BOOM!
The door to the private room was kicked open.
Zheng Yiyang jumped in fright and roared, "Who the fuck let you in?"
Chen Dong stared at Zheng Yiyang, whose belt was half-undone. A low growl rumbled from his throat. "You're really courting death."
'Good thing I was keeping an eye on Li Huiran,' he thought. 'I came over the second the bodyguards started fighting. If I hadn't, the consequences would have been unthinkable.'
When Zheng Yiyang saw that Chen Dong wasn't one of the men the Huang Family had provided, he bellowed, "Who the fuck are you? Guards! Get him out of here! Beat him to death for all I care! How dare you ruin my fun!"
'I really want to kill this piece of scum right now!' Chen Dong thought. 'But too many people know Li Huiran was the last one to see him.'
'Killing him would be easy, but Li Huiran might get dragged into it.'
So, Chen Dong strode forward and sent the scumbag flying with a single kick, making him crash heavily onto the dining table.
Just then, Chen Dong's brow furrowed.
Zheng Yiyang burst out laughing. "You think you're tough, huh? Didn't expect this, did you? This room is filled with intoxicating incense."
"As if some cheap incense could affect me! I'll collect a little interest first. I'll come for your worthless life another day."
As he spoke, two Silver Needles appeared in Chen Dong's hand. With a casual flick of his wrist, they pierced Zheng Yiyang's corpulent body.
Zheng Yiyang immediately screamed, "Aaargh! It hurts...! My heart...!"
"Don't worry, you're not going to die. Just enjoy the pain."
With that, he scooped up Li Huiran and walked out the door, not sparing a single glance for Zheng Yiyang, who was curled up on the floor, howling like a beaten dog.
The bodyguards who had looked down their noses at him just moments before were now standing in a neat line at the door, their heads bowed and their bodies covered in injuries.
When Chen Dong glanced at them, they lowered their heads even further.
"When you get back, just say you were the ones who rescued her."
The four bodyguards hesitated. Without Chen Dong, they would have been guilty of a severe dereliction of duty.
"Four against twenty... you were outmatched, but you held on. It's passable. Protect her well from now on. I'll teach you a few moves when I have time."
Hearing this, the four bodyguards' eyes filled with admiration and gratitude.
Seeing the bodyguards still standing there dumbfounded, Chen Dong, still holding Li Huiran, said with a sigh, "Alright, get going!"
「Jiangzhou Hotel, Presidential Suite 7001.」
Zhao Wenxuan was having tea and chatting with a man in his forties, while his secretary, Zhao Zhitong, stood waiting nearby.
"Mr. Zhao, what kind of young man could possibly earn such high praise from you?"
Zhao Wenxuan chuckled. "Him! You should be able to meet him in a little while. He's a truly rare talent. I'll be returning to Beijing soon, and I'm introducing you two today because I expect you'll be dealing with each other quite a bit. When that time comes, just treat him as a core member of my Zhao Family."
'In two years, Zhao Hongyu will come out of her seclusion,' Zhao Wenxuan mused. 'Once they're married, Chen Dong will officially be family. And even if Hongyu changes her mind, I'll just adopt him as my grandson. Either way, he'll be a core member of the family. It's all the same in the end.'
The middle-aged man was stunned. 'A core member of the Zhao Family? That's a position in a mega-clan!'
'What kind of young man could possibly make Zhao Wenxuan say something like that?'
Straightening up, he said with a serious expression, "A young man like that must be truly remarkable. I can't wait to meet him."
Speak of the devil. They had just mentioned Chen Dong, and now he was knocking at the door.
Chen Dong was already late. He couldn't help it; after taking Li Huiran back to the Li Manor, he had to rush all the way to the Jiangzhou Hotel, which was quite a distance. Yet, Zhao Wenxuan had simply waited for him with utmost patience.
The moment Chen Dong arrived, Zhao Wenxuan had the food served.
The four took their seats, and Zhao Wenxuan began the introductions with a smile. "This is Chen Dong. He's currently with the Li Group."
Chen Dong smiled and nodded.
"And this is Zhang Boping, Commander of the Jiangzhou Engineering Inspection Division. You can call him Team Leader Zhang."
Upon hearing the man's title, the smile on Chen Dong's face vanished. He completely ignored the man's outstretched hand.
He asked, his voice cold, "Team Leader Zhang, do you know a man named Zheng Yiyang?"
Zhang Boping was taken aback. 'What does this young man mean by this? Did Zheng Yiyang offend him?'
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but he knew he couldn't let the atmosphere freeze over.
For him, having a meal with Zhao Wenxuan was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If word got out, his own status and position would soar.
He could also see that this opportunity hinged entirely on the young man before him. Zhao Wenxuan's main goal was to introduce *him* to this youth; otherwise, he wouldn't even be qualified to sit at this table.
'I absolutely cannot afford to get on this young man's bad side.'
The most important thing now was to de-escalate. Zhang Boping immediately said, "Yes, I know him. He's one of the team leaders under my command. If he has offended you in any way, Young Master Chen, I apologize on his behalf!"
His attitude was incredibly deferential, but the more he groveled, the more enraged Chen Dong became.
"Hah! Mr. Zhao, there's no need to continue this meal!"
The words struck Zhang Boping like a bolt from the blue, and his face instantly went pale.
'What on earth did that idiot Zheng Yiyang do to make this young man so furious?'
'And what kind of background does this kid have to be so brazenly disrespectful to Zhao Wenxuan?'
But more than the young man's identity, he was worried about himself. Zhao Wenxuan clearly valued this youth so highly, and now, because of Zheng Yiyang, he had managed to infuriate him. This dinner was no longer an opportunity—it was a catastrophe.
Faced with Chen Dong's blatant disrespect, Zhao Wenxuan showed no anger at all. On the contrary, he seemed to share his indignation. "What is it, Chen Dong? Tell Grandmaster Zhao who provoked you, and I'll take care of it! Does someone in this little Jiangzhou think they can run wild?"
These words nearly made Zhang Boping's soul leave his body. 'That bastard Zheng Yiyang! If he's actually provoked Zhao Wenxuan into taking action, a minor commander like me could be made to disappear from Jiangzhou in a matter of minutes.'
Sweat poured down his face. His only thought was self-preservation.
He hastily bowed and said, "Young Master Chen, no matter what that bastard Zheng Yiyang did to anger you, I'll go back and fire him immediately."
Chen Dong arched an eyebrow. "Fire him?" 'To him, that punishment was far too lenient.'
Zhang Boping was a master at reading people's expressions, and he could tell his offer hadn't met the young man's expectations.
He quickly added, "Not just fired. He will also receive the punishment he deserves."
Chen Dong said dismissively, "It seems you're not in league with him. My mistake."
Then, he turned to Zhao Wenxuan and said, "Grandmaster Zhao, let's eat before the food gets cold."
Zhao Wenxuan laughed. "You rascal! Didn't I tell you that you can come to me for anything? Are you looking down on me?"
Chen Dong smiled. "Of course not! I just didn't want to trouble you, Grandmaster Zhao. Besides, it was just a trivial matter."
The meal proceeded, but not in the way Zhang Boping had imagined.
He spent the entire dinner terrified, as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
As soon as the dinner was over, Zhang Boping hastily excused himself. He was dying to know what that son of a bitch Zheng Yiyang had done.
But he hadn't dared to ask during the meal. If he had, and found he couldn't fix the problem, he might have been the one "fixed" instead.
The moment he stepped out of the Jiangzhou Hotel, he impatiently dialed Zheng Yiyang's number.
The second the call connected, he roared, "Zheng Yiyang, you son of a bitch! What the fuck did you do?!"
Still in the hospital, Zheng Yiyang's ears rang from the shouting on the other end of the line.
He had just received a painkiller injection and been told he had a blocked coronary artery that required immediate surgery. Before he could even process that news, his boss was on the phone, screaming at him.
At that moment, he felt incredibly wronged and replied in a tearful voice, "Commander, I didn't do anything!"
Zhang Boping snorted. "'Didn't do anything?' You 'didn't do anything,' yet you almost dragged me, your commander, down with you! And you have the nerve to say you didn't do anything?"
Zheng Yiyang was utterly shocked. 'Who could be powerful enough to drag down Commander Zhang?'
'The Li Family, with their declining fortunes? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!'
Before he could figure it out, Zhang Boping continued, "You bastard, you'd better tell me what you did right now. Otherwise, you won't have to wait for Mr. Zhao Wenxuan to make a move—I'll be the first one to take you out!"
Lying in his hospital bed, Zheng Yiyang shot upright. Zhao Wenxuan? How could he possibly have provoked such a monumental figure?
Thinking of the chasm between the Huang Family and the Zhao Family, Zheng Yiyang burst into tears. "Waaaah... Commander, I was wrong! I was so wrong..."