The full moon hung high in the night sky, the temperature steadily dropping.
Xu Si draped the blanket Butler Ge had prepared over herself. Anshi, who had arrived at so point and taken the driver’s seat, was now driving and discussing company matters with her.
"Miss, I’ve been incompetent. Our foreign currency reserves on Hong Kong Island are low. That batch of imported steel has hit a snag; they’ve suddenly changed the transaction terms, wanting us to exchange a large amount of foreign currency for the purchase. I’ve heard the Sanlian Chamber of Comrce has underhanded thods for currency exchange, but they don’t have a fixed base of operations. Plus, they’ve always steered clear of our Xu family’s affairs, so I haven’t been able to locate a specific person in charge."
The project had to proceed; it concerned their developnt for the next few years.
Xu Si understood this, but dealing with the Sanlian Chamber of Comrce was equally troubling for her.
That year, very few people knew that the Sanlian Chamber of Comrce’s backing was the Triad Society, which had its stronghold in the Underground City.
The place was just as Chen Mo had described: without an invitation, there’s no leaving once you enter.
In the July sumr, a desolate, chilly evening breeze seeped in through the car window’s gaps. Xu Si rubbed her throbbing temples. "It’s not your fault; you’ve done your best. I’ll think of a solution."
She hadn’t yet recovered from the recent turmoil, but she grabbed the car phone and contacted several close friends. After borrowing a reserve of foreign currency, she found the sum was still insufficient.
Just then, Gu Jing, who seed to have received news from sowhere, called her, his voice carrying a hint of soone ready to exploit the situation. "Xu Si, I heard you need to raise foreign currency. I can help you. How about you make a deal with ?"
His posture was arrogant yet persistent. That’s how he had been back then, bewitching Wen Jiaojiao until she was head over heels for him.
But Xu Si never fell for such tactics.
Things weren’t like before. So people needed to be kept at a distance—they absolutely had to be.
She asked lightly, "What deal?"
Gu Jing answered, "Help arrange a eting with Jiaojiao. She listens to you the most, so for you, it should be very easy."
"Heh." Xu Si chuckled lightly, her tone slightly heavier with irony. "Young Master Gu, you’ve certainly mastered the art of shady deals, but I don’t engage in such business."
After she spoke, she hung up the phone.
No matter Gu Jing’s motives, good or bad, refusing to trade on the happiness and safety of those around her was one of Xu Si’s fundantal principles.
The foreign currency still needed to be raised.
Leveraging the long journey, Xu Si made several more calls. Unfortunately, foreign currency wasn’t easy to co by. With the changing circumstances that year, no company would readily tap into their substantial foreign currency reserves, ant for ergencies.
After being tactfully rejected a few tis, Xu Si finally put down the phone and picked up her handbag to search for business cards of foreign-funded enterprises. While flipping through, she noticed sothing—the photo that was supposed to be in the inner fold of her wallet was missing.
It was the only photo she had with Pei Zhen.
She furrowed her delicate brows, thought for a mont, then raised her head, her voice like clear frost on a spring day.
"Anshi, turn around. Let’s go back to that hotel."
Anshi asked, "Miss, did you leave sothing behind?"
Xu Si replied, "Yes, I lost a photo."
That photo was very important to her. Anshi knew it as well.
However, when Xu Si returned to the beach and searched the entire reception area, she didn’t find a trace of the photo. She asked a nearby waiter, who ntioned that they hadn’t seen any photos while collecting lost items.
She could only stand quietly by the shoreline, watching the waves, recalling the last ti she opened her bag.
It seed to be when she was dodging gunfire.
She had taken out a wad of money to thank the person who helped her. Perhaps it was then that the photo slipped out along with the money.
She approached the waitstaff once more, asking if they knew the bald giant’s whereabouts. This ti, their expressions changed, and they shook their heads, saying, "We don’t know."
Xu Si noted their reaction, her expression flickering slightly as she blinked and sighed.
Sotis, she couldn’t help but feel that fate truly existed. The more one feared sothing, the more it seed determined to happen. For the sake of a photograph, she was even considering braving the Underground City.
「Ever since that day.」
Xu Si had not stopped thinking about going to the Underground City. As ti went by, this idea grew larger and more overwhelming.
It felt as if her heart would be perpetually stifled until she retrieved that photo, and the foreign currency exchange matter was also urging her on.
Moreover, deep down, she really wanted to know who the silver-haired man was, why he had appeared at the edge of the reception, and why he had made the bald giant help her.
After all, when the bald man ca to help her, he hadn’t bothered with any idle chat. It didn’t seem like he had co of his own accord, but rather as if he were following soone’s orders.
Most importantly, when the man left, he had even pointed a gun at her. It was all so contradictory. How could there be no connection? She didn’t quite believe that.
Undecided, she habitually called Wen Jiaojiao and inquired about the Sanlian Chamber of Comrce’s activities over the past years.
Wen Jiaojiao replied promptly, "Those people aren’t from Hong Kong Island. I haven’t had much contact with them. It has always been my mother and uncle dealing with them. What’s the matter?"
Xu Si said vaguely, "I went to their reception the other day and lost sothing. I want to ask them for it back."
Wen Jiaojiao said, "I think I have a way. A classmate’s mother once wanted to contact the Sanlian Chamber of Comrce. She pulled many strings and even sought an ’invitation letter’ abroad, but for so reason, they never went through with it. I can get it for you."
"You truly live up to your reputation; you know everything." Xu Si’s eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. After pondering for a good while, she said, "That invitation is hard to co by. If it’s not of much use to them, I’m willing to buy it."
With an invitation letter, a visit to the Underground City was certainly worth it.
Flattered by the praise, Wen Jiaojiao was beaming and couldn’t resist asking, "Are you going to all this trouble just for a photograph?"
Their friendship had lasted for decades; Wen Jiaojiao was particularly attuned to Xu Si’s emotions.
Wen Jiaojiao had no say in the foreign currency matter.
Xu Si didn’t want her to worry, so she downplayed the real issue, saying, "I also want to find soone. I t a very mysterious person at the reception that day, and I’ve been thinking about him ever since. I really want to find out more."
Wen Jiaojiao was silent for several seconds.
Then, she voiced her thoughts over the phone.
"Is there a chance that, misled by beauty, you’re just plain lustful?"
Xu Si blinked, her lips curving into a faint smile as she tapped the table. "Friend, I didn’t even see his face. How could I be misled?"
"It’s the hazy feelings that are most attractive. Back then..." she hesitated for a mont, her tone filled with regret. "Never mind, I’ll get you that invitation letter. I have to go now."
Xu Si didn’t expose her sadness.
Instead, she understood it completely.
Wen Jiaojiao had devoted her most beautiful years to Gu Jing.
It wasn’t that Wen Jiaojiao didn’t like him anymore. She was just clear-sighted, aware of their incompatibility. She would give up, no matter how deep her affection.
Perhaps in a few more years, Wen Jiaojiao would be able to say with true relief, ’I don’t regret anyone I’ve ever liked.’
Within just two days, she had procured the invitation letter for Xu Si.
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