Chapter 179 - IAmFashionista Arc 1 ends

Xiong Zhi bowed to her waist as she bid her respect. Old Xiong bowed slightly with her. They each light incense and bid a silent goodbye to the man on the picture.

The news of Mr. Luo's death brought a huge shock to the world. The man behind IAmFashionista was introduced to the world.

However, that man could not bask in his fame anymore.

There's a lot of people at the funeral. 

The atmosphere that supposed to be dreary and solemn was a bit lively as people were introducing to each other.

They could not be blamed, as mostly the figure who attended was the sponsor who was so hard to meet. 

Each of the legendary families sent a representative to express their condolence to Mr. Luo's family.

The majority of the people who attended the last year's IAmFashionista were gathered here today.

Xiong Zhi watched all of this with cold eyes. 

Funeral. 

This scene in front of her was like the very same funeral of her grandfather's funeral.

A shadow loomed over her. Xiong Zhi mindlessly looked up.

It was Guan Gao Huan. He also attended the funeral with his grandfather.

"We meet again, Young Miss Zhi." Gao Huan greeted her grandfather first and then her.

Xiong Zhi for the first time stared at him.

Her mind was full of the past and now the present. They were jumbled and were overlapping.

De Ja Vu.

She felt it again. She felt like she could have an answer if she poured all her mind to it. She felt like the thing that was missing to this situation was at the tip of her tongue.

Linfeng was at the back in the group of butlers. He was watching the two. He stepped up and whispered to Xiong Zhi.

"Young miss Zhi, there's a seat over there for you and for Master Xiong."

Xiong Zhi nodded and ignored Gao Huan. 

Gao Huan just watched them walked away.

"We can excuse ourselves if you felt not good young miss," Linfeng said to Xiong Zhi. 

"I'm alright. Let's stay for a bit." Xiong Zhi sat for a while and stare ahead. Old Xiong was currently having a chat together with the other heads of the legendary families.

It was odd. She felt it was odd because if a funeral was on this large scale it would not be unnoticed by her in the past. So it means that Mr. Luo did not die until she reached twenty-three? 

Heart attack. It was a natural disease. It was an unexpected death.

But Xiong Zhi had this thought that Mr. Luo died because of it. 

But why she was feeling this way?

She heard a bit of commotion on her grandfather's direction.

Xiong Zhi turned and saw that Old Master Lu was being supported by his butler. The people were gathering around him.

Some were calling the medic.

'What happened?'

Linfeng stepped closer to her to protect her. There was a commotion and they weren't sure what it was about.

They heard Master Lu shout then.

"Despicable! I told you to not be in the same place as me!"

Xiong Zhi could not see clearly who was Master Lu shouting too. The other heads of the family such as Old Gao Huan and Old Xiong were reprimanding Master Lu to calm himself and to not make a scandal in someone's funeral.

Xiong Zhi was about to stand up and walked to them to join the people who were closely watching the drama.

"Young miss, I will gather reports later. So please, stay." Linfeng was worried that Xiong Zhi might hurt herself if she went there. There was shouting at the front.

Xiong Zhi trusted Linfeng. She nodded. 

A group of security guards ran to the room. Then another group of people too appeared and face off that group of security guards. 

Mr. Luo's wife was crying to stop the commotion and to respect her husband's funeral.

It was not clear what was happening.

It was noisy and loud. There some from the media who were secretly recording everything.

After a while, the second group leaves. They were escorting a man that Xiong Zhi could not see. The security guards followed as well.

The atmosphere turned a bit tense. Some were whispering about it. But only their companion could hear them. They don't allow their voice to reach the front. Since it was connected to Master Lu after all.

Xiong Zhi wondered what was all about.

***

Gao Huan peeked at his grandfather's side who was helping Master Lu to calm down.

He then looked ahead to the group of people who were leaving.

"Grandfather. I just need to take care of something. May I excuse myself for a moment?" Gao Huan asked his grandfather first politely.

Master Guan just nodded to him.

Gao Huan bid goodbye to the Masters and Mistresses of important figures before he bid goodbye to Mr. Luo's family.

On the way out, he also peeked at Xiong Zhi who was speaking with her butler.

The Butler, Linfeng moved to Xiong Zhi's front.

Guan Gao Huan just raised his brow at this.

Then he met Linfeng's calm but stern gaze.

Gao Huan just politely smile and nod to him before he went away.

'That Xiong Zhi has a loyal dog. '

A loyal dog that bites.

Gao Huan ordered his butler to drove to LG. 

He knew that man would be going here.

And he was right.

On the top floor, the usual seat of his friend Lu Jin was being occupied by someone else.

"Was it necessary?" He heard Lu Jin's calm and usual cold voice sounded at the side.

Lu Jin was standing in front of the man who was seating on his chair.

"Father." Lu Jin continued.

Ming Zhi Yi noticed Gao Huan's arrival. He noticed Gao Huan's gaze too.

Ming Zhi Yi leaned and tap the armrest. He sat there cross-legged.

Every time Gao Huan saw this man, he wondered a question, 

'How come this man grows so slow?'

The image of the man eight years ago was still the same in front of his eyes. The man did not age at all. The only sign of his aging was his growing hair. He looked like a man in his late twenties. When in fact the man was almost approaching forty.

Ming Zhi Yi, who was the matured version of Lu Jin smiled.

"I told you I hate to answer obvious questions. Why don't you answer, Gunan?"

Gunan.

Lu Jin looked back at the new arrival Gao Huan.

Gao Huan did not looked at him and bowed respectfully to Ming Zhi Yi.

"Mr. Luo is disrupting father's plan. He dissuades some people from the south. Two people already back out from our plan. He also warned the young miss of Xiong and Master Guan. If we let him live, we will not be able to get IAmFashionista." Gao Huan explained. He was still not looking at Lu Jin. He called his grandfather as Master Guan in front of this man.

"Forget IAmFashionista. Don't act for now. The south is suspicious of us. That dead guy did not take my threat seriously. It's my mistake." Ming Zhi Yi lit up his tobacco.

He took a sniff before he continued.

" I should have not trusted your suggestion, Jin, that's my mistake as well." 

Lu Jin looked at his feet.

"We will move on in my way. We lost the chance to take IAmFashionista. We lost the way to reunite the underground. Tsk."

That 'Tsk' bought a shiver to the two young men. It was clear that Ming Zhi Yi was not happy. 

And it was scary if that man got angry.

"Gunan, what's on your side?"

"The deal in Britain is working well. Xiong De, the strongest contender in the Xiong family is in my hands now."

"How about that young miss?" Ming Zhi Yi was talking about Xiong Zhi.

"..not yet. But I'm sure she is going to be my fiance. It is just a matter of time."

Gao Huan was sure that Xiong Zhi was his fiancee that his grandfather was talking about. He was right. It was only a matter of time.

"Mm. Good. But it's better if you got her trust. She will be a good piece in the future."

"Yes, father." Gao Huan nodded.

"Lu Jin." Suddenly, Ming Zhi Yi's voice got colder.

"Yes, father." Lu Jin answered calmly. However, his hands were sweaty.

"Since your suggestion did not work well, I'll handle you the business in the south. Make sure that those two people we lost would be coming back to us on their knees on the ground. You have four years."

That was a hard mission. Those two were mighty figures after all. It would be hard to get them under him and manipulate them.

"Ah." Ming Zhi Yi remembered something.

"You might receive trouble for a while. I visited Mr. Luo's funeral and your grandpa was there. He was looking for you." Those words had many meanings.

Gao Huan just stayed quiet even though that does not really happen. It was actually the opposite.

Ming Zhi Yi stands up. 

"Don't worry, Jin, I'll prepare things before I handle you the job in the south. Have you keeping a tab on your dear little bro?" Ming Zhi Yi spoke of Lu Yin Ze as if he was not his son.

"Yes. He is quiet. " Lu Jin answered.

"Hmph. I thought he would give us a surprise once he received the box. Maybe I put too much hope on him."

Lu Jin did not say anything.

Ming Zhi Yi stands up. There was a lot to do since their plan failed. They need to be quiet for a while and strike IAmFashionista again once those people from the south let down their guard. 

He looked at the two young men that he personally trained.

He patted them to their shoulders. 

These two would help him gather and control the legendary families. The bone that was so hard to remove in his throat. Once those families were in his hands, everything would be smooth.

He smiled at them and left.

Leaving the two silent for a while.

*****

Hi guys! Maybe some of you were wondering, why there is so many mysteries!! Me too, I wondered about that too. Just kidding! No- *spoiler alert* *spoiler alert* please be warned* - you are just slowly discovering what really happened in the past life that resulted in Xiong Zhi's death, an almighty Xiong at that. The destruction of the Xiong family, the Lu who was crumbling, and the incident in the Guan family. Would be slowly revealed~