Chapter 59

A Joke

"At gatherings like this, the Chen family should have counted themselves lucky just to get Mr. Xu to show his face." One of the guests watched the crowd around Xu Chenzhu and couldn't quite keep the sourness out of his tone. "Whatever good fortune the Chen family stumbled into, to have Mr. Xu attend like this."

There had been no notable connection between the Chen family and Xu Chenzhu before this.

Another guest nudged him helpfully. "Look at which of the Chen grandchildren are hovering and around whom."

At this moment, both Chen You — whom Master Chen favored — and the reputationally-challenged Chen Fang were orbiting a young man in a pale suit.

From their outsider's vantage, this young man seemed particularly familiar with Master Chen's granddaughter.

"Who is he?" The first guest was surprised. "The Chen grandchildren don't give anyone the time of day as a rule. Who is this that they're both making the effort for?"

"You weren't here when Mr. Xu arrived." The second guest supplied the answer. "That's Mr. Xu's most valued associate. His closest right hand."

"Mr. Xu has no shortage of trusted people — but this one looks so young. Don't the other colleagues have something to say about that?" Even as the words left him, he watched Secretary Liu carry a plate of fruit over to the young man. The two of them laughed at something, their ease together unmistakably genuine.

"The boss saw you having fun with all these young people and didn't want to interrupt." Secretary Liu pressed the fruit directly into Chao Musheng's hands. "He also said: less cold drinks, more fruit."

Chao Musheng looked over toward Xu Chenzhu. In the moment his gaze arrived, Xu Chenzhu — deep in conversation in his dark suit, the particular remoteness about him that set him apart from the room — turned his head, and their eyes met.

The contact lasted a beat. Chao Musheng blinked, then smiled openly.

"The boss and I have to go handle some things." Secretary Liu had the grace to pretend he hadn't noticed the exchange. "Stay a bit longer on behalf of Kunlun. Give the guests at least a chance to remember your face."

The boss had already stayed long enough — more than enough face given to the Chen family. Any longer and people outside would start assuming a major partnership was underway.

Leaving Xiao Chao here was equivalent to telling everyone present that Xiao Chao was capable of representing Kunlun's interests.

He privately suspected the boss wanted Xiao Chao as Kunlun's co-director, but that thought he would keep to himself.

"All right." Chao Musheng understood — this was deliberate recognition from Xu Chenzhu. "I'll follow shortly."

"You have good judgment — the boss and I both trust you with this." Secretary Liu noticed his employer's eyes drifting this way and added: "If anyone without eyes starts causing trouble, don't worry. The boss left you four bodyguards. He said — and I'm paraphrasing — you can handle ten of them yourself, so if anyone comes at you, feel free to hit first. He's got you covered."

Chao Musheng looked a little doubtful. "Is that actually what Mr. Xu said?"

"That's the spirit of it." Secretary Liu cleared his throat. "The main point: whatever happens, the boss is on your side."

Chao Musheng studied him for a long moment. Brother Liu was sounding very much like how Chao Musheng's father sounded when he was putting in a good word with his mother.

"What are you looking at?" Secretary Liu was unsettled by the scrutiny.

"Nothing." Chao Musheng turned back to look at Xu Chenzhu. He was in conversation with a man of around fifty — composed, unhurried, carrying that quality of detachment from everything around him.

Apparently sensing Chao Musheng's gaze, he looked over again. The detachment vanished entirely, replaced by undiluted warmth.

He put down his glass and walked over without hesitation. "Zhaozhao — did you want to tell me something?"

Seeing Xu Chenzhu disregard everyone around him and move directly toward him, Chao Musheng fumbled the fruit skewer. A piece slid off into the bowl.

"No, nothing." He shook his head, caught off guard by the directness.

"All right." Xu Chenzhu smiled — not bothered at all by having crossed the room for no particular reason. He reached out and adjusted the position of the brooch on Chao Musheng's lapel. "We'll head back first. Come when you're ready."

Chao Musheng nodded obediently and looked down at the brooch after Xu Chenzhu had gone. This had also been a gift from Mr. Xu. Clean, simple design — clearly not inexpensive.

With instructions given, Xu Chenzhu turned and walked out.

A guest who had seen the whole exchange felt moved to flatter.

"Mr. Xu looks after new staff like his own family — no wonder someone like Mr. Chao would be so devoted to Kunlun."

Secretary Liu looked at this person. His employer was not yet thirty. When exactly had Xiao Chao become a 'junior family member'?

"As the saying goes — great horses are rare, but the person who recognizes them is rarer still." Another guest added his contribution. "With a horse like Mr. Chao to assist him, Kunlun will only go from strength to strength."

Secretary Liu: "..."

Not a single person in this room had eyes.

The boss didn't want to be the horse's talent-spotter. He wanted to be the horse's beloved.

Xu Chenzhu had already slowed his step. He turned back slightly toward the second speaker and inclined his head. "Having someone like Chao Musheng at Kunlun is indeed our good fortune."

The comment rippled through the guests. What kind of person was Chao Musheng, for Mr. Xu himself to speak so highly of him?

Secretary Liu permitted himself a small private nod.

The development division's months-long technical problem, resolved by Xiao Chao in under two weeks. Who wouldn't value that?

Xu Chenzhu left the island. Master Chen walked him to the bridge personally, and only turned back slowly once the figure had gone entirely from sight.

"Grandfather." Chen You took his arm. "The software Kunlun recently launched — Chao Musheng was involved in developing it. I've also heard that he has very strong relationships across Kunlun's senior leadership, and that Mr. Xu and Secretary Liu went to Jinghua personally to recruit him."

Young, talented, and trusted directly by Xu Chenzhu.

"Kunlun's new software has taken significant market share from us." Chen You let the implication float. "If Mr. Chao were willing to offer some guidance to our side—"

"If Chao Musheng could be swayed that easily, would Xu Chenzhu have left him here?" Master Chen worked his prayer beads slowly. "With Kunlun pressing down on us, the Chen family will never be first in this city."

He narrowed his eyes, the lines deepening at the corners. "Kunlun has recently been licensing a substantial number of patents to domestic enterprises at no cost. Both publicly and privately, everyone is singing their praises."

For small and medium enterprises, a clear benefit. For the Chen family — not good news.

Why spend money when free options existed?

"The family's fortunes haven't been moving well recently." Master Chen stilled the beads. He reset his expression to its warm public setting.

"Master Chen — I'm so sorry, we ran into some trouble on the way and came late." Lian Yang arrived with his brother Lian Hai in tow, moving quickly toward Master Chen. "Master Chen, you're looking radiant — good things must be happening."

"Mr. Lian flatters me." Master Chen smiled. "Please, come in."

Ran into trouble on the road. More likely: heard that Xu Chenzhu was here and rushed over.

"Is this your younger brother?" Master Chen turned to the young man beside Lian Yang. He had dyed his hair a particularly vivid green — bright enough to outshine a traffic light.

"Hello, Master Chen." Lian Hai offered his greeting.

"Young Mr. Lian." Master Chen's gaze rested on the head of green for a few seconds. "Very... lively."

"Thank you for the kind words." Lian Hai tucked a hand in his pocket. "The garden is beautiful. Though there do seem to be quite a few mosquitoes."

"Lian Hai!" Lian Yang turned to glare at him, then apologized to Master Chen. "I'm sorry — he speaks without thinking. Please don't take offense."

"The mosquito is simply part of nature, Young Master Lian." Chen You smiled with practiced courtesy. "The evening is perfect. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Lian Hai decided he was done contributing to the conversation. He'd always felt the Chen family spoke with the flavor of something that had been dead for several hundred years, and he didn't want it rubbing off on him.

Lian Yang followed the Chen family into the banquet hall. No sign of Xu Chenzhu.

"You've arrived at an inopportune moment." Master Chen smiled pleasantly. "Mr. Xu retired just a few moments ago. Had you not encountered your trouble on the road, you might have met him."

"Being able to see Chen Garden's beauty is reward enough for tonight." Lian Yang appeared entirely immune to subtext. "What a pity that we've seen all the garden's splendor by evening light — would Master Chen be willing to let the two of us stay the night, so we can take a proper look around in the morning?"

"You are most welcome."

Master Chen's smile was serene as he turned to instruct the steward to prepare rooms.

Lian Hai was not interested in the back-and-forth between his brother and the old man. His gaze swept the room, caught on something, and brightened. "Ge — I'm going to find a friend."

Chao Musheng was in the middle of a light conversation with several young people. Lian Hai pushed through without ceremony. "Xiao Chao."

"Dahai?" Chao Musheng stared at the crown of green. "You dyed your hair?"

"Lost a bet." Lian Hai glanced at the people gathered around Chao Musheng — heirs and successors from various notable families, by the look of it. "I thought you'd have gone back with Mr. Xu already."

He pulled a glass of champagne from a passing server's tray. "A toast."

"Thank you." Chao Musheng raised his juice to meet it and drew Lian Hai into the conversation naturally. The others, in unspoken agreement, gave the green hair exactly as much attention as it deserved — which was none — and the dynamic settled into the comfortable warmth of old friends reunited.

*

You Jiu made his way through the crowd with his wine, threading toward the cluster around Chao Musheng. As he came closer, he heard a guest sincerely complimenting the brooch.

"Sir." You Jiu bowed low, eyes down. "May I refill your glass?"

"Thank you — I don't drink." Chao Musheng noticed the bow: perfectly level form, not a drop disturbed in the tray. He looked a moment longer than necessary.

"Of course." You Jiu knew he was being assessed. He straightened and stepped backward, and — someone's foot appeared from nowhere — he stumbled, going down with the tray.

"Careful." A hand caught him. Another hand caught the tray and set it on the nearest table.

Chao Musheng had caught both.

"Thank you, sir." You Jiu glanced back. The foot that had been there was gone — the culprit was another server, and almost certainly also a player.

"Not at all." Chao Musheng released him and checked his watch.

Half an hour more, and he could reasonably head back.

"Mr. Chao." Master Chen came over and took in the group around him. The person closest to Chao Musheng was the Lian family's green-haired younger son. "Mr. Chao — do you play go?"

"A little." Chao Musheng noticed the server from the near-fall quietly collect the wine from the table and position himself behind Master Chen.

"There's a go room just next door." Master Chen's invitation carried the half-archaic warmth he deployed on all occasions. "Would you honor me with a game?"

Chao Musheng could feel the old man's cadence beginning to affect his own speech patterns.

"My play is poor — I'd only embarrass myself before you." He registered the deliberateness of the Chen family's attention toward him, understood it was directed at Mr. Xu rather than at him personally, and had no intention of accommodating it.

"It's merely a way to pass the time. No need for modesty." Master Chen smiled comfortably. "An amusing thing, actually — the Song family telephoned this afternoon hoping to attend tonight's gathering. Unfortunately I was unavailable and missed their call."

"What terrible timing for them." Chao Musheng set down his juice glass. "My go is very average, Master Chen — please go easy on me."

The Song family's telephone. And Chao Musheng.

The Song family?

You Jiu watched Chao Musheng reverse his position abruptly, pressed his own wine glass into a passing server's hands, and fell in quietly behind Master Chen's party.

The go room beside the banquet hall was handsomely appointed. In one corner stood an incense burner in the shape of a pulao dragon.

The saying: a true gentleman watches a game in silence. And yet the pulao — known in folk mythology for its love of noise — was placed here in the go room. What was the Chen family trying to say?

"The old Chen patriarch loves nothing more than showing off his go." Lian Hai, who had also followed, murmured at Chao Musheng's ear. "As though he's afraid people won't know he has some appreciation for traditional culture."

They were not the only ones to follow. Several other curious guests filed in after Master Chen, including Lian Yang, who had only just arrived and was still getting his bearings. He saw his brother's green-topped head pressed close to a young man's ear, drawing envious glances from nearby guests, and roughly guessed the identity.

Young. A stranger to the old-money circuit. Most likely the recently prominent Chao Musheng.

How had his brother gotten in with someone like that?

The Wangyue, perhaps?

"Mr. Chao is our guest — would you like to take black and go first?" Master Chen turned, pretending not to see the green head whispering in Chao Musheng's ear, and gestured to the table. "Please."

"Thank you, Master Chen." Chao Musheng didn't stand on ceremony. He took the box and sat down.

A few minutes in, he noticed something.

Master Chen's go... was perhaps... somewhat... average?

Not sure yet. Let's see more.

Five more minutes.

He could now confirm: the man was a terrible player.

With this level of skill, where did the confidence come from to issue a public challenge?

His own game had been developed playing with the elderly regulars at the village activity center. He couldn't even crack the top five among them.

If he won too quickly, people would say he was picking on an old man. Chao Musheng settled in for the performance of patient companionship.

After he had endured a sufficient half hour, he "accidentally" won by three stones.

Master Chen, who had not lost at his own table in a very long time, sighed. "Mr. Chao's skill is exquisite."

Chao Musheng smiled.

Nowhere near as exquisite as yours, Master Chen. In the art of performance.

"Ah, well." Master Chen returned the pieces to the box. "Age brings its limits — the world belongs to you young people now."

"Forgive me — did you let me win just now?" Chao Musheng gathered the black stones carefully. "Your opening was forceful enough that I nearly couldn't hold the position. Then in the latter stages the advantage came to me so suddenly — it has the look of deliberate concession."

Master Chen laughed warmly and pressed the lid down. "I may not have thought things through well enough. You young people enjoy different kinds of games."

"Chen Fang — take Mr. Chao to find something more his style." Master Chen bid the room goodnight with a smile, and when the last guest had gone, he looked down at the empty board. The smile faded.

"Master, you were very generous — letting him take your stones." The steward put the go set away and clamped the lid firmly shut. He intended to ensure the master would not have to look at it again.

"Young people. Full of energy. Too proud of their own talent." Master Chen dried his hands. "But the game is undisciplined. Not the style of someone with depth."

He sipped from his health tonic. "Has the Song family sent his horoscope?"

"Here it is, Master." The steward produced a red paper bearing Chao Musheng's birth date and time.

"You're certain this is accurate?" Master Chen read through the characters several times and found nothing particularly remarkable in them.

"The Song family is in considerable trouble at the moment, and the Wangyue incident has exposed what Song Cheng did. They're hoping you'll help them — they wouldn't dare deceive you."

"Very well." Master Chen set the paper down. "Arrange for Master Xuan to come."

Someone with abilities this strong shouldn't have such an ordinary horoscope. Perhaps he simply couldn't read it.

"Of course." The steward stepped out and addressed You Jiu at the door. "Xiao You — go to the Wanxiang Pavilion and bring Master Xuan. Tell him the master wishes to see him."

"Yes, Steward."

*

You Jiu came out of the banquet hall and crossed the stone bridge. He noticed that the water on both sides of the lanterns was clear — the moths from earlier were gone.

Cleaned up, then.

He kept walking at pace, reached the Wanxiang Pavilion, and found a middle-aged man in a blue-green robe sitting in the courtyard over tea. The man saw him coming and set down the cup before he'd spoken a word. "The old master wants me. Let's go."

You Jiu registered an unusual quality around this Master Xuan — something harder to place than ordinary NPC presence. He bowed respectfully. "If you would, Master Xuan."

The man clasped his hands behind his back and gave him a single cool nod. "Lead the way."

"Yes."

Everyone in this instance had an elevated sense of their own importance. Not one of them was operating at a normal register.

The Wanxiang Pavilion was not far from the banquet hall. Master Xuan stepped onto the stone bridge, looked down at the water, and released a long, heavy sigh. "This is inauspicious."

You Jiu's attention sharpened. Before he could ask why, he spotted Chao Musheng coming out with the lotus flowers and his bodyguards, and quickly bowed his head.

"Moths into flame — corpses in the water, death among the blossoms — this portends ill things to come." Master Xuan clasped his hands behind his back with an expression of profound and fathomless insight. He turned to You Jiu. "Stay here. I'll bring Master Chen."

He quickened his pace and passed close by Chao Musheng.

"What is it?" Chao Musheng went to the spot Master Xuan had been standing and looked. Aside from the few moths floating on the surface, he saw nothing else.

You Jiu, seizing his moment, offered: "Mr. Chao — Master Xuan says the moth corpses on the water are an inauspicious sign."

"Moths are drawn to light. They mistake the reflection on the water's surface for light itself, and go into it headfirst — then their scales and the fur on their bodies get soaked and they can't fly back out. This is an entirely ordinary natural phenomenon you can observe anywhere." Chao Musheng pointed toward the movement beneath the lotus leaves in the distance. "For the fish, this is excellent nutrition. There'll be fish over here shortly to clear it all up."

He had barely finished speaking when several large crucian carp broke the surface and swept the moths clean in a matter of moments.

Night wind moved. The faint sweetness of lotus drifted across the water.

"You're young — don't get pulled into superstition." Chao Musheng looked at the servant, who was clearly still young, and felt a concern about the direction his worldview might take. "There are no end of self-proclaimed masters out there. Science and technology are the actual drivers of human progress."

He left. Behind him, the fish surged up across the whole breadth of the bridge's surroundings and finished every last moth without exception.

By the time Master Xuan reappeared with Master Chen, the water was perfectly clear — nothing left but the ripples spreading out from where the fish had already swum away.

"Master Xuan." Master Chen walked the bridge twice in both directions and found not one moth corpse. "The inauspicious signs you mentioned?"

Master Xuan studied the surface intently, found not even a shadow of a moth, and finally looked to You Jiu. "I told you to stay here and watch. Where did the moths go?"

"The fish ate them."

"Fish can eat that thoroughly?" Master Chen gave Master Xuan a skeptical look.

"There were many moths on the water when I came through. I saw them clearly." Master Xuan found his composure beginning to slip. He didn't believe it himself — that in this short a time, fish could have consumed every last one so completely.

"Night light is poor — it's not surprising to mistake something at a glance." Master Chen chose not to embarrass the man. "Master Xuan, I have a horoscope here I would like your opinion on."

Master Xuan — still reluctant to surrender — stared at the lake for some time before pulling his gaze away. He accepted the red paper.

"A person of mediocrity. Whatever early fame they achieve will exhaust itself quickly." He frowned. "Master Chen, you're mocking me. What merit is there in looking at this horoscope?"

"Please don't misunderstand — I have no intention of making sport of you." Master Chen explained. "This belongs to a young man who has been attracting considerable attention."

"Attracting attention?" Contempt showed plainly on Master Xuan's face. "A brief flowering. Nothing of consequence."

Master Chen turned this over quietly, and found himself thinking of Chao Musheng winning his stones in front of all those guests without a second thought. He pressed his lips together.

Graceless young person. Once he no longer had Xu Chenzhu's patronage, there would be ways enough to bring him down.

*

The night Chen Garden was a different estate from the day — several degrees cooler, and something else in it that resisted easy naming.

The red lanterns swaying in the walkways kept pulling Chao Musheng's mind toward a certain kind of horror film. If, at precisely this moment, the distant sound of a woman weeping were to—

"Uhnn, uhnn, uhnn."

The back of his neck went cold. He stopped and stared at the decorative rockery.

Rustling behind the stones. A small black cat emerged, its eyes glowing with a faint green-gold in the dark.

"Meow." The black cat also stopped when it saw him, and the two of them regarded each other across the path.

"It's only a cat." Chao Musheng bent down. "Here, here, here."

The cat considered this, tail swaying — then footsteps came from somewhere close, and it bolted into the undergrowth.

Several servants came running down the side path, carrying a capture net.

They nearly ran into Chao Musheng and his bodyguards, and hurriedly addressed him: "Have you seen a black cat, sir?"

"Is it yours?" Chao Musheng looked at the nets and sticks. This didn't look like finding a cat. It looked like chasing one.

"We wouldn't keep a black cat — they're inauspicious." The servant explained. "The master dislikes them. We don't know how this stray got in, but the steward has asked us to deal with it."

"I'm sorry." Chao Musheng shook his head. "I haven't seen it."

"Thank you, sir." They changed direction and kept searching.

When their footsteps had gone, a small black shadow crept out of the undergrowth and looked carefully at Chao Musheng. Finding nothing threatening in his intentions, it vanished into the night.

What was inauspicious about a black cat?

The Chen family had been marinating in superstition for so long it had seeped all the way through.

He picked up his pace toward the guest courtyard.

The path lamp at the gate was burning bright. He stepped through and saw a tall figure standing by the bridge.

"Mr. Xu?"

"Back already?" Xu Chenzhu emptied the last of the fish food into the pond and turned. "Why didn't you stay longer?"

"Everyone at that banquet was there on your account." Chao Musheng walked onto the bridge. The fish were still competing for the last grains. "They all know I'm your capable right hand now — staying any longer wouldn't have served much purpose."

"They have no discernment." Xu Chenzhu. "They don't know how good you are."

"One person even offered me a generous salary to jump ship." Chao Musheng stepped down from the bridge and walked unhurriedly toward the main building.

Xu Chenzhu's expression shifted into something unmistakably unsettled. "If you want to stay at Kunlun, I can increase your salary."

"What other employer could compare to you, Mr. Xu?" Chao Musheng turned back and saw the seriousness in Xu Chenzhu's face — and realized his own offhand remark had been taken at full weight. "I wasn't taking any of that seriously. And most of them were just feeling out my position anyway. What other employer would let me develop my own game projects in my off hours?"

"You deserve that." Xu Chenzhu came to stand beside him, expression still deliberate. "Zhaozhao — Kunlun is missing a vice president. I'd like you to consider staying on after you graduate."

"What?" Chao Musheng stared. "Vice president?"

"Vice president of the general company." Xu Chenzhu said it plainly. "Whatever you want to develop — Kunlun can provide the funding and the technical resources."

"Mr. Xu." Chao Musheng reached out and pressed the back of his hand to Xu Chenzhu's forehead. Cool skin, entirely normal temperature.

No fever.

Before joining Kunlun, he'd read thoroughly about the company. Kunlun had never had a vice president position. Not once in its history.

"Zhaozhao." Xu Chenzhu said quietly. "I very much want to keep you."

"Mr. Xu — I'm really not going anywhere." Chao Musheng regretted the joke. "I promise."

Xu Chenzhu held his gaze for a long moment, then slowly looked away. A quiet exhale — almost a laugh. "I believe you."

"Mr. Xu, I'll never make a careless joke like that again — please don't be this serious about it." Chao Musheng rubbed his nose with some embarrassment. "It makes me uncomfortable."

"Meow."

At the gate, a small black head peeped around the corner. The cat came toward the bridge at a trot, intent on getting closer to Chao Musheng — then caught sight of Xu Chenzhu standing at his side and stopped.

"Meow, meow."

Human. A few bites of something, please.