Chapter 83: The Troubles of Sudden Wealth

Liu Yunfei and the old prince studied the plan in detail together before he rode his Somersault Cloud back to the knights’ castle. Every time Liu Yunfei soared on his cloud, he wished he might meet the fairy Zixia, gliding atop her rainbow cloud; if only a romance would blossom, life would be truly wonderful. But there was no gentle and beautiful Zixia here—only tall, shy Nordic beauties. As he entered the hall, he saw Bettia sitting on the sofa, playing with her fingers, her expression reminiscent of Lam. Clearly, this woman’s intelligence and emotional quotient were completely disproportionate. If he didn’t tease her, he’d be letting down the people, the party, the motherland—and his gun, which, of course, was only ever aimed at beauties.

“Why are you sitting here? Waiting for me?” Liu Yunfei walked over, feigning ignorance.

Bettia was annoyed—who else would she be waiting for? Did she come to ruin his sofa out of spite? Before she could reply, Henry, who had been sneaking drinks in the storage room, heard Liu Yunfei’s voice and burst out. Ever since Liu Yunfei had given him three hefty bags of cash, his status in Henry’s mind had risen nearly to the level of his grandfather.

“Brother Yunfei, it’s been ages since you’ve tasted Aurora Castle’s wine. Come, have a drink—you won’t mind, will you?” Henry draped an arm around him, as if they were the closest of friends.

“Of course I don’t mind,” Liu Yunfei deftly sidestepped Henry’s bear hug. “Next time you visit Aurora Castle, just help me trick your third uncle into giving me two barrels more.”

“I can’t do that! Uncle’s wine isn’t for just anyone. Last time, he gave you extra as a meeting gift. If I try again, I might get a glass, maybe a bottle, but never a barrel,” Henry said, worried Liu Yunfei might ask for something unreasonable. He finished off the half glass he had, savoring it in his mouth rather than his glass.

“Then just steal two barrels—stealing or grabbing, you’re good at both,” Liu Yunfei teased.

Henry, flustered, tried to protest, but with wine still in his mouth, he choked and coughed violently. Liu Yunfei, quick as ever, grabbed his arm and spun him aside, but it was Bettia who suffered—she was sprayed with wine.

Bettia’s expression shifted from sunny to stormy; Henry kept coughing, while Liu Yunfei rushed over to help brush the wine off her clothes. “Ah, what a waste! Six hundred years in the cellar, and now it’s used for a wine bath.”

“Where are you touching?” Bettia pushed Liu Yunfei away—his hand lingered on her bare skin, and then, not moving from her chest, which was hardly gentlemanly.

“Oh, that’s where most of the wine spilled,” Liu Yunfei’s face flushed, caught red-handed, though his thick skin meant only the tissue beneath blushed, nothing visible on the surface.

Bettia looked at her pale yellow dress, now spotted like a dalmatian, and frowned. For a high-level businesswoman, being so disheveled—especially in front of this rogue she somewhat valued—was humiliating.

Liu Yunfei, ever considerate, said, “Why not change in my room?” He thought to himself, “Considerate? I’m being considerate of her clothes—soon I’ll be considerate of her clothes in my room,” and quietly realized he was becoming ever more shameless.

“Why your room? What about Yu Qing, Lam, or Salina? Why not their rooms?” Bettia saw right through his intentions—who knew if he had a camera hidden in there?

Apparently, they didn’t know Yu Qing had kicked them out. “They’re all out,” Liu Yunfei lied.

“Who says I’m not home?” Just as he finished his lie, Salina appeared, descending the stairs.

So, today wasn’t a good day for flirting after all; Liu Yunfei’s face turned genuinely red this time. Salina took Bettia upstairs to change, and Liu Yunfei chatted with Henry. “So why did you all come to see me today? Together? Surely there’s something you need.”

“Yes, we’ve nearly finalized everything. Tomorrow we head back to Sweden to report to Grandfather,” Henry said, finally done coughing.

“So soon? Is Bettia leaving too?” Liu Yunfei thought to himself, “This girl is just starting to soften up, and now she’s slipping away.”

“Of course she’s going back, but you’ll have plenty of chances to see her again, Brother Yunfei,” Henry seemed to sense Liu Yunfei’s private motives.

“Why?”

“You’re a shareholder. Bettia isn’t, but she represents Aurora Castle. So, you’ll see her often, won’t you?”

“What? I’m a shareholder?” Liu Yunfei was surprised—he hadn’t invested, hadn’t attended negotiations—how could he be a shareholder?

“You didn’t know?” Henry was equally astonished—someone had received shares and didn’t even realize it.

Liu Yunfei thought, “I only have two hundred million dollars. These investments run into tens or hundreds of billions; I could never afford it.” He pulled Henry aside, eager for details. It turned out the total investment was 12 billion euros to establish the Kingdom-Tonda Oil Company. They’d build a new oil city in southern Saudi Arabia and expand the original Tonda Oil refinery in Naples. All refined oil would supply Italy and neighboring European countries, making Kingdom-Tonda Oil the largest oil company in Italy and sixth in Europe.

There had been days of debate over share allocation. In the end, the old prince’s Kingdom Oil held 46%, the Buano family’s Tonda Oil 29%, Sweden’s Aurora Castle 20%, and Liu Yunfei 5%. The vampires took a slight hit in percentage, but the Buano family promised to grant access to all mafia partners and share resources with Aurora Castle, helping vampires control Sicily’s mafia and expand into Europe and America.

The core members of each Italian mafia family were few, relying on external partners to reach into all sectors. Gaining a family’s partners meant controlling nearly all their criminal operations.

What Liu Yunfei couldn’t fathom was how he ended up with 5%. The families had nearly fought to the death over shares, so how could they let him have 5%? Besides, that meant six hundred million euros—euros being even stronger than dollars. He certainly couldn’t afford such an investment.

“You won’t have to pay a cent,” Bettia said, wearing Salina’s clothes, which didn’t fit—her chest looked ready to explode, the small protrusion obvious. Liu Yunfei wondered why European women rarely wore bras.

But he had no mood to flirt; he needed to clarify why he wouldn’t need to pay.

“Originally, Kingdom Oil was meant to hold an absolute majority—51%. But thanks to a special decree from the Saudi National Committee and the king himself, 5% was assigned to you. Yet, you don’t pay a cent. The three partner companies guarantee you; each takes out a bank loan of two hundred million euros on your behalf. All you need to do is sign a few documents, and you’ll be one of the shareholders of Kingdom-Tonda Oil,” Bettia explained.

Liu Yunfei felt elated—his knack for getting something for nothing was astonishing. “Are the three companies really okay with this?”

“Of course! They’re grateful to you—this is a win-win-win partnership. Without your matchmaking, it wouldn’t have happened. You deserve it, though I personally think it’s a bit much,” Bettia said, fully confident when it came to business.

Liu Yunfei mused, “If I tell Mom, she’ll buy up every villa in Rhine City. But there’s a complication: what identity should I use as a shareholder? Avashid is out of the question—the real Prince Avashid is waiting to reap the rewards. If I use my own name, I risk exposing myself.” What to do? Suddenly, the windfall brought more trouble—wasn’t money meant to solve everything? He couldn’t reject it—he owed too much to these old friends. If he refused, their disappointment might even cause a stroke. For their health, he couldn’t say no. How could he let the duck escape just as it reached his mouth? And, of course, there was Bettia, that other duck.