Lu Guang Ming wore the most expensive suit from Xie Jia Hua’s wardrobe, went to a shopping mall and matched it with a good pair of shoes, had his hair styled at a salon into a fashionable slicked-back look, then folded a decorative pocket square into the breast pocket of the suit and sprayed a little cologne at his elbows and beside his ears. Driving a rented Lamborghini, he headed to an upscale hotel on Hong Kong Island to attend a charity gala that evening.
The charity gala was funded and hosted by Chairman Qiao Chun An of Wo Yee Warehousing & Freight Company, with several other companies whose names also began with “Wo” serving as co-organizers. A number of celebrities, prominent figures, and socialites had also been warmly invited. Crowds flowed in and out of the venue as gentlemen in immaculate suits and elegantly dressed ladies arrived together, greeting one another. Two towering photographs of children from Central Africa, each as tall as a person, stood by the entrance, their obsidian-black eyes wide and pitiful.
Master Qiao, dressed in a traditional Tang suit, stood amiably beside the photographs greeting his guests. “Hey, Da Bing! You’re early!” “Old Fifth came too! Hahaha! No need for all that politeness, hurry inside! Hey, nobody leaves today without donating a million!” “Inspector Zheng! What an honor! Forgive me for not welcoming you properly! Adviser, hurry over. Come, come, accompany Inspector Zheng inside and show him around!”
Lu Guang Ming stepped out of the Lamborghini and casually tossed the keys to the valet. Before Master Qiao could even make out which young tycoon this was, Lu Guang Ming bounded up the steps and greeted him with a scorching bear hug. “Uncle Qiao! Long time no see!”
“Ah, ah…” Master Qiao stared blankly.
Lu Guang Ming grinned and leaned close to his ear. “My old man threw his back out on his second mistress the night before last and still can’t get out of bed. He had no choice but to send me in his place.”
Master Qiao had connections throughout both political and business circles. Anyone with a son in his early twenties who could drive a Lamborghini was bound to be either extremely powerful or extremely rich. He had not yet worked out which family’s young master Lu Guang Ming was when Lu Guang Ming swiftly planted a French-style kiss on his cheek and offered a fluent French blessing. “Félicitations, Uncle Qiao! I wish the gala every success!”
His eyes curved into crescents as he flashed a pure, lovable smile. Then he released Uncle Qiao and strode brightly and stylishly into the venue. Master Qiao was momentarily bewitched by the fragrant breeze he left behind and suddenly felt that this young man was far more pleasing to the eye than his new male confidant Sammy. He quickly shook the thought away—an old rabbit doesn’t eat the grass beside its own burrow. He couldn’t lay hands on another family’s young master!
Lu Guang Ming successfully infiltrated the gala. He pulled the handkerchief from his breast pocket, vigorously wiped his mouth with it, casually tossed it onto the tray of a waiter passing with red wine, and took a glass in exchange. A passing wealthy lady smiled in greeting. He courteously returned the gesture while quietly surveying the surroundings. The atmosphere in the venue was not solemn. There were no large banquet tables. Instead, it was arranged as a buffet alongside an exhibition of documentary photographs, with the walls covered in photographs of children who had starved to death. Perhaps to give the guests a personal taste of hunger, the buffet tables held only alcohol and vegetable salad.
Lu Guang Ming leaned against a buffet table and ate a few bites of salad, then sampled several famous wines he had previously encountered only in his French textbooks. He was standing in a conspicuous spot and was strikingly handsome, so before long, several socialites boldly came over to chat him up. Smiling brightly, he began talking at length. He borrowed the private life of a corrupt dignitary he had sent to court the previous year and passed it off as his own, wildly inventing stories of his solo adventures in France. He then shamelessly claimed that he had only turned twenty-one a few days ago and grinned as he called the socialites “big sisters.” Several beautiful women soon surrounded him like stars around the moon, their laughter never stopping.
At the height of the merriment, Master Qiao stepped onto the small stage at the center of the venue. Smiling, he raised a little spoon and tapped his wineglass, making a soft ding~.
The hall was too large and filled with too many voices. Nobody noticed him.
Two hotel employees hurried up to adjust the microphone, lowering it until it was level with his face. Master Qiao raised his glass and struck it again with a sharp DING—! This time, the piercing clash, accompanied by harsh microphone feedback, swept across the entire hall.
Everyone was startled into silence and turned toward him. Master Qiao coughed. “Sorry, there seems to be something wrong with the microphone. Distinguished guests, dear friends, welcome, and thank you all for honoring us by attending tonight’s gala! On this festive occasion—no, on, on this joyous occasion—I, Qiao, feel deeply moved! To have the honor of serving as host this time and supporting our charitable cause is truly my, Qiao’s, privilege…”
This Boss had dominated the underworld for decades and never imagined that one day he would have anything to do with the word “charity,” much less stand so respectably in front of society’s elite and make grand speeches. There were even reporters below taking photographs and conducting interviews! Overcome with emotion, he turned his opening remarks into an acceptance speech at a Spring Festival gala and chattered on without end…
Standing beside Lu Guang Ming, a socialite surnamed Fang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and snickered. Without drawing attention, she nudged him lightly with her elbow and whispered, “Where did this country bumpkin crawl out from?”
Lu Guang Ming smiled faintly in agreement while discreetly scanning the area around Master Qiao. At that exact moment, Master Qiao excitedly waved toward the audience. “Come, come, Consultant He, come… Let me introduce someone to everyone! This is Mr. He, Chief Consultant of our Wo Group and the chief planner of this charity gala! Mr. He is young and accomplished, one of Hong Kong’s rising financial elites…”
He Chu San, dressed in a dazzling white suit, walked onto the stage with a warm, springlike smile. Tall and refined, he stood beside Master Qiao, accepted the microphone he was handed, thanked everyone, then got down to business by explaining the donation procedure and how the charitable funds would be used.
Miss Fang laughed softly again. “Now that’s more like it. Look at Consultant He—handsome, and he has a nice voice too.”
“More handsome than me?” Lu Guang Ming asked with a grin.
Her black-painted fingertip lightly slid across the back of his hand and flicked it. “Little brother, you’re still a little too tender. Big sister likes mature men.”
Lu Guang Ming’s eyes curved as he smiled. “What a coincidence. I like mature men too.” He turned and picked up two glasses of wine. Miss Fang assumed one was for her, but he playfully spun around with both glasses raised. “I’m done chatting with big sister. I’m going to flirt with that mature man.”
“Hey, you…” Miss Fang had assumed he was joking, only to watch him genuinely walk toward the center of the venue carrying both glasses.
＊
Master Qiao and He Chu San finished their speeches and came down from the stage to shake hands with two prominent figures from political and business circles. They were in the middle of an animated conversation when a young voice suddenly rang out beside them. “Uncle Qiao!” Lu Guang Ming walked boldly into their group carrying wine, then smiled at the two important men who often appeared on television. “Uncle Huang! Uncle Wang!”
Everyone was still staring blankly because none of them could identify him when Lu Guang Ming curved his eyes in a smile. “I won’t interrupt your important discussion. I’d just like to borrow Consultant He for a moment.”
The three of them looked toward Consultant He. Consultant He looked equally baffled. “Me? You are…”
“Consultant He doesn’t remember me? I was there the last time you introduced your company’s services to my father. I wanted to ask you a few more questions.”
Consultant He clearly did not remember much of anything, but he could not withstand Lu Guang Ming’s enthusiastic smile and accepted the glass of wine from him. “Master Qiao, Mr. Huang, Mr. Wang, please continue.”
“Go, go.” Master Qiao waved amiably, still finding Lu Guang Ming adorable. Watching the two handsome young men in suits stride away side by side on those long legs was truly a beautiful sight. Such pert little asses too…
“Old Qiao?”
“Ah! Mr. Huang, my apologies! Where were we? How about we sit down and talk slowly?”
＊
Lu Guang Ming led He Chu San deeper into the venue. The two pretended to admire the photographs along the walls while speaking rapidly under their breath.
“Thank you for coming,” He Chu San said. “Master Qiao watches me very closely. I had no choice but to use this method.”
“It’s the least I can do. You’re the one doing the hard work.”
“What’s happening on the ICAC side?”
“We can’t formally open a case yet, but the Technical Division began investigating Xie Ying Jie’s assets today.”
“Most of his money has probably already been moved into private accounts overseas or stored directly as cash. I’ll use certain methods to draw as much of his money back as possible. When that happens, you’ll need to close the net within a very short window.”
“Understood. I’ll push my superiors to formally open the case as soon as possible. Is Master Qiao using this charity event to launder money?”
“Yes.”
“You’re doing work for him, so watch the legal boundaries. Don’t get yourself trapped.”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t crossed the line. I control the charity fund accounts. All the donations received tonight, along with his own personal contribution, will genuinely be used for charity. Master Qiao doesn’t know that.” He Chu San tentatively took a sip of wine and tasted a hint of astringency. “I suggested this event to Master Qiao. It’s a smokescreen. The funds I have at my disposal are running low, and I can’t keep this up for much longer. I need to take the initiative and make some big moves to please him and demonstrate what I’m capable of. Hopefully, I can get access to the Old Shopkeeper himself as soon as possible.”
“You’ve worked hard during this period,” Lu Guang Ming said seriously. “No matter whether this succeeds or fails, I’m grateful to you on my own behalf and on behalf of every citizen in Hong Kong. If we can remove a malignant tumor like the Old Shopkeeper, you’ll be a great hero to the whole city.”
He Chu San shook his head with a bitter smile. “Since when did Investigator Lu learn to say things like that? Everything I’m doing comes from selfish motives. I’m only a selfish little man. You and your colleagues are the real heroes.”
Lu Guang Ming was about to say something else when He Chu San suddenly caught sight in his wineglass of a figure approaching from behind his own shoulder. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately raised the glass and poured the wine all over Lu Guang Ming’s head and face.
“Hit me. Quick!” he whispered.
Lu Guang Ming was stunned for only half a second before the corner of his eye also caught the adviser sneaking toward them. Without hesitation, he swung a fist straight into He Chu San’s face.
“Oh my! How could you bear to hit a face like that?!” Miss Fang, who had been walking over in the same direction as the adviser because she wanted to flirt with the two handsome men, cried out in horror.