Chapter 118: Hosting a Banquet

Stealing mobile phones was a specialty of Qiu Fengyu. That evening, at the home of Vasily Antonov, Qiu Fengyu and Davis snuck inside. After bypassing the security cameras, they located the surveillance hub, connected it to Davis’s laptop, and promptly hacked the system.

The surveillance footage was set to loop a segment from earlier in the day. Now, Qiu Fengyu could move about freely as long as he didn’t make too much noise.

Davis returned the way he came, waiting on the perimeter of the villa with Ryoko Yonekura and Tim. These two provided remote support, keeping their sniper rifles trained on the villa; if Qiu Fengyu were exposed, they would open fire without hesitation.

Once that was done, Qiu Fengyu slipped into Vasily Antonov’s room. The man had gone to take a shower. Qiu searched his pockets, found his phone, and installed a wiretap. Quietly and undetected, he slipped back to the hub and retrieved the laptop.

The remaining time was spent tracking and monitoring all of the man’s calls to pinpoint the location of his vault.

The first day passed, and the four of them split into two teams to keep watch. Qiu Fengyu was paired with Tim, while Ryoko Yonekura worked with Davis. The goal was to intercept every call the man made, record them, and hand them over to Qiu Fengyu for identification, as the man spoke mostly in Russian—a language only Qiu could understand.

On the second day, they continued the surveillance. Qiu Fengyu constantly changed vehicles; he would steal a car, use it for a day, and then dump it, stealing a new one that night. It was the best way to avoid raising suspicion.

"Boss, aren't we being a bit slow with this?" Tim looked out the car window. The voice of that bastard came through the monitor. "What did he say?"

"He was saying... he has his eye on a girl. He’s having her sent over."

"What a jerk. Is this really effective? We might as well just kidnap him and use some 'enhanced interrogation.' I don't believe he could hold out," Tim mused. "Simple, direct, effective."

Qiu Fengyu tapped him on the head. "What if he lies to us? Besides, a man like him won't talk easily under torture, and if he does, it will be full of lies. They are willing to throw their lives away. Russians are reckless with their lives; it's not something Americans can compare to."

Tim fell silent.

The two sat in the car, half a street away, and could clearly hear his conversations with others. However, it was all useless information—either berating his subordinates, flirting with women, or sometimes talking to himself, spouting disgusting things. He was a complete pervert.

"I'm going to grab something to eat; you keep watch here." Having trailed him for nearly the whole day, he decided to get some food.

After getting out of the car, he went to a nearby fast-food joint. He bought burgers, chicken wraps, and two drinks. As he pushed the door open to leave, he nearly bumped into someone passing by. But immediately, a man in a black suit and sunglasses stepped between him and the other person, eyeing him vigilantly.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry!" the person apologized to him. As she looked up, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Qiu? How is it you? My God, I can't believe I’m seeing you in Los Angeles."

Qiu Fengyu was stunned. The woman took off her sunglasses and flashed a brilliant smile at him. "It's me, Reese. Has it been that long? You don't recognize me anymore?"

The bodyguard, seeing that they were acquaintances, stepped back, giving them some space. Qiu Fengyu smiled and extended his hand. "Reese, aha—I never thought I’d actually run into you in Los Angeles. It’s a pleasure, really. I never imagined that a big star like you could walk the streets like an ordinary person here."

"I originally wanted April to keep me company, but she’s busy writing that damn screenplay of hers, so it’s just me. I’ve been quite free lately, just waiting on her script, and I haven't taken any work until then."

"You two really are best buddies!"

"Haha, you're wrong, I like men!" Reese laughed at Qiu Fengyu. "I'm not gay."

"Uh, it's really nice to see you." Qiu Fengyu shook her hand and pointed ahead. "I have things to do, goodbye, Reese. Give my regards to April." With that, he waved and walked away.

"How long are you staying here?" Reese called out to him as he walked away.

"Who knows? Maybe two or three days, maybe longer." Qiu Fengyu turned back, smiled at her, took a few steps back, waved again, and then hurried forward.

Reese watched Qiu Fengyu leave in a rush and couldn't help but shake her head and laugh. This guy was a real weirdo. He had once again completely ignored a great beauty like her. She found it somewhat amusing and then took her leave.

This encounter had been purely accidental.

Qiu Fengyu didn't give it much thought. He never believed that just because Reese was a great beauty or a big star, he should give her any extra favor; to him, she was just an ordinary acquaintance.

"Any movement?" Qiu Fengyu got back into the car and handed a drink and a chicken wrap to Tim, then began to wolf down his burger.

"Nothing at all, just some gibberish I can't understand. And the sound of a woman. Heaven knows he's been at it since he got to the office," Tim said, grinning at Qiu Fengyu. "I really envy this guy."

"Didn't you say you don't like women?" Qiu Fengyu shot him a disdainful look.

"No, no, Boss, you can't slander me like that. I just said I don't like getting into romantic entanglements. Sleeping with them is fine, but emotions... at least until I settle down, I won't be considering that." Tim shook his head at Qiu Fengyu. Was this kid really only sixteen? He had such strong opinions on the matter.

Qiu Fengyu extended his fist, and they bumped knuckles. These two shared the same view, or rather, Qiu Fengyu’s perspective had directly influenced Tim’s outlook on women.

By evening, Ryoko Yonekura and Davis took over. Qiu Fengyu and Tim returned to the hotel and headed out for dinner. On the way, they received a call from April.

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up, let's have dinner together!" April said to Qiu Fengyu. "Don't refuse. It’s not often you come to Los Angeles, let me treat you."

Qiu Fengyu thought for a moment and said, "There's one more person, Tim is with me."

"No problem, where are you? I'll come get you!"

Qiu Fengyu gave her the address of their hotel, and he and Tim waited for April's call. Tim looked outside and then back at Qiu Fengyu. "Which one are you going to pick?"

"Why is it this question again?" Qiu Fengyu couldn't help but smack the back of his head. "I'm not picking either of them. Neither is right for me."

"Come on... you need a woman in the house..."

"Aren't you...?" Qiu Fengyu chuckled. "Enough with the nonsense."

Tim whispered, "I'm not a girl."

The two sat there; Tim stared out the window, while Qiu Fengyu cracked open a beer. After a while, April called. Qiu Fengyu and Tim headed downstairs.

April's car was waiting. Qiu Fengyu and Tim sat in the back. The car wound out of the street, the scenery becoming increasingly affluent. Before long, the car turned into a mountain road, drove for a while, and finally pulled into a beautiful-looking villa.

April parked the car and gestured to Qiu Fengyu. "Let's go, Reese will be here soon."

Qiu Fengyu and Tim got out, and April went to park the car.

"Wow—Boss, this is luxurious. Is this one of those Beverly Hills mountain villas? Boss... I have to solemnly suggest again that you should pursue Reese, and then I could live in a luxury villa like this too," Tim said, looking around.

*Smack!* A hand landed on the back of his head.

"If you say that again, I'll beat you to a pulp," Qiu Fengyu threatened.

Tim shut his mouth. He basically couldn't resist Qiu Fengyu’s iron fist, so he had to accept his fate. The two walked along the wide lawn toward the villa, and they saw a woman hurrying out from the entrance. It was Reese. She was wearing a short skirt and a loose, low-cut t-shirt that revealed a hint of cleavage.

"This woman is really beautiful!" Tim said.

"Only look at her face!" Qiu Fengyu smacked his head again.

"Hitting me again?" Tim felt aggrieved. "I promise, I'll only look at her face. If I look anywhere else..."

"What are you two talking about?" Before Tim could finish, Reese walked up to them, smiling. "Sorry, I wanted to take you to a restaurant, but I thought about it and decided to host you at home instead. It's better than going out; I like this homey atmosphere."

"Hello!" Qiu Fengyu extended his hand, and they shook. "Sorry to bother you!"

"It's fine, I’ve been thinking about how to invite you over," Reese smiled. "I told April about our meeting, and she came up with this idea. I think it's great."

"Davis is going to be insanely jealous. He's a huge fan of yours and always shows off your autograph and the photo he took with you. If he knew I was having dinner with you, he’d be green with envy," Tim chuckled. "But I have to admit, I like the idea of him being that jealous."

"You certainly have a way with words. There must be girls who like you," April said, walking over and joining the conversation. "Are there? Don't be shy, tell me, how many girlfriends do you have?"

"No, no, not a single one. Don't look at me like that... it's the truth, I swear." Tim raised his hands solemnly. "Just like the Boss said, I don't have the qualifications or the time to have a girlfriend yet."

"Your boss said that?" April looked at Qiu Fengyu suspiciously.

"This bastard is talking nonsense." Qiu Fengyu raised his hands, showing his innocence.

"No, Boss, that's exactly what you said. And... you said you wouldn't be getting a girlfriend either." Tim betrayed Qiu Fengyu immediately.

April and Reese looked at Qiu Fengyu with strange expressions.