The Girlfriends' Circle!
The Peninsula Hong Kong is in a prime location, standing right in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon Peninsula, with sweeping views of Victoria Harbour. It is surrounded by famous shopping, business, and entertainment centers, and it also marks the starting point of Nathan Road, Kowloon's longest and most important street.
Since the 1950s, the Peninsula has been known as the "film stars' tearoom," because so many movie stars loved coming here for afternoon tea. Countless fans have jokingly called it the place in Hong Kong where you're most likely to run into celebrities.
But afternoon tea at the Peninsula is not cheap, and not just anyone can afford it, so the place is not nearly as crowded as people imagine. On the contrary, it is fairly quiet, which makes it perfect for a group of women to sit together and chat.
Ever since marrying Li Weiguo, the head of Zhonghai Group and one of Hong Kong's three great tycoons, Li Jiaxin had rarely come here for afternoon tea. She almost never met up with her friends from the same circle anymore, either. But right now she really did have plenty of worries she wanted to pour out to someone, so she had reunited with her old girlfriends and come to the Peninsula for tea.
"It's really rare. Counting it up, it's been months since we've all gathered like this. So, say it. Why did you call us here?"
The others might still give her some face because she was Mrs. Li of the Li family, but the close friend sitting in front of her would not do that. No matter how she had gotten her fortune, the Peninsula Hotel was now essentially her family's place, so she could indeed afford not to show her any courtesy.
"Jiahui, you still haven't changed a bit. So blunt. And since you're here, I want to ask how things are going between you and your little princess."
"How do you think it's going? She treats me like an enemy every day and keeps thinking I killed her father. What does that have to do with me? The old man was the one who couldn't hold up. Forget it, let's not talk about that. Why did you call us here?"
Li Jiaxin glanced at the exquisite tea set in front of her and stirred the cup with a spoon again and again, looking heavy with worry. "Changsheng is coming back. My husband has been very happy lately, but I've never met Changsheng before, so I'm completely unfamiliar with him. He probably feels the same way about me. From now on we'll be living under the same roof, and I really don't know how I'm supposed to get along with him."
As soon as Guan Zhilin heard that, her beautiful eyes lit up. "You mean that famous math prodigy Li Changsheng? I heard he was admitted to Tsinghua's Young Genius Class when he was fifteen, then studied on the mainland for five years. He's even more impressive than Mario from the gambling king's family next door."
Li Jiaxin nodded. Li Weiguo had two sons in all. The eldest was Li Jiacheng, yes, Li Jiacheng, not Li Jiacheng spelled any other way on purpose. That was because the relationship between the two men had never been good. Calling them sworn enemies would not be an exaggeration at all, so he had simply given his son a name that sounded like yours, just to keep things interesting and fight over it when necessary.
The other, the younger son, was called Li Changsheng. He was a math prodigy. At eleven, he had taught himself advanced university mathematics. At thirteen, he had solved several extremely difficult mathematical conjectures. At fifteen, he was specially admitted into Tsinghua's Young Genius Class, long known as a cradle of prodigies.
For someone like that, it was basically a foregone conclusion that he would be chosen as the family's first heir. Even though he was only twenty now, being called back at this point likely meant he was about to receive formal, focused cultivation.
After all, Li Weiguo was already quite old, in his seventies now. He had his son late in life, so it was only natural for him to plan ahead.
"Amin, you have the most male fans, and they're all fresh-faced boys in their teens and twenties. Tell us, do you have any special trick for dealing with little guys like that?"
The pop diva known as the Queen of Jade Beauties, Zhou Huimin, pointed at herself in confusion. "Me? I'm the one who got the bargain son. I don't even have a boyfriend, and you're asking me? How would I know?"
"No way. The Crown Prince has been chasing you for so long, and you still haven't said yes?"
The moment she heard the name "Crown Prince," Zhou Huimin instinctively looked displeased. She said very seriously, "Jiahui, how many times have I told you? I don't feel anything for him. I don't like his type. I'm absolutely not going to accept him."
Guan Zhilin was only saying it casually. People mixed up with triads were not good to get too close to, no matter what their status. Sure, women like them could look after things here and there, but if they really refused to give face, then it would still be hard to handle. The Crown Prince was not an ordinary man.
"For Hung Hing, the fighters are theirs; for Tung Sing, the porn boys are theirs. The Crown Prince is Hung Hing's top enforcer, and now he's even the man in charge over in Tsim Sha Tsui. Calling him second only to one man is not the least bit of an exaggeration. Refusing him is one thing, but don't embarrass him too badly. Also, try not to deal with him privately, and don't trust the agents around you too much. If anything happens, call me or Sister Xin."
Zhou Huimin could only nod helplessly. The only ones who could protect her now were Li Jiaxin and Guan Zhilin. She could not count on anyone else. Sometimes being too beautiful really was not a good thing.
Li Jiaxin looked at Guan Zhilin, then at Zhou Huimin, and realized she could not count on either of them. So her gaze turned to Zhang Min, who had been sitting there all along, elegant and lovely, quietly sipping her afternoon tea by herself.
"Amin, where's Xiaoxian?"
"She's filming right now. She's so busy she's practically dying. People even call her Queen Thirteen, and she's probably going to get thirteen films released this year alone. How could she have time to come drink tea with us? But honestly, Jiaxin, for a young man that spirited, you really do need to keep an eye on him. And your little daughter-in-law isn't exactly the honest type either, so you'd be better off watching more and doing less. Oh, and I heard that President Li has been buying up a lot of TVB shares lately and is thinking about taking control of TVB. So let me congratulate you in advance, Jiaxin. The next time we get together, you may well be the boss lady of TVB."
Hearing that, Li Jiaxin was overjoyed. She had never dreamed that she would one day set foot inside TVB, and it was precisely because her husband had prepared such a grand gift for her that she now very much wanted to build a good relationship with her husband's favorite younger son, Li Changsheng, and be a proper stepmother to him.
On the other side, in the villa of Hung Hing's leader, Jiang Tiansheng, he was discussing something major with one of Hung Hing's rising stars, Chen Haonan, a protégé of Big Boss Sai B. Originally he had wanted the Crown Prince to make the move, but after thinking about it, he decided it would be more appropriate to send the sharper, smoother-looking Handsome Nan instead.
Jiang Tiansheng took a black iron token engraved with the character "Xuan" out of a very exquisite box and said, "Haonan, I'm entrusting this Xuan Iron Token to you. You must deliver it into the hands of Daoist Mi Jingzi, the disciple of Master Xuanji."