Amidst her fury, the fierce Miss Qiao yelled into the phone, "Fuck! I'm already taken! Wait until I'm done serving you before you come!"
After saying that, she casually threw the phone away... with a bang, it landed on the door not far from the living room.
Immediately, the door opened, and Hammer pushed it open and poked his head out, saying in a wooden voice, "Who's knocking on my door? Are you going out for dinner?"
But then I saw that I had one arm around Qiaoqiao's shoulder, and the two of us were embracing...
Under Miss Qiao's almost murderous gaze, Hammer quickly shouted, "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything!!" With that, he closed the door and retreated as if fleeing for his life.
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Seventy-Five: Yang Wei's...First Kiss?
At eight o'clock in the evening, Qiaoqiao and I attended the dinner party hosted by Yang Wei's family.
The phone call and the hammer in the afternoon unintentionally disrupted that delicate atmosphere. After all, intimacy between men and women requires the right atmosphere; without a special occasion, atmosphere, and mood, neither of them felt that spark.
I told Qiaoqiao that there was a dinner party hosted by Yang Wei's family that evening, so we called room service. Qiaoqiao and I had a simple dinner and then went back to our rooms to get ready. I wore a suit, and while I was waiting outside, I saw Qiaoqiao come out in a bright red outfit.
She wore a vibrant, fiery red evening gown. The fitted, simple cut, along with the delicate pleats on the skirt, exuded an air of understated elegance. Normally, such a bright red evening gown could easily appear gaudy if not worn properly, but on Qiao Qiao, this gown made her, already radiant, even more dazzling and captivating, like a fiery rose in full bloom!
Yang Wei didn't come to find us that evening. Instead, she sent someone to our room to lead us to the banquet.
The banquet was held in a restaurant downstairs from the hotel. This wasn't my first time attending such a so-called high-society event, and Qiaoqiao, coming from a wealthy family, was even more of an expert. As we entered the banquet hall, Qiaoqiao's radiant beauty immediately attracted the attention of many men.
Although Yang Wei said it was a small banquet for their family, I roughly estimated that there were at least nearly a hundred guests present!
A band was playing soft serenades nearby, and every guest in the banquet hall, regardless of gender, was impeccably dressed. I also noticed that many of the guests seemed to be of Chinese descent, and there were quite a few Asians as well.
I spotted Yang Wei from afar. She was whispering something to a man who looked to be in his forties. She looked up and saw me, giving me a slight smile. When she saw Qiao Qiao beside me, a flicker of disappointment seemed to flash in Yang Wei's eyes for a moment. However, she quickly regained her composure.
Tonight, Yang Wei wore a black evening gown, her hair styled in an updo, looking like an elegant noblewoman. She gracefully walked to Qiao Qiao and me.
"You've arrived." Yang smiled gently, then looked at Qiao Qiao and said, "You look beautiful tonight."
Qiao Qiao, however, seemed to be doing it on purpose, her gaze sweeping over Yang Wei's chest... then she twitched the corners of her mouth, revealing a sly smile: "Miss Yang, I feel like you seem... well, much fuller tonight than during the day."
Although I didn't say anything... well, to be honest, I did think that Yang Wei looked particularly feminine in that black evening dress tonight. Especially her breasts, they did seem to have become quite fuller.
Yang Wei seemed to be taken aback by Qiao Qiao's words, and looked a little embarrassed. She seemed about to retort, but Qiao Qiao chuckled and said, "No need to explain. We're all women, I can understand."
Even though Yang Wei was very patient, she was still a woman, and her face turned pale. She finally took a deep breath and looked at Qiao Qiao: "Chen Yang, my uncle is over there. I'll go over and tell him first, and then I'll come back and take you to see him."
I was a little dazed, lost in thought because of Qiao Qiao's words, my gaze involuntarily drifting to Yang Wei's chest... I only snapped back to reality when Yang Wei called me. Yang Wei noticed my gaze, her face instantly turning bright red. She glared at me fiercely, then gave Qiao Qiao a somewhat annoyed look. Qiao Qiao, however, made a face at her and stuck out her tongue.
Yang Wei was both angry and embarrassed. She stomped her foot, turned around, and left.
I looked at Qiaoqiao, and said in a low, frowning voice, "Qiaoqiao, you should..."
"Shh..." Qiao Qiao put a finger to her lips and laughed, "Didn't you notice? When Yang Wei was arguing with me during the day, she seemed very calm, as if she didn't care what I said, but it was all an act... You see, she actually does care! During the day, I laughed at her for having small breasts, and at night, I don't know what tricks she played, probably wearing some kind of magic bra to make her bust bigger... Hahaha... When it comes to women's minds, I understand them much better than you! Humph, no matter how smart and calm she is, there's no woman in this world who doesn't care about her bust size!"
"Qiaoqiao, that's enough." I said seriously, "She didn't mean any harm, and she's my friend who has helped me a lot."
“OK, I didn’t mean any harm.” Qiao Qiao smiled, but the cunning look in her eyes couldn’t be hidden from me. “However, I won’t just stand by and watch her steal my man! Hmm… my man and Yan Di’s man! There’s nothing I, Qiao Qiao, can’t handle! Don’t worry, I won’t confront her anymore, I have other ways.”
I was speechless, but since she promised not to confront Yang Wei, that's good. Sigh!
After Yang Wei finished speaking with her uncle, she returned, having regained her composure. She looked at me and said, "Chen Yang, alright. My uncle said he'd like you to go to the conference room to talk to him after the banquet. Now, let me show you around. There are quite a few guests; you might as well make friends with them. It might be beneficial for your career." She then glanced at Qiao Qiao: "Would you mind if I borrow your male companion for a moment?" She paused, seemingly still angry despite her calm exterior, and couldn't help but retort to Qiao Qiao, "You wouldn't be able to bear leaving him even for a moment, would you…?"
Qiao Qiao looked at Yang Wei, blinked, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly smiled: "Miss Yang Wei."
"Hmm?" Yang Wei responded, but her eyes were wary.
"I heard you say during the day that women who embarrass men in public are foolish. That makes a lot of sense, so let's call a truce for now, okay?"
Yang Wei seemed slightly surprised, but she quickly smiled and said, "Okay, deal." Then she added with a smile, "Alright, as long as you don't argue with me anymore, let's go for a walk together."
Then, accompanied by Yang Wei, Qiao Qiao and I walked around the banquet hall with her, getting to know some of the guests that evening, all of whom were quite prominent figures. Yang Wei introduced herself as being from Vancouver, Canada. To some guests, she didn't elaborate on my identity, but to others, she openly introduced me as the head of the Big Circle. And the other guests didn't seem particularly surprised.
I understand that a family that runs a casino is bound to have ties to the underworld. There are certainly many members of underworld families among these guests as well.
"Why isn't your uncle seeing me now?" I hesitated for a moment, but still asked.
Yang Wei sighed, then smiled and raised her glass to a couple of guests standing in the distance. She took a small sip of her drink and quickly explained in a low voice, "Did you see those two white men next to my uncle? They're talking about something and can't be there right now. I'm sorry, it's not that my uncle is trying to neglect you, please don't misunderstand."
I smiled and said, "Of course I don't misunderstand you. I'm just a little worried about the deal involving meeting your uncle."
Yang Wei thought for a moment, but even while contemplating, she maintained a captivating smile, constantly nodding and smiling at the surrounding guests, even raising her glass in a toast. At the same time, she softly said, “Chen Yang, I’m not lying to you. Money laundering is indeed one of our family’s businesses, but there are two problems. Money laundering is no ordinary business! It carries risks, so generally, our family only does this kind of business for established, close clients. As for you, to my uncle, you are a complete stranger, and… to put it bluntly, your reputation in the industry isn’t necessarily good in North America. Secondly… how much money do you need to launder in a year? Not to mention that our family doesn’t currently need large sums of money… and you, how much money can you provide for us to manage in a year? I’ve calculated that you can come up with at most 80 to 100 million US dollars… For a family like ours, that amount of money isn’t really a big deal.”
Qiaoqiao suddenly interjected, "Oh, so your uncle deliberately wanted to keep Chen Yang waiting, to put on a show before discussing the price?"
Yang Wei's eyes lit up, and she glanced at Qiao Qiao with a hint of surprise. She narrowed her eyes, held her wine glass, and smiled, "I don't deny he had that intention... but it's a normal part of business negotiations, so I don't need to hide it. Everyone understands, right?" She smiled again, looking at Qiao Qiao, "I didn't realize you were so knowledgeable about business. Oh, I don't mean any sarcasm, just a genuine compliment; I think you're very smart."
Qiao Qiao remained noncommittal, offering a faint smile. Then, amidst elegant, flower-like smiles, the two women raised their glasses, clinked them together, and took a small sip of wine…
"So, how much is your uncle going to ask for?" I frowned. "If the price is too high, I'd rather go find someone else."
"Sigh." Yang Wei sighed, a hint of apology in her eyes. "Chen Yang, I don't want to hide it from you. I suspect my uncle's asking price won't be low. I'm sorry, this is all I can do to help you. I've tried my best to persuade my uncle, but as you know, this business isn't under my jurisdiction within the family, and I can't interfere. All I've done is try my best to speak on your behalf and influence my uncle's decision. But he's a very opinionated person, and in a family like ours, my personal relationship with you won't be considered by my uncle. He's always only concerned with profit."
A strange look flashed in Qiao Qiao's eyes. She then gave Yang Wei a deep look and smiled slightly, saying, "Hmm, Yang Wei, it seems you are quite biased towards Xiao Wu."
"Yes, we are friends," Yang Wei replied calmly.
Just then, a familiar, clear voice suddenly came from the side. A pleasant baritone voice rang out from the left: "I'm really surprised, my God, to see so many old friends here... Oh, Yang Wei, why didn't you tell me that Chen Yang and Qiao Qiao would also be here?"
As I was speaking, I saw a tall, slender figure walk over.
Li Wenjing!
He seemed to have lost some weight, and his hair had grown longer, giving him an even more elegant air. He wore a white evening tuxedo with delicate lace trim on the collar of his shirt, and held a tall wine glass filled with golden champagne in one hand. His fingers were long and strong, and combined with his handsome and charming face, he looked every bit the elegant nobleman.
He walked over with a smile, looked at Qiaoqiao and me standing together, his eyes quickly swept over Qiaoqiao's arm that was linked with mine, smiled slightly, and then extended his hand to me: "How have you been lately, my friend?"
I paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect to see you here." After I shook hands with him, Qiao Qiao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Wenjing. "Huh? Sissy, how come I see you everywhere? Why aren't you in Toronto? What are you doing here?"
Li Wenjing deliberately looked at Yang Wei and said in a slightly reproachful tone, "Yang Wei, this is your mistake. Why didn't you tell me that Chen Yang and Qiao Qiao would also be attending tonight?"
Yang Wei smiled, pursing her lips. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know you knew Miss Qiao Qiao." However, Yang Wei was incredibly clever; her eyes suddenly lit up. Suppressing a laugh, she looked at Qiao Qiao, then at Li Wenjing. "Good heavens, could it be that the fiancée who broke off the engagement and dumped you, the one everyone's been talking about, is Qiao Qiao?"
Li Wenjing showed no anger whatsoever, seemingly unconcerned about the awkward question: "You really guessed right. But that engagement was just an excuse for the two of us to deal with our elders. Qiaoqiao and I are just good friends, right, Qiaoqiao?"
Qiao Qiao thought for a moment, then sighed: "Not bad, although you're not a great person, you've at least helped me a lot. Yes, that's right, we're friends."
“Alright, ladies. I’m sorry, we need to step away for a moment. Please allow us to discuss some matters between gentlemen.” Li Wenjing gave a slight, elegant bow. He pulled me aside. Yang smiled, raised his glass, and remained silent. Qiao Qiao muttered under her breath, “Pretentious.”
Li Wenjing and I walked to the side and stood about seven or eight meters away from Qiao Qiao and Yang Wei, watching the two women in the distance who seemed to be talking about something.
"Chen Yang, what are you doing in Las Vegas?" Li Wenjing's unhurried voice rang out from the side. "Oh, right, perhaps I should call you Brother Wu. Or... Fifth Master?"
I gave a wry smile. I glanced at him and said, "So you already know."
"This commotion in Vancouver is quite significant! Besides, I was in Toronto recently, how could I not know?" Li Wenjing's voice was calm, making it impossible to discern his true intentions. "However, I didn't expect you to do such a brilliant job at first! Hey! You swept the Vietnamese out of Vancouver in one fell swoop, then unified the Vancouver underworld, and even extended your reach to the sea! You decisively gave up the drug trade, in exchange for Mr. Thorin of the Hells Angels' tacit approval of your control over Vancouver! But you fully utilized this, unifying the Vancouver underworld forces, and then began to dominate this port city to monopolize the smuggling business... It's simply brilliant!" Li Wenjing exclaimed in admiration, then whispered, "What a pity! I tried to recruit you back then. I always thought you were a valuable asset and wanted you to work for my family. Now I didn't expect you to do such an outstanding job, even exceeding my expectations. But I'm afraid that with your current status as the powerful Fifth Master in Vancouver, it's impossible for you to come and help me again."
I smiled and said sincerely, "Thank you for your appreciation, but we can also cooperate if the opportunity arises."
"Oh. By the way, seeing you and Qiaoqiao... well, it seems you really did take the advice I gave you back in China." Li Wenjing smiled happily.
I was taken aback for a moment, and he said softly, "You and Qiaoqiao, I said before that among the three of you, choosing one to be with Qiaoqiao would be the most suitable."
I remained silent, just smiled, and said nothing.
My gaze drifted to Qiao Qiao in the distance, and I saw her smiling, raising her wine glass, clinking glasses with Yang Wei again… Huh? How come these two women are getting along so well again?!
"Chen Yang, tell me, what exactly are you doing in Las Vegas? You've abandoned so many businesses in Vancouver to come here. You couldn't have just come for a vacation with Qiao Qiao, could you? Hmm, with your current status, there must be some profitable business here! Why don't you tell me? Maybe I'll be interested. Let's see if there's any opportunity for cooperation." Li Wenjing smiled, his eyes narrowed. "I happen to have some spare funds recently."
I hesitated for a moment, glanced at Li Wenjing, but also felt that I might be able to find some opportunity with him, and slowly said, "Well, you know, I've now extended my reach to the sea, but my annual income still needs to have a legal source..."
"Ah!" Li Wenjing immediately understood. After all, he was also an extremely intelligent person, and his IQ was definitely not lower than Yang Wei's! The reason why Yang Wei was able to guess my difficulties so quickly, while Li Wenjing had to ask before he could figure it out, was entirely because Yang Wei had been helping me complete my career, so she had always paid close attention to me.
Li Wenjing's gaze became somewhat inscrutable. He seemed to be weighing something, and after careful consideration, he said, "Hmm, money laundering. It's a good business. But you've found Yang Wei's family... I'm afraid even if you have a good relationship with Yang Wei, this business will be somewhat difficult."
Sure enough, even Li Wenjing said so, it seems that the prospects for this cooperation may not be so smooth!
I couldn't help but frown.
Li Wenjing continued, "Hmm. If it were me, based on my understanding of you, I would do business with you without hesitation, because I think you would be a smart partner, and there would definitely be a promising future with you! But unfortunately, Yang Wei's uncle doesn't know you, nor does he understand you as well as I do... As far as he is concerned, he will only consider the Big Circle that you currently lead... After all, the Big Circle doesn't have a good reputation. In the past, your Big Circle was too murderous and very powerful, but it may not have known how to do business."
I admit it. What Li Wenjing said is true.
However, his tone changed again, and he said in a low voice, "Well, but perhaps you're not without a chance... Well, how about this? The two of us might be able to cooperate."
A thought struck me, and I raised an eyebrow, looking at this guy. I knew Li Wenjing was a shrewd man; he wouldn't help me casually…
"Hmm, I heard that you made a deal with Sorin using the drug trade. What you got in return was a small share of the group company under Sorin's control, right?" Li Wenjing smiled and said, "Well then. I won't hide it from you. Tonight's banquet is to celebrate the opening of a new casino. Besides the Yang Wei family's funds, I also have a share in this casino. If you're willing, I can promise you that any money laundering funds you need in the future can be processed through this casino. After all, I'm also a shareholder, and I have that authority."
My eyes lit up: "What's the price? What's your offer!"
"I want the shares of Sorin's company that you own, how about it?"
"No way." I refused outright, giving Li Wenjing a meaningful look: "Your appetite is too big."
Are you kidding me! I traded my entire drug trade for shares in the Sorin Company! You can imagine how valuable those shares are!
"Don't get excited. I don't want you to give it to me for free. I can buy it at market price." Li Wenjing smiled happily.
I quickly did the calculations, but still shook my head: "Sorry, no, I can't accept this condition."
I cannot relinquish the shares held by Thorin! It's not just a matter of price! With shares in the Thorin Group, I become Thorin's ally! Because of this ally status, Thorin tacitly allows me to maintain control of Vancouver, and his Hells Angels voluntarily step back! If I rashly sell my shares in the Thorin Group, I don't know if I'll offend Thorin! If I fall out with Thorin, and his Hells Angels come back to Vancouver to seize my territory… at least for now, that's not something I can contend with.
Li Wenjing wasn't upset at my rejection; he just smiled and said, "Alright, since you don't want to, then forget it. A gentleman doesn't take what others want." Then he added with a smile, "Okay, let's go back, otherwise the ladies will be getting impatient..."
Suddenly, when his gaze drifted towards Qiao Qiao and Yang Wei, he froze!
When I followed his gaze, I froze completely.
Just ten meters away, I saw Qiao Qiao embrace Yang Wei with fiery passion! She put one arm around Yang Wei's waist and then pressed her whole body against her. Yang Wei was obviously flustered and seemed to be resisting, but who was Qiao Qiao?
Damn, her methods of flirting with girls are even more skillful than the most seasoned perverts!
Qiaoqiao wasn't stronger than Yang Wei, but she subtly used her shoulder to press down on one of Yang Wei's arms, preventing Yang Wei from struggling. At the same time, she pressed down on her upper body, causing Yang Wei to involuntarily lean backward in her arms, her waist even forming a ninety-degree angle with the ground...
As one might imagine, the normal human body reaction is that when a person falls backward and loses balance, their hands will involuntarily reach up to try to regain their balance.
So, unfortunately, Yang Wei's arm was pinned down by Qiao Qiao's shoulder and she couldn't move it. Her other hand thrashed around a few times, but ended up grabbing Qiao Qiao's shoulder involuntarily...
At this moment, Qiao Qiao wrapped one arm around Yang Wei's waist and leaned down. Yang Wei leaned back, her other arm still "holding" Qiao Qiao's shoulder. Then, under the surprised gazes of many around them, Qiao Qiao wore a sly smile, while Yang Wei's eyes clearly showed panic. The usually calm and composed Yang Wei suddenly seemed like a weak little girl, at a loss for what to do. Then, just as she finally remembered that she could scream... Qiao Qiao swiftly lowered her face and kissed Yang Wei's lips...
Yang Wei only managed to let out a soft hum through her nose before her mouth was covered by Qiao Qiao's...
A classic Hollywood movie kiss!
Pfft! I had just taken a sip of wine, and I spat it all out on the spot!!
Li Wenjing, standing beside him, looked as if he had seen a ghost!
My mind was completely blank at that moment, and I couldn't even remember how long the kiss lasted. I even saw that Yang Wei's body seemed to have completely gone limp; she was probably completely dumbfounded... I think even if Yang Wei was exceptionally intelligent, she would never have imagined that one day she would be forcibly kissed in public... and by a woman no less!