Sun Hong was a little confused. "Why do I have to be home before eleven?"
Li Se smiled and explained, "Because the yin energy is heavy at night, so if you go home too late, you're more likely to bring back unclean things. In terms of feng shui, this is called 'Lingmei Sha.' As the saying goes, 'Walk the night road too often, and you're bound to meet ghosts.' Although this is quite metaphysical and cannot be explained by science, it's still something to be aware of. Of course, with your constitution, even if there are unclean things, it won't have much of an impact, but it can significantly affect your wife."
"I understand!" Sun Hong used to not believe such things much, but after this experience, he was starting to believe. Moreover, things always went as Li Se said.
Li Se pondered for a moment and added, "If you absolutely cannot return before eleven, you can have your wife prepare a fire basin for you. Stepping over it will resolve any issues."
Sun Hong expressed his profound gratitude and offered to pay the consultation fee, but Li Se refused. He chuckled, "Director Sun, it's just a small favor. Besides, if anything arises in the future, I'll still need to trouble Director Sun."
The favor of an Industry and Commerce Bureau Director was not something money could easily buy.
Sun Hong understood Li Se's intentions. Furthermore, he wanted to befriend Li Se, who was a divine doctor, essentially guaranteeing his health. He said, "Then I won't call you Divine Doctor Li anymore. I'll call you Li Laodi. And you don't need to call me Director Sun, just call me Brother Sun."
"Alright, Brother Sun," Li Se nodded.
Sun Hong suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, representatives from the American Medical Association have arrived. I heard they want to have a competition with Traditional Chinese Medicine. You must bring glory to TCM then."
"Is there such a thing?" Li Se was unaware, but he could guess the American Medical Association's motive, likely due to Charles's apology.
Charles, as the Vice President of the American Medical Association, had publicly apologized to TCM. This was tantamount to declaring that Western medicine was inferior to TCM.
As a result, the American Medical Association, as an authoritative institution for Western medicine, naturally wanted to regain face and declare to the world that Western medicine was mainstream and TCM had declined.
Sun Hong cursed, "These people just want to prove how powerful Western medicine is and that TCM is no longer viable. It's precisely because the talent pool for TCM has dwindled that Western medicine has the audacity to speak like this."
After leaving Sun Hong's house, Li Se kept thinking about the American Medical Association. Unconsciously, he returned to his residential complex. However, at the entrance, he encountered Zhang Yunyun's family again.
It had only been two hours since they parted ways at the class reunion. Zhang Yunyun and her mother, Zhang Cuihua, saw Li Se and immediately rushed over.
"Oh my, Li Se, you must be tired. Treating the wife of the Industry and Commerce Bureau Director must be exhausting. Come, come, come to your place. I heard your mother has already gone back and you're living alone now. That's not good at all. I bought a lot of groceries, let me cook you a good meal!" Zhang Cuihua's attitude towards Li Se had completely changed. Anyone who didn't know better would think she cared deeply about Li Se.
Zhang Yunyun also walked directly towards Li Se, wanting to link her arm through his. "Li Se, how is Director Sun's wife's condition?"
Li Se took a step back, glanced at Zhang Yunyun and her mother, and said with amusement, "What, you're coming to curry favor with me now?"
"Li Se, stop messing around. We're family," Zhang Yunyun said in an extremely gentle tone. After returning from the class reunion, she had told her mother about the situation.
How could Zhang Cuihua let such a golden bachelor slip away? A villa in Clearwater Bay, worth fifty million yuan alone. Moreover, even the Industry and Commerce Bureau Director treated Li Se with such respect. This was undoubtedly a golden bachelor.
"Li Se, I know you had some misunderstandings about us before. How about this, we've gotten the 300,000 yuan for you." Zhang Cuihua took out a bank card and handed it to Li Se, saying, "We were indeed wrong before. It's mainly because we didn't understand your mother's real situation, did we? After all, our starting point was to have my daughter marry you. Alright, stop being moody. You two should get married immediately and have children soon. Oh, and the villa's name should preferably include Yunyun's name. You know, for a couple..."
"Stop!"
Before she could finish, Li Se interrupted her. He took the bank card, cold and mocking, "This 300,000 yuan was mine to begin with. Since you've returned it to me, there's naturally no longer any relationship between us. Don't try to get close to me here."
He then looked at Zhang Yunyun, at the woman he had loved for many years, and took a deep breath. "Zhang Yunyun, from today onwards, there is no longer any relationship between us. As for your brother..."
Li Se retrieved paper and pen from the security guard's room, wrote down a prescription, and threw it to Zhang Yunyun. "Get the medicine according to this prescription. One dose will be enough for a full recovery. I hope you will no longer appear in my sight from now on, and I will not disturb your life. You don't need to think about marrying me anymore. There is no possibility between us!"
Having said all this in one breath, Li Se turned and left without any lingering feelings. The 300,000 yuan was now in his possession, and from then on, he and Zhang Yunyun would have no further connection.
Zhang Yunyun stood frozen. Looking at Li Se's retreating back, she didn't know why, but she realized something. This man who once cherished her was now lost to her forever.
Meanwhile, Zhang Cuihua beside her began to curse loudly, "You've struck it rich and now you're dumping my daughter? You scumbag, I tell you, it's impossible! And that 300,000 yuan must be returned to me, and the villa must be registered under my daughter's name..."
Li Se's act of severing ties exposed Zhang Cuihua's true nature. She immediately started cursing uncontrollably, attracting quite a crowd.
"Mom, that's enough!" Zhang Yunyun shouted.
"Enough? This isn't enough!" Zhang Cuihua was furious. "He's gotten rich now and he doesn't want you anymore, do you know that? That villa is worth fifty million yuan! If you could live in it, your brother could marry any kind of wife he wanted!"
Zhang Yunyun could no longer tolerate it. She yelled at Zhang Cuihua, "If it weren't for you, I would have married Li Se long ago! You were the one who demanded 300,000 yuan as a bride price, because my brother needed that 300,000 yuan. And you personally gave that 300,000 yuan to my brother. But when Li Se's mother needed surgery fees, our family refused to return that money to him. Only today, when you knew he had money and the villa, did you decide to curry favor. Mom, it's all too late!"
After saying this, Zhang Yunyun left in tears. She knew that she and Li Se would never have a chance again in this life. At this moment, she regretted it, but there was no longer any opportunity.