BL Ch28

When they arrived at the venue for the evening banquet, the sky was tinged with shades of orange. The hotel was near a lakeside, and the breeze from the water brought a refreshing coolness. 

The banquet hall, at just over 300 square meters, wasn’t particularly large, but the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides and the terrace extending toward the lake broadened the view, making it feel as though the space was closer to 500 or 600 square meters.

The invited guests were all government officials and corporate representatives from sectors like finance, energy, and technology. To enter, everyone had to pass through a security check.

After two soft beeps, Yu Duqiu reluctantly pulled out a necklace with a blade from beneath his shirt collar and showed it to the security staff. “Sorry, it’s just an accessory, I shouldn’t have to take it off, right?”

The staff, not wanting to offend such an important guest, respectfully let him through.

Ji Lin remarked, “The way you’re carrying a weapon could give criminals some ideas. Just waltz right in and take it out openly after the job is done.”

Yu Duqiu chuckled, but his expression quickly changed.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Lin asked.

“Nothing,” Yu Duqiu said thoughtfully. “I have an idea, but it’s not fully formed yet. I’ll need to test it out first. If it works, I’ll let you know.”

He was always cryptic, and Ji Lin didn’t take it to heart. He glanced at Lu Qing, who was staring wide-eyed at the lavish surroundings like a country girl seeing the big city for the first time. Ji Lin couldn’t help but remind her, “Stop gawking around. Pay attention to your surroundings. Who knows what could happen? Stick close to us.”

“Mm-hmm,” Lu Qing agreed nervously. Having never attended such a grand event before, she clung tightly to Yu Duqiu’s arm and cautiously touched the ruby necklace around her neck, which was said to be worth millions. “I’m just scared it’ll fall off. Maybe I should take it off. The dress looks good enough on its own.”

Yu Duqiu glanced at her and said, “No way. We’re meeting a jeweler later. Just hold your head high and show off the best side of the necklace.”

Ji Lin was puzzled. “Why didn’t you tell us about this? You’re supposed to report every part of the itinerary so we can prepare in case something happens.”

Yu Duqiu smiled. “Oh, it’s just a small thing. No need to make a fuss.”

Ji Lin felt something was off—this slick businessman always had an agenda. But without solid proof, there wasn’t much he could say.

As they entered the banquet hall, Yu Duqiu’s silver hair seemed to attract attention like a spotlight. His striking appearance and reputation made him the undeniable focus of the event, with people greeting him every few steps.

Ji Lin scanned the hall, taking in the relatively few guests. Nothing seemed suspicious. But outside on the terrace, there was a man with a dangerous presence. His cold gaze pierced through the glass, fixated on Yu Duqiu, who was mingling among the greenery and flowers with a casual smile.

Ji Lin rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and, while Yu Duqiu was busy greeting people, pulled the tightly clutching Lu Qing over to his side.

Surprised, Lu Qing asked, “What’s up, Ji-ge? Are you jealous?”

“…No, I’m just afraid someone who is jealous might kill you!”

Along with them, Yu Duqiu had also brought Lou Baoguo, Zhao Feihua, and Jia Jin to the banquet. Lou Baoguo stayed a bit further back to avoid intimidating the guests with his imposing figure while keeping an eye on the entire room. Secretary Jia handled introductions, expertly recalling each guest’s background and even serving as a translator. Meanwhile, Zhao Feihua, the social butterfly, had already handed out several business cards and was deep in conversation with a venture capitalist.

“Our brain-computer interface project has already received approval from top international experts and secured ten billion in domestic investment. Yes, you heard right—ten billion. As soon as they heard it was Mr. Yu’s tech project, they didn’t hesitate to invest. Who wouldn’t want a piece of the pie in a guaranteed moneymaker? The later you join, the harder it will be to get in… Oh? You’re interested too? I can arrange a private meeting with our project manager to go over the details. Here’s my card.”

Ji Lin, whose English was decent, understood most of it. Even if he didn’t catch every word, Zhao Feihua’s enthusiastic expressions gave away that he was once again embellishing the truth. He made it sound like the project was in high demand, but in reality, Yu Duqiu’s funds were being closely monitored due to his status as a criminal suspect. Other than one wealthy investor who recklessly threw ten billion at the project, most people in the country were steering clear of Yu Duqiu’s ventures. Whether he could turn things around depended on how well this trip to the U.S. went and the response from the local government.

As wave after wave of people approached Yu Duqiu, he handled them all with ease. If someone uninteresting approached, he’d simply use Lu Qing as an excuse, saying, “I want to introduce her to more people. Excuse me.”

Yu Duqiu’s reputation as a playboy preceded him, and others naturally assumed Lu Qing was his new love interest. They’d smile knowingly and say, “Alright, we’ll talk later.”

Since Yu Duqiu had treated her to a “princess” experience, Lu Qing didn’t mind, following him until they stopped in front of a stylishly dressed woman. Yu Duqiu gently called out in English, “Mrs. Brown.”

The woman turned around, and upon seeing his face, her eyes lit up. “Mr. Yu! Thank you for the invitation. I saw you were busy earlier, so I didn’t want to disturb you. I hope that was okay.”

Lu Qing had passed the English proficiency exam for Level 6, but Mrs. Brown’s speech was too fast, and Yu Duqiu’s vocabulary too advanced for her to follow. She could only rely on Jia Jin’s translation:

“No worries. I heard you were in North Carolina, so I asked you to come. My mother insists I send her regards. She’s particularly fond of your jewelry designs and hopes to reserve the first batch of selections for the next season.”

Mrs. Brown laughed, covering her mouth, her large diamond ring glistening. “We always send the catalogue to Mrs. Yu first. It’s an honor to have her as a client.”

At this point, her gaze inevitably shifted to Lu Qing’s necklace, and her professional instinct caused her to frown slightly.

Lu Qing couldn’t understand what Mrs. Brown was saying, but she could definitely read her expression. It wasn’t one of admiration. Worried, she touched the necklace, murmuring, “There’s nothing wrong with it… Why is she looking at me like that?”

Following Mrs. Brown’s gaze, Yu Duqiu also looked at the necklace and let out an awkward laugh. “The stylist said she needed a ruby necklace to match her outfit. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything of high quality in time, so we just bought a cheap one to make do. It’s no wonder it didn’t catch your eye.”

Lu Qing widened her innocent black eyes, “Didn’t you say this necklace was worth millions?”

Yu Duqiu winked at her, “If I didn’t say that, you wouldn’t feel grateful and willingly let me use you.”

“…” Lu Qing turned to Ji Lin, gritting her teeth, “Brother Ji, now I understand why you don’t like him. I’ve never seen anyone so deceitful! I was completely wrong about him!”

Ji Lin chuckled, “Can’t blame you for not seeing it. I’ve been in this business for years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a perfect blend of a con artist and a lunatic.”

Jia Jin translated the conversation smoothly for Mrs. Brown, “They are complimenting your professional eye.”

Mrs. Brown laughed like a flower, “You’re too kind. Honestly, the quality of this gemstone is a bit lacking. It looks like it’s from Mogok, Burma. The finest pigeon blood rubies come from Mogok, but they are nearly impossible to find in today’s market. Most are vintage, rarely seen at auction these days. They are indeed hard to come by.”

Yu Duqiu was slightly taken aback, his eyes widening. His long, slightly upturned eyes naturally gave off a seductive charm, but when he widened them, they looked so innocent, exuding a misleading purity, especially endearing to middle-aged women. “Really? My fiancée just bought a pair of pigeon blood ruby earrings earlier this month, three carats each.”

Mrs. Brown smiled, clearly not believing him. “Perhaps your fiancée was mistaken. I don’t recall seeing such pieces at any recent auctions.”

“Could it have been a private sale?”

“Possibly, but given the soaring prices of rubies, with their high collectible value, there’s little reason to sell them privately unless your fiancée offered well above auction prices—at least tens of millions.”

“She can’t afford that much.” Yu Duqiu frowned, rubbing his chin. “Then… could it be a gift from someone?”

Mrs. Brown looked surprised. “A gift of such top-tier jewels? That would be incredibly generous. I’d be curious to know which collector could be so lavish.”

“Good point. She doesn’t have friends who collect jewelry… wait, actually, she does—Peizhuo!” Yu Duqiu raised his voice before quickly catching himself, lowering his tone and looking embarrassed. “Sorry, that was rude. I just remembered my fiancée has an admirer who’s in the jewelry business.”

Ji Lin’s instinct flared—something was very wrong.

Yu Duqiu never aired dirty laundry. He had once docked Hong Liangzhang’s pay for accidentally revealing a family quarrel, yet now he was openly admitting that Du Lingya had accepted expensive gifts from another man.

It couldn’t be just for show.

Mrs. Brown was also taken aback, clearly recognizing the name. She gasped softly, “Peizhuo? The business manager from Pei Jewelry Mining?”

“Yes, he’s a classmate of my fiancée. You know him?”

“We met two weeks ago to negotiate a five-year sales agreement. Pei Jewelry will be supplying us during this period, but they’re trying to raise the order price, so the agreement is still under discussion.”

Yu Duqiu hesitated, as if weighing his words.

Mrs. Brown quickly caught on and spoke before he could, “Mr. Yu, Pei Jewelry isn’t our only option in East Asia. If you have any objections…”

“I don’t have any objections.” Yu Duqiu shot a glance at Jia Jin, who instantly understood and stopped translating the conversation.

Yu Duqiu stepped closer and lowered his voice, “But I do think that as a business manager, in times when his company is struggling, secretly giving away such high-quality gems instead of using them to boost the company’s recognition is quite shortsighted. Do you think you’re getting the best gems by working with them?”

Mrs. Brown took a moment to consider, then smiled slightly, “You’re right, Mr. Yu. I think I need to reconsider and perhaps choose a more sincere supplier. Thank you for the advice.”

Yu Duqiu gracefully retreated to a more formal distance, kissed the back of Mrs. Brown’s hand, and said, “I didn’t offer any advice. It was all your wise decision.”

Mrs. Brown laughed heartily, “Mr. Yu, who here could outwit you?”

They exchanged smiles and clinked their champagne glasses.

The crisp ring of the glasses seemed to strike Ji Lin like a bolt of lightning, suddenly illuminating everything in his mind.

Yu Duqiu drained his glass, placed it on a server’s tray, and excused himself, using the same polite excuse to leave.

Ji Lin quickly caught up, walking beside him, feeling like he had just swallowed a swarm of flies. “Damn! I still underestimated your cunning. I came all the way to America to protect you, and you tricked me!”

Yu Duqiu looked at him in surprise, “You figured it out faster than I expected.”

Lu Qing, still clueless, lifted her dress to catch up. “What’s going on, Brother Ji? Why are you suddenly so upset?”

For the first time, Ji Lin felt he had been completely played, walking thousands of miles before realizing it. He couldn’t tell if he was more furious or humiliated. He had thought the tight security tonight meant nothing would go wrong, but the biggest surprise had been right beside him all along.

“He had two goals for this trip. Meeting the professor was only one of them. The other one, the more important one, he never told us! He wanted to hide it from everyone!”

Lu Qing asked curiously, “What other goal could he have?”

“Think carefully. How could it be such a coincidence that Peizhuo’s business partner is nearby? That he was invited to the banquet? That he asked you to wear a ruby necklace similar to Du Lingya’s? It was all his plan!” Ji Lin pointed at Yu Duqiu’s nose. “No wonder, even though you’ve decided to break off the engagement, you still brought Du Lingya to America. If Dong Yongliang hadn’t interfered, she would have accompanied you tonight, and you could have pretended to expose her lies, then righteously ended the engagement while ruining Peizhuo’s business deal, right?”

“Exactly.” Yu Duqiu admitted without hesitation. “Isn’t that perfect? No falling out with the Du family, leaving Du Shuyan feeling guilty and still helping me. Plus, I crush my competitor and gain my freedom. A triple win.”

Ji Lin sneered, “If you planned to use her, then why pretend to be concerned about her safety and send her back home?”

“Captain Ji, you always think I’m heartless. I genuinely care about her.”

“Yeah, right.”

Yu Duqiu shrugged, not wanting to argue further. “Believe whatever you want.”

Ji Lin grabbed his shoulder, his fingers digging into the thin muscle. “Yu Duqiu, you’re talking too much—Peizhuo doesn’t even register as a ‘rival’ to you. Since when did he become your ‘opponent’? Who are you really talking about? Do you already have a suspect in mind? I knew it! Old Peng warned me that you might try to deal with the criminal on your own. You’re not following orders, pulling this kind of stunt right under our noses!”

Yu Duqiu rubbed his ear. “That’s not true. I’ve been trying to avoid you all. If I weren’t being watched in China, do you think I’d have come all the way here to take care of this myself? I could’ve just handled it with a call to Mrs. Brown.”

“Can’t you trust the police just once?” Ji Lin was furious. “You’re not the only one who cares about these cases. Mu Hao’s colleagues and superiors are also working hard to catch the killer. By acting on your own, you’re not only putting yourself in danger, but you could also disrupt the investigation. Do you get that?”

“Captain Ji, I trust you, which is why I gave you the recordings from the watch, and I even brought you on this trip. But as for the other police officers, you’re right, I don’t trust them.” Yu Duqiu’s gaze turned cold. “Because I’ve had bad experiences with the police. In my experience, they tend to mess things up completely.”

“Whether you trust them or not, you have to. I’m not negotiating with you; this is a warning!”

Yu Duqiu smiled casually, brushing it off. “If you were this persistent in pursuing Mu Hao, you might’ve bent him by now at the police academy.”

“Don’t change the subject!” Ji Lin shouted suddenly, his voice sharp with anger, as if his vocal cords had split. His eyes reddened as he grabbed Yu Duqiu by the collar, forcing each word through gritted teeth, “Don’t. Joke. About. Him. Again.”

The banquet hall wasn’t large, and Ji Lin’s outburst drew everyone’s attention.

Lu Qing, anxious, tried to pry Ji Lin’s hand away. “Brother Ji, everyone’s looking at us. Let’s take this outside—it’s not good to cause a scene here.”

Not far away, Lou Baoguo rushed over. Without a gun, he rolled up his sleeves. “Captain Ji, we’ve been through life and death together, but if you don’t let go, I’ll still punch you.”

Ji Lin ignored him, dragging Yu Duqiu toward the terrace. Yu Duqiu stumbled but remained calm, even taking the time to reassure the guests, “It’s nothing, everyone. My friend has something urgent to discuss with me. I’ll be right back. Please, continue. Miss Lu, Baoguo, Jia Jin, keep things orderly.”

He spoke in English, which Lou Baoguo didn’t understand. Confused, he turned to Jia Jin for help. “What did the young master say?”

Before Jia Jin could reply, Zhao Feihua suddenly burst from the crowd, excitedly watching. “No way, no way! Am I really going to see Yu get beaten up in my lifetime?”

Lou Baoguo raised his fist. “Watch your mouth! If anyone touches the young master, I’ll beat them up first!”

“Calm down, everyone.” Jia Jin kept his composure and swiftly prevented the looming chaos. He reassured Lou Baoguo, who was on the verge of losing his temper, “Bai Zhao is on the terrace. He won’t let anything happen to Mr. Yu.”

Lou Baoguo hesitated. “You mean my brother? His attitude’s been hot and cold. I think I better go check—”

Jia Jin blocked him with an arm, shaking his head. “He’ll protect Mr. Yu.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because look.” Jia Jin pointed into the distance. “He’s already knocked Mr. Ji to the ground.”