Heard of him? What does that mean?
The liquid that was churning inside the swirling glass reflected the dancing light, creating waves of shining ripples. After a curious laugh from the lady, the people around her looked at each other, not knowing what she meant.
CEO Huang was the first to recover. After he was reminded of the rumors that he had heard about this lady, he seemed to have gained an understanding as to why the lady would have heard of Luo Mingxin before, then… CEO Huang's features became more conflicted. It looked like his soul was escaping from his body.
"Ah… That." CEO Huang tried to arrange his words to the best of his ability, and his conflicted gaze turned toward Luo Mingxin, who was still confused. "Madam Grace, I'm surprised you know Mr. Luo. Er…"
He really did not how to say this. Even though Luo Mingxin was just an artist, he was a respected figure in China, so it would not be easy to get the man to surrender his body and virtue…
CEO Huang swallowed the rest of his words with difficulty. He did not know how to proceed. Indeed, the most famous rumors about Madam Grace involved her love of men, beautiful men to be precise. Whether it was a one-night-stand or a kept lover, whether it was a Western man or an Asian man, the lady's harem had totally turned society's perception upside down. She was living not unlike the emperor from ancient times.
Of course, so far, Madam Grace's harem was only filled with normal guys and small-time actors or models who had something to ask of her. She knew not to offend men who were of a higher standing in life.
Then what about Luo Mingxin? Even though he was a local artist, Luo Mingxin was definitely one of the men that she should not have laid her target on!
Just as CEO Huang's mind was muddled, the lady who was referred to as Madam Grace did not openly flirt with the handsome man. Facing Luo Mingxin's confused yet polite smile, Madam Grace chuckled and then walked forward while holding her glass. "Please don't misunderstand. I'm merely interested in a friend of yours."
This was the first time that Luo Mingxin had been focused on but not because of himself but his friend. The feeling was strange to say the least. For some reason, he had a feeling that the 'friend' the lady mentioned was none other than the male Ye Shuang… Then again, the latter did not have many works under his name, much less something that would make him famous overseas…
Unfortunately, Sister Shuang did not have the same inspiration as Luo Mingxin. Currently, she was merely focused on determining the Caucasian lady's threat level at the event. After confirming all the factors, Sister Shuang did not think that there was any target that was worth her attention present. Furthermore, she needed to take care of her demeanor in public… Therefore, she temporarily put her guard down, and thus, she did not notice how the people around them had reacted.
She pinched Luo Mingxin silently to signal for the man to continue the conservation. She did not hear the lady's comment earlier, and with her status there, it was more fitting for Luo Mingxin to speak on her behalf.
Luo Mingxin reacted quickly. After a smile, he stopped focusing on the meaning behind Madam Grace's words and instead naturally led Ye Shuang to join the circle. "If you are interested, Madam Grace, I wouldn't mind introducing you to some interesting places to visit while you're here."
The conversation continued, and the lull in the atmosphere was smoothed over. Everyone there was apt at socializing, so they knew what to say and what not to say. Luo Mingxin and Ye Shuang were professionals at that as well, so chiming in once in a while was easy feat for them.
Madam Grace gave them face and allowed them to join the circle. Within the hall, there was something about this group of guests that set them apart from the rest. Occasionally, there would be one or two guests who came over to say hi, but they would voluntarily leave on their own and return the space to the small circle.
Half an hour later, Madam Grace accepted the dance invitation from a CEO. Like a queen, she left her old butler… rather, her dance partner, into the dance pool. By then Luo Mingxin and Ye Shuang had mingled into the guests and obtained a name card each.
"This is the classic Chanel No. 5." Ye Shuang held the gold-crusted card next to her cheek and took a sniff. She smiled. "The perfume aside, even the font and design of the card are first class. It is of a higher standard compared to the stack of white cards that you have."
Luo Mingxin huffed confidently. "My face is the best name card. I don't need to give people anything; everyone in China knows that I am Luo Mingxin. Even if I just write my phone number down on a scrap of paper, people will be fighting for it, much less my name card."
"Someone sure is prideful," Ye Shuang shot back. "Then again, popularity is not everything. If you're really that good, why don't you bring back an Oscar for me to see?"
Tsk, the girl has gotten more and more sarcastic. Does she still want to talk to me? Luo Mingxin, whose wound was torn open, gritted his teeth darkly.
"By the way, I suggest you keep your interaction with this woman to the bare minimum. If she really asks you out, try to reject it if you can." Ye Shuang changed the subject and decided to give him some advice as a friend.
When she said that, a director was passing by. He overheard the advice and he paused. After some consideration, he interrupted to say, "I also think so, Xiao Luo. You'd better stay away from her."
The director was over sixty, and he was one of the rare good and honest businessman, respected by others in the field. He was one of the oldest directors in the Yong An Organization. Because of that, even though the Yong An Organization was not a big company nationally, when people interacted with him, they were willing to give him face.
When Luo Mingxin was still starting out, he had once joined an opening event for the Yong An Organization's private club. It was because of that event that he had been given a membership card and gotten to know the few directors. Luo Mingxin did not think much of what Ye Shuang said, but if the elder added to the advice, then Luo Mingxin had to treat it seriously.
After giving it some thought, Luo Mingxin frowned. "Why?"
People like to play with guns. Even if you have ten lives, you are not going to survive a bullet to the heart… Ye Shuang was conflicted—that was hard to say.
People like to play with guns. Even if you have ten lives, you are not going to survive a night with the old vixen… The old director was conflicted—this was too embarrassing for him to say…
The pair of old and young looked at each other. Ye Shuang did not know what the elder was thinking. Out of respect, she did not dare to say anything. While the elder thought that Ye Shuang had heard about Madam Grace's 'rumors' before, and to prevent misunderstanding with this guest—since this was a social date nor the daughter of some businessman, then it had to be true love or at least a family member—he was waiting for Ye Shuang to start the conversation.
The two pairs of eyes looked at each other. The elder thought about it and realized that the girl was probably too embarrassed to bring it up when an outsider was around, so he coughed awkwardly and said, "I won't disturb you anymore. I'll go for a cigar break. Er… Miss Ye, you have to really advise Xiao Luo about this."
What advice? Ye Shuang looked at the retreating elder and felt like something was off. She turned and realized that Luo Mingxin was still waiting for an answer. She did not know how to explain it, so she grumbled a quick explanation. "That woman is a black widow. Just stay as far away from her as you can."
"Even though I have no idea what's going on, I believe Elder Qin would not say something like that for no reason." Luo Mingxin nodded with a frown. "Okay, I'll be careful. Don't worry."
Since Luo Mingxin was willing to listen to her advice, Ye Shuang decided not to worry about it. After all, the man was famous. If they did not want to attract trouble, people would not normally come for the guy to attract unnecessary attention.
Ye Shuang sighed in relief. After the lesson earlier, she looked around carefully to make sure that there was no one around to overhear her. After confirming her safety, she raised her hand to pretend like she was fixing her earring. After turning it on, she removed a pearl that was attached to her hairpin and placed it inside her ear. Then she uttered the name, phone, and fax number that was printed on the name card. "Can you check those things?"
Luo Mingxin widened his eyes and looked at Ye Shuang with disbelief.
Ye Shuang glared at him. "Stop playing dumb, help me look around… Oh, Brother Han, that's not for you. I'm asking Celebrity Luo to help me keep cover."
Han Chu's tut came through the earpiece clearly. "You're getting better at ordering men around."
Luo Mingxin could not hear that, but he had a rough idea of what was going on. After he got over his shock, Luo Mingxin adjusted his outfit and looked around. At the same time, he whispered, "How come it feels like I've been dropped inside a spy film?"
Ye Shuang rolled her eyes. She did not have the time to explain the situation. Han Chu's voice travelled through the earpiece, accompanied by the sound of typing. "I've sent the information that you gave me to Tony, but I believe we won't come up with much."
"Is it because the information is too common?" Ye Shuang fanned the card. "I also think this kind of identity that is shared with others won't lead us to much. After all, a fake identity is so cheap these days. With a few dozen thousand, you can buy a fake history from primary school to university graduation certificate."
Han Chu answered with a grunt and then asked, "Just try and see if you can find anything else… Don't you notice anything weird at the Yong An Organization? Why are you so focused on this woman?"
"The woman doesn't look like a good person from first glance." Ye Shuang gave a rough answer as she glanced at Luo Mingxin.
Luo Mingxin understood it and chuckled purposely. "Am I disturbing something standing here?"
Han Chu also heard Luo Mingxin's voice. He thought about it. "Are there any clues that cause you to think that way?"
"Yes," Ye Shuang answered firmly.
"Physical feature, body language, or through what she carried?" Han Chu asked.
"…The first one."
This time, there was a five seconds silence before the answer came. "Does she have signs on her body that show she's familiar with guns?"
Ye Shuang was stunned. "…Brother Han, are you sure you're not a clairvoyant‽"