Hidden Assassin 295

The custom was a seven-day mourning period, with people coming in waves to pay their respects. During the day, there was a constant flow of people attending the memorial feast and playing mahjong. In normal times, if the relationship with the deceased wasn’t too close, it could be seen as a rare opportunity for a gathering. This time, however, was different.

For the past two months, while Huang Bingxiang was under investigation and isolated, everyone received news that he had no chance of turning the situation around. Yet, some people still held out hope and went around seeking connections and making efforts on his behalf. However, the investigation had now concluded, and preparations were underway to initiate legal proceedings. The entire situation was essentially considered conclusive and unchangeable. In the midst of the Huang family’s crumbling, such a funeral had suddenly arrived. Perhaps there were a few who genuinely felt sorrow for the old man, but most were overwhelmed by a sense of frustration and confusion stemming from the events of the past two months.

The atmosphere was heavy, with people running around aimlessly, feeling lost. The children were quiet, the ritualistic mourning process in the memorial hall was mechanical, and the entire Huang family villa seemed shrouded in a gloomy and desolate aura, accompanied by the monotonous funeral songs. Passersby occasionally pointed towards the house, some with joy, others with suspicion, and some with disdain.

In the past, when the Huang family had a funeral, they would go all out. People passing by would see it and say things like, “There are thousands of wreaths,” “The city party secretary came,” or “That’s the CEO of a certain group, a certain company,” all tinged with envy, as if this was not a funeral but a joyous event that could be shown off.

This time, however, Huang Bingxiang’s downfall had shaken all circles in Jiang Hai City. Although provincial-level official crimes would not be leaked to the outside world before the end of the trial, the number of people who knew about it was already considerable. Predictably, the conversation had shifted to “corrupt official family” and “deserved to die,” and those living nearby, having witnessed the Huang family’s rise and subsequent downfall, might have expressed a sense of wistfulness.

In the past, at funerals like this, there would be a constant flow of people, and the streets outside would be bustling with cars. The atmosphere would be lively, with people coming in one after another to pay their respects and offer gifts, then engaging in casual business conversations in this atmosphere, waiting for meals, and children playing pranks everywhere. Only when things got out of hand would the adults scold them, after all, it was a funeral, so they couldn’t be too boisterous. In comparison, this time, the atmosphere was genuinely in line with the nature of a funeral.

The birds had flown when the tree fell. But the Huang family, even though it was a skinny camel, was still bigger than a horse, and there were still many people coming to pay their respects. However, party and government officials would naturally not step into this troubled water. Many bosses and wealthy businessmen who still valued human connection mostly paid their respects and then claimed to have urgent matters and left early. As for those who stayed for lunch or dinner, they naturally wouldn’t talk about business anymore. Huang Bingxiang had been overly protective of his family while he was in power, and countless small companies were now on the brink of bankruptcy due to his downfall. Those who gathered in groups in the courtyard and the villa were all gloomy. If the conversation didn’t go smoothly, they would often argue loudly.

In this situation, those most affected were the children, too young to understand the subtleties of the situation. While playing indoors or outdoors, they might be scolded at any time, and after a day or two, even the most mischievous children would become timid and fearful. It was late spring, early summer, and the afternoon sky was overcast, perfectly reflecting the heavy atmosphere that even the innocent children seemed to carry. Funeral music, along with the announcement of who was coming to pay their respects, echoed monotonously from the loudspeaker.

At the back of the villa, near the lawn and pond, a hallway, Ya Han stood with a man in his fifties. Her hair was tied back, and she wore large, black tortoiseshell glasses, a white butterfly-collared shirt, a black jacket, and a pure white spring skirt. Her tall figure was accentuated by her slender heels, giving her the appearance of a sophisticated and discreet intellectual woman. She walked slowly, engaging in conversation.

“…The Huang family situation is a tragedy…At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, their family was flourishing. Back then, Huang Wuping was still in the Central Politburo, and this villa was a symbol of the first generation of wealth in Jiang Hai. My family’s company was the one that took on the design, and my older brother personally oversaw the construction. After Huang Wuping retired, Huang Bingxiang…well, Huang Wuping’s generation was still in charge of the family back then, so we all called him that…He was pretty smooth in his political career, though Huang Wuping had offended some people while he was in office. After Huang Wuping passed away in his ** year, Huang Bingxiang’s promotions began to face obstacles. He was quite capable, and he gritted his teeth and held on for ten years, eventually rising to the position of provincial party secretary. He really wanted to make life better for his family, but looking back, he took on too much responsibility. He even carried his family through the financial crisis, and if he had a few more years, perhaps the Huang family’s economic system would have truly stabilized. It’s a shame. They had such high ambitions, and things happened at such a sensitive time…”

As she spoke, the old man shook his head slightly. Ya Han smiled. She wasn’t particularly close to the Huang family, and there was no direct business connection between the two families, so she naturally couldn’t express an opinion on their situation. She simply said, “So, Geng Bo, what do you think the Huang family’s future will be after this incident?”

The old man looked at her with a smile, “Your Zhang family has always focused on heavy industry and has nothing to do with the Huang family’s business. Why are you suddenly so interested in this?”

“Where did you hear that? Geng Bo, you know I never involve myself in family matters. I just know that you have a sharp eye, and I was just curious.”

“The Huang family…” Geng sighed, “In the past, with Huang Bingxiang’s connections protecting them, they spread their branches too widely, trying to get a piece of everything, but their foundation wasn’t solid. After this incident, no one will let go of the market profits they’ve left behind. Everyone will divide the spoils, and if they can keep five percent of it, they’ll be lucky. The Huang family group has a solid foundation internally. We’ve estimated that their total assets, including all their connections, were worth about 130 billion yuan. After this first wave of problems is dealt with, they’ll be lucky to have 20 to 30 billion yuan left.”

Ya Han frowned slightly, “A huge decrease…”

“That’s just an optimistic estimate. If the Huang family wants to keep that 20 to 30 billion yuan, they’ll still be a big company in China, but that depends on whether their decision-makers have the vision to make choices. Right now, they should have the courage to cut off their losses, forget about all those messy developments, and focus on their core food processing business. Perhaps they can still build a path forward based on their original accumulation. If they refuse to give up anything, then they could be completely divided up and swallowed within the next two years.”

“Considering the actions of the Huang family’s decision-makers in recent years, the situation probably won’t be very optimistic.”

“Not optimistic,” Geng shook his head in agreement, “This kind of thing…You see them build a tower, you see them hold banquets, you see their tower crumble. Sigh…By the way, in two weeks, my second granddaughter will be a month old. Have you received the invitation, Ya Han?”

“Invitation…” Ya Han thought for a moment, “It hasn’t arrived yet, but my father and stepmother have already told me. It’s definitely a must-go for Xiaoping’s full-month celebration.”

“Ha! Look at my memory! Jianzhong hasn’t sent out the invitations yet. But I told you, Ya Han, you can’t not come. There will be some promising young men there. Geng Bo will choose one for you, or you can choose one yourself. I believe in your charm, Ya Han. There will be no one who can resist you.”

“Don’t say that, Geng Bo,” Ya Han laughed, “Whenever I see you uncles, you start talking about introducing me to boyfriends. I haven’t turned into an old spinster yet?”

“You’ll be twenty-four after the new year. We’ve watched you grow up. You can get married later, but you need to find a boyfriend…Okay, okay, I won’t rush you. In the end, you’ll choose yourself. Having high standards is a good thing. After all, Jiang Hai is so big, I don’t believe you can’t find someone you like.” Geng laughed and waved his hand, “By the way, Fang Zitian is arriving in Jiang Hai today. There’s a reception at the city government tonight. Are you going, Ya Han? If you are, I’ll walk with you and Old Cui.”

“Hmm…I’ll probably have dinner here at the Huang family first and then go back.” Ya Han smiled, and they both stopped walking.

“Have dinner at the Huang family?”

Geng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, but his doubts remained. If the Huang family was still in power, it would be normal to come to pay respects at a funeral, have a meal together, chat, and then leave. This was just courtesy, not mandatory, especially in today’s situation. Fang Zitian was a giant in both the business and political worlds. Even if Huang Bingxiang was still in office, everyone would still attend the reception that night, rather than missing it for this funeral. Now that Huang Bingxiang had fallen, and the Zhang and Huang families had never been close, this niece actually preferred to stay here…

But perhaps her reason was simply because she was still not interested in family matters. He thought about it and felt relieved. Seeing Huang Haoyun, who had some interaction with her five years ago, coming down from the building in the distance and staring at Ya Han’s retreating figure, he smiled, “Then I’ll go talk to Old Cui for a while now. I guess you young people aren’t interested in chatting with us old geezers. But if you have time after dinner, I think you should go to the reception. You know people like Fang Zitian from Sacred Heart Academy, and it would be beneficial for you to get to know them. Alright, bye, bye, bye…No need to follow me…”

“Over there…Goodbye, Geng Bo…” Ya Han wanted to walk a few more steps with him, but seeing Geng’s gesture seemed to indicate something, she turned back and saw Huang Haoyun. This man had some connection with her five years ago.

The Huang family bribery case had led to the arrest of Huang Bingxiang, Huang Haoyun’s father. Huang Haoyun was also implicated, but he managed to escape. The details of the matter were not worth discussing, and they were undoubtedly bitter.

She remembered the summer of 1994, when she had just returned from Cambridge and was swept up in a wave of blind dates. Huang Haoyun was one of her suitors, but their relationship never even reached the stage of exchanging horoscopes. In the end, he was simply a playboy who didn’t suit her taste at the time. However, thinking back now, it was because of him that she first came to this Huang family villa and met Jia Ming. Five years, not a long time, not a short time. Now, looking at this man, the once dashing playboy was now depressed and dispirited. Even though he was still wearing an expensive, well-tailored suit, he exuded a kind of dimness, like the entire Huang family mansion itself. A wave of sentimentality washed over her.

“Hi, Huang Haoyun.”

“Ah, hi, Ya Han…Uh, I saw you from behind, I think…” In fact, there had never been much interaction between them since they met. Back then, Ya Han, fresh back from England, was graceful and refined, not only beautiful but also full of captivating charm. He felt that they were well-matched families, and after his pursuit failed, he was unwilling to accept defeat, so he kept her image in his mind. Five years had passed, he had accomplished nothing, and even his family was starting to crumble. The woman before him had become more mature and confident, her beauty and intellect seamlessly intertwined, along with her elegant aura, making him feel the vast distance between them. After a brief moment of confusion, he found a somewhat awkward topic, “Uh, is that…Geng Bo from Hengjian Group?”

“Yeah, his second granddaughter was just born, so we were talking about babies.” Ya Han smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. While she felt some sympathy for this man, she couldn’t think of anything to talk about.

“Oh, okay…” Huang Haoyun’s eyes were somewhat glazed over. Hengjian Group was a big company, and in the past, he would have known about this kind of event long ago and put attending the full-month celebration on his to-do list. But now, it was questionable whether he even qualified to go to such a banquet. After thinking for a while, he could only say, “Uh, you’re looking for Jia Ming.”

“Yeah,” Ya Han nodded and smiled, not hiding anything, “I just arrived and chatted with Geng Bo for a bit. I haven’t seen him yet. It’s already three o’clock, maybe he’s still sleeping…I’ll go to his room to find him. Goodbye…”

“…Goodbye.”

For a long time, Huang Haoyun realized he should wave goodbye. Watching the beautiful figure slowly disappear from his sight, he couldn’t sort out the complex emotions in his heart.

********

Following is not about money.

To be honest, I haven’t been able to update for the past two days, mainly because I’ve been engrossed in two books. I couldn’t stop reading them. So here are my recommendations.

The first is **”Reborn into the Officialdom and Business World”**. Most people have probably already read it. I used to be quite averse to books about officialdom, but after reading this one, I found it very enjoyable. Except for a certain portion of bed scenes that were blatantly copied from **”Norwegian Wood”**, which made me somewhat disgusted…because I’m a loyal Murakami fan…But overall, it’s pretty good. I recommend it.

The second is **”Rewriting Life”**. I read it once before, but the first few chapters where the protagonist was thinking about getting rich made me give up. This time, I gritted my teeth and read through a few chapters, and I was drawn in by the atmosphere of the book. Honestly, when I was planning to write urban fiction, I had three different styles in mind. The first was the discarded beginning in the “About this work” section, where the protagonist had a sister named Jian Suyan. This protagonist had struggled for survival, been a thug, mixed with the underworld, been a killer, and eventually washed his hands clean to work for the country, becoming at least a major general. But no matter what, his mind and body were trapped in a dark quagmire. Only when he became paralyzed could he quietly recall the girl who was important to him, and then he was reborn, carefully guarding that happiness, living only for his sister, striving to maintain the kindness that she expected, while being incredibly ruthless inside. This kind of person couldn’t fall in love with anyone other than his sister. Though it could be fan-fictioned, it deviated from my original intention of writing a lighthearted story, so it was abandoned. The second style was naturally like **”Hidden Kill”**, trying to entertain others while entertaining myself, not caring about data, historical facts, or any bugs. It re-created the life I experienced in the 1990s. The protagonist wouldn’t be too ridiculous, he wouldn’t have a perverted personality, he would be a slightly useless normal person who had some resources from his rebirth, describing some simple fan-fiction, not connected to any dark worlds. This was the kind of style I expected, but the problem was that my sense of participation in the era was rather weak. I had my own feelings, but I basically forgot about specific events, so it had to be abandoned. But when I saw this book, I truly felt the feeling I had wanted to express. A naive, pure era, the author’s depiction was very simple, and I really liked that understated fan-fiction. If I had written it, I definitely wouldn’t have written it as well as this. I think if you like **”Hidden Kill”**, you’ll like this one too. I sincerely recommend it.

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