The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The group had just left the hospital. Thanks to the resurgence of Spiritual Qi, traditional attire like long gowns and Martial Dao uniforms no longer seemed so out of place. Still, Chen Dong and Li Zhixuan's striking appearances drew frequent glances from passersby.

Chen Dong had been to Qianzhou City once before, but it had changed so much in the past two years. The last time, he had only briefly visited a couple of places, so the city still felt foreign to him.

Chen Dong hailed a taxi, and the three of them got in.

Chen Dong said to the driver, "Take us to the place with the most authentic food!"

The middle-aged driver chuckled. "Are you folks here to tour Qianzhou Road? There are plenty of places like that. I just don't know what price range you're looking for."

Chen Dong said calmly, "Price is no object."

"Alright, leave it to me!" the driver said with a laugh, stepping on the gas.

Li Zhixuan was fascinated by everything he saw. He sent a voice transmission to Chen Dong, asking, "What kind of Magical Artifact is this? It's slow, but it seems very convenient for ordinary people and low-level Cultivators."

Chen Dong's flat voice transmission replied with a single word: "A car."

This only confirmed Meng Xuejing's suspicions. The Body Technique of these two was absolutely extraordinary.

The driver was quite talkative, rattling off a list of all the best local delicacies he knew to give them some options.

Ultimately, Chen Dong chose Huayao Restaurant. The driver had boasted that while it wasn't cheap, its dishes were exceptionally authentic, with flavors second to none in all of Qianzhou—so good that even people from out of town made special trips just to try it.

Meng Xuejing's mouth watered just hearing about it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good meal; her life had been a constant cycle of instant noodles, steamed buns, and more instant noodles.

When they arrived, they found themselves in front of a large, five-story restaurant. Though the sky had yet to darken, beautiful neon lights were already twinkling. Two rows of scantily clad hostesses flanked the main entrance.

As the group got out of the car, the driver called out anxiously, "Hey, you need to pay the fare!"

Chen Dong turned to look at Meng Xuejing. "Didn't you pay the fare?"

Meng Xuejing was taken aback. "Why was I supposed to pay?"

Chen Dong spread his hands. "We don't have any money."

Meng Xuejing was speechless but paid the twenty-yuan fare anyway. She now had only sixty-three yuan left in her phone's digital wallet.

A sudden thought struck her. 'They came here to eat without any money? This restaurant doesn't look cheap... They're not going to make me pay for the meal too, are they?'

Just as she was thinking this, her phone rang.

She stepped aside to answer the call, but from that distance, Chen Dong could hear everything perfectly.

Meng Xuejing asked nervously, "Manager, is something wrong?"

An angry middle-aged woman's voice erupted from the phone. "Is something wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong—you're fired! You had the company car for a single day and you get into an accident, blowing the contract! On top of that, the insurance company called. They said the accident was entirely your fault, so they're only covering eighty percent. You have to pay the other twenty percent yourself, and the company sure as hell isn't going to foot that bill! The repair estimate is out, too. It's 250,000, and you owe the company 50,000 of it. Pay up, or wait to be sued!"

The line went dead.

Meng Xuejing, who had been able to cry her eyes out in the hospital room, now found she couldn't shed a single tear. She clamped a hand tightly over her mouth, slowly sank into a squat, and buried her head in her arms.

Chen Dong strolled over to her. "I don't really know how to comfort people," he said, "but you're still alive, aren't you? Things will get better."

Meng Xuejing slowly rose to her feet, her head bowed. "I'm fine. You guys go ahead and eat. I'm not going. I'll come see you at the hospital tomorrow."

"The hospital? What hospital? Why would we go back there?"

Meng Xuejing was stunned. 'Are they planning to run for it?' It made sense. 'Back then, they couldn't find any identification on either of them, so the hospital admission was registered under my name and ID. If they skip out, won't I be stuck with their medical bills?'

She felt conflicted. While it was true she had hit them, they had also literally dropped out of the sky right in front of her car; there was nothing she could have done. If she had money, she wouldn't have cried like that in the hospital. She would have absolutely taken responsibility for their medical bills.

But now, she was completely broke. It was a serious question whether she herself could even survive.

Desperate, she grabbed Chen Dong's arm. "You don't look like you're broke! You promised I wouldn't have to worry about the medical bills. I already paid two thousand this morning. I really don't have any more money! I just lost my job, and now I owe my company 50,000..."

Chen Dong looked slightly surprised. "What's the problem? These are just minor injuries to us. Is it not okay for us to just say we don't need treatment?"

Meng Xuejing shook her head. "No. I asked on my way out. There's still an outstanding bill of over three thousand yuan. If it's not paid, I'll be blacklisted by the hospital. I won't be able to see a doctor in the future..."

Chen Dong thought for a moment. 'Right, that's how the hospital system works here.'

"Alright, alright. We'll go pay the bill. But we still need to eat. Let's go."

That was the last straw for Meng Xuejing. She broke down completely, wailing, "I had to pay for the taxi! What are you going to pay for dinner with?! I admit it was my fault for hitting you, but I'm begging you, please, just give me a break!"

Chen Dong gave her a slight smile. "Crashing into us was your fated opportunity. Leave everything to me."