Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

The day after returning from the provincial capital, Ye Chen received a call from Qiao San.

When the phone rang, Ye Chen was squatting on the steps at the entrance of the security department, eating sunflower seeds.

He Jianping poked his head out of the office, holding Ye Chen's phone in his hand, his expression as if he had seen a ghost: "Brother Ye, it's Qiao San."

Ye Chen took the phone, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and pressed the answer button.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, so long that Ye Chen almost thought the signal had been lost.

"Third Master Qiao, why don't you say anything when you call? We're all grown men, just say what you need to say." Ye Chen broke the silence.

Qiao San finally spoke, his voice completely different from before, lacking that aggressive tone.

Ye Chen sensed Qiao San's exhaustion and helplessness: "Ye Chen, is the old man's tea good?"

"Not bad, pre-Qingming Longjing tea. The old man has impeccable taste," Ye Chen said while cracking sunflower seeds, making a loud crunching sound.

"You're lucky, kid. My people will clean up Li Chengwen's mess. The Qiao family has given up on recovering the frozen assets of Wansheng Group. As for the 30 million loan from Jiang's Group, someone has already transferred the money to your company's account. Have President Jiang check it out. The old man has already spoken up, so I'll admit it."

Ye Chen sensed the resentment in Qiao San's words, as well as the unwillingness of being forced to bow one's head by the old man. But more than that, he sensed the rational choice made by a shrewd businessman after weighing the pros and cons.

Qiao San knew that continuing to fight the Jiang Group would come at a huge cost, even if he won.

The losses caused by the joint supply disruption by Tongda Building Materials and Tiedun Logistics are in the tens of millions every day. Guipu's defection has greatly damaged the Qiao family's prestige in the ancient martial arts circle, and Han Song's defeat has directly shaken the Qiao family's golden reputation for martial prowess.

Continuing to fight would be counterproductive.

"Alright, that's enough then." Ye Chen's voice was calm and decisive, without any intention of kicking someone when they're down.

"However, I must say this first: the Qiao family should not touch the Jiang Group's business again. I welcome fair competition, but if you resort to underhanded tactics again, I guarantee that the Qiao family's reputation will not be as simple as losing face in a martial arts arena."

Qiao San remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone.

As a seasoned veteran who had dominated the provincial capital for over thirty years, being warned to his face by a young man in his early twenties was an unimaginable humiliation.

But in the end, he simply said coldly, "Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Qiao San hung up the phone.

Ye Chen stuffed his phone into his pocket, looked up, and saw He Jianping and several security captains standing at the door, staring at him with wide eyes, their expressions perfectly synchronized as if they had rehearsed.

"What's wrong?" Ye Chen felt uneasy under their stares.

He Jianping's voice was trembling, and the expression on his face was hard to tell whether he was excited or incredulous.

"Brother, you've taken care of the Qiao family? Qiao San has admitted defeat? The stalemate that Jiangcheng and the provincial capital have been fighting for for so many years, and you've single-handedly broken it?"

"What do you mean by 'it's all sorted out'? That sounds awful." Ye Chen threw the corncob into the trash can, stood up, and dusted off his hands.

"It's like we're tired of fighting, so we sit down and have a cup of tea. After the tea, we all think it's more worthwhile to make money peacefully. By the way, Lao He, can you draft a document for me, compiling all the things the Qiao family has done to the Jiang Group during this period, and hand it over to the legal department? We'll close the cases that should be closed and withdraw the lawsuits that should be withdrawn."

He Jianping was still in a daze when a security captain next to him nudged him, snapping him out of his reverie. He jumped up, his face flushed with excitement, and exclaimed, "I knew you were good! I've been saying this since the first day you arrived. Back then, you cured President Jiang with that 'Turtle Breathing Technique'..."

"Alright, alright, get back to work." Ye Chen waved his hand to interrupt him and turned to walk upstairs to Jiang Ruoxi's office.

Pushing open the door to the CEO's office, Jiang Ruoxi was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window making a phone call.

Judging from her words and tone, the person on the other end of the phone was likely a business partner confirming with her whether the news that Qiao's Real Estate had abandoned its pursuit of Wansheng Group's assets was true.

Jiang Ruoxi's voice remained professionally calm and composed, clearly indicating that her inner self was not as calm as it appeared.

She hung up the phone, turned around to look at Ye Chen, opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

The turmoil has lasted for nearly two months, starting from the first time Li Chengwen sent people to cause trouble at the Jiang Group.

In the past two months, she has experienced supply chain disruptions, smear campaigns, online attacks, and was even nearly kidnapped.

Every crisis is enough to completely destroy an ordinary company.

But now, it's all over.

Qiao San conceded defeat, Wansheng Group was liquidated, the Qiao family withdrew from Jiangcheng, and the dust settled.

And all of this changed because of this carefree man who walked in, munching on roasted corn.

"What are you doing standing there? Come here." Jiang Ruoxi beckoned to him.

Ye Chen walked up to her with a grin, but before he could say anything, Jiang Ruoxi suddenly reached out and hugged him.

It wasn't a polite, perfunctory hug, but a solid one where you pressed your whole body against the other.

Her face was buried in Ye Chen's chest, her hands tightly wrapped around his waist, her fingertips clutching the back of his shirt.

Ye Chen's brain froze for a full three seconds.

Three seconds later, he realized what had happened. Then, he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen in place, his hands raised in mid-air, not knowing where to put them. The expression on his face was as interesting as if he had won the lottery but couldn't believe it.

"Wife...?"

"Don't talk, let me hold you for a while, it'll be over soon." Jiang Ruoxi's voice was muffled, coming from his chest, with a slight nasal tone.

Ye Chen then really stopped talking.

He gently wrapped his arms around Jiang Ruoxi's back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Jiang Ruoxi's hair had a faint scent of gardenias, and it was soft, making his chin feel a little itchy.

The second hand of the wall clock ticked slowly and steadily.

The sound of He Jianping calling for people to move things came from downstairs, faint and distant, like something from another world.

After a long while, Jiang Ruoxi finally let go, took a step back, lowered her head to tidy her not-so-disheveled clothes, and her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

"Wife, what's wrong with you? Is it starting to..." Ye Chen asked tentatively.

"Um...you just said that 30 million has been deposited? I need to have the finance department verify it."

Jiang Ruoxi turned and walked towards her desk, trying to make her tone sound very businesslike, but her pace was noticeably faster than usual. She even tripped over a chair leg when she got close to her desk.

"Wife, your face is red." Ye Chen tilted his head, his expression mischievous.

"Shut up."