Book 16: Chapter 58
Moving as lightly as a drifting cloud, Hua Feihua entered a room without anyone sensing his presence on the way over.
“Boss.”
“Any news?” Hua Feihua peeled off his paper mache mask and tossed it aside as mindlessly as he wore it, yet it landed on the table as if it was his intention, then took a seat.
The tall young man on the opposite side sat up at long last and passed over a flask of wine giddily. “You act faster than news travels. Let the brothers catch a breather. Were it not for Matriarch Zi’s wedding invitations drawing crowds, it would have been challenging for our brothers to sneak into Hangzhou.”
Lu Mangmang, also known as “Unbothered”, was one of the four vice-leaders of “Wandering Song Alliance”, who oversaw Jiangnan’s underworld. If there was something Hua Feihua had learnt from working in the underworld since childhood, it was that one had to trust their friends. Lu Mangmang was his Hong Jiu without the bad luck. Hua Feihua entrusted the administrative tasks of the group to the four vice-leaders while he himself only tackled jobs he enjoyed. Therefore, it was a rare occasion for Lu Mangmang to actually meet his leader.
“All the maidens of Hangzhou are infatuated with you. When are you going to spare some time for the one living inside of your heart?”
“Mind your own business.”
Even if one did not know Hua Feihua as well as Lu Mangmang, they could easily sense the emotions stirred.
Hua Feihua had so numerous motivations for his trip to Hangzhou that it was no easy undertaking to break them down and arrange them in order of importance. One thing that never changed, though, was that it brought him closer to her. He was aware of details of her life through letter exchanges, but he was unable to become a part of her life.