Chapter Forty-Eight: Beware Those Around You

The days of being Wukong’s junior brother were filled with laughter. Ram was giggling as Liu Yunfei tossed her a white fruit, his eyes playful. He stepped off the bed, a tent still prominent in his trousers, and picked up the phone. The call was from a woman he didn’t know, who introduced herself as the secretary to Lawrence, chairman of Italy’s Tonda Petroleum Company. She explained that Lawrence wished to pay him a visit.

Liu Yunfei intended to refuse. He guessed Tonda Petroleum had learned the little prince was here and wanted to build a relationship for smoother oil business with Saudi Arabia in the future. However, the secretary emphasized that her boss was from the Buono family. This left Liu Yunfei puzzled, so he vaguely agreed.

After hanging up, Liu Yunfei gave Ram a playful smack. “Next time you act like that, I’ll just eat you up. Now go call for Rexy, the steward.” As Ram headed to the door, Liu Yunfei added, “When I have time, I’ll take you to buy a bra. You’re too old to go without one.”

When the ever-gossipy old steward arrived, Liu Yunfei first asked about Tonda Petroleum.

“Tonda Petroleum? Never heard of them. They’re probably a small company. Italy’s biggest oil giant is ENI, followed by General Petroleum.”

So it really was a small company, and Liu Yunfei regretted agreeing to the meeting, since even the old gossip hadn’t heard of them.

He then asked about the Buono family, and this proved to be much more significant. The steward looked around, drew close, and said in a hushed tone, “They’re a massive mafia family from Sicily, perhaps the most powerful native family in Italy. The mafia’s strength is rooted in blood relations, and the Buono family has unfathomable connections throughout Italian society. Offending them is fatal—former Supreme Court justices and state prosecutors have been assassinated by the Buono family. Everyone in Italy knows, but there’s never any evidence. Their power and ruthlessness are legendary.”

“So it all comes back to that,” Liu Yunfei muttered, realizing that disciplining a few local thugs had drawn the attention of a mafia dynasty. He reminded himself he was only staying briefly and had no need to make enemies—best to treat them politely and avoid unnecessary grudges.

He didn’t ask Owali to join him, instead choosing to stand alone in the knight’s castle’s grand hall to await their unusual guest. Soon, Lawrence was ushered in—a bald, short old man with a gleaming forehead, dressed not in the stereotypical mafia black but in a bright, pale green suit that was almost friendly. Still, his prominent hooked nose betrayed a certain wariness.

Liu Yunfei smiled and extended his hand from afar. “My esteemed guest, welcome to the Knight’s Castle.”

Lawrence hurried forward, shaking Liu Yunfei’s hand tightly, his face blooming with a smile like an old tree sprouting new leaves. “Your reputation precedes you, but meeting you in person is far better. The master of the Knight’s Castle is truly young and promising.”

Their small talk was as warm as that between old friends reuniting after many years. Lawrence laughed, “Honored Prince Awahid, I only just learned you were here for some leisure—otherwise, I would have come much sooner to make your acquaintance.”

Liu Yunfei remained composed. “You only just found out? From whom?”

“Oh,” the old fox realized his slip and covered with a laugh, “just hearsay—a subordinate has a relative doing business in your country.”

“No matter. Please, have a seat. May I ask the purpose of your visit today?” Liu Yunfei got straight to the point.

“Nothing urgent. There are just two small matters. First, on behalf of Italy’s Tonda Petroleum, I wish to welcome you and hope for future cooperation between our companies. You may not know much about us, so allow me to introduce our company.”

Liu Yunfei nodded.

“Tonda Petroleum was founded ten years ago by the Buono family, which has a long history in Sicily. You may only know of us from legends, but our family also conducts much legitimate business. Above all, we value our reputation—you can trust us in every regard. Italy’s oil giants are ENI and General Petroleum, but Tonda Petroleum does not compete directly with them. We do different business.”

“Oh? Aren’t you all oil companies?” Liu Yunfei was curious.

“ENI and General focus on oil extraction. They have wells in North Africa and the Middle East, and in Italy, they own refineries and retail networks, but their main business is not there. They can’t even refine all the crude oil they extract. Tonda Petroleum, however, specializes in refining and selling finished oil products domestically. But as crude prices rise, everyone is stockpiling; ENI and General won’t even let us use their crude for refining. That’s the dilemma we face now.”

“I see what you mean,” Liu Yunfei replied, understanding the old man’s predicament. The market was tight, Tonda Petroleum had no crude to refine, so they were seeking a source. “But I’m not sure if you’ve done your homework. I’m merely a leisure prince—I have no means to get you crude oil.”

“Oh, my esteemed Prince Awahid, please don’t play coy. I know you’re not well acquainted with other Saudi princes, but bringing along King Abdullah’s most beloved young prince shows your status. I’ve also heard your relationship with Prince Saleh is extraordinary—he owns the kingdom’s largest oil company. Moreover, Tonda Petroleum has grand plans to step into oil extraction, so we need a key breakthrough. That way, we won’t have to be at others’ mercy.”

It was clear the old fox wanted not only to buy crude oil but also to enter the extraction industry, leveraging Liu Yunfei’s connections. Liu Yunfei began to wonder if he could use this to secure a share in oil extraction for himself. He also recalled that Gao Renhou’s vampire family wanted to get involved with the Italian mafia—perhaps this was an opportunity. Besides, Saudi Arabia encouraged large companies to invest in oil extraction, and there was more than enough oil to go around.

He nodded. “It sounds feasible, but I’ll need to discuss it with Prince Saleh. Besides, I must carefully review your cooperation plans and your company’s strength.”

Lawrence’s face lit up. “Thank you. You can rest assured our legitimate business is aboveboard, and personally, you won’t be neglected, either.”

“But if we cooperate, I have a friend who also wishes to join.” Liu Yunfei thought, Don’t be too pleased—you’ll play by the rules whether you want to or not. The vampire family is not afraid of the mafia.

“That’s no problem—we can simply make the investment plan bigger,” Lawrence thought to himself, Let them come—if they misbehave, we’ll use underworld methods to force them out.

“That’s enough for now,” Liu Yunfei said, unwilling to discuss uncertain matters further. “I’ll talk it over with Saleh, then we can continue negotiations.”

“Very good, I look forward to your reply. One more thing: I heard you had some unpleasantness at a beer hall a few days ago. I’ve already had those local punks taught a lesson—they’re just small-time thugs. I hope it didn’t spoil your mood. Tonight, I’m hosting a grand banquet at my home to apologize; I sincerely hope you’ll come.”

“Let’s just let bygones be bygones, but those punks really were out of line.” Liu Yunfei had little interest in such gatherings.

“Please, do me the honor. The Chinese girl who was bullied has also been invited—it’ll be a small circle tonight. Please don’t be shy.”

When Liu Yunfei heard that Yu Qing would be there, he worried she might encounter more trouble, and, unconsciously, he wanted to see that gentle, fresh girl again. So he agreed.

The old fox had achieved his purpose and took his leave. Liu Yunfei escorted him to the door. “My secretary will come for you this evening.”

Lawrence, always the sly fox, had actually come on behalf of Hartina, who had promised to help Tonda Petroleum in the future. But seeing this young prince was an even bigger backer, Lawrence decided to keep both sides happy. As he left, he whispered, “My respected prince, be careful of those around you.”

Chapter 49: The Dance of Forgetfulness

Liu Yunfei was baffled—who could he mean by “those around you”? There were only the steward, servants, Owali, and Ram, none of whom he doubted. Perhaps he was warning about someone from Saudi Arabia? Maybe someone there had leaked his whereabouts—an open secret, given Hartina’s many informants in the palace.

Unable to unravel the mystery, Liu Yunfei let it go and called the old prince, explaining that he had two friends interested in investing in oil extraction, one of whom owned a refinery and had an extensive oil product sales network in Italy. Unexpectedly, the old prince was delighted. Italy’s crude oil mostly came from the Sahara’s oilfields in North Africa, with little from the Middle East. The old prince had always wanted to expand into the Italian market and insisted on being the largest shareholder, as was customary—Saudi law required all oil companies to have a Saudi national or company holding a controlling stake.

Since it was their rule, Liu Yunfei reasoned, Lawrence and Gao Renhou would have no grounds for complaint, so he readily agreed. He then called Gao Renhou, who waved off all concerns: “Grandpa Gao, you can’t trust me like this—I’m just a high school student, and this is an investment of over a billion dollars!”

“I don’t know much about these things. I’m a philosophy professor, not an economics professor.”

“How about your foundation? Shouldn’t a foundation review such investments? You don’t have to be an expert—just hire the right people. The key is to set up a proper system so no one can take advantage.”

“I know, I’ll send a representative in a few days,” Gao Renhou replied, hanging up.

As soon as Liu Yunfei put down the phone, Yu Qing called. She’d been invited to the evening’s banquet and, upon learning Liu Yunfei was going, called to confirm. Liu Yunfei mused that Lawrence had claimed Yu Qing had already accepted, but in fact, he was only now inviting her. Still, he agreed, and offered to pick her up, but she said Lawrence would send someone.

That evening, the female secretary arrived. To Liu Yunfei’s surprise, the crisp-voiced secretary from the phone turned out to be an elderly Italian lady. Liu Yunfei could only laugh and improvise a poem: “Your voice stole my heart; your appearance nearly frightened away my soul.”

As there seemed to be no danger, and Owali had been cooped up at home and grown restless, Liu Yunfei took both Owali and Ram with him. Their luxurious convoy followed the secretary’s car slowly into downtown Florence. Lawrence’s home was a small castle—though Liu Yunfei thought “large villa” more apt, as it was no match for the Knight’s Castle in scale, but its city-center location must have made it extremely valuable.

The house was built of stone, clearly aged, with thick masonry walls, narrow windows, semicircular arches of Romanesque style, and delicate flowered walls with stained glass windows of Gothic design. Its softly contoured, ornate decorations and carvings spoke of a Baroque hall.

“For such a modest place to showcase so many architectural styles is truly an eye-opener,” Liu Yunfei remarked as the doorman opened the car door. Lawrence stood waiting at the entrance and quickly approached, exchanging greetings with Liu Yunfei.

“I didn’t expect Prince Awahid to be knowledgeable in these matters—impressive indeed,” the old fox flattered.

“Allow me to introduce you to Prince Owali and our lovely Ram.” Liu Yunfei introduced his two companions. Ram, who now felt like a phoenix risen to nobility, was so absorbed in her new life she barely thought of home.

Lawrence shook hands with the two and led them through the main hall into an even larger back hall. One end held long tables draped in snowy white cloths, laden with food and drink; the rest of the marble-floored hall, patterned with stars, was left open. A massive crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. Already, groups of guests were scattered about, murmuring greetings.

“Awahid!” A soft voice reached Liu Yunfei. Turning, he saw Yu Qing in a white gown, her hair tied up, high heels accentuating her angelic beauty. Liu Yunfei was momentarily transfixed.

A sharp tug at his waist reminded him that Ram, noticing his dazed look, had mischievously pinched him.

“Hello, Yu Qing. Allow me to introduce you—this is Owali, and this is Ram.” Liu Yunfei introduced her to his companions. Ram’s gaze was obviously hostile.

“Awahid, I hear you’re some kind of prince?” Yu Qing teased.

“Yes, yes. Did those troublemakers give you any more problems?” he asked with concern.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce tonight’s distinguished guests: Prince Awahid, Prince Owali, Miss Ram, and the lovely Miss Yu Qing from the distant East.” Before they could chat long, the old fox announced them from the microphone, and Liu Yunfei led his group forward.

He gave a few polite remarks at the microphone. Then a burly white man approached. “Excuse me, may I offer my sincere apologies?” He took a glass of red wine from a serving girl’s tray and presented it to Liu Yunfei with both hands; the other three received wine in turn.

Lawrence explained, “This is the leader of those punks—he wanted to apologize in person.”

The man toasted them all in turn. Liu Yunfei found the apology ceremony strangely reminiscent of the Hong Kong triad rituals he’d seen in movies.

Then, one by one, Lawrence introduced his many relatives. Liu Yunfei didn’t bother to remember them all, simply raising his glass and sipping wine with each.

After what felt like half a day, the introductions were done. The band seated at one side of the hall began a lively tune, and Lawrence announced the ball’s commencement.

“That’s a samba,” Yu Qing stood beside Liu Yunfei. “Do you know how to dance it?”

“No,” he admitted sheepishly. “I can’t dance at all.”

“Come on, I’ll teach you. Watch those two in the center—their steps are clear, just follow them.”

Taking Yu Qing’s hand, Liu Yunfei began to dance. At first awkward, he soon picked up the basic steps, no longer needing to watch others, and gradually grew more comfortable. He found himself enjoying the Brazilian dance’s vibrant rhythm. The pair glided across the floor, their steps swaying, compact, passionate, and unrestrained.

As the dance continued, Liu Yunfei observed that the samba relied on alternating full-footed and half-footed steps, the knees flexing to create a swaying movement, proceeding along the dance line. It was a flowing, dynamic, exuberant dance.

After about an hour, the music softened, the tempo slowed, and the hall’s lights dimmed. Suddenly, Liu Yunfei felt two soft arms wrap around his neck. For a moment, he worried about being seen, but glancing around, he saw that all the other couples were doing the same—men and women holding each other close, swaying gently to the music.

Looking down, he saw Yu Qing’s cheeks flushed, her beautiful eyes brimming with deep affection. Liu Yunfei gently wrapped his arms around her slim waist, the two of them moving as one, drifting through the hall.