Capital City tremble three times with a single stomp of his foot. His name is Hong Tianzhao."

He paused, pretending to be deep in thought. "But is there really such a monumental figure in Capital City? I can’t seem to place the name."

Hong Tianzhao froze.

"What was that?" Shen Junhuan asked, pausing for several seconds before suddenly erupting into thunderous laughter. "Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!"

The laughter said it all.

At that moment, Hong Tianzhao was so embarrassed he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Hong Danggui’s mouth was dry, and his face burned with shame.

"Alright, that’s all I need from you for now," Shen Fanyun said, nodding before hanging up.

The next second, the entire venue fell silent. It felt as if time and space had frozen solid. Everyone exchanged glances, a tacit silence hanging between them.

"I... I..." Hong Tianzhao mumbled, completely at a loss for words.