Mad Dragon gets out of prison and marries a beautiful CEO.

Chen Li's phone rang before his car even left Qingxi Road.

Ah Kun's name popped up on the screen. When he answered, Ah Kun's voice was very low, and there was the noise of cars passing by in the background.

"Mr. Chen, Ms. Su has encountered a problem."

"There's a dark gray minivan parked outside the studio, with dark tinted windows. I've been staring at it for almost an hour."

"It's not the same car as last time, but there's an old scratch on the rear bumper of this car, which matches the one captured in the surveillance footage from Su Wan's residence."

Chen Li slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road, lit a cigarette, and asked:

"Where is Su Wan?"

Ah Kun replied:

"They're still in the studio. But just now, a man blocked the back door of the studio and stopped Ms. Su's assistant."

"He took a contract and said that Director Ma of Xiaoran Media wanted to discuss the details of the cooperation with Su Wan in person. The contract had been drafted and could be signed at any time, on the condition that it be done today."

"The assistant showed it to Su Wan, and Su Wan said she had never seen a cooperation agreement discussed like this before, and demanded that the other party follow the proper procedures."

"The man got anxious and said directly..."

Chen Li asked curiously:

"What did you say?"

Ah Kun replied:

"They said Ms. Su got on the variety show because their CEO Lin gave her his approval. Do you really think she got there on her own merit? Now that they're willing to give her a chance, don't be ungrateful."

Chen Li's hand on the steering wheel paused for a moment.

Su's appearance on the variety show was a path he paved to connect with Chen Guodong; it had absolutely nothing to do with Lin Xiao.

The fact that the other party dared to use Lin Xiao's name to pressure Su Wan shows that he didn't know the inside story at all and was just ordered to warn and intimidate her.

"What was Su Wan's reaction?" Chen Li asked.

"Miss Su didn't even bother to look at him and ignored him completely. The man probably lost face, and after saying something like 'Don't regret it,' he left. I suspect he might retaliate."

After hearing this, Chen Li shifted gears, released the handbrake, and the car rejoined the lane from the side of the road.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Li arrived downstairs at the film studio.

Ah Kun stood on the steps at the entrance, pointing to the roadside diagonally opposite. A dark gray minivan was parked under a plane tree, its windows tinted dark, making it impossible to tell how many people were inside.

"Mr. Chen, the car has been parked there with the engine running. The driver has smoked three cigarettes already, he's obviously waiting for something," Ah Kun explained.

Chen Li glanced at the car following his gaze, but did not approach it.

He pushed open the door to the studio. Su Wan was sitting on the sofa in the rest area, with her assistant standing next to her, holding a crumpled document in her hand, which should be the contract that the man had just handed her.

Su Wan saw Chen Li come in and stood up from the sofa.

Her face showed no fear, but rather a thin layer of lingering anger, her lips pursed.

She took the contract from her assistant and handed it to Chen Li:

"Take a look at this."

Chen Li took the contract and flipped through two pages. The terms on the contract were poorly written, the sentences were grammatically incorrect, the legal responsibilities were vague, and there wasn't even an official seal; there was only a handwritten signature.

The signature was messy, but it was clearly practiced; the two characters "Malan" were spelled out in a crooked and messy manner.

"She said it was signed by Malan?"

Su Wan replied;

"He said it was delivered by Director Ma, but when I said I needed to call Ma Lan to confirm, he got anxious. As for the details, who helped whom, he couldn't explain it himself; I guess he was trying to scam me."

Chen Li closed the contract, flipped to the signed page, folded it in half, and put it in his pocket, saying:

"You did the right thing."

Su Wan looked into his eyes and asked:

"So what do we do now? They don't seem to be giving up."

"You stay inside and don't move. I'll go see what those friends in that car outside are up to."

Chen Li turned and left the studio.

He walked onto the sidewalk and headed toward the dark gray minivan.

He stopped two meters in front of the car, reached out and tapped the hood twice, the two taps being particularly clear on the quiet street.

The car windows were tinted dark, so you couldn't see inside.

A few seconds later, the driver's side window rolled down a crack, revealing a hand holding a cigarette and half a face wearing a mask.

The man exhaled a puff of smoke, peered at Chen Li through the crack in the car window, his gaze sweeping over him from bottom to top, before letting out a sneer.

"You're the one who paved the way for Su Wan? You don't look like much."

Chen Li didn't respond to that. He reached out and rolled down the half-open car window. When the window was fully down, the hand holding the cigarette didn't have time to retract, and ash flew all over his sleeve.

There was only one person in the car, in his thirties, wearing a black mask and a baseball cap, with his seat reclined and his posture relaxed as if he were on vacation.

"You just gave Su Wan a contract, saying Lin Xiao agreed to let her appear on the show, and that Ma Lan signed your contract." Chen Li looked him in the eye. "Have you ever met Ma Lan?"

The man took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked the ash outside the car, and twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. His face, hidden beneath his mask, moved slightly as he said:

"Whether I've seen you before or not is none of your business. Who are you?"

Chen Li replied directly:

"I'm the one who put Su Wan on the 'Star Project' stage."

The man's hand froze in mid-air, the ash from his cigarette falling onto the windowsill. The relaxed expression on his face vanished for a moment, like a short, thin crack appearing on ice.

But he quickly readjusted his expression, stubbed out his cigarette on the edge of the car window, and threw it on the ground.

"You're quite the actor."

He leaned back in his seat, his gaze hardening again, and said:

"Let me tell you the truth, if Su Wan doesn't sign now, all her future business invitations will be 'cancelled,' her appearances will be 'coordinated,' and her partners will 'reconsider.'"

"Do you know who has this power?"

"President Lin's influence extends throughout the entire East District's brokerage channels; a single word from her is all it takes."

Chen Licai hadn't seen Lin Xiao for long, so if this were true, why wouldn't she say anything?

"Who told you that?"

The man was momentarily speechless at the question.

He opened his mouth, as if he hadn't expected the other party to not only ignore the threat but also ask about the source of the information. He paused for two seconds before saying:

"Just do what you're told. Don't ask around."

He tried to roll up the car window, but Chen Li smashed the glass with his fist, grabbed his collar, yanked his head out of the window, pulled it close to his face, and gave him a wicked smile.

"You little brat, you think you're so tough? I'm bored out of my mind, I'll play with you!"

Chen Li ignored him and took out his phone to send a message to Ye Qinglian:

"There's a dark gray minivan outside the studio. The rear bumper has old scratches, and the driver is wearing a black mask. Could you check if this vehicle came from the direction of Qingxi Road?"

Then he held his phone screen up to the crack in the car window and flashed it, letting the guy see that he was sending a message.

The man's gaze swept to the edge of the screen. Although he couldn't see the content clearly, he noticed Chen Li taking a picture of his license plate and sending a message. His expression changed visibly.