Chapter 160: The White Glove
Yan Guanglei thought he misheard for a moment: “What?”
Xia He repeated with a smile: “I said your son almost beat me up, so I came to complain to you.”
To make sure Yan Guanglei heard clearly, Xia He slowed his speech considerably and even raised his voice, so people around them all looked over.
The strange looks from the entrepreneurs made Yan Guanglei feel a bit embarrassed.
He said stiffly: “Are you sure it really was my son? Could there be some misunderstanding?”
Xia He didn’t respond to that at all. He just put away his smile and said: “It seems, Mr. Yan, that you don’t want to admit it. I thought you’d know very well what Yan Zhengqing’s temperament is like.”
Could Yan Guanglei not know his own son’s personality? He was just trying to be tactful, but Xia He’s attitude made it clear that he didn’t intend to let it slide easily.
He gritted his teeth inwardly: “I was negligent in disciplining him. Xia He, are you all right?”
Xia He raised an eyebrow: “Let’s skip the ‘little friend’ title and just call me by my name. After all, age-wise, you’re the senior.”
However, Xia He’s attitude toward “seniors” could be glimpsed from how he treated Xia Nanzhi and Xia Xiuzhu.
Yan Guanglei slightly relaxed, and seeing that the gazes of the people around were increasingly intrusive, he turned his body and gestured:
“Let’s go sit over there and talk.”
Xia He didn’t object and followed Yan Guanglei to a corner blocked by two waist-high banana potted plants.
After sitting down, Xia He’s attitude seemed much more relaxed—mainly because with no one watching, there was no need to exaggerate: “I wasn’t actually beaten. I just found an excuse to chase Yan Zhengqing away.”
Yan Guanglei relaxed and immediately said: “After this, I’ll make sure to discipline that little brat properly!”
Xia He snickered in his heart. With no witnesses, Yan Guanglei could say whatever he wanted.
But that was fine—he only used this topic to move the conversation to a private space. With just the two of them, he didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing.
He said casually: “Actually, it’s not a big deal. Yan Zhengqing doesn’t know me; he’s probably already forgotten this incident.”
“However,” Xia He shifted the topic, “there’s another matter I need to discuss with you, Mr. Yan.”
Yan Guanglei didn’t know what he meant: “What matter?”
“Mingde recently cooperated with the authorities to shoot the program Walking with Light, right? Jin Ding’s artists participated, didn’t they?” Xia He seemed to be recalling, “Which one was it?”
“Two of them. One has always been an artist under my company, Lou Cheng. The other recently transferred from Jinxiu to my company, named Ye Weiyu,” Yan Guanglei replied.
“Ah, yes, I remember now. Indeed, two of them,” Xia He nodded. “Hanshan said the artist he collaborated with was female, so that must be Ms. Lou Cheng.”
Hearing the name “Hanshan,” Yan Guanglei immediately asked: “You mean Bai Hanshan? He’s under you?”
He had previously considered letting Yan Zhengqing join Mingde’s student council. To do so, he had checked the council’s structure. All members kept the president’s identity secret, only vice president Bai Hanshan was publicly known.
When Yan Guanglei discovered that Bai Hanshan was Bai Qingyin’s younger brother, someone had advised him to be careful. He then dropped the idea and also told Yan Zhengqing to stay away from the student council and Bai Hanshan.
“Not under me, but a partner,” Xia He corrected him. “He rarely gets the chance to stand on the same stage with his sister. I also wanted to make him happy.”
He implied: “The votes tonight, Jin Ding should be ready, right?”
Hearing this, Yan Guanglei immediately understood. Xia He just wanted to please his partner and win people over. Jin Ding had planned to cast the vote for Lou Cheng’s program first anyway. Since Bai Hanshan and Lou Cheng are a team, it was a convenient move.
Thinking this, Xia He was still a student, and his methods for winning people over were just so.
Yan Guanglei concealed his slight contempt and smiled at Xia He: “No problem at all.”
Xia He seemed quite satisfied and even took the initiative: “After the seminar, why don’t we find a place to have a meal together?”
The seminar ended around 12:30. The main reason was that the corporate representatives spoke extensively. During the final summary, the leadership specifically addressed questions raised at the site.
Afterwards, lunch was arranged by the organizers, but Yan Guanglei had already agreed to dine with Xia He, so he didn’t attend. Following Xia He’s invitation, he got into a Xia family car.
“Do you have any dietary preferences, Mr. Yan?” Xia He had now changed the form of address, which made Yan Guanglei more comfortable.
At the seminar, Xia He had only listened and not expressed much.
This made Yan Guanglei suspect that Xia He was merely polished in social etiquette but lacked real capability.
Xia Suirong had arranged him to come, probably just to meet in person.
But it also showed that Xia Suirong intended to involve Xia He in the family succession. Yan Guanglei needed to strengthen ties.
“I have no dietary restrictions,” Yan Guanglei said frankly. “Xia He, you decide.”
Xia He then took him to a very secluded private club. Upon entering, Yan Guanglei’s phone was placed by Xia He into a paper bag and locked in a single-use cabinet. A server handed Yan Guanglei a bracelet with a small pendant.
The pendant contained an OTP calculator; only scanning it could open the cabinet.
The security level was high, even making Yan Guanglei nervous.
Xia He seemed to notice and reassured him: “This is for Xia family private use only, so it’s strict. Thank you for understanding, Mr. Yan.”
He casually added: “It’s my first time here; I didn’t expect it to be so complex. I would have invited you somewhere else if I had known.”
It seemed the young man wanted to show off a bit. Yan Guanglei comforted himself and waved his hand: “No, thanks to you, I’ve broadened my horizons.”
The meal went smoothly. Afterwards, they chatted in the lounge, and time passed unnoticed.
Yan Guanglei heard Xia He speak quite a bit of badmouthing about Xia Nanzhi and Xia Xiuzhu and even vaguely hinted at some information.
This information was extremely useful to Yan Guanglei. If the waiter hadn’t reminded him about dinner, he wouldn’t have noticed how late it was.
“Mr. Yan, would you like to have dinner?” Xia He asked considerately.
“No, I still have to attend Mingde’s evening party,” Yan Guanglei said regretfully, also keeping the Jiang family in mind.
He opened the cabinet, retrieved his phone, and saw that the sealed contents were intact. Most messages were unimportant, so he didn’t check further, pocketed the phone, and left.
Xia He stood at the club entrance, watching Yan Guanglei leave, and leisurely said:
“Remember to hand in the items.”
The server immediately acknowledged.
In the afternoon, the police first caught the insider dealing with the Yan family, then swiftly arrested criminal forces associated with the family.
Although a few escaped and continued messaging Yan Guanglei, Xia He had brought them here, delayed them for the afternoon, and intercepted their messages and calls via a fake base station, helping the police capture the remaining criminals.
This method was, of course, illegal. Xia He had simply contacted the authorities to act as the “white glove” after hearing Bai Qingyin’s plan.
After handing over the “evidence,” the authorities had leverage over the Xia family.
The leverage was small but enough to give the authorities a reason to investigate the Xia family, while he had ways to let them discover evidence against Xia Nanzhi and Xia Xiuzhu.
As for himself, as long as he continued being the “white glove,” the authorities would turn a blind eye.
Xia He stretched lazily: “Done, the matter’s settled. I’ll check the livestream now.”
He hummed Kunqu opera:
“Watching him build his grand house, watching him entertain guests, watching his house collapse…”
The old master’s chosen tune was surprisingly fitting.
