According to the message from Uncle Bai Hen, the Li family ventured to marry into the Hu family not simply to fulfill Li Jiao Jiao’s romantic desires but also for financial gain.
They discovered a mysterious sum of money in a Swiss bank account, with the Li family as the beneficiaries. This money seemingly originated from the Hu family.
The exact agreement between the Hu and Li families remains unknown. Previously, he suspected that Hu Li might have given up on Hua Yan for financial reasons, but now it seems he was mistaken.
It now appears that the real concern is not what Hu Li says but whether the Li family has already fallen into a trap set by Hu Li. However, this was none of his business.
He was just angry to see Hu Li getting engaged to someone else. Holding a wine glass, Jiu Cheng decided to make things difficult for Hu Li. He intended to act immediately.
Just as Hu Li was coming to his senses, he inadvertently noticed Jiu Cheng approaching with a smile, causing a sudden bad feeling.
"Hu Li, today is your big day. Let me toast to you."
"Thank you." Hu Li didn’t trust Jiu Cheng’s goodwill but couldn’t express his anger.
Seeing Hu Li’s reluctance, Jiu Cheng wasn’t about to let him off easily.
"You and Miss Li are a perfect match, a couple made in heaven. On such an auspicious day, shouldn’t you two share a kiss to seal your engagement?"
Everyone else, except Hu Li, laughed and agreed. Li Dong even smiled at Jiu Cheng, regardless of his motives, as he was helping his sister.
Unfortunately, Hu Li didn’t want Hua Yan to despise him later: "I can’t be touched right now," he said coldly, shattering many people’s hopes and surprising everyone.
Li Dong, infuriated, said, "Hu Li, don’t push us too far." Li Jiao Jiao, pale, quickly grabbed her brother’s arm to stop him from saying anything harsher. She didn’t want Hu Li to hate her.
"Ahhh..." a woman, one of Li Jiao Jiao’s best friends, screamed as Hu Li kicked her to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain and regretting her rashness.
The woman had tried to touch Hu Li, wanting to see if the rumors about him not being able to be touched were true. As soon as she brushed Hu Li’s sleeve, he kicked her away. Seeing the brutality, many timid guests stepped back. People were worried about Li Jiao Jiao’s future.
"What a pity, a young talent like Asia-Pacific Arbitration. To have such a quirk, Miss Li is going to suffer."
"Keep your voice down, or you might get kicked too. Just seeing that woman being carried away makes me feel pain."
Everyone whispered among themselves, and both the Hu and Li families looked uneasy. Hu’s mother, with her years of social skills, managed to restore the surface liveliness of the banquet.
"You all carry on; I won’t disturb you," Jiu Cheng said with a smile before leaving the banquet. Although he didn’t make Hu Li angry, the scene just now wasn’t bad. Deep down, he unconsciously began helping Hu Li.
After the commotion, the news about Hu Li’s quirk would likely spread quickly. If Hu Li didn’t want to, Li Jiao Jiao wouldn’t be able to have any physical contact with him. At least until Hua Yan returned, Hu Li would remain untouched.
Lost in thought, Jiu Cheng was jolted when someone hurriedly bumped into him, almost knocking him over. Regaining his balance, he noticed a slender woman rushing out the door. Touching his chest, he found it wet. Jiu Cheng’s eyes glinted; the woman had been crying.
With his photographic memory, Jiu Cheng didn’t recognize the woman as a guest at the banquet. After some thought, he guessed she must have been sitting in an inconspicuous spot.
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Could it be... Suddenly, Jiu Cheng took a few steps forward and saw the woman getting into a car. He followed. After some twists and turns, he saw a man and a woman get out of the car and enter a mental hospital.
The woman wasn’t Hua Yan as he had speculated. These two people behaved strangely. Given the woman’s reaction and her presence at Hu Li’s engagement banquet, she clearly had something to do with Hu Li.
Driven by curiosity, Jiu Cheng found out that night that the woman was Hu Si, Hu Li’s personal bodyguard, who had suddenly gone mad a few months ago.
The psychiatrist at the mental hospital showed great concern for Hu Si, and Jiu Cheng confirmed that the man was indeed the psychiatrist.
What was even stranger was that Hu Li and his family didn’t know that Hu Si had already recovered. This hinted at a conspiracy. Could Hua Yan’s disappearance be related to them?
A week later, Jiu Cheng discovered that neither Hu Si nor the psychiatrist knew about Hua Yan’s disappearance. They merely recorded Hu Li’s daily activities, who he met, and what he did.
Moreover, since the engagement banquet, several people have been following Li Jiao Jiao, hired by Hu Si.
Jiu Cheng couldn't yet decipher what game she was playing. However, he clearly knew that this was Hu Li’s romantic debt.
After much contemplation, Jiu Cheng decided not to tell Hu Li about it, maliciously choosing to let Hu Li experience the pain of a romantic entanglement.
Afterward, Hu’s father and mother stayed in Haibin City, while Hu Li continued his work, aiming to complete his family tasks ahead of schedule. Now, Li Jiao Jiao had more legitimate reasons to visit Hu Li at Asia-Pacific, sometimes even cooking soup to nourish him.
However, Hu Li remained indifferent towards her. Li Jiao Jiao, seemingly hardened through countless trials, was not affected by his cold demeanor, smiling at Hu Li daily despite his cold reception.
Following the banquet incident where the woman broke three ribs, the Li family somewhat believed in Hu Li's peculiar condition. They even liked Hu Li more than before, except for Li Dong, who remembered seeing Hu Li holding hands and walking shoulder to shoulder with Hua Yan on several occasions.
He had several reasons for not speaking out: he didn’t want to break his sister’s heart or gray her spirits, and he didn’t want to fall out with Hu Li before achieving his goals.
Hu Li also received news that Hu Da had met Cheng Xiang abroad, though the latter seemed to have lost his memory. Accompanying him was a girl who bore some resemblance to him, and he appeared to be in good health.
Given his father’s collaboration with the Cheng family, Hu Li sensed something amiss. He instructed Hu Da to investigate the Cheng family’s situation. Despite not knowing their exact base of operations, Hu Da discovered that the Cheng family's dark forces controlled a vast arms business.
Hu San also reported that Hu's father had spent a considerable sum to purchase new equipment, apparently preparing to upgrade the Hu family’s arsenal. This information made Hu Li’s cold heart feel a bit warm.
These tasks could have been left to the next generation, but Hu’s father had painstakingly taken them on, ultimately benefiting Hu Li.
Over the past three months, Hu Li's performance had skyrocketed, drawing comparisons to his illustrious ancestor Hu Xueyan. Recently, due to the Hua Yan incident, he had misused family resources, but the family's discontent had finally dissipated.
Now, whenever the Hu family thought of future prosperity and wealth flowing in, they increasingly favored Hu Li, believing he was the rightful heir.
However, Hu San pointed out a puzzling detail: the price of the advanced weapons Hu’s father had purchased was actually 1% lower than market value. Even a 0.1% reduction would be a significant concession, so the Cheng family’s greater discount suggested they were not profiting, just covering costs. This was unusual for arms dealers, who typically demanded higher prices.
The Cheng family’s actions indicated Hu's father had given them something valuable or crucial: perhaps Cheng Xiang, or even Hua Yan. Both Cheng Cheng and Cheng's father disliked Hua Yan, the latter hating her enough to want to drink her blood and gnaw her bones.
Hu's father was also involved in the Cheng family's rescue of Cheng Xiang, contributing to Hua Yan's disappearance.
The more Hu Li thought about it, the more he broke into a cold sweat. If Hua Yan had fallen into the Cheng family’s hands, her fate would be dire.
"Tell Hu Da to intensify infiltration of the Cheng family’s forces and find out if Hua Yan is in their hands."
"Master, should we reassign some of Hu’s father's men to focus on the Cheng family?" Hu Li's confidant suggested, seeing his master's serious expression.
Hu Li agreed, leaving only the elite guarding Hu's father. Both sides were now closely monitored, awaiting Hua Yan's whereabouts.
Despite passing time, no news emerged from either side.
Meanwhile, Ke Shaozheng's drug cartel had begun their annual drug trade. A batch of operatives was sent to the Golden Triangle to inspect the opium crops and decide who would get the top-tier natural drug orders for the year.
The Golden Triangle was bustling with international police, drug lords, and renowned business magnates, boosting the local economy in areas such as hospitality and entertainment.
Qiang Ge’s armed bases were preparing to welcome guests, cleaning top-tier guest rooms, setting up decor, and arranging for entertainers from Thailand. They also procured renowned chefs and gourmet ingredients worldwide.
This time of year was joyous for locals but demanded utmost caution from armed base owners like Qiang Ge. Amidst the chaos, their major clients could potentially be high-ranking international law enforcement.