C6

The next day early in the morning.

Inside a dungeon 100 miles from Cinea.

"AHHHHHHH...."

A loud scream echoed throughout the dungeon. This had been happening for the past 2 hours. As time passed the intensity of these screams had gradually decreased. The cries were coming from the last cell in the dungeon.

All kinds of instruments and tools were placed on the floor of the cell. There were bloodstains covering the entire floor area. In one corner of the cell, there were a few body parts as well. If one looked carefully, one would find human fingers and nails in that corner. A stench of blood permeated the air. It was just like a scene from a horror movie.

"PLEASE KILL ME! I BEG YOU, PLEASE JUST LET ME DIE."

A voice was begging to kill him.

Another voice replied, "Not yet, first tell me what I need to know."

And the torture continued for another hour before everything turned quiet. Then he came out of the cell.

It was a sight to behold. Such a beautiful man was covered in blood. He looked like an angel of death. His clothes were stained by blood. Even his white sneakers had turned red.

Zhou Jin was standing outside the cell with a bag containing fresh clothes and shoes. As soon as Yang Li came out Zhou Jin handed over him the bag containing the clothes and shoes.

Li washed and changed his clothes and shoes.

Then he called Jin and asked, "What time is the press conference?"

Jin replied, "At 9 a.m. there is still half an hour."

Li replied, "Ok. Go and tell the men to burn the body. Then come meet me in the office."

Saying that Yang Li walked towards the exit of the dungeon.

============================================

At the same time in Bing Xue's apartment-

Xue was feeling excited as one of her doubts would soon be cleared. Mei had told her yesterday that MLH will announce the new CEO at 9 a.m. in a press conference the next day.

It was already 8.30 a.m. She had just finished her breakfast. After clearing the utensils, she switched on the television. As there was still half an hour left for the press conference, she started watching a TV show.

At 9 a.m. the conference started. A person was talking about MLH and its future plans. After 5 minutes of speaking another person took over. He then introduced the CEO and the true owner of MeiLi Hospitlas Inc.

On hearing the name of the CEO, Bing Xue was stunned and she froze for a minute. After regaining her calm, she started processing the information.

The CEO was none other than Yang Mei. She was also the largest shareholder of MeiLi Hospitals. Xue suddenly thought and slapped her forehead saying, "It was right there!!! It was in the name itself. The hospital name incorporated sister Mei's name!"

But how could Xue recognize the connection? Firstly, it had been 5 years since she had lost contact with Yang Mei. Secondly, even if she remembered Yang Mei, she would never associate her as being the owner of MLH.

The growth of MLH had been miraculous. In a short span of 6 years the owners of MLH had opened 3 hospitals. Two out of these three hospitals were fully operational and were doing extremely well. Their reputation was as good as YGH. In order to achieve this, it would require a lot of resources. The person who built this hospital chain would need lots of funding, connections, and impeccable management skills.

Xue had been friends with Mei for 2 years. She knew that Yang Mei was a brilliant doctor and had excellent management skills. However, in the 2 years, she came to know that her sister Mei had no connections with any of the Great family or even the Tier 1 families. Even for a person from a Great family, it would be extremely difficult to create a setup like MLH, let alone a member of a Tier 1 family. Yang Mei didn't seem to have any connections with either of the two or anyone else. Therefore, she could have never associated Mei as the owner of MLH.

After organizing her thoughts, she sat down. Initially, she picked up her phone to call sister Mei but then she realized that Mei would be swamped right now. She put down the phone immediately. They would anyways meet for dinner tonight.

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In MeiLi Hospitals-

Xue was right when she guessed that Mei would be swamped. As soon as the press conference ended, Mei went to her office. The phone in her office had not stopped ringing since then.

The news of the actual owner and CEO of MLH spread in the capital like a wildfire. Many business people were stunned by this revelation. They had no idea about the origins of this young lady, Yang Mei.

The mysterious owner of MLH had revealed herself but even the elite families had no information on her. The various businesses especially in the hospital and pharma industry started digging information on Yang Mei.

Yang Mei was extremely busy as she had received many phone calls today. She had formally accepted the CEO position and there was a lot of paperwork and documents that needed to be signed. As she was working, she heard a knock on her door.

She said, "Come in…"

Two men walked in through the door. Looking at them she finally relaxed and said, "Pheww…. Finally, you have come. Why are you guys so late?"

The two men were Yang Li and Zhou Jin. Yang Li was the younger brother of Yang Mei. Zhou Jin was the right-hand man and close friend of Yang Li.

Jin said, "Sister Mei you should ask your brother about that."

Mei turned to Li and asked, "So what is your excuse?"

Li said, "Nothing serious sister. Actually, there was a last-minute client meeting. The meeting delayed us a bit. It won't happen again elder sister."

Although Mei knew that he was not telling her the truth she let it go. She then handed both of them a pile of documents. Yang Li handed over his documents to Jin and opened his laptop. For the next hour, Mei and Jin were busy with the documents, whereas Yang Li was busy on his laptop.

After they finished their work, Jin left the office.

Mei said to Li, "I will be having dinner with Xue today?"

Li looked at her and said, "And?"

Mei smiled and replied, "You should drop by. I want to introduce you to her."

Li asked, "Where?"

Mei said with a smirk, "WOW! So, you are interested in her."

"Xue is truly impressive. You just saw her once and are already smitten by her.... However, she is indeed beautiful and both of you will look good together."

Yang Li sighed and said, "Elder sister it's not like that. Okay, tell me where will you go for dinner.?"

Mei was still grinning at him. She said, "Well I'm thinking of going to the Golden Palace."

Golden Palace was her favorite restaurant in Cinea.

Yang Li, "Good, I have some business there as well. I will come. Is it alright if I bring Zhou Jin as well?"

Yang Mei was happy. She said, "Sure, why not?". After talking for ten more minutes, at around noon he also left her office.

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At Yang Global Hospitals-

Around 1 p.m. when Xue was working on her research paper, she received a message. It was from sister Mei.

It stated- 'Let's have dinner at 7.30 p.m. I have made a reservation in Golden Palace. Actually, my younger brother and his friend will also drop by for a brief period.'

Xue read the message and when she heard the name Golden Palace, she was reminded of Song Jue. She had heard Jue speak about this place. Jue had always wanted to go to this place but it was very difficult to get a reservation. Thinking about this she sent a message to sister Mei.

It said- 'Okay. Sister Mei I have a close friend who has always wanted to dine at the Golden Palace. Is it alright if I bring her along with me?'

A minute later she received a reply- 'Sure!!!'

Xue felt happy. She was nervous as she didn't know if sister Mei would agree. She immediately called Song Jue. Jue picked up at the third ring.

Xue asked, "Hello, where are you?"

Jue said, "At work. What's the matter?"

Xue said, "Are you free tonight? I have got a golden opportunity for you if you are."

Jue said, "Yeah I am free. But what opportunity?"

Xue said, "Two words- Golden Palace."

On hearing the name Golden Palace, Jue's interest was piqued.

Xue continued, "Actually I have been invited to a dinner at Golden Palace. I was thinking of taking you along as well."

Jue said in reprimanding tone, "Stop wasting my time with your jokes. Who will invite you to dinner at the Golden Palace?"

Xue was irritated and said to her, "Ok!! take it as a joke. I will go alone. Bye By.."

But she was interrupted by Jue who said, "Is it really true? Who invited you?"

Although still a bit irritated, she answered, "My senior from SMC. We were very good friends in college but then we lost touch. Recently I met her and she invited me to dinner."

"So, are you in or not??"

Jue said, "Of course!! I'm in. It's Golden Palace. On top of that, somebody is treating me. It is a 'golden' opportunity…hehe…"

"…. Who else will be there apart from your senior?"

Xue said impatiently, "Why are you asking so many questions today?? You should just focus on your food!! Actually, there will be 2 other people- the senior's younger brother and his friend."

Jue's eyes lit up and she said, "Oooh…. So, there will be boys as well. Now I will have to dress up and look beautiful. It has been a long time since I last dated. As we are going to the Golden Palace, I will dress up tonight and if I am lucky, I will snag an eligible bachelor and take him home…tehehe."

Song Jue had always been like that. She was a frank and pure-hearted person. At the same time, she was cheerful and friendly. She had a boyfriend in GVSU; however, it didn't end well. Since graduating she had kept herself busy with her work and didn't date at all. Song Jue was also a foodie. She would dine at all the famous restaurants and try different cuisines.

Xue sighed when she heard that and ended the call.