"Who won?"
Aaron asked.
No one answered. Ken and Tony exchanged looks.
They were both wearing strange expressions on their faces.
Aaron frowned at this—while he can't say for Tony but for Ken at least, his look told Aaron that there
was going to be a problem.
Tony answered, "Mr. Brian, Hanson asked me to tell you that he has to leave today but he'll be back to
meet you tomorrow. As for the stakes, he said he didn't want to talk about it."
Brian nodded and left right away as if he was already expecting all of this to happen. It was late at
night. Under normal circumstances, Mol would be sound asleep by now.
Brian wasn't really interested in who won in this closed game. He just heard from Shawn that Hanson
was here and wanted to play against Chester. What he really wanted was Hanson. Hanson had a lot of
talents and for cases like this, Brian either recruited people like Hanson or destroyed them.
Hanson wasn't born rich but he thought highly of himself. He hated it when others looked down on him.
If you wanted to win him over, you'd better wield both the carrot and the stick.
"Bri, who won?" Molly asked curiously on the way back.
"I don't know."
"What happened?"
"They never revealed the result."
Molly furrowed her brows—she couldn't understand things like that but she didn't press for more
questions.
In fact, nobody ever found out what happened. But after that game, Chester never cheated in formal
games and Hanson resigned from the team. It's worth mentioning, though, that Chester later got an
apprentice who wasn't so gifted but was able to deal with some occasions as long as masters like
Hanson weren't there as well. It was also this disciple that later became quite a headache for Brian.
Later Hanson would work for Brian. But his quirky personality prevented him from getting along with
other employees of Brian. In the end, he just shuttled around the Grand Night Casino across the world.
Brian addressed the problem of Chester rather quickly. But it wasn't so fast considering the fact that he
had been preparing for today after the Vegas incident. The only suspense was whether he could get
Hanson to show up.
With the Chester issue resolved, the rest wouldn't be his concern any more. As the future ruler of
Dragon Island, Eric was supposed to wipe out all this anti-royalists. Otherwise he wouldn't remain in
that seat for long, or even be qualified to lead Dragon Island.
The next day Hanson went to meet Brian. They talked for quite a while in the study but no one knew
what they talked about. After their meeting, Hanson left QY Island. He had already looked downcast
and dejected after the bet and he came out of the study looking even more downcast and dejected—
that's what Molly saw at least.
Days went by. In the following days, Brian lived leisurely and freely. In fact, he had never been so idle
as far as Molly could remember. In the daytime, Brian accompanied Molly to appreciate the beautiful
scenery on the Island, while at night they strolled on the beach or viewed the ocean in the yacht
prepared by Aaron.
These days were so carefree that Molly hoped time could freeze. The happier she was, the more afraid
she became of losing Brian. Sometimes she woke up from nightmares in Brian's arms. Yet these bad
dreams were gone as soon as they came.
**
At A City.
Dragon Empire Group was going to build a cosmetic production line in A City which was such a huge
investment that it attracted the authorities' attention. They specifically organized several meetings with
the consensus to make sure everything's as convenient as possible for the Empire.
At the exclusive box of Smile Hotel, Eric and Edgar were endlessly being flattered at the dinner table.
After several glasses of wine, it was no surprise that these bootlickers were a bit bolder and looser.
Gone was the uptightness.
"Mayor, Mr. Eric, let me toast to you," The boss of Charm Cosmetics stood from his seat, wobbling. He
raised up his wine glass and motioned for the woman beside him to stand up and toast along with him.
The woman wore a timid smile on her face.
As the mayor, Edgar rarely attended dinners of this nature but since Eric was there, he had to come.
He raised his goblet and said flatly, "Cheers."
Eric teased, "Alcohol's bad for your skin. For women, it's better to drink juice," he winked. Eric was
more playful as compared to Edgar who was more serious in demeanor. Eric looked suitably
intimidating and erratic with his tall, lean figure.
The woman's face flushed as she switched her wine goblet for juice, "Mr. Eric, cheers," she said in an
alluring voice.
Eric smiled, then drank up the wine. That toast induced a stream of other toasts. Some shady
businessmen even brought their pretty secretaries over. But the boss of Charm Cosmetics was the
shadiest of them all and they all secretly despised him for it—in fact, he was so shady that he brought
his daughter along with him. He knew that if his daughter had an affair with either Edgar or Eric, it
would land him a huge fat check with lots of zeroes on it.
They were all merry and happily toasting at that dinner. Eric never passed on any toast but even if he
had already drunk a lot, he still kept his playful demeanor in which no one could tell what he was
actually thinking.
Edgar, on the other hand, was a bit wary so he didn't drink to all the toasts that were made that night.
He was, after all, a government officer. Unlike Eric, He needed to be sober and clean. He also knew
that there was something fishy going on with the State Parliament. While he wasn't involved in that in
any way, he still couldn't risk getting set up.
The business dinner didn't end until midnight. By the end, some were already wobbling due to all the
drinking but Eric, who drank the most, remained sober and sensible never taking that playful smile off
his lips.
After bidding their goodbyes, most of them got on their cars and drove off while Eric headed back to his
suite. He walked into the elevator and leaned against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. His
head was hung low as if his mind was deep in thought.
The elevator doors opened and closed with hotel staff running in and out. They all greeted Eric when
they saw him. When the elevator reached his floor, he took his time walking out and going to his suite.
The lights were already open in Eric's suite as Lenny was already in the balcony. When the door
opened, she turned around and greeted Eric, "Young Master."
"How're things there?" Eric headed to the table and poured himself a glass of water.
"We've identified the person but we don't have damning evidence yet," Lenny answered, "This won't be
an easy year for the parliament."
Eric sneered, his eyes turned solemn, "They just like to stir up trouble every few years or so."
"But we can't get rid of them," Lenny said shrewdly.
Eric put down the glass, tossed his tie aside and took off his suit. As he walked to the bathroom, he
ordered, "Lenny, go to the Blue Island and discuss the parliament proceedings with the general
director. Keep me updated."
"Yes, sir." Then Eric walked into the bathroom and started showering. Lenny gazed at the closed door
for a moment, then left the room.
When Eric had finished showering, he stepped out with only a bath towel wrapped around his muscular
body. Some of his wet hair stuck to his face. He seemed absolutely alluring.
He walked to the minibar and poured some wine. Then he took the glass to the desk where his
computer was. He sat down and turned it on and typed a few things. Within minutes, a few files popped
up all containing information about the bosses of all the giant cosmetic companies in A City.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda