"Young friend, you are truly reasonable, and this old man is deeply moved. Another day, I will surely host a banquet to make amends, and have Su Qingguo apologize to you in person." Elder Su was beaming with joy.
Hearing Elder Su say this, Chen Tian relaxed slightly and smiled. "Since Elder Su is here, why not sit down and have a meal with me?"
Elder Su waved his hand hastily and said with an amiable smile, "I rushed over in person just to give you an explanation, for fear that you might misunderstand. Seeing that my young friend is able to forgive me, I am already overjoyed."
With that, he glanced at the other two people. He had seen Chen Xi at the hospital. But who could the other person be?
"Young friend, is this lady your mother? What a coincidence." Elder Su looked at Yang Yinmeng.
Yang Yinmeng stood up and said very politely, "Chen Tian, who is this? Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Elder Su introduced himself: "My name is Su Zhan, an old man of the Su Family. I actually have something I'd like to discuss with you, Madam."
"Oh, Elder, I wonder what this is about?" Yang Yinmeng asked in surprise.
"Well, it's about my granddaughter here. I want to play matchmaker and bring them together, and I've been wanting to meet Chen Tian's parents for a long time." Elder Su explained happily.
"Oh?"
Yang Yinmeng was somewhat surprised, her gaze falling on Su Wanyue.
Yang Yinmeng naturally approved of such a flawless woman. Though her background and status were slightly lacking, she would make a fine wife for the Chen Family and was sure to bear a healthy, chubby grandson.
Su Wanyue found Yang Yinmeng's gaze extremely distasteful, and hearing her grandfather bring up the marriage again made her blood boil. But Elder Su had already given her instructions before they came, so she had no choice but to endure it.
"My granddaughter is a good person at heart; it's just that she can't adapt to such a major life event all at once. I hope you'll understand, Madam," Elder Su added, casting a reproachful glance at Su Wanyue.
Yang Yinmeng smiled and said, "You flatter me, Elder. Chen Tian is not so young anymore, and your granddaughter is as lovely as a flower. Of course I give my full consent."
"Hahaha, that's wonderful! With Madam's approval, my mind is finally at ease. Another day, I will host a banquet for you, Madam, but since you are having a family gathering today, I won't disturb you any longer."
"Stay and have a meal with us?" Yang Yinmeng urged them to stay.
"No, no, I have already intruded far too much."
With that, Elder Su left with a chuckle.
The people of the Su Family came and went so quickly that none of them had time to react.
After they left, Yang Yinmeng asked in pleasant surprise, "Chen Tian, how do you know them? That girl looks so pretty and wears such noble clothes—she's obviously a young lady from a wealthy family."
"Uh, it's a long story, Mom. Let's eat first, and I'll tell you slowly when we get home," Chen Tian said.
Yang Yinmeng said with satisfaction, "You must cherish that girl."
However, hearing this, Chen Xi pouted her lips.
Yang Yinmeng looked at her in puzzlement, deep in thought: "Xier, what's wrong with you?"
"My brother is mine! I don't want him to get married, or else he won't dote on me anymore," Chen Xi said pitifully.
Hearing this, Chen Tian rubbed her head and said speechlessly, "What nonsense are you talking about? A brother will always care for his little sister all his life. I said I'd take care of you forever."
"Hmph, you'd better not lie to me. I've noted it all down."
Chen Xi still pouted, looking extremely cute.
"Don't worry, I never will," Chen Tian said with absolute certainty.
Only then did the three of them raise their heads, suddenly remembering there was someone else in the private dining room.
Wu Wentao's face was ashen.
He had originally thought these three were penniless nobodies. Yet the project manager of the Su Group, whom he had gone to such great lengths to invite, had been slapped right across the face? And the people who had just arrived were none other than the president of the Su Group and Elder Su, the most powerful man in the Su Family! Not only did they come, but they were actually this respectful to the kid in front of him?
As if that weren't enough, Elder Su was actually discussing marriage with Su Wanyue in front of him?
If news like this got out, it would be headline news in Jiangzhou!
Wu Wentao had invited Su Qing over precisely to forge a partnership with the Su Family. If they could successfully cooperate, the number of orders his company would receive was unimaginable.
"Hehehe, Mr. Chen, I'm so sorry for the disturbance." Wu Wentao smiled sheepishly, preparing to make a run for it.
"Stop right there!" Chen Tian gave a cold snort.
A bead of cold sweat broke out on Wu Wentao's back, and he immediately froze in his tracks.
"M-Mr. Chen, I'm sorry... was it... was it me who offended you?" Wu Wentao apologized in a low, submissive tone. Realizing that sounded wrong, he quickly continued, "Well, I didn't know you had such a close relationship with the Su Family."
"Right, this meal is on me!"
"Not only that, when I have some free time another day, I will definitely host a banquet to apologize to you."
"I hope you can forgive me!"
"Hehehe..." Chen Tian let out a cold laugh, his expression turning icy. "And now you're telling me this is just a misunderstanding?"
"When you were running your mouth, why didn't you know it was a misunderstanding?"
"And look at all our food—it's covered in your spit. See? The thugs you called are here, too."
Chen Tian swept a cold glance at the four men standing outside the door.
"It's my fault, I'll pay. I'll order a brand new table of dishes for you right now—no, wait, this treat is on me." Wu Wentao waved his hands and forced a dry laugh.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I happen to despise people who waste food. Is having money supposed to make you a big shot?"
Wu Wentao's heart skipped a beat. It seemed he had gotten himself into deep trouble today.
"Well, Mr. Chen, please calm your anger." Wu Wentao still forced an ingratiating, nervous laugh.
"If you want me to forgive you, it's simple: you and your brothers are going to eat every single grain of rice and dish on this table. As long as a single grain is left, I won't forgive you."
Hearing this, Wu Wentao felt a surge of anger. With so many dishes, if they had to eat everything without leaving a single grain, wouldn't they burst to death?
"Mr. Chen, we're all business people who cross paths often enough. Is there really any need to be so ruthless?" Wu Wentao grew somewhat agitated. After all, he was still a boss; even if the partnership with the Su Group fell through, it wouldn't affect him too much. This kid in front of him might become the Su Family's golden son-in-law, but he wasn't yet!
"Are you talking to me?" Chen Tian's expression darkened with anger.
"At worst, I just won't cooperate with the Su Family. I advise you to quit while you're ahead."
"Slap!"
However, before Wu Wentao could finish, Chen Tian raised his hand and delivered a sharp blow.
His arrogant demeanor was even more overbearing than Wu Wentao's own. It sent Wu Wentao stumbling sideways!
"Are you sure you were talking to me?" Chen Tian's voice rang out again.
"Damn it, get him!"
Wu Wentao completely snapped, directing the four men to close in.
Chen Tian took two steps forward, blocking them at the doorway. At the same time, he shut the door.
He threw punches into the fray. Every single blow landed solidly on flesh!
"Aah..."
In less than a minute, all four men were sprawled across the floor, groaning in continuous pain.
Wu Wentao was completely dumbfounded! This guy was an absolute monster?
Regret washed over him instantly!
"Since my mom is here today, consider it your lucky day."
"I'll leave this private room to you. Before I finish my meal elsewhere, if you haven't finished every last bite of the food in here, I won't mind force-feeding it all down your throats."
"..."
Chen Tian walked back into the private room as if nothing had happened at all.
"Mom, this food isn't clean anymore. Let's move to a regular dining room."
"Chen Tian, are you alright?" Yang Yinmeng asked with concern, feeling rather startled inside.
"I'm fine, just a little hungry," Chen Tian smiled.
With that, they headed downstairs.
Back in the VIP dining room, Wu Wentao and his thugs sat with bruised faces and miserable expressions.
"Are they pigs? How could three people order this much food?" Wu Wentao felt like crying.
Outside the door, the waitress Xiaoyu couldn't help but let out a satisfying, cold snort of amusement. The red handprint on her face was still visible. She hadn't expected that Chen Tian, despite his ordinary attire, possessed such an extraordinary background. And when he was beating up Wu Wentao just now, he had looked genuinely cool!
Wu Wentao and his men, battered and bruised, didn't dare to leave. They could only miserably sit there and force down food covered in spit. Just watching them made people feel elated.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat, damn it!" Wu Wentao glared at his subordinates and cursed.
His henchmen began to wolf down the food, howling in despair: "Boss Wu, there's too much! We can't eat another bite, waah!"
Bam...
Wu Wentao slammed his fist onto the head of the subordinate who had spoken.
"If you can't eat it, your whole family is going to pay."
"..."
Chapter 29: The Fiancé of the One-Year Pact
Chen Tian was extremely satisfied. He was finally able to use his own abilities to treat his family to a grand feast.
Yang Yinmeng stood at the entrance of the restaurant, saying with immense gratification: "As expected, expensive things are different. This is simply too delicious."
"It's so wonderful. My son has really made something of himself."
Hearing this, Chen Tian smiled like a child.
"In the future, I'll earn even more money. Whenever our family wants to come and eat here, we'll come."
"Hehe, there are still so many things I haven't tried yet. Big brother, you have to buy them all for me from now on, okay?" Chen Xi asked innocently and cutely as she hooked her arm around Chen Tian's.
Chen Tian nodded heavily. "Buy them, we'll buy them all! Didn't you want to buy clothes? Let's go buy them together."
"Big brother, do you really still have money? Then your little sister won't hold back!"
Chen Xi giggled like a blooming flower.
She had completely cast the kidnapping incident to the back of her mind. Seeing her brother suddenly become so capable and wealthy filled her with profound happiness.
After buying clothes, they headed home.
Although Yang Yinmeng felt deeply reluctant, she had no choice; she had to harden her heart and leave Chen Tian by himself in Jiangzhou.
The next morning, Chen Tian received a call from Elder Su, saying there were good tidings to discuss. Yang Yinmeng urged Chen Tian to go.
Afterwards, she secretly left a letter and departed with Chen Xi.
Naturally, Chen Xi was unwilling to leave. But Yang Yinmeng's first revelation was that they weren't blood-related siblings, and then she took her away to search for her true origins. Even though Chen Xi was heartbroken to leave her brother, the immense shock left her with no choice but to follow.
If possible, Yang Yinmeng would have preferred never to tell Chen Xi that the two boys weren't biological brothers. Yet, once faced with this truth, how would Chen Xi ever confront Chen Tian?
"What a play life is. I never imagined time would pass so quickly—in the blink of an eye, over twenty years have gone by. Chen Xi, let's go."
"Waaah, Mom, I can't bear to leave my brother! Can't we stay?"
"Don't worry, Mom promises you that you'll see Chen Tian again very soon. And by then, you won't be an ordinary person anymore."
...
Unaware of all this, Chen Tian stepped through the gates of the Su Family once again.
Elder Su, accompanied by the old sweeper, came out to welcome him in person.
"Young friend, I'm so glad you could come. It proves you aren't angry with me anymore," Elder Su laughed.
Chen Tian replied generously, "I still know a thing or two about Elder Su's character, so why would I be mad at you?"
"Good, good! Young friend, please come right in."
Elder Su enthusiastically led Chen Tian through the gates of the Su Family estate once again.
This time was different from the last. A banquet had been prepared, but none of the other members of the Su Family were present. Only Su Wanyue sat rigidly at the table.
Today, she had cast aside her usual attire and dressed in a cool, breezy dress. A form-fitting midi dress that fell just below her knees. Her exquisite, curvy figure appeared even more voluptuous, hugged tightly by the dress. Especially as she sat, pulling the fabric even tauter.
The magnificent scenery of her chest was breathtaking. A pair of fair, flawless legs shimmered faintly beneath the table, stirring wild daydreams.
"Young friend, please take a seat," Elder Su said.
After sitting down, Chen Tian asked somewhat confusedly, "Elder Su said he had something to discuss with me. I wonder what it is?"
"Ah, well, it's like this," Elder Su explained. "Since my young friend is no longer working at the hospital, I figured you were out of a job and wanted to specially invite you to work at the Su Group. I wonder if you'd be willing?"
Chen Tian was pleasantly surprised, then remarked with a sigh: "But I only know how to treat illnesses. I'm afraid I'm not qualified for office work."
"You don't need to worry about that. My granddaughter is the president; she's familiar with practically every position in the company. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask her," Elder Su assured him, patting his chest. "Of course, it won't interfere with your practice of medicine. You'll just hold a title while still saving lives and healing the wounded."
Elder Su offered a brief explanation, then turned to Su Wanyue. "Wanyue, what did we discuss just now?"
Su Wanyue glanced at her grandfather and said with helpless reluctance, "Chen Tian, you suffered in prison. I apologize to you, and I thank you for treating my illness."
Chen Tian was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected this iceberg beauty to apologize to him so sincerely. But he knew it was all Elder Su's doing.
"Seeing as you're so sincere, I'll forgive you." Chen Tian boldly sized up Su Wanyue.
"Good! To turn hostility into friendship—since we're so happy today, shouldn't the two of you toast each other?"
Su Wanyue took only a reluctant, tiny sip. Naturally, she couldn't accept this completely. Elder Su was utterly devoted to Chen Tian, leaving her with virtually no room to refuse. So, she had come up with a compromise: she would let Chen Tian work at the company first, and once the Wu Family gave up on trying to betroth her, she could easily find an excuse to fire him.
For now, letting him draw a high salary at the company was fine; kicking him out later wouldn't burden her conscience.
Then, Elder Su instructed Su Wanyue to personally take Chen Tian to the company and help him get acquainted with the environment.
Chen Tian got into Su Wanyue's private luxury car—a red Ferrari worth tens of millions.
The engine roared to life, and Su Wanyue drove straight toward the company.
Along the way, Su Wanyue said coldly: "There are no vacant positions in the company, and key departmental roles have a massive impact on our operations. Therefore, the only position left is head of the Security Department."
"Head of the Security Department? Sounds pretty good. What's the salary?" Chen Tian asked happily.
"One hundred thousand a month. But if you don't do a good job, your salary will be docked," Su Wanyue said.
Naturally, the position wasn't worth that much money; this was Elder Su's arrangement. Elder Su was shrewd indeed. If he hadn't arranged this properly, Su Wanyue surely would have tossed Chen Tian into some random role with a monthly salary of a few thousand. But Chen Tian possessed exceptional medical skills; that meager base pay would never be enough to keep him around.
"One hundred thousand? I'm very satisfied with this salary."
Thinking back to Renai Hospital, where he made three thousand a month, compared to one hundred thousand now, Chen Tian was genuinely thrilled.
Su Wanyue glanced at Chen Tian through the rearview mirror and tested the waters: "You know, feelings between two people cannot be forced. If I don't like you, even if we get married, we will never be happy."
"I know. I can make you like me," Chen Tian said with a triumphant grin.
A wave of disgust washed over Su Wanyue. She had thought Chen Tian was an honest man, but now she realized she had misjudged him completely.
"Chen Tian, let me be honest with you. Even if my grandfather forces me to marry you, I never will. Unless..."
At this, her tone turned frosty.
Chen Tian asked with absolute confidence, "Unless what?"
"Unless I die," Su Wanyue said with finality.
Chen Tian stared at her in shock, unable to snap out of it for a long while.
"We can make a gentleman's agreement," Su Wanyue muttered.
"What kind?"
"Within one year, exactly as my grandfather has proclaimed to the outside world, you are my fiancé."
"But under any actual circumstances—like that night—you are absolutely not allowed to touch me, or I will destroy you."
"When the time is up, I can give you ten million yuan, and we'll part ways amicably. We might even still be friends in the future."
"However, if you think you can rely on my grandfather's favor to force me into marrying you and sleeping with me, then either you die or I do."
Uttering these words, Su Wanyue didn't dare look at Chen Tian, because she was being ruthlessly harsh. But she had no choice; she refused to gamble her entire life away.
"That's completely fine, but we'd better write up a contract. Otherwise, you might think ten million is too much later, and a verbal promise holds no weight." Chen Tian wasn't angry in the least; instead, he took it with dead seriousness.
"You—aren't you even going to hesitate?" Su Wanyue was stunned.
Chen Tian shrugged and said, "It's not like you're the only woman left in the world. Besides, aren't you just a bit better-looking with a nice figure? Once the lights are off, aren't they all the same?"
A flush of red crept up Su Wanyue's cheeks at his words, yet at that moment, she actually found herself rather fond of this scoundrel's attitude.
"Very well. Once we get to the company, we'll sign the contract immediately."
"Remember, don't harbor any more ideas about me, or you'll only end up crashing against a brick wall. I am not that kind of woman."
Hearing this, Chen Tian felt sheer contempt.
*Hmph, you stinky woman,* he thought to himself. *You can afford to ignore me now, but one day, my brother will make you regret looking down on me!*
---
Chapter 30: What? Chop Them Up?
Upon arriving at the company, Su Wanyue naturally refused to walk in alongside Chen Tian. In fact, to make the Wu Family drop their pursuit, the rumor that she and Chen Tian had slept together had been spread far and wide by Old Master Su. Still, rumors were just rumors; no one actually knew what Chen Tian looked like.
Su Wanyue headed straight into the main office building, while Chen Tian waited for half an hour in the plaza below before someone finally showed up.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. President Su hasn't come to the office for quite a few days, so she's had a backlog of work and completely lost track of time."
Standing before Chen Tian with utmost politeness was a stunningly alluring woman. She wore a collared shirt on top and a short skirt below. Her figure was exceptionally fine—her legs were fair, round, and straight, without a single flaw, maintaining a plump yet well-proportioned shape that made her look immensely sexy. Her height-to-body ratio was balanced, complemented by a pretty face entirely unaffected by her slight curvaceousness.