239: Chapter 239 Clubhouse Gossip

After staying in Singapore for a few days, he returned to Shenzhen.

The private club in Shenzhen Bay stood by the river. The afternoon sun slanted across the large floor-to-ceiling windows, warming the set of leather sofas in the corner.

Li Xin always liked to arrive between two and four in the afternoon. At this time, regular patrons hadn't arrived yet. The servers were busy polishing glasses in the natural light, and the entire space felt slow and leisurely, with even the air exuding a sense of relaxation.

He always chose the innermost booth, curling up on the sofa to read. When sleepy, he would tilt his head back to rest for a while, and once refreshed, he would get up to pour a glass of warm water at the water station. He would sit until the sunset covered the coffee table before getting up to leave, a routine so familiar he didn't even need to think about it.

That day, he was wearing a soft, washed-out gray T-shirt, paired with dark sweatpants and sneakers. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary person taking a walk by the river.

As he entered, Old Chen, who guarded the door, nodded familiarly at him: "Mr. Li, what would you like to read today?"

He waved his hand gently: "Just grab any book."

Old Chen immediately pulled a brand-new issue of National Geographic from the bookshelf and handed it to him.

"Would this one be alright?"

"This one is fine, thanks!"

Li Xin took the book, his fingertips lightly brushing over the gold-stamped lettering on the cover, before turning and slowly walking into the quiet corner bathed in warm sunlight.

This issue of the magazine featured a special on deep-sea creatures. The cover showed a jellyfish emitting a blue fluorescent glow; the photo was beautiful, appearing particularly striking against the dark seabed background.

Opening the first page, he saw an article about the Mariana Trench, accompanied by a few photos of the seabed topography—pitch black, with only some undulating outlines visible.

After reading for about ten minutes, he finished that article and flipped further, reaching one about deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems. He was halfway through when he heard people talking not far away.

The voices weren't loud, but the club was too quiet. Separated by a round table and a few potted plants, he could hear them clearly enough.

Three men were sitting around a round table, each with a teacup in front of them. Some of the cups no longer steamed, suggesting they had been sitting there for a while.

They were all around fifty years old, dressed quite elegantly. Their accents were somewhat local but mixed with a bit of a Beijing twang, the kind of people who frequently traveled between several cities.

One of them held his teacup, his tone casual: "The threshold for the private department at Yansheng Bank has been adjusted again. Have you heard? Opening an account now requires fifty million US dollars."

Another replied: "It should have been adjusted long ago. The previous threshold was too low; anyone could get in."

"Fifty million isn't even that high. If you want truly high, look at Universe Asset Management—starting at one hundred million US dollars, and you still need a referral."

The third man put down his teacup and lowered his voice: "Have you heard? A stream of offshore capital has been stationed in Shenzhen recently, and its origins are significant."

"People in the circle are rumored that it has heavily invested in several tech giants, with private shareholding ratios much higher than publicly disclosed. It's just that the money never shows its face, never appears in public, and no one knows who is operating it behind the scenes."

The first man's curiosity was piqued. "Which institution?"

The third man's voice dropped even lower. "I heard it's Xinyuan Capital, managing tens of billions of US dollars in assets. It's just that few people have seen the actual controller. Some say its scale is not much different from Goldman Sachs or Vanguard, but there are no public filings."

The second man put down his teacup and shook his head: "Just rumors. If it were capital of that scale, it would be impossible to have no wind of it at all."

"The key is that people have actually tried to dig into it, but in the end, they couldn't find anything."

The third man continued, "I have a friend in investment banking who specializes in tracking offshore capital flows. According to him, this shareholding structure winds through dozens of shell companies."

"On the surface, they all look like ordinary funds that can be found on the market. If you follow the clues, you can trace them to at most three private banks before the trail goes completely cold."

"The top-level control link is locked tight; no one can trace it back to the source. It's very mysterious."

Li Xin finished reading the article on hydrothermal vent ecosystems and turned to the next page. His page-turning motion was very light, the sound of the paper almost negligible.

The three men were still chatting, but he didn't listen closely anymore. He pulled his attention back to the magazine and began reading a short article about deep-sea tube worms.

About ten minutes later, the three men changed the subject. Someone mentioned the recent policy adjustments in the mainland real estate market, and someone else replied about the debt restructuring of a certain developer. Li Xin finished the short article on tube worms, closed the magazine, stood up, and walked toward the water station.

The water station was near the round table. As he walked over to get water, he passed by the three men, naturally sidestepping a chair. He unscrewed the cap of a bottle of water, poured a glass, and walked back with it in his hand.

On his way back, he glanced at the three men—not a stare, just a passing gaze. One of them happened to look up, and the two made eye contact. He nodded, the other person slightly nodded in acknowledgement, and then he returned to his seat.

The man watched him walk back and sit down, his gaze lingering on him for two or three seconds before withdrawing. The companion sitting opposite him noticed his gaze and asked: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just thought that person looked familiar. Maybe he lives in the same residential complex."

"A regular at the club, don't overthink it."

The man withdrew his gaze and picked up his teacup again: "By the way, regarding that Xinyuan Capital we were talking about, some say the actual controller is from Shenzhen. Do you see any company around here that could connect with capital of that magnitude?"

"Can't connect. They don't show their face to the outside world. I estimate the person at the helm behind the scenes is at least sixty, a true old Jianghu."

The three men chatted about other things for a while. Li Xin sat in the corner and finished the magazine. When he reached the last page, he saw an advertisement for a new product from a photography equipment manufacturer. He took an extra look, then closed the magazine and placed it back on the shelf. He picked up his glass of water, took a sip, and prepared to leave.

As he stood up and walked toward the door, he passed by the round table again. The three men were discussing a newly opened high-end restaurant in Shenzhen, saying the food was good but the location was remote. As he passed, he was about an arm's length away from the table, his pace neither fast nor slow.

The man who had made eye contact with him earlier looked up at him again. He nodded slightly, the other man nodded back, and then he walked past.

Stepping out of the club, a wave of heat hit him. Shenzhen in October was still sweltering in the afternoon. Old Chen, the security guard, sat on a chair by the door blowing a fan. Seeing him come out, he said: "Mr. Li, leaving early today?"

"Nothing left to read. I'll come back next time."

"By the way, today's Southern Weekly has arrived. Should I save a copy for you?"

"Keep it, I'll pick it up next time."

Li Xin walked back along the path in the residential complex. On both sides of the road were neatly trimmed green belts, with several Phoenix trees in full bloom. The red flowers crowded the branches, particularly striking in the afternoon sun.

He walked neither fast nor slow, just at a normal pace. When passing a resident walking their dog, he stepped aside to let them pass. The dog wagged its tail at him; he smiled and walked on.

The three men sitting in the club chatted for about another twenty minutes, then got up and left.

The man who thought Li Xin looked familiar subconsciously looked back when he reached the door. The corner seat was already empty, the magazine returned to the shelf, and the glass of water placed by the water station. He stood there for a second, couldn't recall where he had seen him, and followed his companions out.

Not long after.

In a conference hall of a five-star hotel in Shanghai, a closed-door investment summit was taking place. The list of attendees was printed on a dark blue brochure with gold-stamped covers. Flipping to a page in the middle, it listed the keynote speakers for that afternoon's core session.

The man who had thought Li Xin looked familiar at the club was sitting in the back row, looking down at the brochure. His fingertips froze when he turned to that page.

Li Xin. Top-tier core client of Yansheng Bank. Actual controller of Xinyuan Capital.

He stared at those three identities for a long time. The companion next to him leaned over to take a look and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

He didn't speak, closing the brochure. His fingers still pinched the edge of the page, pressing slightly, leaving creases on the paper surface.

He recalled the person sitting in the corner of the club that afternoon reading National Geographic—wearing a gray T-shirt, old sneakers, holding a glass of plain water, turning pages slowly, and nodding to him when leaving.

Seeing he didn't respond, the person next to him asked again: "Do you know him?"

He put down the brochure and leaned back in his chair, his voice very low, as if talking to himself or speaking to his companion: "That day at the Shenzhen Bay club, the three of us were chatting about Xinyuan Capital, saying the actual controller was at least sixty, a bottomless old Jianghu."

The companion looked at him: "And then?"

"That person was sitting right next to us reading. Gray T-shirt, sweatpants, and even chatting with the security guard about whether the newspaper had arrived."

The companion was stunned for a moment, then sat up straight.

"You didn't recognize him?"

"No. Who would think in that direction." He picked up the water cup in front of him and took a sip; the water had already gone cold.

"The scariest part is that he sat there listening to us chat all afternoon about his own affairs, without any reaction the entire time."

He flipped back to this page of the brochure several times later, and each time he looked at it, he would think of that afternoon. The young man quietly flipping through the magazine in the corner, intently looking at the photo of the deep-sea jellyfish, and chatting with the security guard about Southern Weekly when leaving.

Seeing those details of the memory, he only had one thought in his heart: A top-tier figure was sitting right next to you, you didn't recognize him at all, and he didn't care about it at all.

Later, Chen Hu asked Li Xin if he wanted to adjust the time he went to the club or switch to a more private venue. Li Xin was watering flowers in the courtyard at the time, and paused upon hearing the question. "Why adjust it?"

"It's possible someone might recognize you and spread it on the internet, causing negative repercussions."

"I go there to read, not to socialize. Whether others recognize me or not, what does that have to do with me?"

Chen Hu didn't try to persuade him further and turned to leave.

Li Xin tightened the faucet, coiled the wet hose circle by circle, and hung it securely on the wall hook. He picked up the empty iron bucket and stepped into the house.

In the courtyard, the Phoenix tree was burning brightly. Scarlet petals fell on the bluestone slabs, like splashes of blood, or like scattered fragments of gold.

He glanced back at that glaring red, but in his heart, another, more alluring golden yellow surged.

"It's time to set off for Australia.

In the folds of that vast wilderness, what other undiscovered gold is silently beckoning to me from across the ocean."