The night was near when Fan Fan had stepped foot into the main entrance of the Peace Mansion. Her entrance was welcomed with the sight of Liang Siyao training in the courtyard. Under the orange warmth of the sunset, every punch and kick was executed gracefully and accurately. Liang Siyao’s form was a work of art.
Fan Fan approached her with a smile. “Siyao, your technique looks amazing. I’m actually tempted to learn it from you.”
Liang Siyao eased herself and flashed the other woman a gentle smile. “Sister Fan Fan, have you eaten anything yet?”
“I had dinner earlier.” Fan Fan stared ahead into a direction. “Where is he?”
Liang Siyao answered, “He’s still in his underground laboratory. I don’t have permission to enter that place and I don’t dare to phone him for dinner.” Pausing briefly, she returned her attention to Fan Fan. “Is there anything urgent that concerns Xia Lei?”
Fan Fan was perplexed, shrugging in response. “He was the one who phoned me over.”
Liang Siyao reciprocated her confusion. “Huh? He did not tell me anything.”
At this moment, Xia Lei appeared at the entrance, dragging his feet behind him. He looked incredibly ill as if he had run out of energy. The man seemed uncharacteristically vulnerable. Weirdly, his expression wasn’t burdened. He had a smile plastered on his face.
“What’s the matter with you?” Liang Siyao and Fan Fan called out in unison, quickly scrambling over to support his frame.
“I’m alright, just terribly exhausted.” Xia Lei was still smiling.
“Weren’t you in the lab? What experiment could possibly wear you out to this state?” Liang Siyao tilted her head in absolute confusion.
Xia Lei answered, “Experiments weren’t the only thing I was doing. Can you get me some food, please? I’m starving. I’ve got some good news for you afterwards.”
“I’ll go make you something now. Sister Fan Fan, could you bring him inside?” Liang Siyao left right away.
Fan Fan dutifully dragged Xia Lei into the living room and helped him up the couch. She later joined him, letting him use her thigh as his cushion. She then began to massage his temples and neck.
“Hubby, what good news do you have for us? Can you tell me first?” Fan Fan attempted to coax him. She had a gut feeling that Xia Lei’s good news would be extraordinary.
The man was motionless, dozing off on Fan Fan’s thighs into a comfortable slumber.
She could feel a smile bloom across her lips. Fan Fan continued to massage his head gently. Despite garnering no reaction from her husband, the massager herself was beginning to feel something. Her breathing started to get heavy as her cheeks grew red.
“You’re such a naughty man. I can’t believe you’re able to tease me even when asleep.” Fan Fan grumbled to no one.
Unbeknownst to her, Xia Lei’s lips played a faint smirk.
Liang Siyao had made him a bowl of Yang Chun noodles, bringing it straight to the living room for his convenience. Fan Fan shook him awake and the two women watched him wolf down his dinner to a state of oblivion.
Finishing his meal, Xia Lei’s spirits were evidently perked and much at ease.
“Come on, tell us,” urged Liang Siyao, still clad in her apron.
Xia Lei returned the cutleries to the table and slapped the top of his lovers’ thighs seated within arm’s reach. “You know about the new material project Thunder Horse has, right? The good news is this, I managed to solve the problem and Thunder Horse is going to get its own in-house produced new material.”
Fan Fan was ecstatic, gaping at the revelation.
But Liang Siyao, on the other hand, was sceptical. “Hubby, wasn’t the prototype material a failure? I saw it shatter with my own eyes. The incident had only taken place hours ago. How were you able to solve a hefty problem in such a short time?”
Xia Lei replied, “I’ve already taken care of it. Initially, I wrote down its formulation and relevant technical aspects but destroyed it fearing it would be leaked. However, I can guarantee that this material will come out as the world’s most flawless material for fighter jets and aerospace equipment. It can absorb radar electromagnetic waves without the need for paint jobs to hide its trail.”
Liang Siyao and Fan Fan cried in joy, immediately closing to peck his cheek. Both sides of his face had now the addition of two red lipstick stains. One on the left, the other on the right.
“Hubby, you’re amazing!” Liang Siyao’s eyes glimmered with adoration and love.
Who wouldn’t want their lovers to flourish and become the world’s most capable person? Which woman wouldn’t want their man to be the world’s hero? Not only was Xia Lei the most capable man this planet could offer, but he was also the ground-shaking hero of the Chinese community!
“Hubby, I need to tell this piece of good news to grandpa!” Fan Fan impatiently reached for her phone.
Surprisingly, Xia Lei caught her wrist. “I need you to hide this from him for now. I don’t wish for this breakthrough to be known by others. Don’t get me wrong, I trust your grandfather but there are a lot of people involved in this project. I can’t guarantee that all of them are good at keeping secrets. Do you understand what I mean?”
Fan Fan nodded.
With a smile, Xia Lei offered an alternative. “You could still hint at him to make him happy. But you have to emphasize the secret part of this.”
“Uh, nevermind. I won’t hint him. He’s so single-minded that he’ll definitely pay you a visit after I drop him hints. When that time comes, the secret will no longer be one anymore,” said Fan Fan.
Xia Lei said, “I called you here because I intend to use your channel to reach the higher-ups directly.”
“What would you like me to say?”
“Tell them that Thunder Horse Organization has completed its new material research and concluded that it will be the most perfect aerospace material to date. I need the best material workspace the country has to offer. I will also need human and material resources. This time I won’t be asking it for free. I will pay them appropriately,” said Xia Lei.
Shentu Tianyin’s words had influenced him. Xia Lei had been receiving governmental help and sponsorship. If it went on at this rate, who would the Thunder Horse Organization belong to? Plus, Xia Lei was not tight on funds. The American stock market was his ATM machine!
“I’ll head over right away.” Fan Fan could no longer sit another second more.
Xia Lei nodded in acknowledgement. “Sure, safe journey.”
But Liang Siyao stood and stopped Fan Fan from leaving. “Can’t you leave tomorrow morning?”
Fan Fan came closer and whispered into her ear, “He’s exhausted today, you should be safe. You’ll be fine even if I don’t stay tonight.”
Liang Siyao’s cheeks immediately turned pink. She smacked Fan Fan playfully. “Fuck you. Go, go.”
After Fan Fan’s departure, Xia Lei returned his head onto Liang Siyao’s thigh instead. He uttered, “Siyao, the new material workspace will be under your jurisdiction.”
“Me? Are you sure about that?” Liang Siyao looked bothered.
Xia Lei reassured, “Of course you can. Li Youdun is a man I trust and Elder Fan can be the supervisor. The other members involved need to be selected among extremely loyal employees but the most vital formulation and technical aspects would be under your control. Your knowledge of these secrets will ensure that no one will attack you with your past even if I…”
Liang Siyao pressed a palm against his lips. “You’re not allowed to say things like that.”
Xia Lei smiled. “Alright, I won’t.”
Liang Siyao went on, “To build the best workspace in the country will require a lot of money. With so many projects running in the background and you rejecting monetary funding from the government, how are we going to afford it?”
Xia Lei checked his watch. “I’ll be off to make money in another hour.”
It took a while for that to sink in. Liang Siyao was stunned before breaking out in laughter. “I see, I see. Then I have no concerns regarding that. You should rest. I’ll meet you later. I’d like to know how my man makes money.”
Xia Lei hummed a sound of approval before shutting his eyes.
Liang Siyao continued to run her finger through his hair, eyes overflowing with tenderness. The woman couldn’t help but think about the past they shared years earlier, her heart transported back to those happy and carefree times of her life. She had lost him but gotten him back later, which fuelled her determination to not take things for granted.
Five minutes to ten, Xia Lei and Liang Siyao were already in the study.
The man booted his computer while Liang Siyao went to fetch her husband some tea. Today’s beverage was not the usual Tieguanyin or Dahongpao tea. Instead, it was a supplemental tea made of wolfberry and jujube. Wolfberry and jujube were both known to nourish the kidney, which explained her choice today. However, it seemed as if her worries were in vain as Xia Lei was positively radiating with energy. The man was confident and excited.
Xia Lei first spared some attention to the Wall Street Journal. It didn’t take him long to find the article penned by Isabelle that told of the information he had leaked to her, which was Chlorella company’s Jay Garrick project. In that article, Isabelle had smartly kept it vague to describe the matter. It was a typical technique to evade possible investigations.
The vagueness of her tone would not be a problem to hyper-sensitive capitalists on the stakeout. This was enough to lure them to take the bait.
Pleased with her writing, Xia Lei transacted the remaining sum and emailed her, Your parcel has arrived.
Liang Siyao placed the supplemental tea in front of Xia Lei and plopped herself comfortably on top of his lap. “You’re allowed to do this in America?”
That earned a chuckle from Xia Lei. “All the markets are the same. Their investors tend to be more rational and focused on long-term investments. With this article, a lot of them would rush over and Chlorella’s share would have continuous room to rise. I estimate that it will increase by a few folds tonight.”
“When are you going to cash out?” Liang Siyao couldn’t help but be curious about her lover’s plan.
Xia Lei’s palm found its way to her soft thighs. “Tonight.”
“Huh? Aren’t you aiming for its increment? Why are you stopping tonight? Wouldn’t that cut your profit short?”
Xia Lei smirked. “I’ll sell off my share tonight and buy another lot three days later.”
“Huh? I don’t understand.”
“My opponent wouldn’t wish to see Chlorella’s share prices go high. Wall Street Journal had published what I intended to tell the world and they’d use more aggressive approaches to hide this piece of gold. When that happens, their share prices will drop and that will be my chance to buy it at a lower price. After that, I’ll just publish another article to raise its value again.”
Liang Siyao giggled, smacking Xia Lei’s sneaky palm away. “Hey, didn’t you have your fill earlier?”
As the clock struck ten, the American stock market bustled with life.
As expected, Chlorella’s shares rose at an impressively rapid pace!