After hanging up, Xu Ke began to eat dinner.

Shortly after he finished, another call came in.

Duan Chongfeng's deep voice came through the phone. "Congratulations, little brother. You've finally sent those annoying flies packing."

"The real trouble is yet to come," Xu Ke said, shaking his head.

"The big ones need to be dealt with slowly; there's no need to rush," Duan Chongfeng said with a smile in his voice.

"Indeed," Xu Ke nodded.

After a moment, Duan Chongfeng's tone changed. "By the way, have you eaten yet? I'm about to go out for dinner. How about I swing by and pick you up?"

"Brother Duan, you timed this call on purpose, didn't you? I just finished," Xu Ke said with a laugh, casually picking up a stray grain of rice from the table and tossing it away.

"Haha, that's a shame, but at least you saved me the cost of a meal," Duan Chongfeng laughed heartily. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "I plan to take my medicine after dinner. That won't be a problem, will it?"

Just hearing Xu Ke's voice made him inexplicably nervous; the agony of the acupuncture still echoed in his mind.

"No problem at all," Xu Ke chuckled.

"Alright then, since you've already eaten, I'll go grab a bite by myself," Duan Chongfeng said. "By the way, are you free tomorrow? How about we meet? I have something for you."

At these words, Xu Ke was taken aback.

He must be talking about the medical clinic he mentioned this afternoon.

He hadn't agreed back then, as his attention had shifted to the issue of the Wang Family's plight. Thinking of this, Xu Ke initially wanted to decline, but then he changed his mind.

He's offering me a medical clinic, so I can just give him something else in return later, right? Why would I turn down something that brings us into the same boat? In this society, relationships as faint as water lead only to nodding acquaintances. Only through a mutual exchange of benefits can a connection truly deepen.

"Let's meet tomorrow afternoon, then. Where will you be? I can come find you," Xu Ke suggested.

"Shouldn't I be the one coming to you?" Duan Chongfeng hesitated. You don't make someone come to you when you're giving them a gift.

But Xu Ke explained, "I'm not busy lately, while you have a lot on your plate. It makes more sense for me to come to you. Besides, we call each other brothers. Why get caught up in these formalities?"

Duan Chongfeng was touched. He laughed heartily. "You're right, little brother. In that case, let's meet at Jincheng Hotel tomorrow afternoon. I need to go there to take a look anyway."

Jincheng Hotel was one of the premier hotels in Tianhai and a property of the Dapeng Business Group. Since Duan Chongfeng was already inspecting the villa area, it was only natural for him to visit Jincheng as well.

Hearing this, Xu Ke nodded. "Alright, we'll meet at Jincheng Hotel tomorrow afternoon."

"Great!" Duan Chongfeng agreed.

After hanging up, Xu Ke considered something. Since I'm going to Jincheng anyway... why not treat everyone to a meal and repay the favor from tonight?

No sooner said than done.

Xu Ke immediately sent a message to the group chat with the classmates who had helped him earlier.

"@everyone, thank you all for tonight. How about we all go to Jincheng Hotel for lunch tomorrow? My treat, as a thank you. Besides, it's been a while since we all got together, so this is the perfect opportunity," he sent.

He had originally thought about eating near Tianhai University so he could bring Qiu Mingli along. However, he reconsidered. Considering his meeting with Duan Chongfeng and the fact that Qiu Mingli's situation had only just stabilized, his emotions were likely still volatile, so it probably wasn't a good time for him to be around a large group of people. That was why he had settled on Jincheng Hotel.

Before long, the group chat was flooded with replies.

"Sounds good!"

"But is it right to make Old Xu pay for everything?"

"There are twelve of us. A meal at Jincheng Hotel could easily cost over ten thousand yuan. That place is no joke."

Everyone started clamoring to split the bill. None of them said it outright, but they all knew perfectly well what was going on.

With Xu Ke's stubborn personality, he would never use Wong Qifu's money, even though they were dating. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed them to put on an act to drive away the reporters. He could have just had Wong Qifu give an order, and the problem would have been solved instantly. That was why they wanted to help him save some money.

But Xu Ke refused. "It's fine, everyone. I have the money, don't worry. My conscience wouldn't be clear if I didn't treat you all. You don't want me to lose sleep over this tonight, do you?"

Even so, they still tried to refuse.

Finally, after a few more rounds of back-and-forth, they compromised: Xu Ke would pay for half, and the rest would split the other half. Once the time was set, Xu Ke called Jincheng Hotel to book a private room.

「8:30 PM. Jincheng Hotel.」

Li Lang stood alone in a glittering corridor, his expression grim as he listened to Qian Hong's tearful voice on the other end of the phone. "Young Master Li, I couldn't do it. Xu Ke is just too silver-tongued."

"Please, Young Master Li, give me another chance!"

Qian Hong had debated whether to tell Li Lang the truth. She knew, however, that a behemoth like the Li Family would inevitably find out she had failed to drive Xu Ke away. If Li Lang discovered she had not only failed but also lied about it, she would be completely finished. That's why she had decided to call and beg for mercy.

But hearing Qian Hong's voice only made Li Lang furious.

What a useless piece of trash.

"Get lost! And don't ever let me see you again!" Li Lang roared before slamming the phone down.

"Utterly useless. Only good for screwing things up," Li Lang snarled. He saw Qian Hong was now spamming him with text messages, so he blocked her number, grinding his teeth in frustration. He had given her one simple task—to make Xu Ke's life difficult—and she had accomplished absolutely nothing.

Li Lang was so enraged he felt like he might burst a blood vessel.

Why? Why does our Li Family always suffer setbacks when it comes to Xu Ke?!

Just then, the door to the private room opened, and Li Shichuan walked out. "Let's go home."

His face was an expressionless mask, revealing nothing of his emotions.

Seeing his father, Li Lang quickly lowered his head. "Yes."

The humiliation the father and son had endured tonight was more than enough. Even if they stayed at Jincheng Hotel, the finest delicacies would taste like ash in their mouths.

As the two made their way downstairs, followed by a few bodyguards, Li Lang's sharp ears caught a conversation at the front desk.

"Is this Mr. Xu Ke? And your phone number is... correct?"

"Excellent. We have reserved a private room for twenty people for you. Please present a valid ID upon your arrival at Jincheng Hotel tomorrow."

It was a front desk clerk taking a reservation from Xu Ke.

Seeing this, the sullen look on Li Lang's face vanished, and his eyes lit up.

Xu Ke is coming here to eat?

After making the reservation, Xu Ke hesitated for a moment before sending a message to Wong Qifu.

"Sister Wang, about tomorrow... I need to go out. It's not to get into any fights or anything. I'm going to a gathering with my classmates to thank them for helping me with the act today, and I also have to meet with Duan Chongfeng..."

He reported his plans to Wong Qifu in meticulous detail. He had just promised her he wouldn't go out, and now, not even a day later, he was planning to do just that.

If I don't report this to Wong Qifu, I'm definitely courting death.

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