Tang Yuanyue had a mess of his own to clean up. He had broken off his engagement with He Zhitong without prior consultation, and she had countered by preemptively publishing an announcement in the newspapers. These events happened in quick succession. When Tang Yuanyue went to handle the situation, he had to face his father Tang Jinyun’s fury.

Mrs. Tang took a mother-in-law’s stance – her son would marry someone regardless, and whoever became her daughter-in-law would have to serve her tea and pay respects, so she wasn’t in a hurry.

Tang Jinyun, however, took a purely businessman’s perspective. Intelligence and beauty were merely bonus points under absolute profit – business perks that were dispensable.

As for the “mayor’s daughter” status that Tang Yuanyue used to convince Mrs. Tang, it held little value in Tang Jinyun’s eyes:

“Mainland officials rarely stay in one place for long, and Mayor Tang is no different. He can’t stay in Pengcheng forever.”

He could only help Yuhua for a few years.

And that was assuming Mayor Tang didn’t fall from power.

If he did fall, it would be even worse – all power is fleeting, positions are permanent but officials come and go… How could that compare to the He family’s support? Wealth might shrink but wouldn’t vanish without warning. The He family might not be what they once were, but they were still fine for the next few years, especially since Hong Kong’s economy was warming up again.

Tang Jinyun firmly disagreed.

Tang Yuanyue was at his wit’s end, knowing he had probably scored negative points in Xia Xiaolan’s mind, but he had no time to improve his standing.

Rushing to the hotel had solved nothing, and Tang Yuanyue could only leave after saying a few words.

Xia Xiaolan pursed her lips, unaffected by Tang Yuanyue, and continued with her plan step by step.

She first sought information about the He family’s affairs – this was the good thing about Hong Kong, money could accomplish anything.

Then Xia Xiaolan had someone craft a well-paced news story. Every wealthy family had their scandals, and the He family was no different. Though they claimed to be Hong Kong’s elite family, wasn’t their son just as unruly?

After sending the news story to seven or eight newspapers simultaneously, Xia Xiaolan left it alone.

Some papers published it, others didn’t.

It had some effect – the police station, which had claimed to be investigating without progress, asked Xia Xiaolan to come in.

The He family wanted to settle.

The police’s attitude wasn’t bad; they simply introduced Xia Xiaolan to the He family’s lawyer.

“Let’s discuss this reasonably. It’s not good to escalate matters. Young Master He isn’t even 18 yet – it was just youthful impulse. He only wanted to meet Miss Xia, without ill intent. However, Miss Xia was frightened, so here’s compensation from the He family for your emotional distress.”

The lawyer handed Xia Xiaolan a check.

100,000 Hong Kong dollars – quite a sum.

After deducting what she’d paid the private investigator, she’d even made a profit.

Xia Xiaolan slowly tore up the check: “What can I say? My emotional trauma is quite severe. If He Shien doesn’t come apologize in person, I’m willing to spend money every day to have people report news about the He family. We’ll stop when I run out of money… Oh, and while I might not be as wealthy as the He family, I’m not as poor as they think.”

In Hong Kong, money could solve anything.

How could someone without money win against the wealthy?

The lawyer wasn’t too surprised when Xia Xiaolan tore up the 100,000-dollar check.

From the moment he saw Xia Xiaolan in person, he knew 100,000 wouldn’t be enough to make her back down.

Such bearing couldn’t be faked – she wasn’t short on money. The He family assumed this Miss Xia from the mainland was poor, as mainlanders were seen as poor in Hong Kong’s eyes. They didn’t value her designer status, believing Tang Yuanyue only hired her for her beauty.

100,000 dollars seemed enough to dismiss a mainland woman – after all, how much did ordinary Hong Kong people earn per month?

The lawyer had thought the same, coming with full confidence that 100,000 Hong Kong dollars would settle the matter. Meeting her in person, he knew they were in trouble.

She wasn’t short on money and had a fierce temperament.

The lawyer was getting a headache.

If Xia Xiaolan wanted, she could make headlines using He Zhitong’s name.

She could say she stole Miss He’s fiancé – the gossip papers had been dying to know who she was.

How could the He family, with their status in Hong Kong, save face with such newspaper coverage?

“Miss Xia, if you’re not satisfied with the compensation, we can negotiate…”

Xia Xiaolan just smiled.

The lawyer knew the negotiations had failed.

Du Zhaohui swaggered into the police station: “Officer, I’m a witness who helped someone in need. The police station should reward me for contributing to Hong Kong’s public safety!”

The He family’s lawyer’s headache grew worse.

The He family originally didn’t need to acknowledge this – they could have simply denied He Shien had hired anyone.

But now Du Zhaohui was involved.

Hong Kong was a place where the wealthy called the shots. The He family had money, but didn’t Du Zhaohui have money too?

Fine, he might not compare to the He family, though he maintained a flashy lifestyle. But he was Du Chengrong’s son, and if he claimed to be an eyewitness, the police station couldn’t dismiss the case.

“Young Master Du, don’t make this so serious-“

Du Zhaohui’s face darkened: “You’re telling me it’s not serious? Well then, perhaps I should invite Miss He for a boat trip sometime? If too many people come along and their attitudes are rough, the He family shouldn’t mind – it would just be a joke!”

The lawyer fell completely silent.

Such words might be a joke to others, but from Du Zhaohui’s mouth, they were anything but.

Everyone in Hong Kong knew the Du family straddled the line between legal and illegal. Young Master Du had a dangerous streak. The lawyer, unable to handle this, quickly fled.

Xia Xiaolan glanced at Du Zhaohui:

“Young Master Du’s timing is quite good.”

“Of course, I had the hotel-“

Stop, stop! He couldn’t mention that he’d bribed the hotel lobby manager to monitor Xia Xiaolan’s movements!

Du Zhaohui had indeed come to help.

He was persistent about getting Xia Xiaolan to join him, and she didn’t know what to do.

Du Zhaohui told her he had valued his assets and could gather 60 million Hong Kong dollars… What could Xia Xiaolan say? Jealousy made her cells undergo plasmolysis!

This was what being born lucky meant – despite his usual extravagance, he had the means to be extravagant.

“Rounding up, that’s almost 100 million. Young Master Du, why not set a small goal of earning 100 million in a year!”

Du Zhaohui didn’t get the joke, taking Xia Xiaolan’s words seriously.

“60 million Hong Kong dollars – you’re sure we can earn 100 million in a year? That exceeds my expectations. Could we split the profit equally? After all, I’m investing an additional 40 million in capital, it wouldn’t be right for me to leave empty-handed…”

Earn 100 million?

Buying a printing factory to make counterfeit money would be faster!

Xia Xiaolan turned to leave, while Bai Zhenzhu couldn’t help but give Du Zhaohui a few extra glances, making his replaced tooth ache.

If he sold his Hong Kong villa and luxury cars, wouldn’t he have to dismiss even his Filipino maid?

He absolutely wouldn’t dismiss Ah Hua – Du Zhaohui felt particularly safe wherever Ah Hua was!

“What did I say wrong? Is splitting 50 million each too much?”