Chapter 55: Room for Redemption
When An Junxian heard the furious cursing from the other end of the line, he suspected it might be a prank from someone who had a grudge against him. But a closer look confirmed it: the caller ID and the voice belonged to the chairman.
Only then did a sense of dread slowly begin to creep through him.
'That's the chairman of the An Group, a man I rarely even get to see. He holds my entire career in his hands. Judging by how furious he sounds... what if I get fired by the An Group?'
'Not only would I lose my chance with a peerless beauty like Li Huiran, but I'd also be stripped of my power. My beautiful, sexy little secretary would never give me the time of day again.'
'And those are the small problems.' He thought of all the times he had used his position and the An Group's name to coerce his subordinates and strong-arm smaller companies—it hadn't just been once or twice. If the An Group abandoned him, the consequences would be disastrous.
He composed himself and asked, with extreme caution, "Chairman, what on earth has made you so angry?"
"You know damn well what you did. I'm telling you now, you're fired."
An Zhengping himself hadn't yet figured out what the damn fool had done. In order to placate Chen Dong, he decided to handle the punishment first and investigate later.
Hearing those words, An Junxian's face turned ashen. It was the worst-case scenario. Not wanting to hear another word, he numbly hung up.
Having climbed to such a high position in the An Group at a young age, An Junxian's mental fortitude was, admittedly, excellent. He quickly recalibrated and began planning his escape route.
'Without the protection of the An Group, the people I've offended will never let me off the hook. I can't stay in Tianjiang anymore. Good thing I'm in Jiangzhou right now; I don't have to act immediately.'
His thoughts returned to Li Huiran. He still wasn't willing to give up on her. 'She definitely doesn't know I've been fired yet. If I just wait for her at the hotel, she's bound to show up. It won't be too late to get my fill and then run.'
The thought alone aroused him. He decided he'd call his secretary over to blow off some steam first. She probably didn't know he'd been fired yet. Might as well enjoy it while he could.
Meanwhile, An Zhengping, who was still at a brick factory for an inspection, froze. That bastard An Junxian had actually dared to hang up on him.
It was only then that he realized he had fired the man without even getting the full story. He'd truly let his anger get the best of him. If he called back now, he risked the humiliation of being proven wrong.
So, he called Tang Dan, hoping to learn more about this Divine Doctor Chen and find out if there was some other way to win him over.
The call went through, and An Zhengping skipped the pleasantries, getting straight to the point. "Old Tang, you've had more dealings with Divine Doctor Chen than I have. Do you know of any way to get on his good side, or perhaps to curry his favor?"
Tang Dan laughed on the other end of the line. "What's the matter, Old An? If you want to thank the man, there's no need to be so hasty. Divine Doctor Chen is an upright and dependable person. Since he promised to treat Ruo Ling, he'll see it through. You can rest easy. He isn't the type who needs a red envelope to get things done."
If Chen Dong knew Tang Dan was saying such things about him, he would have vehemently denied it. 'I'm not! I'm definitely not!'
An Zhengping grew frantic. "That's not it at all! Divine Doctor Chen called Ruo Ling today and told her he's not treating her anymore! I don't know what happened, but he said it's because he doesn't like that An Junxian from my company!"
"What?" Tang Dan cried out.
An Zhengping hastily explained, "An Junxian from my company went to Jiangzhou today to discuss business with the Li Group. He must have offended Divine Doctor Chen at the Jiangzhou Hotel. That's why he called Ruo Ling and said he doesn't like the man, and if the An Family can't give him a satisfactory resolution, he's canceling the treatment!"
Tang Dan was aghast. "You don't know about Divine Doctor Chen's relationship with the Li Group? And you sent a scumbag like An Junxian to negotiate with them?! I swear, Old An, I don't know what to do with you. You've basically gone and offended him as grievously as possible! I've told you before that An Junxian's methods are filthy and despicable. You kept him around because he's family, and now look at the catastrophe he's caused!"
"Let me tell you, Divine Doctor Chen's medical skills are not just god-like—he might also be a Grandmaster! That Luo fellow from our city died by his hand just yesterday."
An Zhengping was reeling. 'Divine Doctor Chen has ties to the Li Group? And he might be a Grandmaster?'
"I gifted my Number Five plot of land to Divine Doctor Chen, but the person who signed for it was Li Huiran, the General Manager of the Li Group. Connect the dots!" Tang Dan sounded like he was about to explode.
An Zhengping cried out, "Fuck! The An Family really screwed up this time. Liu Qi from Jiangzhou told me not to sell materials to the Li Group, so I just fobbed the task off on An Junxian. I figured I'd use it as an excuse to discipline him, since I wasn't going to sell to them in the end anyway. Who could have known it would turn into this mess? I honestly had no idea about the connection between Divine Doctor Chen and the Li Group!"
Hearing this, Tang Dan's tone immediately grew animated. "Perhaps there's still a chance to salvage this! Liu Qi told you not to sell them materials, and the Li Group still approached you—that means they're desperate for them. If you're willing to eat humble pie and make a sincere apology, you might be able to fix this. Also, that lecherous degenerate An Junxian—you need to find him and drag him along with you. And you'd better find out if the person he was negotiating with was the Li Group's General Manager, Li Huiran. If it was, your apology will have to be that much more sincere."
An Zhengping hung up, completely panicked. 'So Divine Doctor Chen and the Li Group are that close.' If he couldn't convince the doctor to resume the treatment, he would never forgive himself.
He first contacted An Qiu, then immediately arranged for a helicopter. He had to get to Jiangzhou at once to apologize in person.
Just as An Junxian was having his "fun" with his secretary, the door to the room was smashed open, scaring the soul right out of him.
He was about to start screaming obscenities, but the sight of the woman at the door—a formidable figure with a sallow complexion and sharp, defined eyebrows—made the words die in his throat.
Having been with the An Family for some time, he recognized her as An Qiu. She was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend, a figure whose authority was second only to An Zhengping himself.
He wanted to offer a few flattering words, maybe ask for a moment to put on some clothes. But before he could even speak, An Qiu strode forward, her face an icy mask, and began to beat him viciously…