On her way home, Serena Li received a call from the laundry, telling her to pick up her clothes.
She told the driver to park in front of the laundry shop near the residential area.
I was going to pick up was Victor Mo ‘s. I only had time to take it to the dry cleaners last Saturday after the school anniversary celebrations were over.
Back home, she hung the suit in the guest room closet. Looking at the well-made and exquisitely fabriced suit, she couldn’t help but recall the scene from that night. Not only was she completely exposed to him in her disheveled state, but she was also wearing a suit that carried his strong hormonal scent. A strange feeling welled up inside her, one that was hard to describe.
He frowned, closed the cabinet door, and went to take a shower.
Serena Li heard a new message notification sound. After drying her wet hair, she picked up her phone to check WeChat and saw several unread messages in her group chat with her three best friends.
Joyce Wu : Girls, I just got home. I’m exhausted today, I had three private lessons in a row. Serena, how did your dinner with your boss go tonight?
Lynn Yan : She sent me a WeChat message when she got home. Nothing seemed amiss. Her supervisor gave her the photos from the school anniversary celebration. I have a friend who works at the municipal government, and I just asked him for some information about Frank Wang . I’ll send it to you guys in a bit.
Lynn Yan : Frank Wang is 37 years old this year. He was transferred from the audit department to manage finances 5 years ago. His ex-wife used to work in the Pengcheng Culture and Sports Office. It seems that she went abroad after the divorce two years ago. The two have a daughter, who is now being raised by Frank Wang .
Joyce Wu : Huh? Divorced with children?
Lynn Yan : Yes, I heard that he has a good reputation in the municipal party committee, but to reach the level of an official, he is probably more cunning than a businessman and must have some tricks up his sleeve. It’s best to avoid contact with such people as long as we don’t offend them!
Joyce Wu : Who cares what kind of official he is? I think divorced women with children don’t need to consider it! By the way, Serena, how are things going with Victor Mo lately ?
Serena Li was about to reply, “We have no plans,” when the phone rang. Before she could even see the caller ID, her thumb accidentally slipped and pressed the answer button.
It’s Victor Mo , just like the saying goes, “Speak of the devil and he appears.”
As soon as the call connected, a deep, magnetic male voice came through, ” Serena , are you asleep?”
“No, is there something you need?” Serena Li asked.
There was a soft chuckle on the other end, followed by a gentle voice: “I’d like to hear your voice.”
The conversation was too ambiguous; Serena Li felt her heart race and quickly changed the subject, “The suit you lent me last time has already been dry-cleaned, I…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Victor Mo interrupted, saying, “I’ll ask you for it when I get back to Pengcheng this weekend.”
The sound from the other end was a bit noisy, like people were talking in English. Then I heard Victor Mo say, “I’m going to a meeting right away. You should get some rest.” Then he hung up.
Looking at the phone that had already been hung up, Serena Li frowned. Actually, she had meant to say that she planned to give the suit to his driver.
in New York , Victor Mo picked up the cigarette case and lighter on the table, lit one, walked to the French windows, and looked around with a meaningful gaze.
Just then, Andrew Xu, who was sitting next to the desk , finished discussing the itinerary with another man and looked up to see his boss bathed in the morning light.
It was 10 a.m. in New York, and the sun was shining brightly. Because of the backlighting, the morning light behind him seemed to coat Victor Mo with a soft golden hue. He had a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, and he seemed to be in a good mood after talking to Ms. Li.
“Mr. Mo, you’re going to be late.” Andrew Xu stood up to remind his boss that he had an appointment with a client from a partner company.
“Whatever.” Victor Mo took a drag of his cigarette and shrugged. “It’s good to make them wait a bit. Merrill Lynch’s senior executives are all big shots; this is a good opportunity to deflate their arrogance.” He gave a smug smile. “Anyway, they’re the weaker party, so it’s only right that they suffer a little loss.”
Andrew Xu had to admire Victor Mo ‘s business acumen; he handled things with perfect finesse, proving himself to be a born businessman.
A moment later, Victor Mo walked to the desk, stubbed out his cigarette, and flipped through the documents Andrew Xu had prepared for him, asking, “Where will this meeting take place?”
“The VIP lounge on the 25th floor of the Langham Hotel.”
“Oh?” He tossed the documents aside and gestured for Andrew Xu to tidy up.
Andrew Xu quickly organized the documents, put them into his briefcase, and then asked another man in the room to prepare the car.
After picking up his coffee and taking a sip, Victor Mo raised an eyebrow and said, “I remember there’s a Bergdoodman department store there.” The department store was quite large; he figured he could probably buy what he wanted later.
“Yes, Mr. Mo, it’s only one block away from the hotel.”
“After meeting with Merrill Lynch executives, I need to go there to take a look. The video conference with domestic officials this afternoon will be postponed until tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll make the arrangements.”
Victor Mo picked up his suit jacket, left the room, and prepared to head to the Langham Hotel to rip off the Americans.
***
Serena Li had just gotten home after school on Friday when she received a call from Frank Wang .
“Director Wang, hello.”
“Xiao Li, are you home yet?”
“Just got back.”
“Perfect timing. The driver mentioned where you live last time. My daughter takes an extracurricular class at the Baolian Building nearby. She has class tonight, and I’ll pick her up at eight o’clock. I have something I’d like to ask you.”
When asked if she needed a favor, Serena Li hesitated, knowing it might be an excuse, but she couldn’t think of a way to refuse.
When the appointed time arrived, Serena Li walked slowly towards Baolian Building, pondering some options. In the end, she realized she was still too naive; the tricks of officials were no less sophisticated than those of businessmen, and she could only improvise.
Arriving at the training institution on the 5th floor of Baolian Building, there were quite a few parents picking up their children at this time, but Serena Li immediately spotted Frank Wang in the crowd . People like him have a certain aura that sets them apart from the average person. He was accompanied by someone, and just then, a teacher from the training class came out and led a child to stop in front of him, looking all smiles.
Frank Wang saw her too. Serena Li was about to greet him when she saw Frank Wang smile and shake his head at her.
She understood his deliberately understated protectiveness, and smiled in response.
Frank Wang raised his hand to greet the teacher before coming out. The little girl next to him was very close to him. Her features were somewhat similar to his, but her skin tone was different. The little girl was very fair-skinned, with a round and chubby face, and she was quite cute.
Serena Li was waiting for them at the door. After Frank Wang came out, he patted the shoulder of the person next to him and said, “You can go back first.”
The man was very respectful; he nodded and quickly got off the elevator and left.
Serena Li was still watching the person’s back when she caught a glimpse of someone staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Turning around, she saw the little girl next to Frank Wang . Her eyes weren’t entirely childlike; they flickered and looked away, just like an adult’s. Serena Li had never worked with children before, and she thought a child that age wouldn’t have such a look in her eyes.
Frank Wang smiled and said to Serena Li , “My daughter, Jiajia.”
Then she bent down and patted the back of the little girl’s head, saying, “Come on, let’s go get some dessert.”
The three of them went to Honeymoon Dessert Shop on the first floor of the building. The little girl was very well-behaved, not making a fuss. After eating a bowl of mango pomelo sago, she sat on the chair and played with her Barbie doll.
Serena Li ‘s phone ran out of battery and shut down automatically when she arrived at the store, but Frank Wang was so talkative that she felt embarrassed to say she was going home early.
Frank Wang chatted with Serena Li about education reform, revealing his broad knowledge base. You’d think he was in education, not finance. He occasionally leaned down to ask his daughter a few questions. They ended up eating dessert for over an hour, while Honeymoon Dessert was almost closing time.
As they were about to leave, Frank Wang insisted on taking Serena Li home. “It’s late now. I’ll drive you home. There are fewer pedestrians on the road at night, and the construction team’s trucks are parked nearby. I don’t feel comfortable letting you walk home.”
Serena Li had to admire his skill in playing it safe; he wasn’t forceful, yet he left no room for argument.
After getting in the car, his daughter and Serena Li sat in the back seat. The little girl was holding her backpack and seemed a bit sleepy, so she soon closed her eyes.
Ten minutes later, the car arrived at her apartment building.
After turning off the car, Frank Wang took something from the front seat, got out of the car, opened the door for Serena Li , and said, “The extracurricular class requires parents to put together a jigsaw puzzle. I don’t have time, can you help me out?”
Serena Li glanced at the square, flat yellow cloth bag with blue prints and the logo of XX Education. The puzzle pieces were quite large, and she figured it would take a lot of time to put them together. Looking at the little girl in the car, she decided she couldn’t refuse in front of the child, so she nodded and took it.
Frank Wang turned and looked around the neighborhood, then asked her, “Do you live with your family?”
“No, sometimes I stay with friends.” Serena Li answered ambiguously, not wanting him to know her private matters.
Frank Wang smiled and got into the car.
The car drove away, and Serena Li walked back with the cloth bag in her arms. Touching the shape of the bag, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
As I approached Building D, I subconsciously squeezed the object in my hand; the feel of it…
Serena Li stopped and took out the square box from the bag. It was much wider than a regular puzzle box, champagne-colored, but without any plastic wrap.
She used her index finger to pry open the lid, revealing a corner of the contents. She pulled it out and took a look—
It turned out to be a Chanel bag.
this…
“You spent the whole night with him?” A deep voice sounded from the side, and for a moment, Serena Li was paralyzed as if she had been struck on a pressure point.
That sound…
When she looked up again, she saw Victor Mo standing downstairs at her house.
He had one hand in his pocket, while flicking cigarette ash with the other. In the darkness, wisps of white smoke rose from his mouth and nose as he squinted, his face grim.
Serena Li was still reeling from the shock of Frank Wang smashing her designer bag when she saw Victor Mo. She frowned and asked, “Is something wrong so late?”
Victor Mo stubbed out his cigarette, took a few steps closer, and looked down at her.