"Good morning, Luo An."
Pfft—
At half-past ten in the morning, on the second floor of the villa, Luo An spat out the toothpaste foam while brushing his teeth and casually replied:
"Good morning, Mr. Morgan."
The caller was the old man with tea-colored glasses that Luo An had met at the club before, Mr. Morgan.
While washing his face, Luo An asked:
"What's up so early, Mr. Morgan?"
"Young people, it's almost noon and you still think it's early."
Mr. Morgan's voice was hearty and cheerful over the phone as he went straight to the point:
"I happen to be in Washington D.C. these days, how about we go out for dinner tonight?"
"No problem."
Luo An, after drying his face, agreed and after exchanging a few pleasantries, Mr. Morgan took the initiative to hang up the phone.
Just then, Mona, rubbing her eyes, pushed the door and walked into the room, letting out a big yawn and asked casually:
"Who was that?"
"Someone from the club."
Having finished washing up, Luo An left the room to change clothes, while Mona, who had just woken up and turned on her phone, was a little slow to respond and took a few seconds to realize:
Her complexion suddenly changed and she quickly walked out of the room to Luo An and asked:
"I remember you mentioning that there are people in that club who also knew your father?"
"That's right."
Luo An nodded, seeing Mona's hesitant and worried expression, he smiled and walked back, lightly pinched Mona's cheek, and said:
"Don't worry, I already have a plan."
What the specific plan was, Luo An did not say at the time, but seeing him looking calm and confident, Mona trusted him based on past experience, nodded her head, and refrained from asking further questions.
Luo An smiled, continued to go through his clothes, and asked:
"What's for breakfast?"
Turning around to wash up, Mona said:
"I'll cook today, how about fried eggs and bacon?"
"Sounds good, add two steaks as well."
"I just got up, I don't want steak."
"Don't misunderstand, both are for me."
Mona: "..."
After breakfast which doubled as lunch, Luo An and Mona went to the gym to punch and exercise, then rested and fondled for a while, and time quickly advanced to a little after six in the evening.
By then, Mr. Morgan had sent a text message with the location for their meeting and dinner; Luo An simply changed into a casual suit and drove there, while Mona went shopping with Reesi and Chenier.
Arriving at the address sent in the text message while driving an ordinary Porsche, Luo An frowned slightly, doubting if he had come to the wrong place.
At the moment, Luo An was in Southern Washington D.C., and what appeared before him was an ordinary commercial building surrounded by all kinds of shops – jewelry, luxury goods, banks, and so on, but no sign of a restaurant or eatery.
"Hello."
Just as Luo An was about to call and inquire, someone gently knocked on his car window. Lowering the window slowly, a white man in his forties wearing a high-end suit smiled and asked:
"May I ask if you are Mr. Greenwood?"
"I am. Who might you be?"
With an affirmative answer, the white man's smile became even more congenial as he explained:
"I've come here especially to welcome you."
"OK."
Relying on the "emotional perception" in his mind, Luo An determined that the other party was not lying and did not harbor any ill will towards him, so he followed the man's instructions to park the car properly and then accompanied him into a high-end men's luxury shop.
The two walked straight through, and the shop assistants all bowed in greeting; the white man, without a sidelong glance, led Luo An through several twists and turns to the deepest part of the shop.
An ordinary elevator appeared in front of Luo An, and the Caucasian man opened the elevator door, stepped aside to make way, extending his hand to indicate and smilingly said:
"Please come in, Mr. Greenwood."
Luo An stepped into the elevator and found that there were no floor buttons inside. His eyes flickered with amusement as he asked with a smile:
"Aren't you coming in?"
"My level isn't high enough, and I haven't received an invitation."
The Caucasian man chuckled and pressed a button to close the elevator doors, finally saying:
"Have fun tonight, Mr. Greenwood. Goodbye."
With the elevator doors closing, it began to ascend slowly. Luo An closed his eyes and remained still, silently sensing the elevator's movements. After a dozen or so seconds, the elevator came to a gentle halt. Luo An guessed that they were probably on the twenty-first or twenty-second floor.
Ding—
With a light chime, the elevator doors slowly opened. Luo An opened his eyes to a magnificent, brightly lit but not dazzling hall adorned with an old European classical style that unfolded before him.
Exiting the elevator, the melodious strains of classical piano music slowly reached Luo An's ears. To the left of the hall, groups of men and women in suits and gowns gathered together, chatting over glasses of wine.
To the right stood a bar, where several masked bartenders were flamboyantly mixing drinks, inviting the men and women chatting nearby to sample their craft.
"Hello, Mr. Greenwood."
Luo An had only taken a few steps when a female service attendant, dressed in a lady's suit, wearing a mask but with an excellent figure, approached. She extended her hand, guiding Luo An and said:
"Someone is waiting for you, please follow me."
Luo An nodded without speaking and began to follow, observing his surroundings as they ventured deeper into the hall.
After turning through several long corridors, a series of private rooms came into view. The female attendant reached room number 13, knocked gently, then opened the door for Luo An to enter.
Inside the private room were two elderly Caucasian men who looked familiar; it was Edward with his white hair and Morgan, who today was not wearing his tea-colored glasses.
"Neither early nor late, just in time."
Upon seeing Luo An enter the room, Edward raised his eyebrows at Morgan and laughed heartily:
"I win this time!"
Luo An casually sat down on the sofa opposite the two elderly men, very casually poured himself a glass of red wine, and with a smile asked:
"Did you set a bet on the time it would take for me to arrive here?"
"Just a little game."
Morgan shook his head helplessly and glanced at his friend beside him, who was full of smiles, and said:
"When you get older, all you're left with are these small interests."
"Well done, Luo An."
Edward picked up his own glass, clinked it with Luo An's, raised his eyebrows, and said with a grin:
"Our wager just now was five Gold Coins; I'll give you one of them later."
"Thank you."
Luo An clinked glasses with Edward, then turned to Morgan with a smile:
"Mr. Morgan, if you have such bets in the future, you can contact me in advance. We can negotiate the prize."
"Greedy little fox."
Morgan pointed at him laughingly, shaking his head. The three clinked their glasses and sipped a bit of red wine. Morgan said:
"Luo An, you did a great job on this case. The Morgan family has already transferred the reward we promised into the account of your dedicated investigative team.
As for the fifteen Gold Coins, I've also transferred them into your club's account."
Luo An's face immediately revealed a sunny, cheerful smile. Edward, sitting beside him, took out a box of cigars, passed one to Luo An, and asked curiously:
"How did you crack this case in less than two weeks, Luo An?"
According to their previous bet, if Luo An solved the case within fifteen days, Edward would have to pay half of the 10 million US Dollars that Morgan promised.
Edward, quite advanced in age, was no longer very interested in women, couldn't enjoy gourmet food for health reasons, and didn't care about the money at all; he only wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
Taking the cigar, facing the curiosity of the two elders, Luo An chuckled lightly:
"Secret."
"..."x2