Chapter 15 The Matter is Exposed

  Lu Chao and a few others joked for a while before they each pulled out their chairs to sit down, with Gu Changfeng being forcibly seated next to Wu Mengjiao by Lu Chao.

  Close to Wu Mengjiao, smelling the fragrance emitted from Wu Mengjiao's body, Gu Changfeng suddenly felt a little nervous.

  Wu Mengjiao was very open and friendly, chatting and laughing with everyone, without any abnormality.

  The dishes were sumptuous and the wine was also good.

  The atmosphere at the dinner table was very warm and harmonious, with everyone chatting casually.

  Wang Hai, Pang Guoming and Lu Chao, as well as Wu Mengjiao, have all been developing their careers elsewhere and rarely come to Lanzhou City. They are not very familiar with the geographical environment of Lanzhou City. Gu Changfeng took on the role of guide and explained the development situation of Lanzhou City in recent years to several people.

  "Long wind, I heard that the province intends to nominate Lanzhou as a vice-provincial city?" Wang Hai said.

  "That's right, I've also heard it, Chang Feng, is it true or not?" Pang Guoming asked.

  Gu Changfeng smiled and said: "There is such a rumor, but it has not been finally confirmed. The big shots in the province are also competing with each other now."

  "Lanzhou City has developed rapidly in recent years, and its fiscal revenue is about to surpass that of Fenghuang City, the provincial capital. It's only a matter of time before it is upgraded to a deputy provincial-level city," said Lu Chao.

  "We are businessmen, and things on the political scene have nothing to do with us." Gu Changfeng smiled.

  "What Chang Feng said is right, we are businessmen and don't talk about politics." Lu Chao raised his wine cup loudly and shouted: "Come on, let's have a drink together!"

  "Come on, let's have a drink!" Gu Changfeng and the others also picked up their wine cups and took a sip.

  Then everyone started talking about past events and when they reached the interesting part, everyone burst out laughing.

  "You chat, I'll go to the restroom." Gu Changfeng stood up and gave a shout before walking out of the private room. In recent years, Gu Changfeng has been busy with business and neglected exercise, his body is not as good as it used to be. Every time he drinks too much wine, his stomach feels uncomfortable, and doctors often advise him to quit drinking. However, Gu Changfeng can't help himself, doing business requires socializing, and socializing inevitably involves drinking.

  Wu Mengjiao also stood up: "I'm going to the restroom too." After finishing speaking, she also walked out of the private room.

  Lu Chao, Wang Hai and Pang Guoming three heartless people were still drinking happily.

  Gu Changfeng came out of the bathroom and saw Wu Mengjiao standing in the corridor, suddenly stunned: "Mengjiao, what are you doing here?"

  Wu Mengjiao smiled sweetly: "Waiting for you."

  "Waiting for me? What's going on?" Gu Changfeng asked in puzzlement.

  "It's nothing, I just wanted to chat with you." Wu Mengjiao smiled.

  "Shall we go to the rooftop and talk?"

  "Alright." Wu Mengjiao had no objection.

  This is the top floor, and after climbing a section of stairs, they arrived at the rooftop.

  The rooftop area is not small, the ground is cemented and very flat. The rooftop is surrounded by a waist-high railing, and there is a power generation room in the middle of the rooftop.

  "There are so many stars tonight." Wu Mengjiao raised her head and gazed at the sky, saying softly.

  Gu Changfeng stood quietly on one side, not speaking. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but rather he didn't know what to say. Strictly speaking, Wu Mengjiao could be considered Gu Changfeng's first love. So many years had passed and Gu Changfeng had already let go of Wu Mengjiao, yet unexpectedly they met again today due to a series of unfortunate events.

  Wu Mengjiao took a deep breath: "It's been a long time since I've felt so relaxed."

  "These years, you're still doing well, I suppose." Gu Changfeng fell silent for half a day before finally speaking up.

  "It's all right, I guess. Marrying a man you don't love, there's hardly any happiness to speak of." Wu Mengjiao said calmly.

  Gu Changfeng did not expect Wu Mengjiao to say such a thing, and suddenly he didn't know how to respond.

  "How about you? Are you doing well?" Wu Mengjiao turned her head and smiled at Gu Changfeng.

  "Not bad."

  "I heard from Lu Chao that your wife has passed away?" Wu Mengjiao asked.

  Gu Changfeng cursed under his breath, this Lu Chao was really talkative: "Yes, my wife has been dead for 20 years."

  "Why didn't you find another one?" Wu Mengjiao blinked her bright big eyes, carefully sizing up Gu Changfeng.

  "One is that I don't have such thoughts, and two is that I also can't meet the right person." Gu Changfeng felt uneasy under Wu Mengjiao's stare.

  Wu Mengjiao fell silent for a moment before saying: "Chang Feng, sometimes I think that if we hadn't parted ways back then, would we be living a happy and beautiful life now?"

  Gu Changfeng hesitated, unsure of how to respond. The current Gu Changfeng was no longer the naive and impulsive youth he once was, as every word he spoke had to be carefully considered.

  "Don't mind me, I was just casually asking. I also know that some things have passed and can't be changed again." Wu Mengjiao said lightly.

  Seeing Wu Mengjiao's dejected expression, Gu Changfeng also felt a pang of sadness. Today, seeing Wu Mengjiao again, Gu Changfeng discovered that his heart, which had been dormant for many years, was somehow stirred up. It seemed he still hadn't completely forgotten Wu Mengjiao. At this moment, Gu Changfeng suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, feeling as though he had wronged his late wife.

  First love is sweet and unforgettable, how can it be so easy to forget?

  "Buzz, buzz, buzz..." Wu Mengjiao's phone in her pocket suddenly started vibrating.

  Wu Mengjiao came back to her senses, took out her phone and answered: "Hello... I know... You guys bring the necklace back, I'll be back tomorrow... Right, the auction will start the day after tomorrow... Okay, that's it!" After finishing speaking, she hung up the phone.

  "Who made the call?" Gu Changfeng asked casually.

  "My husband's younger brother, yesterday our company received a deal, which is an auction of a diamond necklace." Wu Mengjiao explained with a smile.

  "Gu Changfeng was taken aback: 'A diamond necklace?'"

  "Yes, it's a beautifully crafted necklace with 18 diamonds inlaid on it. Although it's not that famous, it's still worth a fortune. If you have time, go bid for it." Wu Mengjiao invited. Wu Mengjiao is also a female strongman, who has been taking care of her husband's business all these years. Her husband is a very successful businessman with many industries and several auction houses overseas and on the mainland.

  "A necklace with 18 diamonds? What's the client's name?" Gu Changfeng's heart skipped a beat.

  "Sorry, Chang Feng, this is a trade secret, I can't tell you." Wu Mengjiao said with some apology.

  "Is it Ding Dawei?" Gu Changfeng asked directly.

  "Huh?" Wu Mengjiao was taken aback: "How did you know?"

  Gu Changfeng raised an eyebrow and said quietly: Indeed, it's that Ding Dawei. Unexpectedly, Ding Dawei is really resourceful, having just been rejected by me, he immediately contacted Wu Mengjiao for the auction.

  "Chang Feng, what's wrong?" Seeing Gu Changfeng frowning and remaining silent for a long time, Wu Mengjiao was very puzzled.

  Gu Changfeng looked up at Wu Mengjiao, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Mengjiao, do you know the inside story of Ding Dawei? He's not a legitimate businessman. He entrusted you to auction that diamond necklace just to launder his black money."

  "Money laundering?" Wu Mengjiao frowned: "How can you say that?"

  "A few days ago, Ding Dazhuang also came to me and said he wanted to auction a necklace at my auction house with a starting price of 100 million." Gu Changfeng recounted the whole story.

  After listening to Gu Changfeng's account, Wu Mengjiao's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and her face looked extremely ugly. Wu Mengjiao was well aware of the severity of money laundering.

  "Gǔ Cháng Fēng asked: 'Mèng Jiāo, how did you get in touch with Dīng Dàwèi?'"

  "It's not me, it's my husband's younger brother." Wu Mengjiao shook her head.

  "Your husband's younger brother?" Gu Changfeng was taken aback.

  "My husband's younger brother, Pete, found me yesterday and said that the auction house I opened had a big deal, which was to auction off a diamond necklace with a reserve price of 100 million. According to the rules, I can get a commission of over 20 million. Since it was Pete who contacted the client, I left the matter of auctioning the diamond necklace entirely to him and only took care of verifying the goods and identifying the authenticity of the necklace. The main purpose of my trip to Lanzhou this time is to appraise that diamond necklace." Wu Mengjiao explained.

  "So that's how it is, Mengjiao. You have to stop this auction. Helping someone launder black money is against the law and can lead to imprisonment." Hearing that Wu Mengjiao was completely unaware of the situation, Gu Changfeng felt a sudden relief in his heart. Just now, he had been worried that Wu Mengjiao would do something illegal for personal gain.

  Wu Mengjiao furrowed her brow: "I'll go back and deal with this now, Changfeng, thank you so much today. If it weren't for your reminder, I might have become an accomplice to someone's money laundering." Today Wu Mengjiao was indeed lucky, if she hadn't been nostalgic for old times and asked Gu Yu Changfeng out to meet up, Wu Mengjiao might have become someone else's money laundering helper.

  "Don't say that, we're good friends, I should help you." Gu Changfeng said with a smile.

  "Time is pressing, I'll go stop the auction now. I won't go to the private room to bid farewell to Lu Chao and them, you help me apologize to them." Wu Mengjiao said.

  "No problem."