Snow came falling down in the evening and the world was blanked in silver. The pine trees by the side of the roads had icicles hanging off them, and they seemed to glow under the city lights; they were beautiful.
A Chevrolet Suburban zoomed through the city and came to a mountain. Halfway up the side of this mountain was a wealthy neighbourhood called Royal Garden. This little neighbourhood comprised of cla.s.sic Spanish villas, with an atmospheric style. The villas clung onto the mountainside like a little village in Spain, making for quite a mesmerising sight.
This Royal Garden project was one of the many real estate projects Vientaine Group had under its brand, and Shentu Tianyin was the owner here. Those who could afford a place here were extremely wealthy, and even those with a net worth of tens of millions were considered poor.
Royal Garden had just completed the acceptance process, and Shentu Tianyin said she had chosen a villa here for Xia Lei and herself, a new home for their marriage. Xia Lei came driven over after receiving her call.
Prince Khalifa and his two a.s.sistants from the UAE, Ali Khan and Zamaha, had come with Xia Lei too.
The dispute between Desert Guardian and Hanwu Weapons had been resolved quite perfectly, but Prince Khalifa’s trip to China was not over. He had sent in a request to purchase 20,000 Gust a.s.sault rifles and 200 XL sniper rifles to the Equipment Department, and this request was now under review. Prince Khalifa would return to the UAE when he had this order confirmed.
This request was just a formality. China purchased oil from the UAE, and the UAE purchased weapons from China. The two countries had always traded with each other, and had good relations. Xia Lei had the t.i.tle of ‘Father of Rifles’ too, and this meant that there would be no problems with this purchase order.
Xia Lei was taking Prince Khalifa to his and Shentu Tianyin’s new home to be his guest, and this was also a show of his respect and goodwill towards Prince Khalifa. It was good to have friends from the Middle East.
Seeing the Spanish villas on either side of the road, and the cityscape of Jingdu in the distance, Prince Khalifa sighed. “My friend, China has developed so quickly these past few years. I would not have believed the reports about the rise of China if I had not seen it myself.”
Xia Lei laughed. “Prince Khalifa, China has a history of 5,000 years, and it was the greatest empire in the world. This is now the world’s second largest market. There are countless business opportunities to be found here. China would be a good choice if you’d like to invest.”
“This trip to China has changed my perception of it. Hm, what you say is logical. It looks like I’ll be moving my investment focus from the European and American markets to China. I would also like to invite you to invest in the UAE,” said Prince Khalifa.
“Yes, I will. The UAE is a land of gold. I like it.”
“My friend, if you do invest in the UAE, I’ll give you an honorary citizens.h.i.+p. This is because of our relations.h.i.+p and our business dealings. You’ll have an opportunity to be part of the aristocracy too.”
“This… Thank you, Your Highness. However, China doesn’t recognise dual-citizens.h.i.+p.”
“That doesn’t matter. An honorary citizens.h.i.+p doesn’t mean that you’ll have to change your citizens.h.i.+p. You’ll have the same rights as any other citizen of the UAE with an honorary citizens.h.i.+p.” Prince Khalifa suddenly laughed. “My friend, all the men in the world want to have this status, but not anyone can get it.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Heh heh. Men are allowed to marry several wives in the UAE. It is legal.”
“Haha!” Xia Lei laughed wickedly. “That’s really nice! Let me think about it.”
As an honorary citizen of the UAE, he would have the same rights as a citizen of the UAE, including the right to marry several wives. This was very tempting to a lot of men. The thought of Shentu Tianyin, however, made Xia Lei feel guilty. Having one mistress, Jiang Ruyi, was enough to shame him deeply – how could he marry many wives?
For Prince Khalifa, it was advantageous for him if Xia Lei and himself deepened their friends.h.i.+p. Thunder Horse Military Factory was a valuable friend indeed.
As they talked and laughed, Xia Lei spotted Fu Mingmei standing by the road. He stopped the Chevrolet Suburban, opened the door, and got out. Prince Khalifa and his a.s.sistants alighted too, and Xia Lei led them towards Fu Mingmei.
It was then that Xia Lei saw what the ‘new home’ Shentu Tianyin had chosen was like. It was practically a tenth of the entire neighbourhood, and at its centre was a huge European-style palace. It resembled the Royal Palace of Seville, and was also similar to the Spanish Royal Palace. It was surrounded by sprawling gardens and the garden boasted Chinese-centric garden features – pavilions, walking paths and beautiful little streams and pools. It was breathtaking.
The arch behind Fu Mingmei had a gilded plaque on it which read ‘Leiyin Home’. The characters flowed together harmoniously, and the calligraphy was excellent. One look and you knew that a great Master had written it.
This was Xia Lei’s first time coming to his new home, and he was thunderstruck. He gaped at the extravagant home behind Fu Mingmei, speechless.
“Master, what is with that expression of yours?” Fu Mingmei smirked.
Xia Lei snapped back to his senses. “This is way overboard, isn’t it? How many people would we need to fill this huge house?”
Fu Mingmei laughed. “It’s just going to be you and Tianyin. Oh, and Old Master. If you think you’ve got too many rooms, then have more children with Tianyin and fill those rooms. Won’t it be more lively then?”
Xia Lei rolled his eyes at Fu Mingmei, then invited Prince Khalifa and his a.s.sistant in.
Prince Khalifa was stunned by Xia Lei’s new home too. This property was more luxurious and extravagant than his own in the UAE.
Ali Khan drew close to Prince Khalifa’s ear and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, Xia Lei’s wife is the chairwoman of Vientaine Group. Her name is Shentu Tianyin, the wealthiest woman in China with a net worth of 14 billion US dollars.”
“I see.” Prince Khalifa smiled. “The best thing we have gained from this trip to China is not those weapons, but this friends.h.i.+p with this couple.”
Prince Khalifa spoke in a low voice with Ali Khan but Xia Lei still heard them. A smile appeared in the corners of his mouth. He had shown Prince Khalifa how capable he was, over and over, and now Shentu Tianyin had been added to his profile too. His aim in presenting himself such was to expand into foreign markets with Prince Khalifa’s help. Becoming friends with Prince Khalifa was not only beneficial for Thunder Horse Group, but for Vientaine Group too.
Shentu Tianyin appeared in the doorway of the palace in a black evening gown. Around her neck was the Sacred Heart necklace Xia Lei had given her. Tonight, she seemed more like a n.o.ble than usual, and the grand palace behind her made her look like a queen of some country.
Xia Lei made the introductions. “Your Highness, this is my wife, Shentu Tianyin.” After a pause, he said, “Tianyin, this is Prince Khalifa of the UAE.”
“Nice to meet you, Prince Khalifa.” Shentu Tianyin greeted Prince Khalifa elegantly, and shook hands with him.
Ali Khan interpreted for Shentu Tianyin.
Prince Khalifa smiled. “You are a very outstanding pair. It is my honour to be your friend.”
“You are too kind, Your Highness. Please, come in. Dinner is ready.” Shentu Tianyin invited their guests in like the gracious host she was.
Xia Lei’s eyes met hers, and they spoke with their eyes. The husband and wife were getting more and more in sync.
Dinner progressed in joviality, and ended on a happy note. Xia Lei, Shentu Tianyin and Prince Khalifa talked about various topics - the situation in the Middle East, the crude oil market, family backgrounds, hobbies and interests and so on.
Dinner came to an end, and the husband and wife had some tea with Prince Khalifa, then retired to their bedroom.
Xia Lei was stunned again by the room when he walked through its doors. The room was about a hundred square metres large, and a ma.s.sive European-style bed sat in it. It was large enough to fit five or six people. The bathroom was about 50 square feet, and it had a bath with multiple functions, a heated bath and a sauna. There was no need to add that the decor was also extremely extravagant.
“Is this our new home?” Xia Lei was speechless. “Isn’t this too opulent?”
“It’s my new home, so of course it has to be the best. You don’t like it?” said Shentu Tianyin.
Xia Lei smiled. “I like it. I like whatever you choose.”
Shentu Tianyin gave him a small smile and pulled him by the hand towards the ridiculously-sized bathroom. She said as they walked, “I love bathing with you, so I had this multi-function bath designed and installed. I haven’t tried it out yet. I want to try it with you.”
Xia Lei was touched. He could not refuse a request like this.
Shentu Tianyin dropped her black evening gown to the carpet, and Xia Lei’s suit followed. Clothes were most unneeded in this intimate moment.
They entered the heated bath and enjoyed the kneading and ma.s.saging of water. He looked at her and she looked at him, and they were naturally drawn to each other. The relaxation in the bath turned to tenseness, and their bodies entwined in that warm, warm liquid…
Pa.s.sion burned, and sparks flew.
Shentu Tianyin was an ice queen in front of others but for Xia Lei, she was a sweet, gentle woman who could also him with her pa.s.sions. She showed her wonderful side to Xia Lei, and Xia Lei alone.
They calmed down after their pa.s.sions had been satisfied, and floated half-lazily in the hot water, not feeling like moving at all.
“Tianyin, I’m being mobilised tomorrow. I’m going to j.a.pan.” Xia Lei did not want to leave Shentu Tianyin, but he had no other choice.
Shentu Tianyin put her arms around Xia Lei, holding him tight like she wanted to fuse him to her. “Be careful. Remember – I’ll be waiting for you to come home.”
Xia Lei nodded. He was tense for some reason.