Chapter 137: The Arrival of a Formidable Foe

Tan Xue had returned, filled with jealousy. She left her luggage in the car and rushed inside. She searched the house from top to bottom but found no one, only then remembering that it wasn't the weekend and Chu Dong was at work. Leaving Li Youlan to look after the house, she drove straight to the Silver Dragon Group.

"Miss." Xie Yaomei stood up immediately upon seeing Tan Xue, who rarely appeared there.

"Where is Brother Dong?"

"Brother Dong?" Xie Yaomei didn't react at first, looking a bit confused.

"Ugh... I mean President Chu." Tan Xue had gotten used to calling him that and couldn't change it for the moment.

"He's in his office working." Xie Yaomei chuckled and pointed toward the office.

"Bang!" Tan Xue pushed open the office doors and barged in.

Chu Dong was busy processing documents. He looked up at Tan Xue, whose mouth was pouting enough to hang an oil bottle. "You're back?"

"Hmph, of course I'm back. If I hadn't come back, you would've been snatched away by someone else." Tan Xue tossed the newspaper in her hand onto the desk. "Who is this?"

"That's Yu'er's teacher. There are several women at home, but none of them could go with me, so I had to ask Yu'er to have her teacher help out." Chu Dong looked very aggrieved as he picked up the newspaper and took a look. "Hmm, I look pretty handsome in this photo."

"You're so vain. Confess, did you do anything intimate with her?" Tan Xue leaned over Chu Dong’s desk, covering the document he was reading, and stared at him.

"No." Chu Dong looked up helplessly. His gaze happened to drift into the neckline of her top, where two mounds of white, slightly compressed flesh were right before his eyes. His throat tightened. "I wanted to, but she didn't give me the chance..."

"Consider yourself lucky." Tan Xue took her hand off the document. "Guess what I brought back for you?"

Her mood changed quickly; just a moment ago she was a sea of jealousy, and now she was bright and cheerful.

"How could I possibly guess? Don't tell me it's just some common souvenir you can find anywhere?" This was the first time Chu Dong had received a gift from Tan Xue, and he couldn't help but feel a bit expectant.

"How could it be? What I brought is definitely not something you'd find elsewhere." Tan Xue took out her camera, searched for a long time until she found it, and ran to Chu Dong’s side, acting mysterious. "Photos of Lanlan changing her clothes! Ha! You didn't get a good look last time, did you? I put in a lot of effort to snap these this time..."

"Stop." Although Chu Dong was very curious, he still put on the air of a pedantic scholar in front of Tan Xue. "Am I that kind of person?"

"I suppose you're right. Forget it then." Tan Xue put away the camera and started to leave. "Come home early for dinner tonight. I'll pick up Yu'er today."

"Got it. And, er, if you aren't using that camera, leave it here. I might need it later." Chu Dong began attending to his work.

"In your dreams! You want to sneak a look, don't you? Do you think I'm a fool?" Tan Xue walked out of the office, acting as proud as a little rooster.

"She guessed that, too. Truly worthy of being my wife." Having failed, Chu Dong still managed to offer a compliment.

By nearly noon, Xie Yaomei knocked and entered. "President, there are some people outside without an appointment who insist on seeing you."

"Who are they?" Chu Dong signed the document quickly, set it aside, and looked up to ask.

"I don't know. This is the business card they gave me." Xie Yaomei handed over a rigid card made of gold leaf with small, black regular-script characters: "Heng-Hai Fund President, Luke Hans."

"Could it be him?" Chu Dong frowned.

Chu Dong was very familiar with the name Luke Hans. He heard it often while studying in the United States. Hans was an alumnus of Harvard Business School, three years ahead of Chu Dong, and a standout figure. He was a three-time recipient of the school’s top scholarship, a master of capital operation, and a legendary figure in Harvard's simulated business case studies. If it weren't for Chu Dong’s arrival, Hans would have been the only person to win the top scholarship for four consecutive years. Even so, he was a name that would go down in school history.

Chu Dong remembered that when he and a few classmates had naively signed up for the school’s simulated business war, they had lost to him. His lightning-fast trading speed and uncanny intuition left a deep impression on Chu Dong. If Chu Dong hadn't resorted to unconventional tactics and counter-trading at the time, it would have been hard to say whether Hans would have achieved his four-year winning streak.

With golden-yellow hair and the hooked nose characteristic of Europeans and Americans, he was truly a rare expert. Chu Dong was a bit surprised. How did he end up working for the Heng-Hai Fund?

"Tell them to wait for me in the reception room. I'll be there in a moment." His principle had always been to meet soldiers with soldiers and water with earth; if he couldn't figure something out, he wouldn't waste his brainpower on it.

After finishing the last document, Chu Dong stretched, stood up, and brewed a cup of coffee to enjoy. He waited over an hour before leaving his office.

"Are they still there?" Chu Dong asked Xie Yaomei in a low voice.

"Yes, they don't seem to be in any hurry at all. I followed your instructions and didn't even serve them water," Xie Yaomei replied quietly.

"Good. Let's go, come with me and take a look." Chu Dong walked out with his head held high and chest out. Xie Yaomei followed closely behind with her notebook.

Arriving at the reception room, Chu Dong waited for Xie Yaomei to open the door before walking in. The moment he entered, he saw Luke Hans. His golden-yellow hair was his trademark, now grown even longer, giving him an ethereal feel.

"So it really is my senior. I apologize for not welcoming you sooner." Chu Dong acted as if he had met a long-lost friend.

"Chu, you arrived an hour earlier than I expected." Luke Hans stood up with a smile and shook Chu Dong's hand. "Surprised to see me in China?"

"It is quite unexpected, to be honest." Chu Dong was blunt. "Did your whole team come? It's been many years; how have you been?"

"We are the same as ever. But you, Chu, have become someone I can't quite see through. I heard you gave up your family's business to work for someone else. I didn't believe it, so I came to see for myself, and it really is you." The people around Luke Hans also recognized Chu Dong and offered simple greetings. As the leader, the first thing Luke Hans said was a bit biting.

"Haha, life is impermanent and unpredictable. Isn't the world-renowned Luke Hans also working for someone else? It's about the same, haha, about the same." Chu Dong responded softly. The Chu family business was indeed a sore spot for him, and Luke Hans knew exactly where to poke.

"Chu, I think I am different." Luke Hans continued to smile, ignoring Chu Dong's sarcasm. "The Heng-Hai Fund paid a price to secure me. But I hear that your position as president is quite different—no salary, and you have to spend your own money to buy shares. Haha, since when did 'Devil Chu' start doing loss-making deals?"

"There's an old Chinese saying—I wonder if you've heard it? 'Money can make a ghost turn a mill.'" Chu Dong shrugged. "That applies to you. But there is another saying: 'Money can't buy my happiness.' That describes me." Chu Dong pointed at his own nose with a hint of pride.

"I understand what you mean." Luke Hans stood up and clapped. "Preferring love over power—that is the mark of a hero in the eyes of the sentimental. But unfortunately, in the capital market, that is worthless."

Luke Hans took two steps toward Chu Dong and stopped. "I originally wanted to challenge you again outside of the simulated world, but unfortunately, you aren't qualified." He turned and gestured, and his team stood up to leave with him.

"Stop right there!"

A petite figure flashed in from outside and blocked Luke Hans's path.

"Xue'er, don't make trouble." As soon as Chu Dong saw Tan Xue, he knew things were about to go south.

"Who's making trouble? They're bullying us right to our faces! Are you really going to play dead?" Tan Xue stood at the door with her hands on her hips, staring down Luke Hans.

"This must be the 'haven of comfort' that has worn down your heroic spirit? It is just as they say—the Chinese idiom 'toppling cities and kingdoms' is not an overstatement." Luke Hans looked at the woman blocking his path with interest.

"Xue'er, be good, come back." Chu Dong winked at her, but it was in vain.

"Big Nose, listen here. You want to challenge the Chu family? I accept. Tell me, what are we competing in?" Tan Xue was a top student who had studied abroad; she didn't look down on most people.

"Does your word count?" Luke Hans glanced at Chu Dong. "I am only interested in him."

"Of course my word counts. I am a member of the Chu family, and besides, if I can't handle it, I have my husband. You don't think I'd welch on a bet, do you?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, if Mrs. Chu is willing, that is fine. We will set a one-year limit. If the Chu family can stand on its own feet within a year and become an influential enterprise, I concede. Of course, I don't mean the Chu family that is currently gasping for air while relying on Silver Dragon, but a large company with its own core competitiveness and rapid development. One more thing: the Heng-Hai Fund will use every means to strike and restrict the Chu family's development. I don't believe in underhanded tactics, so I'm saying this upfront. Does Mrs. Chu agree?" Luke Hans looked at Tan Xue with a look of contempt.

"It's a deal. I want to see what kind of scriptures a foreign monk can chant. You may leave." Tan Xue was like the innkeeper from *New Dragon Gate Inn*—she possessed a fearless, reckless spirit.

Chu Dong couldn't stop her. He watched Luke Hans leave with a smile, then sent Xie Yaomei away. He flicked Tan Xue on the forehead and scolded her. "You have no idea how high the sky is! Has your brain been filled with bug spray?"

"What did I do? Wasn't I just trying to save face for you?" Tan Xue refused to give in. "Look at what he called you! You can just sit there and take being called a kept man?"

"Why shouldn't I take it?" Chu Dong sat directly on the desk. "Do you know they came here to set a trap today? The Heng-Hai Fund has been around for a while, but they haven't made any big moves. Do you know why? They are in the light, I am in the dark—they were afraid of me! But now, look at this! We've become the targets! And you're still acting so proud, you just know how to cause trouble!"

He grabbed Tan Xue, pulled her over his lap, and brought his hand down on her delicate, upturned bottom. A sharp cry from Tan Xue echoed through the reception room.

PS: Today is New Year's Eve. The Fox wishes everyone a Happy New Year! I wish all my readers a happy reunion and all the best!