216 Interpol (1/2)
Very soon, it came time for dinner. There were four tables in the dining room. The people who sat at the main table were naturally the members of Zuo family and those of the older generation who were close to the two elders. The three remaining tables were for the department managers from the Si Hai Organization, shareholders, and the younger generation.
Ye Shuang was given a guest seat, and she did not feel uncomfortable due to this arrangement. After all, the food served for all the tables was the same, and she would attract less attention by taking the seat at the guest table.
The atmosphere during dinner was quite relaxing; it was not much different from when they were chatting. The conversation on the dinner tables flowed smoothly, talking about the management of the companies, the possibilities of cooperation, the investment channels, relationships, and so on. With the accompaniment of good food and drink, the conversation also included lighter topics like entertainment and stuff.
Ye Shuang participated in the conversation happily. This was not only her chance to explore potential guest but also a way for her to collect information. Where else did she get the gossip that she had been sharing with the other guests earlier? She had gotten it from going to the private clubhouses, playing at casinos, and hanging out with specific people like Luo Mingxin.
After dinner, Ye Shuang exited the house to walk around the garden to aid the digestion. Just as Ye Shuang was considering making her departure, she heard a series of rustling sound coming from the side.
She turned to look and saw a girl about six or seven playing with a boy about three. They were playing with a puppy. The girl had a chicken wing in her hand that she was pushing to the puppy's mouth. The puppy was still small, so his teeth had not fully developed. It bit on the chicken slowly. Instead of eating, it was more like the dog was suckling on it. The boy extending his arms to hug the little puppy, his mouth mumbling something as he caressed the fur coat on the dog.
Ye Shuang thought this was quite interesting. She walked over and squatted down to whisper to the two children, who were focused on the puppy, ”Dogs cannot eat chicken bones.”
The two children were spooked, and they almost jumped up from the ground. The girl subconsciously tossed the chicken wing away from her hand into the bush nearby, attempting to destroy the evidence.
”Woof!” The puppy was having a great time with its chew toy. Seeing that the meat had disappeared, it barked twice and struggled to escape from the boy's grasp. Ye Shuang reached out to grab several napkins. Her tapered fingers grabbed the chicken wing and wrapped it inside the napkins. Without turning around to look, Ye Shuang tossed the chicken wing behind her. It arced beautifully through the air and flew for about ten meters before landing perfectly inside the trash can that was situated at the corner of the garden.
The eyes of the two kids glowed up, and they simultaneously uttered, ”Wow…”
Ye Shuang smiled and patted them on their heads. Then she reached out to grab the puppy away from the boy. She led the two children who were following her to the buffet table. ”Cats and dogs cannot consume too much seasoning. Plus, the center of the chicken wing is hollow. After the puppy bites on it, it might break the wing, and the broken bones might cut the puppy's intestine and stomach. If you want to feed it, you have to go for cooked meat like this.”
Ye Shuang found a tray of fried steak. She picked up a piece and then squatted down to place both the meat and the puppy on the ground. The puppy barked with excitement and waved its very short tail as it dug in.
”This type of steak only uses a little bit of salt and seasoning. When the guests have it, they add their own extra sauce, so this means that the steak's natural salt content is not that high. They can be used to feed the puppy.” Ye Shuang patted the heads of the two children who were looking at her with admiration. She asked with a smile, ”Where is your mother?”
The two children were Zuo Yuanhang's eldest daughter and youngest son. Probably because they did not have to attend talent training classes and do family homework at their grandparent's place, the two children were livelier than the time Ye Shuang met them at Zuo Yuanhang's place. However, the fact that the two kids were not together with Mrs. Zuo was confusing for Ye Shuang. Even though this was the Zuo family's old home, and thus the maids were familiar with all the guests, children had a tendency to wander around and play. This was especially true for their age when they liked to play with cats and dogs—they might still accidentally run into sources of danger.
Hearing the question from Ye Shuang, the elder daughter from Zuo family cleared her throat like an adult and answered in a friendly tone, ”Mom needs to entertain the guests, so she had me look after my little brother.”
Well, she's the hostess… Ye Shuang nodded, and thinking about how Mrs. Zuo carried herself, the reason became quite clear to Ye Shuang.
”Then why isn't there a nanny following you two today?” asked Ye Shuang as she grabbed a bowl and filled it with water for the dog.
It was still the girl who was answering on behalf of both of them. ”Mom will be coming back shortly, so it is fine if no nanny is following us.”
Ye Shuang had fun with the two children. After they shed away that cautious personality that they had to put on before their parents, chatting with these two kids was quite interesting. Even though they were still young, the children had been taught to have very good manner in their every movement. Their future personalities might be reserved and introverted due to the childhood education, but at least for now, they looked to be quite obedient. If they were given some tweaking in the future, then perhaps they might not end up all that bad.
Not long after that, Mrs. Zuo walked out from the side of the house. Seeing Ye Shuang having such good time with her children, her gait paused before coming over to nod politely as a way of greeting. ”Mr. Ye is also here? I hope you have had a wonderful time tonight.”
Ye Shuang stood up, patting her clothes. ”It is indeed quite a fun night, thank you, Mrs. Zuo.”
Then she lowered her head to look at the two children and added, ”Your son and daughter are very cute, but it is still a little bit cold outside. If you need to attend to the guests or have any emergencies to deal with, then I think it's better if you assign someone to look after them.”
Mrs. Zuo's eyes scanned the environment lightly, and the two kids stood at attention like they were soldiers. Mrs. Zuo nodded with satisfaction, and then she turned to thank Ye Shuang. ”That was my mistake. Thank you, Mr. Ye, for helping me look after them.”
After a few more polite exchanges, Mrs. Zuo led the two children back to the house. Ye Shuang stood behind and looked at the two kids who no longer looked like children, and she could not help shake her head and sigh.
Every family had their own style of education. Now that she thought about it, what was so good about being rich? They did not even dare to smile in their parent's presence; they were like students running into the discipline teacher when they came across their mother. They had no childhood due to the many classes, but if they were not given such education, they would end up as wasteful young masters who could not inherit the family business. Even when they were older, their marriage was out of their control. If they were unlucky enough to find a special partner, they even needed to calculate the date for whenever they could share the bed together.
Of course, the examples that Ye Shuang had come across so far were quite typical. However, the reason they were typical was because they represented most of the people in the same situation.
Ye Shuang stayed for about an hour to play with the group of youngsters. When she left, it was already 10 pm. After attending the family gathering, the only observation that Ye Shuang got was that she had a newer understanding of Zuo Yuanhang's isolationist personality.
The man was quite polite and humble when he was facing his elders or important personnel. Even though his expression still did not change much, at least he did not appear like he was constantly disappointed or angry at them. Obviously, when he was in a social environment that he perceived to be important, he would adopt an attitude that was not so grating.
However, when he was facing his employees or workers, or someone who was not going to bring him benefits, the man's attitude would be colder and more detached. He appeared more like a ruler; everything was prefaced with data and facts.
All the missions I've given you are definitely doable. If you fail, it is because you are a failure; other than that, there is no other explanation.
Throughout the entire party, other than Elder Zuo and the other older generation, only three people dared to approach Zuo Yuanhang to talk to him, and of those three, two were Ye Shuang and Zuo Feiyang.
Ye Shuang was baffled by this. How did such an iron fisted ruler win the hearts of his employees? Why did his employees suffer him for so long? Or was it really true that money silenced everything?
In comparison, even Mrs. Zuo had a better popularity than Zuo Yuanhang. Even though Ye Shuang thought that Mrs. Zuo was also putting on a façade, at least she was not as invasive as Zuo Yuanhang. Roughly five times more people talked to her at the party than Zuo Yuanhang.
…
For the rest of the time, Ye Shuang decided to stay in Chaohai. In any case, she was not planning to return to San Lin City before the cruise party ended. Ye Shuang had already calculated the transformation time. Brother Shuang's appearance was too short, so she needed to be in this form for at least two more days so that she could change into Sister Shuang on Sunday, when they needed to board the cruise.
That was not that difficult to do. It was quite easy to find two little girls. There were plenty around wandering about the beach. After all, there were so many tourists.
However, two days before the party, Han Chu's sudden arrival destroyed her plan of disappearing before the day of the party arrived. Han Chu's call came directly into Ye Shuang's phone. Ye Shuang pretended not to notice the first call, hoping that the man would use the email to inform her the reason for his calling. She did not expect Han Chu to not give up and make two more calls. In the end, she relented and answered. When she did, she realized that Han Chu had already arrived in Chaohai with Albert. They were interviewing the trader and called her to ask about the cruise. They needed her to confirm the invitation.
”Hey, long time no see!” When they met at the café at the hotel, Albert instantly went forward to give Ye Shuang a friendly hug. Then, Albert patted Ye Shuang's shoulders and grumbled, ”My man, I've not seen you since our departure that time, what have you been busy with? By the way, that partner of yours sure is pretty. You and her…”
Albert winked and Ye Shuang knew what the man was trying to insinuate.
”There's nothing between us.” Brother Shuang did not to cry or smile. She arranged her clothes and stood apart from Albert. She took the seat at the table and nodded at Han Chu, who did not look like he was in a good mood. ”Mr. Han, why are you here so early?”
Han Chu glanced at Albert. ”It is because a certain FBI agent is not a man of his word. He was discovered to be carrying an illegal surveillance device within the country and was given a warning by Interpol. I brought him here to avoid the trouble back at home.”
That certain FBI agent shrugged. ”I just accidentally dropped some things. Relax, relax. I'm currently on vacation. I'm just a normal foreign visitor in your country; there's no need to be so cautious around me.”
Han Chu huffed but did not say anything, but Ye Shuang laughed. ”It is easy to say but hard to do. If you really want to recruit Tony, you'd better do that through official channels. Stop using vacation as an excuse. On the surface, it looks like you're operating alone, but who doesn't know you're here to recruit people for your organization‽”