Chapter Seventy-Two: The Terms

At Kang Ning’s insistence, Qu Mengmeng, Lu Jing, and Zheng Yi had no choice but to leave the room. As soon as they exited the restaurant, the three of them went shopping together.

Ten minutes later, Wang Zhongnian and his wife left the compound, walked about thirty meters to the right, and arrived at the teahouse Kang Ning had mentioned. Guided by a young waitress, they entered a private room called “Listening to the Waves Pavilion” on the second floor. There, the young Kang Ning stood up to greet them with a faint, enigmatic smile; the couple sat down, half-skeptical.

Kang Ning smiled slightly and said, “Deputy Director Wang, are you perhaps doubting me because I am too young?”

Wang Zhongnian looked at the handsome, composed Kang Ning, and was taken aback by his refined words. He quickly smiled and explained courteously, “No, not at all, sir, you misunderstand me. You see, to show our gratitude, my wife and I have come together. Please, sir, help us with our trouble!”

Kang Ning took out a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket, one that the typist had racked their brains to compose, and after smoothing it on the table, gently slid it to Wang Zhongnian.

Wang Zhongnian picked it up in puzzlement. After reading it, his doubts vanished into thin air. “Sir, you are truly an expert! The symptoms are described perfectly, as if you saw it with your own eyes, and the medication is exactly right—it is truly impressive. If not for your flawless Sichuanese accent, I would have thought you were a direct disciple of Elder Yan from Xi’an. Besides the esteemed Elder Yan and his sole pupil, no one else is privy to this.”

Kang Ning then analyzed Wang Zihan’s condition with the couple, each sentence incisive and accurate, earning their deepest admiration. Yet Kang Ning’s final words left them deeply worried: “Deputy Director Wang, Madam Wang, though I understand the illness, I am not able to treat your son. The medicines are extremely hard to find, the combinations highly complex, and I lack the necessary skill. Please forgive me!” With that, Kang Ning made a gesture to leave.

The couple panicked, clung to Kang Ning’s hands, and begged him with all their hearts, promising that if he could help, they would do anything—even exhaust their fortune to fulfill his terms.

Kang Ning then sat down again, politely meeting Wang Zhongnian’s eyes. “Please, take a seat. By my estimate, you must have spent over a hundred or two hundred thousand on this illness by now, haven’t you?”

“It’s far more than two hundred thousand! It’s almost eight hundred thousand in total!” Wang Zhongnian’s wife cut in, her heart aching for the eight hundred thousand that seemed thrown to the dogs.

Kang Ning smiled. “To be brief, I have only two small conditions. If you can agree, I’ll immediately give you the contact number of the retired expert. However, you must not mention who referred you, nor reveal that you’ve met anyone like me. If he gets offended and refuses to help, that has nothing to do with me. The reasons are complicated, involving the grudges and favors of the previous generation of master physicians—I can’t elaborate, please understand.”

Wang Zhongnian responded excitedly, “We understand, sir. Please state your terms!”

Kang Ning’s expression turned serious. “Very well. Here is my first condition: I hope Deputy Director Wang will advise your son, Wang Zihan, to dissolve the marriage agreement with Qu Mengmeng as soon as possible. From now on, he is not to approach her even half a step, and, as previously promised, ensure that Qu Mengmeng’s father receives a promotion. I am doing this at the request of another, and I must fulfill that trust—please forgive me!”

Wang Zhongnian agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Seeing Kang Ning’s skeptical look, Wang Zhongnian’s wife vowed earnestly, “Please believe us, sir. The two of them never got a marriage certificate. Zihan was too hasty and wanted to hold the banquet before registering, and we let him be. Qu Mengmeng’s running away from the wedding already cost our family enough face. Even if you paid me a million, I wouldn’t let her set foot in our family again!”

At this, Kang Ning found Qu Mengmeng’s naïveté both baffling and amusing. Mistaking Kang Ning’s expression for displeasure at his wife’s words, Wang Zhongnian coughed and glowered at her, prompting her to finally silence herself.

Wang Zhongnian smiled. “Sir, please state your second condition!”

“Very well. Once you call the two numbers I give you as instructed, you’ll give me one hundred thousand yuan in cash. Of course, if the expert refuses, all previous conditions are null and void. What do you say, Deputy Director Wang?” Kang Ning said in a refined manner.

He handed over another slip of paper, bearing only a strange traditional medicine formula and two phone numbers. Kang Ning said calmly, “You may have your confidential department check these numbers first; once verified, you can proceed to call.”

Wang Zhongnian was delighted, immediately dialing his department and reading out the two numbers for verification. Within a minute, they replied: the first number belonged to the duty office of the Dean of Guangxi Medical College, the second to a Professor Kang Jimin’s home.

Wang Zhongnian’s face brightened with confidence. He asked his wife to fetch the money, and, following Kang Ning’s instructions, dialed Professor Kang Jimin’s number. The call went through smoothly.

“Who’s this?” came a robust, Shandong-accented voice.

Wang Zhongnian excitedly gave a brief account of his son’s illness, but Professor Kang refused outright, citing age and retirement. Only then did Wang Zhongnian realize, in his agitation, he’d forgotten the code phrase. He hurriedly begged, “Professor Kang, please give me one more minute—I have a prescription here, please listen and then decide! Angelica, Siler, Honeysuckle, Summer Toad…”

He stammered through the awkward fifty-character prescription, sweating profusely. A long silence followed, making him anxious, until finally, after half a minute, Kang Jimin’s voice came, as if a blessing from heaven.

“Fine. I suppose an old friend from the North sent you, so I’ll make an exception. The patient can come see me anytime, but just this once—never again!” With that, the call ended.

Wang Zhongnian stood up in excitement, grasped Kang Ning’s hand tightly. “Thank you, sir, for your generous guidance. I must host you at my humble abode tonight—please honor me with your presence! If you have any further requests, I will do my utmost to fulfill them!”

“Thank you for your kind invitation, Deputy Director Wang, but I must leave for another city soon. Perhaps another time.” Kang Ning declined politely, reminding Wang Zhongnian to keep their meeting strictly confidential, and hinting that he ought to keep his wife from speaking out of turn. He concluded with a veiled warning: if he learned that Wang Zhongnian had broken his promise, he would have ways to make Professor Kang withdraw his help.

Wang Zhongnian pounded his chest, promising repeatedly that, if his son recovered, he would immediately arrange for Qu Mengmeng’s father’s promotion to Chengdu. Just then, his wife returned, out of breath, carrying a black nylon bag. Kang Ning glanced inside, saw a neat stack of one hundred thousand yuan in cash, and smiled before taking his leave.

Downstairs, Kang Ning paid the bill, walked unhurriedly out the main entrance, and blended into the crowd. Though he seemed to stroll idly along, his eyes and ears were alert to every direction. After about ten minutes, he circled back from another street to the parking lot opposite the teahouse, used the public restroom, then returned to his car and called Lu Jing.

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Jing and the others returned by taxi. As soon as they got in the car, all three pressed Kang Ning for news.

Kang Ning looked at Qu Mengmeng with a wry smile. “Mengmeng, why didn’t you tell me you and that kid Wang never actually registered the marriage? I had to put on a solemn act for nothing!”

Only then did Qu Mengmeng realize. “Oh! I completely forgot. My parents were always pressuring me, and I just assumed they’d done it for me. I was so scared for no reason.”

Lu Jing and Zheng Yi exchanged surprised glances, then burst out laughing. Qu Mengmeng was not embarrassed. She asked Kang Ning loudly, “So, did their family agree to your terms?”

“They did, and swore that they’d never let him approach you again. Also, Wang Zhongnian promised to get your father promoted as soon as possible.” Kang Ning started the car, muttering under his breath, “Had I known there was no marriage registration, I wouldn’t have had to come. What a mess…”

“What did you say? Say that again if you dare!” Qu Mengmeng, hearing Kang Ning’s grumbling, lunged forward and mock-choked him in protest.

At that moment, Lu Jing, in the front passenger seat, stepped on the black nylon bag, picked it up curiously, and opened it—inside was a stack of one hundred thousand yuan. She immediately asked, “Where did this money come from?”

Qu Mengmeng let go and, together with Zheng Yi, squeezed forward to see. The three of them stared at Kang Ning.

As Kang Ning slowly drove out of the parking lot, he answered lightly, “Oh, I nearly forgot. Just now in the teahouse, I moved Deputy Director Wang and his wife to tears with my reasoning and sincerity. They were so touched that they pledged to reform themselves and do a better job raising the next generation! As a token of their sincerity, they immediately gave me this one hundred thousand yuan to pass on to you, Mengmeng, as compensation for your emotional distress. Please accept it, even if it’s a bit much. If you find it excessive, you can always share some with me—times are hard for me too, you know!”