Chapter 383: 383
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Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;
Afghanistan, Kabul Serena Hotel :
"Are you sure you'll be able to pull this up?", Jackson asked, searching for a beer can in the mini-fridge, "We can't let Aftaab Ali suspect anything. He is the only person who has ever seen Ahmed Ali Fadhil."
"I am sure.", Abram Orlov nodded, looking at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, buttoning up his fancy somber Italian Navy Blue suit, "I won't have any trouble putting on a pretense of a Businessman, considering I have a Russian accent. Russians have been involved in drug smugglings with Aftaab for quite some years now. Rather than trusting someone with American history like yourself, the possibility of him trusting a corrupt Russian trader is pretty much high."
"Right.", Jackson tossed the carton of milk towards the man, "We're out of beer. Boil the milk in the kettle and prepare some instant coffee. Sachets are over there on the side-table. Meanwhile, I am going to call Xinghe. Maybe she'll be able to tell if we're missing something important."
"Got it."
::::::::::::::::::::::
"Good morning, Officers.", a few seconds later, the girl's voice resounded through the other end of Jackson's phone as she waved at them via video call, "So I am guessing Jackson is staying put. Smart move."
"Yeah.", Marshal sighed, "A lot of people know me here. That's not safe. I'd rather stay here in the hotel and observe things."
"What do you think, Xinghe?", Abram Orlov sat down beside the man, passing him a cup of coffee, "On a scale of one to ten, how much of a businessman do I look?"
"Um... I don't know. Shouldn't we ask the Business King himself?", the girl grinned at the man chopping vegetables in the kitchen, turning the screen so that Xi Yuan could glance at it, "Any reviews?"
"He's good to go.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Tell him to adjust the tie though. A hygienic and classy approach can win over anyone. Literally."
"You heard the man."
"Yep."
"Xinghe, one more thing. We'll be needing, at least, one million dollars. In Country X's currency. Can that be arranged?", Jackson Marshal question.
"Of course. Give me two days.", Rong Xinghe replied, "I will have to talk to the Finance minister first."
"Xinghe, the economy is going down right now. We don't have that much time. At a time like this, when Ahmed must be trying to find ways to get into Country X, we have a great chance of tempting him through the business pathways. We need the money by tonight. The only way Aftaab will take us to Ahmed is if we make him think we can be of great use to him.", Orlov sighed.
"It's too soon, guys.", the girl frowned, "Paperwork will take time. How can I-"
"Xinghe, can you get my checkbook from the bedroom?", Xi Yuan cut in, his eyes still glued to the chopping board.
"Yuan, what's on your mind?", the girl looked up at the man, muddled, "You can't just throw your money away."
"Military Chief, Xi Family doesn't lack money. You should learn to benefit from us, Baby.", Xi Yuan laughed, "It's alright. You can count it as a donation from the Xi Corporations to the Armed Forces. Okay?
"In fact, I can ask Sun Cheng to invest in Abram Orlov's new 'company'. I can't, of course, get involved, since I am your fiance. They'll get suspicious if I do anything. On the other hand, Sun Cheng is my friend, but we've barely talked after Elena's death. They won't be able to look through it.
"After all, Country X's citizen's direct investment could be an excellent bait for your beloved nemesis, don't you think?"
"..."
"I am suddenly unsure if you deserve to marry him.", Abram Orlov mocked Rong Xinghe, fascinated by the man's intellect. "God! He is good. Were you in Military before, Mr. Xi?"
"I was, actually. I'd wanted to join Special Forces.", humbly, Xi Yuan answered with a nod, "But then Xi Corporations happened. Eventually, I had to resign.
"Now, Love, checkbook please?", he turned his head to look at the dazed girl.
Instead, the girl disconnected the call, her eyes fixed upon the calm and composed man before her. "Is it weird I feel turned on right now?", the girl smiled.
"Not at all.", the man couldn't help but raise his brows, his lips curling up in astonishment, "Come here." Seconds later, the man's lips brushed against hers. Passionately. Intensely. Hungrily, to be precise. Slowly, his hands traveled from the small of her back to her waist to her hips, underneath her crop top, and over her jeans. Rong Xinghe had just showered. Mixed with her natural scent, the fragrance of the lavender bubble salt evoking from her body, made him feel as if he could lose himself to it. Damn, this intoxicating woman, he sighed internally.
The couple's little 'moment' was soon disrupted by Xi Yuan's phone, though. "I am going to throw our phones away someday. Trust me!", the girl pouted. Why God why?!
"After all of this is over, I will help you bury both our phones before we elope to some remote island. You have my word!", the man was equally frustrated. Bringing the phone closer to his ears, the man walked out of the kitchen, into his bedroom, "Coincidental! I was going to call you today anyway, Cheng. I need your help man."
"Woah!", Sun Cheng was taken aback for a while, "Business King Xi Yuan needs my help now? Am I dreaming?
"I just wanted to congratulate you on the engagement, Yuan. Also, I wanted to apologize for not showing up at the party. My daughter has had fever for the past few days now.
"But who knew I'd walk into some parallel universe just by calling you? Tell me, what do you need?"
"Actually, it's the Missus who needs help.", Xi Yuan said, "Military problem."
"Xinghe? Of course, I will help her. She helped me so much in the past.", the man said, "I owe it to her. So what is it that's troubling you two?"
"Book a ticket to City A and help me set up a hypothetical business organization."
"Wait... what?"
"Thank you. I will mail you the flight tickets."
"Hey, you can't just--"
BEEP
"Bastard!", Sun Cheng cursed. Such a headache this guy was!
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;
Afghanistan, Kabul Serena Hotel :
"Are you sure you'll be able to pull this up?", Jackson asked, searching for a beer can in the mini-fridge, "We can't let Aftaab Ali suspect anything. He is the only person who has ever seen Ahmed Ali Fadhil."
"I am sure.", Abram Orlov nodded, looking at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, buttoning up his fancy somber Italian Navy Blue suit, "I won't have any trouble putting on a pretense of a Businessman, considering I have a Russian accent. Russians have been involved in drug smugglings with Aftaab for quite some years now. Rather than trusting someone with American history like yourself, the possibility of him trusting a corrupt Russian trader is pretty much high."
"Right.", Jackson tossed the carton of milk towards the man, "We're out of beer. Boil the milk in the kettle and prepare some instant coffee. Sachets are over there on the side-table. Meanwhile, I am going to call Xinghe. Maybe she'll be able to tell if we're missing something important."
"Got it."
::::::::::::::::::::::
"Good morning, Officers.", a few seconds later, the girl's voice resounded through the other end of Jackson's phone as she waved at them via video call, "So I am guessing Jackson is staying put. Smart move."
"Yeah.", Marshal sighed, "A lot of people know me here. That's not safe. I'd rather stay here in the hotel and observe things."
"What do you think, Xinghe?", Abram Orlov sat down beside the man, passing him a cup of coffee, "On a scale of one to ten, how much of a businessman do I look?"
"Um... I don't know. Shouldn't we ask the Business King himself?", the girl grinned at the man chopping vegetables in the kitchen, turning the screen so that Xi Yuan could glance at it, "Any reviews?"
"He's good to go.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Tell him to adjust the tie though. A hygienic and classy approach can win over anyone. Literally."
"You heard the man."
"Yep."
"Xinghe, one more thing. We'll be needing, at least, one million dollars. In Country X's currency. Can that be arranged?", Jackson Marshal question.
"Of course. Give me two days.", Rong Xinghe replied, "I will have to talk to the Finance minister first."
"Xinghe, the economy is going down right now. We don't have that much time. At a time like this, when Ahmed must be trying to find ways to get into Country X, we have a great chance of tempting him through the business pathways. We need the money by tonight. The only way Aftaab will take us to Ahmed is if we make him think we can be of great use to him.", Orlov sighed.
"It's too soon, guys.", the girl frowned, "Paperwork will take time. How can I-"
"Xinghe, can you get my checkbook from the bedroom?", Xi Yuan cut in, his eyes still glued to the chopping board.
"Yuan, what's on your mind?", the girl looked up at the man, muddled, "You can't just throw your money away."
"Military Chief, Xi Family doesn't lack money. You should learn to benefit from us, Baby.", Xi Yuan laughed, "It's alright. You can count it as a donation from the Xi Corporations to the Armed Forces. Okay?
"In fact, I can ask Sun Cheng to invest in Abram Orlov's new 'company'. I can't, of course, get involved, since I am your fiance. They'll get suspicious if I do anything. On the other hand, Sun Cheng is my friend, but we've barely talked after Elena's death. They won't be able to look through it.
"After all, Country X's citizen's direct investment could be an excellent bait for your beloved nemesis, don't you think?"
"..."
"I am suddenly unsure if you deserve to marry him.", Abram Orlov mocked Rong Xinghe, fascinated by the man's intellect. "God! He is good. Were you in Military before, Mr. Xi?"
"I was, actually. I'd wanted to join Special Forces.", humbly, Xi Yuan answered with a nod, "But then Xi Corporations happened. Eventually, I had to resign.
"Now, Love, checkbook please?", he turned his head to look at the dazed girl.
Instead, the girl disconnected the call, her eyes fixed upon the calm and composed man before her. "Is it weird I feel turned on right now?", the girl smiled.
"Not at all.", the man couldn't help but raise his brows, his lips curling up in astonishment, "Come here." Seconds later, the man's lips brushed against hers. Passionately. Intensely. Hungrily, to be precise. Slowly, his hands traveled from the small of her back to her waist to her hips, underneath her crop top, and over her jeans. Rong Xinghe had just showered. Mixed with her natural scent, the fragrance of the lavender bubble salt evoking from her body, made him feel as if he could lose himself to it. Damn, this intoxicating woman, he sighed internally.
The couple's little 'moment' was soon disrupted by Xi Yuan's phone, though. "I am going to throw our phones away someday. Trust me!", the girl pouted. Why God why?!
"After all of this is over, I will help you bury both our phones before we elope to some remote island. You have my word!", the man was equally frustrated. Bringing the phone closer to his ears, the man walked out of the kitchen, into his bedroom, "Coincidental! I was going to call you today anyway, Cheng. I need your help man."
"Woah!", Sun Cheng was taken aback for a while, "Business King Xi Yuan needs my help now? Am I dreaming?
"I just wanted to congratulate you on the engagement, Yuan. Also, I wanted to apologize for not showing up at the party. My daughter has had fever for the past few days now.
"But who knew I'd walk into some parallel universe just by calling you? Tell me, what do you need?"
"Actually, it's the Missus who needs help.", Xi Yuan said, "Military problem."
"Xinghe? Of course, I will help her. She helped me so much in the past.", the man said, "I owe it to her. So what is it that's troubling you two?"
"Book a ticket to City A and help me set up a hypothetical business organization."
"Wait... what?"
"Thank you. I will mail you the flight tickets."
"Hey, you can't just--"
BEEP
"Bastard!", Sun Cheng cursed. Such a headache this guy was!
Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;Afghanistan, Kabul Serena Hotel :"Are you sure you'll be able to pull this up?", Jackson asked, searching for a beer can in the mini-fridge, "We can't let Aftaab Ali suspect anything. He is the only person who has ever seen Ahmed Ali Fadhil.""I am sure.", Abram Orlov nodded, looking at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, buttoning up his fancy somber Italian Navy Blue suit, "I won't have any trouble putting on a pretense of a Businessman, considering I have a Russian accent. Russians have been involved in drug smugglings with Aftaab for quite some years now. Rather than trusting someone with American history like yourself, the possibility of him trusting a corrupt Russian trader is pretty much high.""Right.", Jackson tossed the carton of milk towards the man, "We're out of beer. Boil the milk in the kettle and prepare some instant coffee. Sachets are over there on the side-table. Meanwhile, I am going to call Xinghe. Maybe she'll be able to tell if we're missing something important.""Got it."::::::::::::::::::::::"Good morning, Officers.", a few seconds later, the girl's voice resounded through the other end of Jackson's phone as she waved at them via video call, "So I am guessing Jackson is staying put. Smart move.""Yeah.", Marshal sighed, "A lot of people know me here. That's not safe. I'd rather stay here in the hotel and observe things.""What do you think, Xinghe?", Abram Orlov sat down beside the man, passing him a cup of coffee, "On a scale of one to ten, how much of a businessman do I look?""Um... I don't know. Shouldn't we ask the Business King himself?", the girl grinned at the man chopping vegetables in the kitchen, turning the screen so that Xi Yuan could glance at it, "Any reviews?""He's good to go.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Tell him to adjust the tie though. A hygienic and classy approach can win over anyone. Literally.""You heard the man.""Yep.""Xinghe, one more thing. We'll be needing, at least, one million dollars. In Country X's currency. Can that be arranged?", Jackson Marshal question."Of course. Give me two days.", Rong Xinghe replied, "I will have to talk to the Finance minister first.""Xinghe, the economy is going down right now. We don't have that much time. At a time like this, when Ahmed must be trying to find ways to get into Country X, we have a great chance of tempting him through the business pathways. We need the money by tonight. The only way Aftaab will take us to Ahmed is if we make him think we can be of great use to him.", Orlov sighed."It's too soon, guys.", the girl frowned, "Paperwork will take time. How can I-""Xinghe, can you get my checkbook from the bedroom?", Xi Yuan cut in, his eyes still glued to the chopping board."Yuan, what's on your mind?", the girl looked up at the man, muddled, "You can't just throw your money away.""Military Chief, Xi Family doesn't lack money. You should learn to benefit from us, Baby.", Xi Yuan laughed, "It's alright. You can count it as a donation from the Xi Corporations to the Armed Forces. Okay?"In fact, I can ask Sun Cheng to invest in Abram Orlov's new 'company'. I can't, of course, get involved, since I am your fiance. They'll get suspicious if I do anything. On the other hand, Sun Cheng is my friend, but we've barely talked after Elena's death. They won't be able to look through it."After all, Country X's citizen's direct investment could be an excellent bait for your beloved nemesis, don't you think?""...""I am suddenly unsure if you deserve to marry him.", Abram Orlov mocked Rong Xinghe, fascinated by the man's intellect. "God! He is good. Were you in Military before, Mr. Xi?""I was, actually. I'd wanted to join Special Forces.", humbly, Xi Yuan answered with a nod, "But then Xi Corporations happened. Eventually, I had to resign."Now, Love, checkbook please?", he turned his head to look at the dazed girl.Instead, the girl disconnected the call, her eyes fixed upon the calm and composed man before her. "Is it weird I feel turned on right now?", the girl smiled."Not at all.", the man couldn't help but raise his brows, his lips curling up in astonishment, "Come here." Seconds later, the man's lips brushed against hers. Passionately. Intensely. Hungrily, to be precise. Slowly, his hands traveled from the small of her back to her waist to her hips, underneath her crop top, and over her jeans. Rong Xinghe had just showered. Mixed with her natural scent, the fragrance of the lavender bubble salt evoking from her body, made him feel as if he could lose himself to it. Damn, this intoxicating woman, he sighed internally.The couple's little 'moment' was soon disrupted by Xi Yuan's phone, though. "I am going to throw our phones away someday. Trust me!", the girl pouted. Why God why?!"After all of this is over, I will help you bury both our phones before we elope to some remote island. You have my word!", the man was equally frustrated. Bringing the phone closer to his ears, the man walked out of the kitchen, into his bedroom, "Coincidental! I was going to call you today anyway, Cheng. I need your help man.""Woah!", Sun Cheng was taken aback for a while, "Business King Xi Yuan needs my help now? Am I dreaming?"I just wanted to congratulate you on the engagement, Yuan. Also, I wanted to apologize for not showing up at the party. My daughter has had fever for the past few days now."But who knew I'd walk into some parallel universe just by calling you? Tell me, what do you need?""Actually, it's the Missus who needs help.", Xi Yuan said, "Military problem.""Xinghe? Of course, I will help her. She helped me so much in the past.", the man said, "I owe it to her. So what is it that's troubling you two?""Book a ticket to City A and help me set up a hypothetical business organization.""Wait... what?""Thank you. I will mail you the flight tickets.""Hey, you can't just--"BEEP"Bastard!", Sun Cheng cursed. Such a headache this guy was!
