"At eight tonight, book a hotel and have him come over," Zhou Yi said with a wave of his hand. "Go make the arrangements."
"Yes!" After nodding, his subordinate quickly left to handle it.
Gisele asked curiously, "Why not have him come over now?"
"When doing business, even fake business, you can't make it look too rushed." Zhou Yi was not impatient. Since he had nothing to do anyway, he leisurely explained, "Although I don't plan to discuss any actual business with this drug lord, since we need this excuse, we have to make it look convincing."
"So, we need a formal venue, a relatively formal meeting, and then a very formal negotiation." Zhou Yi paused and smiled. "Of course, the final result will naturally not be a successful friendly partnership."
"After all, the only thing you lack now is Reyes's palm print. Once you get it, you can begin your operation. And once the operation succeeds... whether Reyes will even have the attention to bother me is another matter. If he really sees me as his last hope, then he'll be disappointed, because by then, I'll probably already be gone."
"...Did you plan all of this long ago, or did you just come up with it?" Gisele asked.
"Of course I just came up with it." Zhou Yi yawned. "Ha~ If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have had any interest in dealing with a drug lord..."
Zhou Yi was not lying to Gisele. Although he had gone from an ordinary person to a wealthy man in only a few years, the upbringing and education he had received in his previous life meant that he had never even considered doing anything illegal. Almost everything he did was within the rules and allowed him to keep a clear conscience.
That "almost" referred to the handful of exceptions, such as helping Toretto and getting them cleared of their crimes. After all, when he had first arrived, Toretto had been the one to give him a helping hand, and they had looked after him for quite a while afterward. If he turned his back on them, Zhou Yi would not be able to live with himself.
"Then what should we do now?" Gisele asked.
This was a field entirely unfamiliar to her, and she was completely lost.
"Do what you want to do." Zhou Yi said those slightly ambiguous words with the most serious expression possible.
"..." Gisele rolled her eyes. "Could you stop speaking in riddles?"
"I generally refer to this as the dyed-fabric replacement, adjustment, and matching operation," Zhou Yi said seriously. "Basically, something everyone needs to do every day."
"Say it in words I can understand. What is it?"
"Changing clothes."
That evening.
"Honestly, do you think I look strange in a suit?" Gisele shifted awkwardly.
"It's fine." Zhou Yi smiled. "If you ask me, you should try wearing armor."
"Armor?" Gisele looked at Zhou Yi with an expression that said, I didn't know you had that kind of fetish. "You mean that kind of heavy, full-body armor?"
"No, no. Your arms and thighs still have to be exposed."
"Isn't that a bikini?"
"Mm... a little more than a bikini."
"Armor like a regular swimsuit...?"
"And thigh-high boots."
"What kind of weird outfit is that?"
"Ah, you think it's weird too, right?"
"Of course. Who would be stupid enough to wear something like that... Wait, is that a camera in your hand? Why are you holding a camera?"
"It's nothing." Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction and put the camera away. "I was just filming some interesting short clips."
"...Something feels off..." Gisele was rather confused. Naturally, she had no idea what Zhou Yi was trying to do, but that did not stop her from wanting to get to the bottom of it. Just as she was about to press him, one of Zhou Yi's men knocked on the door.
"Mr. Reyes is here."
The suit Gisele wore had naturally been prepared specifically for tonight's unusual trap banquet. Zhou Yi was wearing one as well, but his had been custom-tailored long ago and fit him perfectly. As for Gisele... given her proportions, there was simply no suitable size for her in a suit store. There had not been enough time to make one, so they could only buy a set that she could barely wear.
With the legendary figure of having nothing but legs below her neck, finding a suitable size in a standard suit was naturally difficult.
So whenever Gisele sat down, a section of her lower leg was immediately exposed. Only when standing could she barely keep her ankles covered.
Fortunately, Reyes had finally arrived, which meant their plan could officially begin.
After being searched, Reyes entered. His men had initially tried to stop Zhou Yi's men from searching them, but under the intimidating gazes of Zhou Yi's subordinates, they quickly froze in fear. At Reyes's signal, they gave up resisting.
One side was a security captain for a drug lord, promoted from street thugs. The other consisted of retired soldiers from a professional security company, hired by Zhou Yi at high salaries. There was no question about which side was stronger.
Reyes had no choice either. He naturally knew what kind of people his own men were. They were fine when bullying civilians, but against professionals like these... they might as well wait to die. There was no saving them. Goodbye.
Besides, Reyes had come this time hoping to secure a lucrative order from Zhou Yi, so he certainly did not want a conflict.
After the usual round of business pleasantries... (It's not that I can't write this, I just don't want you all accusing me of padding the word count. You have to believe me!)
"Regardless, Mr. Reyes, I do want to do business with you. But naturally, the prerequisite for doing business is that—you can ensure our safety while we do so." Zhou Yi swirled the glass in his hand. This time, it was not cooled boiled water with a long and illustrious history, but genuine red wine.
"I can guarantee that," Reyes said with a smile. "I can't speak for anywhere else, but in Rio, I can absolutely guarantee your safety!"
"..."
Zhou Yi set down his wineglass and shook his head helplessly. "Mr. Reyes, although this is indeed my first time here, I am neither blind nor deaf. I have heard about some recent events. So, until you have completely dealt with those matters... I'm sorry."
With that, Zhou Yi stood up.
The unspoken meaning was clear: he was showing his guest out.
Flop Writer's Diary ↓
I can't even think of anything to write in the Flop Writer's Diary anymore. Am I really worse than a flop writer?
Before you continue