My Manor

"Finally, I'm back..." Jiang Hai opened the door of the villa and flopped heavily onto the sofa. Xiaobai, Xiaohuang, Banya, and Jiujiu, who had risen with him, immediately ran to his side, rubbing up against him. In fact, the moment Jiang Hai got out of the car, his pets had rushed over to him, surrounding him, licking and rubbing against him to show their affection. He hadn't spent this much time at home the last time he returned.

It had been more than ten days—over a week and a half—since he had seen them. Naturally, Xiaohui and the others missed him greatly. It was no surprise that they were so eager to stay close to him now. Looking at these lively little creatures, Jiang Hai comforted them when he got out of the car.

He'd returned from the airport with the gentlemanly demeanor one might expect. Well, Jiang Hai wasn't exactly the gentlemanly type, but at least he made sure to drop the girls off first. He had taken a bunch of pets along and dropped Aphra and the others at their small villa. As the girls reluctantly watched him leave, Jiang Hai waved his sleeve and left without a care.

Once back at his villa, Darlene and Marianne were the last to come in, tidying up the rooms. Meanwhile, Jiang Hai stretched out on the sofa, completely at ease. In the end, a golden or silver nest didn't compare to the comfort of his own doghouse.

Time passed, and before Jiang Hai knew it, almost half an hour had gone by. By this point, Darlene and Marianne had finished unpacking and changing into clean clothes after a three-hour flight. They came down, tired from the journey. Seeing Jiang Hai lounging on the sofa, they couldn't help but approach him.

"Jiang, it's still so comfortable at home," Darlene said, lying back on the sofa and squinting at him.

"Of course, this is our home. Have you packed all your things?" Jiang Hai replied, nodding in affirmation. He'd initially felt a bit guilty that his home wasn't in Miami, but now that he was back, he couldn't care less. Even if Winthrop could freeze over in the winter, it still had its own unique charm.

"We've packed everything. Jiang Hai, do you want us to help you with your things?" Marianne chimed in, smiling. When they went to Miami, they'd bought new clothes and picked up some small toys.

"I can handle it," Jiang Hai said. The mention of his luggage suddenly reminded him that there were 400 million U.S. dollars in oil futures tucked away in his suitcase. He was worried he might forget to put them away.

Determined to shake off his fatigue, Jiang Hai excused himself and quickly made his way to the second floor.

He opened his suitcase to find the square package sealed in a pocket. After confirming everything was in order, he headed to his bed.

Although Jiang Hai's bed was solid wood, it could be lifted. With a forceful push, the bed, along with the mattress and bedboard, lifted up with the help of a hydraulic rod. Jiang Hai made his way inside the space beneath the bed, where there was a small safe.

Though the safe was compact, it was by far the most expensive item in Jiang Hai's home. He had paid 2.17 million for it.

This was the latest model from Germany—a seemingly ordinary metal box, but far from it. It had five layers of security: passwords, fingerprints, iris scans, and more. If any step was performed incorrectly, the safe wouldn't open. Three incorrect attempts would result in permanent locking. As for forced entry, that was currently impossible. Made of chromium-iridium alloy, the safe couldn't be cut open. No wonder such a small safe cost over 2 million dollars.

After entering the necessary codes and steps, Jiang Hai opened the safe. Unlike most people, who used safes to store cash or jewels, Jiang Hai kept something much more valuable inside—papers.

Gems and gold didn't interest him much. These papers, on the other hand, were far more valuable. The stack of papers in the safe was the deed to the manor, and now there was another stack alongside it.

His safe was quite small, so there wasn't room for much else.

Once he secured the safe, Jiang Hai exited the space beneath the bed and returned it to its original state. With the oil futures tucked away, Jiang Hai felt a sense of relief. These were his last bargaining chips, and under normal circumstances, he didn't plan on using them.

He relaxed and started tidying up his bed, putting his clothes in the closet, and heading for the shower.

When he came out, his phone was ringing.

"Hello?" Jiang Hai answered, surprised to see the name on the screen. It was Feng Yunchen, his former classmate from China, with whom he'd shared a one-night stand. If it weren't for her name on the display, Jiang Hai might have almost forgotten her. Why was she calling him now?

"Huh, I finally got through to you. I thought you had blocked me." As soon as the call connected, Feng Yunchen's slightly shy voice made Jiang Hai's heart skip a beat.

"Oh, cough... I was in the shower. What's up?" Jiang Hai replied awkwardly, surprised. She had never called him before. What did this sudden call mean?

"I can't call you for no reason. Come on, stop making excuses. You promised I could come over to take photos. Is that still on?" Feng Yunchen said in a teasing tone, but there was still a strong sense of anticipation in her words.

"Of course, no problem. You can come anytime," Jiang Hai responded. He'd remembered the promise he made, thinking it was just a polite comment. But now it seemed like she was actually planning to follow through.

"Great! Do you have a place for us to stay? I might not come alone," Feng Yunchen added.

"If it's just a few people, my guest room should be enough. Otherwise, there's only my villa available; the other houses are occupied." Jiang Hai thought for a moment and mentioned that taking photos might involve a lot of people, so he wasn't sure how to handle a large group.

"It'll just be me and one other person. A single room will do. We'll bring our own makeup and clothes, and we can take photos of each other. You'll just need to help with the lighting," Feng Yunchen laughed, dismissing any concerns.

"Okay, no problem. When are you coming?" Jiang Hai asked.

"We'll leave tomorrow. We'll be there the day after." Feng Yunchen replied cheerfully. The flight would take about 13 hours, so they would likely arrive the day after tomorrow.

"Are you transferring in New York or somewhere else? Should I pick you up in New York or Boston?" Jiang Hai asked, wanting to be helpful.

"New York would be better. I've never been there," Feng Yunchen responded. She was eager to visit New York, the world's economic center, and didn't want the hassle of a transfer.

"Okay, no problem," Jiang Hai agreed. New York was only about a three-hour drive from his manor, so it wasn't a big deal.

Once they had everything planned, Jiang Hai hung up the phone, slipped it back into his pocket, and headed downstairs.

As the evening wore on, Jiang Hai prepared dinner. He wasn't hungry, but Darlene and Marianne were.

While he cooked, in a high-end office building in the imperial capital of China, Feng Yunchen hung up the phone with a chuckle. She turned to a middle-aged man in front of her, a somewhat awkward expression on his face. This man was Feng Yunchen's boss, but everyone knew there was someone more powerful backing her. The boss of a small agency couldn't afford to upset that person.

"I'm all set. I can go now!" Feng Yunchen had applied for leave to go to the United States two months ago, but her company had been reluctant to approve it. Her popularity meant that several events needed her, and the cost of the trip was high. She hadn't mentioned that she would pay for it herself, which made the company hesitant.