Chapter 505: No Guts, No Glory!
Victoria Peak, Cloudtop No. 1!
The Next Day!
When Li Yi opened his eyes, he found the scene before him was somewhat blurry. His head felt a little dizzy, and his throat burned like fire.
More importantly, the strong smell on his body made him feel like he was going to gag as he lay in bed.
Li Yi couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile; this post-hangover feeling was truly awful.
But there was nothing he could do about it. Everyone had been far too hospitable last night; everyone, including Old Huang, had been relentlessly toasting him.
Even though Li Yi had only taken small sips of red wine each time, by the end he had inevitably blacked out—he didn’t even know how he’d made it back.
After lying in bed for a while to recover, he finally sat up from the soft, large bed.
Feeling the warm sunlight streaming in, Li Yi instinctively picked up the watch on the nightstand and glanced at it, only to find it was already 10:00 a.m.
He walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and looked outside. The fountain at the villa’s entrance was already running.
Moreover, there were already people in the massive swimming pool on the rooftop.
Upon closer inspection, he recognized Lan Xinyi and her friends.
The young girls, dressed in swimsuits, were splashing and playing below—a pleasant sight in itself—but Li Yi merely glanced at them before turning away from the window.
Having lived two lifetimes, how could he fail to see what these young girls were up to?
But Li Yi couldn’t muster the slightest interest in them; his heart was filled only with the one woman and two girls—there was no room for anyone else.
If it weren’t for a few unfinished matters here, he would have gone back long ago!
Back in the bathroom, after a quick shower, Li Yi changed into a clean set of clothes and headed downstairs.
In the living room on the first floor, Old Huang, dressed in a suit and tie, saw Li Yi in his short-sleeved shirt and shorts and immediately said with a smile, “Brother Li Yi, you’re finally awake. If you hadn’t come downstairs, I was about to go up and call for you!”
“You were in such a hurry to find me—is this about business?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“Yes, I just got a call from Chairman Li. He said the funds have been settled, and we can go over there to collect the money anytime!” Huang Lixing said, sounding a bit excited.
“That fast?”
“Heh, it is a bit fast, but mainly because they’re doing it for your sake!”
Huang Lixing continued, “Believe it or not, if it were anyone else, with such a large sum, they’d drag it out for at least a few days!”
“Hmm, so what do you suggest, Old Huang? Should we go settle the funds right now?” Li Yi asked.
“Exactly. With this much money, it’s only reassuring to have it in our own account!” Huang Lixing replied.
Li Yi thought about it and agreed, saying immediately, “Alright, let’s go get the money!”
Huang Lixing nodded, then turned to Tie Ying standing nearby and said, “Yingzi, go tell Miss Lan and the others to gather up—it’s time to get to work!”
“Got it!”
While they were waiting for Lan Xinyi and the others, Huang Lixing suddenly asked, “By the way, brother, didn’t you say you were going to host a banquet for those bigwigs tonight? Shouldn’t we start preparing now?”
Li Yi nodded and said, “There must be hotels or event planning teams in Hong Kong that specialize in hosting this kind of banquet. Find someone to help me contact one—make sure it’s a team with strong capabilities and a good reputation!”
“Got it!”
Don’t let this seem like a simple matter—as if all it takes is money—but in reality, it’s far from it.
Especially for a high-level banquet like this, where the guests are all prominent figures, security is paramount—you can’t just hire any old team off the street.
Just as the two were chatting, Lan Xinyi and the others arrived one after another.
Once everyone had arrived, Li Yi and Huang Lixing led them to the Far East Securities Exchange Center to withdraw their stock market profits.
………
Li Mansion. Study!
At the very moment Li Yi and the others were heading to the securities trading center in high spirits to withdraw the funds, Li Futiao was meeting with guests at the Li Family Manor.
In the study, aside from Li Fuzhao, four middle-aged men were seated on the sofa beside him.
Each of them was either backed by a mega-powerhouse family or was the founder of a major conglomerate; they were all bigwigs on the same level as Li Fuzhao—the kind of figures whose every move could send shockwaves through Hong Kong.
“Third Master, you didn’t call us all here today just to have us show up at that big shot’s party tonight, did you?”
Li Futiao was the third son in his family, so everyone on the island called him “Third Master.”
As soon as someone spoke up, another chimed in: “Third Master, I heard on my way over that you called that traitor Old Zhou and that fatso Liu last night, telling them to head over to that Mainlander’s place tonight!”
“Third Master, that kid was acting like a total jerk yesterday. If we go support him again tonight, how are we ever going to save face on Hong Kong Island?”
“Right, that kid is getting way too cocky. He doesn’t even give a damn about saving face for all of us…”
………
As the men chimed in with their opinions, Li Futao remained impassive, as if he hadn’t heard a word.
Only after the last man had finished speaking did he say calmly, “Are you all done? If so, let me say a few words.”
“You’re right. I invited you all over to DXMBang precisely to deliver an invitation on behalf of Mr. Li Yi, inviting you to tonight’s banquet!”
“Of course, I’m merely delivering the invitation on his behalf. As for whether you choose to attend or not, that’s entirely up to you!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Mingji, the head of Hongji Real Estate, said in a deep voice, “Third Master, let me state my position first: I will definitely be attending tonight’s banquet!”
“But let me make one thing clear: I’m not going because of that mainland kid, but because of the lifelong friendship we’ve shared!”
Then, He Guangdong of Xinshi Group chimed in, “Third Master, though the brothers don’t think much of that mainland kid, since you’ve put your faith in him, we’ll still give you that face!”
“Third Master, we’ll definitely be there tonight, but if that mainland kid is still as arrogant as he’s been, we certainly won’t be giving him a warm welcome…”
Li Futao tapped the table lightly, then looked at the few old friends sitting before him.
After a long moment, he said calmly, “It is precisely because we’ve known each other for most of our lives that I specifically called you all here today. My intention isn’t for you to save face by praising that young man, but rather for you to build a good relationship with him!”
“A good relationship?”
Hearing Li Futiao’s words, everyone present was stunned.
A “good connection” isn’t something just anyone can form at will; only those with exceptional ability are worthy of such a bond.
In other words, in Li Fuzhao’s eyes, this young man from the mainland was no ordinary person—he was someone worth cultivating a genuine relationship with.
If such words had come from an ordinary person, He Guangdong, Li Mingji, and the others wouldn’t have paid them any mind. But coming from Li Futiao, it was a different story.
“Third Master, is this young man really worth our time?”
Li Futiao nodded and said, “You’ve been in the game for most of your lives. You must have heard the saying: ‘Only a fierce dragon dares cross the river; only a vicious tiger dares climb the mountain!’”
A fierce dragon, a vicious tiger!
That this was Li Futiao’s assessment of the young man left He Guangdong and the others dumbfounded.
“Third Master, could you tell us what kind of background that mainland kid has?”
Li Futao said nothing more, but simply stood up and walked over to the desk beside him.
He picked up a thin file from the desk and tossed it right in front of Li Mingji, He Guangdong, and the others.
As the group gathered around to read the document, their faces filled with deep confusion. But after just the opening lines, they were so shocked they jumped to their feet…
……..
PS: Chapter 2 might be a bit late!