Chapter 38 - 1#
As the opening performance ended, the guests in the banquet hall smoothly resumed their socializing and conversations.
Xu Qin overheard her daughter’s reluctant objection and immediately stopped her attempts at matchmaking, instead chatting cheerfully with the other officials’ wives nearby.
Just as Mo Man was about to swap her wine glass for juice, the phone in her clutch bag buzzed with a vibration.
She set down the glass, picked up the phone, and glanced at it.
The moment she saw the text on the screen, her expression shifted abruptly, and she even fumbled the juice the waiter handed her.
Clatter! The glass hit the floor, spilling juice onto the handmade carpet and leaving a stain.
“Oh dear!”
The wives and young ladies nearby quickly stepped back. “How did it spill?”
Only Xu Qin immediately checked on her daughter. “Manman, what’s wrong?”
The waiter apologized profusely. “Sorry, Miss Mo, Madam Mo.”
“It’s nothing.”
Mo Man quickly shoved the phone back into her clutch, desperately trying to hide her flustered expression. “I was careless. Mom, I’ll go to the restroom to clean up.”
“Manman, why do you look so pale?”
Xu Qin, a fairly attentive mother, pressed on with concern. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Mo Man put on a polite smile and addressed the women around her. “Ladies, my apologies for startling you with my clumsiness.”
“No worries, Miss Mo, you should go take care of your dress—looks like some juice got on it.”
“Mm.”
Mo Man, in her high heels, swiftly followed the waiter away.
From his seat on the mezzanine, Jing Shun had observed the entire scene. In the blink of an eye, the door to the private room was pushed open again.
Chi Gui walked in with Ji Tianheng.
Jing Shun recognized the familiar face and greeted him first. “Second Young Master, we meet again.”
Ji Tianheng took a seat at Chi Gui’s invitation and began with praise. “Mr. Jing, your performance just now stunned the entire hall.”
“I’ve been in Macau for so long and attended countless banquets, but you’re the only one who got everyone to quietly watch a full recital.”
He glanced at Chi Gui, as if teasing. “I heard some guests discussing it when I came up just now.”
“If they knew you were Chi Gui’s partner, many would envy Mr. Chi.”
Chi Gui handed Ji Tianheng a glass of whiskey, a rare hint of playfulness in his tone. “Mm, let them envy me.”
Jing Shun felt a little warm at the ears and humbly replied, “Second Young Master flatters me.”
Laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the craft.
“I’m sure there are guests here who are skilled in musical instruments. I was just showing off my limited skills before an expert, and I’m lucky the lighting and atmosphere helped.”
Chi Gui seemed in a good mood tonight, still complimenting him. “If you can play like this even when rusty, you must have been even more amazing when you were at your peak.”
Jing Shun met his gaze, his heart leaping with uncontrollable joy.
Ji Tianheng noticed the lingering looks between them and took a leisurely sip of his drink. “You two, please have some consideration for my single status.”
Jing Shun quickly looked away and picked up his sparkling water, pretending to drink.
He changed the subject. “By the way, Master Qin didn’t come today?”
Chi Gui replied, “He was invited, but he had something to do.”
Ji Tianheng seemed to know something about it. “Mm, he went with his partner to the hospital for a checkup.”
“……”
Jing Shun’s thoughts wavered slightly at those words.
Before he could figure out why, Wei Di pushed open the door again. “Sir, Ms. Zhang is here.”
Ji Tianheng asked, “Zhang Yazhi?”
“Yes.”
Chi Gui stood up again. “You two sit for a bit? I’ll go greet her and then meet Mo Jun with her.”
Jing Shun knew about the partnership between Chi Gui and Zhang Yazhi, so he nodded.
Chi Gui left in a hurry, leaving only Jing Shun and Ji Tianheng in the room.
Ji Tianheng, never one to let the conversation stall, picked up a topic. “I heard things have turned upside down in the Zhang family recently.”
Jing Shun wasn’t very familiar with it, so he gave Ji Tianheng a questioning look.
Ji Tianheng shared the gossip. “Zhang Yazhi secretly allied with several old-timers in the Zhang family to pressure Zhang Aode.”
“When Zhang Aode’s current wife found out, she sent people directly to Zhang Yazhi’s place to cause trouble. But Zhang Yazhi subdued them with her bare hands, then called the police on charges of trespassing and picking fights, claiming self-defense.”
Jing Shun was taken aback. “Ms. Zhang is that tough?”
Ji Tianheng’s gaze shifted downstairs, and he gestured. “Look, the one in the black suit.”
“……”
Jing Shun instinctively located Chi Gui’s position and noticed a tall, short-haired young woman standing beside him.
While other young ladies and wives were in evening gowns, she wore a clean, sharp black suit, exuding a striking, dashing elegance.
Jing Shun felt an immediate liking at first sight. “She doesn’t look that old?”
Ji Tianheng thought for a moment. “Twenty-seven or twenty-eight? You don’t know—Zhang Yazhi is famously formidable in Macau and Hong Kong. When she was seventeen or eighteen, she already had her family’s branch running smoothly. Back when the old Master Zhang was alive, she was his favorite granddaughter.”
If Old Master Zhang hadn’t died so suddenly without leaving a will, who knows who would be running the Zhang Corporation now.
Ji Tianheng looked downstairs.
In the first-floor banquet hall, Chi Gui and Zhang Yazhi were walking together to speak with Mo Jun. The three had varied expressions, likely discussing the 0202 dock project.
“Chi Gui is clever, seizing on internal conflicts in the Zhang family and even persuading Zhang Yazhi to go against her own father. The question is, will this project succeed?”
After all, no matter how arrogant and unreliable Zhang Aode was, the Zhang family’s resources and foundations in Macau and Hong Kong’s docks ran deep.
Most outside conglomerates couldn’t budge them.
Jing Shun hadn’t delved into the project, but he unconditionally trusted Chi Gui’s ability. “He can.”
The statement was too firm, catching Ji Tianheng off guard. “What?”
“If Chi Gui wants a project, he’ll definitely make it happen.” Jing Shun looked at Ji Tianheng, a spark of confidence and pride in his eyes. “He told me it’s a hundred percent, so it’s a hundred percent.”
Ji Tianheng met Jing Shun’s gaze—so familiar—and took a few seconds before breaking into a smile. “You two really are…”
Made for each other.
…
Halfway through the banquet.
Jing Shun had never wanted to engage in too much polite socializing with the wealthy elite. Coming tonight and helping out with the opening performance had already drained his energy.
He was also worried about his dog at home, so he decided to leave early.
In the underground parking lot, Chi Gui stood by the car door and said, “Text me when you get home.”
As the host, he couldn’t leave early.
Jing Shun shook his wrist, deliberately teasing. “Can’t you just see it?”
“That’s different.” Chi Gui seemed to have had a bit more to drink tonight; the usual somberness in his eyes shimmered with a faint light. “Knowing you sent it yourself puts my mind at ease.”
Jing Shun’s heartstrings were tugged, and he quietly agreed. “Alright. Go back up—don’t stay away too long.”
“Okay.”
The car slowly drove out of the underground parking lot and stopped at a red light.
Jing Shun idly glanced out the window and unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure—
Mo Man, in that recognizable white evening gown, stood next to a strange man. They seemed to be arguing, and the man suddenly grabbed her arm.
Mo Man helplessly shook it off twice but couldn’t break free, and he forcibly pulled her into an alley in the nearby residential block.
“……”
Jing Shun frowned. Instinct told him something was wrong.
When had Mo Man left the banquet early? And why was she arguing and struggling with a man? Was she in danger?
The red light countdown ended, and the car began to move.
Jing Shun thought about the ongoing project between the Chi and Mo families and felt he couldn’t just sit back. Better to be overly cautious and meddle than to let Mo Man face real danger.
“Driver! Pull over by the side, now!” Jing Shun urged. “I have an emergency.”
The driver complied, confused. “Mr. Jing?”
Jing Shun got out on his own using the assistive device. “Find a parking spot and wait.”
Remembering Chi Gui’s repeated warnings, he didn’t act recklessly this time. “Also, inform Wei Di that I saw Miss Mo being taken into an alley by a man. Tell him to let Chi Gui know at an appropriate time.”
Chi Gui was still busy entertaining guests and shouldn’t be disturbed.
Wei Di, as his assistant, was clever enough to know when to deliver the news.
The driver nodded. “Understood.”
Without further instructions, Jing Shun maneuvered his wheelchair quickly toward the entrance of the residential alley.
…
Night shrouded the old residential area, quiet yet in the midst of bustling surroundings.
The dim light from the aging streetlamp cast a weak glow. Mo Man, dressed thinly, felt an uncontrollable chill as she looked at the man’s sinister, malicious expression.
“Liu Chang, what do you want?! How could you take those kinds of photos while I was asleep!”
She reached out to snatch his phone.
The man called Liu Chang used his height to dodge and grabbed her wrist instead. “You want the photos? One photo, a million. Oh, and there’s a video too—five million per clip!”
Mo Man’s eyes reddened with shame. “This is blackmail! Don’t you dare threaten me!”
Liu Chang was an ex-boyfriend she’d briefly dated, met at an art exhibition.
He’d lied about being a returnee from overseas, claiming his family ran businesses abroad.
Liu Chang had been handsome, engaging, and initially willing to romance her with gentleness, so Mo Man had believed him and agreed to date him.
But luckily, within three months, she’d discovered he was a complete fraud, so she broke up with him and even went abroad for a while.
Unexpectedly, six months later, Liu Chang had come back.
At first, Mo Man ignored him and blocked his new contact info, but Liu Chang had lost money at the casino and gone crazy, harassing her repeatedly!
That text she’d received at the banquet—it was a private video he’d secretly filmed during their relationship!
As a brief silence hung between them, Liu Chang deliberately played the video. Though Mo Man was asleep in it, her face was clearly visible on screen.
Mo Man flew into a rage and slapped him. “You scumbag!”
The sting of the slap burned on his face, and Liu Chang’s true colors immediately emerged.
He grabbed Mo Man’s wrist and slammed her against the wall, pinning her from behind. “Yeah! I’m a scumbag!”
“Believe me, I’m scummy enough to strip you right here!” With that, he brutally yanked down the sleeve of her evening gown.
“Ah!”
Before Mo Man could let out a scream or cry for help, he clamped his hand over her mouth. “Mmph.”
Just as despair overwhelmed her, a cold warning rang out from nearby.
“What are you doing?”
“……”
Through tear-blurred eyes, Mo Man made out Jing Shun’s silhouette and sobbed even more desperately.
Liu Chang sized up the unfamiliar face. “Who the hell are you?”
Jing Shun stared straight at him. “I’m Miss Mo’s friend, and I’ve already called the police. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop right now.”
“The police?”
Liu Chang noticed the wheelchair under Jing Shun and let out a dismissive sneer.