Madam Shen was left stunned, her face a mask of displeasure.
She stood there, watching Song Qiao's receding back, seething with anger.
This damned man. She had invested her time, treated him so gently, bought him so many things, even bought things for his girlfriend, yet he still wouldn't budge, refusing to agree to her request.
She cursed Song Qiao incessantly.
"Song Qiao, are you blind? My attitude is so sincere, I've begged you like this, and you still won't agree to help me? It's just a small favor for you!"
"Song Qiao, you stubborn mule! You're like a stone in a latrine, stinking and hard!"
"Don't worry, I won't give up! I'll make you beg to cooperate with me!"
"I refuse to believe you're completely unmoved. I'll find a way to make you agree to my terms!"
After venting for a while, Madam Shen finally calmed down.
This Song Qiao was like a green bean, impervious to anything.
"What to do? There must be a way!" she thought hard, but no ideas surfaced.
Suddenly, she recalled news reports about various influential figures, and a thought began to form.
Her expression lit up with excitement. She murmured to herself, "If you won't agree, I'll force you to. I'll hype you up, and make Zhang Longsheng come looking for you himself!"
No sooner said than done.
Madam Shen took out her phone and dialed her assistant.
The assistant answered with utmost respect.
Madam Shen laid out her task in a few words.
For magnates like them, finding suitable media to promote their ideas and achieve their goals was incredibly simple.
After all, it was all within their own business empires; a mere phone call would suffice.
However, to ensure the matter was handled perfectly, she would need to keep a close watch.
Of course, the assistant would handle the details; Madam Shen only cared about the results.
Soon, reports from South Korean media began to flood in, all about Song Qiao.
Especially his swift victory over Zhang Longsheng's most talented disciple, Park Xu, and even the possibility of him deliberately teasing the disciple.
As soon as these reports emerged, they hit South Korea like cold water thrown into hot oil, igniting a firestorm!
All sorts of theories began to surface, and discussions raged.
What was the true strength of Park Xu?
Could he truly live up to the title of Zhang Longsheng's most talented disciple?
Of course, these were relatively mild, and the discussions were focused on Park Xu.
But this was not what Madam Shen desired.
Soon, the various individuals her assistant had arranged began to voice their opinions, and they aimed their barbs at Zhang Longsheng.
For example:
As the top master in South Korea, why was Zhang Longsheng's disciple so weak, getting trounced by an unknown Chinese man?
With a disciple of such caliber, was Zhang Longsheng, the top master, merely living up to his reputation?
As Park Xu's master, was Zhang Longsheng worthy of being called South Korea's number one martial artist?
Who was stronger, Zhang Longsheng or that Chinese man?
Shouldn't there be a match to reclaim lost pride?
Zhang Longsheng neither responded nor even spoke. Was he afraid?
...
Meanwhile, in China, netizens widely praised Song Qiao for defeating Park Xu, Zhang Longsheng's disciple, in a single move.
Chinese Kung Fu is mighty!
A Kung Fu master in the city!
Song Qiao defeats with a single move; South Korean masters are no match!
Forget Park Xu, even his master Zhang Longsheng would return defeated!
Looking forward to Song Qiao completely dominating Zhang Longsheng!
...
Soon, both in China and South Korea, the calls for a match between Zhang Longsheng and Song Qiao grew louder and louder.
Unaware of the huge stir they had caused, Zhang Longsheng and Song Qiao found themselves at the center of the storm.
In the afternoon, Song Qiao returned to the auto show.
As soon as he arrived, Deng Yihan found him.
She looked incredibly excited, exclaiming, "Haha, this time, you've gotten yourself into big trouble!"
Song Qiao was puzzled. What kind of trouble could it be? He had always kept a low profile, hadn't he?
Except for teaching that ignorant second-generation rich kid a lesson yesterday, there hadn't been much.
Deng Yihan turned her laptop towards Song Qiao, letting him see the news.
Song Qiao's brow furrowed as he saw the headlines.
He opened a search engine and typed in a query. Astonishingly, there were millions of related search results.
Though he didn't know the inside story, Song Qiao realized he had been targeted again, someone was trying to bring him down.
Deng Yihan chuckled, "It's obvious someone wants to use you to stir up trouble. There's more to this than meets the eye. This incident just happened not long ago, and already there are so many related web pages; someone is fueling it."
"I think so too. Can you guess what the other party's objective is?" Song Qiao mused.
"Hmm, I'll have to think about that carefully." Deng Yihan fell into deep thought.
"Take your time!" Song Qiao said nonchalantly.
After a long pause, Deng Yihan suddenly clapped her hands together, a crisp "snap" echoing.
"When you combine the elements of these news reports, the other party's intention becomes crystal clear: to intensify the conflict between you and Zhang Longsheng, and then force you into a match."
"Hmm, if you put it that way, I know who it is!" Song Qiao said grimly. "Madam Shen!"
"It's her?" Deng Yihan heard this and nodded, unsurprised.
To cooperate with Madam Shen, she had conducted thorough research and knew that her family, including Madam Shen herself, had deep-seated conflicts with Zhang Longsheng.
Under normal circumstances, Madam Shen, as a typical businesswoman, would not have been able to connect with the martial arts community, let alone integrate into it and interact with them.
"I can understand why she would do this. It's simply a way to force me to agree to her request," Song Qiao sneered.
By connecting the dots and recalling his conversation with Madam Shen this morning, Song Qiao had pieced together most of the story.
He felt a pang of exasperation. "This woman surnamed Shen, I clearly refused her this morning, but I didn't expect her to resort to this tactic, trying to put me on the spot..."
"Indeed, I didn't expect this woman to be so persistent." Deng Yihan commented.
Song Qiao felt a surge of annoyance.
He took a sip of tea, placing the small teacup on the saucer, and couldn't help but grumble, "Women who hold the reins of capital are never easy!"
Deng Yihan was skillfully pouring tea for Song Qiao. Hearing his remark, she pouted and said softly, "You better not lump me in with them, or I'll tell Ye Zhiwei many things..."
To her surprise, Song Qiao let out a cold laugh. "Hmph, you think Ye Zhiwei is just a naive little rabbit!"
After another moment of sipping tea, Song Qiao's mood had significantly calmed.
He decided he had to go and see Madam Shen. He couldn't just let her scheme against him for nothing.
He stood up and told Deng Yihan, "I'm going now. I must make that woman pay the price!"
Deng Yihan watched Song Qiao's tall, upright figure, her smile undiminished, but she had a nagging feeling that things weren't that simple.
As expected, before Song Qiao could even reach Madam Shen's location, he received a call from Mo Ling.
She said she was also on her way and, more importantly, told Song Qiao, "Madam Shen is in danger. She needs to leave immediately!"