Chapter 273 - 170: Did Anya Find Out?
A gown?
Li Wei was taken aback for a moment. Recalling Elizabeth’s clearly intentional behavior just now, he couldn’t help but glance at her again.
However, Elizabeth completely ignored him. Deciding that typing on her phone was a bit inconvenient, she switched to the laptop she had brought with her.
’Looks like she came prepared.’ Li Wei noticed she even had a privacy screen protector on her laptop.
[Li Wei]: Sure, let me see.
[Elizabeth]: One moment.
After sending the message, Li Wei heard the sound of Elizabeth’s fingertips tapping on her keyboard. A moment later, a photo appeared on his phone.
The picture showed Elizabeth in a fiery red, leather-style gown. Its simple design and form-fitting lines showcased the advantages of her figure to the fullest.
[Elizabeth]: What do you think of this one?
[Li Wei]: It’s quite nice. What are the other options?
[Elizabeth]: One moment.
Then, she glanced at Li Wei before sending another photo.
The photo wasn’t a gown at all, but Elizabeth trying on an extremely sexy bikini!
Li Wei’s eyes went wide in an instant.
The black bikini in the photo was exceptionally conservative with its fabric, so much so that it looked visually incapable of containing her stunning bust. The triangular pieces of fabric showed no signs of compression, yet her full chest still strained against the edges, creating a taut curve.
His gaze traveled down her flat, toned abdomen with its clearly defined abs, where the visual contrast reached its peak at the junction of her waist and hips.
Perhaps due to Elizabeth’s years of working out to maintain her figure, her waist-to-hip ratio was even more impressive than the more petite Anya’s. The thin straps of the bikini bottom were tied above her hip bones, unreservedly highlighting the curve of her full, rounded buttocks.
Large breasts, a narrow waist, rounded hips, and a pair of long, fair legs.
’I can’t believe it. Elizabeth always dresses so conservatively and elegantly, but her taste in swimwear is the complete opposite.’
Li Wei couldn’t resist tapping the photo, preparing to "critique" it in detail.
But the moment he tapped it, Elizabeth abruptly retracted the photo.
[Elizabeth]: Sorry, sent that by mistake.
[Elizabeth]: image.jpg
[Elizabeth]: This is the one.
Although the new emerald-green gown was also nice, Li Wei still found it less appealing than the black bikini from a moment ago.
[Li Wei]: Was that bikini also a type of gown?
[Elizabeth]: That was a mistake. Besides, I didn’t buy that one. It’s a little too revealing, don’t you think?
[Li Wei]: ...Alright, fine. I think the first red one is better.
[Elizabeth]: Really? I think so too. I’ll go with the red one, then.
"Liz," Anya suddenly turned to Elizabeth and asked in a low voice, "what are you doing?"
Hearing Anya’s sudden question, Elizabeth jumped, her whole body tensing up as the hairs on her arms stood on end.
"N-Nothing, just handling some documents," she said, turning to look at Anya past Li Wei. "What’s wrong?"
"I need to talk to you later," Anya said. "Just the two of us."
Elizabeth immediately felt a little uneasy, wondering what Anya wanted to talk to her about.
After the long lecture ended, the two women walked arm-in-arm through the campus plaza, with Li Wei following from a distance with a strange expression on his face.
"Anya, what... what did you want to talk to me about?" Elizabeth asked, looking at Anya anxiously.
’Did she find out?’
"My dad is coming to New York next week for a global business summit," Anya said, looking around. "He said that while he’s here to see me, he also wants to meet with you. He asked if you’d have time."
"Meet with me? You mean not—" Elizabeth had a sudden realization. "Oh, oh, I... I have time."
"What’s wrong with you?" Anya gave her a suspicious look. "Why do you seem so nervous?"
"It’s nothing," Elizabeth said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "What does Mr. Sergey want to see me about? Is it about the bridge financing again?"
"Yes," Anya nodded. "Over the past two years, the United States of America has been tightening its control over foreign funds, especially from places like Russia. Large, direct overseas transfers are too easily flagged for review by the FBI and the Office of Foreign Assets Control."
Elizabeth nodded, showing she understood.
In fact, this was why Anya and Elizabeth had known each other since childhood. Sergey had started working with the Mellon Family as far back as ten years ago and maintained good personal relationships with both Elizabeth’s uncle and grandfather. In those ten years, Sergey had laundered at least 500 million USD in cash through the Mellon Family’s art center.
"I understand," Elizabeth said after a moment of thought. "But why come to me? Doesn’t Mr. Sergey usually deal directly with my grandfather and the others?"
"Because this is one of the tasks my father gave me," Anya said, patting her chest loyally. "He put me in charge of this money, and I figured instead of giving the business to those relatives of yours you hate, I’d give it to you. You can even earn a little extra cash."
"I have about 50 million USD to move. It’s not enough to go through the Metropolitan Museum of Art directly," she paused. "And if I had to give it to that Charles Mellon, I’d rather just throw it in the river. I hate that guy."
Elizabeth looked at Anya, her eyes filled with gratitude.
"Through my art gallery?" she asked after a moment’s thought. "The most I can give you is 80%. I have to take at least 20%. After all, I have to give 15% to the family’s trust fund, and I need the other 5% for greasing palms and covering basic operational costs. There won’t be much left for me in the end."
"I understand," Anya nodded. "Let’s go with that for now. We can finalize the details when we all have dinner together next week."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said, hugging Anya, deeply moved. "Anya, you’re too good to me."
The 50 million USD would be invested in Elizabeth’s art gallery as anonymous overseas funds via a shell company in the Cayman Islands. Roughly 10 million USD would be paid to the Mellon Family as a "management fee." This fee was essentially protection money; even regulated overseas funds, once they entered an art gallery under the Mellon Family’s name, would be placed on the trusted lists of agencies like the FBI, IRS, and OFAC, significantly reducing the level of scrutiny.
Moreover, the funds would be processed for compliance by the white-shoe law firms that had long-standing partnerships with the Mellon Family.
The expenses posted to the underlying accounts were virtually impossible to flag for review, which was why the management fee was charged.
"We’ve known each other since middle school, after all," Anya said with a smile. "We’re close. I don’t have many friends in New York, and you’re one of the few."
Her words made Elizabeth feel a little guilty, so she didn’t pursue the topic.
"Come on," Anya said, pulling Li Wei over. "Where should we go for dinner? We didn’t find any good restaurants last time we were in New Haven."
"Speaking of which," Li Wei said, walking up at the perfect moment, "are you guys planning to join any clubs?"
In early September, the Yale air still carried a hint of moisture from the sea breeze. The New Haven sun filtered through the ancient Gothic towers, falling onto the main campus thoroughfare, where rows of student booths stretched from the crossroads all the way to the gates of the Old Campus.
Colorful banners hung one after another for the Yale Political Union, the Yale Student Investment Group, the Yale Model United Nations, and more. Even the rowing team, squash team, and fencing club had photos of their past championship trophies on display.
Anya lost interest after a single glance and shook her head. "I’m not interested in politics, debate, or entrepreneurship. I’ll just look around and see."
"I’ll probably be invited to the Skull and Bones Society," Elizabeth said after some thought, though she sounded a bit uncertain. "I’m not sure if I’ll have time for any other clubs. I’ve been incredibly busy lately."
"The Skull and Bones Society? The one that’s supposed to be the most mysterious secret society?" Li Wei’s interest was piqued. "I heard they only accept fifteen members a year."
"Mm... something like that," Elizabeth frowned. "But the outside world has completely demonized it. In reality, it’s just a playground for a bunch of rich and powerful kids. Take my obnoxious cousin, Charles Mellon, who’s nine years older than me. He was even the chairman of the Skull and Bones Society, but I can tell you he’s an airhead, a complete dandy. I heard he caused quite a bit of trouble when he was a student here."
"I came to Yale partly because of this society," she said, her interest now kindled. "It’ll help me build connections for the future. After all, only people who share secrets with you will let you into their inner circle."
"Well, I wish you success," Li Wei said, pointing to himself. "A face like mine probably won’t get me in."
"You don’t need to get in," Anya said. "You’re five times more handsome than all those dandies combined."
"Why five times?" Li Wei said, stroking his chin. "I was thinking more like 4.396 times."
...
「A week flew by in the blink of an eye.」
By mid-September, Li Wei was facing the first game of this year’s NFL regular season—the Giants versus the Denver Broncos.
It was Li Wei’s home game, so it was held at MetLife Stadium.
Just like the first preseason game, the 82,500-seat stadium was packed to the rafters. Enthusiastic fans mobbed the area around the stadium, making it impassable. It was even more crowded than last time; the heat from tailgate parties stretching for several kilometers drove away the slight autumn chill.
Inside the venue, the crowd, at over 100% capacity, turned the stands into a sea of blue, erupting in wave after wave of frenzied cheers.
"Good evening, America! Welcome to the broadcast of the first game of the regular season on NFL Opening Weekend! I’m your old friend, Joe Buck, and sitting next to me is Hall of Fame Quarterback, Troy Aikman."
"Good evening, Joe. If I recall, we were the ones who called Li Wei’s NFL preseason debut, weren’t we?"
"That’s absolutely right, Troy, absolutely right," Joe Buck’s excited voice boomed throughout the stadium. "But did you know, Troy, do you have any idea how many viewers are watching this game on our online channels? A full 22.5 million! That’s a whopping 54% higher than a typical game! It’s shattered the NFL record once again."
"I’m seriously begging Li Wei at this point, begging him to stop breaking NFL records!" he shouted playfully. "How many records has he broken since his debut? I’ve lost count! I can’t take it anymore! Is the NFL just a place for you to farm records?"
"Calm down, Joe. Li Wei is in for some big trouble today," Troy Aikman said. "According to the intel I’ve got, the Denver Broncos have designed specific tactics just to counter Li Wei. His superhuman stamina might not be as effective in this game."