Chapter 312 - I’m Superficial
The incident in Park Joong-sun's wedding was spread amongst the upper circle of South Korea. Even if Kwon Woo-bin left with his tail between his legs, the Park Family was embarrassed by this matter.
However, Su Tao's name had, once again, resounded throughout South Korea. Someone anonymously shared the video of Su Tao fighting with Jeong Ho-bin, which gave another boost to Su Tao's fan club. It was as if Su Tao was determined to be famous on this trip to South Korea.
Murong Hong's countenance was grim as he looked at the letter on the table and his finger tapped on the couch. When Wang Guofeng came in and saw Murong Hong's face, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"This was sent from the TKM Association. Take a look at it yourself!" Murong Hong's gaze was still glued to the letter.
When Wang Guofeng took the letter, he swiftly read through it, and his face turned unsightly. He immediately raged, "That's against the rules!"
Waving his hand, Murong Hong sighed, "I'm afraid that they have an objective by requesting Su Tao's participation in the International Medical Summit. Since the other party has given us a challenge, then we can't cower from it!"
After a brief pause, Wang Guofeng reminded, "Su Tao can't take up this task. The opponent is Kim Jung-ho, and I once fought with him. Not only is his foundation in TKM sturdy, but he is also versed in Western Medicine. Facing such a strong opponent, how can we place our hopes on Su Tao?! He might have been dazzling last year, but his foundation isn't sturdy!"
With a wry smile, Murong Hong nodded his head. "I share the same thoughts as you. So I will respond to the TKM Association. We can accept their challenge, but we must change our candidate. This is the reason why I called you over. I'd like to ask you if you're confident in facing the challenge."
Without any hesitation, Wang Guofeng replied, "Of course! I was only careless in last year's exchange and lost to Kim Jung-ho. In terms of ability or foundation, I won't lose to him again."
"You've not disappointed me!" Murong Hong smiled. "Don't worry about it. I will communicate with the TKM Association about this matter. Since it's a competition, then we naturally have to send over our strongest candidate."
Upon receiving Murong Hong's promise, Wang Guofeng felt relieved. Although he lost to both Su Tao and Kim Jung-ho in the past, that didn't mean anything. In the TCM circle, he was still the proper heir.
Hence, Murong Hong gave the TKM Association a call. After hearing Murong Hong's request, the staff responded that he had to report this matter to his superiors first before any decisions could be made.
Roughly half an hour later, Murong Hong received a reply. The TKM Association has rejected their request for Wang Guofeng to replace Su Tao. The reason was the lack of Wang Guofeng's reputation!
When Murong Hong received that answer, he was briefly stunned before he smiled. "Wang Guofeng is a publically known genius within China's TCM industry. His fame in the country is much higher than Su Tao's."
"Sorry about that, but Su Tao is now famous in South Korea. As for Wang Guofeng, we've not even heard of his name. According to what I know, Su Tao has already accepted Kim Jung-ho's challenge, and our letter was just a formality. Even if you don't agree with it, it won't affect their competition at the International Medical Summit." The staff replied with concise words as he rejected Murong Hong's suggestion.
"So, that's the case!" Murong Hong smiled. "Since your side has acknowledged Su Tao, then we will stick with that. But this competition does not represent China, so please emphasise that to the International Medical Summit's organising committee. Otherwise, I will inform the Foreign Affairs to issue a protest if there's any news that dishonors TCM."
There was a brief pause. The staff did not expect this attitude from Murong Hong; however, he still politely responded, "Thank you for your reminder. We will make it clear with the organising committee."
From Murong Hong's tone, Wang Guofeng could analyse their conversation and helplessly said, "It looks like we can only have Su Tao compete with Kim Jung-ho."
Nodding his head, Murong Hong sighed as well. "I just hope that he can win. Otherwise, TCM will be dishonored by TKM during this summit."
Despite his words, he knew in his heart that he had already been humiliated. From the TKM Association's attitude, they clearly believed in Su Tao more. Facing him, who was the leader that represented China's TCM, they only gave him a notice out of courtesy.
But he could understand their thoughts. Wang Guofeng's reputation was great in China, and everyone knew about him. But Wang Guofeng wasn't acknowledged in South Korea, not to mention that he lost to Kim Jung-ho last year in the exchange. So even if they competed again, it meant nothing, even if Kim Jung-ho won again.
After a brief pondering, Murong Hong took out the contact book and called Su Tao.
Su Tao soon picked up the phone. He had once met with Murong Hong, so he took the initiative to greet, "Hello, Senior Murong. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I heard that you'd made a decision yourself to compete with Kim Jung-ho during the International Medical Summit? I hope that you can inform the TKM Association to cancel this competition." Murong Hong's impression of Su Tao was pretty good, but he felt that the latter was still too inexperienced. He lacked consideration, which Murong Hong wasn't satisfied with that.
Su Tao soon understood the reason for the call and sighed, "I'm sorry, but I can't comply with your request!"
"You've disappointed me." Murong Hong sighed, before he continued to issue pressure, "We're now abroad, and have you ever thought how TCM's reputation will be affected if you lost? This is not a game, but it concerns the country's honor!"
"Firstly, I represented myself when I accepted Kim Jung-ho's challenge. As a person with integrity and pride, I won't take back my words. Secondly, TCM has already been humiliated during last year's exchange. As a member of the TCM industry, I have my own dreams. I will clean up your mess. Lastly, your words do not represent the country, so don't say that it concerns the country's glory!" Su Tao casually replied. His impression of Murong Hong was pretty good, and he knew that it was reasonable for the latter to have doubts about him.
"You!" Murong Hong felt greatly humiliated by those words, so he responded, "I will inform the Foreign Affairs about this matter! You still have a career, so don't ruin it because of your recklessness."
Hearing the threat coming from Murong Hong, Su Tao replied in a grave tone, "Thanks for your reminder, but my future is always in my hands!"
When Su Tao hung up the call on him, Murong Hong was infuriated and he shook his head. "How arrogant!"
Letting out a sigh, Wang Guofeng helplessly said from the side, "Don't get so agitated. I met him a few times, and he's truly an arrogant person."
Looking at Wang Guofeng, Murong Hong roared in his heart. You're in no position to fan the fire. If you had defeated Kim Jung-ho last year, would TCM be looked at with contempt by the TKM Association?
However, he kept his inner thoughts to himself and waved his hand. "Alright, leave me. I still have some matters to deal with."
Standing up, Wang Guofeng bowed before he left. When he closed the door, he could hear Murong Hong muttering to himself. He knew that Su Tao was in deep trouble this time. Murong Hong might not have the best medical skills in the country, but his connections weren't something to neglect. It was easy for Murong Hong to make trouble for Su Tao.
Half an hour later, Su Tao received a call from Dou Fanggang and smiled as he answered, "Hello, Old Dou. How are you?"
Dou Fanggang's voice was a little anxious as he asked, "Did you and Murong Hong have a conflict? He just called quite a bit of people in the TCM circle to ban you! Every industry has its own rules, and Murong Hong has so many friends. If he really wanted to ban you, you would be greatly affected!"
Wearing a smile on his lips, Su Tao asked, "What do you think of Senior Murong's breadth of mind?"
"He's still a righteous person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have friends all around!" Dou Fanggang was straightforward as he made a fair judgment.
"Old Dou, don't worry about it. Since he has a breadth of mind, then I'm confident about changing his attitude towards me before we return." Su Tao guaranteed with confidence.
"Alright then!" Dou Fanggang sighed. If it was in the country, he might be able to mediate this matter. Worse comes to worst; he could visit Murong Hong and pull Song Sichen along. But Su Tao and Murong Hong were overseas at the moment, so this conflict couldn't be mediated within a short time.
But it wasn't a big issue, since Murong Hong was a friendly person. His heart was soft, and this matter would be resolved with an apology from Su Tao.
Letting out a cough, Dou Fanggang continued, "Seems like you've not been peaceful in South Korea!"
Hearing those words, Su Tao was briefly stunned. Dou Fanggang led a simple lifestyle, and he didn't interact with the outside world that often. But could he have found out everything?
With a smile, Su Tao explained, "It's rare for me to be overseas, so I naturally have to play some tricks!"
Nodding his head, Dou Fanggang replied, "It's good to be young! But when my granddaughter saw you and that South Korean celebrity in the headlines, she cried for a few nights."
Upon hearing those words, Su Tao immediately replied, "Oh, I'm really sorry about that. But truth be told, I'm not compatible with her. Please mediate this matter and find a better man for her."
Dou Fanggang initially wanted to express how much his granddaughter valued Su Tao, but he did not expect to receive such a straightforward refusal from him. Since he couldn't carry on with this topic, he sighed, "It looks like the two of you are really not fated. What a pity, what a pity!"
When he hung up the phone, Su Tao let out a breath and saw Liu Ruochen looking at him with her lips pursed. Hence, he weakly said, "Don't laugh at me. Everyone has a weakness, and I admit that I'm superficial. I only like beautiful things in life!"