Chapter 57 - 58: Deals Beneath Silk – Crimson Schemes Begin
The private dining room wasn’t loud, yet the quiet buzz of voices, clinking silverware, and the occasional ripple of polite laughter formed a strange sort of symphony—one that didn’t play music, but power.
Lin Feng sat at a long rosewood table under the muted glow of antique chandeliers. Around him, members of the Crimson Circle conversed in half-sentences and practiced smiles. It wasn’t a dinner—it was a chessboard disguised with wine glasses and velvet napkins.
Xu Shanyue, dressed in a red cheongsam embroidered with golden cranes, raised her glass and looked across at him. "They say silk hides blades," she said softly, just loud enough for those near them to hear. "But I suppose that depends on who’s doing the sewing."
Lin Feng’s gaze didn’t flinch. "And whether the blade is meant to be seen at all."
A few guests exchanged glances. Even the servant refilling glasses moved more carefully.
Across the table, a young man in a charcoal suit—Ye Zihan, heir to a private equity firm known for hostile takeovers—leaned forward. "Lin Feng, everyone knows you’ve shaken up the inner circle. What we’re curious about is... what you want."
A question, cloaked in camaraderie. Everyone here had come dressed for war, just in silk and cologne.
"I want what you all claim to already have," Lin Feng said evenly. "Influence that actually means something."
Someone gave a low chuckle. Xu Shanyue didn’t. She tilted her head, curious. "And how do you plan to get that? With charities and pianos?"