Chen Xiao nudged Qi Chuyao and whispered, "Your cousin really is gorgeous."
"Well, obviously. I've always said my cousin is prettier than me," Qi Chuyao said, tilting her chin up with a smug expression.
Chen Xiao shook his head and remarked, "She's good-looking, sure, but I don't think she's as good-looking as you."
Qi Chuyao froze, then turned her face away, blushing as she said, "Stop joking around."
With a completely straight face, Chen Xiao said, "I'm not joking."
The corners of Qi Chuyao's mouth twitched upward uncontrollably, a secret thrill warming her heart.
"Ahem, are you two done chatting yet? There's still another person sitting right here," Qiu Shanya said as she sat down across from them.
At the sound of her voice, the two of them turned toward Qiu Shanya together.
"Hello, Chen Xiao! I'm Chuyao's cousin, Qiu Shanya," Qiu Shanya said softly.
Chen Xiao nodded. "Hello, Cousin. I'm Chen Xiao."
"Uncle has already told me about the two of you."
Lowering her voice, Qiu Shanya said, "I'll speak my mind, so I hope you won't take offense."
"I *will* take offense," Chen Xiao replied bluntly.
Qiu Shanya was taken aback; this guy certainly didn't mince words.
"Chen Xiao, let me ask you a question first."
"Go ahead."
Suddenly turning stern, Qiu Shanya demanded, "Do you think you're worthy of Chuyao right now?"
"What do you mean by that?" Chen Xiao asked, somewhat bewildered.
Sensing a sudden flash of hostility from Qiu Shanya, he felt something was off.
Qi Chuyao was completely clueless—why was her cousin suddenly being so harsh to Chen Xiao?
After mulling it over for a moment, Qiu Shanya said, "Chuyao is a woman of wealth and status. If you don't have any capability, you won't even be able to support her."
"I can make money, and I already have three million right now," Chen Xiao said softly.
"Three million?" Qiu Shanya let out a scoff of derision, then sneered, "You think you can support Chuyao on three million? You're far too naive."
Chen Xiao frowned; Qiu Shanya's aggressive attitude was beginning to grate on him.
"Do you come from an impressive family or background?" Qiu Shanya pressed on.
Chen Xiao shook his head. "No."
Qiu Shanya sneered coldly, "From where I'm standing, you've got no money, no power, and you're practically an unemployed drifter. You have zero qualifications to be Chuyao's fiancé!"
Chen Xiao took a deep breath, his irritation flaring up.
"Cousin, you..."
Qi Chuyao was about to put in a good word for Chen Xiao when Qiu Shanya cut her off.
"My uncle and I have discussed this, and we've decided to put you to the test."
"If you fail the test, we're calling off the engagement!" Qiu Shanya said coldly.
Qi Chuyao stood there in a daze; she knew nothing at all about this arrangement.
Chen Xiao's expression darkened.
Call off the engagement?
How laughable!
He had shown up holding a marriage contract, only to face the prospect of it being canceled—it was an absolute insult.
"What kind of test?" Chen Xiao demanded immediately.
Qiu Shanya crossed her legs, revealing a pair of slender, breathtaking legs, though Chen Xiao was in no mood to admire them right now.
"Within one month, and without relying on any medical skills, you must earn five million. Do that, and we'll approve your marriage to Chuyao!"
"Five million? That's way too much!" Qi Chuyao cried out in shock.
To make five million in just one month, without using medical skills, and given that Chen Xiao had just come down from the mountain and knew nothing about Fuhai City—how on earth was anyone supposed to pull that off?
Qi Chuyao opened her mouth, wanting to beg Qiu Shanya to lower the bar, but Qiu Shanya shot her a glare that forced her to swallow her words.
Turning back to Chen Xiao, Qiu Shanya asked, "Well, Chen Xiao, do you have any objections?"
"I do," Chen Xiao said.
"What objection?"
With a grand sweep of his hand and an imposing aura, Chen Xiao declared, "A month is too long. Seven days will be plenty."
What?
Has this kid lost his mind?!
Qiu Shanya widened her eyes, staring at Chen Xiao in utter disbelief.
Qi Chuyao was completely dumbfounded—had water gotten into his brain?!
The corners of Qiu Shanya's mouth hooked upward into a triumphant smirk. "No take-backs. It's settled, then?"
Chen Xiao shook his head, his tone resolute. "No take-backs. It's settled."
Nodding with a smile, Qiu Shanya said, "Then I shall await your triumphant results."
Chen Xiao glared at Qiu Shanya. *Not a single person has ever looked down on me like this before.*
Suddenly, the office door was pushed open by Qiu Shanya's secretary.
"Boss, something's happened outside," the secretary said, panic written all over her face.
Jumping to her feet with a start, Qiu Shanya demanded, "What happened?"
Pointing toward the door, the secretary replied, "A mob of people showed up to cause trouble. A lot of the customers in the bar have been scared off."
Color draining from her face, Qiu Shanya rushed out toward the floor.
"Chen Xiao, let's go take a look too."
Grabbing Chen Xiao by the hand, Qi Chuyao hurried out after her.
Along the way, Qi Chuyao asked in absolute bewilderment, "Chen Xiao, why did you agree to that? And why did you shorten the timeframe?!"
With a deadpan, serious expression, Chen Xiao said, "My master told me that a man can never lose his pride, and he must never say he can't cut it!"
Then, giving her a wink, he added, "Didn't you think I looked pretty imposing just now?"
Qi Chuyao: "..."
Her head was spinning with question marks. What kind of master was that, filling his head with nothing but crooked logic?!
By the time Qiu Shanya rushed out front, most of the customers had already fled.
The troublemakers were currently going on a wild smashing rampage. The bar's security guards had been completely unable to stop them and had even been beaten up—several of them were already sprawled out on the floor.
"Stop right there!"
Qiu Shanya charged out, letting out a sharp cry.
The scene before her was absolute chaos: shattered tables and chairs, broken glass bottles littering the floor, security guards bleeding from the head lying on the ground, and over twenty thugs...
Total wreckage!
The ringleader was a tattooed man holding a steel pipe, arrogantly jumping up onto a table.
He waved a hand to signal his underlings to pause.
"Oh ho! Boss Qiu, you're back from your business trip?" the Tattooed Man sneered.
Furious, Qiu Shanya demanded, "Who sent you?"
The Tattooed Man chuckled mockingly, "Who sent us? You should know that very well."
"Zhou Ping, right?" Qiu Shanya asked again.
The Tattooed Man nodded, then raised his steel pipe to point at Qiu Shanya as he said coldly, "Young Master Zhou had a message for me to give you: shut this bar down within three days."
"Otherwise, bear the consequences!"
Biting her lip hard, Qiu Shanya said sternly, "Shutting me down? Never happening."
Zhou Ping happened to own a bar nearby, but all his business had been stolen away by this place, leaving Zhou Ping harboring deep resentment toward Qiu Shanya.
The Tattooed Man let out a cold snort, a malicious glint in his eyes. "Then I guess we'll just keep smashing the place up."
Trembling with rage, Qiu Shanya's face was a mask of fury.
"Need some help?"
Suddenly, Chen Xiao's voice rang out as he walked toward Qiu Shanya.
Qiu Shanya frowned. "How could you possibly help me?"
Walking up beside Qiu Shanya, Chen Xiao said softly, "They're smashing the bar, so I'll smash *them*."
Recalling what Qi Zhenguo had said about Chen Xiao having impressive martial arts skills, Qiu Shanya asked, "If you're confident you can handle it, go ahead."
With an arrogant tilt of his chin, Chen Xiao said, "If you want me to work, it's gonna cost money."
Qiu Shanya froze. "How much?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Chen Xiao scoffed, "Not much, not little. Five million will do."
Qi Chuyao's eyes bulged in shock. *He's pulling this now?!*
A dark look crossed Qiu Shanya's face as the corners of her mouth twitched.
Was this what they called lifting a rock only to drop it on your own feet?
Seeing that Qiu Shanya wasn't responding, Chen Xiao feigned a sigh and said, "If you don't want to, forget it."
With that, he turned his gaze toward the Tattooed Man standing on the table and suddenly flashed a wide grin.
"Need some help?"
The Tattooed Man: "..."
What on earth was going on here?