Chapter 59 - The Mafia King Questions Lihua

She raised the letter in front of the lamp, trying to concentrate if she could read even a letter, but the ink had completely worn off. The handwriting wasn't legible anymore. She bit her lip hard and nervously paced back and forth, reading the letter again and again.

"CEO of what? Please just a letter maybe. Without his name, how will I find out about him? Where to look for sis?"

Lihua pressed the space between her brows. She quickly pulled out Mo Huojin's number from her contact list.

"Song Lihua?" Mo Huojin asked.

"We have to meet right now!" She said in a panic.

At his home, Mo Huojin was taken aback, sensing the urgency in her voice. He narrowed his eyes. "It's about Song Jia," be accurately guessed.

"Yes! I got a letter that says she is in trouble! We have to do something."

He straightened up. "Let's meet. It's late. I will pick you up from your apartment."

---

It was almost eleven in the clock. Lihua couldn't sit still, so she aimlessly moved around. A minute later, she heard the sound of the engine running and peeked out of the window. As soon as she saw Mo Huojin, she dashed out of her house.

Outside, she came running. "I am here."

Mo Huojin slid down the window of his modest car and said, "You have the letter right?"

She nodded and showed him.

"Okay. Hop in."

Lihua quickly walked to the other side and stepped in his car. As the car drove away, a figure in his room slowly raised the curtain and watched them go.

The Mafia King blankly saw the scene unfold. It happened so fast and suddenly that he felt too frozen to move. At this hour, Lihua headed somewhere with a guy all alone. He recalled that he was the same guy he had seen Lihua talking to in the cafe that day.

A suffocating feeling emerged in his chest. He clenched the new curtain in his fist, wrinkling it hard that he had just hung with Lihua together an hour back.

Why...Why would she meet him at this time?

---

Mo Huojin and Lihua stepped out of their car. He led the way as he took her inside his home. She was stunned to see the state of his house.

"It is even worse than my house. Now I feel I am so organized. At least a thousand times better than you."

"Hey, don't compare a university student's home to a cop's, okay? Your life is easier," he snorted.

Lihua smacked him. "We have horrible tests!"

"If you have a brain, the test isn't any hurdle. Here I have real-life cases that can be as small a robbery to as serious as murder and drugs."

"..."

Lihua couldn't retort to that. She gritted her teeth. "What do you mean if I haven't a brain?"

He chuckled. "I think you understand the meaning yourself. Now get to work. Take a seat and show me the letter."

Lihua quickly handed it to him. His mouth twitched, seeing the state. "What the hell is that stain? Why is it like that?"

She felt bad and lowered her head guiltily. "It was an accident. I am sorry.."

He shook his head. "It's such an important letter. Let me check. I hope we don't miss any important information."

Mo Huojin carefully read through it, every word and every sentence. He quickly got the gist of it. But as he reached the part of identity revealed, he couldn't read it further just like Lihua.

"This is bad. The ink has worn off."

Lihua felt even more embarrassed. "Can we not do something to clear the stain?"

historical

"We could have immediately treated it. But you seemed to have only roughly wiped the stain and then kept it to dry."

"Yes.."

"That doesn't work. If we don't do something as early as possible, the stain quickly settles on the paper and it slowly begins to erode the ink. The erosion process depends on the ink used too. Printed words in books and magazines are a little harder to get ruined. But this is a simple ball-point pen used to write the letter. If the words had been visible, I would have cleared it by dabbing cotton soaked with diluted vinegar on that part. But now there is no hope. The words are already illegible and wiping anything on it now will just ruin it even more."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. His long explanation went a little over her head. But his point was clear.

They would not be able to know the Mafia King's identity.

Mo Huojin said, "Don't be so bummed down. We have got something to work upon."

Her disheartened face brightened up a bit. "Like what?"

"First, Song Jia seems to have some personal grudge against the Mafia King's family. Did she mention this?"

Lihua thought about it and slowly shook her head. "No. Sis never mentioned anything. I don't know any personal reason. But how could she get entangled with that family?"

He sighed. "Only Song Jia can tell. Maybe that's why she agreed to take this mission."

Lihua was in deep thought.

"The other thing that we know is that the Mafia King is a CEO of a company whose name begins with a J."

"Oh yes!" She realized it.

He nodded. "That narrows down our work quite a lot. If we had to investigate all the CEOs of this city, it would have taken forever. Now, we have to make a list of only those corporations whose name starts with J and investigate those CEOs. We are bound to get some connection with the Underworld."

Lihua sighed in relief.

At least everything's not lost.

They discussed some more and Mo Huojin immediately got to his work. He rapidly typed on his keyboard and he retrieved the list of all the companies. "These are it. Jinlong Corps, JBV Chemicals, Jin Corps, Jian Steel, Jung Cosmetics, J.S Telecommunication and Jiang Industries. Seven companies."

"You are fast."

"This much is nothing."

Lihua touched her chin. "So how will we investigate?"

Mo Huojin raised his brow. "I have a few contacts. They can help me find out any Mafia connections of these seven CEOs."

Lihua read the names again and grinned. "Six. Not seven. You can strike out Jiang Industries."

"Why?"

"Because I am an intern there! I know the Boss!"

"Jiang Wei. He came to your college that day when you were accused of Lu Jie's disappearance."

She blinked her eyes. "You know that?"

"I was one of the spectators from a distance."

Her mouth twitched. "Yes. Anyway. I know my Boss! He has got nothing to do with the Underworld."

Mo Huojin was speechless. "How could you be so sure? You don't even know him that well. You are just an intern and you haven't even started working in the company yet."

Lihua gulped.

How should I tell him that I know him very well because he is my very neighbor? Assistant Fu had said not to leak his location to anybody. Plus, how can my innocent Boss have anything to do with the Underworld!?

"I know it because the day before that, I was accidentally kidnapped by a businessman. At that time as my Boss, he came to save me from the kidnappers. Of course, they belonged to the dark side. If he is the Mafia King, wouldn't Chang Fang and his subordinates have recognized him? They were scared shitless of him haha."

Mo Huojin thought that it was strange.

"Why would the CEO personally come to save you? As I said, you are just an intern. Also, being scared could have different meanings too. The Mafia King sits at the top. He is the foremost authority. Of course, some small local gang who cannot even dream of meeting him would be afraid out of fear and respect."

Lihua fumed. "I am saying the truth! Boss has nothing to do with the Underworld. I am reducing our work here," she harrumphed.

"I trust my Boss," she proudly said, "He is just the CEO of Jiang Industries. He is not even remotely connected to the Mafia!"

---

Back at her apartment complex, Mo Huojin dropped Lihua home. She stepped out and he said, "I will get back to you once I find something."

She nodded. He noticed that her usual vigor wasn't there. Her gaze dimmed as she lowered her head.

Mo Huojin flicked on her forehead.

"Ouch!" Lihua painfully rubbed her forehead and glared at him."You!"

"You are Song Jia's sister. Moping like that doesn't suit you. She will be just fine."

She grumbled. "I know.."

As she stood in front of her door, a shadow loomed behind her. Lihua jolted and gasped as she turned. But to her relief, it was Wei.

"Phew. It's you, Boss. You scared me."

Wei stared at her blankly and unblinkingly. "Where did you go so late at night?" He quietly asked in a whisper.