Chapter 121 - 108: The Dinner Party

Li Xiang was just out and about when he got a call from Xu Xuan. "Hey, man, you made it?"

Li Xiang had said he was arriving today, but Xu Xuan hadn’t heard from him.

"Yeah, I’m here. Already checked into the hotel. It got a little late, so I was planning to look you up tomorrow." In reality, they hadn’t arrived very late. They had rested for a bit at the hotel and even gone out for dinner with He Zhixiang.

"Hey, didn’t I tell you to call me the day you arrived?" Xu Xuan said from the other end of the line, sounding a little displeased. "Are you slighting me? Afraid I can’t book you a room?"

"No, no, it’s not just me. I brought someone along, a friend of mine. He’s been wanting to meet you. Also, I have something I need your help with," Li Xiang said.

’I originally planned to bring it up in person, but since we’re already on the phone, I might as well mention it now and sound him out. We did get off on the wrong foot, after all. Even though he supported me later and sent a ton of gifts, we’ve never met in person, so I have no idea what he’s really thinking.’

’Promising to introduce He Zhixiang to him was a small matter. The introduction itself would be simple. Whether their business partnership succeeded or not after that was none of my concern.’

As for selling the Chicken Blood Stone, his original plan had been to check out the major trading centers in Rongcheng first. But now an idea popped into his head: maybe Xu Xuan could recommend a good sales channel.

"Just say what’s on your mind. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll do my best," Xu Xuan said readily, but he didn’t make a blind promise. Although he had never told Li Xiang about his background, Xu Xuan was a big name in Rongcheng. If Li Xiang put in a little effort, he could surely dig up some information.

’Besides, Li Xiang just said he brought someone who’s been dying to meet me but couldn’t get an introduction. That guy must know a thing or two about me.’

Li Xiang then mentioned that he had a batch of Chicken Blood Stone he wanted to sell.

Hearing it was just a business matter, Xu Xuan relaxed. "No problem," he said. "Where are you staying now?"

Many people who sought his help, knowing his identity and background, would ask for things that were "difficult" for him to do. These requests would be easy for other, less prominent scions, but his family upbringing was very strict, and there were many red lines he couldn’t cross.

"I’m staying at the Drunken Moon Hotel."

"I know the place. Your hotel has a Chinese restaurant on the eighth floor with pretty good food. How about we meet there for lunch tomorrow? I’ll invite a major player in the field, and you can talk to him directly at the table. I’ll book a private room."

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"Haha, don’t mention it. You could say we got off on the wrong foot. After lunch tomorrow, I’ll take you to a club of mine for some fun. I guarantee you’ll love it."

Li Xiang was startled. "What kind of club?"

’If it’s just another place filled with beautiful women, I’m not going.’

"Haha, don’t worry, it’s a legit club. The really exciting kind!"

"What the hell? What on earth is both exciting and legit? That sounds like a contradiction."

Xu Xuan laughed and shouted, "See? You said you’d go!"

Li Xiang was speechless. ’Was that what I meant? You’re totally exploiting a loophole here!’ Still, he had to admit his interest was piqued. He did want to check it out.

Xu Xuan explained, "I just opened it. It has a lot of activities, and it’s the only one of its kind in the whole province. You’ll understand once you experience it."

And so, they made plans. After hanging up, Li Xiang returned to his hotel room, turned off the lights, and used his Night Vision Technique to scan the room.

’Good. No hidden cameras.’

Under Li Xiang’s Night Vision Technique superpower, any hidden cameras would show up as red dots of light.

Although there was one object in the room flashing with a red light, it was just the smoke detector, which was visible even without his Night Vision superpower.

Li Xiang opened his empty suitcase and took out the batch of treasure-grade or higher Chicken Blood Stones from his System Space. There were twelve pieces in total, all with the stone rind removed and wiped clean. He arranged them in the suitcase. The largest piece was 7.2 kilograms, the smallest was only about 100 grams, and the total weight was 18.6 kilograms.

He thought for a moment, then took out a small, rectangular piece. All six of its faces had exquisite blood-red patterns. ’I’ll use this as a sample tomorrow at lunch,’ he decided. ’I’ll show it to him first. If he doesn’t recognize its value or tries to lowball me, then I’ll just drop it. No point in showing him the rest.’

He Zhixiang hadn’t returned yet. He was probably still at a KTV, singing with a beautiful woman on his arm. Li Xiang sent him a message about the lunch meeting and then went to sleep.

"He set it up that fast? And Young Master Xu is treating us to a meal?" He Zhixiang was slightly surprised when he saw the message. He immediately rushed back eagerly, afraid that staying up too late would ruin his image for tomorrow.

He had been at the KTV with his driver. The driver had wanted to have a little more fun, but seeing that his boss was leaving, he could only follow along reluctantly.

Since it was rather late, He Zhixiang didn’t go over to disturb Li Xiang and instead went back to his own room to sleep.

At ten the next morning, Xu Xuan sent the private room number. They had agreed to meet at 11:30. Since Li Xiang and He Zhixiang were close by, they headed over twenty minutes early.

He Zhixiang brought his driver along again. The driver was a distant relative and a trusted subordinate. For one, he wanted to bring him out to see the world; for another, if anything came up, he’d have a reliable person to run errands.

The driver was very curious when he saw Li Xiang carrying a suitcase just to go eat. ’He’s just going up to the eighth floor, it’s not like he’s checking out,’ the driver thought. ’He could always come back and pack later. Is there something valuable inside that he’s afraid will get stolen? But this is a five-star hotel with a safe in the room. Security shouldn’t be an issue, right?’

He wanted to ask, but seeing that his boss didn’t, he held his tongue.

Around 11:25, Xu Xuan arrived with a large entourage. A few of them were sharply dressed and appeared to be hotel staff—the lobby manager or someone of similar rank.

There were also a few familiar faces, including the girl who had given him a flirtatious gaze before.

After a round of pleasantries and introductions, Li Xiang learned that the girl’s name was Zhang Youyou, and she was Xu Xuan’s girlfriend.

Although Zhang Youyou claimed to be a fan and acted very enthusiastically toward him, Li Xiang could tell her affection was just for show. ’She’s probably just trying to get a rise out of Xu Xuan,’ he thought. ’The push and pull between those two is intense; they’re in the middle of a silent war.’

Li Xiang also introduced He Zhixiang, but Xu Xuan just gave a faint nod, said they could cooperate more in the future, and then immediately shifted the topic back to Li Xiang.

"I’m a few years older than you, so I’ll call you little bro. You said you had some Chicken Blood Stone. Why don’t you take it out for President Wang to see?" Xu Xuan said, pointing to a portly man in his fifties who was dripping with jewels.