250 Rite of Passage (1/2)
It was still Anthony who was responsible for the logistics. Just like how Ye Shuang managed to have a 'chance encounter' with Xu Jian before, this time, he similarly hacked into the car's wireless GPS system to get hold of the man's location. Xu Jian and Xu He were uncle and nephew because, in a certain respect, they had very similar hobbies and tastes. For example, both of them liked to drive a Honda Prius, which was easily hacked.
”So, was that how you had the encounter with me again on the highway?” After hearing Ye Shuang explain how she knew that Xu He was having lunch there, Xu Jian almost cried before the girl. ”There are few good memories left in my life. Couldn't you have left some untainted ones for me?”
”Growing up from the fairytales into cruel real life is an important rite of passage.” Ye Shuang showed some pity and sighed in a sincere tone. ”Xu Jian, you're no longer a little child…”
What the f*ck! Who gave you, someone who is younger than me, the right to say something like that?
With the mutual banter as they moved from the car park to the restaurant, Xu Jian realized his nervous emotions were getting better. However, when the elevator door opened and the opulent décor of the restaurant fell into his eyes, combined with the polite greeting of the well-trained waiter, Xu Jian realized with a drop of his heart that all that was done earlier was completely pointless. He was even more nervous… for the sake of the future of his wallet.
”At this point, we'll be unable to get the exact location of your uncle. After all, Anthony is remotely controlling this from afar, so there are some physical details that he won't be able to find out. Therefore, we have to start from the entrance and walk through the restaurant in a diagonal line.” Ye Shuang acted like she was a girlfriend playing with her boyfriend, and she whispered into Xu Jian's ear with a sweet smile. However, the content of her words was a complete contrast. ”You need to pay attention to the tables that we'll be passing along the way. If we do not find your uncle on this journey, then later, we'll have to use the toilet a few more times.”
Xu Jian understood what Ye Shuang meant instantly. As he signaled to the waiter that they preferred a window-side table, he sighed and whispered back to Ye Shuang, ”Going to the toilet is fine, but you want me to act like an idiot…”
While he spoke, he used his eyes to glance at the waiter who was leading the way. ”With such a professional person being our guide, you want me to pretend like I am lost, wandering all over this empty restaurant… Don't you think that will seriously impact how other people view my intelligence?”
”Then, you'll need to spice it up with your thinking,” Ye Shuang said seriously, ”I believe in your acting!”
Can you not put so much faith in me‽ Xu Jian was practically helpless. Even with the sharpest gaze that he could manage, he was unable to elicit any trace of sympathy from Ye Shuang.
They finally reached the table that they requested. Since they had walked through the restaurant in a diagonal line, Xu Jian's hope that they might run into his uncle on the way was completely shattered. As Ye Shuang picked up the menu, she tossed him a gentle smile and gaze. Xu Jian felt his heart fell because he saw the command to go to the bathroom in the girl's eyes.
Was he really going to act like a real idiot in this high-end restaurant and wander all over the place, disturbing other patrons, simply because he was unable to find the location of the toilet that was incredibly conspicuous?
He raised his eyes to look at the large painted screen that was at the end of the room, without even thinking about it, he knew the toilet would be behind it. Xu Jian, who had been to this restaurant before, lowered his head and pretended to be dead. In fact, he even pushed the menu to Ye Shuang and started to provide his recommendation. ”They have very good roasted pigeon. I hear from others that it is the chef's specialty.”
The waiter added with a smile, ”The gentleman is quite right. However, we recently hired a new first-grade chef, so we added a few recommended dishes. They are…”
After they made their order, the waiter confirmed their order and finally left. Ye Shuang then started to discuss Xu Jian's working attitude with the man. First, she heavily criticized Xu Jian's attitude of trying to run away from difficult work. This was a mindset that would pin him forever in the lower part of life.
Is it because the work is difficult? Too troublesome? No and no, you are not going to do this for the sake of your face? What is face?
If you want face but are unable to finish your work, what is the point? You cannot avoid the problem because you are so immature!
Ye Shuang patiently explained and analyzed where Xu Jian had done wrong. The way she explained stunned the man who thought he knew her… or at least he thought once he knew her.
Of course, people change… Xu Jian rubbed away his tears and took a sip of the tea. He was indeed feeling quite powerless before the current Ye Shuang.
”…Therefore, if you still insist on not going to the toilet to have a chance encounter with Xu He, then we'll have to let Xu He come to find us,” Ye Shuang said as conclusion.
”Wait, what do you mean?” Xu Jian was startled like he had missed some important information.
Ye Shuang revealed a smile that made Xu Jian's scalp go numb. ”Like creating a commotion, you… Wait a minute, I have to take this call.”
Xu Jian, who heard the first part of the sentence, sighed in relief under his breath, then he turned to focus on Ye Shuang, who was speaking on the phone. The one who called Ye Shuang's number was not Anthony but Ol' K. Even though they were both expert hackers, their areas of specialty were completely different.
To be more specific, Anthony was more familiar with taking down a thick and hard fortress, to enter the core area that normal people would have trouble reaching. On the other hand, Ol' K was more familiar with tracing clues and information. Even though he was not yet on the same level as Anthony skill-wise, but with his attention to details and agility of his mind, he was able to come up with the most valuable information from the simplest clue. If described in terms of usage, Anthony was a weapon used in a war and was more suitable for aggression after the target had been confirmed, and Ol' K was more like a scouting device, used to lock on and investigate an uncertain target.
Temporarily, within Ye Shuang's team, even though Anthony was her team member, he was working part time as a CEO, so the amount of time he could provide her was just enough to do some small labor, like helping Ye Shuang pay attention to Xu He's movement. Ol' K temporarily had nothing on his to do list. Ye Shuang happened to hear from Han Chu about Xia Cheng, so other than continuing their watch over Sister Yu, the other thing they needed to do was dig up more information about Mo Xiao Xia's rumored boyfriend.
”Sis, your little friend doesn't seem like she's in a relationship with anyone.” Ol' K's rather joyful and light tone came from the phone. There was the sound of typing on the background. ”From how I see it, the youngest young master from Xiang Jiang is quite excited, but your friend doesn't reciprocate his feeling. Furthermore, based on the initial information that I've found, Xiang Jiang's Tian Wang Media doesn't seem like they have anything to do with the money laundering organization.”
Tian Wang Media was the company behind Xia Cheng. They had quite a number of investments in the three major fields of entertainment, and they even owned several broadcast stations and a host of cinemas. They were quite the powerful entertainment company at Xiang Jiang.
Based on their history, the company had existed since the 80s. At the time, the money-laundering organization had not even formed yet, so if they were one of the channels set up by the organization, Ye Shuang had a hard time believing that as well. However, even so, there were two other elements that Ye Shuang had to put into consideration.
One, the world of entertainment in Xiang Jiang was not clean to begin with. It was almost public knowledge that they were involved in the darker side of the society. Therefore, if they wanted to expand and ended up working with the global money-laundering organization, that was not totally impossible.
The other consideration was naturally the tactic that was commonly used by the organization. From An Zixuan to Mrs. Zuo, at least in the few incidents that Ye Shuang had come across, the organization liked to infiltrate the company through its existing members. Their common tactic was to take over the company from within by buying out the original members. This kind of tactic would overcome the weaknesses that they came across later, and this allowed them to make use of the company's existing reputation and enable them to enter the field and circle that they would have some difficulty entering otherwise.
Therefore, from these two elements, even if Tian Wang Media was an old name in Xiang Jiang, Ye Shuang could not guarantee for sure that they were innocent and clean.
”You've confirmed that they aren't related?” Ye Shuang pulled out an iPad that fitted her palm. She looked through several documents and then asked, ”I hear that Tian Wang Media is a family business, and they used to be an influential mafia group, is that correct?”
”Mafia culture is not that rare at Xiang Jiang,” Ol' K said in a tone equivalent to a verbal shrug. ”The mafia there are similar to the mafia at Italy. It has become some sort of social culture. Like when a new party or organization is coming to this place, paying visit to the local leaders is very important. Furthermore, even the mafia is divided into legacy mafia and novae riche mafia. Money-laundering is definite, but working with such a large organization, the legacy mafia would stay away from people like that.”
Legacy…