The atmosphere in the office abruptly shifted into an awkward silence. They stared at each other with a million thoughts running through their heads. But nothing was said. It was as if they had their mouths taped.
Xia Lei could no longer stand the silence. He cleared his throat. “Tianyin, come take a seat. I’m sorry I had you stand around for so long. What would you like to have? I can go get you some tea.”
“Is there a need to be so courteous?” Shentu Tianyin pouted in displeasure.
Xia Lei nonchalantly shrugged it off. He smiled at her. “Alright then, I’m sure you’re here today to tell me that Vientiane Group is entering the American market. Am I right?”
Shentu Tianyin nodded. “Yeah, I really can’t hide anything from you. In front of you, I feel as if I’m transparent.”
Xia Lei questioned further, “You’re really just here to tell me that?”
“What else would I be here for?”
“Ah, I don’t mean that. Please don’t misunderstand me. You’re free to come here anytime you wish.”
“Easy for you to say. Would your two tigresses welcome my presence? I don’t want to be running home with wounds,” muttered Shentu Tianyin.
Xia Lei didn’t know how to respond to her statement.
“Let’s talk about business.” Shentu Tianyin started, “Vientiane Group is going to be listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. Our performance so far has been good and the profit has surpassed many in this industry. If you’re interested, I can help purchase it for you. Thunder Horse Organization is expanding at an incredible speed. You can’t keep relying on the governmental funds because the more you receive, the further your nature deviates. Using your own funds would be the best choice.”
“You’ve got a point. Thunder Horse Organization is indeed facing rapid expansion but I can solve it with my own resources.” Xia Lei paused, “But Vientiane Group on the other hand…”
“What are you trying to say?”
Xia Lei answered, “Please keep my words in mind. Though Vientiane is yet to be officially listed, you’ve already got a treasury company targeting you.”
“What’s going on? Please explain.” Shentu Tianyin’s expression turned hard.
“That company is registered as Centennial Fund. It’s very capable and strong. They’re like the hunters of the American stock market. As soon as anything with potential comes to sight, they’ll attack it. You need to prepare your team for it.”
“How do you know all this?”
Xia Lei chuckled. “Remember? During the Boao Forum, that woman came on stage and told everyone I was at the forefront of human evolution? I think she’s trying to say that I’m superman. That’s why I would know things like these.”
The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. “You were such a tease back then when we were married. Nothing has changed about you.”
Abruptly, someone entered their office. Her feminine figure was lengthy and thin, dosed in generous perfume that smelled unexpectedly pleasant. There was no need for Xia Lei to turn around, his temples immediately aching at the sound of her heels. Liang Siyao was here.
She walked over to Xia Lei’s side and brought out a handkerchief from her blazer pocket.
The man was perplexed, unsure of what she was doing. But as soon as Liang Siyao presented the handkerchief in front of his face, Xia Lei wanted to run.
The fabric was stained with brilliant red lipstick.
Liang Siyao uttered, “If you want to cheat, remember to be a smart man and wipe your mouth.” She paused briefly. “And even if you wish to cheat, better pick someone wisely. Stop going after poisonous peonies that would kill you.”
The front of Liang Siyao’s words was obviously meant for Xia Lei and its latter half meant for Shentu Tianyin.
The other woman frowned. “Siyao, what do you mean?”
“My indication is clear enough.” With a swing of her arm, she tossed her dirtied handkerchief into Xia Lei’s dustbin.
“This is a misunderstanding. Xia Lei fainted earlier and I… I did CPR on him,” explained Shentu Tianyin.
Liang Siyao huffed a peal of dry laughter. “My man? Fainted? What kind of joke is that?”
A man that was stronger than a lion passing out during an intense battle would make sense. But for him to go unconscious in his own office? Liang Siyao was not buying any of that bullshit.
Shentu Tianyin felt wronged. “Lei Zi, please explain to her.”
But as Xia Lei made a move to dissolve the tension, he noticed that Liang Siyao’s eyes were filled with sadness. He quickly jammed all of his words back into his throat. Shentu Tianyin had asked for an explanation but doing so in front of Liang Siyao would give off a feeling that he was still loyal to his ex-wife. How could he follow his ex-wife’s instructions and hurt his pregnant lover in the process?”
“Tianyin, you should head back.” Xia Lei reminded, “Please remember to watch out for that Centennial Fund that I mentioned.”
It was Shentu Tianyin’s turn to look grudgeful, she bit her lip and turned around to leave. Back then, she had defeated Liang Siyao in the war of love. However, Liang Siyao was now the standing victor, snatching away Xia Lei as his lover.
Shentu Tianyin left.
Two pairs of eyes stare into each other, awkward silence filling the air. Liang Siyao had tears forming in her eyes.
Xia Lei sighed. “Siyao, it really wasn’t what you think it is. I lost consciousness and she so happened to find me in that state. Perhaps she was too overwhelmed with panic so she started doing CPR on me.”
Liang Siyao’s eyes went wide. “What? You were really unconscious? What happened? What’s the matter?”
The woman immediately came closer to inspect his head, caressing it in the process. She cooed, “Should we go check it out? I can bring you to the hospital.”
Xia Lei grabbed her hands. “No need, I’m alright. There’s nothing to worry about. I understand the secrets of my body the best. I will never get sick. I just overused my brain this time.”
Liang Siyao stared at him with a straight face. “What were you thinking about?”
“I was studying how to build a drone. I can’t describe how my brain works in words but you need to believe that it’s a very taxing process. Just now, I really was…”
Liang Siyao muffled his mouth. Her voice was unbearably gentle. “I wasn’t asking for an explanation. The way you asked her to leave helped me ease all of my grudge and resentment towards her. I’m so happy.” She looked into his eyes with a gaze so deep that Xia Lei found himself lost in it until two moist tears fell against his cheek.
“Why are you crying?” Xia Lei got nervous.
Liang Siyao buried her face onto Xia Lei’s shoulder. “I’m so happy and it’s none of your business.”
Xia Lei’s palm moved along the groove of her pretty waist and slapped her behind lightly.
“Why did you hit me?” Liang Siyao abruptly removed her face from his shoulder and stared at him, tears rolling around in her eyes.
All women seemed to have the ability to change their expressions at ease.
Xia Lei's heart melted into a gooey mess. “How could I bear to hit you? I was just caressing it.”
She circled her arm around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.
“Hey! What the hell is going on in her?” An old man’s voice rang out of the blue.
The entangled lovers frantically separated themselves and looked to its source.
Fan Yiming strode in, Thunder Horse Organization’s material scientist, Li Youdun, trailing closely behind.
Fan Yiming seemed extremely upset. “You bastard, aren’t you Fan Fan’s fiance? How could you be here kissing some other woman?”
The sudden intrusion had Liang Siyao’s bright red but the woman didn’t mind it at all. She flashed him a smile and greeted, “Elder Fan, how are you? Have you had lunch yet?”
“I did... No, I did not.” The older man glared daggers at her. “I’m going to tell Fan Fan about this. She’ll be out for your blood!”
Liang Siyao smiled at him. “Okay.”
The response elicited was not what he was expecting. Fan Yiming was able to solve the most complicated scientific questions but he had no experience in dealing with a cheating grandson in law. There was no right formula to deal with this.
Xia Lei questioned, “Youdon, what’s going on?” Fan Yiming was confused but the older man wasn’t keen on dwelling on this problem further.
It was only then that Li Youdun spoke, “Director Xia, after Elder Fan had joined me in the lab, we’ve had a breakthrough regarding the material. We were able to replicate the sample using the silver metal’s atomic structure. It was a success and we’re excited for you to come to see it.”
“That’s great news!” Xia Lei was evidently pumped. “Let’s go!”
“Come, come, come…” Fan Yiming went over and pulled Xia Lei’s arm.
Watching the three men leave the office, Liang Siyao allowed herself the privacy to touch her lips with a contented smile. She followed behind them with a deliberate distance to avoid Fan Yiming’s attention. The woman knew that Fan Yiming would forget all about the incident within the matter of a few minutes.
Entering Li Youdun’s laboratory, Xia Lei landed his gaze onto the replicated sample.
It was just a block of metal, size similar to that of a book. Its entire body was silver in colour, similar to that used on the armour.
Xia Lei donned sterile gloves and picked it up. It felt like it had no weight.
Li Youdun mentioned, “Director Xia, we ran a test with electromagnetic waves from the radar and found that it has close to no reflection. All the electromagnetic waves irradiated were absorbed.”
“All of it absorbed?” Xia Lei was moved.
Fan Yiming answered, “Of course, I tested it myself. Kid, I’m confident to say that this is the best material in the world for a fighter jet. It might as well be invisible at this point.”
Modern fighter jets would usually use paint to limit their reflection in order to reduce chances of detection. There was yet a material capable of fully absorbing electromagnetic waves from radars!
If a fighter jet was made with this material, it could even fly directly on top of Time Square, New York without detection and airdrop a full bunch of China-made socks!
XiaLei held the material up and activated his left eye. But as soon as his X-ray vision was activated, his world went black. The man’s body began to fall.
“Careful!” Liang Siyao rushed over and caught him in time.
But she had only managed to hold him, not able to spare the silver metal any attention.
The silver metal block slipped from his fingers and was smashed into the ground.
Crack! The silver metal shattered into chunks.
Xia Lei’s heart shattered with the material. He wasn’t out cold, eyes merely giving out. He had merely recovered from his earlier faint, there was not enough time for recovery before he activated his X-ray vision once again. His body was functioning like using a battery-deprived handphone to forcefully watch a video.
“This…” Li Youdun froze, gaping at the scene in shock.
Fan Yiming too furrowed his brows. “It’s supposed to be tough. Why did it break just like that? Crap, something must’ve gone wrong. I need to find out why.” The old man picked up a chunk and immediately went to study it.
Xia Lei did the same. “I’m going to investigate too.”
Li Youdun looked embarrassed.
Xia Lei gave his shoulder a pat. “You did amazing. Miracles aren’t easy to achieve. Let’s do our best together, okay?”
Li Youdun nodded his head slowly.