As common saying said, there was always someone in any place who could get the job done.
And, as a famous rich man in Shanghai, Gu Changmin naturally had a very strong network. With just a brief phone call, he had already resolved Tang Xiu"s problem.
Truthfully speaking, what Tang Xiu requested was very simple. He wanted the campus to give him a green light to smoothly graduate from the university and for him to obtain his diploma from Shanghai University. He just would be allowed to choose whether or not to attend cla.s.s based on his schedule.
"By the way, I don"t understand one thing, Brother Tang."
Just as Tang Xiu was about to hang up, Gu Changmin"s voice came again from his mobile phone.
"What exactly?" asked Tang Xiu.
"Well, given your stature and fame, it"s needless to say that the Shanghai University wouldn"t make things difficult for you because of this trivial issue," said Gu Changmin. "They will likely comply should you propose a special request. It"s because your fame has affected the reputation of Shanghai University in and of itself, while your existence makes it even more in the limelight in the education sector."
"For real?"
But, when Tang Xiu thought it over, he suddenly came to an understanding. It was as people said that those who were concerned in the matter were rarely able to see as clearly as those who weren"t themselves involved. Thus, he ignored his ident.i.ty and regarded himself as an ordinary college student at Shanghai University. On second thought, however, he understood the root of the problem because of Han Qingwu.
He had been studying in the university for a year and his cla.s.s attendance could be said to be appalling. Yet, none of the major or elective teachers had ever made things difficult for him; even the higher-ups in the university turned a blind eye. Every time such a big fuss came to scare him, it was all coming from none other than Han Qingwu.
"This woman again…" It made Tang Xiu feel vexed and amused at the same time. After hanging up, the bits of his depressing mood had dissipated a lot. He also thought that since he hadn"t attended cla.s.s for a long time, he decided not to attend them before the final exam since it was meaningless for him to go anymore. He would rather review the course by himself since his efficiency was much higher than when attending the cla.s.s.
As dusk came, Tang Xiu had reviewed the contents of the entire major course. As he was preparing to go downstairs to have dinner in the dining room, a beautiful figure appeared outside the study.
"You"ve come back."
Mu Wanying stopped at the door of the study and smilingly said. She was clad in professional attire that outlined her perfect figure, along with long flowing hair that was fluttering in the breeze.
Tang Xiu smiled and got up as he came to her and said, "I just came back for two days. Well, the trip this time was kinda exhausting so I just stayed at home straight away and had a good rest. But how did you know I was back?"
"Jiang Feiyan told me. She probably learned it from your dorm mates," replied Mu Wanying with a smile.
Tang Xiu suddenly realized this and then walked downstairs with Mu Wanying as he asked with a smile, "Well, I did go to campus today and none seem to know that I"ve come back except for Yue Kai and them. Anyways, how"s your company doing now?"
"It"s been great. The company has expanded several times in scale and is very busy," replied Mu Wanying softly. "That"s right; Lulu also helped me pull some top domestic advertising designers. She"s really a capable woman."
"Eh?" Tang Xiu wondered, "How did she get along with you?"
"Well, we met at a business gathering and we had an amiable chat," said Mu Wanying. "Lulu and I are now business partners. I help her promote her Paradise Club, while she"s helping me headhunt a batch of business designers."
Tang Xiu secretly shook his head as he really couldn"t figure out how women"s minds worked. He was ignorant on this matter both in the Immortal World and now. Whether it was Mu Wanying or Ouyang Lulu, they knew of each other"s existence and their relations.h.i.+p with him; and yet, these two had actually established contact and even friends.h.i.+p in private.
As they came to the dining room"s door, Mu Wanying suddenly halted her pace. There was hesitation on her face before she asked, "Tang Xiu, do you have any plans tonight?"
"None that I can think of!" Tang Xiu shook his head and asked, "What is it? Do you have something in mind?"
"Well, I have an important charity gala tonight but have no male escort," said Mu Wanying. "Care to accompany me?"
"A charity gala?"
Tang Xiu blanked out and immediately broke into laughter before saying, "So you came here to ask me to go to the charity party with you. Well… you really exert your strength out, don"t you?"
Shyness covered Mu Wanying"s expression. "I miss you so much, which is the main reason I came here. If anything, I wasn"t going to attend this evening"s charity gala, but then I thought it"d be fine if you"re okay with it, so…"
"Well, let"s ditch the explanation and grab dinner first before we leave, shall we?" interjected Tang Xiu with a smile. "Or, do you want to leave now?"
Mu Wanying thought about it and then said, "Let"s have something to fill our belly first, then."
Shanghai Century Hotel.
A luxury car stopped at the entrance of the hotel as a well-dressed man and woman got off from it and entered the hotel. They headed straight to the 18th-floor hall where the charity gala was being held.
It was nearly seven o"clock when Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying arrived there. Tang Xiu had already learned the information about tonight"s charity ball on the way here. The gala was hosted by Zhang Qingfeng, a famous rich businessman in Shanghai and the chairman of the Zhang Group, renowned as a philanthropist in the country.
Rumors had it that the amount of money Zhang Qingfeng donated each year to charity exceeded nine digits.
At the entrance of the banquet hall on the 18th floor.
Several security guards in black suits calmly verified the authenticity of the invitations, while a beautiful young woman greeted the guests to the sign the register book as she spoke to several distinguished guests, "I really apologize, sirs. We can"t let you in since you all have no invitations."
"Take it easy and make an exception this time, la.s.s." The leader of the group, an old man, keenly glanced around with a smile on his face.
The woman shook her head and said, "I"m very sorry, sir, I can"t stretch the rules that I"ve been ordered to follow. You really can"t go inside if you don"t have an invitation. Else, I"m afraid that I"ll lose my job if my superior blames me for it. Please refrain from making things difficult for me."
Just as Tang Xiu came to the entrance, he saw some familiar figures and knitted his brows without him realizing. Then he went over and said with a smile, "They mustn"t go inside since they have no invitations. There are too many people wanting to get some profits by disturbing things nowadays. Don"t give a chance to those who just want to dine and drink freely."
In that instant, everyone at the entrance s.h.i.+fted their attention to Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying.
A middle-aged man standing behind the old man turned his head and glanced at Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying. Despite being surprised by Mu Wanying"s peerless appearance, he couldn"t endure it after the comment and berated loudly, "Don"t speak nonsense, kid. Do you know who we really…"
"Pipe down."
The old man raised his hand and interrupted him while a smile outlined the corners of his mouth as he smilingly berated back, "What a brat! Are you intentionally coming to beat up this old man squeeze and hit this old man out? What freeloading, huh? Do I look like the kind of person who wants to dine and drink here for no reason?"
"Ouch. Well, I"m kinda too tired recently and often do strenuous things that are not good for me which tire out my eyes." Tang Xiu chuckled and said, "It turns out to be you, Senior Duanmu! You elderly, you"ve been constantly taking care of a lot of problems for the good of the state and its people. Why did you come here? Could it be—"
Duanmu Lin couldn"t help but burst into laughter before he slightly nodded and said, "Don"t waste the time, will you? Just take us in since you brought the invitation!"
Tang Xiu a.s.sented inwardly and nodded, "Got it. Go in with us!"
From the very start to the end, Tang Xiu didn"t introduce Duanmu Lin to Mu Wanying. Although Duanmu Lin had a meaningful look as he looked at her, he didn"t take the initiative to speak about it either.
As they walked through the hall"s entrance, Tang Xiu came to Duanmu Lin"s side and asked in a whisper, "What exactly happened that it was worth it for you to personally head over here, old man?"
"Bloodkin," whispered Duanmu Lin back.
"Isn"t China a forbidden zone for the Bloodkin?" Tang Xiu was surprised and stared for a second. "From where did this Bloodkin come from? How could they be so ignorant to act blindly, regardless of life and death?"
"There was an uprising in the stronghold of the Bloodkin in Europe and a small clan of vampires that have been staying low profile for centuries suddenly swept over to devastate and root out the other clans with powerful deterrence and ma.s.sacre. Some of the vampire clans are under the Stygian Club sphere of influence. But in all probability, some other clans that have joined that organization ended up in the most tragic state and have been ma.s.sacred."
"A small clan of vampires who have been staying low-key for centuries?" Tang Xiu was confused, "Are you sure they are just a small clan?"
"They are indeed a small clan based on the past intelligence data." Duanmu Lin nodded. "I thought that clan only had less than twenty members or so in the past. Only now is it clear that this clan has at least two hundred members, most of them terrifyingly powerful. One thing that must be noted is that this clan has a very strong powerhouse—a Vampire Lord."
"Hiss…" Tang Xiu couldn"t help but gasp.
Had it been in his past life, a flick of his finger could kill such a Vampire Lord. However, with his present strength and even though his cultivation had just greatly improved and had broken through a realm, he would have to spend a great deal of effort to kill a Vampire Lord.
"Is there any other Bloodkin clan who escaped here due to the Bloodkin civil war in Europe?"
"No, it"s exactly the members of that clan who came here." Duanmu Lin shook his head.
"That clan of vampires?" Tang Xiu stared blankly for a moment and asked quizzically, "What do they wanna do in China? Do they want to cause problems in our country?"
"How would I know that?" Duanmu Lin shook his head and forced a smile. "We just received the information about this; hence, we rushed to come over. In case we couldn"t drive them away, we"d have to resort to killing them."
Tang Xiu nodded in agreement. He wouldn"t be a busybody by involving himself had it not been because he had met him since, and in any case, Duanmu Lin"s group was all ability users. But if the vampire clan members went so far so as to disturb the order and harm ordinary people, he definitely wouldn"t just stand idly by.
"Go and do your things, then. But don"t hesitate to contact me at any time should you have any need of my a.s.sistance."
Duanmu Lin gladly nodded and said, "Anyways, come to Beijing later if you got time! My department has a merit and reward system and we learned of what you did in Qingcheng Mountain. You should collect your reward personally."
"What kind of reward it is, exactly?"
Tang Xiu, who was about to leave with Mu Wanying, suddenly halted his pace and asked immediately.
"Let me keep it a secret as to what the reward is for now, alright?" Duanmu Lin smilingly said, "Shortly put, it"s definitely a good surprise for you, though."
Tang Xiu curled his lips and muttered inwardly: "As long as it"s not frightening, then fine."