Liu Yan's predicament

"M-Mayor Jia!" Mr. Wang practically jumped out of his chair.

The others around him, especially Little Li, went weak in the knees when they heard Mr. Wang address the mayor.

The company Mr. Wang had founded was one of Zhonghai City's star enterprises. He was also good at networking and had crossed paths with Jia Zhengyi several times, so Jia still remembered him.

Upon seeing Mr. Wang, Jia Zhengyi thought for a moment before remarking, "Mr. Wang, what are you doing here?"

Not daring to keep him waiting, Mr. Wang hurried forward with a smile and shook Jia Zhengyi's hand. "Oh, Mayor! Why didn't you let me know you were coming? I could have made preparations."

Jia Zhengyi exchanged a few perfunctory words with him, then spotted Chen Hao sitting at the table and quickly smiled. "Mr. Wang, you know my friend Chen too?"

"Your friend Chen?!"

Hearing Jia Zhengyi call him that sent a chill down Mr. Wang's spine. He froze briefly, then could only force a laugh. "Yes, yes, we're friends of sorts. We happened to run into each other earlier, so I..."

"Let me interrupt you." Before Mr. Wang could finish, Chen Hao cut him off.

Mr. Wang's heart lurched. This is bad.

Chen Hao looked at Jia Zhengyi with a grim expression. "Mayor Jia, let me make one thing clear first. I don't know this Wang fellow. Let me give you a rundown of what happened here."

And so Chen Hao recounted everything that had happened in the private room, giving Jia Zhengyi the whole story with a few embellishments, while Wang frantically wiped away his sweat beside them.

After hearing Chen Hao's account, the smile vanished from Jia Zhengyi's face. He pulled over a chair and sat down, then sneered at Mr. Wang. "Your turf, is it? So you outrank even the mayor? Wang, you really think you're above the law!"

Jia Zhengyi raised his voice sharply on that last sentence, nearly scaring Mr. Wang half to death.

Mr. Wang was a shrewd man. How could he fail to see that Jia Zhengyi and Chen Hao had an unusually close relationship? Begging Jia Zhengyi would be useless now, so he turned to Chen Hao and fawned over him instead. "Oh, my dear friend Chen, I was only joking with you earlier! Besides, I never said anything about this being my turf. Please stop teasing me."

"Teasing you?" Chen Hao coldly took out his phone and played a recording.

It was the recording Chen Hao had secretly made earlier.

Upon hearing it, Mr. Wang gave himself a hard slap. When he turned back to Jia Zhengyi, the mayor's face was already icy.

"Mayor Jia, please let me explain!"

"What is there left to explain? Wang, I thought your business was doing well and making some contribution to Zhonghai City. Now it seems we'll have to reassess your company's standing here," Jia Zhengyi said furiously.

At those words, Wang's face instantly turned as white as paper, cold sweat covering his fleshy cheeks.

Chen Hao promptly added fuel to the fire. "By the way, Mayor Jia, there's another favor I'd like to ask."

Though Jia Zhengyi's expression had been thunderous, it instantly softened when he turned to Chen Hao. He smiled. "Just say the word, my friend. There's no need for formalities between us."

"Mr. Wang wouldn't let me leave earlier. He demanded a million in compensation for emotional distress. Sorry for the trouble, Mayor Jia, but could you pay it for me?"

Wang nearly fainted on the spot when he heard that.

Forcing his trembling legs to hold steady, Wang pleaded with Chen Hao. "My friend, you're taking this joke too far! I was only joking with you earlier."

As he spoke, Wang nearly dropped to his knees before Chen Hao.

His earlier words had been as good as passing a death sentence on himself. What Chen Hao was doing now was practically flogging his corpse.

He had thought Chen Hao was merely speaking out of anger, but then Chen Hao slammed the table. "Who's joking with you? I, Chen Hao, keep my word. Once I've said it, there's no taking it back!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Jia Zhengyi. "Mayor Jia, hurry and find a way to transfer the money to Mr. Wang. Don't hold up our dinner with the old gentleman."

"All right, I'll pay you!" Jia Zhengyi picked up his phone and began scrolling through it.

That nearly made Wang wet himself. He almost crawled over to snatch the mayor's phone. "Mayor Jia, I'm getting old! I can't take this kind of torment! Mayor Jia, please, you mustn't!"

Watching Wang's wretched display, Liu Yan covered her mouth, afraid to laugh aloud.

Seeing the beautiful Liu Yan beside him laughing so happily, Chen Hao immediately murmured, "I wonder who was looking at me with such disgust just a little while ago."

Liu Yan's laughter instantly stopped. She smoothed her hair, gave a little huff, and turned her face away, refusing to look at Chen Hao.

Yet she couldn't hide the delight on her face.

Meanwhile, Wang had already fallen to his knees before Mayor Jia, wailing through tears and snot, looking more grief-stricken than if his own mother had died.

By this point, Chen Hao felt they had gone far enough. If Jia Zhengyi didn't want to keep playing along, Chen Hao wouldn't blame him.

After all, Wang still had some business dealings with Liu Yan. Chen Hao worried that taking things too far might cause her unnecessary trouble.

Chen Hao took the opportunity to give Jia Zhengyi a meaningful look, signaling, That's enough. We can leave now.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhengyi misunderstood. Seeing Chen Hao's look, he immediately smiled and gave him an "OK" gesture, leaving Chen Hao speechless.

"Hello, Secretary Liu? Advance me a million right now. I need it immediately." After hanging up, Jia Zhengyi ignored Mr. Wang, who was kneeling beside him and wailing, and went straight over to sit beside Chen Hao and chat.

Little Li and the others, who had been so arrogant earlier, had long since lost their swagger. They crouched in a row in the corner like frightened quails, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing this rare opportunity, Chen Hao introduced Liu Yan.

Although Liu Yan's company had once enjoyed some renown in Zhonghai City, poor management in recent years had sent it into a steady decline. Its relationship with even the district government had grown increasingly distant, let alone the city government.

Liu Yan was delighted to have such a wonderful opportunity to meet the mayor.

They had barely exchanged a few words when Jia Zhengyi's phone suddenly chimed. He picked it up and saw that the money had arrived.

Not wanting to waste time, Jia Zhengyi walked over to Wang. "Give me your account number. I'll transfer it now."

Wang was scared out of his wits. Kneeling on the floor, he was so desperate he nearly began kowtowing to Jia Zhengyi.

Chen Hao and Liu Yan had no desire to keep watching, so they left the private room one after the other.

Reaching an elegant, quiet open-air terrace, Liu Yan took a deep breath and spread her arms, savoring the comfort of the evening breeze.

Her long hair fluttered gently, and her flawless, exquisite face, half veiled in moonlight, utterly captivated Chen Hao.

For a moment, Chen Hao almost imagined that Liu Yan had become a fairy beneath the moon, suddenly descending into the mortal world.

Yet the glimmer of tears in Liu Yan's eyes cast a sadness over that beautiful moment.

Chen Hao could tell that an invisible pressure had been weighing on Liu Yan's heart, almost leaving her unable to breathe.

"Is something troubling you? If it is, talking about it might make you feel better," Chen Hao said softly.

Liu Yan looked at Chen Hao with those beautiful eyes of hers, enough to bewitch any man, until even he felt a little embarrassed.

After a long silence between them, Liu Yan finally began to speak.

Decades ago, the Liu Family had been one of Zhonghai City's most prominent families. Blue Light Pharmaceuticals, founded single-handedly by her grandfather's generation, had been renowned throughout China.

But by the time Liu Yan's father's generation took over, poor management had caused Blue Light Pharmaceuticals' earnings to plummet. In just three years, its market share had become pitifully small even within Zhonghai City, let alone China's pharmaceutical industry as a whole.

Liu Yan's father had considered filing for bankruptcy. He had even wanted to resolve Blue Light Pharmaceuticals' predicament by marrying Liu Yan into another family. But she had never been one to admit defeat. How could she accept such an arrangement?

So she had resolutely stepped forward, shouldering the entire burden alone and promising to turn Blue Light Pharmaceuticals' losses into profits within a year. If she failed, however, she would quietly accept all her father's decisions.

Most of that time had now passed, with only two months left before the deadline, yet Blue Light Pharmaceuticals still showed no sign of improvement.

If Liu Yan still couldn't find a way to turn things around, she would likely become a sacrifice to business interests.

The Mr. Wang whom Liu Yan had met today was named Wang Xuemin. His businesses and connections covered virtually the entire healthcare sector. If she could secure his help, he might truly be able to give Blue Light Pharmaceuticals a hand.

But he was a cunning old fox. Even without Chen Hao's intervention today, Liu Yan probably would have struggled to gain anything from him.

Just as Liu Yan was recounting all this with a trace of sadness, Chen Hao suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's great!"

Already feeling low, Liu Yan couldn't help feeling surprised and angry at his sudden delight. "What's so great about it? Do you think I'm pathetic too, and that I deserve this?"

"Of course not!" Chen Hao immediately explained. "You said your family runs Blue Light Pharmaceuticals. Does that mean any medicine or health supplement you distribute can be sold to the public once it receives government approval?"

Liu Yan nodded quietly. "Put simply, yes. Why?"

"Haha, I might be able to help you turn everything around in less than two months," Chen Hao said with absolute confidence.

Chen Hao now had two treasures in his possession: first, the ashes from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and second, the Old Immortal of the South Pole's Peach Blossom Wine.

Whichever one appeared on the market on a large scale would undoubtedly cause a sensation across the entire world.

But Chen Hao also understood that fame made a person a target. Selling them recklessly would bring him serious trouble sooner or later.

That meant he needed to work with a large company. Then he wouldn't have to appear in public himself, sparing him a great deal of trouble.

A little excited herself, Liu Yan asked, "Really? How?"

"Right now, I..."

Just as Chen Hao was eagerly about to tell Liu Yan his plan, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Chu Mengling.

"Hey, Chen Hao, where are you? We're almost finished. Why aren't you back yet?"

"Oh, I'll be right there."

After hanging up, Chen Hao said to Liu Yan, "I have something to take care of, so I have to go. I'll come find you at Blue Light Pharmaceuticals when I'm free."

Watching Chen Hao hurry away, Liu Yan was left in agonizing suspense. She jogged after him with a reproachful look and called, "Chen Hao, don't leave me hanging!"

Running down the corridor, Chen Hao called back, "This is important. Let's talk when we meet again."

Watching his retreating figure disappear, Liu Yan stamped her shapely leg and scolded petulantly, "You're so annoying!" Then she headed toward the elevators in a huff.

Wang Xuankai, the lobby manager hiding around the corner, witnessed it all.

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Young Master Chen's skill and nerve with women really are an example to us all. He came in flirting with Chu Mengling, and before he's even left, he's hooked another one. Incredible!"