Chen Dong frowned. Zhang Boping hadn't been like this yesterday.
He took out his phone, planning to call Zhao Wenxuan, but noticed he had two missed calls and a text message. His phone had been on silent during the meeting, so he was only just seeing them now.
The missed calls and the text were from Zhang Boping. A glance at the message revealed Zhang Boping's plan: he was going to come to the Li Group and cause a huge scene to help Young Master Chen win the girl. Then, all Young Master Chen had to do was step forward, reprimand him, and save the Li Group from the crisis, which would surely make Li Huiran fall for him.
Chen Dong was speechless. 'What on earth is going through Zhang Boping's head!'
Li Huiran, who had been monitoring the commotion outside, couldn't sit still any longer. If she didn't go out now, her position as general manager would be a small loss compared to the major crisis facing the group.
She strode out of the conference room, and the crowd parted to let her through.
When Zhang Boping saw Li Huiran approaching, he couldn't help but think, 'No wonder Young Master Chen is willing to humble himself to pursue her. She's an absolute knockout.'
At the same time, he also spotted Young Master Chen at the back of the crowd.
'Excellent! The hero and heroine are on stage. Now it's time for Young Master Chen's performance.'
And so, he began winking and making faces at Chen Dong.
Speechless, Chen Dong turned his head away, refusing to look at him.
Zhang Boping instantly broke out in a cold sweat. 'It's over! My brilliant idea completely backfired! Young Master Chen's reaction makes it clear he wants no part in this charade! This isn't working. I need a new plan to save myself.'
Li Huiran's face was deathly pale as she stammered, "C-Commander Zhang..."
Zhang Boping's brows knitted together as he quickly cut her off. "President Li, you don't need to say a word. I know everything!"
With that, he grabbed Zheng Yiyang, who was standing nearby, and slugged him hard across the face.
The crowd stared, dumbfounded. 'What just happened?'
Zhang Boping pointed at Zheng Yiyang. "It was this son of a bitch who framed President Li and deceived me! I will personally review every one of the Li Group's projects and clear your name."
Then he kicked Zheng Yiyang again. "Get on your knees and apologize!"
Zheng Yiyang, just wanting to save his own skin, immediately complied. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Li Huiran. "President Li, please spare me! It's all my fault! I was blinded by greed..."
Li Huiran was also frozen in place. 'What is happening? One moment, he was aggressively coming after the Li Group, and the next, he's forcing Zheng Yiyang to kneel and apologize?'
Looking at the weeping, begging Zheng Yiyang, she saw no trace of the arrogant, high-and-mighty man from yesterday.
Seeing the situation spiral out of his control, Lu Chunqing hurried forward. "Commander Zhang, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"
Zhang Boping shot him a cold glare and snorted. "Lowlife!"
He turned back to Li Huiran with a smile. "President Li, there's something you may not know. I, Zhang Boping, have a special ability to read people with extreme accuracy. The moment I saw you, I knew you were a diligent, dedicated professional who takes quality control seriously. There's no way you'd allow for those kinds of errors!"
He then gave the prone Zheng Yiyang another kick and added with an awkward laugh, "This damned bastard is an exception! He's already been fired from our quality inspection team. How you want to deal with him is your call, President Li!"
Although Li Huiran didn't understand what had just happened, the outcome was favorable. She said coolly, "Forget it. Just get him out of here. I don't want to see him again."
Then, she turned to Zhang Boping with a smile. "That's quite an amazing ability you have, Commander Zhang! Since you've come all this way, we shouldn't just stand around out here. Let's go to the reception room."
Zhang Boping saw Chen Dong give him a thumbs-up from the back of the crowd, and the heavy weight in his heart was finally lifted. "Excellent, excellent," he said, agreeing readily.
After everyone else had dispersed, Lu Chunqing remained rooted to the spot. His narrow eyes blazed with fury, his face a mask of vicious rage. "Bitch," he hissed through clenched teeth, "just you wait."
Before long, the inspection team left the company. By that afternoon, the quality issues with the Li Group's projects were resolved, and all the necessary inspection reports were delivered.
With over an hour left before the end of the workday, a roar erupted from the General Affairs office. "What is this garbage game! Who corpse-camps someone and kills them over twenty times?!"
"Haha! Brother Dong, you're trying to fight someone in endgame gear with a starter set? That's hilarious!" Wang Hao howled with laughter as he watched Chen Dong's character in the game.
"In real life, I could kill him a thousand times over! Garbage game!" As he spoke, the mouse in his hand shattered in his grip, a clear sign of his agitation.
Xu Qing was also nearby, covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Don't be mad, Brother Dong! I'll give you a set of top-tier gear later. Once you level up a bit, you can go get your revenge."
Chen Dong shoved his keyboard away. "I'm done. This isn't fun!"
Just then, four burly men appeared at the doorway. It was Li Huiran's four bodyguards.
"We're looking for Team Leader Chen."
Chen Dong recognized them and stepped out of the office.
"What can I do for you?"
As Chen Dong approached, the four men became as nervous and fearful as elementary schoolers facing their principal.
"President Li gave us a generous bonus, but we don't feel right accepting it. So, we came to give it to you."
As he spoke, he respectfully offered a check with both hands.
The prospect of money immediately lifted Chen Dong's spirits. He took the check and glanced at it—it was for 500,000!
He gasped. "Holy crap! Maybe I should become a bodyguard too."
This made the four burly men even more ashamed.
Chen Dong pocketed the check and cleared his throat. "Seeing as you're all so perceptive, come on. I'll teach you a few moves."
The four men's faces lit up, their eyes shining with excitement. They had witnessed Chen Dong's skills firsthand: he had taken down twenty men in less than a minute. If they could learn even a single move from him, it would be an immense benefit.
By the landscaped area below the company building, Chen Dong finished demonstrating a set of Long Fist. He said calmly, "How much you learn is up to you. This Long Fist routine won't allow you to cultivate True Qi, but if you practice diligently, you can still develop Inner Strength."
With that, Chen Dong strolled back toward the company building.
The four men looked at each other, their faces a mixture of shock, joy, and gratitude.
Back in the General Affairs office, Chen Dong found a new mouse. For the rest of the time until quitting, the office was filled with his bellows of frustration.
After work, he returned to the manor in Li Huiran's car.
Waiting in the courtyard was a beautiful woman in a white cheongsam. Her hair was styled in an elegant updo, with a few loose tendrils framing her face, set off by teardrop pearl earrings. Her makeup was subtle and tasteful, and the resemblance between her and Li Huiran was striking, especially around the eyes and brows.
"Mom!" Li Huiran cried, throwing herself into the woman's arms the moment she got out of the car and nuzzling against her like a kitten.
"Mom, when did you get back?"
Chen Dong rubbed his nose. 'So this is my mother-in-law?'
The beautiful woman stroked Li Huiran's hair, chiding her with a smile, "You silly girl, getting married and not even telling your mother!"
Li Huiran's eyes went wide. Her mouth fell slightly open, but she was at a loss for words.
'She wasn't actually married to Chen Dong. The marriage certificate was a fake. How could she possibly explain this!'
She quickly changed the subject. "Mom, since you're back, please don't leave again! Dad knows he was wrong!"
The beautiful woman didn't answer Li Huiran. Instead, she turned to Chen Dong with a warm smile. "You must be Xiaodong. Our Huiran can be a bit hot-tempered; I hope you'll be patient with her."
"Auntie, I'm already used to it!" Chen Dong replied with an awkward laugh.
The beautiful woman pouted playfully. "Auntie? That makes me unhappy! You two have your marriage license, and you're even sleeping together. How can you still be calling me 'Auntie'?"
Chen Dong was mortified.
Her face beet red, Li Huiran quickly started ushering her mother. "Why are we just standing here? Let's go inside, let's go inside!"
As soon as they were in the house, Li Huiran pulled the beautiful woman upstairs.
Master Li was in the living room, listening to music.
Seeing Chen Dong enter, Elder Li said, "That's Huiran's mother, Xia Yi. She and Huiran's father divorced last year. She called me this morning to ask about my health, and I took the opportunity to tell her about you two. She rushed back this very afternoon."