Chapter 828: Unexpected Encounter

I turned to Bo Xilai who was next to me.

“Are you leaving already?”

“This has been a waste of my time. Let’s meet again in a few days to continue our business discussion.”

Bo Xilai nodded slowly.

“Alright, I’ll set up a meeting soon.”

After saying goodbye to Bo Xilai, I walked over to Cheon Ji-young who was helping Wei Zhengxing up.

“That’s enough, you don’t have to apologize anymore.”

“Thank you. I won’t ever show my face around here again.”

As I got closer, I could hear their conversation more clearly.

I lightly tapped Cheon Ji-young’s shoulder as she rolled her eyes in confusion and looked down at Wei Zhengxing.

“If you’re done apologizing, you can go now.”

Wei Zhengxing quickly got up, glanced at me and left the party.

Cheon Ji-young watched him leave and asked in a dazed voice.

“Oppa, what’s going on?”

“I just told him to apologize to you. But is this enough for you to forgive him?”

Cheon Ji-young nodded and said.

“Yeah, well he says he likes me. It’s not like that’s a crime punishable by death. He just went about it the wrong way.”

Her nonchalant answer left me speechless. How could she think that way?

Even after such a terrifying experience in an unfamiliar place with no one to help her.

“But how did you get him to do that?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cheon Ji-young glared at me with her eyes wide but I quickly changed the subject.

“So are you going to stay? I’m heading back to my room. Where’s yours?”

“You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah, cancel your room. Come with me, let’s catch up.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon Ji-young looked back at Ye Xiaotong with a troubled expression.

Ye Xiaotong smiled gracefully and nodded.

“Go ahead, don’t worry about me. It’s been a while for you two.”

“Sorry, Unnie! I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

Cheon Ji-young apologized and quickly took my arm.

“Let’s go! I’m hungry! Buy me something delicious.”

She’s old enough and has been in the workforce for a while, so why is she still like a child?

I shook off Cheon Ji-young’s arm and looked at her as if she were pathetic.

“Act your age.”

“What? What’s wrong with my age? It’s the perfect age to be spoiled by my Oppa.”

Cheon Ji-young shot back a playful remark and glared at me.

Just then, Ye Xiaotong approached me.

“Boss Kim Mu-hyeok.”

She called my name in a মধুর voice and I quietly turned to look at her.

“I’d like to meet you separately.”

“Is there a reason for me to meet you?”

“It will be mutually beneficial.”

I swallowed a sigh and asked to test her intentions.

“Did you approach Ji-young to get to me?”

“Oppa!”

At my blunt question, Cheon Ji-young smacked my arm and looked at Ye Xiaotong.

But Ye Xiaotong just smiled and shook her head.

“Haha, I found out later that Boss Kim Mu-hyeok was Ji-young’s cousin. Ji-young brags about you so much, how could I not know?”

Her soft voice was full of ease.

“Please contact me here. I’ll be in Shanghai for a few days.”

Ye Xiaotong took out a luxurious business card from her wallet and handed it to me.

I took the card without a word.

‘I’ll have to meet her and find out what she’s after.’

As I put the card away, Ye Xiaotong held out her hand.

“Don’t you have a card, Boss?”

Ye Xiaotong boldly asked for my business card.

I hesitated, wondering whether to give her mine or Manager Ma’s, and eventually took out my business card wallet.

I handed her a business card I had made specifically for use in China.

“Oh, this is a pretty card.”

Like most Chinese who love gold, she smiled at the gold business card.

“I’ll wait for your call. Or I might call you first.”

She gave me a smile, then turned to Cheon Ji-young.

“Let’s have lunch tomorrow, Ji-young.”

“Okay, Unnie.”

Having achieved her goal, Ye Xiaotong turned and disappeared into the crowd without any lingering attachment.

“Oppa.”

As I stared at the spot where Ye Xiaotong had disappeared, Cheon Ji-young called me.

“Ah, sorry. What do you want to eat?”

“Something expensive. Expensive and delicious.”

I took Cheon Ji-young and left the party.

Since it was late, there were no restaurants open so we ordered room service in my suite and talked.

“How did you meet Ye Xiaotong? You two are quite far apart in age.”

“Huh? Unnie? She was an investor in a movie I was in.”

With that, Cheon Ji-young began to prattle on about how she and Ye Xiaotong became close.

“Since then, whenever I come to China, we go shopping together, eat and we’ve become close. Sometimes we go on her yacht.”

I nodded slowly, organizing my thoughts.

An actress bonding with an investor. In a way, it was a common occurrence.

“But why do you ask? Don’t tell me…?”

Cheon Ji-young paused mid-sentence and poked her meat with a fork. She looked at me in shock.

I knew what she was thinking. I responded bluntly and pushed the meat closer to Cheon Ji-young.

“What are you thinking?”

“No way, right? She’s way older than you.”

“I know. Stop talking nonsense and eat.”

I chewed on my steak and organized my thoughts again.

According to Cheon Ji-young, it was possible that Ye Xiaotong hadn’t approached her intentionally.

But nothing in this world is a coincidence.

On the day I visited China after a long time, Ye Xiaotong happened to be at the party with Cheon Ji-young and created a connection with me. Was that really a coincidence?

I don’t know when or where this plan started but Ye Xiaotong must have approached Cheon Ji-young intentionally.

As I silently chewed on my meat, Cheon Ji-young asked.

“Why so serious? Is it a problem that I’m close with Ye Xiaotong?”

“No, it’s not a problem. But what does she do? Is she a businesswoman?”

“Yeah, she said she does a bit of everything. Why? Do you know her?”

“I’ve only heard her name. Has she ever asked about me?”

“I’ve talked about you before but she’s never asked me about you, not even once.”

She might have intentionally avoided mentioning me so as not to reveal her উদ্দেশ্য.

The more I thought about it, the more complicated it became.

“Never mind. I’ll find out when I meet her. Finish your food. Make sure you eat properly, you’re all skin and bones.”

“Ah, you’re just like an old man. I’m stressed about gaining weight these days, what are you talking about?”

Cheon Ji-young slammed her fork down and narrowed her eyes.

It’s fun to tease her.

“If that’s gaining weight, then everyone else must be pigs.”

“Ah, Oppa!”

Cheon Ji-young glared at me with her eyes wide and I eventually burst out laughing.

***

Back in his home in Shanghai, Wei Zhengxing thought about what happened today.

The fear, humiliation and insult he had experienced for the first time in his life. As it all came back to him vividly, his face contorted like a demon.

“This fucking! I! This I!”

Even with his servants lined up, Wei Zhengxing started smashing everything in the living room.

The servants trembled in the corner, unable to stop him.

After venting for a while, someone came to see Wei Zhengxing.

“Wei Zhengxing.”

At the familiar voice, Wei Zhengxing turned his head.

“Ye Xiaotong! This isn’t what we agreed on.”

It was Ye Xiaotong who came to see Wei Zhengxing.

“Agreement? What agreement? I just told you I was attending a party with Cheon Ji-young. What agreement did I make?”

“You didn’t step in when I was being humiliated, what were you doing!”

“What would change if I stepped in?”

Ye Xiaotong, who had been all smiles in front of Cheon Ji-young, was cold as ice in front of Wei Zhengxing.

Wei Zhengxing flinched at her sharp gaze and sighed.

“So why are you here today?”

Looking at the ruined living room, Ye Xiaotong shook her head.

“Let’s move somewhere else. We can’t talk here.”

Wei Zhengxing nodded and told the servants.

“Clean this up.”

Wei Zhengxing turned and headed for the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“You said we needed a quiet place? The bedroom is the quietest.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

At Ye Xiaotong’s sharp response, Wei Zhengxing awkwardly led her to the drawing room.

“What happened that made you kneel and beg like that? Tell me.”

As soon as they sat down on the sofa, she crossed her legs and asked.

Ye Xiaotong knew Wei Zhengxing well.

Wei Zhengxing was known for being arrogant within the Princelings, relying on his father’s backing.

She also knew very well that he was a lecher.

This meant he was the perfect pawn to see how Kim Mu-hyeok would react if Cheon Ji-young was in danger.

She had leaked Cheon Ji-young’s attendance to Wei Zhengxing and deliberately arrived late at the party.

But she never expected to witness such an outcome.

For the infamous Wei Zhengxing to kneel and beg for forgiveness. It was a world-shaking event.

So as soon as Kim Mu-hyeok and Cheon Ji-young left the party, she left the party and sought out Wei Zhengxing.

“Bo Xilai said he’d cut ties with me. That ungrateful bastard! All because of a Korean.”

“Is that all it takes for you to kneel? Tell me everything honestly.”

Wei Zhengxing was the type to scoff at Bo Xilai’s cutting ties.

“……”

“What is it that you can’t tell even me?”

The more Wei Zhengxing acted like this, the more curious Ye Xiaotong became.

“With your immense wealth, are you really worried about Bo Xilai cutting ties? You’d just find someone else to invest with, wouldn’t you? Tell me the truth. I need to know to help you.”

Ye Xiaotong’s connections were far better than Wei Zhengxing’s.

Despite being a woman, she had connections with high-ranking officials and handled various special favors solely through her network.

After a moment of hesitation, Wei Zhengxing slowly opened his mouth.

“He said he’d kill me. No, I almost died.”

As he spoke, Wei Zhengxing recalled that moment.

The moment when he couldn’t breathe and death loomed before his eyes.

He had experienced firsthand the saying that your life flashes before your eyes before you die and he trembled without realizing it.

Seeing Wei Zhengxing’s reaction, Ye Xiaotong’s eyes filled with interest.

“You almost died?”

Wei Zhengxing nodded and told her everything exactly as it happened.

“Kim Mu-hyeok that person. They say he’s arrogant but he really has no fear. I never imagined he’d try to kill you.”

After hearing everything, Ye Xiaotong decided to revise her assessment of Kim Mu-hyeok.

And she decided to use Wei Zhengxing to provoke Kim Mu-hyeok further.

“So are you going to let it go?”

“What can I do against a madman? Especially one backed by Chairman Hu Jintao.”

“Hmm. I must have misjudged you. To think you’d hide like a rained-on dog after being humiliated by a Korean.”

“What? You think words are all it takes? Are you looking down on me now too?”

Wei Zhengxing was angered by Ye Xiaotong’s insulting remarks.

But that reaction was exactly what Ye Xiaotong wanted.

“What are you going to do, just stare? Are you really going to let it go?”

“Do you have a plan?”

Wei Zhengxing was indeed a simple man. Ye Xiaotong’s lips curled into a smile.

“I’ll introduce you to someone.”

“Someone?”

“An organization that does anything for money. With your money, you could make even a ghost dance.”

“I know about the Triads! But what can mere gangsters do?”

At Wei Zhengxing’s words, Ye Xiaotong scoffed.

“They’re not mere gangsters. They’re a secret organization made up of former special forces.”

“Special forces?”

Ye Xiaotong nodded with a knowing look.

“Yes. Trust me and meet them. You won’t regret it. But you have to meet them yourself. If you send a proxy, they’ll come back as a corpse.”

“What?”

“It’s a secret organization. Even if I introduce you, they won’t meet you unless you go yourself. Because of confidentiality, the proxy will die.”

At the grim words, Wei Zhengxing swallowed hard.

“What kind of people are they?”

“Don’t just ask, go see for yourself.”

Ye Xiaotong picked up a memo pad from the table.

Then she took out a fountain pen from her bag and wrote down an address.

“Don’t tell anyone, go alone. And say you’re here on my introduction. Take this card.”

Ye Xiaotong handed Wei Zhengxing a black business card.

It was a different kind of card from the one she had given Kim Mu-hyeok.

Wei Zhengxing took the card and memo and stared at them for a long time. Then he looked up at Ye Xiaotong again.

“What if it fails? If he finds out I ordered it, I’m really dead. He really looked like he’d kill me. Especially the look in his bodyguard’s eyes.”

“Don’t worry. Even if it fails, he won’t know you ordered it. Why do you think they still exist? Because they don’t disclose information about their clients. Or do you not trust me, Ye Xiaotong?”

At her confident words, Wei Zhengxing finally nodded and put the memo and card away.

Having finished her business, Ye Xiaotong stood up.

“I’ll be going. See you later.”

After Ye Xiaotong left, Wei Zhengxing closed his eyes and organized his thoughts.

When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a crazed, eerie glint.

***

“Nice to meet you, Boss Kim Mu-hyeok.”

A few days later, I met with Ye Xiaotong.

“Nice to meet you.”

I shook her hand and sat down. There was no one else in the spacious restaurant.

“There are no other customers.”

“Hehe, I rented out the whole place for today.”

So she has that kind of money. I nodded silently and looked at the man standing behind Ye Xiaotong.

The sharp-featured man stood guard behind Ye Xiaotong with an impassive expression.

“He’s my bodyguard. You can think of him as not being here.”

I didn’t like her easygoing manner as she lifted her wine glass so I decided to shake her up a bit.

“Ye Xiaotong, do you not wonder who your father is?”