“Ah?”
Don’t be surprised—the one who uttered this exclamation wasn’t Huo Feng, but Lan Huan, who was utterly shocked. After all, he had previously admitted to being money-driven, shamelessly fawning over “Dad” just for the six-million-yuan Rolls-Royce. Deep down, he actually thought this Mr. Xie was probably around his own age. But for the sake of money, calling someone “Dad” wasn’t embarrassing.
But now, what was his godfather saying?
Godfather was Xie Xinghe’s biological father?
Yesterday, to get closer to his godfather, Lan Huan had looked up Xie Xinghe’s personal information online. He knew this sweet-smiling boy with two dimples had debuted at eighteen through a talent show. After two years in the industry, he had gained considerable fame, with thirty million followers on Weibo, making him one of the top young idols among rising stars.
But Xie Xinghe was twenty years old this year! His godfather here looked to be in his early twenties at most—how could he possibly have such a grown son? And a biological one at that?
Only now did Lan Huan belatedly realize that not only did his godfather share the same surname as Xie Xinghe, but his appearance… actually did resemble Xie Xinghe’s. Take the nose and mouth, for instance—there was definitely some similarity.
But was this just the power of wealthy people’s skincare routines? Godfather looked way too young!
“I’m already forty-five years old. The youthful appearance you see is just the result of good skincare. So, Lan Huan, in my eyes, you’re only a bit older than Xinghe—still like a child.”
Xie Tingzhou had spent not just thousands but tens of thousands of years in the Transmigration Department, so treating someone as lively as Lan Huan like a son didn’t feel strange at all.
Huo Feng, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly surprised. In the car on the way here, he had searched for photos of Xie Xinghe and naturally noticed some resemblance between this young Mr. Xie and Xie Xinghe. He had initially guessed they might be brothers or something similar, but he never expected them to be father and son!
“Mr. Xie, don’t worry. I’ll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly for you and won’t disturb Xie Xinghe’s family.”
People in the detective business were all about keeping secrets, so Xie Tingzhou wasn’t worried about Huo Feng leaking this information. He simply nodded.
“Good. Then I’ll leave this matter to you, Xiao Huo. Is two million yuan enough for operational funds?”
The black card was placed on the table, and Huo Feng immediately nodded.
“Of course, Mr. Xie. I’ll start working with my team today.”
Afterward, the butler Xiao Lin took Huo Feng to swipe the card. To handle matters for this wealthy Mr. Xie, Huo Feng didn’t linger at the hotel at all—he didn’t even have time to say goodbye to his good friend Lan Huan. He just left a message on WeChat and departed.
The black card returned to Xie Tingzhou’s hands, while Lan Huan had already snapped out of his shock.
“Godfather, yesterday when I saw your Weibo username was ‘[Xie Xinghe’s Dad],’ I thought you were joking. I never imagined you really are Xie Xinghe’s father!”
He sighed inwardly, thinking no wonder his godfather liked this celebrity—it turned out to be his own son.
As for why his godfather wanted to investigate Xie Xinghe’s family background, Lan Huan didn’t dare ask a single question.
“Yes, it’s been almost twenty years since I last saw him. The last time was when he was just a newborn.”
Xie Tingzhou thought of his soft, chubby son in swaddling clothes and then of his adorable son on the big screen, feeling much better.
“Then he would definitely be very happy to see you.” Lan Huan felt a pang in his heart upon hearing his godfather’s words. Though he said this, he wasn’t actually sure.
Fortunately, Xie Tingzhou didn’t bring up the topic again, allowing Lan Huan to breathe a sigh of relief. To change the subject, he said:
“Godfather, yesterday I took a look at Xinghe’s fan community. Isn’t he a member of the MC Boy Group? Their group is a two-year limited-time boy group, and they’re disbanding next month. Their company has already planned to hold the MC Boy Group’s final concert on the 20th of next month at the Bird’s Nest in Shangjing Shi. Would you like to go, Godfather? I have a friend with connections in the entertainment industry who can get some tickets. We could go watch Xinghe’s concert.”
Lan Huan was the type to immerse himself fully in whatever he did. Last night, he was so excited he couldn’t sleep, but he didn’t just spend the time venting his joy. He also found time to sneak into Xie Xinghe’s fan group, where he saw fans discussing the concert and learned all this.
“Sure, then ask your friend to get a few more tickets. Money isn’t an issue.”
Xie Tingzhou nodded, showing his support for his son’s career.
To lighten the mood, Lan Huan also brought up the Weibo giveaway from the night before, saying that netizens had sent both him and Xie Xinghe trending. Even Zheng Xiao thought Lan Huan was quite eloquent—no wonder he had managed to latch onto a wealthy patron. She was also quite attentive to the giveaway matter, as Mr. Xie had previously instructed her to handle it.
Butler Xiao Lin stood silently to the side. He was actually quite handsome, standing at 180 cm tall, dressed in a simple black suit uniform with a neatly tied bow tie and gloves. Despite being only twenty-five this year, he had already been managing the presidential suite of the Sherry Hotel for a full year, having served hundreds of clients. He loved his job and felt a sense of pride whenever guests were satisfied.
“By the way, Lan Huan, since you seem to have a lot of friends, do you know any good lifestyle butlers you could recommend to me? Their salary can be negotiated according to their expectations. I’d like to hire a few personal lifestyle butlers to help me handle some daily matters.”
From Lan Huan’s chattering, Xie Tingzhou had already learned that besides his frivolous friends in Daxi Shi, he also knew quite a few playboys from Xiangjiang Shi. Although the circle of second-generation rich kids might sound useless, with everyone labeled as playboys, they were actually the most resourceful when it came to spending and consumption.
Now that he possessed this Infinite Black Card, the best approach was to have a few all-around personal lifestyle butlers by his side, ensuring that whenever he needed to spend money, there would always be a way to do so.
An all-around butler not only ensures a carefree life but also possesses an extensive network connecting various high-end luxury industries, covering almost every aspect. That’s why many wealthy individuals abroad have professional lifestyle butlers.
“Of course I do! Godfather, if you’re talking about the kind of butler who helps arrange your daily life, lifestyle butlers are very popular in Xiangjiang. Their butlers usually graduate from British or French butler academies. If you need one, I can contact my friends in Xiangjiang right away and arrange for a few butlers to come for an interview. How does that sound?”
This is just a matter of a few phone calls. Lan Huan indeed knows quite a few playboys from Hong Kong. Hong Kong opened up earlier, and their financial awareness differs from that of the mainland. The earliest Filipino domestic helpers and lifestyle butlers first became popular abroad, then gradually spread to Hong Kong, and slowly began to develop in wealthy families on the mainland.
“Alright, then help me contact a few. Preferably those with many spending channels and strong capabilities.”
Having received a supercar from his godfather, Lan Huan naturally took Xie Tingzhou’s request to heart and immediately began making arrangements. Apart from the tasks related to the Infinite Black Card, Xie Tingzhou now had nearly a billion yuan in funds on his own card to spend freely after several urgent tasks. Hiring a lifestyle butler was essential.
Just as Xie Tingzhou was planning how to build a spending team for the Infinite Black Card, Huo Feng’s team was already investigating Xie Xinghe’s personal information.
In this age of comprehensive internet coverage, tracking someone’s life traces has become extremely simple.
Huo Feng’s team was staying in a hotel next to the Sheraton Hotel. At this moment, six people were working in a large executive suite.
“Boss, the investigation into Xie Xinghe’s family members is complete. The information is here.”
“Boss, the current residential address of Xie Xinghe’s family has been successfully investigated. The information is here. I’ve already booked tickets separately. Second Brother and I will go to Shangjing Shi to investigate Xie Xinghe’s mother. Third Brother and Sixth Brother will investigate Xie Xinghe’s sister, Xie Jiaoyue. The remaining two will keep an eye on Xie Xinghe. Who do you plan to go with, Boss?”
“Boss, Xie Xinghe’s personal online information has been investigated. The data is here.”
Everyone carried out the investigation in an orderly manner. As long as there was internet coverage, any information could be found. Huo Feng stood in front of the printer, watching as it spat out sheet after sheet of documents. He reached out, took them, and organized them.
These printed documents were all about Xie Xinghe.
Looking at the information on Xie Xinghe’s family members, Huo Feng noticed that the father’s name was Xie Tunan, and the mother’s name was Huang Xinyue. Xie Tunan’s photo was copied from a government agency—it was many years old, but one could vaguely see that this young face closely resembled that of Mr. Xie at the hotel. Huang Xinyue’s photo showed her smiling, with two deep dimples. It seemed Xie Xinghe had inherited his mother’s dimples.
The information stated that nineteen years ago, Xie Xinghe’s father, Xie Tunan, went missing on a large bridge. His clothes were salvaged from under the bridge, and his phone was also recovered. After days of searching with no results, the police confirmed Xie Tunan’s disappearance and presumed death.
Then there was Xie Xinghe’s sister, Xie Jiaoyue.
When Huo Feng saw the photo of Xie Jiaoyue, he was truly stunned.
Compared to the old photo of Xie Tunan, Xie Jiaoyue’s photo showed her as an adult, likely taken in the past two years. The girl in a school uniform and white shirt had long hair cascading over her shoulders. Like her father, she had fair, pale skin. Her elegantly arched nose exuded nobility, paired with those sharply raised phoenix eyes, adding an air of unattainable loftiness.
At this moment, Huo Feng truly felt that Mr. Xie was indeed Xie Xinghe’s father, because Xie Jiaoyue, as Xie Xinghe’s twin sister, was practically carved from the same mold as Mr. Xie.
The noble aloofness and coldness of Mr. Xie were expressed to the fullest in this girl.
Especially those amber eyes—though the same color as her brother’s, Xie Jiaoyue’s gaze was untouched by worldly dust, icy to the extreme, like the distant moon in the sky, forever beyond reach no matter how hard one pursued.
This was a girl with a story. Almost instantly, Huo Feng made a decision.
“I’ll go with Third and Sixth to investigate Xie Xinghe’s sister, Xie Jiaoyue.”