Chapter 293 - Putting on a show
The troublemakers instantly attracted the attention of the guests. Kim Jung-ho wore a grave expression, since these people came with ill intentions. Kang Eun-tae brought a few lackeys to trash the place.
"What? You don't dare to take the challenge?" Kang Eun-tae smiled as he continued, "If you don't dare, then why don't you close down this medical center of yours?"
When Liu Ruochen came to Su Tao's side, she gave him an eye-signal. Although she couldn't understand Korean, she could roughly guess what was happening. However, Su Tao calmly shook his head, signaling to watch the show and not interfere.
Letting out a sigh, Kim Jung-ho said, "Since I'm opening a medical center, I will naturally attend to any patients. Since you've come to provide me business, I will give you this face. Come to the consultation room!"
The group chuckled and followed Kim Jung-ho into the consultation room. A brief moment later, a commotion came from inside and the noise grew louder. There were painful shrieks and a ruckus of chairs and tables being smashed.
Kim Jung-yeon grew anxious in this situation as she walked over and tried to open the consultation room. However, the door was locked shut. Thus, she immediately took out her phone and dialed for the police.
"I never expected that there would be scum everywhere!" Liu Ruochen showed a grave expression. Although she disliked the lustful gaze that Kim Jung-ho gave whenever he's looking at her, she still had a pretty decent impression of him.
Today was the grand opening of Kim Jung-ho's medical center, and it was incomprehensible for someone to make trouble at this time.
"You want to help him?" Su Tao asked.
"I don't have that ability!" Liu Ruochen blinked as she continued, "But you might be able to help him."
She knew that Su Tao was skillful, and it would be easy for him to deal with those people.
However, Su Tao gave a complicated smile. Then he shook his head and remained silent.
Shortly after, the door of the consultation room was opened, and everyone was surprised. Kim Jung-ho had no injuries on him with a casual smile hanging on the corner of his lips. He was dragging Kang Eun-tae by the collar and threw the fellow out. While he was doing that, he even gave a kick at the latter's butt.
After that, he walked back into the consultation room and threw the lackeys out as well.
"Wow!" Kim Jung-ho's dashing silhouette instantly caused everyone to look at him in admiration.
So the TKM representative wasn't only good in his medical skills, but he was also skilled in fights. A guy like him who looked like a celebrity with domineering inner qualities was a lady killer.
"Sorry to have made all of you worried." Kim Jung-ho politely apologised to his guests before he continued, "Once again, I welcome everyone here. It will be lunchtime soon, and I have prepared delicacies in the dining hall for everyone."
"I never expected that Kim Jung-ho would be pretty good in fights as well!" Liu Ruochen was surprised. Her impression of Kim Jung-ho has undergone a drastic change.
"You're wrong!" Su Tao shook his head with a smile. He never expected that even someone as intelligent as she would be fooled.
"Wrong?" Liu Ruochen looked at Su Tao in perplexion. Su Tao seemed to have seen through this entire incident.
Letting out a sigh, Su Tao moved to Liu Ruochen and explained his own view. Upon hearing his explanation, Liu Ruochen's gaze had changed once again when she looked at Kim Jung-ho.
"It's necessary to use some means if you want to build your fame. Kim Jung-ho might seem like a gentleman, but he's actually cunning. He's an opponent with both high EQ and IQ." Su Tao suppressed his voice as he said with confidence.
His eyesight was keen, and when Kang Eun-tae left, he could tell that those injuries on the man's face were artificial. Those weren't genuine bruises, they were done with makeup. Thus, he immediately analysed that Kang Eun-tae coming over with some lackeys was just a show.
The reason was simple. The event would be too dull, and with this show, there would be a story for everyone to talk about. It was a marketing gimmick to beautify Kim Jung-ho and his medical center.
In the path of seeking fame, one had to learn how to package themselves. Occasionally, they're also required to create some incidents. Kim Jung-ho was thinking a step further, and there was a reason why he could enjoy such a high reputation in South Korea. Such as creating scandals with female celebrities, and looking at the current situation, it was probably something he created.
At the same time, Kim Jung-ho had also given Su Tao some insight. Occasionally, he had to learn from Kim Jung-ho if he wanted to promote TCM by packaging himself. When the three were walking together, there was bound to be something to learn. Being together with someone like Kim Jung-ho, Su Tao could occasionally pick up something from the former. Although Su Tao considered himself to be cunning, he never expected that Kim Jung-ho wouldn't be inferior to him.
When they came to the dining room, Kim Jung-ho walked over with a glass of wine and smiled. "Sorry to show that embarrassing scene."
Raising his thumbs, Su Tao replied, "My branch in He City will soon open, and I can use your technique at that time. Yeah, I can get a few actors to play a show!"
Those words made Kim Jung-ho stunned as he looked at Su Tao with a complicated view before bursting into laughter to conceal his embarrassment and patted on Su Tao's shoulder. "I never expected you to see through it!"
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone!" Su Tao gave a promise as he gulped down the alcohol in his glass.
When Kim Jung-ho drank his wine, he could feel a burning sensation in his throat. He initially thought highly of himself, since his show seemed to have fooled everyone. Just a moment ago, many people applauded him for being fearless in the face of danger and punishing the evildoers. It was so much so that even his younger sister, Kim Jung-yeon, was looking at him in admiration. However, he never expected that his act would be seen through by this young physician from China.
Then again, Kim Jung-ho did not feel that it was embarrassing. He had his own thoughts, and he had to increase his fame by packaging himself if he wanted to promote TKM. Once he has a huge fanbase, he would be able to make use of this power to hammer TKM into the hearts of everyone.
Facing Su Tao, Kim Jung-ho could feel his confidence dropping. It was as if Su Tao could see through anything with his eyes, and it was a blow to his confidence when facing such an opponent.
Looking at Kim Jung-ho toasting his glass in a foul mood, Liu Ruochen smiled. "Why do I smell something burning?"
"His objective wasn't pure when he wanted me to attend the grand opening of his medical center. He wanted to strike a blow at my confidence." Su Tao shrugged before he continued, "It is already polite of me to not publicly expose him."
His words made Liu Ruochen feel more interested, before she commented, "I never expected that Kim Jung-ho was someone like this."
Shaking his head, Su Tao sighed, "This is also related to the current culture in South Korea, which emphasises heavily on one's appearance."
Letting out a sigh, Liu Ruochen showed a wry smile. "This is actually the cultural state in the country as well."
"So, I have to change a little and establish a TCM Empire so that the position of TCM will be stabilised." Su Tao smiled.
That was a grand project. Despite the group that he has gathered, he still needed more support. In his view, Liu Ruochen was something that he could convince.
With a flicker in her eyes, Liu Ruochen was just as Su Tao had expected. "We can indeed try to cooperate."
Although the Aqua Cloud Stream's foundation wasn't as sturdy as the Medical Dao Sect and Medicine King Valley, it had spread throughout the country under Liu Ruochen's management. She had her own channels, and the Three Flavour Hall would be able to gain control of the information system in the market by cooperating with the Aqua Cloud Stream. He would also be able to obtain reliable statistics and information for investments and strategic locations.
The meal for the past few days was paired with Kimchi, and Su Tao grew weary of it. Thus, he briefly stuffed his stomach before bidding farewell with Kim Jung-ho and left with Liu Ruochen.
"Oppa, why did Su Tao leave?" Kim Jung-yeon asked in a disappointed tone.
"He has other things to attend to, and he was already giving me face my coming over on the grand opening of my medical center." Kim Jung-ho spoke without any expression on his face, but he was somewhat guilty in his heart, since he had left something in Su Tao's hand. Although he Believed that Su Tao wouldn't tell anyone, it still felt akin to having a fishbone stuck in his throat.
Deep in his bones, Kim Jung-ho was a prideful person. Although today's show was smooth, he felt a sense of defeat, since his rival had seen through the act.
When Su Tao and Liu Ruochen returned to the hotel through a cab, Su Tao initially wanted to invite Liu Ruochen to his room for a cup of tea to discuss the cooperation between the Three Flavour Hall and Aqua Cloud Stream. However, he instantly changed his plan after swiping his hotel card. He smiled and turned to Liu Ruochen. "I feel a little weird, and I want to take a shower. I'll visit you after I'm done!"
Looking at Su Tao with a complicated gaze, Liu Ruochen knew that Su Tao had showered in the morning. So why was he going to shower again? Does he have mysophobia?
However, a man with mysophobia wasn't hateful.
Seeing Liu Ruochen's complicated gaze directed at him, Su Tao's face couldn't help turning red. When he saw Liu Ruochen entering her room, his brows locked together and he held his breath, then opened the door. His sense of smell was keen, and he could sense a peculiar fragrance coming from the room despite the door being closed. After experiencing an attack from Sim Chang-suk, he kept his alert high at all times. He knew that there were dangers in the room, which might be Master Qian from Thailand targeting him again.
When he entered, he casually took a few steps forward before suddenly powerlessly falling onto the ground.
His acting skills were superb, and he gave himself 120 marks this time.
A silhouette flickered in from the balcony. He had a skinny frame with a Krabi that had a two-inch wooden hilt in his mouth.
He was Master Qian's disciple, Bassoon. His movements were unusual, he carefully crawled toward Su Tao like a lizard.
His posture was professional and cunning, since he might be attacked if his target was pretending to faint. Thus, he lowered his center of gravity to reduce the damage he might receive from a counterattack.