Chapter 52: The Mysterious Spy Organization

Bao Qianlan was the true definition of a socialite and distinguished lady. In her presence, Zhou Hong could only feel deeply inadequate. She had tried countless times to worm her way into Bao Qianlan’s social circle, hoping to secure a place for herself. Yet Bao Qianlan never had any intention of including her; she found her utterly lacking in class.

The disparity in status could not have been more obvious.

How could Zhou Hong not be panicking now? It was one thing to put on airs for a friend and fail, but now even her husband might be dragged down with her. Chen Hai held no authority over the beauty and wellness industry, but when it came to their Jiabao Pharmaceuticals, he had every right to intervene.

She couldn’t help but recall that all this trouble started because Shi Feizhu offended that pretty boy—what was his surname again? Just now, Bao Qianlan seemed to have called him “Lu.”

“Mr. Lu, I’m terribly sorry, it’s all been a misunderstanding!”

Lu Ye sneered, “What exactly did you misunderstand? Did you think I was an easy target?”

“Yes… no, no!” Zhou Hong almost blurted out the truth but quickly forced a smile. “Of course not! I was misled by Shi Feizhu’s lies and thought your place was a shady operation!”

“Mr. Lu, I’d be happy to recommend my friends to join as your members and purchase VIP cards. How about we settle things here and now?” She added, “Could you perhaps plead with Chairman Chen on my behalf, ask him not to make things difficult for my husband?”

Before Lu Ye could respond, Bao Qianlan let out a cold laugh.

“Zhou Hong, who do you think you are?”

“You and your so-called friends—do you really think you’re qualified to become VIPs at our ‘Eve’s Club’?”

With that, a stir broke out among the crowd outside the club, who had gathered to watch the spectacle. Bao Qianlan’s words caused quite an uproar.

How arrogant was this Eve’s Club! Zhou Hong was at least a wealthy woman, wasn’t she? Yet even wanting to apply for a VIP card, she was dismissed as unworthy?

Bao Qianlan continued, “If it weren’t for Little Lu’s mother-in-law, even I wouldn’t qualify to be a VIP at Eve’s Club!”

The crowd was stunned by her bluntness. People began to wonder: for Bao Qianlan to humble herself like this, just who was the mother-in-law of the club’s owner?

Wait a minute—Eve? Was it Eve Group?

Suddenly, Lu Ye’s identity became clear: he was the live-in son-in-law of the Su family!

That meant his wife must be Su Qianqian, the chairwoman of Eve Group.

Not to mention that the Su family had already replaced the Zhangs as the richest family in Mingzhu City—even Eve Group alone was worth countless times more than Jiabao Pharmaceuticals.

Zhou Hong’s face turned ashen. She realized she’d made a monumental blunder.

The humiliation was just beginning. As one luxury car after another pulled up, it became clear that Bao Qianlan hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest.

The madams of the Yang family, the president of Henghua Bank’s wife, the chairman of Shengxuan Group’s wife—one by one, these distinguished ladies arrived with their husbands, bearing lavish gifts to congratulate Lu Ye on the grand opening of Eve’s Club.

All the young masters of the five great families showed up without exception.

The underworld boss Lin Zhongze and several members of the Apostles arrived together.

Finally, Lu Ye’s mother-in-law, Li Shuqin, made her grand entrance.

Where moments ago Eve’s Club had been quiet, it now bustled with excitement.

One after another, the husbands of these society ladies vied to shake Lu Ye’s hand and thank him—for reasons similar to Chen Hai’s. Finally, someone had rescued them from the crisis of middle-aged marriage! Status and wealth were not the issue; what they sought was domestic harmony.

Wu Qing, ever the silver-tongued, saw Lu Ye ensnared among the city’s most influential men and immediately took up the task of welcoming the distinguished ladies.

“Ladies, please come inside!”

That sweet, gentle address, paired with Wu Qing’s harmlessly handsome smile, instantly won over the hearts of the assembled women. No matter how playfully they teased him, Wu Qing handled each situation with ease, like a fish in water, thoroughly enjoying himself. The sound of laughter never ceased throughout the club.

Lu Ye would glance back at him from time to time, unable to suppress his admiration. “Hiring this charmer as the manager was worth every penny!”

Shi Feizhu and Zhou Hong were dumbstruck.

They’d mocked Eve’s Club for lacking the money for a proper opening ceremony, only to realize the club didn’t even care to do business with just anyone.

Seeing Lu Ye occupied, they tried to slip away quietly, but he turned and glared at them. “Done here and you think you can just leave without a word?”

At this, the assembled dignitaries turned their unfriendly gazes on Shi Feizhu and Zhou Hong. “What’s going on here?”

Chen Hai explained the situation on Lu Ye’s behalf.

And so, Feizhu Beauty Club was struck by disaster.

Perhaps not wishing to offend Lu Ye, or unwilling to lose face before others, the powerful guests began making call after call…

Soon, officials from all relevant departments descended upon Feizhu Beauty Club.

First, the lively opening ceremony was shut down. Then, the club was thoroughly inspected from top to bottom.

Fire safety violations, incomplete business licenses, unqualified hygiene equipment—the problems just kept coming.

Their punishment? Forced closure for rectification, with fines totaling several million.

No sooner had the inspectors left than a flood of cardholders rushed in demanding full refunds.

Shi Feizhu was forced to empty his assets to pacify them all.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another group of unidentified men stormed in and wrecked the beauty club.

A bystander murmured that these men appeared to be Lin Zhongze’s subordinates.

Zhou Hong wasn’t spared either. Jiabao Pharmaceuticals, her husband’s company, was thoroughly investigated by the Medical Association, uncovering a batch of counterfeit drugs.

“I’ve never seen such outrageous demands in my life.”

Lu Ye’s meaningful smile floated before Shi Feizhu’s mind.

“I swear I’ll never provoke anyone on an electric scooter again!”

That day, Eve’s Club had gathered nearly all the influential figures in Mingzhu City.

From now on, whenever anyone in Mingzhu mentioned Eve’s Club, only one phrase would come to mind: Supreme and Unparalleled.

For those entrepreneurs still striving for success, getting their wives admitted as VIPs at Eve’s Club became the ultimate status symbol.

In future business negotiations, it would suffice to say, “My wife is a VIP at Eve’s Club!”—and the deal would be more than half done.

But that was a story for another day.

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Prosperity Real Estate.

Outside the general manager’s office, Xu Fugui knocked nervously.

“Come in.”

Only after receiving Du Sheng’s permission did Xu Fugui dare to enter his own former office.

Du Sheng’s desk was piled high with documents on Lu Ye. He’d been troubled for days, the more he investigated, the more mystifying things became.

Lu Ye’s background was too clean and simple; Du Sheng believed that was, in itself, the biggest problem.

He put down the files and rubbed his temples. “Did you need something?”

Xu Fugui nodded. “Boss Du, the men we had watching Lin Zhongze’s house have discovered signs of Y6 activity.”

“What?” Du Sheng started in shock.

There were countless spy organizations in the world.

In terms of scope and reach, the Hongying Society was the largest.

But when it came to secrecy, none were more mysterious than Y6.

No one knew when Y6 was founded; traces of their activities were rarely, if ever, detected.

Y6 never meddled in international affairs, nor did they cause trouble like the Hongying Society.

They dealt only in intelligence—being the world’s largest information broker.

All clues so far pointed to Lin Zhongze as Lu Ye’s backer, but Du Sheng found this too suspicious. Judging by Lu Ye’s methods and style, he didn’t seem the type to play a subordinate to a crime lord.

Thus, Du Sheng began to suspect Lin Zhongze’s identity as well. He’d stationed men near Lin’s home for days, only to find evidence of Y6 activity.

Could it be that Lin Zhongze was with Y6? A fellow operative?

If so, everything made sense.

Lin Zhongze controlled Mingzhu’s entertainment industry, a constant stream of information flowing his way. Yet despite the potential for huge illicit profits, he never dipped into them—exactly the sort of conduct Y6 was known for.

“Our attempt to take over Mingzhu’s entertainment sector would mean cutting off Y6’s intelligence source, which is why Lin Zhongze put Lu Ye up to opposing our Hongying Society at every turn!”

A look of sudden understanding appeared on Du Sheng’s face. “So that’s it!”

He had no idea this was all a smokescreen orchestrated by Lu Ye…

Xu Fugui asked, “Boss Du, should we declare war on Y6?”

Du Sheng smiled with self-assured cunning. “No, nobody wins if things get ugly. Since we’re in the same line of work, we may as well collaborate for mutual benefit.”

“Arrange a meeting with Lin Zhongze and Lu Ye—I want to negotiate with them!”