Chapter Eighty-One: Nowhere to Hide

The chief steward, Lin Jian, mentioned his father, his face shadowed by guilt and remorse. “After that... after that, my father met with disaster alongside the master. The whole family was ruined. What ‘after that’ could there be?”

King Kong thought for a moment, then said, “I know your father’s death must have been what changed you so suddenly. But what I want to ask is this: why did you choose to change?”

As he spoke, King Kong’s gaze sharpened like a blade, but Chief Steward Lin Jian remained soft and yielding as cotton, unaffected. He took two unhurried drags on his cigarette before replying, “Aren’t you the same? Do you really believe it was just an accident?”

King Kong gave a cold snort, pinched out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand just as before, then flicked it away. It flew ten meters and dropped neatly into a rubbish bin. The chief steward watched, the cigarette still between his lips, and lightly applauded, as if praising a splendid performance.

Xiao Tianci gently wiped the tears from little Meg’s face. He had never imagined that the tears of a child who had spoken to him only once could make his heart ache so deeply.

A chill spread through him, as though he were wrapped on all sides by layers of pitch-black shadow. No light. No future. No tomorrow. No hope. That helpless, despairing sensation came solely from Meg’s tears—those tears that had fallen when she lay weakly on the bed, powerless.

“Meg, can you hear me? My name is Xiao Tianci. From now on, you can call me big brother. Don’t be sad. Be strong. Your mother must have taught you to be a brave child, didn’t she?”

He remembered what the file had said: her mother had raised her alone, and Meg had helped her sell flowers. A woman like that must have been strong. At the mention of her mother, Meg’s eyes stirred, and her body trembled faintly.

A response was enough. Joy flashed through Xiao Tianci’s heart, and he continued, “Meg, your mother said you have to be strong, independent, sensible...”

Knowing that she could hear him already made him glad. He did not dare say too much now. He understood little of psychology himself; he was only guessing. As for that doctor—honestly, what a disgrace. If he had known earlier, he would have let Fang Meng go in first and bite him to his heart’s content. Perhaps once the man was too tired to resist, he might actually have been able to treat her.

Though Xiao Tianci knew little about psychology, there was one thing he did understand: suggestion mattered, especially repeated suggestion, and even more so in this half-conscious, half-delirious state. So he kept speaking in the voice of her mother, over and over, until the words might take root in her mind as something her mother truly had said to her.

She had already been through an entire day of turmoil, and on top of that she had suffered such severe injuries. Strictly speaking, this was not the time for it. But her emotions were too agitated, and that would only worsen her wounds, so he had cautiously tried to let her rest while gently guiding her mind. He had not expected her to erupt once more in such a frenzy.

What was a miracle? Xiao Tianci felt one was right before his eyes. Even a strong adult, after a head injury and surgery, could hardly be expected to do all this upon waking—let alone a little girl. If she had not been extraordinarily fortunate, if the bullet had not lodged shallowly and spared her brain, she would likely have died long ago after all this struggling.

Later, Xiao Tianci simply began telling stories: your mother is leaving, so you must take care of yourself; be independent; don’t make trouble; be strong. Then, after thinking about it, he added, from now on Xiao Tianci will be your big brother, and you must listen to him...

He had no idea how long he spoke. In any case, he stayed until she finally fell asleep, and only then did he quietly rise and leave.

“Haa...” Carefully closing the door behind him, Xiao Tianci let out a long breath. Before he could say anything, Chief Steward Lin Jian had already offered him a cigar. Xiao Tianci nodded with satisfaction. But after it was lit, he did not smoke. Instead, he looked at Lin Jian, then at King Kong. Fang Meng seemed to understand something; a faint, pleased smile touched his lips, and he turned away to return to his room.

Xiao Tianci’s final expression left Lin Jian and King Kong both half-understanding and utterly puzzled.

The next morning, Xiao Tianci rose early and went back to watching the stock market. He had not slept much, but in his first years at work, endless overtime had been routine, so he did not find it difficult.

At opening, the market looked much the same as it had the day before. The two sides were still contending, but the more fiercely they fought, the more cautious observers held back. The result was that prices kept rising while sellers remained scarce.

Once Shang Ao, acting on Xiao Tianci’s instructions, publicly announced the Desert Villa project, the effect on the market was immediate. Share prices climbed even higher. But another problem, one Xiao Tianci had long anticipated, now surfaced: more and more people were coming to him, and it was no longer merely the media. Everyone understood the value of a defensive shield. Many countries were researching such technology, but most had not advanced beyond theory.

Even those who had found a path forward possessed only laboratory models; none could possibly deploy one over a vast area. But Xiao Tianci, speaking out of pure invention, had carried the fantasy to the point of airports, seawater desalination plants, even small desert towns.

If someone else had claimed such a breakthrough, perhaps only a handful of spies would have been sent to investigate. But who was Xiao Tianci? He was the owner of Meihua, the sole heir of the Xiao family, and the most precious scientific research power of the Xiao family lay in his hands.

Moreover, he had announced it directly at a press conference. The whole world now knew of Meihua Group’s colossal project, and so they were firmly convinced that he had already mastered the shield technology.

Zhou Ao hid in a garage inside an ordinary employee’s car, groaning in misery. “Boss, what are we supposed to do now? They’ve all come to the door. Every single one of them is someone we can’t afford to offend. What do we do now?”

Standing by the window, Xiao Tianci eased open a crack in the curtains and looked into the distance at the reporters crowding below and the other figures wandering back and forth farther off. The news of his arrival at the hospital was no state secret, especially not to any nation’s intelligence service. When even the guards had begun to lose control of the situation, Xiao Tianci had called the president. The moment the president heard Xiao Tianci ask him to send people to seal off the area and prevent anyone from approaching the hospital, he had been delighted.

He assumed Xiao Tianci intended to cooperate with him. But to his great disappointment, Xiao Tianci had no such intention. If there was to be no cooperation, why should he help? Before the president could even begin dressing up some elegant excuse, Xiao Tianci told him plainly that if he was driven far enough, then perhaps—perhaps—he might really hand the technology over to some other country. Then he added lightly that it was no great matter, and the president could decide for himself what to do.

After hanging up, Xiao Tianci could not help laughing. In less than half an hour, the army had arrived. That, at least, he had not expected. He had never thought the man would send troops so directly.

Still, the move clearly carried the meaning of keeping him under watch, perhaps even under soft detention. With him here, they could monitor and control him easily enough. Xiao Tianci did not mind. No matter where he went now, someone was bound to keep an eye on him. Since hiding and dodging were pointless, he might as well expose himself openly and let everyone know, so everyone could rest easy.

The trouble on his side had at least been blocked by others. Zhou Ao, however, had no such protection. Worse, everyone coming to him was someone he dared not offend, and the pressure had left him nearly at his wits’ end.

With a laugh, Xiao Tianci said, “Let me tell you, my side is even worse than yours. They’ve brought in the army.”

Zhou Ao thought bitterly: At least no one there is harassing you. Over here, it’s a disaster. Several people at a time keep sending invitations, dispatching planes to fetch me, or trying to talk by phone. Refusing them isn’t an option, and even speaking the wrong way isn’t an option. Yet all he had, apart from a single sentence from Xiao Tianci, was nothing. And as the second most powerful man in Meihua, both before and now, who would believe him if he said he knew nothing? Several people were already displeased with him.

Suddenly Zhou Ao said, “Boss, how about I come over to your place? I could help you there too...”

“I’m afraid that won’t do.” What a joke. If I let you come here, won’t all the fire outside focus on me? Haven’t you father and son always wanted to stay out of this? Let’s see how you plan to hide this time.

Then he said aloud, “Think about it. As the two top authorities in the company, how could we both leave? What would happen to the company then? Besides, there are already many things I can’t conveniently handle from here. If anything comes up, I’ll still need you to deal with it. All right, it seems the stock price has shifted again. These people—every one of them is sharper than the last. Once they know something’s going on, they’ll cling to it with a death grip. Take care of yourself.”

Before Zhou Ao could respond, Xiao Tianci had already hung up. He thought to himself: Let’s see how you handle this now, Zhou Ao. I’ve managed to hide myself away—let’s see where you can hide. Shield technology? Damn if I know who actually developed it. I don’t even know where the laboratory is now; I can’t contact them at all. I don’t know where you even got that information. But if you say you don’t know, then just wait to offend everyone.

The truth was, this matter could be considered either large or small. Helplessly, Zhou Ao switched off his phone. What now? He had already offended several people. All they wanted was a little information, but he genuinely knew nothing, which made it seem as though he were deliberately keeping silent. Those who could find him were all tied in some way to his family, and too often, because he knew nothing, everything was ruined at once.

Tap... tap...

Zhou Ao looked up. A man was knocking on the car window, smiling pleasantly, with seven or eight large bodyguards behind him. With a silent groan, Zhou Ao lowered the window in resignation.

“Mr. Zhou, our prince has just arrived. He says he would like to have a meal with his old friend...”

Knock, knock...

Xiao Tianci was still looking below, calculations for the next move already turning in his mind. “Come in.”

Chief Steward Lin Jian entered from outside. Xiao Tianci had only come in to change clothes, so Lin Jian had been waiting outside. Seeing him hurry in, Xiao Tianci knew at once that something had happened.

“Boss, the Ghost has appeared again...”