"No, Mr. Lee. The fist bump. Let's try it again."
Hearing Andrea's proposal, Mr. Lee became agitated that he raised his voice at her, "Are you playing a joke on me?"
Mr. Lee's hand was ready to retaliate when another hand held his wrist firmly.
"Mr. Lee!" It was Michael Song who called him out. "They probably know you were up to no good… I suggest you leave and forget about tonight."
Mr. Song, whose business was based in Northern America, came to the couple's rescue. Behind him were four of his armed bodyguards whose faces were all stiff, yet keenly observing their movements. They were seemingly ready to take down anyone.
"Mr. Song?" Mr. Lee said, looking frightened at the man before him.
"My events are not a place for you to find your women," Michael Song plainly said without any expression on his face. "Besides, you obviously chose the wrong woman to flirt with."
Knowing who it was that reprimanded him, Mr. Lee immediately apologized and left the scene.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lu, the new couple of Lu-Wei Enterprises, am I correct?" Mr. Song asked as he smiled politely yet displayed a hint of authoritativeness. "I am - "
"Mr. Michael Song. Of course, we know who you are," said Lu Fang as he offered to shake hands with him. He then turned to Andrea and introduced her. "This is my wife, Andrea."
"It's nice to meet you both. I have actually been meaning to schedule an appointment with you," he said with a very professional tone. "I wanted to buy Intramed Wise and learning that you are one of its shareholders, I wished for you to consider selling me your shares."
Andrea and Lu Fang looked at each other, but they both knew they would never abandon Darwin in his endeavor. They were about to reject him outright, but he seemed to have seen through their expressions.
"There is no pressure in making a decision and of course, this is not the right time or place either, but I hope you both will give me a chance to discuss my plans and my reasons for wanting to buy the said company," Michael said as he placed both his hands inside his pockets.
He turned to his right and his assistant came out from behind him, handing the couple his business card. "Mr. Song is currently staying at the Peninsula Hotel for this year's visit. We hope that we can meet you there anytime this week. May we also have your business card, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Fang handed his card without worry and soon, they parted ways soon after. They left the venue with a good impression on Michael Song.
In the coming days that Andrea had stepped out of the house, only very few new faces approached her. Each one she had studied their background and so far nothing came up as suspicious. She did consider, however, that someone as wealthy as Michael Song can easily manipulate public information about him.
So far, there hasn't been any attempt to her life or any unusual undertaking to any of their businesses.
Lu Fang received a proposal from Michael Song's side and the paper outlined his current plans for Intramed Wise. They were currently in the process of investigating diseases that have not been found of any cure. His cause was selfless and thus, the couple gave it consideration.
They agreed to meet at the Peninsula Hotel, the same place where the couple had their wedding. It was an awfully familiar place that they felt absolutely comfortable with the location.
Michael Song booked a small function for their dinner and it was there where they discussed his intentions.
"You see Mr. and Mr. Lu, I plan to use Intramed Wise to help me identify the cure to these diseases," he said before taking a sip of his wine.
"We have seen your proposal Mr. Song -"
Andrea was interrupted by him saying, "Please call me Michael."
"Micheal then, you may call me Andrea and my husband Lu Fang… As I was saying, we prefer collaborating with you rather than selling out our company shares."
"We are in good relationship and partnership with many of the shareholders at Intramed Wise. I'm afraid, we can't easily let go of the company," Lu Fang added.
He smiled at the couple and said, "I figured as much. Well, then. I shall have my secretary send another proposal for collaboration instead."
Andrea and Lu Fang watched him finish off his wine. After putting down his glass, he said, "I am very tired. I will be on my way and thank you for coming to meet me."
Michael Song quickly bid goodbye. He did not beat around the bush, but he was still polite.
The couple was stunned at how quickly their conversation ended. They had barely even touched their food.
Lu Fang looked at his wife and she merely shrugged. She went on finishing her meal and soon they left the private room.
Before heading out to the lobby, Andrea decided to go to the ladies' room. As she entered another woman came inside with her.
The man waited for Andrea in the lobby where Hanxi came to pick them up with Juan parking the car from the outside.
"She seems to be taking too long, don't you think?" Hanxi said.
Lu Fang frowned and instinctively rushed to the ladies' room. He knocked on the door, calling out his wife's name, "Andy! Andy! Babe, are you still there?"
When Lu Fang attempted to open to the door, he noticed it was locked. "Andy! Andy! Babe? Are you there?"
Hanxi had followed the man and saw that he was desperately calling Andrea from the comfort room door. He was already kicking through the door and thus; he called for help from the hotel staff.
"Sir, please stop kicking the door, we are already getting the master key," said one of the hotel staff.
"No! My wife is inside! I need this door opened now!" Lu Fang kept at it for minutes and even Hanxi added to taking the door down.
Lu Fang felt his hands turn cold. He was nervous and suddenly the pain of losing her came rushing in.
From the time that Andrea went to the restroom until now, it had already been half an hour and it took even longer for the hotel to get the key. Eventually, another hotel staff arrived with the key, yet it still did not work. The door remained closed. The locks were obviously tampered with.
Hanxi and Lu Fang kicked on the door and went at it relentlessly until the door finally broke down. Everyone noticed smoke come out of the restroom that they all stepped back.
Lu Fang immediately went looking for his wife. "Andy! Andy!" He used his handkerchief to prevent himself from breathing in the gas and so did Hanxi.
They found Andrea unconscious on the floor. The man hurriedly carried her outside the restroom and Hanxi followed.
Having breathed in a small amount of the gas, Hanxi could tell it was a sleeping gas. He was feeling a little drowsy but thankfully, both he and Lu Fang were not exposed too long and the gas had earlier started to evaporate.
Trembling, the man kept trying to wake his wife, "Andy? No, please. Not again. Not again! Please - "
"Lu Fang! Bro! She's still breathing. Look, look at her carefully," Hanxi said, trying to calm the man down. "Take her to the hospital. I will stay behind to study the area after the sleeping has completely worn off."
Lu Fang hastily brought Andrea to the car and Juan drove off to the nearest hospital.
When Hanxi saw the air was becoming clearer, he went back to the ladies' room and looked around. He found the sleeping gas canister, but what alarmed him was an empty syringe that thrown into the trash. The needle was carelessly uncovered. Obviously, it was recently used.
Using a tissue, he took out the needle and kept the syringe. He saw there were remnants of whatever was inside it. He said to himself, "Andy, please... Please be okay."
He breathed in heavily and called Lu Fang the moment he stepped outside. "Lu Fang, have Andrea's blood check."