The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

With a triumphant look, Lu Dian said, "My dear girl! You should just go home. It's useless for you to be here. Boss Tang is ready, and we're about to sign the contract. Sometimes, a person just has to face reality and stop putting up a pointless struggle!"

Seeing the Lu father and son looking so confident, as if victory was already in their grasp, Li Huiran began to have her doubts. She wondered if the person Chen Dong had called was truly Tang Dan.

Everything had been too simple, too easy. When Chen Dong had asked him not to sell the land, Tang Dan had readily agreed. When he'd asked to buy the land for themselves, Tang Dan had just as easily arranged a meeting.

It all felt unreal to Li Huiran.

As Li Huiran was lost in self-doubt, Chen Dong took a step forward, his presence formidable. "You must be Director Lu! I should be the one telling you what you just said. A person... sometimes has to face reality!"

Lu Chunqing snapped, "Chen Dong, is this your place to speak? You're just a measly assistant section chief. Who are you to talk to a director like that?"

"This is how I've always spoken. Does Manager Lu have a problem with it?" Despite his words, Chen Dong's eyes looked upon him as if he were an ant.

Lu Chunqing roared, "I'll have you fired!"

Faced with the Lu duo's blustering, Li Huiran had no room for retreat. Her only choice now was to trust Chen Dong.

So she leveled a glare at him. "You don't have the authority to fire him. He's under my Direct Affairs Office."

Lu Chunqing sneered. "Hah! Just wait until I sign this contract and become the General Manager. Then we'll see if I have the authority to fire him!"

Fury blazed in his narrow eyes. 'A mere assistant section chief dares to treat me with such contempt! Once I become the General Manager, I'll fire everyone in the Direct Affairs Office.'

Lu Dian said placidly, "Chunqing, where's the self-control I taught you? With a punk like this, just ignore him. Why bother engaging? You're only lowering yourself to his level..."

Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed to one of excitement.

Boss Tang was here.

Laughing heartily, he rushed forward to greet him. "Boss Tang, long time no see!"

The tall and imposing Tang Dan strode over, covering the distance in just a few quick steps. He walked right past Lu Dian and straight to Chen Dong.

"Mr. Chen, I didn't expect you to come in person! I was just saying I'd go and pick you up in a bit!"

Lu Dian froze, utterly mortified. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this embarrassed.

It wasn't just Lu Dian who was stunned; Lu Chunqing was, too. They never imagined Tang Dan would ignore them to greet Chen Dong so warmly. 'Does this mean Chen Dong can actually stop us from signing the contract?'

Snapping back to his senses, his face pale with alarm, Lu Chunqing quickly pulled Lu Dian over to Tang Dan. He dispensed with the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Mr. Tang, we're here to sign the contract!"

Tang Dan's face soured. 'I finally get to see Mr. Chen again, and these two just have to interrupt.'

He then said coldly, "My wife is right behind me. You can talk to her. I have important matters to attend to!"

Seeing Mu Wanjun approaching at a leisurely pace, Lu Dian finally breathed a sigh of relief. 'It's fine. It'll work just as well if Madam Tang signs the contract.'

At that moment, he completely failed to realize that for something like this, the contract would be worthless without Tang Dan's personal signature. If Tang Dan had any intention of signing with them, he would never have pawned them off on his wife.

Tang Dan led Chen Dong and Li Huiran to a private room, ordered a pot of tea, and began, "Mr. Chen, you want Plot Number Five. I can agree to that right now. However, I have a favor to ask."

Chen Dong frowned. 'This Tang Dan is a real cheapskate!'

Li Huiran, however, had no such thoughts. She simply asked, "Boss Tang, what is your request?"

Now that she was face-to-face with Tang Dan, she was perfectly calm, because she knew there was no way Lu Dian and his son could get Plot Number Five.

Tang Dan glanced back and forth at Li Huiran, looking like he was struggling to find the words.

Chen Dong said nonchalantly, "I know. No problem. Three days."

Overjoyed, Tang Dan burst out laughing. "HAHA, wonderful! I knew I could count on you, Mr. Chen."

Li Huiran, however, was completely confused. "What's this riddle you two are talking about?" she asked, curious.

Chen Dong stated plainly, "Mr. Tang was born with atrophied meridians, rendering him incapable of the Human Dao. I need three days to treat him!"

Li Huiran's face flushed crimson. She lowered her head, utterly speechless. 'Is Chen Dong doing this on purpose? How could he just announce something so private?'

In truth, she was mistaken about him. To Chen Dong, as long as it was a medical condition, there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Tang Dan, for his part, was also mortified.

Li Huiran was still skeptical. She glanced at Tang Dan again. 'He looks so powerful and commanding, yet he's congenitally incapable of the Human Dao? Isn't that the same as being a eunuch? You'd never be able to tell just by looking at him.'

Tang Dan seemed to guess what she was thinking. Since the cat was out of the bag, he decided to be open about it.

"Don't be fooled by my appearance. When I was young, I was often mocked for being effeminate. So, in private, I worked hard to cultivate a dignified, masculine bearing, and eventually, it became second nature."

"You know, a man always craves what he doesn't have. You could say it was for the sake of appearances, but it was really for myself. For all these years, I never dared to fall in love or get married, afraid I would let the woman down. But now... Wan Jun doesn't mind my condition in the slightest, but I do. It terrifies me. If Mr. Chen can cure me, forget about selling you Plot Number Five—I'd feel like even giving it to you for free wouldn't be enough to express my gratitude."

Hearing this, Chen Dong's eyes lit up. "Tang Dan, oh, Tang Dan! I've completely misjudged you!"

Tang Dan's face fell, terrified that Chen Dong was backing out of the treatment. "Mr. Chen," he asked hurriedly, "did I do something wrong?"

Chen Dong looked at him with great pity. "Why didn't you say so sooner? If you had, I would've found you ages ago."

'Chen Dong's heart ached. 'That's an entire plot of land! I don't even know how much it's worth, but if I'd treated him sooner, it could have been mine.'

'But now, I can only let the Li Family have it. Elder Li treats me like his own kin, and I gave my word to Li Huiran. When I, Chen Dong, make a promise, I see it through. I can't break my word for a plot of land. I just can't do it.'

'Even if it broke my heart, I had to swallow the loss and let the Li Family have the land.'

Chen Dong took a deep breath. "Let's find a place. I'll administer the needles."

Tang Dan nodded excitedly. "Let's go to the room I booked."

「Meanwhile, in another private room at Jiangzhou Hotel.」

Mu Wanjun sat across from the Lu father and son.

She said gravely, "I'm terribly sorry, but Plot Number Five can no longer be transferred to you."

Her words struck the Lu father and son like a bolt from the blue, leaving them stunned.

After a long moment, Lu Chunqing recovered, his eyes bloodshot as he asked menacingly, "Why? Why can't you give it to us?"

As Tang Dan's wife, Mu Wanjun, though only in her twenties, was far from just a pretty face.

Facing Lu Chunqing's intimidating glare, she showed not a hint of fear, merely arching an eyebrow. "What's this? The deal falls through, and you want to resort to violence?"

Lu Dian quickly grabbed Lu Chunqing. "Not at all, not at all."

Tang Dan's Shengxuan Real Estate was the leading enterprise in Tianjiang City; he wouldn't dare offend Mu Wanjun.

He didn't dare get violent. His only option was to play the favor card, the same way he had initially persuaded Tang Dan to consider selling him the land.

Lu Dian said tentatively, "Madam Tang, back then, Madam Tang had promised..."

"Hmph!" Mu Wanjun sneered. "Don't try to use Madam Tang to pressure me. Even if Madam Tang herself were here today, it wouldn't change a thing."

Lu Dian's expression was incredibly grim. "I don't believe it. What could the Li Family possibly have to make you break your promise?"

Mu Wanjun knit her brows and said in a low voice, "An heir for the Tang Family!"

With that, Mu Wanjun rose and left, leaving Lu Dian with a look of utter despair.

Lu Chunqing was still not resigned to his fate. "Dad, are we just giving up? My General Manager position..."

Lu Dian said, defeated, "Son, sometimes... a person just has to face reality."