Lau Mei arrived thirty minutes before her scheduled date, dressed in a royal-green three-piece suit. She also wore a pair of eyeglasses that enhanced her masculine appearance, along with synthetic stubble that made it look as though she hadn't shaved in days.
She arrived at the basement parking lot of the King's Hotel with Adam.
After parking, she headed straight for the elevator and made her way to the reception desk. Once there, she casually inquired about the reservation made by her mother and the Zhang family, hoping to avoid any unnecessary complications.
However, what annoyed her was the receptionist's unusual stare.
"Do I have something on my face?" she asked.
The receptionist immediately became flustered and apologized.
"That's fine. I just don't like being stared at. Anyway, could you please show me to the restaurant?" Lau Mei said casually.
The receptionist quickly apologized again before pulling the candle-shaped lever.
Lau Mei wasn't surprised by the restaurant's extravagant appearance. She knew that the King's Hotel was a popular gathering place for society's elite. The hotel also prioritized its guests' security and ensured that their private meetings remained strictly confidential.
Once inside, she noticed that the restaurant was filled with influential men and women from various sectors of society. Merchants, businessmen, company executives, and even high-ranking government officials gathered there for different purposes.
Some came to exchange information, while others sought money, connections, or business opportunities. There were even those who visited the establishment in search of suitable partners for themselves or their relatives, hoping to expand their influence and strengthen their connections.
Ultimately, many of them shared one ambition: to secure a seat at the pinnacle of power.
Lau Mei knew she had to be careful with every move she made. One wrong step could easily offend someone influential.
She blended into the crowd, engaging in conversations with several businessmen and exchanging names and contact information.
Among them was Liu Yang, a man who, according to what she had learned, managed a major shipping company. They got along surprisingly well, especially after discovering their shared interest in chess.
Just as their conversation was going smoothly, Liu Yang suddenly invited her to play a game of chess.
When the other elites heard his invitation, they became excited. Liu Yang rarely invited anyone to play chess with him, making the opportunity particularly interesting.
Lau Mei initially intended to decline. After all, she had only come to meet her date. However, she hadn't expected Liu Yang to personally invite her.
In the end, she accepted.
Before long, a crowd had gathered around them. Some were interested in watching the match, while others saw it as an opportunity to place bets and make a little money.
The game was about to begin when the floating wooden chess pieces automatically returned to their original positions. Moments later, a large holographic screen appeared above the chessboard, displaying the upcoming match.
Beside it, a betting interface appeared, showing Liu Yang's name and identifying Lau Mei simply as "Guest."
Many of the elites enjoyed flaunting their wealth and influence, so they immediately began placing their bets.
"I bet $100,000 on Liu Yang!"
"I bet $50,000 on the Guest!"
"$200,000 on Liu Yang!"
The bets continued to increase until the amount placed on Liu Yang reached $1,000,000, while Lau Mei's total remained at only $50,000.
Liu Yang was rather pleased with the results. After all, he intended to demonstrate his superiority over Lau Mei.
However, Lau Mei wasn't bothered by the uneven betting amounts. She understood exactly what Liu Yang was trying to accomplish.
He wants me to acknowledge his superiority? Fine. I'll simply show him what I can do and let fate decide the outcome.
In the middle of their preparations, a beautiful lady arrived at the restaurant accompanied by a bodyguard.
Her appearance immediately caught the attention of many men, particularly because of her stunning figure. Several of them looked at her like a pack of hungry wolves.
Seeing this, an idea suddenly came to Lau Mei.
Unfortunately, the wives accompanying some of the men were quick to notice their husbands' wandering eyes. Several men received a sharp smack on the back of their heads for their indiscretion.
Lau Mei decided to deliberately slow down her gameplay, hoping to irritate Liu Yang.
And her plan seemed to be working.
"Do you need more time, Mr...?" Liu Yang asked, his voice carrying a hint of irritation. He had only just realized that he hadn't asked for her name.
"Lau. You can call me Mr. Lau," Lau Mei replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the chessboard as though she were carefully considering her next move.
"Well, Mr. Lau, why don't we speed things up? Let's play a fast-paced game. Each of us will have one minute to make a move. What do you say?" Liu Yang suggested.
His impatience was becoming increasingly obvious.
"Well, I'm not particularly good at fast-paced games, Mr. Liu Yang," Lau Mei replied, feigning disappointment.
Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Liu Yang decided to propose a wager. He believed it would be a win-win situation for himself.
"How about a wager, Mr. Lau? Would you be interested?" he asked.
"I'm listening," Lau Mei replied.
Her heart was practically dancing with excitement.
Just as I expected!
She briefly glanced at the beautiful lady who was now enjoying a drink nearby.
Perhaps she's my lucky charm.
"Here's my offer. If you win, you can have all the money from the bets, and I'll personally give you an additional $1,000,000. However, if you lose, your company will become ours."
"Sounds tempting... but not tempting enough. How about this? I'll put up $10,000,000, along with my company, if I win. However, if I lose, I'll give you my shares in your company. That would make the wager much more balanced. What do you say, Mr. Liu Yang?"
Liu Yang hesitated for a moment.
"Hmm... All right. Deal!"
Although he was beginning to lose interest in the chess match because he wanted to approach the beautiful lady who had just arrived, he couldn't simply abandon the game. The restaurant's rules required every chess match to have a clear winner.
Besides, Mr. Lau's offer was simply too tempting to refuse.
The possibility of acquiring another company without having to put in much effort made the wager even more attractive.
Lau Mei immediately called over a butler and instructed him to prepare a contract for both parties.
They agreed to use the restaurant as the official witness to their wager. Furthermore, they included a clause stating that whoever lost would permanently lose the right to enter the King's Hotel again, as the establishment would no longer welcome anyone who failed to honor their word.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wei and Lu Ting were being escorted by one of the restaurant's butlers to their reserved room.
As they passed through the restaurant, Zhang Wei noticed two gentlemen playing chess.
He became curious, although not about the players themselves. What caught his attention was the mechanism of the chessboard.
How interesting. I wonder how that thing works.
"Lady Zhang, your room is ready. Shall we proceed?" the butler whispered politely.
Zhang Wei gracefully turned his head and walked elegantly behind the butler.
His graceful movements attracted even more attention from the men inside the restaurant. They couldn't help but admire her beauty, and some were practically dying to know more about her.
Others, meanwhile, couldn't help feeling insecure about their own height. They were afraid that approaching such a beautiful lady would only make them look ridiculous.
Inside the reserved room
Once Zhang Wei and Lu Ting entered the room and closed the door, Zhang Wei could finally breathe a little easier.
He desperately wanted to remove the duct tape, but he couldn't bring himself to do so just yet.
Sitting down was also becoming increasingly uncomfortable because the duct tape kept pressing against his private area whenever he moved.
"The duct tape is really irritating. It makes me want to rip it all off!" Zhang Wei complained.
"Inside you? You mean they even put tape inside your... back passage?!" Lu Ting exclaimed in shock.
Hearing Lu Ting's interpretation, Zhang Wei didn't even know whether his friend was deliberately making fun of him or was simply being an idiot.
He wished Lu Ting could experience everything he had gone through. Perhaps then his friend would finally understand his suffering.
Instead of getting angry, however, Zhang Wei decided to change the subject.
"Do you think my date has arrived yet?" he asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.
He was already imagining what would happen once his date arrived. He planned to reveal that he was gay and introduce Lu Ting as his boyfriend and bodyguard.
Just thinking about his plan made him so excited that he almost wanted to jump out of his seat.
"You know what, Lu Ting? I'm dying to meet my date! I can't wait to destroy whatever beautiful fantasy she has about me!" he exclaimed cheerfully while holding his wineglass in an elegant, feminine manner.
"Go to the reception and check whether my date has arrived," he instructed Lu Ting, unable to hide his excitement.
A few minutes passed, but Lu Ting still hadn't returned.
Zhang Wei continued waiting until he suddenly remembered that he could use his phone to check the time.
Unfortunately, he had left it inside Lu Ting's car.
He scratched the back of his head in frustration.
"Terrible timing. Why did I have to leave my phone behind?" he muttered to himself.
He eventually stood up and opened the door.
To his surprise, a man was standing right in front of it, his hand raised as though he were about to knock.
The two nearly came face-to-face as the door swung open.