64: "Brother Qiang" of Humen

The sky was just beginning to turn the color of a fish's belly.

Li Zhan pushed open the door to the apartment in Lianhua Residential Area, carrying several bags of breakfast.

He gently placed the soy milk and buns on the dining table.

After taking a cold shower, he tiptoed into Xiao Xue's room, still damp with moisture.

He didn't go to A Zhen's room for fear of waking her.

Dongguan was now in the middle of November, quite different from the height of summer.

The young girl on the bed was curled up under a thin quilt, with only the back of her neck exposed.

Li Zhan lifted the quilt and lay down, his cold palms pressing directly against her warm waist.

"Mmm..."

Xiao Xue turned over dizzily and mumbled with sleepy eyes, "Brother Zhan... what time is it..."

"It's still early."

Li Zhan's hand had already slipped into her pajamas, his palm covering that soft mound.

The girl's skin was like freshly squeezed milk, smooth and supple.

Xiao Xue suddenly woke up a bit more and rolled over to wrap herself around him.

Two snowy white arms circled his neck, and a fragrant warmth from her body drifted into his nose.

Li Zhan could clearly feel the curves of her young, firm body; she was wearing nothing under her nightgown.

"Don't..."

He said it, but his hand slid down her smooth back.

The girl's breathing grew ragged, her warm, moist lips wandering along his neck.

Outside the window, the morning light was faint.

Soon, suppressed gasps and the faint creaking of the mattress filled the room.

Li Zhan bit the girl's earlobe, thinking that this breakfast was particularly appetizing.

—

Near noon,

Li Zhan finally pushed open the door to the Xinyue Entertainment office.

Lin Xia had been waiting on the sofa for a long time, dressed in a capable outfit—

Her high ponytail was tied back neatly.

A black tight-fitting sweater outlined her full curves, with a light-colored trench coat draped casually over the sofa's armrest.

Her face looked a bit haggard, with faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly showing she hadn't slept all night.

Seeing Li Zhan enter,

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes, a flicker of struggle and complexity in her eyes.

Since morning, she had been struggling with whether or not to come and report for duty.

But driven by her mission and curiosity about this man,

She still went to the venue to find Sister Hua, and finally came to the New Sharp office to report.

The moment he saw Lin Xia, Li Zhan remembered the task he had casually arranged the night before.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He walked straight to Lin Xia's side and sat down, his arm naturally circling her shoulder.

"Been waiting long?"

His voice carried a hint of a smile, his palm already sliding down her tense back.

Lin Xia's whole body stiffened.

Before she could react, Li Zhan's lips were already pressing down.

Her eyes widened, and her hands pressed against his chest, pushing back with force,

But his other hand reached directly inside her sweater.

"Mmm... you..."

Her protest was blocked in her throat, her nose filled with the man's domineering scent.

What annoyed her the most was,

Her own body was actually softening under such rough treatment.

Her resistance grew weaker and weaker... Ten minutes later, she glared at him in shame and anger,

She was even more furious with herself for going soft just now without much of a fight.

"Be good."

Li Zhan straightened her sweater and kissed her forehead.

He wasn't actually that desperate; he just wanted to get this girl used to such intimacy—

Boiling a frog in lukewarm water was the essence of training.

He pulled a stack of cash from a drawer and tossed it out.

"As my personal secretary, you need to pay attention to your attire.

I'm giving you the day off today to go buy some decent clothes."

Seeing Lin Xia about to object, he leaned down and whispered a few words in her ear.

The tips of the girl's ears instantly turned blood-red, and she gave him a fierce glare.

At that moment, Little Night pushed the door open and saw Lin Xia hurriedly tidying her clothes.

A playful curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Li Zhan winked at Little Night and introduced her.

“Little Night, this is the new secretary, Lin Xia. She'll be in charge of some clerical work in my office from now on.”

Then he tossed another stack of money to Little Night.

“How about this, you accompany Lin Xia to go shopping today and buy some suitable clothes.”

Little Night narrowed her eyes and smiled, “Okay...”

She walked to Lin Xia's side, ”Sister Lin Xia... let's go. Getting to go shopping instead of working, how great is that..."

Little Night affectionately took the arm of the still-dazed Lin Xia,

"I'll take you to pick out some styles that Brother Zhan likes~"

As she closed the door, she didn't forget to look back and throw Li Zhan a wink, making a secret gesture with her fingers by the hem of her skirt.

Lin Xia clenched her fists and followed behind.

What kind of undercover mission was this?

She had practically become this bastard's private plaything!

But the lingering numbness deep within her body made her legs feel a bit weak even as she walked.

It was truly a case of "a scholar meeting a soldier"—there's no reasoning with him.

Moreover, the one she encountered was the upgraded, bandit version of Li Zhan.

—

Noon, after lunch.

Li Zhan sat in the leather chair in his office, his fingers rhythmically tapping the desk.

Old Zhou, Big Courage, Shui Sheng, and AZu sat around the coffee table,

The faint smell of tobacco filled the air.

Li Zhan pushed the cigarette pack onto the coffee table.

"We need to speed up the progress over in Nancheng.

What's the situation there now?"

Big Courage skillfully shook out a few cigarettes and distributed them to everyone, puffing out smoke rings as he spoke,

"Those venues of theirs basically have no business now. The lackeys under them are almost bored to death.

I heard Seventh Uncle flew into a huge rage yesterday."

A cold smile touched the corners of Li Zhan's mouth; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Keep applying pressure on them.

Make it so they can't fight back, yet they can't do business either."

He turned to AZu, "You're a local, go and contact those who are resentful.

Remember, start with the small leaders, and you can be generous with the offer."

AZu nodded, a shrewd look flashing in his eyes,

"I know some veterans from several of their venues. Leave this to me."

"Shui Sheng,"

Li Zhan flicked his cigarette ash, "Have your people keep a close eye on Seventh Uncle.

I want to know who he sees every day, what he eats, even how many sheets of paper he uses in the bathroom."

Shui Sheng pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming with cold light behind the lenses,

"It's already been arranged.

After Director Zhang's matter ended, I started monitoring Seventh Uncle's side.

As long as you give the word, we can deal with him immediately."

Li Zhan nodded in satisfaction and walked to the window,

"Once we swallow Nancheng, the next one will be Ninth Master.

Shui Sheng, transfer a few fresh faces from Team Three to infiltrate Phoenix City as waiters."

Shui Sheng took out a notebook and recorded quickly.

Old Zhou suddenly spoke up, "A-Zhan, should we arrange an 'accident' for Seventh Uncle?"

Li Zhan turned around, his expression flickering in the smoke,

"No rush.

Seventh Uncle should still have some cards to play. Let's cut off his financial resources first and then watch his performance.

Once the hearts of the people below him have scattered..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, and a few cold laughs immediately rang out in the office.

—

Li Zhan flicked his cigarette ash and looked up at Old Zhou,

"Have you figured out the background of 'Brother Qiang,' the father of Young Master Hua from Tiger Gate?"

Old Zhou narrowed his eyes and counted on his fingers,

"This old fox's industries are spread quite wide.

He has three garment factories in the center of Tiger Gate.

On the surface, they do legitimate foreign trade, but in reality, unknown goods are frequently moved in and out of the warehouses in the middle of the night.

He has shares in four component factories in the Electronic Industrial Park that specifically supply underground workshops."

"The Commercial City is even darker,"

Big Courage chimed in, "Merchants pay two sets of rent every month: one to the market and one to him as protection money."

Shui Sheng pushed up his glasses and added,

"The most crucial thing is that he's in cahoots with 'Prince Hui' of Huangjiang.

Taizi Hotel's top floor has a private box reserved for him year-round, and the two of them meet at least twice a week."

Li Zhan gave a cold laugh, "Garment factories moving goods at night? Electronic components for the black market?"

He crushed the cigarette butt out forcefully in the ashtray,

"Tiger Gate is a good place."

He rubbed his chin, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand and checked his watch.

"Let's go..."

He grabbed his suit jacket and stood up decisively, "Let's go meet this underground emperor of Tiger Gate."

Old Zhou immediately took out his phone, "How many people should we bring?"

"Just us few." Li Zhan adjusted his cuffs,

"This time is just to get acquainted and see his face. It's hard to say if there might be some cooperation opportunities."

Shui Sheng knowingly put away his notebook, his eyes gleaming slightly behind his glasses.

AZu had already stood up and pulled open the office door.

Outside, dark clouds loomed overhead; a storm was coming.