Double Kings or Four Twos
It may be out of curiosity but Xia Lei’s left eye twitched and the cleaning lady was pulled forward 20 or 30 metres to him and he could see everything clearly.
Xia Lei looked at her hands – they were pale, soft and lacked calluses. She also had a multi-functional watch with good workmanship and quality materials on her wrist; it was definitely an expensive outdoor watch.
Xia Lei’s curiosity grew greater, ‘It’s unusual for a cleaning lady to wear such an expensive watch.’
The cleaning lady, on the other hand, was not aware of the curious young man observing her. She pushed the cleaning trolley towards the Rolls Royce Phantom.
Xia Lei suddenly had a thought, and at that thought, the cleaning lady’s clothes vanished instantly and she stood naked under the sun.
The cleaning lady’s skin was pale and tender, making the black object hidden around her waist contrast greatly and catch his eye – it was a gun!
Xia Lei shifted his gaze to the cleaning trolley and saw that there was something hidden there too. It had several fuses bundled together to make an explosive device and a mobile phone was taped to the top, connected to the fuse with an electrical lead.
The sight of the gun and bomb made it clear to Xia Lei that this woman was not a cleaning lady for East Wind Heavy Industries but a killer. She made her way towards the Rolls Royce Phantom, making her target obvious – Shentu Tian-Yin!
Xia Lei stopped using his eye and moved towards the workshop.
The woman turned to look at Xia Lei but it was just a passing glance and she did not seem to have found anything suspicious, as though she was sure she was hidden well. The far-away Xia Lei could not possibly have seen what secrets she was hiding. She pushed the trolley to the side of the Rolls Royce Phantom, then used the tongs to get the bomb out of the plastic pail. She pretended to be picking some rubbish and squatted…
This did not escape Xia Lei’s eye either and his pace quickened. A few minutes later, he found Ning Yuan-Shan and Shentu Tian-Yin’s group in the workshop.
“Our company is a government-owned enterprise; our strength and reputation are solid. You can rest assured, Miss Shentu. I can guarantee if you choose us that your wind power plant will be up and running, and bringing your Vientaine Group great profit,” Ning Yuan-Shan said as he showed Shentu Tian-Yin around the workshop. He had a smile on his face and had a friendly manner.
Shentu Tian-Yin spoke softly, “Chairman Ning, is beyond reproach in terms of size or strength. However, we have heard that your company has experienced a halt in an important project due to the restrictions that have been put in place by Europe and America. Is this true?”
Xia Lei was about to walk up to them and heard her. ‘Isn’t she talking about the precision parts which I processed? Even I have no idea what those parts I’d worked on will be used for but it sounds like she knows it very well from the way she speaks. Her sources must be deep. What is she planning by mentioning it now?’ he thought.
Ning Yuan-Shan gave a small laugh, “Heh heh, Miss Shentu is well-informed. Europe and America have indeed placed a stricter technology blockade on us and affected us to a degree. However, it was not impossible for someone in our vast nation to solve the problem. I’ll tell you truthfully, Miss Shentu, that we have solved that problem.”
“Oh?” Shentu Tian-Yin was disbelieving, “From what I’d gathered, there aren’t any equipment nor any skilled person who can do it. How did you manage to solve the problem?”
“Our company has an excellent engineer craftsman. He is young but definitely an outstanding talent. It was him who solved our problem. In fact, we’ve just paid him a million yuan for his work,” said Ning Yuan-Shan.
“I see. Your company has a great pool of talent indeed.” A faint smile of satisfaction appeared on Shentu Tian-Yin’s lips.
This flower-budding smile of hers made Xia Lei space out for a bit. He’d intended to walk up to them but Ning Yuan-Shan’s words made him hesitate. It was him who had helped them solve their problem but Ning Yuan-Shan had claimed that one of East Wind Heavy Industries’ engineers had and neglected to mention his name. Ning Yuan-Shan must have done that so that he could show off East Wind Heavy Industries’ strength to Shentu Tian-Yin and get a huge purchase order from Vientaine Group. Shentu Tian-Yin was also testing the strength of East Wind Heavy Industries by bringing up the matter of the blockade.
Xia Lei thought quietly to himself, ‘Shentu Tian-Yin is still in here so there is no danger for now. I’ll follow them and find an opportunity to tell her about the situation in the car park. It would be bad if I spoilt Uncle Ning’s plans by showing up at this juncture.
Having decided, Xia Lei did not stand idle. He took out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Ru-Yi: I’m at East Wind Heavy Industries. I’ve discovered someone placing a bomb in the car park. It’s super urgent! Come quick!’
At that moment, Shentu Tian-Yin spoke, “Our company is in contact with a German manufacturing company and they have presented us with two proposals, both of which are very good. How about this, Chaiman Ning? I’ll hold a meeting after I return and we shall discuss this, then inform you of our decision.”
“Of course,” said Ning Yuan-Shan, “However, Miss Shentu, let me say more. I am not boasting that my company’s strength and ability is greater than the German companies. I am just reminding you that the German’s proposals may be good but their cost is much higher than ours. You know too how expensive German manpower is. If you accept the proposal from the German company, the equipment maintenance, repair and replacement will add up to a large amount in the future, lowering your profit margin. Of course, I won’t interfere with your decision. I would like you to just consider matters after the construction of your wind power plant. Here, I can guarantee that our company can not only provide top-grade equipment but perfect after-service.”
Shentu Tian-Yin gave a faint smile, then extended her hand and shook hands with Ning Yuan-Shan, saying, “Thank you for your opinion. I will give it some consideration. This is it for today and I will contact you when there are results. Goodbye.”
“Have a pleasant day, Miss Shentu,” said Ning Yuan-Shan politely.
Talk concluded, Shentu Tian-Yin and her four stone-faced bodyguards turned to leave and that was when Shentu Tian-Yin noticed Xia Lei standing not far off. She looked at him but her gaze only stayed on him for less than a second.
Ning Yuan-Shan had also seen Xia Lei and he started to get a little nervous.
Xia Lei knew why he reacted that way – Ning Yuan-Shan had lied to Shentu Tian-Yin and his appearance could reveal his lie.
After discovering Xia Lei, Ning Yuan-Shan did not see Shentu Tian-Yin to the door; he walked towards Xia Lei and spoke in a low tone, “What are you doing here, Little Lei?”
“I have something very important to tell Miss Shentu.”
Before he could say more, Ning Yuan-Shan pulled Xia Lei back by the hand, speaking nervously, “Are you going to tell her that you were the one who solved our problem? You can’t go!”
Xia Lei smiled wryly, “Uncle Ning, what do you see me as? Am I that sort of person? It isn’t what you think. I don’t have time and I need to tell her urgently or lives will be lost!”
Ning Yuan-Shan wanted to ask further questions but Xia Lei had already torn free of his grasp and was chasing after Shentu Tian-Yin’s group.
“Hey?!” Ning Yuan-Shan wanted to call Xia Lei to stop but he did not dare raise his voice. He was nervous; almost panicky.
Chi Jing-Qiu then spoke with great sincerity, “Chairman Ning, there is no knowing what is in a man’s heart. You took care of him so well yet he is going to expose your lie in order to get acquainted with Shentu Tian-Yin. This is not good for our company.”
“What are you saying? Little Lei is not someone like that! He said it himself just now that it was not that,” said Ning Yuan-Shan.
“You still believe in him, Chairman Ning? I was his classmate so I know him better than you. He is a despicable person with great ambitions,” said Chi Jing-Qiu.
Her words made Ning Yuan-Shan more nervous. His eyes nearly bugged as he watched Xia Lei approach Shentu Tian-Yin’s group. It was too late to stop Xia Lei now.
Xia Lei caught up to Shentu Tian-Yin and her bodyguards and was about to speak when his phone beeped with a new message. He unlocked the phone – it was Jiang Ru-Yi. The content of the message though, nearly made him faint.
Jiang Ru-Yi’s message read: Double Kings or four twos?* I’ll beat you up if you mess with me!
If Jiang Ru-Yi were in front of him he’d kick her ass!
“Stop!” A bodyguard suddenly turned to block Xia Lei’s way. His eyes were full of warning and he looked very aggressive.
The other three bodyguards and Shentu Tian-Yin also turned to look at Xia Lei. Her brows were wrinkled in a frown and her gaze icy.
“Miss Shentu, I have something very important to tell you. I don’t have any other meaning or malicious intent,” said Xia Lei.
“Scram!” The bodyguard blocking his way shouted aggressively and made to take action against him.
He was here to warn her of danger but got yelled at by her bodyguard. Xia Lei got pissed by that attitude and retorted, “What are you shouting for? Do you know what I’m going to say?”
“I’ve seen plenty of people like you. I’ll get nasty if you don’t leave!” The bodyguard really was going to take action.
“Hold on,” Shentu Tian-Yin spoke calmly, “What do you want to say?”
“Is the Rolls Royce Phantom in the car park yours?”
Shentu Tian-Yin nodded her head slightly.
“I was passing the car park earlier and saw a woman get close to your car. She was carrying a gun and had a bomb. I’m afraid she has already planted the bomb by now. That’s my message. You sort it out,” said Xia Lei.
Shentu Tian-Yin looked sharply at Xia Lei, “Who are you?”
“You don’t have to bother about that. I’ve said my piece so you do what you will with the information,” said Xia Lei. He paused, then added, “And discipline your men. Not everyone is trying to get to know you. They should show at least some basic courtesy.”
Xia Lei turned and left after he was done speaking.
Shentu Tian-Yin stood in place for while and, in contrast to earlier, her gaze did not leave Xia Lei’s disappearing back.
“What do we do, Miss Shentu?” asked a bodyguard.
A faint, cold smile curved her lips, “So they could not hold back in the end and are preparing to make a move now. Go take a look.”
“Yes, ma’am.” A bodyguard headed towards the car park outside the workshop.
The cleaning lady had disappeared from the car park and the area looked particularly quiet.
*Jiang Ru-Yi was talking about a game called ‘Fighting the Landlord’. The bomb in this case is a group of cards used to beat other combinations in the game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou_dizhu
