231: Chapter 231 Freeloading

The breeze in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour was soft.

There were many small waves on the sea, layering one upon another, gently rocking the yacht.

The motion was slight and leisurely.

Sitting on the second deck, one could clearly feel the slight undulation of the hull, which made one feel exceptionally relaxed.

Li Xin took a seat at the edge of the deck, with two Hong Kong locals sitting across from him at the table.

The older one opposite him had graying hair.

He wore a dark casual suit with the collar loosely open; he looked gentle, yet possessed a sophisticated aura honed by years in the business world.

Beside him was a man in his forties, sitting with a proper posture, his back straight.

He spoke very little, sitting quietly to the side; it was clear he was a personal assistant.

The seafood on the table was freshly prepared and exceptionally fresh.

The large lobster was split in half, its hard shell pre-cracked, revealing the snow-white, firm meat completely.

The king crab legs had also been opened, so they could be easily broken apart by hand without much effort.

The oysters were laid out on crushed ice, chilled and refreshing.

Beside them were lemons and several dishes of prepared dipping sauces; the texture and freshness were impeccable.

Li Xin sat down, casually pulled out a wet wipe, and slowly wiped his hands clean.

He looked up at President Chen opposite him, his tone casual, and remarked, "The lobster today looks quite good."

This President Chen was a veteran Hong Kong real estate tycoon with extensive connections in the business circle.

President Chen nodded gently upon hearing this and replied with a smile, "It is indeed good stuff. The seafood on this yacht comes directly from Hokkaido, with two air shipments every week; the freshness is absolutely top-notch."

He picked up the crab claw from the table and exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

Over the next forty minutes, Li Xin mostly kept his head down, eating quietly.

He finished the lobster first.

The meat was thick and bouncy; dipped in a little light soy sauce and wasabi, every bite was full of the natural sweetness of the seafood, solid and chewy.

After finishing the lobster, he broke open a king crab leg; with a gentle twist, the hard shell cracked open, and a whole piece of plump crab meat came off, carrying the faint, salty fragrance of the sea.

The President Chen beside him would occasionally chat with his assistant.

The topics were all trivial matters in the business circle: the recent market trends in real estate, whose child had just returned from studying in the UK, whether there were plans to go out to sea on the weekend—plain and routine.

Li Xin occasionally heard a sentence or two, nodded in agreement, didn't talk much, and spent the rest of the time focusing on the seafood on the table.

Near seven in the evening, Chairman Liang of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific walked over slowly.

A man over sixty, his back was still straight and erect.

He wore a clean white shirt with dark gray trousers, his tie neatly tied; his steps were not fast, but steady and powerful, carrying the bearing of someone long experienced in the business world.

He held a glass of champagne, walked to the table, leaned over slightly, and said in a gentle and familiar tone, "Mr. Li, long time no see. The last time we met was at the Yansheng Bank New Year appreciation banquet."

Li Xin was bowing his head, gnawing on a crab leg; seeing the person, he quickly put down the food, stood up, wiped his hands, and responded with a smile, "Chairman Liang, hello, hello, you are too kind."

The two clinked glasses lightly.

Chairman Liang asked casually, "What have you been busy with lately?"

Li Xin picked up the white wine beside him, took a small sip, and said in a relaxed and casual tone, "Just busy with nothing, running around. I was in Beijing all last week and just arrived in Hong Kong."

"Then have a good meal and relax tonight." Chairman Liang smiled gently, without the distant politeness of the top circles, "The seafood on the boat was specially prepared by the kitchen at my request."

"No wonder it tastes so good; I've almost finished a whole lobster." Li Xin smiled lightly.

The two exchanged a few more casual pleasantries, then Chairman Liang patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk toward another table.

Li Xin sat down, picked up the crab leg again, and continued to eat slowly.

President Chen had seen the whole thing and had not said a word.

When Chairman Liang was far away, he turned his head and asked his assistant in a low voice, "What is the background of the person who just came over to toast in person?"

The assistant in his early thirties, dressed in a well-fitting dark suit, immediately bowed his head to check his phone upon hearing this. After quickly verifying the information, he replied in a low voice, "I've checked; the associated information is that he is from Yansheng Bank. The specific position cannot be found, but when he signed in earlier, his exclusive business card was printed with—Special Consultant."

President Chen frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of surprise, "Just a Special Consultant at Yansheng Bank? That shouldn't be enough to make Chairman Liang personally come over to toast and pay respects."

The assistant pondered for a moment and stated the key point, "His identity is definitely not as simple as what's on the business card."

President Chen did not continue to ask, picked up his water glass, took a sip, and his gaze fell back on Li Xin.

The man still looked indifferent, patiently picking out the fine meat from the crab leg bit by bit, eating earnestly and calmly, as if the special greeting from the head of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific just now was just an insignificant trifle.

At eight in the evening, the charity auction started on time.

The host stood in the center of the second deck, and the big screen behind him rotated through the catalog of tonight's auction items.

There were over a dozen auction items of various categories, including calligraphy and paintings, antique porcelain, modern art paintings, and high-end watches.

The pace of the entire auction was slow, with five minutes reserved for bidding for each item.

The people offstage raised their paddles casually and bid moderately; the atmosphere was neither cold nor hot, which was the most routine state for a top-tier charity banquet.

It wasn't until the ninth item appeared that the scene became slightly awkward.

It was a small contemporary art painting with a dark and oppressive tone, with black, gray, and blue colors mixed and overlapped. The image was abstract and obscure, looking like marks left on paper after water stains dried; ordinary people could not see any structure or Concept at all.

The starting price of this painting was not low, but there were only sporadic bids for two rounds, and then no one followed up at all.

The host maintained a professional smile and repeated the bid again. In the few seconds of waiting, the whole room was silent, the scene was deadlocked, and the awkwardness was visible to the naked eye.

Just then, Li Xin, who was bowing his head to peel an oyster, turned his head to look at Chen Hu beside him and said in a flat tone, "If no one wants it, I'll take it."

Chen Hu had no extra questions and directly raised his paddle.

The host's eyes lit up instantly, and his tone was noticeably raised, "Good! This gentleman bids! 900,000 Hong Kong dollars, going once!"

No one in the room bid.

"900,000 Hong Kong dollars, going twice!"

It remained quiet.

"900,000 Hong Kong dollars, third time! Sold! Thank you for this gentleman's charitable bidding!"

A smattering of polite applause sounded from the audience.

At this moment, Li Xin had just finished the oyster in his hand, slowly pulled out a wet wipe, and wiped the water stains off his fingertips.

President Chen beside him could not hold back his curiosity and turned his head to ask softly, "Mr. Li, are you planning to collect this painting you bought?"

Li Xin glanced casually at the painting on the screen and said in a calm and casual tone, "No special thoughts, it just looks pleasing to the eye. I can leave it idle later or give it away to someone."

President Chen was stunned for two seconds, then nodded with a smile and asked no more.

But he silently did the math in his heart: 900,000 Hong Kong dollars to buy an abstract painting with no structure and unknown purpose, and to say "I can give it away" so casually—this kind of confidence is definitely not something an ordinary person possesses.

For the subsequent auction items, Li Xin did not raise his paddle again, sitting quietly in his original seat, continuing to eat the remaining half of the king crab on the table.

He didn't eat slowly, but he was never impatient; every bite was chewed thoroughly, calm and steady.

After the auction session ended, Chairman Liang walked over again with his champagne and stood steadily beside Li Xin.

"Mr. Li, thank you for bailing me out tonight." He said in a sincere tone, "This painting is a private collection of an old friend of mine. If it had failed to sell tonight, it would have been inevitably awkward. Thank you for your trouble."

Li Xin put down the crab claw in his hand, wiped his hands, and responded lightly, "It's just a small effort. The price isn't high, and it caught my eye."

Chairman Liang smiled, chatted about a few more casual topics, and then turned to entertain other guests.

Near ten at night, the banquet concluded, and the yacht slowly turned its heading, docking towards the pier.

The night breeze was much stronger than in the evening, and the guests on the deck stood up one after another to leave.

Many people passing by this table would subconsciously look at Li Xin twice, but he was completely unaware, still looking calm.

President Chen stood up to leave the seat and took the initiative to reach out and shake hands with Li Xin, "Mr. Li, tonight was rushed, and we didn't have time to have a good chat. Another day I will host, and invite you to a meal alone."

Li Xin raised his hand to shake back, his tone relaxed, "Sure. I enjoyed the meal tonight very much. This yacht is indeed good, it sails steadily, and it's very comfortable to sit in."

President Chen had a proper smile on his face, but his heart was full of daze.

The person in front of him, for the whole three or four hours of the banquet, wore a simple dark blue thin jacket and didn't even wear a tie, casual and low-key.

He didn't socialize, didn't chat, didn't mix in circles, only focused on eating seafood and drinking white wine quietly.

He spent 300,000 to buy a useless painting, and his most sincere evaluation before leaving was only one sentence: "The yacht is very steady."

Later, when seeing off guests at the pier, a friend in the circle couldn't help but ask President Chen, "Do you know that person whom Chairman Liang specially entertained tonight?"

President Chen shook his head and smiled, "Not really, I only know that the business card says Yansheng Bank Special Consultant."

The friend immediately retorted, "A Special Consultant, could make the J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific Chairman come over to toast twice?"

"That's why I said I don't know him." President Chen's tone was meaningful.

Not long after, Yansheng Bank in Hong Kong held a high-end appreciation banquet, and that abstract painting appeared prominently on the list of gifts displayed at the scene.

Many people in the circle who attended that night had an impression; this was exactly the painting that almost failed to sell at the J.P. Morgan yacht banquet half a year ago and was finally bought by someone for 900,000.

Someone specifically asked the bank staff about the origin of the painting, and the other party only responded lightly, "This painting, it is said, was gifted by Mr. Li."

No surname prefix, no job title introduction, the whole process was vaguely referred to, and no one knew his specific identity.

Later, when President Chen was chatting with old friends in the circle and mentioned this, he felt deeply emotional, "The most low-key top-tier rich person I have ever seen in my life; for the whole high-end banquet, he only had eyes for the lobster and seafood on the table."

The friend asked curiously, "Then what level do you think he is at?"

President Chen thought for a moment and gave the most precise description, "It's the level where he can chat with the Chairman of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific and casually say he is 'busy with nothing'."

The friend was silent for a long time and sighed sincerely, "That is indeed the top tier."

"The most rare thing is that he himself felt it wasn't worth mentioning from beginning to end." President Chen slowly added, "The top-tier banquet and rare opportunity in the eyes of all of us were just a good-tasting dinner for him."

After that banquet, President Chen always wanted to invite Li Xin to dinner privately.

After communicating through intermediaries, he only received a simple reply, "Mr. Li is busy with affairs recently, let's meet again when he has time."

President Chen was not the least bit displeased, but instead became completely clear-headed.

Later, when talking about this with others, his tone was calm, without any regrets, "At his level, there is never a shortage of various circle banquets and networking opportunities."

"What he wants is never superficial socializing, just a meal that he can eat comfortably."

And the person concerned, Li Xin, had long since completely forgotten what the painting looked like.

Later, when Chen Hu checked the flow of charity funds with him and mentioned the donation of this painting, he was stunned for a long time before vaguely remembering, "Oh, that's that dark, grayish painting, right?"

Chen Hu nodded to confirm.

"That's good then." Li Xin said in a flat tone, "Putting it in a suitable place is enough."