Chapter 152: Just Watch and See

"Alright, we have another distinguished guest today, and the girl is back, which means everyone is finally here. We can kick off the challenge match tomorrow, haha." Li Tianming was thrilled. His daughter's return was one thing, but the prospect of a new prospective son-in-law was equally exciting. Having navigated the turbulent seas of business for many years, this was the first time he had allowed his joy to show so openly on his face.

"A challenge match?" Chu Dong frowned in confusion before even sitting down. He knew there would be some kind of competition before coming here, but he hadn't expected it to take the form of a challenge match.

"That's right," Li Tianming said with a smile. "Young man, the daughter of the Li family isn't so easily won. Without the ability to pass through multiple barriers and defeat all rivals, how could you ever be worthy of my precious daughter?"

"Huh?" Chu Dong was completely unprepared. He scratched his head and asked, "Um, Uncle Li, do you allow abstaining?"

"You want to abstain?" Li Tianming blinked rapidly, completely stunned by Chu Dong's question.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Before Li Youlan could even react, Tan Xue hurled an apple she had just picked up right at Chu Dong.

Catching the apple mid-air, Chu Dong chuckled. "I just figured that with me around, everyone else would be redundant, so we might as well save some effort and let me win by default. I didn't say I wanted to quit."

"Oh, is that so? Well, abstaining isn't entirely out of the question. Marriage is a two-way street after all; I certainly wouldn't force anyone," Li Tianming said, showing no anger at all.

Li Youlan and Tan Xue let out sighs of relief and shot Chu Dong a fierce glare laden with warning. Chu Dong returned the look, his expression conveying: *Look at that, he said he wouldn't force anyone. He's much more democratic than the two of you.* However, the two women ignored him completely.

"Where is Grandpa? Why isn't Grandpa here?" After taking a tour around the house, Li Youlan noticed the absence of her beloved grandfather and asked Li Tianming.

"He went mountain climbing bright and early. He had already left half a day ago by the time you called, otherwise he'd definitely be here. Anyway, even if your grandfather were home, things would still go on as planned. Don't think you can turn the world upside down just like that," Li Tianming said, slightly annoyed as he saw his daughter looking for a backer the moment she walked through the door. "Go ahead and fight with your old man. Let's see if I can outlast you, or if you'll end up driving me to an early grave."

"What's got into you? I was just asking about Grandpa, there's no need to snap like that! What did I even say to warrant such a lecture? If you hate me coming home early so much, I won't come back at all. Let's wait until Grandpa gets back and have him be the judge of who's in the wrong," retorted Li Youlan, accustomed to having her way and instantly refusing to back down after being scolded by her father.

"Wait, why would you want to involve your grandfather?" Li Tianming immediately lost his bravado upon hearing that his daughter intended to bring her grandfather into the argument.

Tan Xue, possessing more tact, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Uncle Li, don't mind Lan Lan, let me talk to her. Lan Lan, what's wrong with you? On the way here, you kept talking about how wonderful Uncle Li is, so why are you fighting the moment you see him? Did you forget who was crying because she missed her dad?" She then dug into her bag and pulled things out. "Uncle Li, please don't be mad at Lan Lan. Brother Dong and Lan Lan bought you so many things on the way here. They were only thinking of you."

"See how sensible little Xue is? If Lan Lan had even half of your sense, I wouldn't have to worry," Li Tianming said, happily taking the graceful exit offered to him. Otherwise, with Chu Dong still sitting right there, he would have had nowhere to hide his embarrassment today.

"Exactly. Lan Lan was just saying how good her uncle is to her, giving her whatever she asks for—there's no father better than that. So please don't be angry, Uncle," Chu Dong chimed in, playing the role of the peacemaker while secretly stoking the flames.

"As long as she knows that, it makes all my worrying worthwhile," Li Tianming feigned lingering annoyance, though the storm had already passed.

As Li Youlan walked past Chu Dong, she secretly pinched him before pulling Tan Xue upstairs to her room.

"Her mother passed away early, so I spoiled her rotten. Haha, don't laugh at us, my young friend," Li Tianming laughed off the awkwardness.

"Uncle is being too polite. We're all one family here; though Lan Lan has a bit of a fiery temper, she's very reasonable," Chu Dong said, rubbing his sore arm while keeping a broad smile on his face. He certainly adapted quickly, turning himself into a family member within just a few sentences.

"Chu Dong, are your parents in good health?" Li Tianming began probing into Chu Dong's background.

"They're fine. They're currently abroad, busy enjoying themselves and hardly have time to pay attention to me," Chu Dong replied with a very honest demeanor. "They did call before I came here, telling me to send their regards to you and Grandpa, and said they would come visit you when they return."

"That's very kind of them. Be sure to tell your parents that Uncle Li welcomes them anytime," Li Tianming said, regaining control of the situation now that his daughter was out of the room. "By the way, I heard you ran into some legal trouble recently. What was that all about?"

Since lawyers had been provided by connections on her side, Chu Dong couldn't hide it and recounted the whole story, though he omitted Li Youlan's role as the mastermind.

The conversation flowed smoothly, and time passed quickly. Before long, dinner was ready, and Li Tianming invited Chu Dong to the table.

"We aren't really that hungry yet. Shall we wait a little longer for Grandpa?" Chu Dong wasn't just being polite; he still hadn't fully recovered from jetlag and his stomach felt rather unsettled.

"It's fine. The old man only eats two meals a day, and we'll have plenty of time to prepare when he gets back," Li Tianming said warmly, patting Chu Dong on the shoulder.

Tan Xue and Li Youlan also came down from upstairs. Despite her earlier bickering with her father, Li Youlan never missed a meal—an unspoken truce in the ongoing cold war between father and daughter.

Today, Li Tianming had clearly pulled out all the stops. Foregoing the home cooks, he had specially hired a master chef from a hotel. The dining table was laden with an array of dishes that were a feast for the eyes and the nose. The long dining table was crowded with exquisite glassware, and every single dish represented the chef's finest work—a feast beyond compare.

It made Chu Dong's mouth water, even if he lacked the appetite to fully enjoy it.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Li Tianming noticed Chu Dong's hesitation and asked in a low voice to Li Youlan.

"No, it's quite good," Li Youlan replied, her anger coming and going just as quickly as it had arisen. She was already acting as if nothing had happened.

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking this young man. At his age, shouldn't he be eating like a little tiger? Is there something wrong with the dishes?" Li Tianming gave his daughter a subtle kick under the table.

"Like a tiger? More like a pig, given how much he eats," Li Youlan muttered as she served food to Tan Xue, using the opportunity to move a little further away from Li Tianming.

Surviving the lunch felt like enduring an interrogation, but Chu Dong finally felt a bit better afterward and joined Li Tianming in the living room to sip tea and chat, while Tan Xue and Li Youlan whispered to each other not far away.

"How long have you been working?" Li Tianming asked casually, having already begun his assessment of Chu Dong.

"Not very long. I used to do some stock trading, and now I'm learning how to handle management," Chu Dong answered, completely shedding any arrogance and keeping his sharp edges hidden.

"Ah, stocks. That reminds me—there was quite a bit of fluctuation in the Silver Dragon stock market not too long ago. Was that your doing?" Li Tianming didn't have many dealings in the northern business circles, but he occasionally caught wind of such disturbances.

"Haha, I was involved, but that was triggered by the entry of foreign funds. It wasn't entirely my doing, and I was mostly just reacting passively," Chu Dong replied lightly, glossing over the details, though it wasn't strictly a trade secret, the fewer people who knew, the better.

"Well, experience is wealth. You can't raise a golden phoenix in a greenhouse. Look at my Lan Lan—she's just been spoiled rotten at home," Li Tianming said, well aware of what could and could not be shared, and mentally adding another point to Chu Dong's score. "You must be tired from the journey. Why don't you go get some rest? I'll have someone call you when your grandfather gets back. Aunt Zhao, show young Chu to his room."

Although Li Tianming was quite satisfied with Chu Dong, there were still several other old friends' children waiting for arranged meetings, so he wasn't going to make any final decisions just yet.

Chu Dong smiled and followed the arrangements to rest.

The Li family's villa was vastly different from the small rental place Qiangzi had found. It spanned three stories with over a dozen rooms of various sizes. Since there were only three family members, they each had their own rooms on the top floor, while the second floor was reserved for guests, and the domestic staff stayed in the ground-floor quarters.

Chu Dong was led to the first guest room on the second floor, suggesting that subsequent arrivals would be accommodated sequentially.

Shortly after Chu Dong arrived in his room, before he even had a chance to lie down on the bed, Tan Xue and Li Youlan sneaked in.

"What are you playing the good guy for?"

As soon as she entered the room, Li Youlan came to settle accounts. Crossing her arms, she began raining blows from her high heels down onto Chu Dong's feet.

Did she really think she could catch Chu Dong off guard with those reflexes? That would be a joke. The moment she walked in wearing heels, he knew trouble was brewing. Moving with the grace of a tap dancer, he dodged her assault and appealed to Tan Xue, who was standing nearby covering her mouth in amusement.

"Wife, are you just going to stand there and watch me get bullied? Give me a hand and let's sell her off instead; this chick is way too violent..." Seeing that Tan Xue refused to help, Chu Dong finally leaped onto the bed, bringing the first phase of the battle to a close.

"If you dare pull any more weird stunts when Grandpa gets back, I'll castrate you," Li Youlan declared solemnly, pointing at Chu Dong as he pulled a face from the bed.

"What strange stunts? If I were pulling stunts, would I even have made it in here to rest? I would have been kicked out long ago," Chu Dong retorted, curling his lip and turning to Tan Xue to complain. "Wife, I can't take this job anymore; it's hazardous to my health."

"Brother Dong, since you're already here, you should do a good job. If you do well, I'll reward you," Tan Xue said, casting a flirtatious glance at Chu Dong from under her long eyelashes.

"Don't you trick me again!" Chu Dong was like a man bitten by a snake who feared the well rope for ten years; he was still nursing his grievances from being tricked last time and was determined not to fall for it again.

"When have I ever tricked you?" Tan Xue smiled sweetly, sat down on the edge of the bed, and beckoned to Chu Dong with a small hand. "Brother Dong, come here."

"What for?" Chu Dong asked warily, glancing at the glowering Li Youlan nearby.

Seeing his expression, Li Youlan let out an indignant huff and stormed out of the room. Only then did Chu Dong tentatively shuffle over and crouch beside Tan Xue.

"If you succeed, I'll really, truly stay with you," Tan Xue whispered, blushing deeply as she pressed her shoulder gently against his.

Hearing the rapid thumping of his own heart, Chu Dong felt a surge of hot blood and his breathing grew uneven. "Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise," Tan Xue agreed without hesitation.

Emboldened by the encouragement, Chu Dong felt as though a miniature universe had just exploded within him. "No problem at all. Just watch me!"

[Author's Note: This makes up for yesterday's chapter. Just an announcement: the Fox is back!]