Chapter 33: Salary Docked Again
As the action in the video grew more intense, the positions became increasingly difficult.
One particular position made Li Huiran cover her eyes. Peeking in amazement through the gaps between her fingers, she couldn't help but exclaim, "That's incredible! I can't believe they can do that!"
From behind her, Chen Dong commented with a straight face, "It's alright, but the actress's expression is too over-the-top."
His voice scared Li Huiran out of her wits. A piercing shriek tore through the night sky over Li Manor.
Chen Dong quickly covered his ears. "Why'd you suddenly scream so loud? You scared me!"
Mortified, Li Huiran slammed the laptop shut, dove under the covers to hide, and roared, "Get the hell out!"
Chen Dong was speechless. 'This chick is bold enough to watch porn without even closing her door, but she freaks out when I make one little comment?'
He ignored Li Huiran, took some bedding from the closet, made a pallet on the floor, and leisurely lay down to sleep.
Under the covers, Li Huiran felt sullied, impure. 'I can't face the world anymore.'
'Just let me die! Or maybe I should just kill him to shut him up... no, I probably can't beat him. Forget it!'
After a long time, Li Huiran could no longer stand the stuffiness under the covers. She quietly poked her head out. Seeing that Chen Dong seemed to be asleep, she crept out of bed, ready to grab the USB drive and destroy the evidence.
She got out of bed very carefully and tiptoed to the computer, when suddenly Chen Dong's voice rang out.
"If you want to watch, just watch. I'm not going to laugh at you. No need to be so sneaky. If you need to... relieve yourself, I can step outside."
"AHH!" Another eardrum-piercing shriek!
"I can't live anymore! I'm going to kill you!" Li Huiran screamed, climbing onto his bedding and furiously raining down blows with her fists.
Seeing Li Huiran in her crazed state, Chen Dong felt a sliver of apprehension. He pulled the blanket over his head and endured the rain-like barrage.
A moment later, the assault stopped. Li Huiran supported herself on her hands, panting heavily.
When Chen Dong heard the silence, he cautiously peeked his head out as well.
The moment Li Huiran saw Chen Dong's head emerge, her eyes red with fury, she lunged and grabbed his neck.
"Go to hell, you scumbag!"
Chen Dong was a Grandmaster; he could let Li Huiran choke him for half an hour without resisting and still not die. But seeing her in such a rage, he decided to play along.
He grabbed Li Huiran's hands, pretending to struggle with all his might. Then, his eyes rolled back, his head lolled to one side, and his tongue stuck out as he passed out.
Seeing Chen Dong pass out, Li Huiran showed no guilt. On the contrary, she felt a rush of satisfaction. A wicked smile spread across her face, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Chen Dong found this odd and opened his eyes to see what was happening. A foot, as fair as jade, was getting closer and closer, until it pressed down on his face.
"Still faking it? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Li Huiran cursed as she ground her foot into Chen Dong's face.
After a moment, feeling she was taking things too far, Chen Dong grabbed her ankle and flipped her onto the bed.
"You're going way too far! I just disturbed you watching your little movie, and you treat me like this!"
Lying on the bed, Li Huiran said nothing. Her beautiful, watery eyes were filled with resentment. Scenes from the movie replayed in her mind, and the pleasure she had felt moments ago gnawed at her senses like a ravenous beast.
Chen Dong took a deep breath. With a cold expression, avoiding her gaze, he got up and went outside for some air.
When he returned to the room, Li Huiran was already pretending to be asleep.
「The next day」
The two of them arrived at the office, pointedly ignoring each other.
With no meeting for a change, Chen Dong went straight to his computer and logged on.
One look at the game rankings made his head ache.
The warrior "Sheng Yi He Huan" now had a Combat Power more than ten million higher than his. From his pay-to-win experience, he knew that was a gap that would cost over ten thousand yuan to close.
Chen Dong's wallet ached at the thought.
Fortunately, Xu Qing, who was making tea for Chen Dong, came over and said, "Brother Dong, I told you I'd cover your in-game purchases."
Chen Dong was naturally delighted to have someone else footing the bill.
Xu Qing was quite generous, dropping twenty thousand yuan in one go! After a quick flurry of upgrades, Chen Dong's Combat Power once again surpassed Sheng Yi He Huan's.
Unfortunately, Sheng Yi He Huan wasn't online, so Chen Dong had to put his plans for immediate revenge on hold.
Just then, Chen Dong's phone rang.
He answered. It was Xue Tianxiang.
Xue Tianxiang pleaded, "Chen, I must ask for your help. I have a patient whose condition I'm truly unsure about. I was hoping you could come and take a look."
Seeing as he had nothing better to do, Chen Dong agreed.
Xue Tianxiang said excitedly, "That's wonderful! I'll get to witness Mr. Chen's miraculous healing hands at work again! I'll have Lele come pick you up right away. She'll be there soon."
Less than ten minutes after he hung up, a pink Mercedes-Benz GLA pulled up below the office.
Chen Dong received a call from Xue Lele, left the office, and got into the car.
As luck would have it, Li Huiran happened to see this exact scene. She thought about calling Chen Dong but dismissed the idea; she didn't want to say a single word to him right now.
But she felt a surge of frustrated anger. 'He actually got into another woman's car! And a pink Mercedes-Benz GLA, no less. No man would drive a car like that.'
She cursed silently, 'Shameless hussy!'
She then stormed to the general affairs office, cornered Wang Hao, and demanded, fully aware of the answer, "Where's Chen Dong?"
Seeing Li Huiran's foul expression and knowing Chen Dong wouldn't be back anytime soon, Wang Hao couldn't think of an excuse and had to report the truth.
"Brother Dong had to step out for something."
Li Huiran's eyebrow shot up. She said coldly, "Mark this down: Chen Dong, absent from work without cause for one day. Dock his pay by fifty thousand!"
Wang Hao's jaw dropped in astonishment. 'Fifty thousand docked for one day's absence? No company is that outrageous! What in the world is the beef between Brother Dong and Sister Huiran?'
Seeing Wang Hao's expression, Li Huiran frowned. "Last time I told you to teach him a lesson, did you really do it?"
Wang Hao nodded frantically. "Of course! We beat him so bad he was crying for his parents!"
Li Huiran knew better. 'They've probably all been won over by Chen Dong.' She had seen his skills for herself just last night; he was leagues above Wang Hao and his men. The notion that they could beat Chen Dong until he cried was an obvious lie.
Though furious, she didn't expose their lie. Instead, she said coldly, "Wang Hao, playing games on company time. Dock his pay ten thousand!"
With that, she turned and strode away on her high heels, leaving the entire general affairs office stunned. They played games every single day; this was the first time anyone's pay had been docked for it.
Instantly, they put their heads together, whispering and speculating about how Brother Dong had managed to provoke Sister Huiran so badly.
Meanwhile, in the car, Xue Lele immediately started to explain. "The patient is the eldest daughter of the Yang Family. The Yangs are one of the four great families of Jiangzhou; they made their fortune in shipping and investments. The young lady, Yang Rong, is suffering from a very strange illness. Grandpa couldn't make a proper diagnosis, which is why he called you."
Instead of going to Hundred Herbs Hall, Xue Lele drove directly to a luxurious villa.
The route was heavily guarded, with over a hundred bodyguards visible along the way.
An elegantly dressed, white-haired elder was waiting at the entrance to the villa, craning his neck in anticipation.
As soon as Xue Lele and Chen Dong stepped out of the car, the elder approached them. "You must be Divine Doctor Chen. So young! I am Yang Yushan. Please, come in, quickly."