A day’s time went by just like that, waiting and pondering. Xia Lei drove back to Leiyin Home alone when it turned dark. Shentu Tianyin still wasn’t home but Xia Xue and Liu Zhengnan were chatting under in shady spot. Xia Xue happily greeted Xia Lei when she saw him arrive, while Liu Zhengnan stood and went straight to him.   

“Director Xia…” Liu Zhengnan appeared somewhat nervous, as if afraid Xia Lei wouldn’t be happy to see him talking with Xia Xue. 

Xia Lei smiled. “If you have anything you need to say, you can say it.” 

Xia Lei’s smile seemed to dispel Liu Zhengnan’s worries a little. He arranged his thoughts before saying, “Director Xia, you should already know the situation. Somebody is secretly buying the Vientiane Group’s stocks. Right now, the stock market’s in chaos and a large number of stockholders are dumping their Vientiane Group shares since the other party’s average buying price is a lot lower than the current market’s buying price. It’s a very troubling situation.” 

“Is this what that friend of yours told you?” Xia Lei recalled the name. “That stock trading expert called Cai Yongjian, of that fund company.” 

Liu Zhengnan nodded. “Yes. They have their own channels to get information. However, he doesn’t know much either, and he doesn’t know who the one secretly buying the stocks is or how much funds he has.”

“Does Tianyin know?” 

“Sister-in-law knows and is currently still at the Vientiane Group’s Headquarters in a conference with its board of directors. I came back earlier because I’m not a part of the Vientiane Group. I hurried here to tell you about this and coincidentally met Xia Xue who had just come back as well so we chatted for a bit.” Liu Zhengnan seemed a bit nervous. 

Xia Lei smiled as he patted Liu Zhengnan’s shoulder. “I only have one little sister. If she likes you, you have to treat her well or I won’t forgive you.” 

This could be considered approval, also it also showed Xia Lei’s stance. 

Liu Zhengnan smiled happily. “Director Xia, don’t worry. I… I don’t know what to say, but I swear that I’ll treat Xia Xue well. From the first time I saw her, I already…” 

Xia Lei interrupted him. “You can go, you can go.” 

Liu Zhengnan gave him an awkward smile before walking over to Xia Xue. 

Xia Lei sighed softly. There was a strange feeling in his heart, both happy and sad. After their father, Xia Changhe, had left, he had taken up the role of Xia Xue’s father and supported her in her studies. Now, Xia Xue was all grown up, and there were some things that were out of his control as her brother. She was grown up, and he should let go. However, his heart was still filled with worry. He was afraid that Xia Xue would run into somebody bad and get hurt. In fact, was there any father who had to bring up a daughter who could ever say that he didn’t feel the same as Xia Lei did right now? This was something they all felt, but was unavoidable. 

Shentu Tianyin returned very late, and her face was weary. 

Xia Lei walked to the back of the sofa and massaged her shoulders as he said comfortingly, “Don’t worry. I already asked Long Bing to help me investigate it. I believe we will get some results soon. I can help you settle if we find out who’s behind all of this.” 

“Hubby, I suddenly feel very tired. It is truly wonderful to have you by my side.” Shentu Tianyin’s voice was soft. It was like it had no strength, and was filled with exhaustion. 

This weariness that came from the heart, and not something which could be recovered from with just a little rest. Even though she was a powerful businesswoman, she needed protection and comfort, and a sense of security. Only Xia Lei could give her all of this. 

“It doesn’t matter who it is. So long as I discover his identity, I won’t let him go. I won’t put up with anybody who dares to touch my wife, no matter who it is.” 

Shentu Tianyin closed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled into a small smile.

Xia Lei massaged Shentu Tianyin’s snow white neck gently as he said softly, “Let me tell you something. Today, Elder Fan Yiming from the Academy of Science came to look for me and asked me to join the Academy of Science. What do you think?” 

“Huh?” Shentu Tianyin’ eyes popped open. “They want you to go and become a Fellow?” 

Xia Lei nodded. “Probably. I am considering it, but I’m not sure whether it’s better to accept or decline his invitation.”

“Accept it. Why wouldn’t you accept?” Shentu Tianyin said with a little excitement, “Becoming a member of the Academy of Science is a lifelong honour. Having such a title will definitely help you in the future, no matter what you do. With the title of ‘Scholar from the Academy of Science’, people like Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun won’t be able to cause you any trouble anymore. And this is just part of the benefits — the biggest benefit is the additional connections you can make.” 

It was no wonder she was called the Queen of the Vientiane Group, with her amazing nose for business. Xia Lei had only mentioned that he was asked to join the Academy of Science and she already saw all the possible opportunities and advantages of him joining.

Xia Lei also understood the benefits but he couldn’t really bear to leave Bureau 101. “I would also lose a lot of things if I left Bureau 101, so it’s really difficult to choose.”

If he left Bureau 101, he would lose benefits like the unrestricted use of firearms and the permission to kill others, which was absolutely terrible if he were to be ambushed. A very simple example was that if the CIA’s agents or maybe an opposing business partner hired assassins to deal with him, he could not easily use firearms to get rid of them like before. At Bureau 101, he basically had the permission to kill people, and could act first, then report it later. 

“Dummy.” Shentu Tianyin laughed as she said, “Did that guy tell you to leave Bureau 101? You can keep working for both sides. Just treat it like an extra job. Isn’t your job at Bureau 101 also very like holding two jobs at the same time? Since you can hold concurrent jobs at Bureau 101, why can’t you also do that at the Academy of Science?” 

What she said lit a lightbulb in Xia Lei’s head, and it was like the dark clouds had been suddenly swept away to reveal the light. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Haha, I actually over-thought such a simple problem. You’re smarter than me. The problem I’ve been struggling with for so long was solved by you in an instant.” 

Shentu Tianyin poked Xia Lei. “It's not that I'm smarter than you, it's just that you tend to care too much about other aspects.”

Xia Lei smiled. “Yeah, so I’ll listen to you and go work at the Academy of Science like it’s another job.” 

“Hubby, let’s go back into the bedroom to sleep. It’s getting late and tomorrow… Ay, tomorrow we’ll still have to face the problem.” Shentu Tianyin sighed. 

“I’ll carry you.” Xia Lei walked around to the front of the sofa and picked Shentu Tianyin up in his arms. 

They went back to the bedroom.

Ring ring ring, ring ring ring...

Xia Lei’s mobile phone suddenly rang. 

The phone kept ringing. Xia Lei finally picked the phone up 50 seconds later to look at it. He immediately answered it when he saw that it was Long Bing. 

“Lei, I found something,” said Long Bing. 

“Who is it?” Xia Lei’s voice was a little breathless. 

“Are you with Shentu Tianyin right now?” Long Bing asked. 

“She… yeah, she’s asleep.” Xia Lei reached out to cover Shentu Tianyin’s little mouth. 

“Hehe.” Long Bing laughed strangely before changing the topic. “We got the results from the investigation, but the result probably won’t be one that you’d be pleased with.” 

Xia Lei asked, “What is it?” 

“There are 122 groups in all buying up Vientiane Group stocks. According to the stock market standards, if a group buys more than 5% of shares, they would have to offer tender. However, none of these groups bought more than 5%. Most of them bought 1-3% of shares. A few of them were over 3%, but it was still below 5%. They made it appear to be just like normal stock trading behaviour,” said Long Bing.  

“Any information on these buyers?” 

“Yes. I found that out too. I will email it to you soon. However, they’re all ordinary investment accounts and there's nothing suspicious with the accounts. It’s just…” 

“Just what?”

“You might find it strange too. The few groups that went over 4% were all tied one way or another to the Gu clan.” 

Xia Lei frowned immediately. 

“I asked somebody from the Economic Crime Investigation Branch and he said if somebody’s secretly manipulating this, then that person must be very clever and practised. He said on the surface, it looked like ordinary stock activity, but if one person owned all the cumulative shares of all the groups, then it would become very troublesome. There would be a change in Vientiane Group’s board members,” said Long Bing. 

Xia Lei was silent for a moment before asking, “What percentage of shares do those groups have altogether?”

“About 15%. If that person merges all the groups’ shares right now, they would already be qualified to become a board member.” 

According to corporations law, those with a three percent share would be eligible to be nominated for a board seat. If they held 15%, then they would have the qualifications to become a board member right away.

“Who do you think this person is?” asked Xia Lei.

“I know you who you’re guessing. To tell you the truth, I’m also skeptical, but… Didn’t she die?” said Long Bing. 

“I’ll think of a way to look into it myself, you can just stop here,” said Xia Lei. 

“Then I won’t hold the two of you up. Good night.” Long Bing hung up. 

Xia Lei stared dumbly. He didn’t get to work. 

“Long Bing?” said Shentu Tianyin.

“Yeah.”

“What did she find from the investigation?” 

Xia Lei told Shentu Tianyin the results of Long Bing’s investigation. 

“Their methods are quite unique indeed. It’s troublesome. A 15% share is not enough to threaten me, though. Never mind that, let’s leave official business for tomorrow and sleep,” said Shentu Tianyin. 

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