Chapter 96

"Hello, Mr. Ho, it's an honor to meet you." Li Xu said as he shook hands with an elderly man in his sixties, whose features clearly showed signs of mixed heritage. Ho Zuo Zhi stood beside him, smiling.

Although this was a meeting of the Standard Chartered British Capital Board, the invitees were not limited to British people. For example, there was Uncle Shao, who held a title, and the four major families.

The four major families here did not refer to the Li, Guo, and Zheng families, but rather the Ho, Luo, Gao, and Li families. The Li and Guo families were still considered junior, and Li Jiacheng's net worth was only about 1 billion US dollars, slightly more than Li Xu's.

The Ho family, of course, referred to the family of Ho Tung and Ho Fook. Among them was Ho Zuo Zhi, and... the current gambling king, yes, the person in front of Li Xu now.

Of course, those who were close to the north, like the Ho and Bao families, would not be invited.

"Nowadays, it's rare to find a young man who is both humble and capable like you." The gambling king, who was almost sixty, seemed very kind, and his second wife, Mrs. Lan, was by his side.

"You flatter me. I owe my achievements to my family, and they are not worth mentioning." Li Xu shrugged.

"Ah, excessive humility is a form of pride. You don't seem American at all." The gambling king joked.

"Perhaps it's because I lived in Japan for a long time before high school." Li Xu maintained his smile. "I really like East Asian culture, especially Chinese culture. As the saying goes, 'Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.' This is a rare opportunity, so I naturally wanted to come to Hong Kong."

"You drop more bookish phrases than we do. You are truly formidable. No wonder Uncle Shao was persuaded to help you." The gambling king laughed heartily.

"To be honest, Ah Xu really surprised me. After dealing with so many Americans and Japanese, none of them are like him." Ho Zuo Zhi said with a touch of admiration.

After a few more compliments, a female voice came from behind: "Dad, I want to go home."

A young woman who resembled the gambling king's second wife walked up to them. Despite her calm expression, a look of impatience flashed in her eyes.

"Now?" The gambling king frowned, seemingly displeased. "Why don't you say goodbye to Uncle Shao?"

"Uncle Shao." The young woman noticed Li Xu and bowed respectfully to Ho Zuo Zhi, showing a good relationship with him.

"Is Ah Qiong tired of the atmosphere here again?" Ho Zuo Zhi teased her with a smile.

"No, Uncle Shao, I just..." Ah Qiong wanted to explain but didn't know how, and ended up standing awkwardly.

The gambling king then said, "There's one more person."

The young woman immediately directed an angry gaze at Li Xu.

"This is Little Edward Li, an American, with the Chinese name Li Xu, the chairman of Imagination Holdings," the gambling king introduced. "This is my daughter, Ho Chao Qiong."

"Hello, Miss Ho." Li Xu extended his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Li." Ho Chao Qiong replied coldly, in English.

"Ah Qiong!" The gambling king, whose face had lost some of its composure, raised his voice. "Ah Xu is only a few months older than you, and he's already the boss of a company, while you still throw tantrums."

Ho Chao Qiong blinked, seemingly surprised. Li Xu smiled gently. "Uncle, don't be angry. I think Ah Qiong is just in a bad mood. Honestly, if it weren't necessary, I wouldn't want to be here either. My family always says I'm mature, and coming to such places too often might make me overly mature."

The gambling king chuckled and pointed at Li Xu. "See? Learn from him!"

Ho Chao Qiong dared not speak up but glared at Li Xu, as if to say, "Who are you to talk to me like that?"

"Alright, if you want to go, go ahead." The gambling king said, then added, "Take a taxi home."

"Alright, I'll go home." Ho Chao Qiong didn't hesitate.

Li Xu then said, "I'll take you, Miss Ho."

"No, I can take a taxi." Ho Chao Qiong's eyes flashed with disgust.

But Li Xu quickly came closer and whispered in English, "Help me out, take me out of here."

He then returned to his original position and said to the gambling king and his wife, and Ho Zuo Zhi, "Actually, I have some things to take care of, and the purpose of their invitation has been achieved. I won't stay longer, Uncles..."

He paused deliberately. "I'm sorry, I know your seniority is a bit... I can only call you Uncles."

"No problem, no problem," Ho Zuo Zhi waved his hands. "I've already told Hong Shen that seniority isn't necessary, but he insists on it."

"We can call each other Uncles within the family, but outsiders don't need to be so formal." The gambling king also said.

"Then I'll take my leave." Li Xu nodded and quickly followed Ho Chao Qiong, who had already walked away.

"Ah Qiong, that's not very polite," he said with a teasing tone.

"Who allowed you to call me Ah Qiong!" Ho Chao Qiong didn't hide her disgust.

"Alright, Miss Ho, don't you think you should at least wait for me? Even if you're upset, you should wait a few seconds out of politeness," Li Xu said, calling over a waiter to ask the driver to bring the car.

"I..." Ho Chao Qiong was speechless. Leaving without permission was indeed impolite, but she still lifted her chin. "Who knows if you're really leaving! And even if you are, you can leave on your own. Why do you need me to take you?"

"First, I am leaving; second, leaving with someone, especially a lady from a prominent family, is different from leaving alone in some people's eyes," Li Xu smiled.

"Why is it different?" Ho Chao Qiong frowned.

"That's a business secret," Li Xu shrugged. "Or you can see it as me sending a false message to those still in the hall."

"You mean I'm a shield?" Ho Chao Qiong finally turned to look at him closely.

"If you don't explain it," Li Xu chuckled.

"Sounds like it's real." Ho Chao Qiong raised an eyebrow and huffed.

She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her defiant, or rather, self-assured gesture gave her a touch of spirit. At just over 18, she was quite charming.

Li Xu smiled without speaking. By now, they had walked out of the Peninsula Hotel, and his car was waiting at the entrance.

"Please," he opened the car door and gestured for her to enter.

"I'll take a taxi," Ho Chao Qiong frowned.

"Come on, Miss, I already told your father I'd take you home. Even if you don't give me face, at least give your father some face," Li Xu teased.

Ho Chao Qiong huffed, hesitated for a moment, and finally got into the car.

For the next ten miles, the car was silent. Ho Chao Qiong looked out the window, lost in thought, while Li Xu sat with his arms crossed, pondering his own problems.

After a while, Ho Chao Qiong finally broke the silence. "I heard yesterday that a limited edition Bentley arrived in Hong Kong. It's yours, isn't it?"

"Yes, business needs a good front. Otherwise, even if you're a billionaire, who would pay attention to you if you walked to the Peninsula Hotel on foot?" Li Xu smiled.

"What business are you in?" Ho Chao Qiong asked.

"Initially, I made video games and toys, then invested the money, and now I've acquired TVB," Li Xu said modestly.

"Are you kidding me!" Ho Chao Qiong was stunned. "Just a few months older than me, you said?"

"Yes, I started designing video games and toys when I was 12," Li Xu smiled sheepishly. "Thanks to my family's connections, I was able to capture the market and make money."

"Video... video games and toys?" Ho Chao Qiong stared at him. "What kind of toys?"

"Oh, the Rubik's Cube," Li Xu shrugged.

"Are you kidding me!" Ho Chao Qiong raised her voice. "You invented the Rubik's Cube?!"

"Um, to be precise, I provided the concept and had someone make it," Li Xu continued to shrug. "That was back in 1975."

"19... 1975?!" Ho Chao Qiong was speechless. "This... this is impossible!"

"Why is it impossible?" Li Xu looked puzzled. "If you have doubts, you can check. It's not a secret."

"You... how... how did you..." Ho Chao Qiong was at a loss for words.

But Li Xu understood her. "If you don't prove yourself, how can you gain control in your family?"

Hearing this, Ho Chao Qiong fell silent again, looking out the window, lost in thought.

When they arrived at her residence, she didn't say anything, just said, "Thank you," as she got out of the car.

Li Xu didn't say much, didn't ask for her phone number, just said goodbye and had the driver take him up to Victoria Peak.

Although so, he felt that Ho Chao Qiong might be a suitable candidate, but it was too early to say in what capacity, as they had just met.

"Hey, you're still awake." When he returned to the villa on Victoria Peak, it was already past 10 PM. In the living room, Deng Lijun and Zhao Yazhi were chatting on the sofa, with Deng Lijun yawning widely.

Although he had sincerely invited them to accompany him to the party, both Deng Lijun and Zhao Yazhi had declined. The former was still holding onto her shaky principles, and the latter simply didn't want to make an appearance.

"We were waiting for you," Deng Lijun said, looking more energetic but still yawning.

"Why wait for me? You need to get to bed early to take care of your voice." Li Xu walked over and gently pinched her round cheek. "I asked you to come, but you refused."

Then he looked at Zhao Yazhi. This time in Hong Kong, only Deng Lijun and Zhao Yazhi had come with him. Shuang Lin were still undergoing various trainings, with Lin Fengjiao progressing the fastest.

Deng Lijun was promoting her new album, which had already sold 2 platinum, and Zhao Yazhi needed to wrap up some things here.

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