IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER - Season 9 Episode 77

A manager at the JC’s hotel walked towards Mike and Greg as soon as they entered the hotel’s lobby.

“Hello gentlemen,” he politely greeted. “Welcome, Mr. Mond is waiting for you,” he added, standing in front of Mike.

“OK, please guide us to where he is,” said Mike to the manager who quickly turned and lead the way. They followed him to the elevator.

Familiar with the JC’s hotel, Mike was not surprised by the delicate decoration when he entered the VIP room for business meetings. Would a five-star hotel like this not facilitate fine decoration?

“Hello, Uncle Derek and Uncle Mond,” Mike greeted then sat next to his father.

Greg followed suit. “Good afternoon, Mr. Lu, Mr. Xu and Mr. Yu,” he greeted.

Brought up as a gentleman, he knew the importance of courtesy, even though he was not familiar with the three elders here.

“Hello, Greg. Please sit down,” said Derek nodding. He pointed the seat beside him, suggesting Greg to sit by his side. He extended that honor so on grounds that Greg was Jackson’s son-in-law.

“Thank you,” Greg said, as he walked over to sit at Derek’s side.

“Okay, now that everyone is here. Let’s get down to business,” Mond said.

Soren first gave a glimpse to his son, then looked at Greg, nodded and said, “Greg, Mike has briefed you, hasn’t he?” Greg nodded and replied, “Yes, I heard of the case from Mike. It seems that my aunt has something to do with it.”

“Well, Greg, we can’t promise the issue will end well. At the moment, we have no idea where our next step will lead us to. But no one here means to hurt your aunt, you know. Although I didn’t invite your father, who is my close friend, I thought you would represent your family.

Besides, you are Jackson’s son-in-law. To some extent, we are a family, aren’t we?” Derek said slowly, as if he were quiet relaxed.

As Greg, looked at Derek’s side face, he sensed great calmness, that made Derek more of stately, like someone who had everything under control. Greg wondered whether his father-in-law, Jackson Chu, was as great as Derek.

“I know, father and I will try to persuade my stepmother into coming back home,” Greg answered honestly as he had made up his mind that he would see to it.

Mond and Soren took a sigh of relief for Greg’s promise.

“I don’t know what makes Sally He have the guts to return this city. After all, both Jackson and Cherry have left here, what’s she doing here? After all these years, what on earth does she want?”

Mond asked with confusion and frankness. Today, he was willing to disclose everything in the past. At this crucial moment, there wasn’t a thing he’d knowing hide from the young men in sitting here with him.

“She might have done terrible things out of compulsion in the past, but now it’s very likely she has premeditated intentions against the Chu family. This is not a mere case of impulsive mistakes. The woman seems very intentional and hell-bent on evil,” Derek guessed.

“Don’t you think the Chu family owes her anything to warrant her ill motives?” Mond asked looking at Derek.

Although they clearly understood the dialog, Soren, Mike and Greg, all of whom quietly looked listened to Derek and Mond, didn’t show any intent of adding a word to the conversation. Mostly, they didn’t deem it appropriate to turn this into a place for gossiping about the Chu family.

“I know you believe that the Chu family is fair enough to her, but you are not Sally He. You know what kind of person she is, don’t you?” Derek asked. Then turning to Mond he continued, “You should know her better than I do. After all, you are the one who supported her through the years and literally gave her a lifeline.”

Deep at heart, Mond remembered all his mistakes. Guilty as sin, he fell silent, bitterly regretting his choices.

“Even now, I’m sure someone is supporting and bankrolling Sally He. And it’s obvious whoever is funding her has connections with the mercenaries she keeps at the fingertips for her heinous crimes.”

“Dad, how do you know that?” Mike asked.

After a brief moment, Soren cast contemplative at his son. Then turning to Derek and Mond, he said, “Because I have information that an intelligence agency monitored Lawrence and Mike when they were studying abroad.”

Everyone, including Mike, was shocked by Soren’s news.

“What? Me? I have been monitored? Really?” Mike looked at his daddy in shock.

“Yes. I learned that after my friend’s accident. At first, I thought it was my foes. But then, I was surprised to find out who exactly spied on you. You were spied on by none other than the Russian agency,” Soren said solemnly. After a brief pause, he gazed at his son and added, “And I thought they would attack you as soon as I was out of the way.”

From the moment of that bombshell, the whole room fell into a deafening silence. The echoing of Soren’s voice, with the hair-raising words seemed to hang in the air for an eternity.

“And then?” Asked an anxious Mike after recovering from the initial shock.

“Mike, you know, I love you more than myself, and I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Soren assured. “Later on I reached out and talked to the agency’s boss, with whom I’ve had a good relationship. But he also had no idea why they’d be spying on my son.”

Soren paused for a second before he went on. “The boss said it was a Miss He who annually paid them three billion dollars to get everything about you and Lawrence.”