It was the afternoon of the 24th of December. René Alejandro and his brothers were carrying wrapped presents and loading them into a car. They were gifts from him, Wei Lan and Randy for today's Christmas gathering at Jin Liwei and Iris Long's place.
At first, René Alejandro wasn't sure if there would be a traditional exchange of gifts at the Christmas party. Fortunately, he was able to coerce Randy in directly asking Iris Long's assistant. Apparently, the Zumba instructor was quite friendly with Dominic Chua. Randy was able to confirm that there would indeed be some voluntary exchange of gifts. It wasn't required but would be welcomed especially when given to the children and cats.
Since he was going to attend the gathering to make a good impression on a selected group of elite people in this country, he tried coercing Randy again to ask Iris Long's assistant to get the guest list so that he could prepare gifts for each person. Too bad that the Zumba instructor failed. Dominic Chua refused to divulge the identities of the guests in advance.
René Alejandro wasn't too disappointed. This alone was already an important clue. If Jin Liwei and Iris Long's camp were careful not to leak the guest list, then it could only mean that there would indeed be VIPs attending the Christmas gathering.
This was what he had been waiting for since coming to the country. Wei Lan had been excellent in introducing him to many important people during social gatherings, but at the end of the day, her connections were still limited. Despite her improving reputation ever since returning to the country after marrying into Spanish nobility, there were still quite a number of people in the Chinese high society who discriminated against her.
Wei Lan's connections still couldn't compare to the exclusive circles to which elite figures like Jin Liwei and Lu Jianhong belonged. Even on the international level, they were considered VVIPs. Their circles were the ones that René Alejandro needed to infiltrate.
Tonight's Christmas gathering would be the official start of his mission. He was finally going to meet Jin Liwei, and hopefully, Lu Jianhong. He made sure to meticulously choose tasteful presents for them, and of course, for Iris Long. There were also other presents for people who he guessed might attend the party. He wasn't sure if those people would really come, but it was better to prepare too much than show up with nothing in his hands.
Even if he couldn't form a close connection to Jin Liwei and Lu Jianhong right away, it was enough to leave a good impression on them and their loved ones. René Alejandro was prepared to complete the mission one step at a time anyway. After all, his success was essential to the overall success of their organization's mission in this country.
"Brother, good luck."
"Too bad we can't put a bug on you."
"Dragon Palace Homes have one of the best securities in this region. Until we're sure how secure the place really is, we can't be careless."
René Alejandro nodded. "Indeed, we can't ruin this chance to enter that place by attaching bugs on me, no? Don't worry, brothers. I'll scout the place in person and devise another way to plant bugs there the next time I go."
"Just be careful, brother. Jin Liwei's security team has a mixture of experts of different levels. Most of them, we don't need to worry about. But there are a number that appear quite dangerous. They have rather clean backgrounds but their aura don't match what's on their dossier that we dug up."
René Alejandro snorted. "Their backgrounds must be fake. We already know that Jin Liwei has recruited Drakon to protect not only Jin Corporation but also his family. Drakon is a hacker like us. It's very easy to create new identities on paper. If we can do it, then Drakon and his two disciples can certainly do it, too."
"I wonder if Drakon will also be attending the Christmas party."
"Hmmm." He loaded the final present in the car and closed the door before facing his brothers. "That would be interesting if Drakon really came, although I doubt it. Hahaha! If only that really happens, maybe I can befriend him, yes?"
The brothers shared a laugh but stopped when Wei Lan and Randy finally came out of the main mansion. As usual, the pair looked like they were attending a red carpet event rather than a family Christmas gathering.
René Alejandro glanced at his gold wristwatch and calculated the time. He sighed. They were going to be more than half an hour late from the indicated time on the invitation. Wei Lan spent too long primping herself. No surprise there. He just hoped that being late wouldn't leave too much of a bad impression.
To be honest, he was tempted to leave Wei Lan and Randy and go to Dragon Palace early by himself. However, he restrained himself because it might come across as suspicious to Jin Liwei and the others. Although he received his own invitation, he was only able to receive one because he was Wei Lan's stepson. Without her, he wouldn't even have this opportunity to meet Jin Liwei on a personal setting. Thus, he endured his annoyance and waited until Wei Lan finished getting ready.
He walked forward and offered his arm to Wei Lan with a charming smile. "You look beautiful as always, Mamá."
"Oh, yoooooouu!" Wei Lan gave his arm a playful slap before accepting his escort. Then she turned to his brothers. "Take caaaaaare of yourselves tonight, boys. Okaaaaaaay? I would've brought all of yooooooouuuu with René Alejandro but my son-in-law said that they don't want too maaaaaaany people to come. I bet it's because of my daughter. That girl is just toooooooo finicky! Don't worry, boooooys. I'll be suuuuuure to introduce you to my dear son-in-law and daughter sooooooooon."
The men assured her that they were fine. René Alejandro, Wei Lan and Randy all bid them goodbye before boarding a car while another car followed them carrying all the presents.
René Alejandro and Wei Lan were in the backseat together while Randy sat in the front passenger seat beside the driver.
"My dear René Alejandro, you muuuuuust protect me when we arrive there, okaaaaaay?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, Mamá?"
