There were plenty of people who shared the same name in the universe, and Avril was not a rare name. The key, however, was that this Avril lived in the capital ring as well and was of an exceptional upbringing, which made it not impossible for Xia Fei to establish the connection.
“How old is Li Mo’s fiancée? Whose family does this lady belong to?” Xia Fei asked.
Moon Song answered, “Hahaha! That Avril is from a famous family and will definitely not be your little girlie. Though you’re not considered bad yourself, there’s no way you’ll be able to woo some heiress. If you must know, that family deals in the interplanetary internet business, and they definitely exist on a plane beyond your own.”
Xia Fei only felt his scalp go numb as he could hear a ringing sound in his ears. Moon Song continued talking, but none of it registered to him. He was just stunned there as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.
Moon Song noticed how peculiar Xia Fei was acting, so she reached over and put her hand on his forehead. “What’s the matter? Are you running a fever?”
Xia Fei pushed her hand away. “Is the engagement between Li Mo and Avril set in stone?”
Moon Song clutched her hand. “What are you being so forceful for? Have I offended you or something?”
Xia Fei did not answer, merely turning his head over to the window and muttering, “My friend and Li Mo’s fiancée might be one and the same person…”
…
Moon Song related all that she knew to Xia Fei in a hurry before leaving, telling him to keep in touch over the communicator if a need arose.
Before leaving, she gazed at Xia Fei with eyes filled with pity as if she could already foresee how things would end, which made Xia Fei feel very uncomfortable.
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei began pacing about in the room. It was apparent that he was trying to suppress all his emotion as he devoted his effort toward thinking. If this was an enemy, Xia Fei could very easily make the right decision, but when it came to affairs of the heart, Xia Fei was actually quite indecisive. Perhaps there was no one in this universe who could profess certainty.
Phantom was even more disappointed than Xia Fei, for he had zero experience when it came to love all his life. Thus, the relationship Avril and Xia Fei shared had become a form of spiritual sustenance for him. If they had a good relationship, Phantom would be happy as well, and if the two argued and had a tiff, Phantom would be upset as well. Hearing that the originally close relationship they shared was instantly inbound for some stormy weather, Phantom of course felt depressed.
“Should you give Avril a ring?” Phantom asked.
Xia Fei paused but soon shook his head. “Moon Song got her information from Li Mo; we still can’t be certain if this engagement is real. Who knows? Maybe it’s a one-sided courtship from Li Mo. If it’s but an unsubstantiated rumor and we run off to ask Avril, it will make me seem really petty. I’d rather choose to believe her.”
“Since you insist on believing Avril, so be it. Hope this is all just a misunderstanding,” Phantom said.
Later that night, Xia Fei got a call from Charlie that made him feel slightly better. After the strongest warship competition, the energy-shield boosters received recognition from some business representatives. Charlie received two purchase orders, one for three thousand sets, and another for five thousand.
Though these were not sizable orders, they were nevertheless very precious to the Quantum Holdings of today. After all, these were new products that had just arrived on the market, and having enough orders to keep their production going was decent as it stood.
The contracts for those two purchase orders would bring in a 1.5-billion profit for the company. Xia Fei instructed Charlie to continue pouring money toward the continued purchase of raw materials and the construction of the new factories.
Xia Fei stayed on Baran that day, taking advantage of the quiet night to read up on Li Mo and his family’s situation. The Li family managed the largest interplanetary bank in the Alliance and was also a major shareholder in the largest securities firm, First Securities. Known to be the most powerful family out of the six major business families, they owned far more assets than the Jian family despite the latter’s monopoly of the interplanetary internet.
Aside from possessing plenty of funds to their name, the Li family also had investments in the fields of minerals, machinery, and even the arms trade. Their Planet Conglomerate was ranked fifth across the Alliance, widely acknowledged to be an extremely powerful entity.
Meanwhile, Li Mo was the family’s eldest descendant, one who had the highest probability of inheriting Planet Conglomerate. While Avril’s family was a technological leader, the Li family was a financial giant. It was perfectly reasonable for these two huge families to marry, all things considered.
Turning off the screen, Xia Fei felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Moon Song’s behavior today had got him on the alert. Even someone as stubborn as Moon Song was utterly helpless in the face of her family’s interest, which only showed how being born in a rich household might not be a blessing. People clearly had their lives to live yet only ended up becoming a pawns to serve the interest of the upper class.
Avril had a weaker personality than Moon Song in this regard, and Xia Fei had no way of knowing just what she would do in the face of such pressure when she could endure it no longer.
Moon Song was still going to help Xia Fei inquire after more information, so he decided to keep these matters in his mind before he got further confirmation.
Deep into the night, Phantom suddenly discovered that a very devious smile appeared across Xia Fei’s face, a look that Phantom was very familiar with. He knew that every time Xia Fei smiled like this, he must have made a very important decision.
“Xia Fei must have his idea, so I don’t have to worry about him,” Phantom mumbled to himself.
…
Early the next day, Xia Fei boarded the passenger spaceship and arrived at Avril’s Half Moon Hill, Sunset Villa. He had a date with her to visit the Interstellar Amusement Park.
Once more making his way to the luxurious villa, Xia Fei’s identity had already bumped up to being a guest due to Barty’s incident. The people of the Jian family were actively acting as if he were invisible. After all, they all knew that Xia Fei had personally killed the second son of the Jian family. While this had helped the family in averting a potentially dreadful crisis, it was still not something they could so easily accept.
Actually, the Jian family was already being very polite in giving Avril permission to go out and have fun with Xia Fei. To actually expect them to treat him as kin was probably not something any of them could do in this lifetime.
…
“The lady had a good rest last night, so none of the servants dared to wake her up too early. Recently, the lady hasn’t been sleeping too well, often suffering from insomnia. Could you let her wake up on her own today?” Pang Xing asked.
Xia Fei laughed. “Of course. Don’t wake her up and let her have her sleep.”
Pang Xing nodded, leading Xia Fei up the hill. Xia Fei glanced at the Half Moon Lake by the side and said, “I’ll be waiting for her by the lake there.”
Pang Xing nodded, accompanying Xia Fei by the lakeside, where there was a cobblestone path. The two men walked along the lake, even as they admired the picturesque view of the light reflecting off the lake.
Xia Fei picked up a pebble from the ground and lightly curled his wrist, sending the pebble out toward the lake.
The pebble bounced off the surface of the river several times before sinking, leaving just a ripple.
“I love playing like this when I was younger, and it’s been so long since I tried, so I’m a little rusty with it.” Xia Fei casually chuckled.
Pang Xing replied, “When the lady was young, she once saw me skip rocks, too, and was very amused, so she forced me to teach her, but she’s still very young back then and lacked the arm strength. Thinking back on it now, it’s truly amusing.”
As the saying went, ‘Fighters who fight will know each other better.’ Xia Fei and Pang Xing had fought each other before, yet the relationship they had was not affected by it. In fact, Xia Fei even believed that Pang Xing was the one whom he trusted the most out of the entire Jian family, aside from Avril herself, because they were both concerned about her well-being.
Pang Xing’s father, Pang Hai, was also someone whom Xia Fei was rather familiar with, and while he was also fairly kind-hearted, it was too bad that he was far too loyal to the family patriarch, so Xia Fei could not help but feel somewhat guarded against him. However, Pang Xing was different from his father, for his loyalty clearly lay in Avril alone.
Avril was sleeping soundly, and Xia Fei had come early. Uncertain just how to wait on him, the two whiled their time walking around the lake.
The view of Half Moon Lake was spectacular. The cobblestone path beside the lake had plenty of flowers planted along the way, making for a very beautiful sight. Even the lake water was a mess of green, pristine and clear enough for anyone to see the fishes swimming beneath the surface.
After some thought, Xia Fei casually asked, “Pang Xing, do you know about the six major business families in the Alliance?”
Pang Xing was slightly surprised, even showing a measure of shock. Xia Fei saw with his eyes that something was clearly hanging in Pang Xing’s heart, or else the latter would not have reacted the way he did.
“Of course, I do. They are the top six corporations in the Alliance. Their position hasn’t changed in many years, so everyone calls them the six major business families. These big businesses have a very hard time moving up a rank within the Alliance. The Jian family has worked so hard for so many generations and hasn’t even managed to make it into the top ten, and that’s a pain that the patriarch feels eternally in his heart,” Pang Xing stated without any reservations.
Xia Fei chuckled. “When I went to register for the Association of Machinist’s Golden Finger Cup, I met two fellow cadets from the training camp. A young man by the name of Li Mo was with them, which is how I learned about this matter with the six major business families.”
Xia Fei very deftly turned the conversation toward Li Mo, which caused Pang Xing to feel very awkward. He pursed his lips and said, “The Li and Jian families have always had a good relationship with each other, working together closely in various avenues. Li Mo is also considered a frequent guest here in Sunset Villa.”
Xia Fei then said, “A friend of mine has some involvement with Li Mo’s cousin. It seems that she doesn’t wish to marry this cousin of his, yet the Li family is secretly hinting that if my friend doesn’t comply, they’ll step in and interfere. Since you’re so close with the Li family, do you think they have the means to cause others to become bankrupt in an instant?”
“Of course, they can,” Pang Xing replied. “Xia Fei, do you already know?”
Xia Fei did not respond, his gaze looking out at the tranquil lake.
Pang Xing said, “Actually, it’s fine even if you know. This is all the will of the old patriarch, and the lady hasn’t agreed to it. My story isn’t over yet; do you wish to carry on listening?”
Xia Fei nodded.
Pang Xing continued. “The lady was just six years old then. Ever since I taught her how to skip rocks, the lady would spend an hour every day just throwing rocks by the lake. As she got older, her arm strength increased, until finally she was able to skip rocks, but a year had passed by then. A full year. Except when the lake was frozen over, the lady would practice skipping rocks for an hour every day without fail.”
“In the eyes of any outsider, the lady may seem like a delicate young maiden, but I know that if the lady sets her mind onto something, she’s even more stubborn than anyone I know,” Pang Xing said as he gazed at Xia Fei meaningfully.
