Chapter 404: My Conditions Caitlyn

At 11:30 the next day, Ming Zhou once again arrived at the Garden Restaurant at the foot of Parliament Hill. This was the place he had once again agreed to meet with Christo. As for the time, it was originally at 12:00, but Ming Zhou always had the habit of arriving early. This is a matter of courtesy, because status is earned through strength. Deliberately being late to emphasise one's status is undoubtedly a tactic only the most inferior people would do.

However, when Zhou Ming arrived at the garden restaurant, he found that Christo was already waiting here. Zhou Ming was invited into the inner box by the waiter who had been waiting for him.

It was still the same private room as yesterday. When Ming entered, Christo immediately stood up and gave Ming a warm hug: 'Welcome, Mr. Ming Zhou!'

It has to be said, Christo is worthy of being the head of the Adams family. No matter how much he hates Zhou Ming, at least he has done a good job of pretending. Judging from the scene just now, if it was seen by an outsider with no knowledge of the situation, they would definitely think they were good friends, or if they weren't friends, they would at least be good business partners. But in reality, Christo really wanted to stab Zhou Ming to death with a knife.

Christo took up a fighting stance, and of course Ming Chow did not show any weakness: 'Hello Mr. Christo, it is an honour to receive your invitation, but I am so sorry for being so inconsiderate as to make you wait.'

Christo hurriedly said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, you don't need to apologize or feel bad. After all, I took the initiative to invite you, and I am also from the family in Brighton. So whether as the host here or the inviter, it is only right that I should be the first to greet you here.'

So, after a few polite exchanges, Zhou Ming and Christo sat down. Christo then said to Zhou Ming, 'I know it's hard to find authentic Chinese food here, but the Garden Restaurant is an exception, because it has famous chefs from all over the world, including a famous Chinese chef, who is said to have cooked for your leader. I don't think I'll go wrong.'

'So is that so? Then I guess I can look forward to the taste of home,' said Zhou Ming. 'I'm really touched by Mr. Christo's arrangement!'

Then there was more polite conversation. When the dishes were served, Christo simply introduced them to Zhou Ming: 'This is Dongpo pork, named after an ancient Chinese poet; and this this dish of squirrel-like mandarin fish, which is also my personal favourite. It looks like a squirrel, but it's actually mandarin fish. I heard that your emperor was the one who named the dish.'

Christo Christo introduced each dish to Ming Zhou one by one. This was a very strange sight. After all, Ming Zhou was a Chinese person, so where did he need an American to introduce Chinese food?

However Since Christo wanted to introduce it, Ming just let him do it and just focused on eating. But it must be said that Christo did do some research, and at least what he said made sense.

When the dishes were all introduced, Christo saw that Zhou Ming was just minding his own business and eating his food, with no intention of getting to the point. In the end, he had no choice but to speak first: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, in fact, I took the initiative to invite you out today because I want to discuss with you the matter concerning the Candini family and the news about the Brighton Bank shares.'

Since Cristo had already taken the initiative to speak, so Zhou Ming did not beat around the bush with him and said directly, 'In fact, I won't hide it from you, Mr. Cristo, I already guessed what you were going to say.'

Cristo was not surprised by this. After all, there was only one thing in front of them, and it would be strange if he couldn't guess it.

'Zhou has guessed it, then I will just say it: I don't want this to continue. If I were to persuade Mr. Zhou Ming to give up helping the Kennedys, what conditions would Mr. Zhou Ming set?' Christo asked.

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'I can promise Mr. Christo not to continue to meddle with the shares of Brighton Bank, but it is impossible for me to give up helping the Candini family, because I have already formed an alliance with them.'

Christo Christo thought about this for a moment and then said, 'Then let me tell Mr. Zhou Ming a story. It is said that there were two tigers in the forest. One day, a monkey suddenly went to one of the tigers and said that it had been bullied by the other tiger and asked the tiger to go to the other tiger's territory to take take revenge for him. Mr. Chow Ming, do you think it is worth it for this tiger to fight to the death with the other tiger just for a cunning monkey?'

Chow Ming laughed: 'I don't think Mr. Christo's analogy is appropriate. The Addams Family is a tiger in the steel jungle of Brighton. This is true, but am just a wolf who has just arrived here. I cannot survive here on my own, so I must ally with other wolves to counter the danger posed by the Addams Family.'

'In there is an old Chinese saying that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Ming Zhou continued, 'Now I am in the same situation. Once I lose the Kennedys, I am afraid I can no longer stay in Brighton.'

'So So Mr. Ming Zhou has made up his mind to help the Candini family defeat the Addams family, right?' asked Christo.

Ming Zhou shook his head and said, 'I wouldn't do that. In fact, I don't think I could do it. After all, your Addams family are a superfamily with a long history, and you have been integrated with Brighton for 300 years, so I can't really defeat you either, or I don't want to get myself into trouble.'

Cri Christo frowned: 'What do you mean by that, Mr. Zhou Ming?'

Zhou Ming did not answer directly, but said, 'I know that the reason Mr. Christo took the initiative to invite me is that I am afraid you are also under great pressure, aren't you?'

Zhou Ming This rhetorical question made Cristo tremble. He had never expected Zhou Ming to guess this: the truth was that if it had been Cristo himself, he definitely would not have tolerated such humiliation. He would rather fight Ming Chow to the death. He didn't believe that the Candini family would be willing to give up everything. However, the phone calls he received the day before yesterday and the day before that made him unable to hold back his pride and he went out of his way to find Ming Chow to talk.

Perhaps he was the head of the Addams family, but this Addams family was not that simple!

'So this thought makes you feel you can act without restraint?' asked Christo.

'On the contrary quite the contrary, it fills me with panic because it involves a level that I cannot see, so I essentially agree with you, Mr Christo, that this matter should end here . Mr. Christo, please stop targeting the Candini family. I will help calm the news about the Brighton Bank shares,' said Zhou Ming.

Christo's eyes lit up: 'You mean you have a way to eliminate the impact of that negative news in a short period of time?'

Zhou Ming shrugged: 'Maybe we can give it a try. After all, don't the media like to chase after that kind of very... explosive news?'

Christo looked at Zhou Ming with complicated eyes several times and then asked, 'One last question. Do you think we can trust each other?'

Zhou Ming nods his head directly: 'I don't think we can trust each other, but that doesn't prevent us from reaching a unanimous decision today, because we both understand the consequences of this breach of trust, so we will do our best to avoid it, won't we?'

In response to Zhou Ming's words, Christo was silent. He believed that if Zhou Ming deceived him this time, someone would not let him get away with it. After all, what Adams had shown him so far was only the tip of the iceberg of the huge consortium family. Christo was very confident about this!

However the question then arises, where does Zhou Ming's confidence come from? How can he guarantee that after deceiving him, he will still find a way to make him pay the price for the deception? Could it be that he is still holding back something, or is he hiding some other more exaggerated means? Just like the shares of the Candini family this time, but where exactly is such a serious hidden danger?

All kinds of questions in Christo's mind were rising and falling, threatening to overwhelm him, but fortunately Zhou Ming came to his rescue at this time.

'But if I were to say a condition, I do have one, and I hope Mr. Christo can agree to it,' Zhou Ming suddenly said.

Zhou Ming This sudden remark made Christo let out a breath. After all, just now those imaginations were really too taxing on the brain, and this was just the normal situation that he was familiar with!

With this thoughts, Christo gestured for Zhou Ming to speak freely. Zhou Ming then said, 'My condition is that Her Highness Caitlyn, I know that she is now under house arrest by Mr. Christo, so please hand her over to me.'

Christo Christo immediately shook his head and said, 'That's impossible. Although I no longer trust her, her wisdom is still worthy of respect. Just as in a battle between two armies, as commander-in-chief, I cannot hand over our most destructive weapon to the enemy. That would be suicidal.'

Zhou Ming nodded thoughtfully: 'That's true. If I won't simply let the other side have the person, then what if we are in a free relationship? You can't lock up my girlfriend and future wife and not let us see each other, can you? You know you know that this is intolerable for any husband. If this condition is not met, I'm afraid our agreement cannot be established.'

Seeing that Christo was unmoved, so Zhou Ming had to continue, 'What's more, she is also a noble princess. Even if the Harburg family has ceased to be as glorious as it was a century ago, the f in their name is still there, and that is not to be tarnished.'

It was only then did Kristoff let out a cold breath, but he still insisted, 'I don't mean to tarnish the Harburg family's glory, but I'm not stupid. I can't just hand Caitlin over to you with just one joke. I've investigated, you have only met Her Highness Caitlyn twice, and the last time was four years ago. If this is what a wife and husband are like, then that would be the biggest joke of all, wouldn't it?'

Facing Christo's query, Zhou Ming laughed: 'I see, it seems that Mr. Christo does not know about love at first sight.'

'Mr. Zhou Ming, are you trying to say that you and Her Highness Caitlyn fell in love at first sight?' Christo Christo said with a playful smile on his face, 'I think Mr. Zhou Ming would do better to think of some feasible conditions instead of gambling with such irrelevant jokes. Or if Mr. Zhou Ming hasn't thought of anything yet, I can give Mr. Zhou Ming some time to think about it...'

Zhou Ming interrupted Christo and said, 'I want to remind Mr. Christo that I am serious.'

Christo was about to say something, but Ming Zhou spoke first: 'I know you don't believe me, Mr. Kristo, so you might as well go back and ask Her Highness Caitlyn. I don't think an esteemed Harusburg princess would joke about her reputation and that of her family.'